Search Engine Optimization
- 1. Search Engine Optimization “...searchers either find you or they find your competitors.” Monday, February 28, 2011
- 2. Why SEO? Why Now? • Advertising budgets/dollars are being reallocated from traditional marketing practices to interactive services...and search is first. • Demand for websites is up • 48% of marketers said that SEO was the best method for generating conversions online. 53% of marketers with budgets over $1 million agreed. (Forbes study) Monday, February 28, 2011
- 3. Projected Trends Interactive To Grow To 21 Percent Of All Ad Spend By 2014 (Forrester) Monday, February 28, 2011
- 4. Interactive Marketing Spend Courtesy of SEOMoz.com/Forrester Monday, February 28, 2011
- 5. Google Disclaimer* • Over 72% of Search Engine traffic from the U.S. comes from Google • Google owns YouTube (2nd biggest “search engine”), not to mention Maps, Analytics and now Panoramio, and has attempted to acquire Twitter ($700 million) • Google = Search Engines Monday, February 28, 2011
- 6. The truth about SEO • Search Marketing is arguably the most important marketing activity online • Google has taught people to love search • We want answers now • If Google or search engine traffic is not in the equation when setting goals for your website, honestly, what is the point? Monday, February 28, 2011
- 7. “One of the most powerful aspects about search marketing is that users type what they WANT into search boxes, making search engines the most precisely targeted marketing medium in the history of the world.” - Aaron Wall, SEObook.com Monday, February 28, 2011
- 8. Internet Marketers Agree • All media, marketing, and communication have one thing in common - they all drive people to search • People who were stimulated by an offline cause to go online and search - over 40% made the purchase (Jupiter Research) Monday, February 28, 2011
- 9. The Ultimate Truth There is only one guarantee in SEO - when someone types a keyword(s) into a search box, there are only TWO possible outcomes: 1) They will find you or 2) They will find your competitors Monday, February 28, 2011
- 10. Why do I need SEO, when I can just use Pay-Per-Click? Monday, February 28, 2011
- 11. Interactive Marketing Spend Courtesy of SEOMoz.com/Forrester Monday, February 28, 2011
- 12. PPC vs. Organic SEO • PPC is more like • Over 72% of all traditional searchers click on the advertising organic/natural result, not paid ads • Immediate • SEO is cost effective • Every click has a cost and a better ROI • When your budget • Not immediate but expires, Google will longer lasting shut down your ad... then what? • “Free” clicks Without SEO, your PPC campaign won’t go very far (gas and oil) Monday, February 28, 2011
- 13. Paid vs. Natural Clicks Monday, February 28, 2011
- 14. Return On Investment 1. SEO = 140% to 4000+% 2. Usability = 180% to 400% 3. Analytics = 900% to 1200% (Source: Matt Bailey, SiteLogic) Monday, February 28, 2011
- 15. Is more traffic better? Monday, February 28, 2011
- 16. Why a better ROI? 1. Get more Qualified Visitors 2. Make their experience better 3. Analyze and adjust for improvement Monday, February 28, 2011
- 17. SEO is influenced by... • Keyword-rich content development • Website design • Front-end HTML • Back-end CMS • Web Analytics and Usability testing • Public Relations SEO - Link Building • Universal and Social Media Optimization • Staying current with search trends and changes Monday, February 28, 2011
- 18. Organic SEO • Keywords • Links - Internal and External • Usability and Web/Design Standards • Page Structure • Universal Search • Web Analytics Integration • Social Media & SEO should act as team players Monday, February 28, 2011
- 19. SEO Major Points • SEO is an ongoing project, not set-it and forget-it • SEO results aren’t immediate • You don’t have a home page anymore • Site and page design count • Write for users and search engines will follow • Keywords are key - but everything else matters Monday, February 28, 2011
- 20. Keywords • Keywords are still the most important aspect of the SEO campaign • Keyword Research helps you understand what people are talking about • Without SEO, more than 80% of Search Engine traffic will come from your company name Monday, February 28, 2011
- 21. Side Note: The perfect balance = 30% Search Engine Traffic 30% Referring Sites 30% Direct Traffic 10% Other Monday, February 28, 2011
- 22. Keyword Research • The biggest mistake is thinking you know the best keywords. Your users will prove you wrong. • People search based on what they need • Research should happen before the pen is lifted and the first line of code is written • Keyword Research helps you understand or know the words people are actually using • No Corporate Jargon • No Industry Slang • Call things what they are Monday, February 28, 2011
- 23. Keyword Trends • Knowing keyword trends can change your whole marketing program Monday, February 28, 2011
- 24. Keyword Trends • Knowing keyword trends can change your whole marketing program Monday, February 28, 2011
- 25. Words are everything • Search Engines look for patterns of words • Title Tags - the entry point to your site • People can easily scan headers, subheads, bullet points, links (blue underlines), navigation • Never optimize your site for only 1 or 2 keywords (Theory of the Long-Tail) Monday, February 28, 2011
- 26. Page Structure • Content area should be structured like a newspaper • Headlines • Meaningful subheads • Bullet points • Text contrast (ex: bold, italics, etc.) • Links Monday, February 28, 2011
- 27. Website Readers Scan • 79% of web users scan content • 16% of web users read word for word (Source: Jakob Nielsen - www.useit.com) • Users want straight answers (information) - fast • Interesting - Users read email newsletters more thorough than they do websites (useit.com) Monday, February 28, 2011
- 28. Usability • Simply, it is a “user friendly” site • “Don’t Make Me Think” • Navigation (no more than 7 links) • Design with the user in mind Before designing a website, answer two questions... • What is the purpose of the website? • What do you want the user to do? Monday, February 28, 2011
- 29. “All I want is clarity.” -Ron Dylnicki Monday, February 28, 2011
- 30. The Goal of SEO • Get users to your site 1) Connect with the user 2) Solve their problem(s) 3) Change their behavior • Convert users into buyers Monday, February 28, 2011
- 31. An Optimized Website • Clear Navigation • Readable, valuable and keyword-rich content • Designed with the user in mind (show them where to go, and what to do) • Easily “crawl-able” by search engine spiders • Something of value to the user • Clean HTML code • Universally optimized Monday, February 28, 2011
- 32. Universal Search • Everything can, and should, be optimized Images, videos, PDFs, audio clips, etc. • YouTube is the second largest search engine and Google owns it • Google Images Monday, February 28, 2011
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- 37. Links Why do links matter? Links Provide Direction. How • Outgoing - Link out • Incoming - Link in What • Navigation, Editorial and Ad Space Where • Blogs, Sitemaps, and Social Media sites Monday, February 28, 2011
- 38. Links 7 Ways to get links 1. Your Site 2. Directories 3. Search (ie: Technorati for Bloggers) 4. Analytics 5. Ask - “permission marketing” 6. Buy Links (borderline black hat) 7. Earn Them Monday, February 28, 2011
- 39. Nothing better than a good link • A good link boosts search engine ranking • A good link drives brand exposure • A good link drives sales and leads Monday, February 28, 2011
- 40. How are links evaluated? • Where the link came from (how well respected is the site?) • Relevancy of the linking site • What type of site (directory, content site, link farm, blog, ad, etc.) • Where does the site reside (is it on the same IP block or the same server?) • Surrounding Content - Anchor text • What is the PageRank? Monday, February 28, 2011
- 41. Social Media • Would you invite people into your house without cleaning first? • For websites, “cleaning” means having an SEO Strategy and Web Analytics code installed Monday, February 28, 2011
- 42. Social Media & SEO • Go hand in hand • Blogs - “Websites on steroids” • Blogs are the best thing to happen to SEO • Open yourself to a much larger audience • Monopolize page 1 of Google Monday, February 28, 2011
- 43. Not SEO Friendly • Full Flash Websites • Splash Pages • Broken links (don’t abandon users) • Inaccessible Navigation (users and spiders) • An image only website • Black-hat SEO Monday, February 28, 2011
- 44. Beware of the Black-Hat • Google says “Don’t be evil.” • No magic formula. Don’t trick the search engines. • White text on a white background & invisible links • Keyword Stuffing • Link Farms • Spam • No one can guarantee Google’s 1st ranking • Show your users what you are showing S.E.’s Monday, February 28, 2011
- 45. Future of Search • Bing (Microsoft’s S.E.) and Yahoo! merger • Local Search • Search changes everyday...how can we keep up? • As long as we have questions, we will always need answers...where is the first place we’ll go? Monday, February 28, 2011
- 46. The Process On-site • Market Research • SEO Audit (for existing sites) • Keyword Research • Content Creation and Site Architecture • HTML Evaluation Off-site • Link Building Strategy • Universal Search and Social Media Optimization Monday, February 28, 2011
- 47. Now What? Does my client need SEO? Monday, February 28, 2011
- 48. SEO Refresh - It’s all about creating a good website The perfect balance = 30% Search Engine Traffic 30% Referring Sites 30% Direct Traffic 10% Other Monday, February 28, 2011
- 49. THANKS! tim@austin-williams.com http://twitter.com/tim_eschenauer Monday, February 28, 2011