[500distro] catalyzing with content: what b2cs should be doing in the first 6 months

Catalyzing with Content: What B2Cs Should Be Doing in The First Six

Months

What we didWhat we fucked up

What worked

Who I am:• Ran customer acquisition/retention

at LivingSocial

• Co-founded coursereport.com

• Fair warning: I love business stock photography

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Let’s begin!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

coursereport.com

• Ratings/review site for programming bootcamps

• Focused on organic search

• Lead gen model

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

coursereport.com

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Yay - Bootstrap!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

coursereport.com/schools

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

coursereport.com/school-name

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

coursereport.com/blog/blog-post

BONUS:Tags link to

schools!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

At this point I’m feeling

good

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

We have 6 entity types…– schools– campuses/locations– courses– Instructors– cities– blog posts

… let’s give each one a page!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Fuck up #1

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Google thought it was duplicative because it was

Inbound links were spread across different (similar)

pages

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Deploying new pages/templates was easy

I didn’t stop to think about how those pages would have

distinct content

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Fuck up #2

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Filters = search results

My first idea: index it all - more pages that can

rank!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

https://www.coursereport.com/schools?focus=Rails&location=New+York

Vs:https://www.coursereport.com/

cities/new-york

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

My second idea: use rel= canonical

Closer… but no

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

My third idea: Noindex!

Better!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

The future?Why not create pages for

common filters with unique content?

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

https://www.coursereport.com/schools?focus=Rails&location=New+York

https://www.coursereport.com/cities/new-york/rails

Plus content! Hooray!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Ok, so what content then?Guides

ListsEditorial analysis

U.G.C.Interviews

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Guides•Big time investment•Useful for email capture too

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Lists•First thing people do… so extremely competitive

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Editorial

Also takes a lot of time

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

UGCChicken v Egg

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Interviews!!!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

• Pros:– Easy to produce– Universally applicable– Almost always interesting– Potentially good link bait

• Cons:– Editing is a huge pain in the ass

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Pro tip

eLance & Odesk!Cheap, relatively high

quality, and dramatically increase output

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

More on elanceTry a couplePlenty of solid english speakers$5 -$10 MAX per hour<24 hour turn around, if not sub <3

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Site is in placeMost effective content

is knownLet’s get links!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Conquesting!• Only could drum up ~50-100

decent targets• Yielded a few decent quality links

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Guest blogging• Templatized/mass outreach has not

worked for us at all• Success with:–Partnering with players in the space

(schools)–Focusing on adjacent niches (ex: Women

in tech, Career advice)

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

The money maker!

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Results

• 14 links on release–EdSurge, FastCompany, Tech

Cocktail• Continues to draw ~1 high quality

backlink per week

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Quick tips

• Roughly 10% hit rate amongst our primary reporter target list• Downloadable PDF seemed to add

some authority/credibility• Referencing other original research

also added credibility

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

Takeaways

• Simpler page structure to start• More focus on static pages• Find pockets of content that are both

fast & good• Invest in long form content… it really

is worth it BUT you need a purpose in mind

Adam Lovallo | @alovallo

And finally

Interested in a bootcamp- coursereport.com

Interested in acq events/conferences – grow.co

Do you know a lot about SEO and think we are doing something wrong? I’m sure you are right.

Email me at adam@coursereport.com