google and search engine success
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Google and Search Engine Success. How to Rank Well Organically, Locally, and with Obituaries. Selected Independent Funeral Homes May 1, 2014 – St. Charles, MO. Kip Johnson - FuneralNet. This Morning’s Topics. 1. How search engines work and what they’re looking for - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Selected Independent Funeral HomesMay 1, 2014 – St. Charles, MO
Kip Johnson - FuneralNet
GOOGLE AND SEARCH ENGINE SUCCESS
HOW TO RANK WELL ORGANICALLY, LOCALLY, AND WITH OBITUARIES
THIS MORNING’S TOPICS
1. How search engines work and what they’re looking for2. Types of search results and how-to’s for each3. Reviews and their role in search results4. Navigating the Google Zoo
Pandas, Penguins, and Hummingbirds5. Examples and case studies
1. HOW SEARCH ENGINES WORK
• Enormous indexes in many dimensions• Keywords and phrases• Page titles and headers• A mix of text, photo, and video• Position of content on page
• Easy to find contact information (NAP)• Name, address, phone number
• Original, current, and relevant content
TEXT, PHOTO, AND VIDEO
PAGE POSITION: EYE TRACKING “HEAT MAPS”
2. TYPES OF SEARCH RESULTS AND HOW-TO’S
• Organic• Local• Paid
ORGANIC KEYWORD SEARCH RESULTS
Organic
Local
KEYWORDS FOR WINNING SEO
• Keys to Keywords• Think titles, tags, and text• Strike a keyword-rich balance• Use analysis tools to help ID keywords
TITLES AND TEXT
KEYWORDS FOR WINNING SEO
• Keys to Keywords• Think titles, tags, and text• Strike a keyword-rich balance• Use analysis tools to help ID keywords
KEYWORD ANALYSIS
Google AdWords Keyword Planner
KEYWORD ANALYSIS
Google AdWords Keyword Planner
KEYWORD ANALYSIS
Google Trends - www.google.com/trends
KEYWORD ANALYSIS
Google Trends - www.google.com/trends
THE IMPORTANCE OF OBITUARIES
• Integral part of the website• 60-90% of most death care industry websites’ visits are
obituary related• Naturally generates current and original content• Rich-snippets enhancing search results
OBITUARY SEARCH RESULTS
OBITUARY SEARCH RESULTS
TYPES OF SEARCH RESULTS AND HOW-TO’S
• Organic• Local• Paid
LOCALIZING FOR WINNING SEO
• Stake your claim• Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo)• Google Places and Google+ Local example
• Other on-line sources for local information• Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc.
• A Tale of Multiple Cities• Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods
LOCALIZING FOR WINNING SEO
• Stake your claim• Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo)• Google Places and Google+ Local example
• Other on-line sources for local information• Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc.
• A Tale of Multiple Cities• Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods
CLAIMING YOUR BUSINESS
There are 15 million businesses in the United States . . .
Less than 4 million have been claimed . . .
And of those, less than half are reasonably complete.
Chances are, for 90% or more, this is currently a big search opportunity missed.
CLAIMING YOUR BUSINESS
CLAIMING YOUR BUSINESS
LOCALIZING FOR WINNING SEO
• Stake your claim• Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo)• Google Places and Google+ Local example
• Other on-line sources for local information• Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc.
• A Tale of Multiple Cities• Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods
IYP AND DATA PROVIDERS
• Acxiom• CitySearch• Dex Knows• Kudzu• Manta• Superpages• Yahoo• Yellowpages• Yelp
IYPI – InternetY – YellowP- Pages
IYP LISTINGS
IYP LISTINGS
LOCALIZING FOR WINNING SEO
• Stake your claim• Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo)• Google Places and Google+ Local example
• Other on-line sources for local information• Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc.
• A Tale of Multiple Cities• Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods
REACHING INTO MANY MARKETS
• Location-specific content• Dedicated location pages• Titles, tags, and text (location keywords)• Footer content
• Sub-landing pages
SUB-LANDING PAGE EXAMPLE
PHOTOS AND VIRTUAL TOURS
http://www.majorfamilyfuneralhome.com/_mgxroot/page_10787.php
3. ONLINE REVIEWS
• Why they matter• What they look like and where they are posted• Legitimate vs. ‘manufactured’ reviews
WHY ONLINE REVIEWS MATTER
• Ever-increasing importance to SEO• More users looking at reviews
• 89% of people now use the web as an influencing part of their purchase decisions
• More users leaving reviews• 47% of people reported leaving an online
review about a recent experience
SEARCH AND REVIEW EXAMPLE
SEARCH AND REVIEW EXAMPLE
Google Review
Superpages Reviews
LEGITIMATE VS. ‘MANUFACTURED’
• Only use actual statements and testimonials
• Do not ghost write reviews• Avoid promises of ‘web saturation’ through
dozens/hundreds of reviews
ASKING FOR FAMILY PARTICIPATION
• When a family is very with satisfied with the services you’ve provided, help them share that with the world:• While letters of thanks are nice, ask that they submit
online• Be prepared to point them to your Google Places and
Google+ Local profiles, Facebook, and others• Selectively contact via mail
OBSTACLES TO SUCCESS
• Technical know-how (or lack thereof) for older demographics
• Mandatory profiles to leave on-line reviews with major review sites (e.g. Google+, Yelp)
4. WELCOME TO THE GOOGLE ZOO
• Panda anti-pandemonium• Quality user experience with relevant results
• Penguin punishes purveyors of poo• Getting rid of spam and link-factory sites
• Hummingbird lifts quality sites and content• Beyond keywords to match quality content with user intent• Sophisticated natural language methods applied
5. EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDIES
• Carmon Funeral Homes (Hartford, CT area)• Results of on-site vs. off-site SEO techniques
• Wichmann-Fargo (Appleton/Fox Cities, WI)• On-site obituaries vs. third-party obituaries
• Bliley/Nelsen Funeral Homes (Richmond, VA)• Site rich in content vs. corporate/chain template
CARMON FUNERAL HOMES
• A firm with numerous location outside of Hartford wanting to do well on Hartford searches• Started non-existent in Organic Search results (not in
first 100 listings), and now ranking #5• This is separate from Local Search results
WICHMANN-FARGO
• Comparing website traffic for 90 days after de-integration of obituaries vs. 90 days before:• Number of visits was down by 20%• Number of unique visitors was down by 23%• Average visit duration was reduced by 30%
• Obituary visits, even if no other site content is viewed, represent significant branding time
BLILEY / NELSEN
• Bliley and Nelsen used to duke it out for the #1 and #2 search rankings
• Nelsen was sold to SCI and they implemented their SCI corporate umbrella template to the site
• Bliley is now solidly #1 both Organically and Locally, and the Nelsen entity is several organic notches lower, and not even first page on Bing
RICHMOND SEARCH RESULTS
BLILEY HOME PAGE
NELSEN (DIGNITY / SCI) HOME PAGE
SUMMARY OF BEST PRACTICES
• Original, current content in multiple formats• Proper keyword use – NAP, titles, tags, text• Photos and virtual tours• Treat obituaries as an integral part of your site• Claim and complete business profiles• Encourage on-line reviews
Selected Independent Funeral HomesMay 1, 2014 – St. Charles, MO
Kip Johnson - FuneralNet
GOOGLE AND SEARCH ENGINE SUCCESS
HOW TO RANK WELL ORGANICALLY, LOCALLY, AND WITH OBITUARIES