SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

INTRO TO

By: Lisha Klopper

WHY WE’RE HERE

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PURPOSEA short and simple explanation Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

CONTENTS• Introduction to SEO• Why SEO?

INTRODUCTION TO SEO

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THE TRADITIONAL PATH TO PURCHASE AS WE USE TO KNOW IT…

Source: P&G (2005); Google Winning the Zero Moment of Truth eBook, 2011

According to P&G.

The moment consumers form the decision to buy a product

A NEW PATH TO PURCHASE HAS ARRIVED“When consumers hear about a product today, their first reaction is ‘Let me search online for it.’ And so they go on a journey of discovery: about a product, a service, an issue, an opportunity.” — Rishad Tobaccowala Chief Strategist, Publicis Groupe

Source: Google Winning the Zero Moment of Truth eBook, 2011

THE NEW MENTAL MODEL, ACCORDING TO GOOGLE

The new moment consumers form the decision to buy a product

*ZMOT = Zero Moment of Truth

THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF SEARCH

We’ve arrived at what Google calls:

93% of all online experiences begin with search 80% of consumers search for a product before purchasing it

Ranking high in Organic Search (SEO) counts Organic search results get 70% of clicks Being within the first 3 organic search results is more important than ever

• The first result gets 33% of all page clicks on Google Search Engine Result Page (SERP) • On mobile, only the first few results are visible (On April 21: Google globally rolled out

our mobile-friendly algorithm update - boosting the ranking of mobile-friendly pages on mobile search results)

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Most often, search is the consumers’ door into the digital ecosystem

Source: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth eBook (2011), SearchEngineWatch, Internet Live Stats, Zero Gravity Marketing and Forbes

ZERO MOMENT OF TRUTH (ZMOT):Decision are formed online as shoppers move from interested to decided

GOOGLE IS THE GOLD STANDARD IN SEARCH…

Source: EMarketer, 2014

AS GOOGLE EVOLVES, OUR SEO PRACTICES MOST ALSO ELVOLVE

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Source: Moz

CODE

CONNECTIONS

COVERSATIONS

CONTENTTHE 4 C’s OF SEO

On-Page SEO

Link Building

Social Media

Quality Content

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The more “quality indicators” a piece of content has, the more likely Google is to “award it” i.e. give it a higher ranking,

meaning more consumers will see it

In 2011, Google introduced Panda – a change to Google’s search results ranking algorithm to stop sites with poor quality content from working their way into Google’s top search results.

Source: SearchEngineLand

CONTENT IS AT THE HEART OF ANY SEARCH STRATEGY

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CONNECTIONS

CODE

CONTENT

CONVERSATIONS

Link Building

Social MediaOn-Page SEO

“Creating compelling and useful content will likely influence your website more than any of the other factors” - Google

Source: Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, 2010

THE 4 C’s OF SEO

QUALITY CONTENT INDICATORS

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Relevancy to search inquiry: Consumers want a relevant search description and content, Google looks for relevancy through descriptors and tags

Appropriate depth but also easily digestible: Google prioritizes content that contains numerous relevant keywords and will give searchers the information they are looking for in a digestible manner that isn't overly complicated

Unique: Consumers want content that has something unique to offer without a lot of overlap on the search results page or redundancy within the brand site

Fresh & timely: Sites that are consistently updated with quality content are preferred by consumers and prioritized by Google

Visual & interactive: Images and visuals, as well as interactive elements like tools are of highest interest to consumers so Google prioritizes ones that are appropriately tagged

Only the best content gets widely distributed

People are more likely to share it

Google is more likely to serve it up

YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR CONSUMER AND HOW THEY SEARCH

When people search, there are three types of queries…• Do they want to do something (Transactional Queries)• Know they want to know something (Informational Queries)• Go they want to go somewhere (Navigational Queries)

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CONTENT!

KEY TAKE-AWAY: Create content that pays off on consumer search interest

Source: Search Engine Watch

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KEY INSIGHT:SEARCH RANKING IS NO LONGER ONLY ABOUT CODE AND KEYWORDS…

IT’S ABOUT QUALITY CONTENT THAT IS CONTEXTUAL

WHY SEO?

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KEY INSIGHT:SEARCH IS THE CONSUMERS' DOOR INTO A BRAND'S DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM…

According to Forrester. The web will account for or influence 59% of U.S. retail sales by 2018.

SEARCH IS THE MOST TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION AMONGST CONSUMERS

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64% of respondents

Source: eMarketer, 2015

SEARCH PLAYS A HUGE ROLE IN THE PURCHASING DECISION PROCESS CONSUMERS GO THROUGH

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Awareness

Consideration

Purchase

89% of Consumers use Search Engines for Purchase Decisions

90% of Consumers say Buying Decisions are Influenced by Online Reviews

81% of Consumers Conduct Online Research Before Buying

Conversion

THE CONVERSION FUNNEL

Source: MineWhat.com Fleishman-Hillard, HubSpot

ZMOT FORMS PART OF THE CONSUMER’S EVERYDAY DECISION MAKING

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Source: EMarketer , Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide

The pressures on household budgets are bigger than ever, and consumers want to make smarter, better purchases. That's why many are turning to search - increasingly on their mobile phones - to get reliable and instant information.

Even in ‘offline spaces’, ZMOT is present

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KEY INSIGHT:SEARCH IS A KEY CHANNEL THAT BRANDS NEEDS TO BE PRESENT IN, TO ENGAGE WITH CONSUMERS AT THEIR ‘ZERO MOMENT OF TRUTH’

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