COLORING OUTSIDE THE LINES:

MASTERING THE CREATIVE & TECHNICAL SIDE OF SEARCHABLE CONTENT

KATY KATZ

Hello!I am Katy Katz

Senior Consultant SmartBug Media

You can find me at:@katykatztx #StateofSearch

Let’s talk SEO and Content Marketing

“I endeavored to make [my content] both entertaining and useful, and it accordingly came

to be in such demand, that I reaped considerable profit from it.”

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

“I endeavored to make [my content] both entertaining and useful, and it accordingly came to be in such demand, that I reaped considerable profit

from it.”

- Benjamin Franklin, The Way to Wealth (1758)

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

“Content is the reason that search began in the first place.”

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

“Content is the reason that search began in the first place.”

- Lee Odden, CEO of Toprank

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

THE PROBLE

MMARKETERS EXCEL AT

RUINING A GOOD THING

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

Link Spamming

#StateofSearch@katykatztxImage from White Rabbit

Keyword Stuffing

Image from SEOPressor #StateofSearch @katykatztx

Over-Automating Social Media

#StateofSearch@katykatztx

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

“Content is a game that every type of team and agency plays, so we’re all competing for a piece of that pie. Meanwhile, technical SEO is more complicated and more important than ever before.”- MICHAEL KING, FOUNDER

iPULLRANK(bit.ly/tech-seo-king)

SEOs BE LIKE

- Cyrus Shepard

(on TF-IDFbit.ly/

tf-idf-moz)

#StateofSearch@katykatztx

WRITERS BE LIKE“Language is my whore, my mistress, my wife, my pen-friend, my check-out girl. Language is a complimentary moist lemon-scented cleansing square or handy freshen-up wipette. Language is the breath of God, the dew on a fresh apple, it's the soft rain of dust that falls into a shaft of morning sun when you pull from an old bookshelf a forgotten volume of erotic diaries; language is the faint scent of urine on a pair of boxer shorts, it's a half-remembered childhood birthday party, a creak on the stair, a spluttering match held to a frosted pane, the warm wet, trusting touch of a leaking nappy, the hulk of a charred Panzer, the underside of a granite boulder, the first downy growth on the upper lip of a Mediterranean girl, cobwebs long since overrun by an old Wellington boot.” - Stephen Fry, Linguist#StateofSearch @katykatztx

Why’d we have to go and make

things so complicated?

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

“I believe that more than 90% of the content marketers are going to have a long cold winter, and many of them will end up looking for new careers.  I don’t want that to be harsh, but a big content marketing glut is coming. “

- Eric Enge, CEO Stone Temple Consulting (via Didit)

SHIT!

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

GOOD CONTEN

T

NOW, MORE THAN EVER, YOU NEED

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

“Mediocre content will hurt your brand more than nothing

at all.”

- Joe Pulizzi, Author

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

“Slow the *&%^$ down and do your content marketing right – or don’t do

it at all.”

- Ann Handley, Content Marketing Institute

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

People Now Use Ad Blockers- PageFair 2015 Ad Blocking Report

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

SEARCH OPTIMIZED CONTENT IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE BUT IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN

EVER TO OPTIMIZE FOR YOUR PERSONA FIRST

AND APPLY YOUR CHECKLISTS AFTER

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

“Annual growth in unique site traffic is up 7.8X for content marketing leaders compared to followers.”

- Aberdeen

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

Pepsi has invested big in a state-of-the-art content studio in Manhattan.

- Image source Ad Age

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

BACK TO BASICScontent

headlines

meta descriptions

on-page SEO / formatting

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

MAKE IT USEFUL &

INTERESTING

THE CONTENT SECRET?

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

CONTENT

GOOD CONTENT

SPEAKS TO A PERSONAYour target market needs to connect with what they’re reading to forge a relationship with your brand.

IS WELL CONSTRUCTEDUse tools or hire a real editor to make sure your content is interesting to read and follows writing best practices.

ANSWERS QUESTIONSMake sure your reader comes away feeling that you’ve added value and that their visit was worth their valuable time.

SERVES A PURPOSEThink about your end goal – amplification, lead nurturing, raising awareness, sealing the deal – define the goal ahead of time and stick to it.

DRIVES TO A CTAThe end of your content (and throughout if possible) should help point the visitor in a direction. Spell it out for them!

SHARE & SEARCH OPTIMIZEDApply your checklist at the end so that you don’t sacrifice creativity for technicalities.

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

DEMOGRAPHICS+ Age+ Gender+ Salary+ Location+ Education+ Family

GOALS & CHALLENGES+ Values and fears

MARKETING MESSAGE+ Elevator pitch

SOCIAL MEDIA+ Platforms+ Behavior

NAME & JOB TITLE+ Where they work+ Details about their role

PERSONA TEMPLATE

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

CRAVEABLE CONTENT

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

Makes us laugh or cry

Has an unexpected twist

Reminds us dreams come true

Inspires action

Reminds us we matter

Reveals a secret

Surprises us

Encourages us to never give up

Reminds us we’re unique

Where David beats Goliath

- CMI (bit.ly/crave-info)

A Bit More on KEYWORDS

MAP OUT RELATED TERMS

DESIGN YOUR

STRATEGY

USE A KEYWORD TOOL AT

THE BEGINNING

FORGET ABOUT THE KEYWORDS

TILL THE END

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

HEADLINES

HEADLINE MUSTS➜ CLEAR➜ RELEVANT➜ FOCUSED➜ CONCISE➜ EXCITING

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

➜ Yes, start with a keyword➜ But then get creative with it!

Increase creativity by:o Using a headline tool

o Testing multiple variations (like 25)o Dropping over-used terms (*ULTIMATE)

HEADLINES

• Impactbnd.com Title Generator • Hubspot Blog Topic Generator• TweakYourBiz.com Title Generator

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

NOW CHECK THE SEO

ARE YOU AT THE RIGHT

LENGTH(55-60

characters)

EXPERIMENT(test, test, and

test again)

IS THE KEYWORD UTILIZED & RELEVANT(aim for long-

tail)

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

* FACT: Shorter title tags perform better in search than longer ones. – Study by Code As Craft

META DESCRIPTIO

NS

But Google said that meta descriptions aren’t a factor

in the algorithm so why should I care?

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

Relevant Traffic

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

➜ Again, start with a keyword➜ But then get creative with it!

Increase creativity by:o Researching competitive termso Circling in on THE WHYo Focus on benefits over featureso Keep it clear and crispo Don’t repeat the headline!

META DESCRIPTIONS

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

NOW GO BACK AND OPTIMIZE

ARE YOU AT THE RIGHT

LENGTH(160 characters)

EXPERIMENT(test, test, and

test again)

IS THE KEYWORD UTILIZED & RELEVANT(aim for long-

tail)

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

* CHECK OUT THIS GREAT DISCUSSION ABOUT META DESCRIPTIONS ON INBOUND.ORG(bit.ly/metas-rock)

STRUCTURE

ON-PAGE SEO & FORMATTING

KEYWORDIs it in the title, URL, introduction, conclusion, and other key spots? Is it used a natural amount?

HEADLINE TAGSDid you utilize H1 and H2 tags throughout the content? Bonus for including a keyword in an H2.

LINKSDid you utilize a variety of internal and outbound links?

IMAGEDid you include visuals that support your content and include your target keyword in the Alt Text?

AMPLIFICATIONDid you make it easy for your message to be spread on social media with prominent buttons?

CTADid you include ways to keep people on your page and clicking through to other parts of your site?

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

Now is the time to break out the checklists!

Check out Moz’s SEO Checklist for more (bit.ly/moz-seo-list).

Great content is both CREATIVE and

TECHNICAL.

#StateofSearch @katykatztx

Image Source: swelldesigner via Flickr

Thanks!Any questions?You can find me at:@katykatztxkkatz@smartbugmedia.com