my charity connects: sem/ seo 101
TRANSCRIPT
When SEO Met SEM : All you need to know about search engine optimization and marketing 101Presented by: Tamera Kremer
Wildfire Strategic Marketing
June 8, 2009
2
AGENDA
1. Why is search engine prominence important?
2. Pay-per-click advertising 101
3. Basics of building a campaign in Google AdWords
4. Search Engine Optimization 101
5. Social Media Optimization 101
3
Over 15 billion searches are performed every month in North America. ~ ComScore 2009
Do you show up?
4
Why is search engine prominence important?
• Primary means of content dissemination
• Brand awareness
• Self-directed vs. spray & pray
• Content targeted to intent
• Accessibility
5
Learning the Basics…
• Search is fluid, not static
• Best practices to follow but lots of different variables – deep field
6
PPC - Search Engine Marketing 101
7
What is PPC?
• Pay-Per-Click advertising
• Targeted text ads (historically) shown when people search for a particular keyword or phrase
• Bid-based vs flat fee or CPM
• Big 3: Google; Yahoo!; Microsoft
8
How does Google AdWords work?
• Google PPC web interface & tools
• Sign-up @ adwords.google.com
• Enter Campaign & Ad Groups
• Choose keywords
• Input creative & destination URL
• Set bid prices & daily budget
• Insert analytics code onto website pages to track
• Set goals
• Begin campaign – ads display when activated
9
Getting Started Building a Campaign
1. Keyword Research
2. Competitive Research
3. Search Ad Copywriting
4. Landing Pages
5. Analytics
6. Budget & Bid Prices
7. Implementation
8. Optimization & Testing
10
Getting Started: Keyword Research
• Brainstorm terms related to your industry/ mission
• Find inspiration in your current marketing copy
• Research your competition
• Check your analytics for terms driving traffic
• Use social media to help inform
• Use keyword tools to refine & expand
• Choose negative keywords – searches you DON’T want your ad displayed on
11
Examples of keyword research tools
• https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
• http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
• http://searchanalytics.compete.com/site_referrals/
• http://adlab.microsoft.com/Keyword-Research.aspx
• http://www.wordtracker.com/index.html
12
Competitive Research
• Take stock of the presence your competitors have on search engines
– what keywords do they rank highly for organically and you don’t?
– What search terms are they targeting for PPC buys?
13
Getting Started: Search Ad Copywriting
• Components of a Google AdWords search text ad
– Headline (25 characters)
– Body Copy (35 characters x 2 lines)
– URL (vanity & destination)
• Copy that is direct response oriented & relevant to the keyword performs the best
• You have seconds to grab attention, motivate interest and action
• Develop at least 2-3 ads to start and test response and performance across keywords; modify/ refine
14
AdWords creative examples
Books at Amazon
Millions of books, new and used
Qualified orders over $39 ship free
Amazon.ca/Books
________________________________
Books at Chapters Online
Save 34% on books over $25 everyday
Canada's bookstore. Free shipping.
Chapters.indigo.ca
15
Getting Started: Landing Pages
• Where are you directing users to after they click?
• Is the content relevant to what they searched for?
• All ads don’t need to direct to the same page
• What is your call-to-action?
• Consider using a tool like Google Optimizer to do split testing
16
Getting Started: Analytics
• What can analytics teach you?
– Topics/ content / patterns
– Terminology
– Traffic sources
– Intent
• Link Google Analytics to your campaign even if you’re using a different vendor to track goals and conversions
17
Getting Started: Budget & Bids
• Be careful with your keywords initially – some may be expensive but low value
• Test, monitor, test
• Minimum daily & monthly budget
• Individual pricing for specific keywords
• Adjust based on what’s working
18
Getting Started: Implementation
• “New Campaign”
• Determine parameters
– Language
– Geo-location
– Content targeting?
– Networks & Devices (mobile, content, etc)
– Budget/ Focus
– Frequency capping
– Start/ end dates
19
Getting Started: Implementation cont.
• Set up Ad Groups
– Enter ad copy
– Enter keywords
• Use match types to refine:
• keyword = broad match
• "keyword" = match exact phrase
• [keyword] = match exact term only
• - keyword = don't match this term
– Input bid prices (can tweak later)
20
Getting Started: Implementation cont.
• Set up conversion tracking
• Simple step on Google – add tracking code to conversion page
21
Getting Started: Optimization & Testing
• Look at the campaign from a 30k-ft view & a granular view
• Test creative against your control
• Refine your keywords / add keywords
• Watch your goals / traffic
• Adjust your bids
• Tweak your landing pages
22
What to watch out for
• Be relevant to intent or don’t bid
• Watch your conversions
• Quality Scores
• Continue to mine your analytics data
• Content targeting should relate to your goals
23
Search Engine Optimization 101
24
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a
web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.
~ Wikipedia
25
What’s the benefit of being indexed by an engine?
• Primary source of finding information online
• Approx 70% of searches result in an “organic” listing click
• Approx 60% of the search results page real estate is comprised of “organic” listings
• Cost-effective traffic driver
• Interest-driven & self-segmented marketing
26
Things to consider for SEO
• What language do you speak? Internal jargonize or real people?
• SEO is as much about making the experience intuitive & valuable for users as it is for the engines
• The engines are constantly refining their algorithms to deliver highest relevance
• Trying to game the system is a very short-term tactic & will penalize you in the long run
27
What does SEO mean in plain English?
• Content results based on merit and contextual relevance
• A long-term strategy for building influence online
• A way to distribute and promote deep content
28
What can influence where you rank?
• Relevance of content
• Internal file & URL structure (crawlability)
• Consistency of information presented
• External links
• Meta information
• Brand credibility
29
What are the basics of optimizing your website?
• Content, content, content… Relevant, useful & fresh. • Page and file structure and architecture• Meta data (Title, Image, Description, Keyword)• URL/ domain strategy• Anchor text• Linking – internal• Linking – external • Accessibility/ Crawlability• Redirects (301, 302)• Site Map
30
Working with your tech & creative teams
• Define your goals internally – don’t wait until the end of planning to discuss SEO
• Determine best practices before development begins
• Discuss the meta & domain strategies
• Determine what platform you will be using – who will be responsible for adding & refreshing content
• Ensure a long-term strategy is in place as additional content is added
• Before agreeing to a fancy Flash piece understand what that means for engine accessibility
31
Content development
• Content drives the web
• Incorporate keywords as appropriate
– Don’t overstuff copy with keywords
• Think about the end user & what would interest them – tailor your content for them, not for you
• Use descriptive phrases to link out, don’t use generic terms like “Click here”
• Ensure your meta data matches what the contextual relevance is on your page
32
Social Media Optimization
• Enable others to share and discuss your content
• Allow comments
• Share content across social networks
• Typically your Meta information will port with the content (e.g. Title)
33
Advanced Optimization Considerations
• Video/ Audio/ Flash• Local search• Content or site migration• Multiple domains• Firewalls/ subscriptions• E-commerce• Multi-variate testing• Dynamic content• Seasonality• No-follow strategy
34
Additional Resources
• Search Engine Land - http://searchengineland.com/
• Search Engine Watch - http://searchenginewatch.com/
• Google Webmaster Help videos - http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp
• Wildfire Strategy Blog post - http://3i.wildfirestrategy.com/2008/11/24/seo-is-not-about-the-engines-its-about-the-people-using-the-engines/
36
Photo Credits
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/will-lion/2605894098/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/xavipat/3441238555/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/julienhery/505097377/