Uncovering Social Media & SEO Opportunities to Maximize Your Firm’s Digital Reach

June 25, 2013 • AAM High WebinarSpeakers: Becky Livingston & Brian Swanson

Today’s SpeakersToday’s Speakers

Becky Livingston, President & CEOBecky@Penheel.com@Penheel or @BM_Livingston

Brian Swanson, PartnerBswanson@FlashpointMarketing.biz@BSwan775

AgendaAgenda

• Discovering additional inbound marketing opportunities for your firm using Google+™;

• Taking a deeper dive into social analytics to help determine how clients’ share content; and

• Understanding how Author Rank influences search engine rankings and inbound marketing.

Google plus – the why

Google+ Is A Ghost Town…NotGoogle+ Is A Ghost Town…Not

• Number of Google+ users: 359 million active• Google+ is outpacing Twitter• Google’s +1 button is used 5 million times/day• 40% of marketers use Google+• January 2013, used by 25% of

the global Internet

Sources: Google + users / Outpacing Twitter by Business Insider (May 2013). Google + button usage & marketer usage by Digital Buzz (Jan 2013). Usage by Attwood Digital.

Google+ Crossover StrategyGoogle+ Crossover Strategy

• Google+Blog WordPress Plugin

• HootSuite• Google+ +1 Buttons• Interactive, CTA

buttons• Circle-centric

marketingPhoto courtesy of Mike Arnesen

Google+ Posting TipsGoogle+ Posting Tips

• “Public” will let the search engines index content

• +Tags = use them for names and pages

• Ritualistic Posts & Exclusive Content

• Hashtags & Mentions• Email your Circles• Use Circle Count Photo courtesy Reload Media

Circle Count

Google+ Creative UsesGoogle+ Creative Uses

• Google+ Local: merging and replacing Google Places

• Google+ Communities: forum-style groups• Google+ Hangouts: integrate directly with

YouTube & other video platforms• Google+ Events: may be “in-person” or

“virtual” • Google+ Pages: can create hangouts, events,

communities, but cannot have authorship

Social media analytics

Social Media AnalyticsSocial Media Analytics• Metrics to watch for revenue goals– Social media visitors to leads– Social media leads to customers– Average order size– Word-of-mouth referrals

• Metrics for community building, brand reputation, or customer experience– Engagement duration– Loyalty– Activity ratio– Sentiment of brand mentions

How are people sharing?How are people sharing?

Image courtesy of BuzzFeed

What are you tracking?What are you tracking?

• Referral traffic• ROI• Opportunities / Response Rate• Reach and Virality• Share of Voice / Engagement

According to Adobe, 52% of marketers cite difficulties in accurately measuring ROI as their biggest source of frustration in social marketing.

Should I worry?Should I worry?

• Do you use “direct traffic” as a measurement?

• Do you use Google custom filters for analytics?

• Are short, memorable URLs used in social sharing?

UTM Link Builders for TrackingUTM Link Builders for Tracking

• Helps to identify “first-touch” point via social

• Easily noted in analytics

• Easy to create and track

Here is an example for a conference promoted on Twitter using a UTM code:http://www.MyDomainName.com/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=NameOfConference

Author rank’s influence on SEO

Google AuthorlinkGoogle Authorlink

A New Social Media Enhancement Tool Brought to You By Google!

What is Google Authorlink?What is Google Authorlink?

Google’s Method For Gives Credit For Your Content

Benefits to Website MarketingBenefits to Website Marketing

Several Benefits to this Strategy:

•Stand Apart on Search Engine Results Page (SERP)•More “Pop” on SERP•Higher Click Through Rates – 150% to Blogs

•Establish Topical Authority•Faster Indexing •Diminishes Plagiarism

Benefits to Website MarketingBenefits to Website Marketing

Getting ConnectedGetting Connected

Open A Google Plus Account

Add A Professional Photo

Google Plus Changes

Update Your Contributor Links

Add Proper Tags to Your Author Bio

Blog Change

ExamplesExamples

Author Highlights

Author Popularity

Freshness Stamp

ExamplesExamples

Where is Your Eye Immediately Drawn To?

Having the Author Image Gives A Competitive Advantage Over Text Links

Key TakeawaysKey Takeaways

Google Plus•Get your brand on Google+ •Link the Google+ page to your website•Develop goals & a strategy•Use calls to action on all Google+ interactionSocial Analytics•Define goals; determine social platforms•Leverage UTM codes for tracking•Learn the power of customer filters

Key TakeawaysKey Takeaways

Author Rank & SEO•Employ Author Rank to:– Stand Apart on Search Engine Results Page (SERP)– Higher Click Through Rates – 150% to Blogs

– Establish Topical Authority for bloggers– Positively influence SEO

Thank you!

The Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) is the only trade association of its kind that provides resources and support to more than 800 CPA and consulting firm marketing and sales professionals, partners, firm administrators, and representatives of businesses who offer products and services to the accounting industry.

http://www.accountingmarketing.org/