SEO

Martin Dinham May 2014

What’s today all about ?

• An overview;- SEO- Social- Analytics

• How to make the most of them• Interactive – please !

Why am I here ?

• 11 years of online marketing experience

• Worked with some of the UK’s largest brandsArgos, The Post Office, JP Morgan, Laura Ashley

• Joined Channel in December ‘12

About Channel Digital• Specialist online marketing agency

• Building and promoting websites

• 12 strong

• Local and national clients

• Based at Tremough, have biscuits

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

What is it ?

Why do you care ?• 61% of global Internet users research products online. (Interconnected World: Shopping and

Personal Finance, 2012)

• 44% of online shoppers begin by using a search engine. (Interconnected World: Shopping and Personal Finance, 2012)

• Worldwide, we conduct 131 billion searches per month on the web. (Comscore, January 2010)

• 70% of the links search users click on are organic, not paid. (Marketing Sherpa, February 2007)

• 60% of all organic clicks go to the top three organic search results. (MarketingSherpa, February 2007)

• 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. (MarketShareHitsLink.com, October 2010)

• 70% of search engine traffic is from organic search (not AdWords)

• Its free ! (Well, kind of….)

• But, it takes effort

• And, it takes time

What does it entail?• Helping Google make sense of your website and your

marketplace

• Its not about gaming Search Engines any more

• Its about giving Google users the right results

• Using a number of steps…

1. Crawling

• The ability of search engine spiders to navigate and index your content

• If they can’t get it into their index, its never going to rank…

• So, are there any fundamental TECHNICAL problems that prevent your site being indexed

• Easy way to check ?

• Have you got (the right number of) pages indexed ?

• If not, why not ?

2. Keyphrase selection

• There’s no point ranking for keyphrases if no one searches for them

• There’s equally little point targeting unrealistic keyphrases

The Google Keyphrase Tool is NO LONGER your friend

So, what do I do now ???

• What are your most popular pages and what keyphrases are they focussed on ?

• Other tools – Ubersuggest, Wordtracker

• Sign up for PPC – Google have their Keyword Planner tool if you have an account

Remain sensible and pragmatic

• Don’t bother with terms that are irrelevant – you might get traffic, it won’t convert

• Be mindful of the competition level – don’t try to compete with Tesco…

So, how do I do that ?

• Market & Keywords

• What is a niche?– Identify– Genuine demand– Provide solutions– “Sensible” competition

Then

• Select a short number of realistically available search terms that will drive a real business benefit

3. Targeting

Two ways

• ON site – content

• OFF site - linkbuilding

Integrate your keyphrases into your content

• Titles• Meta

Write your content around these phrases

• Naturally

• For users, not for search engines

• Think like a publisher, not like an SEO…

Google says

 “Just because somebody dots every I and crosses every T and gets all their HTML structure right, doesn’t mean that it’s good content. Even if you do brain-dead stupid things and shoot yourself in the foot, but have good content, we still want to return it.”

Matt Cutts, Head of Search Quality, Google

Do!

• Aim for 200-300 words per page• Keywords in title, headings, link anchors, text

density, early on, alt tags, meta• Keyword proximity• Vary keywords • Focus on Keywords that Sell vs. Traffic only

Do Not!

• “Keyword Stuff”• Must be human readable• Slow loading pages• Flash sites• Pages 100% images• Too many images• Too many different keywords (dilution)

The Optimisation Process

• You probably won’t get this right first time, unless it is a very un-competitive keyphrase

• Firstly give it your best shot• Then wait to see what Google does with it • If a site is new a few links will give basic

“discovery”

Headline

No. 1 - Craft your Headline• Benefits (not features)• Talk to them (you & your)• Grab attention• Make them want to read on• Serve their need / pain / desire• You’ve got 1 second

Sales Copy

• Immediately draw the reader with benefits• Establish your credibility• Explain why THEY need it• Direct visitors through the sales process• Do this “Above the Fold”• Correct placement of keywords• Clear calls to action

Sales Copy Rules• Write for people first• Believable• Flow well• Relevant to target market• Examples / testimonials• Company information – don’t hide• Your page is a process

• Test & re-test

Impenetrable BlocksSample #1:

Weight loss typically involves the loss of fat, water and muscle. Overweight people, or people suffering from obesity, typically aim to reduce the percentage of body fat. Additionally, as muscle tissue is denser than fat, fat loss results in increased loss of body volume compared with muscle loss. Reducing even 10% body fat can therefore have a dramatic effect on a person's body shape. To determine the proportion of weight loss that is due to decreased fat tissue, various methods of measuring body fat percentage have been developed. Muscle loss during weight loss can be restricted by regularly lifting weights (or doing push-ups and other strength-oriented calisthenics) and by maintaining sufficient protein intake.[citation needed]Those on low-carbohydrate diets, and those doing particularly strenuous exercise, may wish to increase their protein intake. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Dietary Reference Intake for protein is "0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for adults.” Excessive protein intake, though not connected to declined kidney functioning in healthy individuals, may be harmful to those with certain kidney diseases. There is no conclusive evidence that moderately high protein diets in healthy individuals are dangerous, it has only been shown that these diets are dangerous in individuals already suffering from kidney and liver problems. The Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories the body expends at rest, meaning without performing any physical activity, is influenced by the person's total weight and total amount of muscle. The more muscle, the more calories a person can burn naturally. When the amount of muscle is increased, then more calories can be ingested without gaining weight. On the contrary, if the amount of fat is increased, increasing the number of calories ingested will only add weight. Normally, when people lose weight, they lose a combination of fat and muscle. If the diet plan includes a daily caloric intake greater than the BMR, the person will most likely lose fat. On the contrary, if the person follows a diet that includes a lower caloric intake than the BMR, this person will lose fat but also a higher percentage of muscle. Severe diets may make people lose 50% fat and 50% muscle weight thus affecting their metabolism because by losing muscle the BMR gets affected. For instance, when a person goes on a low carb diet, the initial weight loss results from the glycogen depletion. Glycogen is a mixture of glucose and water mainly stored in the muscles. Therefore, much of the initial weight loss comes from muscle loss which affects the possibility to maintain a sustainable weight control. A study performed at the University of Connecticut also showed that athletes under a low carb diet not only experience a decrease in their performance but also a drop both in muscle power and cardiovascular performance. Maintaining muscle mass while losing fat is therefore a key factor to reach both the ideal weight and body composition. To achieve this goal, experts advise not to reduce carbohydrates aggressively. Fat can be lost by reducing the calorie intake by 20% of daily needs for two days.[citation needed] This reduced calorie intake, even in the presence of 100% carbohydrate consumption, allows for reduction of fat without muscle loss because the glycogen in the muscle is properly replenished. Exercising on days when the highest amount of carbohydrates is consumed, 1.5 to 2 hours after eating, is also helpful to achieve a balanced fat reduction in the absence of muscle loss. Within this window of time, sugar and insulin levels are undergoing a slow decline. When insulin levels start dropping, the pancreas then produces the hormone glucagon while releasing nutrients stored in the fat cells to the blood to be turned into energy. On the contrary, if blood sugar levels suffer a high increase, insulin feeds the muscle cells and deposits excess into fat cells. Furthermore, if insulin levels decrease too much, the muscle cells do not receive the appropriate amount of food they require. There should always be a meal left during the day after exercising to allow the muscles to recover from exercise.

Sample #2:

Break it up a bit (including bullets and lists would be better).Still need plenty of words – but draw the eye to the most important bits......

Readable FormatSample #2: Are you sick of trying diet after diet -- and painfully denying yourself all your favorite foods -- but never seeing any lasting results?

Or joining the latest supposedly "healthy" eating craze, only to discover a few months down the road that most health experts say that following that eating plan is actually BAD for you?

I know exactly how you feel...

... For decades I was a "yo-yo" dieter. I would try out the latest celebrity diet trend and lose maybe 5 - 15 pounds, but then gain it all back as soon as I started eating "normally" again.

In fact, usually I'd end up gaining even more weigh -- which is why I got on the scales one day and discovered to my horror that I now weighed over 200 pounds.

Not exactly a healthy weight for someone who's only 5' 2"!

In my desperation to get back to a "normal" weight, I tried every single diet plan I could. I ate nothing but pre-packaged calorie-reduced diet meals... I took pills... I drank diet shakes for breakfast and lunch, and forced myself to ignore my growling stomach all day long.

Call to Action• Click here to buy – re-state the reasons why

• Call us (phone number everywhere)• Follow us• Capture Email address– sign up for info– get your free report– What can you offer to make them part with it?

Avoid• Too much imagery• Insufficient text• Large images / slow loading pages• Flash sites• Same meta on each page• Too few pages• Coloured or patterned backgrounds• Difficult to read fonts• Excessive banners & outgoing links

Off site - linkbuilding• The keystone of Googles ranking algorithm, “Page Rank”

“We assume page A has pages T1...Tn which point to it (i.e., are citations). The parameter d is a damping factor which can be set between 0 and 1. We usually set d to 0.85. There are more details about d in the next section. Also C(A) is defined as the number of links going out of page A. The PageRank of a page A is given as follows:

PR(A) = (1-d) + d (PR(T1)/C(T1) + ... + PR(Tn)/C(Tn))

Note that the PageRanks form a probability distribution over web pages, so the sum of all web pages' PageRanks will be one.”

In plain English….

• A “reference” based system

• Google judges your website by the company it keeps…

How do I tell ?

• Google Webmaster tools

• Specialist tools if you want to get clever;- Majestic SEO (www.majesticseo.com)- SEO Moz (www.seomoz.org)

Webmaster tools – your site only

But, its not a game of numbers….

Panda and Penguin updates

• Penalise both low quality content and links

• So…

What can I do;

• Directories• Press releases• Forum / blog commentary• Press releases• CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT

What not to do

• Bad neighbourhoods

• People overtly selling links

• Networks

This is what you can do• If its not interesting for your users, its no use for

Google

• Get your content on site (perhaps on a blog)

• Numerous free blogging tools available, most notably Wordpress

• But also get it OFFSITE

How do I do that ?• Publish it on social media. Not just Twitter and Facebook, also

things like Digg and Reddit, Google+, Pinterest

• Make sure you keep things fresh

• Form relationships with REAL PEOPLE and get them to place your content

• If you’re an authority in your field, Google will treat you accordingly

• Keep this stuff going

• An iterative process

• Builds a “natural” link profile – too much of one thing can be bad…

• Anything you do, think about a link

Keeping an eye on progress

• Back to the analytics…-are you getting more traffic and sales from search

• Rankings are just a guide

• Look at trends

Google+

• Googles social network

• Active in certain communities

• But search engine benefits

• Increasingly prevalent in search results

• Perfectly targeted

• FREE (for now)

Social Media Marketing(how to do it - and still have a life)

Question• In a market place where EVERYONE is using

Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc. How can you stand above your competitors?

• More – Compelling– Engaging– Consistent– Relevant

Social Networking• Average FB user 8.3 hours per month

Why?• Meet people• Share interests, news, opinions• Because people buy from people they know, like

and trust• SEO benefit for your site – Social Signals• A lead source in its own right• Referral source

Show me the Money!

Why?

Search or Social?

• 70% of web traffic• 200m / day• Already looking• Targeted• Purchasing / seeking

• Friends & family• 200 people?• Socialising• Not looking• Not targeted• The usual suspects

Sit Forward / Sit Back MediaSit ForwardAt workBusy SearchingUnreceptive?Google / SEO

Sit BackAt homeRelaxedSocialisingNot searchingReceptiveFacebook / Social

Why Does It Work?

• Regular communication• Quality communication• Relationship• Customer service• As much like email marketing as SEO

Your Strategy• Pick your networks• Think about your message and tone• Be consistent in tone• Build a base of followers• Use mobile – more consistent• Does your brand automatically encourage

interaction, or will you have to work at it?• Build a community around your brand• Keep at it

Collaborate

• Give credit• “Retweet”• Thank people• Work together• Magnifies the results of your efforts many

times over

Balance

• Automation vs Personalisation• Reach vs Quality• Save time vs Take time

A bit of both is probably ideal

for Business

Facebookwww.facebook.com

Facebook Stats• Social emphasis• 1.23 billion monthly active users (800 million in 2012)• 757 million daily active users (450 million in 2012). 24

million of these are in the UK• For the first time, the majority of these are mobile…• Lots of add-ons• Can set up company pages, groups and attract “fans”• Integrates with so many other places

Facebook Passing Google

Facebook for Mobile

• Majority of users

Facebook - Brands in the UK

Source: Socialbakers.com

On Facebook Personal Profile

• Not for business name• Consider the impact of messages to

non-business friends• Friends - mutual acceptance

To Do List• Set up • Personal info• Photos & videos• Friends• Old work colleagues• Status updates• Comments• Develop your network• Experiment share & enjoy

Business Page

• Business page • Multiple administrators• Public: indexed by search engines• Anyone can "Like" it• Likes = Links: the new currency

To-Do List

• Set up• Brand• Add information • Add links• Invite• Integrate with site• Consistency

• Wall• Info• Discussions• Photos• Videos• Events

Posts fed from Twitter

Facebook Ads

• Better than Google?• Demand creation vs. Demand fulfilment• Can deliver very low ROI• Make sure you convert – (Opt-in?)

Site > Facebook• Send visitors to FB to make a long term connection– Like button– Share on FB

• Feed content to FB to save time• Comments on your site show on Facebook• Log in using Facebook accounts• Balancing act…

Facebook > Site

• Display Widgets– Activity– Friends

• Facebook Comments• Invite FB followers to visit the site

Facebook Widgets

Offers on the Facebook Page

Data and Reporting

• Detailed Analytics for a FB page• Can extend by adding tracking code to your

web site

Facebook Insights

Facebook Demographics

Creating Interaction

• Encouraging users to interact by– Invite participation– Talking / chatting– Special offers– Ask questions– Be personal

STA Page – good video

Redbull Page – good opt in

Main Points

• Be consistent• Give value• Engage & entertain• Ask questions• Give them ownership• Build Community• Experiment

Don’t

• Use business name for personal page• Sell to friends and family• Consider before feeding business tweets to

your page• Expect to spread a very broad net• If concerned about security, keep DOB and

address OFF.

Linkedinwww.linkedin.com

• Business focus• 227 million professionals• 40% of users check daily• Average user time, 17 minutes per month• 77% college / post-grad• £50k plus• Young = high earners

Linked in Personal Profile

Personal Profile

• As thorough as possible• 100% complete• Image• Company page / logo• Use keywords

Size of Network

• Size of Network

1. People you know well, what’s the point?2. Wider but relevant group3. As many as possible

Network Building• Invite• Groups• Questions & Answers• Endorsements

Features

• Recommendations• Groups• Blog feeds• Answers

Recommendations

Linked in Groups

Questions and Answers

Company Page

• Company info• Logo• Blog feed• News updates• Careers

Comprehensive Company Page

Linked in Stats

The Value?• Depth– Groups

• Relevant• Not empty

– Discussions– Questions and answers (best answer?)– Recommendations (not too blatant!)

• Real sales? – yes• Recruits ? – yes

Conversion RateLinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%, almost 3 times higher (277%) than both Twitter (.69%) and Facebook (.77%).

Read more: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/30030/LinkedIn-277-More-Effective-for-Lead-Generation-Than-Facebook-Twitter-New-Data.aspx#ixzz1pm7cA3iW

Twitterwww.twitter.com

• What are you doing in 140 characters• People follow you if

– You follow them (anyone, anywhere)– You issue regular interesting stuff

• Make followers aware of events, news, offers.• Build reputation• Support other tweeters• Integrates = glue for Web 2.0• Live feedback

A Twitter Profile

Celebs – Stephen Fry

Politicians – Barack Obama

Photo page background

Concepts

• ID - @channel_com• Re-tweet RT @serefe4748• Direct Message (DM)• Hashtags - #ff #falmouthbiz #justsaying• Trending Topics• Shorteners: TinyURL / bit.ly / goo.gl

To Do List• Set up account• Link to your web site• Add your photo or logo• Personalise and background• Find friends• Follow interesting people & interact• RT someone, try a hashtag• Create your own list• Try an app or two (Twitpic / Tweetdeck?)• Experiment share & enjoy

Twitter Applications• Tweet Deck – organise on your PC

– http://www.tweetdeck.com • Schedule / respond

– www.socialoomph.com• Twitterfeed – Import from RSS

– http://twitterfeed.com • Twellow – Find users

– http://www.twellow.com • Twitpic- Pictures on Twitter

– http://twitpic.com • Tweet Minister

– http://tweetminster.co.uk

Tweet Deck

Mobile Twitter

Widget on Page

Integration• Blog > RSS Feed• RSS Feed > Twitter (via Twitterfeed)• Twitter > – Facebook– Plaxo– FriendFeed– Linked In Status

• Twitter > Web Site Status

Google +

• Fast growing• Geeky but changing

demographic• Increasingly important for search

Audience• Student / Geek - declining• Middle class with kids – growing

Google + Company Page

Figures

• 300 million monthly users• % of total global social sharing, 3%• Active users per day not disclosed

Supports Schema

• Authorship the most significant

Schema

• Associates you as an “author” with websites

• Enables them to benefit from your “authority”

Google+

• Improved clickthrough rates

• Greater signals to Google around your content

SMM Cons

• Blunderbus – not “laser targeted”• Many drop out• Lots of scams• Links are often “NOFOLLOW”• If behind a log-in, there is no SEO effect• A small proportion of your overall traffic

What else ?

• Local search

Local Search – How ?

• Google+ Places for Business

• Verification of your name, address and postcode (NAP)

• Free, but can be arduous…

Mobile

Mobile

• Responsiveness – how does your site resize

• All of it – shopping cart ?

• Load times

So, in summary• Think about SEO

• But also think about the users…

• Use social, where it makes sense

• Set up Google + and Local

• Measure everything. With analytics…

Questions ?

Thanks

• martin@channeldigital.co.uk• 01326 567150• www.channeldigital.co.uk