content marketing, semantic search and the travel industry

+BronwynWhite | @BronwynWhite | @Travelresearch0 | email me: [email protected]

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Today

• Internet marketing, what happened?• Social signals• A mobile future• Tactical implications


Internet Marketing? What happened?Hummingbird and semantic search

Draws on the personal information it has collected from the user

The algorithm uses true meaning, intent and context, to identify and

prioritise pages with relevant content

And provides real answers to search queries rather than returning

keyword stuffed pages

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Implications of Hummingbird

What appears on Page 1 of a Google search result is different for every search query, every mobile device

and every desktop.


Why should we care?The traveller path to purchase

• Internet search is the one constant tool people turn to for inspiration and travel planning at every point across the path to purchase

Dreaming Planning Booking Anticipating En route Destination

Google has changed the way our potential customers find us and what information they will receive, and in doing so, has profoundly changed how

we need to market our businesses and manage our online presence

Search


SOCIAL SIGNALS


What is the role of social media in semantic search?The power of the social signal

• Importance of social sharing and engagement of content• Verify veracity and quality of website content• Helps generate:

– A clearer understanding of the meaning behind the content

– Better indexing of the content– An assessment of authority and trust– And assessment of the contextual value

Google Semantic Web, David Amerland

Content, search and social media are now inextricably related


A MOBILE FUTURE

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The way customers search has evolved

• The way we perform searches has evolved• We may ask our phone a question as we would a friend

“Voice search naturally tends to mean more conversational and more natural language. Rather than searching for a one or two word phrase, people will be more inclined to use

whole sentences, questions, and more complex queries when they speak. Hummingbird will be well placed to determine the most relevant and highest quality

pages that meet the needs of the searcher. Websites that place well under the new algorithm changes may also experience an increase in their mobile traffic as a

result”. Amit Singhal, SVP, Google Search


The futureIs mobile and semantic search

• Users are shifting their search habits from desktop to conversational mobile

• 50% of people start their search on their mobile devices

• Products like Google Now emerging

• Users simply ask their phone questions like a friend

What is the weather going to be today?


TACTICAL IMPLICATIONS


An SEO checklist used to look like this

http://www.slideshare.net/David-Amerland/what-is-hummingbird-and-the-entity-search-revolution

Old SEO Checklist

Keyword optimisation and placement

Website development

Link structure

Backlinks

Domain and Hosting

On-page SEO

Link building

Easily gamed by practices like building artificial links and stuffing poor content with keywords


Now looks like this

• Time for businesses and destinations to think more like publishers of content.

• A whole range of dynamic entities at play working together

Source: Eric Enge, Stone Temple Consulting


HOW TO CONNECT YOUR BUSINESS OR DESTINATION IN THE WORLD OF SEMANTIC SEARCH


How to connect your business or destination in the world of semantic search

Your business / destination• Create compelling content• Post often• Variety of output• Link online activities• Quality and legitimate links• Natural language• Mobile optimised• Geo-coding• Clear distinct branding• Social media engagement

Potential customer search query• Previous search history and

interests• Geographic location (at the

time of search)• Social media interactions

Matchwith

The role of content marketing in semantic search

• Publishers of, compelling, relevant content are:– become trusted authorities of sound reputation– Recognised as influencers– More likely to create active social signals

• More likely to be matched to a relevant search query

“Content marketing has become so vital to all of search engine opitimisation in the semantic web that it underpins many activities that a business or brand needs to engage in”. David Amerland



Linking it all together

From

• Keywords• On-page SEO• Backlinks• Publishing frequency• Link dumping in social

networks• Content length• Keyword stuffing• Keyword placement• Anchor text• Link building

To

• Search queries• Intent • Trust • Authority• Reputation• Citations / listings• Social network

footprint• Comments• Social proof• Band equity• Authenticity

How

• Link your entity• Mobile optimised• Compelling content• Ensure a variety of

output• Connection to your

business and USP’s • Speak to a persona• Develop a clear

distinct brand• Social media signals


Take-outs

• Review current SEO practices• Review content• Create a content marketing

strategy• Ensure content is socially

engaging and relevant• Ensure you engage socially

with your customers• Be mobile

content marketing, semantic search and the travel industry

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