how leading brands earn high seo rankings
TRANSCRIPT
How Leading Brands Earn High SEO Rankings
Erin Everhart● Lead Digital Marketing
Manager – SEO at The Home Depot
● Was the Director of Digital Marketing at the 352 Inc.
● Regular columnist at Search Engine Land
@ErinEver
Mike Tomita● Sr. Marketing Manager at
Marketo, the leader in digital marketing software
● Experienced in SEO, SEM, conversion optimization, and social marketing
@Marketo
Matt Koulas ● Search Marketing Manager
at Grasshopper
● Has years of both in-house and external SEO experience, focuses on sustainable growth strategies
@MattKoulas
Nate Dame ● CEO and Founder of
Propecta
● Regular speaker and columnist
● Oversees client strategy and thought leadership
@seonate
Proving The Value of SEO
(The struggle is very real, you guys)
@erinever
Erin Everhart
Everyone says SEO is important
@erinever
But budgets don’t back it up
@erinever
Set the right expectations
@erinever
Speak their language
@erinever
Make the most of your time
@erinever
Take things one bite at a time
@erinever
Show a competitor beating you
@erinever
Use data to your benefit
@erinever
This used to be all we needed
@erinever
Now, we’re drowning in data
@erinever
And leaving people dumbfounded
@erinever
Why are we showing them this?
@erinever
This isn’t any better folks
@erinever
Give them information, not data
@erinever
Show impact on overall business, not just SEO
@erinever
Relate visits back to revenue
@erinever
Remember: Online metrics don’t live in a bubble
@erinever
Making SEO Everyone’s Job
@Marketo
Mike Tomita
The Spark That Set The Fire
“I just searched for
[INSERT KEYWORD]
on Google and we are below
Competitor X. Why?”
Crisis or Opportunity?
Crisitunity?
Crisis Response1. Concerned but optimistic introduction
2. List of SEO tasks to improve specified keyword rank
3. List of recent SEO wins
4. Commitment to provide performance updates
Influencing The HIPPO
HighestPaidPerson’sOpinion
Crisitunity Response1. Concerned but optimistic introduction
2. List of highest impact, non-keyword specific tasks that
require executive support
3. Impact of above tasks on specified keyword rank
4. Impact of above tasks on company business objectives
5. Ask for the stars
Yes, I am “That Guy”
I love what you’re doing and I think it could really benefit our SEO efforts!
What do you think about doing X instead of Y?
Here’s how that will help both of us!
Identifying Allies
Demand Gen
Content Marketing
Product Marketing
Web Dev
PR / Social Media
Funds SEO
Produces website content & blog posts
Names the products & creates the pitch
Controls the website
Tells the high level story
Team SEO Role
Getting Cross-Functional Support
SEO By Any Other Name…
Demand Gen
Content Marketing
Product Marketing
Web Dev
PR / Social Media
Generate more leads
Drive subscriptions & downloads
Update competitive positioning
Improve website performance
Refine persona based messaging
Team Stated Project Objective
We’re All On The Same Team
Get More Out of Your Content
Matt Koulas @MattKoulas
When Talking About Content...
You’ll hear a lot of people say...
Tah Dah!
“We have a blog…”
What They Really Said...
Have a Vision.
With no destination set, you’ll never get anywhere.
Be Strategic.
1. Set your goal2. Set a target audience3. Research what they need/want to know4. Create comprehensive content which
answers questions or satisfies needs5. Bombard them with your branding5. Ensure your brand ties into the content
Create Useful Resources.
Think About The Consumer.
What will help them most?- Are they marketers, business owners, both?- Do they need videos, pictures, articles,
checklists, kittens, etc?- Are they reading and then taking action, or
printing for later? ...Is your content printer-friendly?
- Have you surveyed your users?
Know Your Goals.
Example: JUMP
Example: Fireside Chats
And Then...
So What is a Fireside Chat Overall?
They are…
● Brand Building● Link Getting● Customer Helping● Email List Developing● SEO Value Rising
...pieces of content.
But Matt, What About Results?!?@#!
● Traffic: 50,000+ visits in 2015● Conversions: 46 signups● Links: 120+ unique domains● Social:
- FB Shares: 800+- FB Likes: 2,800+- Tweets: 1,100+- LinkedIn: 350+
So Remember…
HAVE A VISION.
So Remember…
BE STRATEGIC.
So Remember…
GET RESULTS.
The New Era of SEO
@seonate
Nate Dame
Everything We Know about SEOHas Changed
State of Search
From Nate’s Search Engine Land column, They Fooled Us All: Why Google May No Longer Announce Major Algorithm Updates
Prediction: More False Positives, More Confusion over “Updates”
Source 1Source 2
Google’s Rank-Modifying Spammers Patent
What you’d expect.
Edit a page Google rank increase or decreases
Google’s Rank-Modifying Spammers Patent
What really happens.
Edit a page
Google ranking moves up or down at random for an indefinite period of time
At some point, your page’s new ranking settles
Path to SEO Success
New 80/20 Rule of SEO
Technical SEO
Engagement SEO
Technical SEO
Important, but not impressive
Engagement SEO
My page is the best content that meets the user’s specific needs
My page is the most popular page when compared with competing content
Learn
Test!
Beyond the Keyword: User Intent
Earn That Popularity
● Strong relationships with high-value influencers
● Promotion is gas on the fire● Study the emotional triggers that work
Audit Efforts.
Where Are We Going?
Audit Results.
See a Live Demo of Propecta’s SEO Services
Wednesday, May 202pm ET / 1pm CT / 11am PT
Sign up: propecta.com/live-demo
@ErinEver
Erin Everhart Mike Tomita Matt Koulas Nate Dame
@Marketo @MattKoulas @seonate
Thank you!
@ErinEver
Erin Everhart Mike Tomita Matt Koulas Nate Dame
@Marketo @MattKoulas @seonate