How to Get SEO ROI From Content Marketing

Ross Hudgens, Founder, Siege Media@RossHudgens http://siegemedia.com

For some companies, content marketing isn’t

working.

@ROSSHUDGENS

@ROSSHUDGENS

The dream of posting once a day came and went, with

only empty pockets to show for it.

@ROSSHUDGENS

Getting search ROI from content marketing is more

than just saying “Let’s Write Blog Posts!’

It takes accurate measurement of SEO potential, and a

consistent effort to improve every time out.

And yes, links still matter. You just have to get them

the right way.

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HOW TO MEASURE

SEO OPPORTUNITY

WARNING

THIS IS AN SEO-FOCUSED

ANALYSIS. THERE ARE MANY

MEASURABLE CONTENT

MARKETING BENEFITS, BUT

THIS DECK WILL ANALYZE ROI

FROM SEO PRIMARILY.

Calculate the SEO revenue potential of a strong vertical position using

competitor SE traffic price.

http://www.semrush.com/info/retailmenot.com?db=us

If necessary, make financial adjustments based on business model differences that may make you unlikely

to rank for something, or make less revenue.

If your coupon site was male focused, you wouldn’t target Bath and Body Works.

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Identify the average authority/link #s of three or

more well ranking sites in your industry.

Assess link velocity to determine a future expected authority value for your competitors.

https://majesticseo.com/reports/compare-domain-backlink-history

Using that data, calculate the reasonable number of links/authority

you will need in the future.

Approximate LRDs Needed For High-Ranking Positions

Approximate DA Needed for High Ranking Positions

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2240

71

Start building content and/or look back at content you’ve built, and identify the average cost per

link (CPL) for your business.

Avg. Content Development Cost:

Avg. # Links Generated:

Avg. Cost Per Link (CPL):

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8$2500

$312.50

Also determine what link acquisition velocity is possible for your business, and how that

might modify average CPL.

Expected Links/Mo.

Monthly Overhead CPL Adjustment

New Realized CPL

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64

+$8850

$401

Use your CPL to identify the approximate cost it will take to rank well in your industry from an

authority perspective.

$401 CPL X 2240 (Linking Root Domains)

$898,240 Expected Link Cost (ELC)

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Calculate the sunk costs of developing great landing pages/product/etc that will be the best

result on your SERPs. This will overlap with link acquisition costs, sometimes significantly.

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$3,000,000Landing Page/Product Development Cost

Do the math to determine a reasonable expected loss before profitability from search.

$3,000,000 Landing Page Development Cost

$898,240 Link Development Cost

$3,898,240 Total Loss Before Significant SEO Rev.

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+

Once ranking well, there will also be significant SEO maintenance costs to

consider that will eat into monthly profits.

$875,320 Potential Monthly Revenue from SEO

$56,000 SEO Maintenance Costs

$819,320 Potential Monthly Revenue from SEO

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-

You should also monitor the authority growth of your homepage and subpages, as well as other competitor pages. This is more difficult to

do hard math on because of PA/DA utilizing a logarithmic scale.

Month OneOur DA: 43Homepage PA: 56Subpage1 PA: 24Competitor DA: 65Competitor HP PA: 81Competitor Subpage: 62

Month TwoOur DA: 46Homepage PA: 59Subpage1 PA: 25Competitor DA: 66Competitor HP PA: 82Competitor Subpage: 63

http://moz.com/help/pro/campaign-setup

Use these calculations to create a ranking timeline for your business.

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TIME

AU

TH

OR

ITY

AUTHORITY GOAL

Also use these calculations to develop a SEO costs/revenue timeline for your business.

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TIME

$$$

TOTAL COST

TOTA

L REVENUE

Make calculations easier with our free ROI measurement tool and 36 page guide.

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Get it Here:SIEGEMEDIA.COM/ROI

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STRATEGIES FORIMPROVING PERFORMANCE

First, invest in great design.

No.

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Next, seriously, invest in great design.

No.

No.

“IF YOU THINK GOOD DESIGN IS EXPENSIVE, YOU SHOULD LOOK AT THE COST OF BAD DESIGN.” DR. RALF SPETH, CEO JAGUAR

The most effective way to lower CPL is to

build a marketing flywheel.

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Content

Promotion

Links

New Followers

Get more followers by setting up your Tweet

button properly.

http://siegemedia.com/powerful-twitter-tactic-business-blogs-arent-using

Proper Format POST TITLE http://url.com via @ACCOUNTNAME

http://siegemedia.com/powerful-twitter-tactic-business-blogs-arent-using

Optimize and/or build signup hooks immediately.

Use e-mail signups with design contrast.

Every piece of content put out without a compelling offer present on your site is a large opportunity lost.

Find Keyword Opportunity with Domain vs Domain Analysis

http://www.semrush.com/info/domain_vs_domain/

LINKS AREN’T DEADHere’s how to get better ones

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Get homepage links by building content that can be adequately described without visiting the site.

1. Images.

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http://blogs.salesforce.com/company/2013/07/email-marketing-stats.html

2. Stats.

3. Quotes.

How to Get More Press Quotes:

1. Get on East Coast Schedule

2. Catch News as it Breaks From Europe/East Coast

3. Send Reporter News As Value-Add + Add Quote for Context

4. Get Coverage

Be diligent with internal linking to important pages before publishing, parts of (good)

articles will frequently get copied.

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Thanks for the link!

Follow Up On Coverage With Link Changes

If you’re getting links to pages without much business value,

putting in a change request can be a smart move.

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Best Practices for Link Change Requests

1. Promote the Coverage & @ Mention the Writer

2. Request a Change of Equal or Greater Value

3. Don’t Risk Burning a Bridge

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4. Reduce Friction

Balance content development focus between landing pages and your blog.

Too many businesses focus on their blog and ignore areas that convert (and need links too).

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GREAT LANDING PAGES,GREAT PRODUCTS, AND

GREAT BRANDS ALLOW YOU TO RANK BETTER WITHOUT LINKS.

If you have enough links to get to #5,

you have enough links to get to #1.

Your content should have multiple KPIs. If your main KPI is links and links only, your

business probably isn’t sustainable.

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Good Example KPIs:

Source: http://bit.ly/1ryEvkW @ROSSHUDGENS

8 REASONS YOU WON’T GET SEO ROI FROM CONTENT MARKETING

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1. You only have links as a content KPI.

2. You don’t have links as a content KPI.

3. You aren’t building a marketing flywheel.

4. You don’t consider landing page costs in your projections.

5. You don’t properly balance focus between landing page content and blog content.

6. You miscalculate your true CPL.

7. You don’t account for link attrition or future competitor authority.

8. You miscalculate your ranking timeline and run out of cash before profitability.

3 REASONSYOU WILL GET ROI

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1. You have healthy respect for the numbers and how they impact SEO.

2. You work hard to have a better process today than

you did yesterday.

3. You understand that SEO is a holistic practice, but one still worth our time and attention.

Still confused? Use our free tool & eBook!

@ROSSHUDGENS

Download URL:SIEGEMEDIA.COM/ROI

Image Sources:

Hamster Wheel: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dansil/8187821615 / Cut Up Money: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/152453473Jumper: http://www.skydive.tv/project/its_real/ White Out: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tomsaint/4122029015/Balance: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/4414594439/Numbers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/morebyless/9423385629/sizes/l/Hard Work: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/8677457200/ Links: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenny-pics/6850508365/ Usain Bolt: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/perfect-photo-of-usain-bolt-after-losing-2013-6

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Thank You! Questions?

Ross Hudgens, Founder, Siege Media@RossHudgens http://siegemedia.com