lost in google space: can anyone really get you to #1?
TRANSCRIPT
LOST IN GOOGLE SPACE
CAN ANYONE REALLY GET YOU TO #1?
EVA SHEIE
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT RE-BOOT
MARCH 28, 2015
THANKS OPRAH!
Websites were brochures back then.
Directories were important.
Phone calls showed me the way.
Oprah set it on fire.
ROLES IN A WEB AGENCY
Thought Leader/CEO/Owner
Developer
Graphic Designer
Copywriter/Content Producer
Account Manager
Project Manager
Social Media Manager
PPC Manager
SEO SPECIALIST
SEO SPECIALIST
What do they really do?
SEO IS “JANITORIAL”
THE JOB OF THE SEO
IS TO…
Achieve a set of marketing goals. Whatever is involved.
Do to stuff to a website that gets people to do what you want them to do.
Requires a relationship.
Their success is dependent on your level of participation
Benefits of similar subject matter
TRUST…
THE MOST EFFECTIVE SEO
STRATEGY
WHAT DOES THE
PRACTICE NEED?
Begin with the end in mind – Covey #2
Enough leads by web or phone to
have enough consults to do the
number of cases you want to do
BETTER TITLES THAN
“SEO SPECIALIST”
Problem Solver Extraordinaire
Psychic that figures out what patients want and adds to your website before they search for it
Introverted analytical pattern recognition expert
Interpreter of Google’s algorithm
Puzzle fanatic
Your #1 Brand Advocate
GOOGLE LOVES BRANDS
WHAT DO BIG BRANDS DO?
Have a real, physical location
Have staff pages with bios and photos of real people
Give back to their community
Participate in social media, even just a little
Asks customers for their feedback
Belongs to societies and professional organizations
Run branded PPC ads on their own name or practice name
Leverage their own by using their own online reviews reputation for marketing – enable their customers to speak on their behalf
When you say it,
it’s marketing
When your customer
says it, it’s social
proof
WHAT DON’T THEY DO?
Build keyword-stuffed domain name microsites or redundant sites with the same information
Buy links
Write fake reviews for themselves
Send spam to patients
Ignore unhappy customers
Neglect their website content or have empty pages on their website
Buy “Likes” or pay for followers on social media
DIY their website or their online communications to patients
Let their nephew build their website
Use fonts like Comic Sans in their signatures because it looks more “fun”
STUFF THAT
WORKS
AWESOME CONVERSION TACTICS
CONTACT FORM ON
EVERY PAGE
QUANTITY
PHOTOS
Demographics
Story
FINANCING AND COST INFO
SPECIALS
REVIEWS ARE LIKE MAGIC
Increases time on site
Increases & speeds up conversions
Decreases bounce rate
Makes your site fresh
Makes you more attractive in search
results
Bazaarvoice
MORE IS MORE
0 500
Bazaarvoice
Source: Bazaarvoice
REVIEW VOLUME HELPS IN
SEARCH Where are you most likely to click?
UNIQUENESS
ALL TOGETHER NOW!
Social proof
FRESH social
proof: three
reviews from
just this week
Cost info
Visual proof
Instant contact
Natural language
85% MORE
CONVERSIONS
Evil scientist laboratory
MOBILE FRIENDLY
AND BLAZING FAST
Mobile – are you ready? Check your
sitehttps://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
Fast – check your sitehttps://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
COST OF A WEBSITE
Range $7500 to $65,000
Average cost $16,000
Factors affecting cost
• Size of photo gallery
• Market area
• Amount of new copywriting/editing
• Design
COST OF MONTHLY SERVICE
Range $24,000/year to $60,000/year
Average $33,600 (or $2800/month)
Most common $2000/month
Factors affecting cost
Market area
Amount of copywriting & photo editing per month
Tactics included
PRICES LOOKS THE SAME,
TACTICS VARY WILDLY
Although the costs were relatively similar,
the activities or tactics included in that
cost were all over the map.
Most notably,
Content creation/copywriting and
marketing strategy were often missing or
minimally included
WHAT ARE YOU
PAYING FOR?
Time – number of hours you receive
the attention of the team
Expertise!
Cross-collaboration
Caution: it’s always changing
Examples – press releases and authorship
CAN I DIY?
Remember the goal – to achieve a set of marketing goals. Whatever it takes to get enough incoming leads to do the number of cases you want to do.
Can you keep up with it?
If you don’t follow best practices on a daily basis, and don’t have experience to know which things are safe, bad things can happen
What CAN you safely do?
RECAP
SEO: not typically the job for a single person. Solid team is best. Build a collaborative relationship.
What’s the marketing goal? Do you work together on it?
Be a brand and Google will reward you
Competitive advantage is gained with reviews on your own website, and by being fast, fresh & mobile-friendly
For most, it’s too important to DIY
WHAT MATTERS MOST
RIGHT NOW?
The TRUTH – Google is looking for
signals
2015 PREDICTIONS
Mobile – check your site
https://www.google.com/webmasters/t
ools/mobile-friendly/
Fast – check your site
https://developers.google.com/speed/
pagespeed/insights/
Fresh – what can you do?
THERE IS NO SUCH
THING AS #1
The top changes constantly.
Forget about being #1!
RESOURCES
What to look for in an SEO company
A typical social media plan
WHAT WAS I LOOKING
FOR?
The right tactics or established “best
practices” to meet my client’s needs
Best practices aren’t a secret
TIPS FOR HIRING A
NEW SEO
Who’s on your team? How do you work
on my project? How long have you been
together?
Can you talk to their other clients?
Can you move your site if you’re
unhappy? Really?
Can they show you data that supports
their ability to achieve marketing goals?
IF YOU LIKE YOUR
SEO
Look at things a new way. Get some new
numbers. Sessions and conversions in
your market area. Bounce report sorted
by worst to best. What needs to be
done?
Add prices to your site
Form on every page
Add user generated content throughout
HOW MUCH SHOULD
YOU SPEND?
4-6% to maintain current level
Up to 10-12% to grow
For a 1M practice, that’s about $50k
Depends on your practice age and
market
300% Rule (6 months, except for
awareness)
HOW DO I KNOW
THEY’RE DOING A GOOD
JOB?
Your site will reach a max level