NAVIGATING THE DYNAMIC LANDSCAPE OF SEARCHSteve Krull – Founder, CEO

AGENDA

Introduction

The SEO Investment

SEO Best Practices After Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird

Optimization has Evolved

The Secret Sauce of Content Marketing

Search Engine Real Estate

Test, Measure, and Adjust

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ABOUT ME

CEO, Be Found Online

Industry Veteran (2003)

Recent Speaking engagements

Internet Summit - 2013 Bright Edge Share - 2013 CFE Media - 2013

Tireless advocate for Autism related causes

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THE SEO INVESTMENT

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THE SEO INVESTMENT

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SEO BEST PRACTICES AFTER PANDA, PENGUIN AND HUMMINGBIRD

SHIFTS IN SEO

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Implications in 2014Google Rewards Websites With Optimized ContentThe need to create quality, engaging, shareable, linkable content is now a major criteria for website success.

Changes in SEOGoogle Panda (2011) - filter “low quality content”

Google Penguin (2012) - discourage / punish spam

Google Humingbird (2013) – focusing on user intent

Secure Search (2013) - shift in the keyword model market to a content-centric mode

500+ small changes!

THE EVOLUTION OF SEO

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All About Keywords

Pages &Topics

SEO focus has changed and will continue to evolve. Companies need to constantly adapt their strategies to align with new algorithms.

Source: Forbes

OPTIMIZATION HAS EVOLVED

OPTIMIZATION HAS EVOLVED

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Technical

Indexation

URLs / Navigatio

n

Content

Pages

Connections

Citations

Authority

Mentions / Shares

These strategies across page, content, search, and social set you up for success in 2014.

TECHNICAL SEO IN A NUTSHELL

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HTML Elements

HTTP Status Codes

Hyperlinks

HTTP Status Codes

Webmaster Tools

Canonicalization

Robot Control Syntax

Important User-agents

Google+

Google+ Authorship

Google+ Publisher

Pagination

Mobile Web Development

Microdata

Sitemap syntax

Facebook Open Graph

Technical SEO elements make a site crawlable and search engine friendly

HTML Elements

Webmaster Tools

Canonicalization

Microdata

Robot Control Syntax

Mobile Web Development

POST HUMMINGBIRD CONSIDERATIONS

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Onsite

No index

Indexation

Canonical tag

Bot hearding

Microdata

Offsite

Backlink Mining

Content Marketing

Google+ Authorship

Product info and

reviews

THE SECRET SAUCE OF CONTENT MARKETING

HOW MANY?

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.

Quick Show of Hands…

I have a Documented Content Strategy?

<< This guy thinks you need one and I happen to agree

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT – SITE FIRST

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CONTENT DEVELOPMENT – SITE FIRST

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WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING IN 2014?

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Visibility, exposure, authority and citations (the new link) are gained when marketing content through an SEO lens.

• Write articles• Create industry resources• Encourage reviews• Interviews• Promote brand messages• Create contests• Engage reporters and authors• Reclaim lost links • Claim unlinked brand citations

Build relationships - Engage communities Build Value - Not Links

NETWORK LINKS EXAMPLE

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Network Color Key:

You!

Brand

Publisher

Customers.

CONTENT STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

No Science or Rockets Required

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Calendar Development Distribution

Build a Content Calendar to plan ideas and track progress.

Research, Write, and Optimize targeted content pieces for

audience personas

Share, promote, and engage through company Blog and Social Media channels and

Outreach.

DISCOVER LOST GOLD WITH BACKLINK MINING

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• Respected sites drive send qualified customers.

• Fresh content, mentions and backlinks impact visibility and traffic

• Replace links to capture the value of the link and the page

• Refresh content that is incomplete, or dated

Content Links

RevenueTraffic

Refreshed pages lead to strong signals of value and credibility to search engines.

Eureka!

REAP WHAT YOU SOW

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Leverage Analytics to ensure your content marketing efforts are a success

SEARCH ENGINE REAL ESTATE

“CLICK & MORTAR”

SEARCH REAL ESTATE

Coverage increases the odds of getting a Cost Effective click!

• Organic• Paid Search• Locations (G+ Local)• PLAs

Source: Moz

LOCAL SEARCH BEST PRACTICES

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Maximize local presence and in-store sales!

Site

Claim and update local profiles with Name, Address, Phone on search engines, top directories, and IYPs

Enhance profiles with content such as descriptions, categories, logos, etc.

Encourage reviews by promoting through marketing channels.

Take control of reviews by monitoring and responding.

Build unique pages for each retail location. Create microdata for the location information on each page.

Use paid search tactics to drive consumers in your store.

Get consumers one-step closer to purchase

Profiles Reviews Paid Search

TEST, MEASURE, AND ADJUST

WHAT TO TEST & WHY?

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Increase Visitors CR AOV Sales Revenue

Baseline 100,000 1.50% $100 1,500 $150,000

Traffic 110,000 1.50% $100 1,650 $165,000

Conv Rate 100,000 1.65% $100 1,650 $165,000

AOV 100,000 1.50% $110 1,650 $165,000

LET’S GET TO IT

Not testing for Traffic

Not testing for Rank

Testing for Action

Testing for Engagement

Testing for Conversion

Testing for Revenue

I CAN DO WHAT WITH PLAS?

STAY INBOUNDS

Google Rules for Testing

Cloaking is always bad

Use the Canonical tag

302 Redirects are your friend

Keep It Short

WRAP IT (SEO) UP WITH REPORTING

SIDE BAR - MULTI-DEVICE CHALLENGES

Only 10% of media interactions are non-screen based (magazine, newspaper, radio)

On average, we spend 4.4 hours of our leisure time in front of screens each day

Out time online is spread between four primary devices

• Base: All Device Interactions – PC/Laptop (3817); Smartphone (6057); Tablet (542); TV (3592). Q. Which of the following did you use? Q. What else did you use at the same time? Note: Respondents were asked to consider printed hard copies of Newspaper and Magazine.

Device Preferences

CHALLENGES FOR MARKETERSThis creates new attribution challenges for you as purchase

paths become more complex. Many consumers start their research on one device or browser but end up buying on another.

Moment Search Conversion Report

THE FUTURE OF ANALYTICS NOW (?)

Past Measurement

Future Measurement

TAKEAWAYS Panda, Penguin & Hummingbird didn’t change the game – they made it fair

The world of SEO has changed, move beyond block & tackle optimization and into technical and into content

Location, Location, Location - Gain a competitive advantage by owning Real Estate at the top of the search results

Paid Search is still the best platform to test and evaluate proposed changes

Test SEO with PLAs

Use a testing tool as an easy and (in)expensive way to test and optimize landing pages

Stay current or work with someone who is!

QUIZ

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Audience Participation

Great Prizes

Easy Questions

Win a BFO “Teddy”

Which of the following should be optimized:

A.TrafficB.ConversionC.AOVD.All of the above

QUIZ

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PSST…Over Here

When measuring all of your marketing programs, what metric matters most?

A.TrafficB.ConversionsC.Revenue

QUIZ

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SEO traffic is more valuable than Paid Search Traffic.

A.TRUEB.FALSEC.It Depends

QUIZ

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Always use the manufacturer’s product description.

A.TRUEB.FALSE

QUIZ

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Thank You!

Find Me:

Steve@BeFoundOnline.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevekrull

773.904.1182