Online Marketing SummitSEATTLE | JUNE 14, 2010

Making the Most of Natural Search:The Four Pillars of a Strategic SEO Program

Jonathon D. ColmanInternet Marketing Program Manager

Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

REI: Recreational Equipment, Inc.www.REI.com | @REI_Coop | Facebook.com/REI

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The natural search business case• Drives at least 75% of clicks on search engine results pages

• Nearly 7 out of 10 searchers only click on natural results

• Top three organic listings seen by 100% of all searchers• Just 50% for top paid listing

• Only 8% of searchers click past the third page of organic results

• Searchers equate high organic ranking with brand trust, reputation, and relevancy

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SEO Pillar #1:

Audience

Different searchers have different needs Over 6,000 searches are performed each second in the US, but:• Not everyone knows you exist • Not everyone knows what they’re looking for• Not everyone is ready to buy

And:• Some searchers are already familiar with you• Some searchers do know exactly what they’re looking for• Some searchers are ready to buy right now

Major types of search queriesInformational queries: cover a broad topic(s) with many results• Ex. “Social network”

Navigational queries: find a particular entity, brand, web site• Ex. “Facebook”

Transactional queries: make a purchase or perform any action• Ex. “How to avoid my Mom on Facebook LOL”

Structured queries: includes Boolean or other search operators• Ex. “your AND mom site:facebook.com”

Context: where does your audience search?

What are all of these searchers

looking for?

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Awareness

Engagement

Research

Purchase

Each type of visitor needsto be directed to differentcontent to meet their needs

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This page is intended for use by people who are interested in cycling but need to learn more in order to figure out how they want to engage in riding a bike.

To attract that audience, this page should be optimized for broad terms like “cycling” and “bikes”.

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This page is intended for use by people who are interested in starting to ride their bike and need help learning how to begin.

To attract that audience, this page should be optimized for specific words attached to cycling and learning like “getting started”.

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This page is intended for use by people who are ready to try bicycle commuting to and from work.

To attract that audience, this page should be optimized for phrases like “bicycle commuting”.

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This page is intended for use by people who are ready to research the purchase of a commuter bike or to buy one right now.

To attract that audience, this page should be optimized for the product and category terms.

Key takeaways• Focus on meeting your visitors’ needs• Optimize content for different types of inbound traffic• Help your visitors advance through the funnel• Not everyone’s ready to buy, but be ready for those who are

Advanced tips:• Offer engagement opportunities to top-of-funnel visitors

• Videos, downloads, quizzes, checklists, etc.• Use web analytics to track where visitors drop out of your content flow• Always Be Testing: conduct testing of landing pages to learn what drives

conversion, stickiness, and return visits

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SEO Pillar #2:

On-Site Content

What’s the anatomy of a web page?• Different for humans and for search engines• Humans have a full visual experience of web content• Search engines have a… different user experience

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The homepage for the Seattle Sounders is visually compelling and engaging…

…but a search engine can only see the text, links, and code driving the page without bells and whistles.

The takeaway for the Sounders is to make their pages as accessible and as relevant as possible for humans… and for search engines.

What can’t search engines see?• Flash, Javascript, AJAX, or other client-side programming

• But they’re getting better at it

• Content in images, audio, and video• Progress is being made here as well

• Password-protected content

• Content hidden behind a login or a form field

• Most dynamic widgets and applications

• Any other content you purposefully block (i.e., robots.txt)

• Off-line content (duh)

What can search engines see?• We know of over 200 factors that search engines consider

when evaluating a page, including…

• <title> elements• <meta> elements• <link> canonical element• Navigation links• Links in body copy• Anchor text in links• Inbound & outbound links• Nofollowed links• Headers

• URL structure and content• CSS• Site speed• Server response header• Media types• ALT attribute text• Structured information• Metadata• Content! (duh)

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High

Low

High volume,low conversion

Low volume,high conversion

Cost

, com

petiti

on

Keyword popularity,search volume

General phrases:“cycling”, “bikes”

Even more descriptive phrases:“how to repair a flat tire”

2-4 word phrases:“road bike reviews”, “bike to work”

The “Long Tail” of Search Marketing

Adapted from an Elliance infographic

Relevancy factors in your content• Matches your visitors’ interests and intents• Original and unique• Literal and specific• Provides a compelling user experience

This is an REI.com product page for a popular backpacking stove. How is it optimized for relevancy?

Original, detailed, and descriptive product information written in language that our customers use.

Detailed specifications and the names of product attributes add additional value.

User-generated reviews leverage the passion of your customers while adding transparency…

…and relevancy for additional keywords that customers actually use while searching the web.

All of the content on your pages plays a role in driving relevancy, which can lead to higher rankings and more traffic.

Key takeaways• Optimize content experience for humans• Optimize content access for search engines• Optimize content relevancy to drive visibility and engagement

Advanced tips:• Use keyword research tools to understand customer demand for terms• Use Flash text replacement techniques to add beauty without sacrifice• Don’t fragment relevancy by splitting content into too many pages• Socialize your content creation to drive transparency, bring customers into

your brand, and build additional SEO value

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SEO Pillar #3:

Site Structure

Questions and answers• So you have great content – now what?• How do you get search engines to find and crawl through your

site?• How do you prioritize some pages above others?• How do you optimize pathways through your site for users

and search engines?

The answer: Links.

Links are signs of trust For a search engine, links from one site to another are like a vote of confidence and trust. If a page on Site A links to a page on Site B, the page on Site B can be said to be “a trusted resource” of value to visitors of Site A.

Page onSite A

Page onSite B

Link“I trust you!”

Search engine index

Discovery and discoverability Search engines index the entire Web by following link after link to page after page of content. Search engines can’t find brand new pages because there aren’t any links pointing at them.

Strongly interlinked sitewith numerous links

New pages without links areisolated from search engines

Links

Trust aggregates into authorityAs search engines index the Web, they count one-way, inbound links to each page online. Pages with more links can be said to be more authoritative because more individual sites trust their content resources.

Page on Site A

Five inbound links

Page onSite B

Ten inbound links= more authority

The importance of navigation to SEO• Moves users and search engines through your site

• Signals the importance of your content to search engines

• Shows search engines the flow of meaning through content

• Focuses your authority on strategic content of your choosing

Your homepage has more authority than any other page on your site – use it to link to deeper content to focus search engine attention!

Smart navigation pays attention to context – choices should change to suit the customer’s needs and to further distribute authority.

Faceted navigation is based on sorting through content attributes – a win for users that also helps you target more specific keywords.

Key takeaways• Links are the means by which search engines crawl the web• New content can’t be discovered unless you link to it• Navigation help users and search engines find content• Use your navigation to focus search engine authority

Advanced tips:• Provide an XML sitemap to help ensure that all your content gets crawled• Build faceted navigation/sorting to benefit user experience• Use Google Webmaster Tools to help identify duplicate content

• Use the canonical <link> element to signal duplicate content to search engines

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SEO Pillar #4:

Off-Site Factors

External links and citationsGood for traffic and even better for SEO – use them to:• Build your brand awareness• Gain access to new, established audiences• Help search engines find/re-find your site• Drive increased visibility in search engine results• Make your SEO program more pro-active and agile

• 24% – Trust/authority of the host domain• 22% – Link popularity of the specific page• 20% – Anchor text of external links= 66% of overall ranking algorithm is dependent on links!

How much do external links matter?

Where should(n’t) you get links to your site?Not all links are created equal – you can drive quality links from:• Sites related to your market or subject area• Sites where your users are actively engaged• Sites where your competitors already have links

Some links can hurt you – try to avoid driving links from:• Sites where you have to pay to list a link• “Bad neighborhoods” (also don’t link to these)

Link sourcesGeneral directories,

organizations, and classifieds

Blogs, forums,profiles, and e-mail lists

Niche directories, articlesites, and small publishers, etc.

Basic social media,PR and partnerships

Key influencers,advanced social media

Highestauthority sites

Easy

Difficult

Adapted from a chart by AudetteMedia

How can you drive more links to your siteLink-building starts with content and continues with outreach:• Provide genuinely useful content that exists nowhere else• Build a new tool that’s valuable for your audience• Feature content from external authorities• Hold a contest with awards for your users• Create a blog on your site and respond to timely news• Reach out to influencers who are passionate about you• Pitch your content to publishers, bloggers and media contacts• Leverage your social media outlets

Engage your audience by asking questions that matter to them – you’ll drive both engagement and links back to your content.

Create Top 10 lists and utility-focused content that provides a useful service for your die-hard audience members.

Hold a contest that incentivizes online user participation with a creative pay-off that’s valuable and meaningful for your audience.

Create applications based on your site content that provide a useful service for your audience – then build buzz to drive links.

Drive awareness and focus attention through direct communication with your audience using your social media channels.

Key takeaways• What happens off your site is just as important (if not more

so!) than what happens on your site• Developing great content is your first step into link-building• Link-building opportunities are everywhere – get started now!

Advanced tips:• Use tools like Open Site Explorer to track your (and competitors’) links• Use social media outlets like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. to drive link-

building outreach and viral growth• Develop “link-bait”, engaging content that’s so good and useful (or

entertaining) that other sites just have to link to yours• Track social media mentions to develop new contacts for link outreach

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What Have We Learned?

In Conclusion

Conclusion: What have we learned?The four pillars of a strategic, customer-focused SEO program:• Targeting your audience• Building accessible, relevant on-site content• Optimizing your site structure for people and search engines• Driving attention to your site with off-site factors like links

Conclusion: What have we learned?Your key takeaways:• Do what’s best for the customer and focus on user experience…• But keep in mind that search engines are content consumers, too• Strive for uniquity and specificity and avoid ambiguity and generality• Use your navigation and links to your advantage• Solicit links from your audience and from external sites

Advanced tips:• Talk to each other: meet, listen, network, publish, speak, share• Never be afraid of failing — always be afraid of not learning

60 resources for growing your SEO knowledgeIndustry news & blogs- Search Engine Land- Search Engine Watch- Google Webmaster Central- Yahoo Search Marketing blog- Bing Webmaster Center blog- Matt Cutts- SEOmoz- SEOBook- Search Engine Journal- TopRank- WebmasterWorld- Sphinn- ClickZ

Books- SEO For Dummies- SEO: An Hour a Day- The Art of SEO- Web Analytics: An Hour a Day- Search Engine Visibility- Anything by Peter Morville

Tools, tools, tools…- Google Webmaster Tools- Bing Webmaster Center- Yahoo Site Explorer- Google AdWords Keyword Tool- SEOBook Keyword Tool- Google Insights for Search- Search-based Keyword Tool- Google rich snippets testing tool- SEOmoz tools- Open Site Explorer- Majestic-SEO tools- Raven SEO tools- SEO-Browser- Xenu Link Sleuth- Firebug and YSlow

Conferences- Online Marketing Summit!- Search Marketing Expo (SMX)- Search Engine Strategies (SES)- Pubcon

Tactical approaches- In-house SEO guide- Search ranking factors (2010)- Local search- Adobe Flash & SEO- AJAX & SEO- Flash text replacement- Site speed- SEO for video- XML sitemaps- Robots.txt- Rich snippets/microformats- Developer’s SEO cheatsheet- Link-building tips (Matt Cutts)- HTML <meta> tagging- CSS and SEO- Analytics- Social media and SEO- Social media optimization- Worst practices for SEO

Hey! You probably know of many other great resources. Help us out by sharing them with others so that we can all learn together.

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Let’s continue learning together. Pleasecontact me with questions or comments:

Many thanks!

• Jonathon D. Colman, jcolman@rei.com• Twitter @jcolman• Portal: http://flavors.me/jcolman• Profile: Google

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