Growing Your ReachUsing Technology for SEO

BlogHer HandmadeSeptember 15, 2011

Connie Bensen@cbensenSeptember 15, 2011

Global Marketing

Connie Bensen

Community Management and Strategy http:CommunityStrategist.com

Global Marketing

Know Your Audience• Who are your crafts for? (audience)• What are they looking for? (keywords)• What supplies do you need (content)• Putting it together (crafting)• Tools to use (free technology)

Global Marketing

SEO BasicsWhat do search engines prefer?Search engines rank websites on two factors:1. Content and keywords (on-page)2. Inbound links to your site (off-page)Two types of search:3. Paid Search: Most common is Pay Per Click (PPC). The price

increases with the popularity of the term. (Google Adwords & Facebook Ads)

4. Organic (or natural) Search: The phenomenon of ranking in search results due to keyword match and number of links to website. This is free!Research shows that people are 75% more inclined

to click on organic results vs paid. (Hubspot)

Global Marketing

A Pattern for Blinging Out Your Blog1. Gather list of Keywords - Tools2. Optimized Blog – On Page SEO & Off Page SEO3. Content & Editorial Calendar4. Engage, share & network5. Refine keywords & measure

Global Marketing

Keywords andTools

Global Marketing

Keyword Research => Market Research

Know Your Audience via Keyword research– What people are interested in– Relevance and reach– Insight into actual language– Competition and authority

Free Tools – KeywordDiscovery.com– Wordstream.com– SEMRush.com– Google Adwords, Insights & Trends– Facebook Ads

 

Global Marketing

KeywordDiscovery.com1.Create a Free Account2.Offers ability to drill in to terms on left (results show in right column)

Global Marketing

WordStream.comThese free tools are located in the middle of the bottom of the page.

Free Niche Tool

Free Keyword Tool

Global Marketing

SEMRush.com

Volume indicates challenge to rank for SEO Provides niche ideas

Global Marketing

Adwords.Google.com1. Search by word, phrase or URL2. Uncheck ‘Broad” and check ‘Exact’3. Star items and they are collected on the right

Global Marketing

Common Mistake: A Keyword List of the most common termsHow to Avoid that:1. Consider many avenues (build a broad list)2. Use thesaurus.com to find synonyms for your main terms3. Find high-traffic phrases that are less competitive4. Spy on your competition and look at their titles, meta tags, and content

Use add-ons for Firefox or Chrome5. Use BackLinkWatch.com and the URL to see pages linking to the site &

anchor textKnitting

types of yarn specific types of items (socks, baby items, sweaters, etc) techniques gift giving demographics: men, children

Go Broad Rather than Narrow

Global Marketing

Reverse Engineer Facebook Ads1.Facebook.com/Advertising2.Click on ‘Create Ad’3.Type any word in “Body’; Click on ‘Continue’ at bottom4.Type the topic in the ‘Precise Interests’ field 5.Watch the dropdown as additional words appear and the respective

audiences6.Click on the right to add additional terms

Global Marketing

Google Insights for Search

Global Marketing

Google Trends

Global Marketing

Behind the Scenes

Global Marketing

On-Page SEO1.Try Website Grader (www.websitegrader.com) to see how your site

appears to search engines2.Use keywords for:

– Content– Page title– URL – Tags– Headings

3.Put keywords in the invisible places on your site– Meta-tags– Alt-text on images

Global Marketing

Off Page SEO1. Build more links within context

Anchor text: the text that is hyperlinked to another page on your site2. Encourage inbound links from other sites into yours3. Link building tips

– Submit your website to directories like Yahoo! and Business.com– Build relationships with others in your industry (blogs)– Create compelling tools and content (that people will share & link back to)

– freebies

Global Marketing

Content andEditorial Calendar

Global Marketing

Content is King1.Interesting content is not enough2.Need to focus on people that are interested in your topic

– Use keyword research for ideas– Find related words – Create compelling headlines

Global Marketing

Engage, Share andNetwork

Global Marketing

Join the Community1.Read industry blogs

– Set up Google reader & subscribe to RSS feeds2.Comment

– Add a point, a useful link, ask a question or disagree3. Write

– Use your own domain (not blogger.com or typepad.com)– Find blogging software (MS LiveWriter)– Frequency of once a week

4. Topic Ideas– Lists– Recent experiences– Answer questions received– Comment on other blog posts– Convert a press release

5. Promote on Social Sites

.

Global Marketing

Share1. Help Others

– Answer questions– Be helpful

2. Publish everywhere3. Monitor what others publish and promote it

– Use Tweetdeck4. Use shareable sites

– Flickr– YouTube– Podcasts– Slideshare

Global Marketing

Refine Keywords and Measure

Global Marketing

Web & Social AnalyticsBlog metrics Number of blog visitors Number of subscribers SEO • rankings Technorati blog rank. Number of leads and customers from blogSocial Media metrics Del.icio.us bookmarks Inbound links Facebook fans, Twitter followers, connections on LinkedInSEO metrics Number of inbound links Keyword rank over time and compared to competition

 

Global Marketing

Make Keywords Are Your BLING!

SEOMoz.com

Global Marketing

Thank you!

Connie BensenConnie_Bensen@Dell.com

@cbensenhttp://slideshare.net/conniebensenhttp://CommunityStrategist.com