Content For Customers Search, Social, Content

Content For Customers:
Search, Content, Social
Janet Driscoll MillerPresident & CEOSearchMojoElizabeth SheaPresident & CEOSpeakerBox Communications

Start With Some Math…
Search
+ Content
+ Social Media
= Leads
* According to HubSpot, 2009, Inbound Marketing Software Provider

Content Strategies for Government
Start with the keywords! Identify, rank, execute against. Identify where your customers live online. Put a search plan in place.
Take content inventory: Where are the gaps? Create, revise, disseminate, track.
Leverage social media tools to optimize search, drive leads back to site, landing pages.
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Keyword Development

Selection of Keywords, Content
Research what your keywords turn up
Talk to customers about key messaging
Develop a “short list” for inbound links
Not too broad, not too niche

BASELINE

Optimizing Your Search

Keys to High Search Engine Rankings
Select good keywords
Not too broad (“software”), not too specific (“virtualization software for the public sector”)
Site content edits
Include the keywords in the text of the website
Keyword Density: percentage of times that a keyword appears in page text
Site structure
Certain technologies can “block” search engine bots
Inbound links
Serves as a measure of site “popularity” on a subject
Ongoing monitoring

Optimizing Website Pages
Keyword should appear in:
Filename
Title tag
Meta keyword, Meta description
Bold text
Link text
Overall content of the page
Keyword Density
Percentage of times a keyword appears in the total page content
Ask for links to your website from partners, etc.

Optimizing Blogs
Host the blog on your domain
Example: blog.search-mojo.com
NOT: search-mojo.wordpress.com
Use SEO pluginsto optimize title tags, etc.
Wordpress: All in One SEO Pack
Promote blog content to get viral inbound links
Register blog with blog directories (i.e. Technorati)

Articles
If you own the copyright:
Post articles on your website or blog
Post to article distribution sites
Creates inbound links from those that republish your article
Further establishes your subject matter expertise across the web

Whitepapers
Submit to whitepaper submission sites
For maximum SEO benefit, focus on sites that link to the paper on YOUR website

Images
Especially important if images really showcase your offering
Example: National Geographic
Name the image file with the keyword as the filename. For multiple keyword phrases, separate terms with a dash (-) or an underscore (_). Example: <imgsrc=”/images/keyword.jpg”>
Ensure that the alt text of the image tag contains the target keyword. Also consider incorporating a title tag on the image tag.Example: <imgsrc=”/images/bear.jpg” alt=”A bear eats a fish.” title=”A bear eats a fish.”>
Incorporate the keyword into the page content where the image resides.
If the image has an enlargement version, ensure that the link to the enlarged version contains the keyword in the anchor text.
Ensure that the surrounding text on the page uses the keyword for that image.
Append your keyword with the word “picture” or “pictures”.

Videos
Include the word “video” in your keyword when possible. Many people searching specifically for video will use this term with their search phrase.Example: Polar Bear Video
Name the video file with the keyword as the filename. For multiple keyword phrases, separate terms with a dash (-) or an underscore (_). Example: <imgsrc=”/videos/keyword.jpg”>
If Flash is used as a player model, be sure to also embed the video in the non-Flash page version, contained in the <noscript> tag.
Include the keyword in any video meta data when possible, such as titles, descriptions and keyword tags.
Include the keyword in the anchor text for links to the video. Example: <a href=”/videos/polar_bear_video.mpg”>keyword</a>
Try to include the keyword as much as possible in the page linking to that video, using standard SEO techniques.
Incorporate your video into a video sitemap or an mRSS feed. Information on how to build one can be found at: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=80472

Webinars/Podcasts
Promote events through various event sites
Provide a registration page ON your website
Archive, archive, archive!
Creates viral inbound links to content
Register archived content links with webcast and podcast directories

Press Releases
Distribute press releases online
Example: PRWeb
Make sure that you use SEO keywords as the anchor text on your press release links

Why is Content So Important to Search Engines?
How does the engine know WHAT your website is about if it cannot READ it on the site?
Site content should contain keywords/phrases relevant to your messaging and offerings
IMPORTANT: Search terms and brand terms are not ALWAYS equal
Example: “certified used vehicles” vs. “used cars”
“used cars” searched 600% more
Incorporate non-attractive keywords by spinning them in content
Example: “Our certified used vehicles are better than regular used cars – each vehicle has passed a 20-point safety inspection.”
If you don’t want to use a keyword on your website, maybe you shouldn’t be optimizing for it!

It’s Not Just AboutWritten Content Either…
Google Universal Search
Mix of many types of content in web search results

How Important Are “Inbound” Links?
The most important ranking factor for Google
Good content can create viral, inbound links

Which Links Are Most Valuable?
Is a link from Government Computer News more valuable than Federal Computer Week?
Check PageRank
GCN: 6/10
FCW: 7/10
PageRank is a measurement of inbound links to that page/site.
Does the link contain your keyword in the anchor text?
Bottom line: Treat links like PR efforts.
If you’d want press there, you’d want a link from there too!

Social Media
If you’re not on Twitter, you should be!
Twitter links affect SEO rankings
Get a Twitter ID for company
Tweet news, events, blog posts, etc.
Use links back to your own website to help SEO
Facebook and LinkedIn also helpful for marketing, but have less impact on SEO

Content Development

What Qualifies as Content?
Website
Search-optimized press releases
eBooks
Blog comments
Twitter feeds
Photos/Videos (with keyword tags)
Blog Posts
Articles in publications/blogs
Surveys
Product Reviews
Whitepapers
Social conversations

Marketing Strategies
Outbound
Marketing
Inbound
Marketing
Press release pickups
Article Syndication
Editorial coverage
Link from Twitter
Viral Campaigns
(e)Mail Call-to-action
Collateral Leavebehind
Advertising
Direct Mail
Tradeshows
Customer

Content For Customers Search, Social, Content

by Katie Hanusik on Oct 28, 2009

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Content For Customers Search, Social, Content — Presentation Transcript