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Integrating SEO & Ending the Siloed Marketing Approach
- 1. Integrating SEO & Ending the Siloed Approach Beau Pedraza SEO Lead
- 2. Talking Points • The Evolution of Digital Marketing & SEO • SEO Works BetterWhen It WorksTogether • Live in the Bayou City: PR & SEO in the Wild • Analytics & SEO: Lessons Learned • The Relationship Between SEO & Paid Search • SEO in 2017 &The Road Ahead • What’s Next? • Closing Thoughts
- 3. SEO Evolves Over Time • PPC
- 4. The Evolution of Search Since 2006, We’ve Seen: • The Rise of Mobile & Responsive Web Design • (not provided) Keyword Data for SEOs • Paid Ads…Paid Ads Everywhere… • Increased Webspam Fears • Google’s double standards on algorithmic refresh - unchanged • BMW in 2006 • Thumbtack in 2015
- 5. For Some, It’s Still 2006…
- 6. For Many, It’s 2016…
- 7. Ask Yourself This: How Should Businesses View SEO in 2016? • Since the rise of the Web in the 90s, new technologies consistently emerge. Search, Blogging, E-Commerce, Inbound Marketing, Digital Advertising, Social Media, Video – Each one began as its own entity, each with a specialized focus. • As Brands and their target audiences begin to engage with each other more and more in real-time, the need for each specialty to work with each other responsively has never been greater. • By making it easier for your digital marketing strategies & assets to work with each other quickly, your brand can compete in the current digital landscape.
- 8. SEO Works Better When Your Silos Come Together
- 9. A Bad Silo Strategy
- 10. The Issue: Why Are Siloed Channels Bad? • A good SEO strategy should always consider the other channels & disciplines that drive traffic and support organization goals. • By walling off your digital and traditional marketing & advertising strategies without strong lines of communication, you will never be able to respond to actionable data and insights at the speed of the Internet. • Having your digital assets complement each other means real-time response to emerging news, trends, crisis management, and allowing for these to benefit the organization’s bottom line.
- 11. SEO & Public Relations (or why crisis can be good) • PPC
- 12. Pi Pizza in the News
- 13. Pi Pizza: The Data Hmmm…
- 14. Takeaways from Pi Pizza Pi Pizza Received Hundreds of Social Mentions, but… • All news linked to their social media assets – Facebook and Yelp’s domain received positive benefits – Social linking provides short term benefits, but no long-term ones – The business itself received the brunt of the negativity with no gain from the publicity via linked citations. • Opportunities for next time? – PR response on website + Social Media plan – Reputation Management (Coupon, Specials in Response) – Analytics Tracking
- 16. Bad Press, Good Press…
- 17. Impact of SEO, Social and PR
- 18. Analytics + SEO, Social and PR Organic Traffic During Peak Post-Event, Referral Traffic ?
- 19. And then it made sense… Takeaways: • Former celeb guest made the news afterwards in unrelated story • Massive news story drives Search demand for their info • The site reached Page 1 of Google Search (Peak: US - #9) • They (Pos. 3) received 2x post-event traffic than the “Big Guest” (Pos. 4) • Possible correlation - increased ranking (and CTR) due to backlinks ?!?!?! Organic Traffic, Post-Event
- 20. Lessons Learned • Bad News, Good News – Let It Work For You. • How Fast Can You Respond? – Links have a freshness to them. – Big events mean responding fast • What Are We Leaving Out?
- 21. SEO & Paid Search • PPC
- 24. The Big PPC Question: Q: How can PPC and SEO work together? • New websites, new trends – AdWords testing of emerging trends • (not provided) means discovering keyword data in 2016 requires AdWords or third-party data – PPC data provides (keyword data) • Competition & Focus – High cost keywords vs surgical SEO focus • SEO + PPC = Increased Traffic – Drives awareness, increases footprint – Prevent PPC cannibalization
- 25. 2017 is Coming… Are You Ready for What’s Next? • Attribution Reporting
- 26. The Big PPC Question: Q: How can PPC and SEO work together? • We’ve gone over the history of SEO and how the constant changes come quickly, leaving many behind. • The vast majority of websites are not cutting edge. • As the need for integration become more urgent, focus on what each specialization brings to the table and think big. • I think of Zillow often – they aren’t just blogging about homes for sale, they’re speaking to the trends and writing about homebuyer habits based on regions and neighborhoods. • Most importantly, all opportunities are good opportunities.
- 27. 2017 is Coming… Are You Ready for What’s Next? • Attribution Reporting
- 28. Company: Contact: Email: Web: Twitter: Thank You Forthea Interactive Beau Pedraza bpedraza@forthea.com Forthea.com @forthea @beaupedraza
Editor's Notes
- Good afternoon. I’m Beau Pedraza, Lead SEO at Forthea Interactive and the luckiest man in the world: I work alongside people that challenge me daily, and I can’t imagine it being any other way. Worked in and around tech industries since 1998, if there are three things I’ve learned… 1- Digital is adapt or die as new standards emerge 2- Bad practices lead to distrust in our industry 3- Integration is always the future. Let’s dive in to why SEO is a good standalone product, but a better one when you combine your other strategies.
- I’d like to cover three things that keep my mind racing at night. One, let’s quickly cover where we’ve been and where we’re at now. Some of us are living in 2016, some of us are prepared for 2017. Others? *air force salute* Secondly, let’s take a look at LOCAL, REAL-TIME examples of how Search Engine Optimization works best when it works with the world around itself. Finally, let’s see what 2017 has in store for us. Sound good? Let’s go.
- Simply put, Google doesn’t sleep. Always been in the machine learning and AI business. Organic & Paid Search feed that need well. one year since Google dropped “Don’t Be Evil” as their motto…always did like the subtle nod to Asimov’s 3-Laws of Robotics – And with Google’s emerging technology, from the semantic web push to accelerated mobile pages for news plus Voice, it’s a great time to catch up with the Search Giant’s trends. First, let’s go back.
- I’ve seen technologies come and go, often dying a slow death as the old guard gives way to the new. Adoption of new tech by biz and brands can range from being fast to being downright glacial. For slower-moving businesses, bleeding-edge search practices often aren’t implemented until years later, once the trickle-down of information reaches the public knowledge base. If you’re just hearing about structured data markup or semantic search from your SEO SME, congratulations – they’re four years late to the party. //Quick side story (last two points) //* One of the biggest fears in the industry is receiving link penalty from bad links. $MM businesses have gone under because of deindexation from Google.
- My reputation can be sterling… But because there are so many so-called SEOs of the ninja and rock star variety out there who still do 2006-era keyword stuffing, or oversaturating a page with the intended target kw it’s imperative that people like me clear the air about the need for some serious change in how we do business. BTW – this real estate guy is in Aspen, if you didn’t know. For folks like him, it’s still 2006… (citation – garyfeldman.com)
- But for the rest of us, 2016 provides a benefit for search engines AND humans. Keyword stuffing, spamming hundreds of keywords in the footer of a webpage – those overcooked methods from a decade ago still show up But for my money, give me some time and maybe a developer and let me build you fast webpages built for mobile like AMP, or have your business implement structured data markup – (known as schema) – and display a knowledge graph designed to speed up the conversion process.
- Since the rise of the Web in the 90s, there isn’t a day that goes by where an industry disruptor is at risk of being disrupted. New technologies constantly emerge, and as we go from AOL keywords to Geocities to the modern mobile Web, competitive siloes form around the specializations that are created. So how should SEO work for an organization?
- Now I can optimize a website well. I’ve dedicated my working life to mastering the art of SEO, and I will always strive to be current, engaged, and provide the best that I have to give. But even for the strongest SEO, the end result of a business is to hit their goals – conversions, leads, and an exceptional return on investment – and if I told you that your business or brand could become even more competitive and responsive in the digital and social world, what would that be worth to you?
- If I say this too often, it’ll still not be enough. It’s not that you should have one person doing everything – hardly the case, specialization is still the best approach in 2016. What works best is when each silo can respond to actionable needs across the siloes fast.
- So it has to be asked: A specialized subject matter expert in each category, what’s the problem?
- Now let’s take a look at an example taking place a mile north of us as we speak, where an SEO and improved PR focus could do wonders.
- Our first example of a siloed approach comes to us straight from today’s local news. On September 24th, local pizza truck-turned-brick and mortar shop Pi Pizza received some unexpected publicity after a patron voiced their displeasure with the restaurant’s policy against open carry of firearms on the grounds of alcohol being served. While the initial review was deleted due to the reviewer not actually being a patron, the vitriol became much more intense due to the proprietor’s push-back. News sites both state-wide and nationally have linked to their Facebook and other social media assets extensively. Bloggers have taken to writing op-eds both in support and denouncing their business practices, and across social media, pleas from friends and patrons for positive reviews have largely been relegated towards the Facebook and Yelp platforms. What about their website, which along with Google Reviews drives in desktop and mobile searchers looking for localized pizza options?
- While the signals being generated from social media should never be discounted, it becomes obvious after running Majestic Site Explorer that Pi Pizza came into a news avalanche with zero benefit going towards its website. What does this mean? (The battle was waged on social media with zero link acquisition going towards their business.) Why is this important? (This will begin segue into Analytics section for deeper dive.)
- But to understand how SEO and Social work together, we’ll need more information. By having analytics data on hand, we can dive into the story behind the story. In this section, let’s see how PR, SEO, Analytics and Social Media come together to assist each other during crunch time, and what we learned.
- So let me tell you the story about an annual EVENT here in town. Somewhat well known, the EVENT brings in people from all over the state, but their aims have been to expand their coverage. This EVENT was involved in a lawsuit with a COMPETITOR over the usage of intellectual property. Covered by the media, many fans were divided and sides were taken. The COMPETITOR involved held their get-together and nothing seemed to go right. Financial issues led to featured presenters being unpaid, and when this happened, the other EVENT pounced. The EVENT reached out to parties unpaid y COMPETITOR and won a major victory both in the media but online as a result. This is an example of how Social, SEO, Public Relations and Analytics came in handy, and how a content strategy was the missing piece.
- Now that we have the basic story down, let’s look at the data. Both images are lined up by date: GSC (above) shows clicks in blue and impressions in red. Think of impressions as a barometer, showing any instance where a site’s asset appears in Google Search. Shown below is a snapshot of backlink acq from Majestic. During the run-up to the event, the amount of backlinks coming to the site was considerable, and when the event decided to make a move for the sake of great PR, you can see not just increases, but 400-500% leaps – all discussing the lawsuit, the event, and the great PR move made. We saw a surge in impressions, but due to timing, an expansive content strategy to feed the furnace wasn’t .
- When we jumped into analytics, I had some questions. One, because most of the guests were receiving backlinks, would that translate into something down the road? We saw that one big featured guest received a good amount of demand during the event, and a small amount of referral traffic afterwards. We then saw another guest with much less clout receiving more traction via referral. This second person is rarely in the news, so we wondered what was going on…
- We dug deep and learned that this person had made the news after our event. An obscure celebrity in 2016, this guest became relevant and demand for their information BOOMED. * Because they received backlinks in the post-event
- What are the lessons we’ve learned from Pi Pizza and the story of the event? Bad news, good news…There are opportunities everywhere. Look for the angles, the game hasn’t changed. Just the mediums. We’ve known this for years that not all backlinks are the same. Google sees newer links as a relevance indicator. Somewhere on the web there are bands and trends from 2006 with a lot of historic links, but few fresh ones. I’ve personally come to agree with Majestic Analytics that freshness is a 3 month affair, but seconds count when it comes to Social and PR. Think about how things come back in style – when 2006 comes back in style, new links will point to those talking points. And then it’ll be “fresh” again. Now, what are we missing from the equation?
- Now of course we’re going to cover the world of Paid Search. The original perceived rival & oft-joked mortal enemy of SEO, let’s quickly cover why PPC is my best friend.
- Ten years ago, this is what the search engine results page, or SERP, looked like. Funny story: My mother loves learning about what I do and after a decade of talking shop, she’s good enough to be a Junior SEO…but I still can’t convince her that people click on PPC ads.
- And this is what the search results page looks like today. Notice how clean it looks? Notice the first organic non-map search result is well beyond the fold?
- The big question asked often: “Well, why? What can they both do to benefit each other?” Speaking as an SEO, the answer is a HELL of a lot. New trends occur daily. Especially when it comes to how people speak. Wouldn’t you like to know more about emerging trends in French-tipped nails if you’re a brand manager for a beauty company? Ever tried to offer someone a “pop” in Houston? How about a Coke in Cheyenne, but then hand them a Sprite? How people speak and communicate is a challenge in and of itself, but to see what the current and emerging trends are is critical. *if laughter: Don’t laugh, that kind of info is how a great SEO earns their paycheck ;) * I mentioned this earlier, and for those unaware, in 2013, Google…. Some argue that our jobs are harder, but it’s made it more marketing-focused in some ways. With an AdWords campaign, that data is available. If you have a new site for dental services, your chances of ranking well is minimal coming out the gate. If you’re an attorney specializing in mesothelioma or asbestos litigation? Psh. By taking a strong SEO stance on specific keywords that have a higher cost with minimal competition, you can use both together to maximize your spend.
- The news will still be the same, only the players will change. Voice search is increasingly becoming a thing, and if you think it’s a fad, I’d like for you to meet my mom who still thinks nobody clicks ads. Integration of all channels and assets is still important. Speed will be taken to the next step with Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, which delivers news for now but is poised to become more widespread for micro-moments such as “I want to know/I want to go and I want to buy” Good news: Structured data markup (Schema) is still a thing and it helps tremendously. Schema allows for Google to understand what your website and brand are about, and as the search engine’s machine learning aims have taken a step forward with RankBrain, schema can help Google with understanding the nuances behind your business model. Schema also allows for your site to be prominently displayed for important queries and answers on search pages.
- ONE: From Social to PR to the world of PPC and emerging trends with Big Data, it’s easy to feel behind the curve. But what I love the most about our industry is that there is no curve. TWO: These include your direct competitors. THREE: This kind of content intrigues the high-high funnel shopper in the pre-discovery phase, and when the prospect is ready, they know where to go first. FOUR: LOOK FOR THE ANGLES. Thank you all for having me today, have a great day.
- The news will still be the same, only the players will change. Voice search is increasingly becoming a thing, and if you think it’s a fad, I’d like for you to meet my mom who still thinks nobody clicks ads. Integration of all channels and assets is still important. Speed will be taken to the next step with Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, which delivers news for now but is poised to become more widespread for micro-moments such as “I want to know/I want to go and I want to buy” Good news: Structured data markup (Schema) is still a thing and it helps tremendously. Schema allows for Google to understand what your website and brand are about, and as the search engine’s machine learning aims have taken a step forward with RankBrain, schema can help Google with understanding the nuances behind your business model. Schema also allows for your site to be prominently displayed for important queries and answers on search pages.
- For those I’m often reminded by the old commandment from Orwell’s Animal Farm – “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”