This document discusses metrics and reporting for SEO engagement. It provides examples of how an SEO manager at Adobe analyzes data to identify opportunities, develops strategies in collaboration with teams, measures impact, and reports findings. The SEO manager works to align SEO with business goals by optimizing content, addressing technical issues like 404 errors, localizing content for different regions, and leveraging tools from Adobe and other platforms to track KPIs and site performance. Regular reporting is used to showcase impact, get stakeholder buy-in, and guide future optimization efforts.

1. ©2013 | BrightEdge Technologies
Analytics that Matter:
>>> Metrics that Drive SEO Engagement
Kirill Kronrod | SEO Manager, Adobe Systems

2. Kirill is an SEO manager at Adobe Systems, driving
natural search strategy for Adobe.com Enterprise
segment products and technical SEO globally.
As part of the Global Demand Generation team, Kirill
delivers KPI-driven results including worldwide visits,
software trials, units sold, and revenue.
Kirill has an extensive experience with Adobe’s
SiteCatalyst and Discover platforms.
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3. Metrics that drive SEO
3
 Data-driven SEO engagement
 Reporting to communicate impact, drive business decisions
 Metrics that drive effective strategy: Search Impact Lifecycle

4. SEO Engagement
4
Execs
Writers
Web
Strategy
IT
Web
Production
Analytics
Global
Teams
(Loc)
Store
Teams
BU
PR &
Social
Direct
Mktg
Paid
Search
SEO
Team
 Align SEO with
stakeholder goals
 Work with teams
on driving KPIs
 Identify opps &
execute
 Report progress

5. Data-Driven SEO Engagement
5
Execs
Writers
Web
Strategy
IT
Web
Production
Analytics
Global
Teams
(Loc)
Store
Teams
BU
PR &
Social
Direct
Mktg
Paid
Search
SEO
Team
Rank, Bounce rate, conversion metrics
Align on strategy
based on data
Social activity &
SEO KPIs
Alignment on KPIs &
segments
Crawl rate, redirects,
errors, malware
Impact of content optimization
Crawl errors, indexing
(XML Sitemaps,
Robots.txt), redirects
Impact of localization optimization,
trends & prioritization
Top-level reporting
Messaging and
keyword-level data
Indexing, impact of
content & Tech SEO
Data sharing, cross-channel
optimization, testing

6. Reporting Process
 Align reports to answer key business questions
 Produce case studies and success stories to get buy-in
 Deliver actionable recommendations
 Start with aggregate data and drill down as needed:
Global report > Project reports > Keyword-level reports
 Holistic reporting dashboards: SEO as a part of marketing mix

7. One-slide Executive Summary
 Keep it simple
 Report on current trends
 Provide context
 Identify action items that support
SEO projects and indicate timelines

8. Project-level SEO Reporting (BU/LOB)
 Report on KPIs that drive
business decisions
 Define reporting format and
method of delivery
 Make sure reporting translates to
actionable recommendations
 Forecast impact
 Execute and track impact
Source: Adobe Discover

9. SEO Opportunities
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Top opportunities:
 Content
 Page optimization
 Linking
 Tech SEO
 Localization
 Social Media
Source: MOZ “Ranking factors - 2013” report (http://moz.com/blog/ranking-factors-2013)

10. Search Impact Lifecycle
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Change
Analysis
POVImplementation
Impact
New opportunity, i.e. algorithm
change, search trends, new tools
available
Assess, define enhancement
options, forecast impact
Impact vs difficulty, POV, get
buy-in from stakeholders
Implement
enhancements
- Produce case study
and communicate
- Share via Blogs, at
conferences
DeployIdentify additional
opportunities

11. Content Strategy: Aligning with BU
 Analyze data and identify
opportunities
 Define strategy based on data; i.e.
Non-branded KWs trends
 Focus: Non-branded optimization
Trends: Non-branded keywords
Source: Google Insights

12. Content Strategy: Aligning with BU
 Strategy: create content to support
optimization of Non-branded KWs
 Success metrics / case study:
 Rankings, Share of Voice
 Growth in Visits (300%), Units (160%)
 Total contribution to BU: Visits up from
4% to 44%, Revenue from 3% to 21%
 Next steps: identify additional opps
Source: Adobe Discover, BrightEdge

13. Technical SEO Process
 SEO Best Practices presentation for the team
 Identify Technical SEO enhancements opportunities
 Prioritize: SEO impact vs difficulty of implementation (example below)
 Implement enhancements
 Measure impact and share case studies with stakeholders

14. 14
Tech SEO: HrefLang XML Sitemaps / Geo Targeting
Geo targeting challenge: Geo sites outranked by the US or predominant language version sites:
 US pages outrank UK, Australian, Canadian and other English language pages in Geo search results
 Swiss German and Austrian pages had to compete with German pages
This happens for two main reasons:
 Global pages have higher authority, more inbound links (very important SEO ranking factors)
 Google treats Geo sites as competing duplicate content (assigns lower relevancy or excludes from index)
Solution: HrefLang (language/country) annotations to XML Sitemaps
Source: BrightEdge

15. 15
Tech SEO: HrefLang XML Sitemaps / Geo Targeting
Success metrics / case study (pilot UK product pages):
 Significant ranking improvement in Google UK (Number of UK pages
ranking on Page 1 on Google UK increased from 8 to 113)
 Average daily Visits: +720%
 Average daily Revenue: +416%
Next steps:
 Expand based on prioritization
Source: Adobe Discover, BrightEdge

16. 16
Tech SEO: 404 Errors and Redirects
404 (pages not found) errors impact User Experience and SEO
 Identify 404 URLs (SiteCatalyst, GWT)
 Identify redirect destination
 Request redirects
 Success metrics / case study:
 29% decrease in monthly 404 page views
 900 incremental Units sold each month
Source: Dummy data (actual data would be from Adobe SiteCatalyst, Google Webmaster Tools)

17. Localization SEO Process
 Identify localization opportunities
 Prioritization based on data (i.e. RPV for top tier countries, Visits trends for
emerging markets)
 Localize
 Measure impact and provide case studies to stakeholders
Source: Dummy data (actual data would be from Adobe discover)

18. 18
SEO Localization Impact Analysis
 Strategy: localize and optimize in
Geos based on prioritization
 Success metrics / case study:
 Increase in rankings in Geo SEs
 Growth in Visits, Units, Revenue
 Next steps: additional Geo
optimization based on data
Source: BrightEdge, Adobe Discover (Entry Page report, 18 localized product pages, EMEA)

19. 19
Avoid Common Mistakes
 Making decisions based on a small data sample
 Analyzing too much data (analysis paralysis)
 Working with biased data (i.e. seasonal trends)

20. Questions
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Kirill Kronrod
SEO Manager, Adobe Systems
e-mail: kronrod@adobe.com