Within this presentation, three digital marketing experts (Kevin Bekker, Keith I. Marszalek, Jennifer Schuyler) share the most common mistakes they find when businesses attempt to market within the online space. The team focuses on following: -How to choose a website -How to structure a Website -Website page markup -Local business listings -Website tracking and analytics -Content marketing (branded and SEO) -Content distribution -Paid & organic search -How to play by the rules -Uncovering search competitors -Conquesting search competitors -Social media -Aggregating reliable news in social -Social Influencers -Social engagement -Social rule of thirds This presentation was created for the @IdeaVillage Media X Cohort dinner. Presented 3/14/18 @nolamediagroup @kevinbekker

1. 1
Competing in the Online Space
By The Lab @ NMG
IdeaX Cohorts + NOLA Media Group
Presented by: Jennifer Schuyler, Keith I. Marszalek, & Kevin Bekker
Email: lab@nola.com

2. 2
A valuable
partner
• NOLA Media Group produces
NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune,
Louisiana’s largest source for news
and information.
• We are local marketing specialists
here to help you grow your business
through custom advertising solutions.
• Our parent company Advance, the 5th
largest publisher in the U.S.,
provides best-in-class technology
that creates better results for our
advertisers.

3. 3
Top
Things You
Should Know About
Your Website Social
Media
Content Paid & Organic Search

4. 4
THE LAB
@
NMG
Does Your
Website
Work?
Do You Have an
Online Voice
Are You
Winning or
Losing Online?
The Lab at NOLA Media Group specializes in
comprehensive digital marketing strategy and
tactics. We have expertise in data; behavioral,
contextual and geographic audience targeting; SEM
and SEO; market conquesting; mobile device ID
targeting; analytics; web site architecture; email
marketing; CRM data analysis and business
intelligence; attribution strategies; social media
management; market survey tools, all things content,
and creative services.
Jen Keith Kevin
Are you
positioned for
the future?

5. 5
YOUR 24/7
EMPLOYEE
(WEBSITE)

6. 6
Be In the Know:
• Avoid FREE
• Own your Domain
• Own your website (content and
hosting)
• Can the site be moved?
• The Website should be SEO Ready
• Define SEO Ready
• Ask a 3rd party (SEO) to vet website
vendors.
• Utilize testimonial websites
• Fully-responsive site optimized for
desktop, mobile and tablet across all
web browsers
• Design for mobile devices first
• Implementation of Google Analytics
for site metrics
• Treat your website as an employee
• What should you pay this
employee?
• Assign goals
• Plan future investment
Choosing
The Right
Website

7. 7
SITE (SEO)
CONTENT
In the Know:
• Content pieces should be anywhere from 300 to
500 to 900 words. Test!
• Content should be written at a 5th grade level.
• Content should contain at least 5 internal links
(including link titles) directing to additional internal
content.
• Avoid one page websites or large content blocks
unless the content lives on it’s own page.
• Use content to target search engine search
volume. Recommend Google’s Keyword Planner,
SEM Rush, MOZ, etc.
• Don’t be afraid to scrape competitors, but rewrite
at least 35%.
• If using videos, make sure you add transcriptions,
and audio embed. Recommend SpeechPad.
Content Marketing Resources
• https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-content-marketing
• http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/

8. 8
PAGE
STRUCTURE
In the Know
• Create content specific to individual
verticals. Each vertical should contain
parent/cornerstone content and be
supported by additional child
• Create a content plan (spreadsheet) to
maintain organization and structure.
• Be careful when using Tags and
Categories – Each tag and category
page should have it’s own content
• Do not use content tags or categories
unless you are using canonicals
• All pages should be included within the
website’s sitemap xml file and submitted
to your Google Webmaster Tools.
• Sitemap needs to be identified on
robots.txt document.
Parent/ Cornerstone Examples
Parent/ Cornerstone Location Page
www.example.com/new-orleans/
Child Location Content
www.example.com/new-orleans/page-structure-101
Parent/ Cornerstone Service Vertical Pages
www.example.com/plumbing/
Child Service Vertical Content
www.example.com/plumbing//how-to-unclog-a-drain

9. 9
PAGE
MARK-UP
How it’s going to help you:
• Title and Meta Descriptions are
designed to publish on a search engine
results page. Each need to be written to
encourage a click. If your website has a
lot of pages, focus on your main
business vertical pages and location
pages first.
• Search engines cannot read photos
without an alternate image tag (Alt Tag).
All Images should include an Alt Tag and
if possible a keyword.
• Use canonicals to identify the original
page. Do not use a automatic
canonicalization.
Every Webpage Should Include:
• A customized page title, page description,
alternate Image Tags, and at least five
internal links (including link titles), and a
canonical.

10. 10
LOCAL
LISTINGS
(NAP)
How it’s going to help you:
• Business listings anchor a website to a
market.
• Start with your Google My Business
page. All other listings and listing
information should match the Google
Listing. Google will not If it does not
match, your website will not get credit.
• If you do not have an address, Google
allows businesses to designate a service
area.
• If business has multiple locations,
unique Google My Business pages need
to be claimed using the location URL for
a service area.
Utilize Popular Business Listings:
• Examples: Best of the Web, Superpages,
Axiom, Insiderpages, Infogroup, Citysearch,
Localeze, Yelp, Hotfrog, Local business sites
like NOLA.com, and Chamber of Commerce
Listing pages.

11. 11
Website
Analytics
WEBSITE
ANALYTICS
In the know:
• Use Google Analytics
• Don’t only use Google Analytics
• Use tagged URLS (UTM’s)
• Set up automated reporting
• Create goals – Emails/ location page
visits/ click-to-call
• Benchmark channels to identify
performance – Organic, Adwords,
Display, Email, etc.
• Understand cost-per-
engagement/conversion.

12. 12
CONTENT
MARKETING

13. 13
BECOME A
PUBLISHER!
If you’re not writing content
already, it’s time to get started
Create news that customers want to read and engage with.
• Teach: You know more about what it is you’re doing than
everyone else.
• Does your website have a blog? Or better yet, a
commenting platform?
• Keep the conversation by creating content on your own site
• Having depth of content on your site gives you credibility,
increases site engagement, and gives Google more
opportunities to surface you products and services.

14. 14
HEADLINE
WRITING 101
Identify your audience:
• Search Audiences
• Social Audiences
For search: we’ll find them:
• Identify the critical keywords people use to search for the content
you’re creating. One you have them identified - use them! Early
and often. In headlines, your opening paragraph, photos (alt tags
and cut-lines), video titles, video descriptions.
• Remember there are no algorithms for wit
For social:
• Seek engagment. Ask questions. This is where wit works. Use
compelling imagery.

15. 15
CONTENT
CHOICES
Videos: Tell your story visually. Create
15-30 second videos that are fun and
educational. Make them watchable in
the most adverse conditions by using
sub-titles.
Articles: Become comfortable with the
reading habits or your customers. Learn
AP style (consistency matters) and write
your content in the inverse-pyramid style
to account for everyone’s attention
issues.
Photo essays/Listicles: 29 reasons
why… Enough said. Just please create
a narrative and a pay off at the end.
ASFs: Play around with other alternative
story forms; the Q&A, ‘before you buy,’
‘if you go,’ tips & tricks, pros & cons,
what’s coming next, bios, glossaries,
etc… Just mix it up!

16. 16
SEO
SEO
SEO
Headlines:
• Once you’ve carefully researched and selected the words you
believe un-educated people will use to search for your company, its
products, or services, use them in your headline. Preferably near
the front of the headline.
1st Paragraph:
• After you’ve crafted that headline, repeat those keywords once
again in your opening paragraph. This may feel redundant, but it
matters. And it works.
Photos:
• You may have snapped the most beautiful photo ever taken, but to
Google, it’s simply a whole bunch of pixels. You need to tell search
engines what the photos are of by using file names and alt tags
Videos:
• Just as wthl photos, search engines do not watch or transcribe your
award winning video. You the power of YouTube by employing SEO
best practices in your headline, description, and key words.
Internal linking:
• Links are our way of telling search engines that pages are
important. Give yourself and your site credit by linking to interior
product pages when you mention them in your articles.
Pages:
• Pages are different than blogs. Blogs lend not only relevance but
recency. Pages are by default evergreen (think products, services).
When you create them, pay attention to SEO and make make sure
you have at least 5 links pointing to them. (Navigation, Footer,
article links, etc…)

17. 17
DISTRIBUTION
Now that you’ve written it,
how are people going to see
it?
• First and foremost, come up
with a plan and stick too it.
Consistency is everything.
• Display campaigns, SEM
strategies, social media
marketing, newsletters, and
out-of-the-box solutions
should all be a part of getting
the word out.
• If you’ve crafted SEO
content and are sharing your
content [regularly] in social
media, those platforms will
take care of themselves.
• Do you have a list of media
contacts? If not, create one,
keep adding to it, and use it.

18. 18
PAID &
ORGANIC
SEARCH

19. 19
IT’S GOOGLE’S
WORLD…
92% of consumers do not engage
beyond first page search results!
In the know:
• Go Incognito – use a private browser to
seek your business both by brand name
and the products and/or services you
provide to consumers. Do you exist
organically on page 1?
• Determine what you need to rank for.
Not just in your own language, but the
consumers’. Use Google’s Keyword
Planner to understand search volume for
exact keywords being used in real time.
This is your roadmap for site content
development.
• Claim your Google My Business page to
increase the likelihood of appearing in
Map Listings above organic search
results.

20. 20
…AND THE
WORLD IS
SHRINKING
In the know:
• 75-80% of searches now occur on
mobile devices.
• Being on the 1st page alone isn’t
enough.
• Reaching the #1 organic listing on
mobile requires extensive scrolling.
• When consumers find you while
searching on mobile devices, ensure
that they can click to call or click to map
with ease.
• Assume you have a consumer’s
attention for the length of a traffic light –
at best! Can you be found, clicked on,
and connected with in that timeframe?
• Test your own mobile experience
regularly.

21. 21
In the know:
• If you want to be #1, investing in SEM is
the fastest way to the top. Being present
at the top of the page is critical even if
you rank high organically.
• Bid on your branded terms – if you
aren’t, your competitor likely is. Being
present prevents the other guy from
poaching the brand equity you’ve
worked hard to build.
• Benefit from a boost in brand
awareness. You’ll only pay when a
consumer clicks – impressions are ‘free’
brand exposure.
• Remember that Google’s end game is
relevance for the consumer – craft your
SEM campaigns to seamlessly connect
a consumer search to the correct
product or service.
PAY TO PLAY +
PLAY BY THE
RULES

22. 22
In the know:
• Do your own searches to determine
which businesses appear organically on
page 1 for the products and services you
offer.
• Whose paid ads are serving at the top of
the page?
• Whose paid ads are serving when
consumers search for your brand
specifically?
• Leverage this knowledge to effectively
target your competition.
UNCOVER YOUR
TRUE DIGITAL
COMPETITORS…
*Image is for example use only.

23. 23
In the know:
• Your competitors could be conquesting
you – and you should do the same.
• Divert consumer clicks to your ads by
appearing above your competitor in
searches for their own brand.
• Bidding on a competitor’s brand name is
fair game, but masquerading as them
will get you blacklisted. Never use a
competitor’s name in your ads.
• Assess whether you’re being actively or
passively conquested.
• Google’s Keyword Planner can lead you
to high search volume for specific
brands worth conquesting if your budget
allows.
…AND UTILIZE
CONQUESTING TO
CRUSH THEM!

24. 24
SOCIAL
MEDIA

25. 25
CHOOSING A
PLATFORM
• There’s more out there than just
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
• Think about the demographics you’re
trying to reach
• Is your business prone to boring
photos? It’s ok to ignore Instagram.
• Looking for people under 25, it’s ok to
ignore Facebook.
• Haven’t figured out SnapChat or
Music.ly? Well, it might be time.
Remember, the community makes the
rules!

26. 26
AGGREGATE.
RELIABLE.
NEWS.
• Potential customers, clients, and
investors rely on a constant feed of
news and reviews from valued and
trusted news sources.
• There’s an opportunity to grow
your social footprint and increase
reach by becoming a reliable and
valuable information hub and
clearing house of local knowledge
that reinforces your brand and
offerings.
• Help lead the discussion by
sharing information potential
consumers are searching for and
reading.

27. 27
Who are the people sharing your
industry photos in the social space?
Are you following, aggregating, and
engaging with their content? As each
visitor shares relevant content, they
become ambassadors of your brand.
Identify popular #hashtags, local
social leaders, and popular social
streams. When you find content worth
re-sharing/re-tweeting, utilize each
appropriate house account to
acknowledge and elevate the success
and voices of your community.
SOCIAL
INFLUENCERS

28. 28
A FEW TIPS ON
ENGAGEMENT
• Respond early: When someone asks a
question in the comments or through a
retweet, answer it. If they’re saying
something positive, simply thank them.
• Go Live: Use this opportunity while both
Facebook and Instagram are promoting
the tool to get your name out there.
• Use locations: This helps Facebook
know who to surface content to
• Use hastags: This helps get your
message in front of the intended
audiences.
• Tag people: This helps too
• Vary your content: Links, vidoes,
photos, etc…

29. 29
THE RULE OF
THIRDS
How it works:
• 1/3 of your content promotes your business and
generates new customers.
• 1/3 of your content should surface and share
ideas and stories from thought leaders in your
industry or like-minded businesses.
• 1/3 of your content should be based on personal
interactions and build your personal brand.
In the end:
• Remember that the goal of social media is first
and foremost to increase the amount of
engagement* your shares create.