Enterprise-Level SEO Tactics - ABC News

1. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Enterprise-Level
SEO Tactics
John Shehata
@JShehata
2013
#C3ny
1

2. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
SEO Roadmap
SEO Process
SEO Tools
17 Tactics
@JShehata | John Shehata 2

3. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
@JShehata | John Shehata 3

4. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnySEO Roadmap
@JShehata | John Shehata
Discover Inform
Quick
Wins
Big
Wins
Support
Report &
Analyze
4

5. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnySEO Roadmap
@JShehata | John Shehata
• Discover
– What are the main objectives of the site (sales, Pageviews, etc.)
– Know the Team (Design, IT, Legal, Editorial, Marketing, PM, Technology, Analytics)
– SWOT Analysis / Challenges and Opportunities
– Extensive Site Audit (GWT, Screaming Frog, Crawl Errors, etc.)
– Competitive Analysis (SEO, Social Media, Links, Rankings, etc.)
– Understand The PM Process / Editorial Workflow
– Understand Technology & Code
– Build Targeted KWs lists (KW research, Analytics, etc.)
– Build Baseline Reports (Setup – Analytics Team)
– Define your SEO Metrics (Visits, SEO Visits, etc.)
– Identify Conversion Points (Signups, sales, etc.)
Discover Inform
Quick
Wins
Big
Wins
Support
Report &
Analyze
5

6. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
• Understand your Weaknesses and Strengths
– Media Sites
– Lots of content
– Videos vs. Text?
– Lots of Links
– No Sales
– Ecommerce
– Lots of Products
– Same Product Description across multiple sites
– Little Unique Content
– Duplicate content
@JShehata | John Shehata 6

7. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
• Issues
– Content Overlap
– Inefficient Crawling (Millions of Pages)
– Too much content to optimize
– One man department
– Tech/Dev/Company has other priorities
– Duplicate Content On Site/Off Site
– Etc..
@JShehata | John Shehata 7

8. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
• Questions to ask (before you start):
– SEO Budget
– Resources
– Legal
– Tools
– Usability
– Previous SEO?
– Previous link building??
@JShehata | John Shehata 8

9. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnySEO Roadmap
@JShehata | John Shehata
• Inform “Develop Institutional Knowledge”
– Training (SEO 101, Tech/Dev Training, PM/Product Training)
– Executive Training: C-level executive buy-in is a must (It is not Voodoo Magic!)
– Best Practices Guides (BPG) / One Sheet Checklist
– SEO/SMO Blog/Wiki
– Search Monthly Newsletter
– Answering emails
– SEO Compliance Test
– Customize your training material
Discover Inform
Quick
Wins
Big
Wins
Support
Report &
Analyze
9

10. On-Page Optimization (Content)
Page Title Tag
URL
Image/Video
Optimization
Meta Data
Content
Code
Internal
Links
Internal
Links
Headline
H1 Header
Social Media
@JShehata | John Shehata 10
On-Page
Content Freshness
Content Frequency
Content Authority
Content Relevancy
Content Uniqueness

11. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
• Project Management Process Integration
– SEO is not an afterthought (It starts before development)
– Understand The Process
– Kick Offs / Traffic Sources Expectations
– Requirement gathering
– IT / Development
– Design Comps
– Content / Internal Links
– Do your own QA
– Reports
– Check Changes to the site [changedetection.com]
@JShehata | John Shehata 11

12. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnySEO Roadmap
@JShehata | John Shehata
• Quick Wins “Low Hanging Fruit: Low Effort, Big Wins”
– Site Level Optimization
– Duplicate Content
– 302/301 Redirects
– Robots.txt fixes
– Canonical Tags
– Crawl Errors, Error Pages
– Link Building (partners, affiliates, widgets, etc.)
– Template Level Optimization
– On Page Optimization (layout, Heading Tags, etc.)
– Page Titles, Meta Description, SEO Tags
– Inline Linking / Deep Linking
– Pagination
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– Page Level Optimization
– Money Terms
– Top 10 Paid Keywords - PPC
– Top Keywords
– 2nd Page Rankings
– Top Exit Pages (Bounce rate)
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13. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyLow Hanging Fruits
2nd Page Rankings
1 KWs = 1,000,000 Total Local Volume
If #11 generates 2% CTR
And #10 generates 4% CTR
Moving 1 KWs from page #2 to page #1 will generate 20K more clicks
Low CTR-High Ranking Terms
@JShehata | John Shehata 13

14. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnySEO Roadmap
@JShehata | John Shehata
• Big Wins “Big Projects”
– Rich Media Optimization: Videos, Photo Galleries, Etc.
– Mobile SEO
– Content Verticals Optimization (entertainment, tech, etc.)
– Universal SERP Optimization (News, Videos, Shopping, Local, Google+, etc.)
– Rich Snippets
– Link Building Campaigns
– Crawl Efficiency / Duplicate Content / URL Architecture
– Syndication
– Social Media
Discover Inform
Quick
Wins
Big
Wins
Support
Report &
Analyze
14

15. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnySEO Roadmap
@JShehata | John Shehata
• Support
– Support ongoing and new projects
– SEO Recos to seasonal content
– Provide SEO Recos to Breaking/Trending News
– SEO Recos to all new design and tech projects
Discover Inform
Quick
Wins
Big
Wins
Support
Report &
Analyze
15

16. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnySEO Roadmap
@JShehata | John Shehata
• Reports & Analysis “Tell A Story”
– Executive Summary is a Must
– Daily/Monthly Reports
– YOY, Seasonal Reports
– Author/Content/Product/Vertical Reports
– Social Media Reports
– Project/Event Reports
– Content Reports
– Lag/Lead Reports
– Promote your work //// Track traffic changes for all work done
Discover Inform
Quick
Wins
Big
Wins
Support
Report &
Analyze
16

17. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnySEO Roadmap
@JShehata | John Shehata
Company Goals
Team/Departments
SEO Challenges &
Opportunities
Strengths &
Weaknesses
Workflow/Process
Analytics/Baseline
reports
researching / info
gathering
Technology, Code
Content, Links, Social
Media
Building Targeted
Keyword lists
Crawl Errors
Comp. Analysis
PM Process
Training
SEO 101 Training
SMO 101 Training
Tech/Dev Training
PM/Product Training
Executive Training
Best Practices
Guides (BPG)
SEO/SMO Blog/Wiki
Search/Social Media
Monthly Newsletter
Answering emails
SEO/SMO
Compliance Test
Content Strategy
Low Effort, Big Wins
On Page
Optimization
Page Titles, Meta
Tags
HP / Section Pages
302/301 Redirects
Robots.txt fixes
Error Pages
Meta Tags / Social
Tags Optimization
Rich Snippets
Duplicate Content
Canonical Tags
Big Projects List
Videos / Photos
Mobile
Content Vertical
Optimization
Universal SERPs
Rich Snippets
Link Building
Crawl Efficiency
Social Media
Syndication
Daily Reports
Monthly Reports
Author Reports
Category/Product
Reports
Social Media Reports
Project Reports
Seasonal Reports
Support ongoing
and new projects
SEO Recos to
seasonal content
Provide SEO Recos
to Breaking News
Discover Inform
Quick
Wins
Big
Wins
Support
Report &
Analyze
17

18. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Discovery
Understand
Project Goals and
objectives
Traffic Sources:
Search, Social,
Internal traffic?
Top Keywords:
what is the search
interest?
Location on site:
directory,
subdomain, page,
sections, etc.?
Do we need a
CName?
Do we need a
landing page
(/blogs/) for all
created templates
Content: is it new
content, new content
replacing existing
content, removing
old content, etc.?
Will page content
be delivered via
Javascript, AJAX,
other un-friendly
SEO
technologies?
do we need a
separate XML
sitemap?
Design
wireframes/desi
gn comps
review
breadcrumbs
placements
text placement
social
integrations
H1 heading
tags
SEO
recommendatio
ns for label,
layout and links
Pre Dev.
Meta Date (page
titles, meta
description,
keywords)
SEO friendly
URL formats
Copy Reviews:
does the page
need
intro/closing
copy?
Canonical tags
Social tags /
Other tags
robots.txt
updates if
needed
analytics
integration
secure 5 links
to new content
Schema
Implementation
QA
Quick SEO QA
Baseline
analytics
reports
Content in
Feeds
Live
SEO BPG
if needed
3,6,9 months
reports
Link Building
Ranking
Reports
SEO
Process
John Shehata 2013
@JShehata | John Shehata
18

19. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyTools & Resources
• Excel
• MOZ
• SEObook
• Screaming Frog
• Google/Bing Webmaster Tools
• Google Analytics / Omniture
• Conductor
@JShehata | John Shehata 19

20. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
17 Tactics that help you succeed at
Enterprise SEO
@JShehata | John Shehata 20

21. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
1. Develop Technical, Excel, and Analytics Skills
@JShehata | John Shehata 21

22. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyConsolidate & Segment
GWT (Search Queries) + Google KWs + GA Traffic + Rankings
Screaming Frog + SEOmoz Top Pages + SEOmoz Crawl Test +
GWT Errors
@JShehata | John Shehata 22

23. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
2. SELL Your Projects
Align your Goals
with the Company’s Goals
i.e. Align your Projects
with the Company’s Projects
Find a project sponsor
@JShehata | John Shehata 23

24. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
3. Show Value
@JShehata | John Shehata 24

25. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
4. Big Projects
– Small Projects Justifies Big Projects
– Divide Big Projects into smaller tasks
– Find projects that can include these tasks
– Focus on quick wins
@JShehata | John Shehata 25

26. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
5. Your Platform is no longer just desktop!
– Mobile (+social) is a must
– App/Tablet Optimization
– YouTube
@JShehata | John Shehata
+94%
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27. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
6. Tech/Dev Teams
• Great ally or the worst hurdle
• Push Back when appropriate
• Your strategy is Dead-On-Arrival
without technical resources.
• Never say “it is easy”
• Never say “is it doable?”
@JShehata | John Shehata 27

28. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
7. Build Relationships
Communicate in Person, Emails are not enough
@JShehata | John Shehata 28

29. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
8. Stop Long Emails
Tell A Story / Promote your success / Use Numbers
@JShehata | John Shehata 29

30. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
9. Task, Reports, Meetings, etc.
Stop whatever
doesn’t provide
VALUE
@JShehata | John Shehata 30

31. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
10. Choose your Battles Wisely
Prioritize / Ask your manager to
prioritize your work
@JShehata | John Shehata 31

32. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
11. Find Hidden resources
– Sister companies
– Cross promotions,
– Talents in other departments
– Link Building
– Internal
– Vendors/affiliates
– Sponsorships
– Legal contracts
– Content syndication
– etc
@JShehata | John Shehata 32

33. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
12. Center of Excellence [COE]
– SEO Ambassadors (across sites, global, editorial, IT, etc.)
– Highlight the Champ
– Badges / Compliance Certificate
– Train the trainer
@JShehata | John Shehata 33

34. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
13. We are consultants; we
provide recommendations to
other teams to implement!!
@JShehata | John Shehata 34

35. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
14. Develop A Content Marketing Strategy
– Editorial calendar
– Evergreen content
– Product Reviews
– Best/Worst Lists
– Trending topics
– National vs. Local Content
@JShehata | John Shehata 35

36. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
15. Working with others
• Make others great! Focus on making the other people
successful, and you’ll earn their trust.
• Make your emphasis how SEO will make them successful.
• Make a big deal of giving public acknowledgement of their vital
contribution.
• Respect the hard work these folks have to do that has nothing
to do with your SEO needs
@JShehata | John Shehata 36

37. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
16. Less Is More SEO
• Focused recommendations
• Focused emails
• Focused reports
• etc.
@JShehata | John Shehata 37

38. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
@JShehata | John Shehata 38
17. SEO is not dead, it is Evolving,
and so must you too!!

39. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesnyMaximize Enterprise SEO
#Bonus: Be a Good Person
– Approachable
– Available
– Share Knowledge
– Train and Train Again
– Invest in People, Develop Skills
– Optimize for Users not SE
@JShehata | John Shehata
SEO
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40. New York | March 19–23, 2012 | #sesny
Thanks
John Shehata
@JShehata
@JShehata | John Shehata
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