Prospects often don't blindly choose the first result in the SERPs. They prefer to select brands they have an affinity for and whose content best serves their needs. Is your brand doing what it takes to earn the click?

1. Found Vs. Chosen
Earn the long click to win the battle for trust, authority & loyalty

2. Process of discovery with
client
Ads
Organic results
Features Snippet &
PAA

3. Process of discovery with a client
Why they are on
front page, and you
aren’t

4. Process of discovery
Passive intent
Active intent

5. Process of discovery with client
Hub FTW!!!!

6. Why competitors dominated the page 1 SERPs
10X brands – reputation, reviews, etc.

7. Why competitors dominated the page 1 SERPs
10X brands – reputation, reviews, etc.
Best-in-class user experience, including links

8. Why competitors dominated the page 1 SERPs
10X brands – reputation, reviews, etc.
Best-in-class user experience, including links
Nailed active and passive intent

9. Take that!

10. Content isn’t simply about
what we do; it’s also about
who we are.

11. How brands think of the work we do
Create
content
Attain traffic &
links
Acquire
conversions

12. The tag on my SUV

13. Header
Body

14. How we as marketers think about the web
Ex. Keywords, placement,
technical SEO,etc.
Moz

15. How we think web searchers use search
Yes, I WAS looking up best
pubs in Brighton, U.K.

16. How my eyes were opened
Hotjar
Heat maps and user testing tell a
different but only partial story.

17. Real-time chats reveal harsh truths:
People often look over the No. 1 result
How my eyes were opened

18. Found vs. Chosen
It’s time to think beyond being found;
the real value is in being chosen.

19. Found < CHOSEN

20. How could my clients take advantage of this
information?
Are: 10X brand (e.g., positive sentiment online & offline)
Do: Nail active & passive intent
Do: Create linkable assets with ability to rank

21. Active intent
Passive intent
Additional, related resources on site
Hub pages
nail the Do
component
of Found
vs. Chosen

22. They amount to a central overview of a topic or category—
linking to child categories and related products—while
typically offering much more depth and utility.
Instead of simply listing products and posts, hub pages…
1. Educates and answers more questions
2. Link to useful resources
3. Helps the user find exactly what they need
4. Delights and engages
5. Act as an “authority” on a given topic
Cyrus Shepard
What are hub pages & why are they effective?

23. AJ Kohn
Hi, my name is
Long Click.
Hubs help you
acquire me.

24. Also, Long click
“This is what search marketers must realize.
You will get credit for a long click if you’re
part of the long click. If you ensure that the
user doesn’t return to search results, even
by sending them to another site, then you’re
going to be rewarded.” —AJ Kohn
Source

25. Hub pages rank well
Still ranking high after more than 12 years

26. Hub pages earn massive traffic
Ahrefs

27. Out of one, many. Hubs look like a singular resource;
they are really a content & SEO juggernaut for your
brand.

28. 3 Case Studies

29. HubSpot’s traffic takes off in 2014
HubSpot
2014 blog traffic

30. HubSpot’s traffic falls off a cliff in 2017
HubSpot
2017
2014

31. HubSpot’s old site architecture model
HubSpot

32. HubSpot
HubSpot’s new site architecture model

33. HubSpot’s new content strategy
HubSpot

34. Intent & UX
Featured Snippets Opportunities
External links

35. Less than three months of growth
Topic Clusters are a part of a winning
strategy

36. Topic clusters working for HubSpot
HubSpot

37. #2- Moz goes back
to its roots

39. Bread and butter topics for qualified traffic

40. Attacked topics through events, blog
posts, *Featured Snippets,* videos, etc.

41. Content hub combines all of the
elements in one location

42. Results back up the effort

43. Results back up the effort

44. #3- REI model
(content silos)

45. Hub pages
nail intent
That silos rank well is not an accident.

46. REI
Presentation integrates products, pages and
links to deliver an amazing user experience and
topical relevance model.

47. The winning
structure
Zyppy
Silos helps turn hubs
into content & SEO
coats of armor.

48. Architecture helps build
UX, topical relevance
and SEO dominance
Zyppy
Content Silos

49. REI’s Learn silos dominate the SERPs
REI

50. @darth_na
Build your own silos or hubs

51. How you
like them
apples?

52. Two ways to use
hubs and/or pillar
pages

53. #1- Barbell Strategy

54. Barbell strategy
Janessa Lantz

55. Barbell strategy
Janessa Lantz
T
Ways to cover
individual
aspects of the,
onsite and
offsite
Topic

56. Barbell strategy
T
When they focused on individual blog posts
Tammy Coil

57. Barbell strategy
T
Tammy Coil
When they focused on building a resource

58. Barbell strategy
T
Tammy Coil
Results speak for themselves

59. 4,500-word blog post aimed at
ranking and acquiring business
My services
Search query

60. Topic MainAreas
This explains
why content
marketing
fails
Write shorter content
Death of content
marketing
Subject-matter
experts
Inputs > Outcomes
Coverage
Guest blog post
Guest podcast
Onsite blog
Presentation
How you can apply barbell strategy

61. This explains
why content
marketing fails
How you can apply the barbell strategy
Guest
Post
Email
newsletter
CDN
Site
speed
Webinar
Onsite
post
Podcast
Social
sharing
Outreach

62. #2- HubSpot’s
Topic Cluster model

63. How to use the Topic Cluster model
Topic I want to rank for

64. How to
get more
speaking
gigs
Do I need
prior
experience?
What keeps
speakers
from getting
selected?
How should
I pitch?
How do I get
better
scores?
How to use the
Topic Cluster
model

65. HubSpot
Copy this template, or create your own
—but don’t complicate it.

66. Don’t be afraid to link outside resources
Things to remember
Your site
Your site
Your site
Offsite
Offsite
Offsite

67. Hub
Embrace the bow-tie: Links should flow in
AND out, even to competitors.
Marshall Simmonds
Things to remember

68. I’m very
satisfied. I
choose you.

69. Thank You
ronell@ronellsmith.com
@ronellsmith