Quality over quantity, classic SEO conundrum. Whether you like cats or not, this presentation steps you through the tools & methodology to provide value to users and drive engagement.

1. CONTENT MARKETING INTELLIGENCE
#C3NY
HOW TO USE SEARCH DATA TO BUILD
CONTENT THAT DRIVES VALUE AT SCALE
VP, Search Marketing
Grant Simmons

2. #C3NY @simmonet
Grant Simmons
VP of Search Marketing
Search marketer, father, sailor. Though not
necessarily in that order when there’s a fair wind.
Hello
@simmonet
/in/simmonet
www.grantisms.com

3. #C3NY @simmonet
• Real Estate Portal
(ahem… we’re not Zillow)
• 10M+ Visits / Month
• Private company
• Norfolk, VA
@simmonet
/in/simmonet
Hello
www.grantisms.com

4. #C3NY @simmonet
Let’s Go Back to the Future (2015)

5. #C3NY @simmonet
Let’s Go Back to the Future (2015)
cat

6. N E W Y O R K C I T Y | O C T O B E R 2 8 - 2 9 , 2 0 1 5
C3 2015 BREAKOUT SESSION
IT AIN'T OVER TILL
THE CAT LADY SINGS
CONTENT-BEYOND-KITTENS &
OTHER SEARCH STRATEGIES
VP of Search Marketing
& Consumer Engagement
Grant Simmons

7. #C3NY @simmonet
The Cat Lady
Content Conundrum
@simmonet

8. #C3NY @simmonet
Content to some
content marketers
is like...
@simmonet

9. #C3NY @simmonet
…cats to a cat lady
@simmonet

10. #C3NY @simmonet
…cats to a cat lady
i.e. you can never
have enough
@simmonet

11. #C3NY @simmonet
The cat lady content conundrum
More Better
@simmonet

12. #C3NY @simmonet
More is not better
(unless you want to fill a litter box)

14. http://unop.me/crap

15. #C3NY @simmonet
Let’s Go Back to the PRESENT (2017)
cat

16. CONTENT MARKETING INTELLIGENCE
#C3NY
HOW TO USE SEARCH DATA TO BUILD
CONTENT THAT DRIVES VALUE AT SCALE
VP, Search Marketing
Grant Simmons

17. Tweet this session!
#C3NY@simmonet

18. #C3NY @simmonet@simmonet
How Do We Scale Quality?

19. #C3NY @simmonetBigger Cats?

20. #C3NY @simmonet

21. #C3NY @simmonet

22. #C3NY @simmonet
Big & Small Data
Tells Stories
Content Marketing is
about telling a branded story

23. #C3NY @simmonet
Data Itself is Not Smart

24. #C3NY @simmonet
Data Itself is Not Smart
But it does help tell smart stories
Stories = content differentiation

26. “Every brand is unique. But if you cannot tell
that uniqueness through it’s stories, it will
spend it’s whole life being a fish.”
Grant Simmons

27. #C3NY @simmonet
• Leverage data
• Tell unique stories
• Smart
• Different
• Interesting
• Align with your brand
Don’t be a Fish

28. #C3NY @simmonet
Data Cat-egories
Different strokes for different folks

29. #C3NY @simmonet
3 Types
of Data

30. #C3NY @simmonet
Core Site
Data
• Listings
• Parts
• Products
• ‘Free’ datasets
Business | Interaction | Search

31. #C3NY @simmonet
User
Generated
Data
Business | Interaction | Search
• Internal clicks
• Purchases
• Time on page
• Surveys

32. #C3NY @simmonet
Site / Search
Data
Business | Interaction | Search
• Search engines
• Site search
• Filters

33. #C3NY @simmonet
3 Types
of Data
Business | Interaction | Search

34. #C3NY @simmonet
2 Types
of Data
Business | Interaction | Search
today

35. #C3NY @simmonet
Business Data
Stuff you own and / or have access to

36. #C3NY @simmonet
Yeah it can be kinda boring raw
• But key differentiator
• Cat-alog what you have
• Cat-alog relevant available data
• Align with search intent
• Align with search engine opportunities
Business Data

37. #C3NY @simmonet
Homes.com

38. #C3NY @simmonet
What Data? What Stories?

39. #C3NY @simmonet
• Listings data
• Census data
Data Sources

40. #C3NY @simmonet
• Lists
• Long tail queries
• Interesting facts
What are People Looking For?

41. #C3NY @simmonet
• Lists
• Long tail queries
• Interesting facts
What are People Looking For?
Did You Know?
A cat’s tail contains
approximately 10% of
the bones in its body

42. #C3NY @simmonet
• Lists
• Long tail queries
• Interesting facts
What are People Looking For?
Did You Know?
A cat’s tail contains
approximately 10% of
the bones in its body

43. #C3NY @simmonet
The “FACETs” Project
Leveraging Data for the Long Tail

45. #C3NY @simmonet
Fully Responsive (Presentation is Key)

46. #C3NY @simmonet
City / State Coverage – Census + Listings Data

47. #C3NY @simmonet
Lists / List Pages

48. #C3NY @simmonet
State-Level Pages / Facets

49. #C3NY @simmonet
State-Level Pages / Facets
Auto generated ranking
data, dynamic, random
and interesting

50. #C3NY @simmonet
State-Level Pages / Facets
Auto generated ‘facets’
based on frequency, listing
counts & user interests

51. #C3NY @simmonet
City-Level Pages / Facets
Auto generated ranking
data, dynamic, random,
relevant and interesting

52. #C3NY @simmonet
Descriptive / Phrase Facets
Parsing of descriptions
Mapped against phrase set

53. #C3NY @simmonet
Descriptive / Phrase Facets
Parsing of descriptions
Mapped against phrase set

54. #C3NY @simmonet
• Phase 1
• Basic internal linking
• Limited cities (thin content)
• Phase 2
• Expand value of pages (more data)
• Add user interaction cues
• Phase 3
• Combos
• Based on data
The Long Tail – in Action

55. #C3NY @simmonet
The Long Tail – In Action
• Lists
• Top 10s
• Attributes
• Price
• Size
• Features

56. #C3NY @simmonetScales Nicely

57. #C3NY @simmonetScales Nicely (& Intelligently)

58. #C3NY @simmonet
• What public data exists?
• What unique data exists?
• What would be worthy?
• How can you present it?
Business Data Recap

59. #C3NY @simmonet
• How many dog people?
• How many cat people?
Quick Survey

60. #C3NY @simmonet
• How many dog people?
• How many cat people?
Yes. I was a cat.
Quick Survey

61. #C3NY @simmonet
Search Data
Stuff you create and / or is created
for you through searcher’s behavior

62. #C3NY @simmonet
Search Data Is:

63. #C3NY @simmonet
Your users telling you stories
- You just need to listen
Search Data Is:

64. #C3NY @simmonet
Search Data Elements

65. #C3NY @simmonet
More Interesting (generally)
• Collection & storage
• Summarization
• Analysis & extraction
• Align with user interest
• Present with paw-pose J
Search Data Elements

66. #C3NY @simmonet
Search Data: Your Data
Can be a lot of it
• But key differentiator
• Cat-alog what you have
• Analyze the crap outta it
• Find interesting stories

67. #C3NY @simmonetIt Can Be Imperrfect…

68. #C3NY @simmonet
• Demand-side
• Intent
Site Search Data

69. #C3NY @simmonet
Always Start With Context
Content without Context is Like
a Cat Without a Tail

70. #C3NY @simmonet
Always Start With Context
What’s the breed of cat with no tail?
a question

71. #C3NY @simmonet
Always Start With Context
What’s interesting?
What’s are the goals?
questions

72. #C3NY @simmonet
• Start with largest dataset
• Easier to see patterns
• Validate results
Context – Reference Listing Type

73. #C3NY @simmonet
Simple Math

74. #C3NY @simmonet
Simple Math
Not Perfect Math.

75. #C3NY @simmonet
Popularity (Searches / Habitant)

76. #C3NY @simmonet
Map Data Over Time For Trends

77. #C3NY @simmonet
Dig Into Data Trends

78. #C3NY @simmonet
Overlay other
data sets for
more insights /
interesting info
What is your user
looking for??

79. #C3NY @simmonet
• Buyers understand offer potential
• Sellers understand time to sale
• Pricing considerations
• Inventory availability
A TON of cool info:
• For every city, state, county with data
• We call that…
Homes.com “Scarcity Index”

80. #C3NY @simmonet
• Buyers understand offer potential
• Sellers understand time to sale
• Pricing considerations
• Inventory availability
A TON of cool info:
• For every city, state, county with data
• We call that…
Homes.com “Scarcity Index”
SCALE

81. #C3NY @simmonet
• No need to stop there!
• More analysis can create more insights
• You never know what you can find
• Locations over time
• Attributes against attributes
Hold On Cowboy!

82. #C3NY @simmonet
Keep Digging Into Other Data Points

83. #C3NY @simmonet
There is no bad data,
there is only bad
analysis of good data*
I’m Innocent

84. #C3NY @simmonet
There is no bad data,
there is only bad
analysis of good data*
I’m Innocent
*and some bad data

85. #C3NY @simmonet@simmonet
If Content is King

86. #C3NY @simmonet@simmonet
If Content is King
Then data
is the crown

87. #C3NY @simmonet
Presenting Data

88. #C3NY @simmonet
It’s All About Presentation
• Know your audience
• Provide value
• Targeting
• Customization
• Keep It Simple
Or as simple as your audience

89. #C3NY @simmonet
• Search data
• Survey data
• Census data
• Jobs data
• Housing trends
Simple Visualization of Complex Datasets

90. #C3NY @simmonet
• Survey data
• Census data
Simple Visualization of Complex Datasets

91. #C3NY @simmonet

92. #C3NY @simmonet
More is Not Better

93. #C3NY @simmonet@simmonet
• Leverage data
• Tell unique stories
• Smart
• Different
• Interesting
• Align with your brand
Better is Better

94. Thank you!

95. #C3NY @simmonet

96. #C3NY @simmonet
Grant Simmons
VP of Search Marketing
Search marketer, father, sailor. Though not
necessarily in that order when there’s a fair wind.
Thank you
@simmonet
/in/simmonet
www.grantisms.com

97. #C3NY @simmonet
Grant Simmons
VP of Search Marketing
Search marketer, father, sailor. Though not
necessarily in that order when there’s a fair wind.
Thank you
@simmonet
/in/simmonet
www.grantisms.com

98. #C3NY @simmonet
• Real Estate Portal
(ahem… we’re not Zillow)
• 10M+ Visits / Month
• Private company
• Norfolk, VA
@simmonet
/in/simmonet
Hello
www.grantisms.com

100. #C3NY @simmonet@simmonet
Homes.com Content Strategy
Our Content / Messaging aspires to / should be:
• Different & unique
• Position Homes.com as home-buying resource
• Valuable
• Something fun or a little amusing
• Non-lethal
• Pass authority
• Mobile-friendly

101. Homes.com Content Guidelines
• Different
• Position
• Valuable
• Fun
• Non-lethal
• Pass authority
• Mobile-friendly
Keeping
it simple
Is it / Does it?

102. Content Strategy
• Guidelines
• Planning
• Ideation
• Scheduling
• Execution
Guidelines
Plan
IdeateSchedule
Execute