Day 1 | 8.4.15 Inbound Marketing Workshop American University Presenters: Jay Kelly Megan Cendrowski

1. PRESENTERS:
Jay
Kelly
Megan
Cendrowski
INBOUND
MARKETING
WORKSHOP
AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY
DAY
1|
8.4.15

2. CONVERGE CONSULTING IS A DIGITAL
AGENCY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
We
use
what’s
new
and
next
in
inbound
markeDng,
content
strategy,
search
engine
opDmizaDon,
digital
adverDsing,
web
analyDcs
and
video
storytelling
to
posiDvely
impact
student
recruitment
and
alumni
engagement
for
colleges
and
universiDes
around
the
world.
2

3. CONVERGE CONSULTING IS A DIGITAL
MARKETING FIRM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
We
use
what’s
new
and
next
in
content
strategy,
search
engine
opDmizaDon,
digital
adverDsing,
web
analyDcs
and
video
storytelling
to
posiDvely
impact
student
recruitment
and
alumni
engagement
for
colleges
and
universiDes
around
the
world.
3

4. 4

5. ABOUT
US
5
Jay
Kelly
is
president
and
managing
partner
of
Converge.
He
provides
strategic
vision
and
leadership
for
the
company.
Jay
is
a
thought
leader
in
inbound
markeDng
and
has
presented
on
the
topic
at
conferences
naDonwide.
Megan
Cendrowski
is
an
inbound
strategist
and
content
marketer.
She
leads
content
strategy
and
development
to
build
new
websites
and
inbound
markeDng
campaigns
for
colleges
and
universiDes
across
the
country.

6. AGENDA:
DAY
1
6
9:30AM-­‐10:45AM
|
An
IntroducPon
to
Inbound
10:45AM-­‐11:00AM
|
MORNING
BREAK
11:00AM-­‐12:00PM
|
User
Personas
&
Strategic
Content
12:00PM-­‐1:00PM
|
Q&A
LUNCH
1:00PM-­‐2:30PM
|
Focus
Group
1:
Health
PromoPon
Management
2:30PM-­‐3:15PM
|
AZernoon
Session
A:
SEO
Part
I,
Geng
Found
3:15PM-­‐3:30PM
|
AFTERNOON
BREAK
3:30PM-­‐4:15PM
|
AZernoon
Session
B:
SEO
Part
II,
OpPmizing
Content

7. AN
INTRODUCTION
TO
INBOUND
MARKETING
7
9:30AM
–
10:45AM

8. IN
THIS
SESSION
8
• How
to
a^ract,
convert
and
delight:
What
is
inbound
markeDng?
How
is
it
different
than
tradiDonal
outbound
methods?
High-­‐level
discussion
of
strategies
and
tacDcs.
• How
to
get
buy-­‐in:
But
does
it
really
work?
We'll
share
data
points
and
case
studies
of
how
and
why
inbound
tacDcs
work.

9. Why
Is
It
Important?
§ Earning
acenDon
by
producing
valued
content
§ Making
yourself
easily
found
with
search
opDmizaDon
§ Knowing
your
audience
through
data
and
anecdotal
research
and
delivering:
the
right
message
to
the
right
person
at
the
right
.me
§ Guiding
them
through
the
Enrollment
Journey:
acract,
convert
and
delight
FACT:
Brands
that
create
15
blog
posts
per
month
average
1,200
new
leads
per
month.
(Hubspot)
INBOUND
MARKETING
9

10. INBOUND
MARKETING
10

11. OUT
WITH
THE
OLD
44%
of
direct
mail
is
never
opened
86%
skip
TV
commercials
91%
unsubscribe
from
emails
200
Million
say
“do
not
call”
11

12. IN
WITH
THE
NEW
of
prospecDve
students
view
college
website
via
mobile
devices
of
students
find
college
websites
to
be
a
reliable
sources
of
informaDon
of
students
used
social
media
when
deciding
to
where
to
enroll
Inbound
marke-ng
prac-ces
produce
more
inquires
than
tradiDonal
outbound
pracDces
12

14. CONVERT
DELIGHT
Search
Engine
OpDmizaDon
(SEO)
Strategic
Content
CreaDon
Social
Media
ATTRACT
VISITORS
STUDENTS
PROMOTERS
Calls-­‐to-­‐AcDon
(CTAs)
Landing
Pages
Forms
Segmented
Content
Ongoing
Engagement
User
Experience
STRANGERS
INBOUND
MARKETING
14

15. ATTRACT
15

16.
ATTRACT
WEBSITE
TRAFFIC
2nd
Organic
Result:
Reoccurring
asset,
will
conDnue
to
appear
year
amer
year
Paid
Results:
“online
MBA”
costs
$59/click
16

17. ATTRACT
WEBSITE
TRAFFIC
OpDmized
blog
posts
for
target
keywords
Social
Media
sharing
bucons
for
content
to
be
shared
to
new
audiences
• Websites
that
blog
have
55%
more
traffic
than
websites
that
do
not
• 75%
of
all
clicks
go
to
Organic
Search
results
• Companies
that
blog
have
97%
more
inbound
links
than
companies
that
don’t
17

18.
18

19.
19

20.
OPTIMIZE
FOR
SEARCH
20

21. OPTIMIZE
FOR
SEARCH
• Track
which
keywords
drive
the
best
visitors
&
leads
• View
ifficulty,
current
rank
and
search
volume
• Get
recommendaPons
for
low-­‐hanging
fruit
• Compare
your
rankings
to
compePtors
21

22. SEARCH
ENGINE
OPTIMIZATION
(SEO)
• What
You
Need
to
Know
› Technical
assessment
(crawl
for
errors)
› On
Page
opDmizaDon
and
basic
keyword
research
› ThemaDc
keyword
development
› Off
page
opDmizaDon
and
link
building
› ReporDng
TOOL:
A
great
Inbound
and
SEO
tool
is
Moz.
Plus,
30-­‐day
free
trial!
22

23. WHITEBOARD
FRIDAY
23

24. HIGH
COST
&
COMPETITION
LOW
COST
&
RISK
LOW
PROBABILITY
OF
CONVERSION
HIGH
PROBABILITY
OF
CONVERSION
KEY
PHRASE
CURVE
1
Word
Phrases
“purse”
2-­‐3
Word
Phrases
“coach
purse”
More
DescripDve
Phrases
“leopard
print
coach
purse”
LONG
TAIL
KEYWORDS
24

25. KEYWORDS
Discover
which
keywords
will
bring
the
best
organic
traffic
to
your
site
and
analyze
your
paid
search
campaigns.
• Track
which
keywords
drive
the
best
visitors
&
leads
• View
difficulty,
current
rank
and
search
volume
• Get
recommendaPons
for
low-­‐hanging
fruit
• Compare
your
rankings
to
compePtors
25

26. ALBA
QUEZADA
• Track
which
keywords
drive
the
best
visitors
&
leads
• View
ifficulty,
current
rank
and
search
volume
• Get
recommendaPons
for
low-­‐hanging
fruit
• Compare
your
rankings
to
compePtors
26

27. CONTENT
STRATEGY
InformaDonal,
the
old
boring
Compelling,
the
new
awesome
!
!
!
z
z
z
27

28. START
WITH
WHY
28

29. START
WITH
WHY
29

30. START
WITH
WHY
30

31. START
WITH
WHY
31

32. CONTENT
STRATEGY
• Share,
educate,
delight...
don’t
sell
• Build
your
content
based
on
themaDc
research
• Create
visual
assets
that
people
want
to
share
• Develop
an
analyDcs
dashboard
to
see
what
works
best
for
YOUR
audience
• Answer
specific
quesDons
to
engage
in
a
meaningful
way
32

33. BLOGGING
Create
long-­‐lasDng
markeDng
assets
by
publishing
blog
arDcles
opDmized
to
get
found
and
generate
leads.
• Create
content
to
develop
your
thought
leadership
and
get
found
online
• View
detailed
SEO
recommendaPons
for
improving
your
content
as
you
type
• AutomaPcally
publish
to
your
social
media
accounts
33

34. BLOG
POSTS
34

35. BLOG
POSTS
35

36. SHAREABLE
CONTENT
36

37. 37
VISUAL
DESIGN

38. CONTENT
STRATEGY
THEME
OFFLINE
EVENTS
1/8/14
-­‐
2/11/2014
2/12/2014
-­‐
3/8/2014
TransformaDve
EducaDon
Wesley
Conference
(3/8),
Deposit
Deadline,
Fee
Waiver
(2/18),
Messenger
(3/1),
Chaplin
Gene
Schandorff
ReDring
3/9/2014
-­‐
4/15/2014
We
LOVE
giving
you
your
money's
worth
Spring
Break
(3/24-­‐28)
4/16/2014
-­‐
5/15/2014
Parents
Commencement
(5/10),
Alumni
Weekend
(5/9-­‐10),
Summer
Session
1
begins
(5/12)
5/16/2014
-­‐
6/15/2014
Best-­‐of-­‐all-­‐Worlds
LocaDon
Summer
Session
2
begins
(6/12)
Note:
Instagram
:)
6/16/2014
-­‐
7/31/2014
Highly
Valued
RelaDonships
Summer
Session
3
begins
(7/12)
8/1/2014
-­‐
9/15/2014
DisDncDve
Undergraduate
TradiDons
Fall
Semester
Begins
(8/26),
New
Student
OrientaDon
(8/22)
9/16/2014
-­‐
10/15/2014
Division
II
AthleDcs
10/16/2014
-­‐
11/15/2014
A
Growing,
Vital
Campus
The
Call
Conference
(11/10-­‐13)
11/16/2014
-­‐
12/15/2014
Challenging
Yet
Accessible
38

39. CASE
STUDY:
NNU
39

40. CASE
STUDY:
NNU
40

41. CASE
STUDY:
NNU
41

42. CASE
STUDY:
NNU
42

43. CASE
STUDY:
NNU
43

44. 25%
increase
in
organic
search
traffic
CASE
STUDY:
NNU
44

45. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
#
of
Leads
Months
Northwest
Nazarene
University
APP
in
EducaPon
Google
Ad
Words
CASE
STUDY:
NNU
• 189,686 impressions
• 1,545 click-throughs
• 39 prospects/leads
• 16 applied students
45

46. VIDEO:
SHOW
&
TELL
46

47. VIDEO:
SHOW
&
TELL
47

48. 48

49. SOCIAL
MEDIA
• Join
into
conversaDons
about
you
or
industry
topics
• Less
formal,
more
personality,
concise,
fun!
• Use
your
content
calendar
to
schedule
consistent,
on-­‐point
posts
• Develop
an
analyDcs
dashboard
to
learn
how
social
traffic
is
converDng
on
your
goals
49

50.
50

51.
51

52.
52

53.
53

55. DIGITAL
ADVERTISING
55

56. Search
Engine
MarkePng
(SEM)
• Target
users
on
SERPs
when
user
searches
related
to
‘mba’
keyword
phrases
› Channels: Google AdWords, Bing Ads
STRATEGIES
56

57. Demographic
• Target
users
based
key
demographics
such
as
geographical
locaDon,
age
range,
previous
educaDon,
job
background,
etc.
› Channels: LinkedIn, Facebook
STRATEGIES
57

58. STRATEGIES
Contextual
• Target
users
by
placed
ads
based
on
the
context
(keywords,
topics,
etc.)
of
websites
› Google Display Network (GDN)
58

59. Behavioral
• Target
users
based
on
their
online
browsing
acDvity
or
retarget
users
based
on
the
pages
viewed
on
your
website
› Channels:
Google
Display
Network,
Facebook
STRATEGIES
59

60. SEM
CAMPAIGNS
Measureable
Results
Through
Google
AdWords
Conversion
Tracking
&
Google
AnalyPcs
60

61. DIGITAL
ADVERTISING
Media
management
tool
to
analyze
effecPveness
of
various
adverPsing
channels
to
allocate
adverPsing
budget
effecPvely
61

62. QUIZ
–
Phase
I:
A^ract
• Search
Engine
OpDmizaDon
› Is
your
site
search
engine
opDmized
on
page?
Technical?
Off
page
and
link
building?
› Are
you
building
content
based
on
search
trends?
• Strategic
Content
› Do
you
have
a
blog?
› Are
you
measuring
success?
› Is
it
strategic?
• Social
Media
› Do
you
have
a
strategy?
› Are
you
measuring
it?
62

63. CONVERT
63

64. CONVERT
• If
you
don’t
ask,
they’ll
never
do
it
• CriDcal
for
collecDng
informaDon
about
prospects,
which
fuels
inbound
markeDng
64

65. 65

66. CALLS-­‐TO-­‐ACTION
(CTAs)
• Should
go
hand-­‐in-­‐hand
with
strategic
content
• EnDcing
and
friendly
• Knowing
your
prospects
will
help
you
know
what
would
be
enDcing
to
them
• Visual
should
stand
out
and
be
placed
consistently
FACT:
Benefit
focused
terminology
is
more
likely
to
enDce
prospects
to
click.
(From
research
by
The
Science
of
Blogging)
66

67. CTAs
67

68. CTAs
Provide
a
conversion
point
for
students
while
they’re
sDll
researching
programs
68

69. LANDING
PAGES
69

70. 2
or
3
of
our
best
landing
page
examples
CONVERSION-­‐FOCUSED
LANDING
PAGES
70

71. 2
or
3
of
our
best
landing
page
examples
CONVERSION-­‐FOCUSED
FORMS
71

72. LANDING
PAGES
• Unique
landing
page
per
campaign
with
Google
AnalyDcs
applied
• Clear
• Free
of
clucer,
compelling
copy
• OpDmized
for
mobile
• Only
capture
what
you
use
• Test
72

73.
• Keep
them
short
–
only
collect
what
you
use
• Break
them
up
into
mulDple
pages,
but
provide
a
status
bar
• Explain
what
you’ll
use
the
informaDon
for
–
and
mean
it
LANDING
PAGES
73

74. Example
Campaign
NURTURE
&
BUILD
A
RELATIONSHIP
Convert
Visitor
to
a
Lead
Meet
Professors
Student
Success
Stories
Info
on
Campus
Visit
Info
on
Financial
Aid
Push
towards
“apply
now”
74

75. EMAIL
MARKETING
Send
personalized,
beauDful
emails
that
your
prospects
will
look
forward
to
receiving
and
measure
which
messages
are
most
effecDve.
Collect
valuable
informaDon
on
your
leads
for
segmentaDon,
personalizaDon,
and
follow
up
by
your
sales
team
• Personalize
your
message,
sender,
and
subject
lines
• View
detailed
engagement
analyPcs
• Choose
from
a
variety
of
pre-­‐tested
templates
75

76. WORKFLOW
AUTOMATION
Trigger
email
messages
and
acDviDes
within
your
contact
records
to
automate
your
email
markeDng
strategies.
• Trigger
emails,
acPons
in
your
Contacts
database
&
webhooks
• Create
custom
lead
scoring
• Move
leads
easily
to
different
workflows
and
lists
• View
detailed
engagement
data
76

77. QUIZ
–
Phase
II:
Convert
• Calls
to
AcDon
› Do
you
have
calls
to
acDon
at
every
opportunity?
› Are
they
direcDng
the
user
to
what’s
next?
• Landing
Pages
› Do
you
have
landing
pages?
› Are
they
following
best
pracDces?
• Forms
› Do
you
strategically
use
forms?
› Are
they
opDmized
and
following
best
pracDces?
77

78. DELIGHT
78

79. DELIGHT
79
79
President
of
Converge,
Jay
Kelly
PresidenDal
Hopeful,
Chris
ChrisDe

80. PHASE
III:
DELIGHT
• Repeat
“customers”
are
your
best
advocates
• The
trust
factor:
word
of
mouth
• Improve
retenDon
FACT:
77%
of
consumer
are
more
likely
to
buy
a
new
product
when
learning
about
it
from
friends
or
family.
(Nielsen)
80

81. ONGOING
ENGAGEMENT
• Social
Media
• Events
–
online
and
in
person
• Segmented
email
lists
• Measure
success,
in
person
or
online
FACT:
MailChimp
found
that
segmented
emails
perform
about
15%
becer
than
average
on
opens
and
clicks
than
non-­‐segmented
lists.
(MailChimp)
81

82. MEASUREMENT
Analyze
which
of
your
markeDng
acDviDes
are
driving
the
highest
ROI
in
terms
of
visits,
leads,
and
students.
• Track
how
your
markePng
is
performing
in
terms
of
visitors,
leads
&
students
• Measure
the
ROI
of
your
markePng
campaigns
• Drill
into
detailed
reports
on
your
performance
• Compare
the
effecPveness
of
your
markePng
channels
82

83. COMPETITOR
ANALYSIS
Analyze
how
you
compare
to
your
compeDtor’s
online
presence.
83

84. OPTIMIZATION
• Geographical
targeDng
› 20
miles
around
campus,
Idaho
and
Oregon
performing
strongest
thus
far
84

85. “Within
Google’s
search
trends
analysis
from
this
quarter,
it
is
highlighted
that
while
the
search
queries
of
prospecDve
students
are
not
becoming
any
more
closely
aligned
with
individual
university
brands,
they
are
in
fact
becoming
much
more
specific
in
terms
of
locaPon
and
field
of
study.”
Google
Search
Trends:
Lessons
for
Higher
Educa.on
TopUniversiPes.com
August
2014
85

86. QUIZ
–
Phase
III:
Delight
• Targeted
Content
› Do
you
know
who
your
audiences
are?
› Have
you
developed
targeted
messages
(email,
social,
online)
to
answer
their
quesDons?
• Ongoing
Engagement
› Do
you
provide
customized
experiences?
› How
do
you
encourage
current
students
and
alumni
to
share
their
experiences?
• User
Experience
› Have
you
done
user
tesDng?
› Have
you
opDmized
for
mobile?
86

87. INBOUND
MARKETING
inbound
87

88. RESULTS
We
want
to
move
where
the
market
is
going,
not
where
it’s
been.
(Marketer
Surveyed
in
Hubspot’s
State
of
Inbound
MarkeDng
2013)
“
”
88

89. THANK
YOU!
89

90. SEGMENTATION
&
STRATEGIC
CONTENT
90
11:00AM
–
12:00PM

91. IN
THIS
SESSION
91
• The
what,
why
and
how
of
personas:
IdenDfying
your
target
audiences,
leveraging
qualitaDve
and
quanDtaDve
data
to
establish
goals
with
user
personas
• How
and
why
segmented
content
works:
Conveying
the
right
message
to
the
right
audience
with
segmentaDon

92. ICE
BREAKER
92

93. INTRODUCTION
93
Photo
by
Sam
Valadi

94. INTRODUCTION
94
• Content
volume
has
exploded,
acenDon
spans
have
shortened,
and
‘capDve’
audiences
no
longer
exist.
• As
consumers,
we
set
filters
and
tune
in
to
those
we
trust
or
care
about
the
most.

95. USER
PERSONAS
95
Define
your
target
audiences.

96. What?
96
User
personas
are
cri-cal
benchmarks
for
segmenta-on.
• Provide
a
deeper
understanding
of
target
audiences.
• CreaDve
markeDng
tools
to
reference
when
developing
content.
• Help
us
deliver
the
right
messages
at
the
right
Dme.

97. Why?
97
We
have
a
wide
range
of
target
audiences
to
reach.
• ProspecDve
students
• Current
students
• Alumni
/
donors
• Parents
• Community
members

98. How?
Where
to
start…
• Focus
groups
• Look
at
historical
data
• NegaDve
personas
• Surveys
• Talk
to
admissions
• More
the
becer
What
to
think
about…
• Gender
• Background
• Age
• Income
(if
any)
• Common
concerns/quesDons
• Personal
Goals
• Real
quotes
98

99. USER
PERSONAS
99
Define
your
target
audiences.

100. USER
PERSONAS
100
Define
your
target
audiences.

101. USER
PERSONAS
Define
your
target
audiences.
101

102. THE
ENROLLMENT
JOURNEY
High
School
Henry
Transfer
Taylor
• Do
I
want
to
go
to
college?
• Do
I
want
to
go
to
school
far
away?
• Do
I
need
a
concentraDon?
• Are
there
other
campuses
out
there
I’d
like
becer?
• What
schools
are
closer
to
home?
• What
schools
are
in
the
city?
• What
major
do
I
want
to
focus
on?
• Where
do
I
want
to
go
to
school?
• What
size
campus
is
right
for
me?
• Are
my
credits
going
to
transfer?
• Is
my
different
major
offered?
• Am
I
going
to
need
to
do
an
extra
semester?
• Are
there
scholarships
available?
• Is
there
early
decision
available?
• Is
my
sports
team
good?
• What
is
the
difference
in
cost?
• Do
I
like
the
professors/deans?
102

103. What?
Funnels
help
us
strategize
communica-on
touch-­‐points.
• Do
we
need
more
conversion
points
in
our
funnel?
• Should
we
focus
on
building
our
prospect
pool?
• Is
there
a
push
for
applicants?
• Where
are
we
focusing
our
efforts?
Answer
these
ques-ons
to
allocate
-me
and
efforts
according
to
your
unique
goals.
103

104. Why?
We
want
our
users
to
voluntarily
take
ac-on.
• Request
informaDon
• Start
an
applicaDon
• Download
content
• Register
for
an
event
• Visit
campus
• Make
a
donaDon
Maps
and
workflows
help
us
get
get
users
from
point
A
to
point
B.
104

105. How?
105
SeJng
Up
Your
Funnel/Campaign:
1. Determine
where
a
prospecDve
student
is
in
their
journey
2. IdenDfy
how
someone
would
be
enrolled
in
a
‘workflow’
3. What
content
will
we
send
in
that
workflow
4. Decide
on
a
goal
for
that
workflow,
and
how
someone
will
be
removed

106. AUTOMATED
WORKFLOWS
106

107. PROCESS
MAPS
107

108. TOUCH-­‐POINT
CAMPAIGNS
108

109. STRATEGIC
CONTENT
Create
segmented
messages.
109

110. What?
You
can
segment
more
than
just
emails.
• Social
media
posts
• Digital
adverDsing
• Content
offers
• And
yes,
emails,
too
Segmented
content
helps
us
deliver
the
right
message
to
the
right
person
at
the
right
-me.
110

111. How?
111

112. EMAILS
Send
personalized,
beauDful
emails
that
your
prospects
will
look
forward
to
receiving
and
measure
which
messages
are
most
effecDve.
Collect
valuable
informaDon
on
your
leads
for
segmentaDon,
personalizaDon,
and
follow
up
by
your
sales
team
• Personalize
your
message,
sender,
and
subject
lines
• View
detailed
engagement
analyPcs
• Choose
from
a
variety
of
pre-­‐tested
templates
112

113. LANDING
PAGE
113

114. INFOGRAPHICS
114

115. CONTENT
OFFERS
115

116. E-­‐BOOKS
116

117. E-­‐BOOKS
117

118. BLOGS
118

119. 119
BLOGS

120. WEBINARS
120

121. VIDEOS
121
“It’s
not
what
you
know.
It’s
what
you
create
with
what
you
know.”

122. TESTIMONIALS
122
Leveraging
tes-monials
as
suppor-ng
content
to
con-nue
the
narra-ve

123. TESTIMONIALS
123

124. TESTIMONIALS

125. SOCIAL
MEDIA
125

126. CONTENT
STRATEGY
DEFINED
126
MESSAGE
AUDIENCE
TIME

127. RIGHT
AUDIENCE
127

128. RIGHT
MESSAGE
128

129. RIGHT
PLACE
129

130. RIGHT
TIME
130

131. RIGHT
TIME
131

132. CASE
STUDY:
WINTERLINE
132

133. CASE
STUDY:
WINTERLINE
133

134. CASE
STUDY:
WINTERLINE
134
Since
March
1,
2015…
• 400+
Facebook
Page
‘Likes’
• 170+
Twicer
Followers
• 290+
Digital
AdverDsing
Leads
• 30+
New
ApplicaDons
• 450%
increase
in
website
traffic

135. ACTIVITY:
MAKE
MY
PERSONA
135
Persona
generator:
makemypersona.com

136. Q&A
LUNCH
136
12:00PM
–
1:00PM

137. 2:30PM
–
3:15PM
SEO:
GETTING
FOUND
137

138. IN
THIS
SESSION
138
• How
to
play
nice
with
search
engines:
What
works
and
what
doesn't
for
search
engine
opDmizaDon.
You'll
leave
with
a
thorough
understanding
of
how
search
engines
work
and
how
to
opDmize
for
them.
• How
to
future-­‐proof:
Things
change
frequently,
how
can
I
stay
on
top
of
SEO
tacDcs?
You'll
learn
why
quality
content
will
always
win
the
day.

139. The
majority
of
web
traffic
is
driven
by
the
major
commercial
search
engines.”
“
DO
I
NEED
SEO?
139

140. EVEN
IN
HIGHER
EDUCATION?
140

141. 1. Search
engines
use
robots,
someDmes
called
“spiders”
or
“crawlers,”
to
creep
around
the
pages
of
the
web
using
links
like
a
subway
system.
2. The
spiders
read
and
store
select
secDons
of
the
pages
in
a
big
database.
3. A
users
types
a
keyword
or
search
term
into
the
search
engine.
4. The
engine
accesses
that
huge
database
to
find
the
best
fit
using
a
top
secret
algorithm.
ROBOTS
AND
CRAWLS
141

142. WHERE
THE
TRAFFIC
CONVERGES
142

143. h^p://moz.com/google-­‐algorithm-­‐change
SEARCH
ENGINE
ALGORITHM
CHANGE
HISTORY
143

144. Moz
Search
Engine
Ranking
Factor
Survey
2013
HOW
TO
RANK
144

145. TECHNICAL
MOZ
REPORT
145

146. WHY
IT’S
WORTH
IT
146

147. On
Page:
-­‐ Content
-­‐ HTML
-­‐ Architecture
Off
Page:
-­‐ Links
-­‐ Social
-­‐ Trust
-­‐ Personal
ON
PAGE
VS.
OFF
PAGE
147

148. OFF
PAGE

149. OFF-­‐PAGE
SEO
1. Trust
› Links
from
a
trusted,
quality
or
respected
web
site
2. History
› Has
the
site
been
around
a
long
Dme?
3. OpportuniPes
› Admissions
ConsulDng
Sites
– Clear
Admit
– Accepted.com
› Government
sites
› Earned
media
– Wall
Street
Journal
– Washington
Post
– Poets
&
Quants
– Financial
Times
149

150. Links
OFF
PAGE:
LINKS
150

151. Owned
-­‐ Your
website
-­‐ Anything
you
can
edit
-­‐ Your
social
channels
(barrowed)
Earned
-­‐ Congrats,
you
wrote
great
content!
You’ve
earned
yourself
some
links.
-­‐ Killer
blogs,
podcasts,
videos,
ebooks,
webinars
and
more.
-­‐ Guest
blogs
Paid
-­‐ CPC
-­‐ Banner
ads
-­‐ Sponsored
LINKS:
QUALITY
151

152. BEST
PRACTICS:
• Local
media
• NaDonal
media
• ExisDng
relaDonships
• “Experts”
• Guest
blogs
• Ask!
LINKS:
QUALITY
152

153. LINKS:
AVOID
VIOLATIONS
153

154. LINKS:
A
HISTORY
LESSON
154

155. LINKS:
AVOID
VIOLATIONS
155

156. WHAT
IS
GOOGLE
LOOKING
FOR?
• InauthenDc
Dtles
• ManipulaDve
internal
links
• Link
filled
footers
(is
it
there
for
the
user
or
for
SEO?)
• Text
content
blocks
built
primarily
for
the
engines
• Backlinks
from
penalty
likely
sources
• Large
amounts
of
pages
that
are
very
similar,
slightly
modified
LINKS:
WHAT
IS
OVER
OPTIMIZATION?
156

157. Jon
Wye’s
Custom
Designed
Belts
LINKS:
TEXT
=
157

158. LINKS:
NUMBER
OF
LINKS
158

159. OFF
PAGE:
SOCIAL
159

160. >
SOCIAL:
REPUTATION
160

161. SOCIAL:
SHARES

162. SOCIAL:
WHICH
CHANNELS?
162

163. OFF
PAGE:
TRUST
163

164. ARE
YOU
A
TRUSTED
AUTHORITY?
• Types
of
links
your
site
receives?
• Quality
of
social
menDons?
• Engagement
metrics?
• Quality
of
content:
(for
example…)
o Would
you
trust
the
informaDon
presented
in
this
arDcle?
o Is
this
arDcle
wricen
by
an
expert
or
enthusiast
who
knows
the
topic
well,
or
is
it
more
shallow
in
nature?
o Does
the
site
have
duplicate,
overlapping,
or
redundant
arDcles
on
the
same
or
similar
topics
with
slightly
different
keyword
variaDons?
o Would
you
be
comfortable
giving
your
credit
card
informaDon
to
this
site?
o Does
this
arDcle
have
spelling,
stylisDc,
or
factual
errors?
TRUST:
AUTHORITY
164

165. THE
WEB
IS
DECAYING:
CausaPon
vs.
CorrelaPon
“We
can't
promise
that
(the
age
of
links)
is
not
a
factor,
but
if
it
is
a
factor,
it's
super
.ny.
It's
a
really
small
thing.
We're
using
it
primarily
in
conjunc.on
with
other
things
to
try
and
see
what's
going
on.”
“Think
about
the
fact
that
there
is
this
huge
billions
of
page
index
for
the
World
Wide
Web
but
only
about
20%
year-­‐over-­‐year
is
really
surviving.”
TRUST:
HISTORY

166. OFF
PAGE:
PERSONAL

167. PERSONAL:
COUNTRY
AND
LOCALITY

168. PERSONAL:
HISTORY
AND
SOCIAL

169. ACTIVITY:
META
DATA
169
Title
tag
Meta
descripPon

170. AFTERNOON
BREAK
170
3:15PM
–
3:30PM

171. SEO:
OPTIMIZING
CONTENT
171
3:30PM
–
4:15PM

172. IN
THIS
SESSION
172
• How
to
be
remarkable:
What
makes
content
that
is
compelling
and
engaging
enough
to
generate
traffic?
• How
to
get
it
done:
We’ll
cover
things
like
keyword
research,
best
pracDces
for
SEO,
content
amplificaDon,
and
trend
analysis.

173. ON-­‐PAGE
SEO
1. Content
› Clear,
concise
and
compelling
› Shows
rather
than
tells
› Engaging
› Relevant
keywords
› Fresh
2. Architecture
› Search
engines
can
easily
crawl
pages
on
site
› Speed
–
site
loads
quickly
› URLs
are
short
and
contain
meaningful
keywords
to
page
topics
3. Search
friendly
HTML
› Titles
contain
keywords
relevant
to
page
topics
› Meta
descripDon
tags
describe
what
the
pages
are
about
› Headlines
and
sub-­‐heads
use
relevant
keywords
173

174. Why
Is
It
Important?
§ Get
found:
Search
Engine
OpDmizaDon
(SEO)
§ Show
and
tell
your
story
=
build
an
emoDonal
connecDon
§ Establish
thought
leadership
and
experDse
FACT:
Website
conversion
rate
is
nearly
6x
higher
for
content
markeDng
adopters
than
non-­‐adopters.
(Aberdeen
Group)
FACT:
Using
inbound
tacDcs
saves
an
average
of
13%
in
overall
cost
per
lead.
(Hubspot)
ON-­‐PAGE
SEO
174

175. Content
ON
PAGE:
CONTENT
175

176. Content:
Keywords
CONTENT:
KEYWORDS
176

177. History of SEO Tactics: Humming Bird and
Content as King
CONTENT:
KEYWORD
THEMES
177

178. Modern Tactics
• Everything
works
together
to
build
AUTHORITY
– Not
just
one
keyword,
lots
of
keywords
• Develop
high
level
strategic
themes
Over
70%
of
the
traffic
you
earn
for
any
given
page
will
come
from
keywords
you
didn’t
try
to
opDmize
for.
15%
of
all
Google
searches,
over
half
a
billion
per
day,
have
never
been
seen
before.
CONTENT:
KEYWORD
THEMES
178

179. CONTENT:
KEYWORD
THEMES
179

180. Content:
Research
CONTENT:
KEYWORD
RESEARCH
180

181. CONTENT:
KEYWORD
RESEARCH
1. Know
your
value
and
tell
your
story.
2. Think
about
how
your
target
audiences
are
searching.
Why
do
they
need
you?
How
will
they
find
you?
3. Do
some
keyword
research
and
analysis.
4. Determine
the
themes
that
you
want
to
“own”.
5. No
keyword
stuffing.
It
does
more
harm
than
good.
181

182. Example:
ThemaDc
Keyword
Development
CONTENT:
KEYWORD
THEMES
182

183. ANSWER
PROSPECT
QUESTIONS
Examples:
“What
are
ways
I
can
involved
in
college
life?”
“What
are
the
best
colleges?”
“What
crea.ve
wri.ng
programs
are
there
near
me?”
“Is
American
University
a
good
school?”
“Does
it
have
brand
recogni.on
away
from
the
east
coast?”
183

184. KEYWORD
PLANNER
184

185. KEYWORD
ANALYSIS
185

186. CONTENT:
IMPLEMENTING
KEYWORD
THEMES
186

187. Value
is
future
proof
and
algorithm
proof.”
“
CONTENT:
QUALITY
187

188. Content:
Page
Engagement
/mosDmportant/landingpage
CONTENT:
ENGAGEMENT
188

189. Content:
Fresh
Infographics
Press
Releases
(and
newsworthiness)
Compelling
Blog
Posts
Video
CONTENT:
FRESHNESS
189

190. Side
Note:
What
is
“compelling”?
THE
CONTENT
RULES!
1. Embrace
that
you
are
a
publisher.
2. Insight
inspires
originality.
3. Build
momentum
(trigger
an
acDon).
4. Speak
HUMAN.
5. Reimagine
and
COPE.
6. Share
or
solve.
DON’T
SHILL.
7. Show,
don’t
just
tell.
8. Do
something
unexpected.
9. Stoke
the
campfire.
10. Create
wings
&
roots
(sharability
&
point
of
view).
11. Play
to
your
strengths.
From
Content
Rules
by
Ann
Handley
and
C.C.
Chapman
CONTENT:
WHAT
IS
COMPELLING?
190

191. HTML
ON
PAGE:
HTML
(THE
TECHNICAL
STUFF)
191

192. You
see
Search
Engines
see
HTML:
WHAT
SEARCH
ENGINES
SEE

193. Title
Meta
DescripDon
HTML:
TITLE
AND
META
DESCRIPTION

194. The
Perfectly
Keyword
OpPmized
Page
(keyword:
chocolate
donuts)
hcp://moz.com/learn/seo/on-­‐page-­‐factors
hcp://moz.com/blog/visual-­‐guide-­‐to-­‐keyword-­‐targeDng-­‐onpage-­‐opDmizaDon
HTML:
CHOCOLATE
DONUTS

195. HTML:
ARCHITECTURE

196. Search
Engines
need
links
to
crawl!
Lots
of
reasons
this
can
happen:
• Submission
forms
required
• Links
in
un-­‐parseable
Javascript
• Links
poinDng
to
pages
blocked
from
robots
• Frames
of
iframes
• Robots
don’t
use
search
forms
• Link
in
flash,
java
or
other
plugins
• Links
on
pages
with
many
hundred
or
thousands
of
links
ARCHITECTURE:
CRAWL

197. /mosDmportant/landingpage
ARCHITECTURE:
SPEED

198. ARCHITECTURE:
URLS
BEST
PRACTICES:
• Employ
empathy.
• Shorter
is
becer.
• Keyword
use
is
important
(but
don’t
sacrifice
usability)
• Go
staDc.
• Use
hyphens
to
separate
words
(more
than
three)
198

199. HTML:
SEMANTIC
199

200. SEO
TRENDS
200

201. SEO
TRENDS
201

202. WHAT
HAPPENED
4.21.2015?
• Google
released
its
new
mobile-­‐friendly
algorithm
• SEOs
have
dubbed
it
#mobilegeddon
• Algorithm
favors
web
pages
that
are
deemed
mobile
friendly
• Pages
are
either
mobile
friendly
or
no
–
there
is
no
scale
202

203. AREA
OF
IMPACT
Mobile
Search
Engine
Results
Pages
(SERPs)
203

204. WHAT
MAKES
A
SITE
“MOBILE
FRIENDLY”?
GoogleBot
detects
the
following
criteria:
• Avoids
somware
that
is
not
common
on
mobile
devices,
like
Flash
• Users
text
that
is
readable
without
zooming
• Sizes
content
to
the
screen
so
users
don’t
have
to
scroll
horizontally
or
zoom
• Places
links
far
enough
apart
so
that
correct
one
can
easily
be
tapped
• Overall
touchscreen
readiness
204

205. THE
MOBILE
TAG
• Rolled
out
last
fall
• Helps
users
idenDfy
mobile
friendly
sites
• Same
overall
criteria
to
#Mobilegeddon
205

206. GOOGLE’S
MOBILE
FRIENDLY
TEST
hcps://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-­‐friendly
206

207. RESULTS
hcps://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-­‐friendly

208. WEBMASTER’S
TOOLS
MOBILE
USABILITY
REPORT
208

209. HOW
IS
IT
IMPACTING
WEBSITES?
hcps://moz.com/blog/day-­‐amer-­‐mobilegeddon
209

210. CHECK
YOUR
SITE
210

211. CHECK
YOUR
SITE
211

212. COMMON
MISTAKES
• Blocked
JavaScript,
CSS
and
image
files
• Unplayable
content
• Faulty
redirects
• Mobile-­‐only
404s
• App
download
intersDDals
• Irrelevant
cross-­‐links
• Slow
mobile
pages
hcps://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-­‐sites/mobile-­‐seo/common-­‐mistakes/
212

213. USERS
FIRST
AND
MOBILE
FIRST
213

214. Mobile
Goals
Short
Term:
• Index
your
site
and
prioriDze
prospecDve
student
pages,
alumni
giving
pages
and
other
high
objecDve
secDons
• Work
through
them
and
make
sure
they
“get
the
tag”
• Use
digital
adverDsing
to
supplement
traffic
loss
• Consider
inbound
tools
like
the
COS
from
Hubspot
Long
Term:
• Make
sure
your
whole
site
passes
the
Mobile
OpDmizaDon
reports
in
webmaster
tools
• Redesign
–
including
informaDon
architecture
and
content
–
where
needed
214

215.
1. Fix
technical
errors.
2. Do
on
page
keyword
research
and
develop
a
strategy.
3. Implement.
4. Do
themaPc
keyword
research.
5. Build
some
valuable
content.
6. Develop
a
link-­‐building
strategy.
7. Monitor
and
improve
–
repeat.
THE
CONVERGE
PROCESS
215

216. IS
IT
WORKING?
216

217. IS
IT
WORKING?
217

218. 30-­‐day
free
trial:
hcp://moz.com/
IS
IT
WORKING?

219. IS
IT
WORKING?
219

220. Technical
Assessment
On
Page
OpDmizaDon
Off
Page
Growth
Strategy
Improved
Domain
Authority
Increase
in
#
and
quality
of
links
Increase
in
Organic
Search
Visits
Increase
on
ConverPng
Organic
Search
Visits
+
IS
IT
WORKING?
220

221. ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
221

222. ACTIVITY:
GOOGLE
TRENDS
222

223. THANK
YOU!
223