This document summarizes an ISA Marketing & Sales Summit workshop on taking search marketing to the next level. It discusses Google's dominance in the search market share and changes to their algorithm. The workshop agenda covers topics like eye tracking studies, Google Analytics, keyword research, search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay-per-click advertising best practices. Presentation materials analyze Google versus Bing search results, how to boost a site's quality score, and increasing click-through rates and coverage for paid search campaigns.

1. ISA Marketing & Sales Summit Workshop:Taking Your Search Marketing to the Next Level, 20101 September 7, 2011 Shari L.S. Worthington Telesian Technology

3. Search Market Share, July 2011 Google 65.1% US search share 2011, 11.2 billion searches 65.8% July 2010 Yahoo 15.9% US search share, 2.8 billion searches 17.1% July 2010 Microsoft 14.4% US search share, 2.5 billion searches 11.0% July 2010

4. Google 1998

5. Autocomplete

6. Instant

7. Agenda Eye-tracking studies Google Analytics Universal Search Google’s Quality Score SEO: Search Engine Optimization SMO: Social Media Optimization PPC: Pay Per Click Advertising

10. Eye Tracking Google vs Bing User Centric 2011

11. Eye Tracking Conclusions All searchers look at organic results Google gaze time is 28% longer Almost all searchers look at top sponsored results There is no different between right hand sponsored results About 25% of searchers will look Advertisers should place their ads above the organic search results Hit rate is 3x higher Gaze time is 5x longer

12. Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web Google Updates Used to be every 4-6 weeks Now is continuous Panda Update New algorithm update every 4-6 weeks Major update February 24, 2011 Focus on higher quality content for individual searcher Reduce rank of poor quality sites Increase rank of high quality sites Block unwanted domains http://www.youtube.com/google#p/u/2/J5RZOU6vK4Q

16. What Gets a Site in Trouble? You must dig deep to find issues High % of duplicate content Low amount of original content High # pages with low amount of original content High % of boilerplate content on each page

17. What Gets a Site in Trouble? High amount of inappropriate adverts that don’t match search queries Page content & page title tags that don’t match search queries a page does well for Unnatural language, e.g. heavy-handed SEO

18. What Gets a Site in Trouble? High bounce rate on page or site Low visit times on page or site Low % of users returning to a site Low click-through % from Google SERPs

19. What Gets a Site in Trouble? Low or no quality inbound links to a page or site Low or no mentions to a page or site in social media

21. July 2011 Google Benchmarks Site Metrics

22. July 2011 Google Benchmarks Geographic breakdown

23. July 2011 Google Benchmarks Bounce rate by country

24. July 2011 Google Benchmarks Avg time on site by country

25. July 2011 Google Benchmarks Breakdown by source

26. July 2011 Google Benchmarks Goal conversion rate

27. July 2011 Google Benchmarks Traffic sources

31. Google’s Universal Search

32. Google’s Universal Search

33. Analyze the Competition

34. Search Engine Optimization What can go wrong? Trying to hard Expecting too much too fast Lack of knowledge/experience Not thinking about the site visitor

35. SEO: What Does Google Want? Relevance: give user exactly what they want Comprehensiveness Index billions of pages Universal Search: content, images, video, news, books, blogs, etc

36. SEO: What Does Google Want? Freshness Continually crawl the web Realtime Search: Twitter contract expired July 2nd Speed Autocomplete search box Google Instant results

38. SEO: The Core Keyword rich content Identify top keywords Use them naturally in visible content Tweak keyword density for top keywords Search friendly site architecture Easy to navigate, easy to crawl & index Optimize site code

39. SEO: Page Title Page / browser title Most important on-page factor determining ranking in eyes of search engine

40. SEO: Page Title Is your title less than 70 characters? Only 70 are displayed in search results Does it include your primary target key phrase? Unique title for each page Is keyword one of first words in title? Does your title make sense?

41. SEO: Page Title Put keyword first, not brand Keep title short, sweet, simple Ensure each page targets a relevant keyword If you duplicate page titles, Google thinks your pages are similar and it won’t include them in the index Page titles have to read well & make sense to your customers EXERCISE: Go to your home & main products pages & rewrite page title

42. SEO: Page URLs Use a CMS that allows you to customize URLs on a per page basis

43. SEO: Page URLs URL should not include spaces or special characters Google considers hyphens to be spaces Ensure the URL relates to your site structure Sections, sub-sections, pages Keep URL simple & memorable

44. SEO: Meta Description <meta name=“description” content=“A description of the page content goes here” /> Include the target keyword phrase of that page Ensure the description accurately describes the page & presents your brand the way you want Keep it short and simple

45. SEO: Meta Description Do not stuff keywords or load description with every variation. This is for your users, not the search engines Do not write too much. Only displays first 155 characters By not including it, you are missing an opportunity to talk to your customers EXERCISE: Go to your home & main products page & rewrite description

46. SEO: Header Tags Page content should always start with an H1 tag Use the headers in order: H1, H2, H3 Use your primary keyword phrase within your headers, but don’t force it

47. SEO: Header Tags Don’t use more than 1 H1 per page Don’t skip the H2, H3 tags Use page specific keywords within all headers Avoid generic phrases, such as “About Us”

48. SEO: Page Content Have a minimum of 350 words per page Write naturally, with users in mind Target keyword phrases in top of copy & use throughout Be aware of keyword density Most prominent words on the page are your target keywords Vary the word order and use synonyms Don’t overuse bold & other text formatting

49. SEO: Review Meta Keywords Has no impact on rankings Reflect your primary target keywords Use primary keyword phrase & variations No more than 5-6 keywords Keep keywords unique for each page of site

50. Social Media Optimization Create shareable content Encourage links Make sharing easy Embed buttons & widgets Reward engagement Use promotional or content offers

53. Social Media Optimization Proactively share content Syndicate articles to other partners or platforms, Slideshare or Scribd Encourage “mashups” Encourage others to take and remix your content so it becomes user generated

55. Cisco’s Aggregated Services Router Product Launch Second Life 3D Game YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDi0FNcaock Facebook Social Media Widget Blogs Twitter Chat with CEO John Chambers

60. SMO: What to Test Scour analytics, use testing… Which sharing activities & promos lead to leads, sales, or changes in brand preference? SMO is an SEO ranking activity so encourage backlinks What is the optimum frequency for initiating sharing? What are the best methods for identifying influencers & seeding content? How can we integrate sharing of content via social platforms, web, mobile, & email?

61. PPC: Google’s AdWords Quality Score Increase reach – how many times your ad is viewed by searchers Increase clicks – higher positions which means more visits Decrease spend – maintain current positions at lower cost vs competitors

62. Google’s AdWords Quality Score AdWords calculates a QS for each of your keywords Evaluates variety of factors to measure relevancy to search query Updates frequently High QS means keyword will trigger ads in a higher position at a lower CPC

63. PPC: What is Quality? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7l0a2PVhPQ

64. How to Boost QS Click-through rates are crucial Product smaller, highly targeted ad groups with relevant ad text & offers Beware of too much reliance on broad matches laser level sensors – broad match which sensors use laser level [laser level sensors] – exact match laser level sensors “laser level sensors” – phrase match who has new laser level sensors Google does not include Display Network in this calculation

65. How to Boost QS Make sure you have relevant ad text Ad headlines and descriptions should contain same keywords as search terms Also an issue with landing page copy Ensure keyword relevance Degree of match between keyword triggering ad and search term entered Maintain a good history of QS within your account Remove poorly performing keywords or ad groups Brand bidding increases quality

66. How to Boost QS Peel & Stick Look for keywords with highest number of impressions and lowest QS Is ad is relevant to search terms? If yes… Is ad directing to relevant landing page? If yes… Move keyword to new ad group Create new ad or update ad-text displayed Create new landing page or update content

67. PPC: First Things First Creat a Traffic Map Collect site wide statistics Identify the most popular page on your site Find out how most people get to your site Identify follow up pages Repeat for your sales funnel pages Identify any “cross-feeders” Calculate theoretical CPA

68. Traffic Map: Site Wide Statistics Pick a date range that covers a few thousand visits in your analytics report Total visits Total absolute unique visitors Site wide bounce rate

69. Traffic Map: Identify Most Popular Page Usually your own domain “/” – internal linking Unique pageviews Bounce rate Exit rate

70. Traffic Map: How People Get to Site Most through homepage, but landing pages are preferable in many cases Top landing page Entrances Bounce rate

71. Traffic Map: Identify Second Step Pages Focus on top 5 pages Unique pageviews Bounce rate Exit rate NOTE: Look out for cross-feeders A funnel page that receives significant traffic from two or more pages

72. 1,977 entrances (55% of all visits) Unique pageviews: 2,038 Bounce 54.5% Exit 54.8% Top Landing Page File: xxxx UP: 843 Bounce 63.0% Exit 48.2% Second Step Pages File: xxxx UP: 32 Bounce 100% Exit 25% File: xxxx UP: 175 Bounce 37.3% Exit 26.1% White Paper Thank You Page The more clicks it takes to get to a page, the fewer Visitors, but the ones that make it there will be very motivated

73. How Long Should Your Conversion Funnel Be? Free and low-prices goods require shorter check-out processes Gather data from your competitor sites, the good and the bad Case history landing page Technology page Product page Make request

74. The Path to Conversions Single conversion goal Does every page in your sales funnel have a primary call to action? Can the purpose of the page be understood by a typical visitor in less than 5 secs? Is the intended goal of the page clearly spelled out in the headline? Is the purpose of the page clearly visible “above the fold”?

75. The Path to Conversions Eyeline Do the shapes and colors of the page clearly lead the eye to the desired call to action? Are you using no more than 2 columns in your layout? Anxiety Are you asking for data the visitor may not want to give? Are you offsetting user’s anxiety with a payoff? Can you use testimonials? Can you use third-party trust seals to improve credibility?

76. The Path to Conversions Friction Are there too many elements on the page? Arer there too many links or navigation elements? Is there sufficient white space on the page? Are you sing an appropriate font? Are form fields aligned with one another? Are links and buttons used appropriately? Are you asking for unnecessary information? Remember the stages of the buying process Are you limiting the use of Flash & other 3rd party technologies?

77. The Path to Conversions Length Is the page copy of the appropriate length? Are there 10 or fewer form fields on the page? Congruency Does the page look similar to the ones immediately before and after it? Is the page hosted on a third-party domain? Load Time Does the page load in under 5 seconds on IE & FF? Is the page size under 150k?

78. The Path to Conversions Urgency Do customers feel a strong need to not only buy your product but to buy it NOW? If not, can you offer an incentive to boost response rates? Is the incentive something that would be useful to your ideal customer?

79. Single Conversion Goals ONE call to action per page Subscribe to opt-in email newsletter Add a product to the shopping cart Accept a special offer Complete a contact information form Download a white paper Watch a video tutorial or demo

80. Coverage Maximize your coverage Impressions don’t cost anything but can build brand awareness Low coverage means you are overpaying for traffic

83. Increasing Coverage Be careful with capped budgets Is your ad appearing a small % of time but high up on page? Consider dropping bid, e.g. position 6, where you can better compete If your ad has a 0.2% CTR but competitors have 0.05%, you’re doing ok. But if it’s opposite, your ad coverage will suffer Craft an ad that’s as good as or better than theirs

84. Increasing Coverage Improve ad copy only if the keyword is a good fit for your business Examine your landing page & general web site content for quality Are you relying only on broad match terms? Add “phrase match” and [exact match]

85. Click-Through Rate Important component of your quality score Quality score determines the share of impressions your ads receive High QS can put you at the top of the search results page (at no additional cost) which can increase your click-through rates CTRs do increase with average position of ad Premium ad CTRs are higher but unpredictable

86. 0-2.5% CTR Up to 9.0% CTR

87. Click-Through Rate Keep your action area above the fold The closer the similarity of your ad copy to the searcher’s keyword phrase, the higher the CTR Ad copy plays a more important role in position than the bid rate!!!

93. Look at Competitiveness of Keywords Actual number of advertisers bidding on the term Estimated CPC for top ad position Competition level as reported by the search engines Number of words in the phrase

94. Go for the Long Tail It’s much better to target hundreds or thousands of niche terms than to target a handful of broad terms Level of competition is lower You get a bigger bite of the apple Benefits of niche keyword targeting are higher for advertisers appearing in lower positions Spend less More qualified site visitor

95. Building Your Keyword List You should have thousands of niche terms that are relevant to prospects Minimum 5,000 Don’t rely solely on brainstorming Leads to obvious keywords that generate lost of traffic but few sales Usually don’t reflect purchasers intentions Don’t rely solely on popular or free tools Cuz everyone else is using them too Remember to regularly update your keyword list

96. Keyword List Brainstorm Mine marketing collateral Use keyword suggestion tools Wordtracker (large db compiled over years) Adgooroo (searches for competitors ads, does reverse lookup of keywords) Expand horizontally with Google Adwords Keyword Tool Reverse engineer competitors keyword lists Weed out off target keywords

108. 22 Best Practices from Best Ads Include keyword phrase in ad titles Respect your customers’ language Localize your ads, e.g. [keyword] Chicago Use endorsements & testimonials, e.g. “ranked #1 by Control Magazine” Sell features & benefits Use attention grabbers, how to Use action words, learn, get, receive

109. 22 Best Practices from Best Ads Have a call to action Get quote now Request free white paper Squeeze more text in using &, special symbols TITLE: 25 characters LINE1: 35 characters LINE2: 35 characters Visible URL Capitalize Every Word In The Ad

110. 22 Best Practices from Best Ads Experiment with very short ads Include a brand name if it’s known Capture leads everywhere you can Optimze niche keywords Include www in domain name NOTE: Tread carefully with {keyword insertion} Don’t overrely on broad keywords Spell check Avoid superlatives as they generate mistrust

111. Questions? Thank you!! Shari L.S. Worthington Phone: 508-755-5242 sharilee@telesian.com Blog: http://blog.telesian.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/sharilee LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharilee