This document summarizes a presentation about search engine optimization (SEO) given to Georgia Tech. It discusses the importance of SEO for businesses and provides an overview of key SEO strategies and tactics. These include conducting keyword research, optimizing on-page elements like titles and meta descriptions, building high-quality links, measuring SEO results through rankings and traffic, and leveraging social media. Case studies demonstrate how SEO can increase a website's organic traffic, conversions, and paid search leads. The presentation emphasizes the importance of usability and calls SEO and paid search most powerful when used together.

1. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION:
TALES FROM A PRACTITIONER
Presented to:
GA Tech
College of Management
September 11, 2012

2. ABOUT ME & PPI
 Degrees in Business/Marketing and Communications
Management
 Marketing = 25 years
 Search engine marketing = 14 years
 President of SEMPO Atlanta – event at Google’s office
this Thursday evening: http://bit.ly/NWW5wI
 Full-service, award-winning search engine marketing
agency based in Atlanta since 2001
 Provide search engine optimization (SEO) & pay-per-
click (PPC) services to clients nationwide

3. WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT SEM?


4. WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT SEM?

5. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
(SEO)

6. Paid listings,
sponsored links,
pay-per-click (PPC) ads,
cost per click (CPC)
Organic, editoria
l, natural, algo
rithmic results
(SEO - Search
Engine
Optimization)

7. SEO GOALS


8. ECOMMERCE VS. LEAD GENERATION
Often B2C Often B2B
 Goal is to make an  Goal is to capture a
immediate sale prospect’s data for lead
 Usually less nurturing
expensive, more  Usually more
simple products expensive or
 Short sales complicated products &
cycle, impulse buys services
 Longer sales
cycle, decision by
committee

9. SEO COSTS

10. HOW SEARCH ENGINES WORK
(THE ORGANIC – SEO – SIDE)
 Step 1: Find, crawl &  Step 2: Receive query,
index web content rank & display content

11. THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP
Keyword Research!

12. SEARCH TERM RESEARCH: CRITICAL
Use the verbiage your target audience uses – not what
your industry or internal experts use
 “search marketing” or “web optimization”?
 “healthcare” or “health care”?
 “financial solutions” or “financial software”?

13. KEYWORD RESEARCH
 Search volume
 Competitiveness
 Stage in buying cycle servers
used used used ibm
servers as/400 as/400
servers servers
Search volume
Competitiveness
Probability of buying
Likelihood of high rankings

14. AVOID EDITORIAL RESULTS WITH SEARCH
TERM SELECTION
80%
editorial

15. AVOID EDITORIAL RESULTS WITH SEARCH
TERM SELECTION
80%
commercial

16. ON-PAGE FACTORS
Source: Search Engine Land

18. BUT WAIT…
 Search engines don’t just look at the web page itself when
determining how to rank it
 They also look at the quantity and quality of links pointing to that web
page
 Links are an implied endorsement
Source: SEO Solution Blog

19. LINK-BUILDING: CRITICAL & MUST BE DONE
RIGHT
 YES: high quantity of quality links, relevant sites, hand-
selected sites, diversified link types, content/campaign
creation (“link bait”), social media, leveraging other
marketing tactics
 NO: link farms, irrelevant sites, automated submissions,
too many links from the same type of site, reciprocal
links, paid links, content farms

20. THE CRIMES OF SEO Source: eZanga.com
Source: Reload Media

21. OFF-PAGE FACTORS
Source: Search Engine Land

22. ALL SEO FACTORS
Source: Search Engine Land

23. SOCIAL MEDIA

24. SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR
SEO PURPOSES
Content

25. GOAL: TAKE UP AS MUCH ROOM IN THE
SERPS AS POSSIBLE
Website
Website
Website
Twitter profile
Facebook profile
LinkedIn profile
BusinessWeek profile
(not us)
Optimized press release
Video (not us)

26. MONITOR YOUR COMPANY &
BRAND NAME(S)

27. SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR
SEO PURPOSES
Votes

28. SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR
SEO PURPOSES
Links

29. MEASURING RESULTS
(How do we know this is working?)

30. HOW DO YOU MEASURE SEO?

31. MEASURING RESULTS
Conversions
Visitors /
Rankings / Revenue /
Site Traffic
ROI

32. WHY DO RANKINGS MATTER?
Source: eZanga.com

33. PERSONALIZED SEARCH MEANS RESULTS
VARY FOR EVERYONE

34. USABILITY: MORE IMPORTANT THAN SEO
EVEN? (YES!)

35. USABILITY: MORE IMPORTANT THAN SEO
EVEN? (YES!)

36. USABILITY: MORE IMPORTANT THAN SEO
EVEN? (YES!)
Starting Site Visitors Good Site Conversions
• 1% conversion
• 100,000 • 1,000
point rate
SEO only
Site Visitors Good Site Conversions
after SEO • 1% conversion Usability
• 2,000 Great Site
• 200,000 rate Site Visitors Conversions
only • 100,000
• 2% conversion
rate
• 2,000
Site Visitors Great Site
after SEO • 2% conversion
Conversions SEO +
• 4,000
• 200,000 rate Usability

37. HOW PHONE CALL TRACKING
WORKS
Type in URL directly & see this:
Click on a Google organic listing & see this:
Click on a Google paid listing & see this:

38. CALL TRACKING ENSURES YOU’RE
MEASURING ALL RESULTS
33%
66%

39. CALL TRACKING ENSURES YOU’RE
MEASURING ALL RESULTS
Mini Case Study:
-71% of leads came in by
phone
-Increased PPC bids
-Doubled the number of
PPC leads generated

40. CASE STUDIES

41. INCREASE IN RANKINGS

42. INCREASE IN ORGANIC SITE TRAFFIC

43. INCREASE IN ORGANIC CONVERSIONS

44. PAID SEARCH HAS ADDITIONAL METRICS

45. LANDING PAGES CAN MAKE OR BREAK
3.4% conversion rate - BEFORE

46. 4.8% conversion rate – AFTER (>40% increase

47. SEO & PAID SEARCH TOGETHER ARE EVEN
MORE POWERFUL

48. WANT MORE?
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 View other presentation on Slideshare:
www.slideshare.net/stacywms
We are always looking for good interns – email me your resume at
StacyWilliams@ProminentPlacement.com if you are interested!