Derrick Wheeler discusses the role of SEO at Microsoft, including the insights engine, reporting outcomes, and opportunities for driving business value. He outlines the SEO team's practices, audience targeting, and measurement frameworks utilized to optimize performance across various content types and markets. The presentation also emphasizes the importance of monitoring traffic changes and addressing anomalies to ensure effective SEO strategies.

1. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
Awareness Leads to Opportunities
SEO at Microsoft
“Insights Engine”

2. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
• Little
personal
backgr0und
(10
seconds)
• SEO
landscape
at
Microsoft
(less
than
5
minutes)
• The
“Insights
Engine”
• Two
very
basic,
yet
necessary
and
insightful
report
components
• An
example
of
how
we’ve
used
them
to
create
value
for
the
company
• What
now?
Agenda

3. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
SEO at Microsoft – Scope, Ecosystem, Roles
Content
Types
• Pre-­‐sales
• Post-­‐sales
• Ecommerce
• News/Blogs
• Events
• Search
Engine
Objectives
• Lead
generation
• Event
registrations
• Sales/Revenue
• Customer
Satisfaction
• Cost
Savings
• Market
Share
Audiences
• Enterprise
• S/M
Businesses
• Consumers
• Developers
• Press
• 140+
Markets
Analytics
• Webtrends
• Omniture
• MDA
• Other
Stakeholders
• IT
(OPS)
• Designers
• Developers
• Writers
• Site
Managers
• Other
Marketers
• Intl
Subsidiaries
• Agencies/Vendors
• Executives
MSCOM
SEO
Team
Center
of
Excellence
Model
• Define
Best
Practices
• HV
SEO
Programs
• Global
Service
Center
• Supplier
Management
• Events
&
Community
• Measurement
Framework
• Insights
&
Opportunities
• Drive
Adoption
of
SEO
Office
Windows
Support
Dynamics
TechNet
SMB
Online
Store
Windows
Phone
XBOX
Skype
MSN
Minecraft
MSDN
Surface
Content
Management
Systems
• Over
12
in
use
• More
in
development

4. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
SEO at Microsoft – Overarching Framework

5. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
1. Reporting
the
business
outcomes
of
SEO
efforts
to
inform
future
levels
of
investment
2. Uncovering
opportunities
to
drive
greater
business
value
out
of
our
SEO
program
Two types of measurement I care about
The
SEO
“Insights
Engine”
Web
Analytics
Webmaster
Tools
More

6. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
Insights Engine - Daily & Monthly Anomaly Watch
1. Determine
if
traffic
change
is
legitimate
&
significant
a. Was
tracking
code
added
to,
or
removed
from,
an
existing
site?
i. Yes
-­‐
notify
analytics
team
ii. No
-­‐
look
at
seasonal
trends,
industry
chatter
and
significant
events
2. Contact
site
owner
&
SEO
lead
a. were
they
aware
of
the
decrease/increase?
b. is
it
a
brand
new
site?
i. Yes
-­‐
onboard
to
our
SEO
programs
ii. No
-­‐
did
they
make
any
recent
changes?
3. For
increases
a. document
changes
made
b. create
case
study
c. broadly
share
best
practices
4. For
decreases
a. enable
appropriate
measurement
plan
b. investigate
scope
and
diagnose
potential
causes
c. provide
documentation
on
best-­‐practice
“violations”
d. recommend
fix
&
follow-­‐up
to
facilitate
implementation
e. measure
impact
and
follow
#3
above

7. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
Real
Life
Example
*Numbers
Removed
!
SEO Insights Engine - Daily Anomaly Watch
Dimensions
1. Referring
Source
2. Engine
3. Market/Country
Metrics
1. Visits
2. Revenue

8. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
Insights Engine
Monthly Anomaly Watch
*Site-­‐names
removed
!
Were
there
significant
spikes
or
dips
in
organic
search
visits
and/or
revenue?

9. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
Was tracking code inadvertently removed?

10. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
Particular
country?
Consistent
language?
Specific
category?
A
single
page?
Across
the
board?
Device
type?
*Engine?
What pages/groups of pages were affected?

11. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
1. Crawl
2. Index
3. Rank
4. Click
5. Traffic
6. Action
7. Value
Diagnose from issue up – measure impact from issue down
Pages
indexed
by
day

12. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
Determined
there
was
a
crawl
related
issue
then…
1. Notified
site
team
2. Diagnosed
the
“on-­‐
site”
cause
3. Facilitated
a
resolution
Are there any crawl issues?
Pages
crawled
per
day

13. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
Post-Engagement – Upcoming Activities
Case
Study
Brag
Inform
Shrink
Time
Share
Story

14. #SMX #31C @derrickwheeler
SEE YOU AT THE NEXT #SMX
THANK YOU!