The presentation by Jesse Laffen focuses on modern SEO strategies, emphasizing the distinction between tactical (micro) and strategic (macro) SEO approaches. It highlights the importance of quality content, organizational responsibilities, and effective metrics for measuring SEO success, alongside insights into Google's algorithm updates. Key action items include using plain language to describe services and prioritizing high-quality content on websites.

1. Modern Strategies for SEO Success
Jesse Laffen | Director, SEO Performance
@jlaffen

2. THIS PRESENTATION
INCLUDES:
 How Slingshot SEO thinks about search
 A new way of talking about holistic SEO
 1 word Jesse had to look up in the dictionary to
use today
 Lots of interaction
2

3. THIS PRESENTATION
DOES NOT INCLUDE
3

4. HOW SLINGSHOT SEO
SEES SEARCH
4

5. Page-Level (micro) vs. Domain-Level (macro) SEO
• Agreeing on “about us” page content with marketing micro
• Formatting a standard product page to include a space for macro
content within a CMS
• Measuring the relevance of the copy on a page to a keyword micro
phrase
• Producing ROI analysis on month-over-last web commerce macro
• Writing a week’s worth of social media content for publishing macro
• Establishing organizational responsibilities & KPIs for internet macro
marketing
• Changing a title tag micro
• Submitting a request to change the color of a call-to-action micro
button
5

6. Tactical vs. Strategic SEO
• Agreeing on “about us” page content with marketing strategic
• Formatting a standard product page to include a space for tactical
content within a CMS
• Measuring the relevance of the copy on a page to a keyword tactical
phrase
• Producing ROI analysis on month-over-last web commerce strategic
• Writing a week’s worth of social media content for publishing tactical
• Establishing organizational responsibilities & KPIs for internet strategic
marketing
• Changing a title tag tactical
• Submitting a request to change the color of a call-to-action strategic
button
6

7. Using these continua, we create a 2D SEO model:
Domain-level
(Macro)
Page-level
(Micro)
Tactical Strategic
7

8. TACTICAL | PAGE-LEVEL
8

9. 9

10. 10

11. Google in 2011:
February: Unleashed the “Panda” update, which evaluates the quality of a page’s
worth to a visitor by measuring the value of the content on the page and the domain’s
intent of producing value to its end user.
March through November: Rolls out two major overhauls and several smaller
“tweaks” to the Panda algorithm filter.
October: Announces that a new “freshness” score, measuring the recentness of a
page’s content, will affect as many as 35% of all searches.
11

12. Google in 2011:
“[Google does] try to compensate if there is good quality content
and people still make mistakes… Even if you do kind of brain-
dead stupid things and shoot yourself in the foot, but have good
content, we do want to return it.”
-Matt Cutts, Head of Google Webspam Team
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0JD55e5h5JM
12

13. What Does Your Website Talk About?
“Since 1987, [Company A] has been the “[Company B] provides drop-shipping
industry leader in turnkey solutions that services for e-commerce companies. Our
work. clients are free to mix and match services
like websites and hosting, payment
Our facilities are unparalleled in quality processing, order fulfillment and
and we strive to offer the best service shipping, call center support, real-time
available. tracking and more.
We’re trusted by companies like We’ve helped hundreds of businesses
Microsoft, Nike, and Amazon to provide build the right sites for their products and
rapid services with real ROI.” get those products onto the doorsteps of
the people who buy them.”
13

14. Action Items:
• Find a quality copy writer, let
them write.
• Talk about what you do in plain
terms somewhere on your
website. Answer the question
“What is [keyword]”
• Fill up your site with good
content.
14

15. 15

16. The Google PageRank Algorithm, in Pieces:
16

17. The Google PageRank Algorithm - Simplified
“Why bother with a number that’s at best three steps
removed from your actual goal, when you could instead
directly measure what you want to achieve?”
-Susan Moskwa, Google Engineer
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/06/beyond-pagerank-graduating-to.html
17

18. Link Metrics That Matter:
• Links are like references on a resume.
• The best links are ones that a lot of
people want to click.
• Links are an endorsement of content.
Corollary: Links cannot “make up for”
other ranking inhibitors, like content.
18

19. 19

20. 20

21. 21

22. 22

23. 23

24. 24

25. yes
no no
Link ? On-Page ? Off-Page ?
Removal
yes yes
no
25

26. TACTICAL | DOMAIN-LEVEL
26

27. Landing Pages vs. Domains, 2002:
Home Home
Page Page
Landing Weak Weak Landing Good Good
Page Content Content Page Content Content
LINKS!! links links links
27

28. Landing Pages vs. Domains, 2012:
Home Home
Page Page
Landing Weak Weak Landing Good Good
Page Content Content Page Content Content
LINKS!! links links links
28

29. 29

30. 30

31. 31

32. 32

33. 33

34. STRATEGIC | PAGE-LEVEL
34

35. In-House Internet Marketer
35

36. In-House Internet Marketer
36

37. IT Branding
User Bus. Units &
Interface Content
Owners
SEO
PR & Legal &
Social Compliance
Web Product
Production Marketing
37

38. STRATEGIC | DOMAIN LEVEL
38

39. Enterprise Keyword Selection & Tracking
39

40. Definitions & Decisions
• SEO goals
• Reporting
• Key Performance Indicators
• Timelines & Benchmarks
• Conversions
• Owners & Decision-Makers
• Software
40

41. SEO ROI
= Revenue from SEO – Cost of SEO
41

42. Traditional Valuation
Slide by Conductor
42

43. Advanced Valuation
Slide by Conductor
43

44. True Value
Slide by Conductor
44

45. Q&A
Jesse Laffen
jesse@slingshotseo.com
@jlaffen
45