State of Search Marketing 2010

www.waterandstone.com

The State
of Search
Marketing
2010


What Is Search Marketing?
-- drivers
The term search marketing encompasses a
-- planning
range of activities, from classic search engine
-- execution
optimization (SEO), to social media optimization
(SMO) to management of pay-per-click (PPC)
-- tracking
services for the purpose of promoting your site
and making it more visible to searchers.


!   what's new this year

  The emphasis of real time results
-- drivers
  The renewed vitality of Microsoft (Bing)
-- planning
  The success of SMO
-- execution
  Facebook PPC
-- tracking
  Emergence of location search
  Necessity for mobile-friendly content


!   what's hasn't changed

  The dominance of Google
-- drivers
  The importance of fundamentals
-- planning
  The reward for excellent & changing content
-- execution
-- tracking


!   key factors to consider for your site

  The domain name (does it include a strong
-- drivers
brand or relevant keywords?)
-- planning
  Relevant Inbound links (quality, then quantity)
-- execution
  Content of URLs (do they contain key words?)
-- tracking
  Amount of content, as well as quality &
frequency of change
  Keyword density
  Internal link density
  The age of your domain
  Consistency of your search marketing efforts


!   formulate reasonable goals
Yes, I know, we all want to be #1 on Google…

-- drivers
  Remember that Google rankings are only a
-- planning
means to an end – the goal is an increase in
-- execution
relevant traffic. You don't have to be on page
-- tracking
one of Google to achieve this goal (though it
does help!).

  Keep this in mind as it will shape your
implementation and your tracking -- and without
it, you are likely to waste your efforts.


!   conduct an SEO audit

  Identify areas of opportunity (keyphrases with
-- drivers
more traffic and less competition)
-- planning
  Where you rank now
-- execution
  # of inbound links
-- tracking
  # of pages indexed
  Who currently dominates your chosen keywords
  Their inbound links & pages indexed & metadata
  Conduct content audit to assess suitability for
optimization for your keywords
  Decide which pages to optimize


!   don't forget the long tail

  The longer the keyword combination, the less
-- drivers
competition, AND the higher the
-- planning
conversion rates!
-- execution
  Generic keyphrases are highly competitive and
-- tracking
require long term commitment (or PPC).
  The long tail is often the point of least
resistance.


!   Make your site search friendly
  This is classic “SEO”
  One of the few areas where you really need an
-- drivers
expert’s assistance.
-- planning
  Key Issues:
-- execution
  Search engine friendly URLs (SEF)
-- tracking
  page titles
  XML Sitemaps
 metadata
  element attributes
  keyword density
  internal link density and link text
  Robots.txt file


!   The place of metadata

  Metadata isn’t dead (though it is less important)
-- drivers
  It should not be ignored
-- planning
  Key field => Description
-- execution
  Key field => Keywords
-- tracking
  Key field => Robots
  Many optional fields here


!   Make your site search friendly - extras

  Use a site map (front end)
-- drivers
  Implement effective handling of 404s
-- planning
  Enforcement (and use) of consistent URL
-- execution
formulation (www or not www)
-- tracking
  Tags (taxonomy) : can have a positive affect on
internal link density
  Internal links – use title attribute and use link
text


!   now you are ready to register!

  You must manually register on the key engines
-- drivers
  Automated software has a limited and
-- planning
secondary role
-- execution
  Create & maintain XML site maps
-- tracking
  Set up Google Webmaster Tools account
  Set up Yahoo! Site Explorer account
  Set up a Bing Webmaster Center account
  Don’t be afraid to re-register if the site does not
show up in a reasonable period of time – but
don't overdue it!


!   building links

  The key: Relevant, high ranking sites
-- drivers
  Hit the key directories - Yahoo!, DMOZ, any
-- planning
niche market directories
-- execution
  Look at your competitors’ links pages
-- tracking
  Build links to your key pages -- not just the
homepage
  Use keyword-specific link text
  Are you willing to buy links?
  This takes massive amounts of time.


!   increase the number of pages indexed

  Create internal links
-- drivers
  Maintain a site map on your site
-- planning
  Keep those URLs friendly!
-- execution
  Keep XML site map updated
-- tracking
  Consider using "spider food"


!   what’s a “friendly” (SEF) URL?

-- drivers
Search Engine (& user!) Hostile:
-- planning
http://www.balitravelportal.com/index.php?
page=main.php&action=ShowCategory&catid=56
-- execution
-- tracking
Friendly:

h/p://www.balitravelportal.com/south-‐bali/kuta


!   the role of PPC

  When you absolutely, positively have to be on
-- drivers
Page One -- today!
-- planning
  There are several programs worth
-- execution
looking at.
-- tracking
  Google = no set up fees, daily budgets with no
deposit
  Google has better syndication and site targeting
  Facebook PPC is relatively new
  lower click costs than Google
  Better demographic targeting


!   Social Media Optimization

  Digg & Newsvine can fast-track listing
-- drivers
  StumbleUpon – can drive traffic
-- planning
  Exploit the increasing number of social
-- execution
bookmarking sites
-- tracking
  Establish a presence on relevant niche
community sites.
  Don't forget Wikipedia.
  Content creation for Web 2.0 sites is
worthwhile – This is the New PR.
  Get bookmarking tools on your site
  If you have suitable content, offer RSS feeds


!   SMO - Participating in Community

  Seek out community sites frequented by your
-- drivers
target markets.
-- planning
  Create a place to interact with them.
-- execution
  Logical choices:
-- tracking
  Facebook
  Ning
  Regional / Country Specific networks, like Hi5
  other niche sites suitable to your offering


!   SMO – Twitter

-- drivers
  Love it or hate it, but don't ignore it.
-- planning
  Your Twitter profile will be indexed.
-- execution
  With Google's new emphasis on real time
-- tracking
results, tweets get indexed quickly.
  Effective at driving traffic into your site.


!   special SEO considerations

(1) Site rebuilds
-- drivers
  must plan and manage migration!
-- planning
  Identify your key indexed pages & put 301 re-
-- execution
directs on them
-- tracking
(2) In the sandbox…
  nothing to do but wait

(3) Blacklisted
  can petition for re-indexing
  get your Google Webmaster account set up


!   you have to track!
  Where do you stand now? If you don't know,
that is the first issue to address. You must have
-- drivers
some baseline to evaluate efforts.
-- planning
  Ask: What’s working?
-- execution
  Ask: What needs more attention?
-- tracking
  Feedback the knowledge into your efforts.
  Google Analytics is a great choice and the price
is right!
  Programs like Advanced Web Ranking are also
very useful.
 Check those PPC reports
  Check your Google Webmaster account


!   Ric Shreves

Web: www.WaterAndStone.com

Thank you for your time. eMail: ric@waterandstone.com

State of Search Marketing 2010

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (17)

Similar to State of Search Marketing 2010

Similar to State of Search Marketing 2010 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

State of Search Marketing 2010