You’ve probably heard content marketing truisms like “quality over quantity.” Wondering what that actually means in practical terms? Master content marketer Mark Traphagen will share how to effectively build high-value content that is both SEO friendly and good for your brand.

1. SUCCESS BY
DESIGN
CONTENT THAT BUILDS BOTH
BRAND AND SEO
Mark Traphagen
#SEJSummit
@marktraphagen

5. Mark Traphagen
SR. DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
Stone Temple Consulting

6. PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN
DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY
Where
GEEKY
meets
CREATIVE
Reliable,
Passionate, Trustworthy
Helping leading brands:
 Expand reach to new audiences
 Optimize market opportunities
 Achieve better business performance
Advancing the
science through
INNOVATIVE
RESEARCH
70+
Employees
across
the United States
83Clients served over
past 12 months
Our multi-year engagement with Stone Temple Consulting
has been very profitable. They have consistently delivered
tangible business results… I strongly endorse and
recommend them for their great content marketing
expertise, but more importantly as a true business partner.
- Sean Kainec, Home Depot
“
”

7. How we averted a
Christmas disaster

8. November 15th:
Competitor Leap
Frogs Over Our
Client From #3 to #2
Slot in Rankings
Competitor
Client

9. We Did a Detailed Analysis:
Came Down to One Killer
New Link in a News Story

10. Hey, Can You
Add Our Link
To Your Story?

11. Justice Prevailed!
Client Moved Back to
the #2 Slot

12. Justice Prevailed!
Client Moved Back to
the #2 Slot

13. #SEJSummit
#Searchmetrics @NickWilsdon
Learn to Makea Good
Business Case
Be Interested,Open
andDiplomatic
SEO Can Influence
ManyBusiness Areas

15. Traffic on a withering decline...

16. No clear turnaround plan

17. Recovery Plan
Full Site Audit
Comprehensive
On Site
Content
Optimization
Competitive
Backlink
Analysis
World Class
Content
Marketing Plan

18. We Used Content Marketing to Get Links
From Many Relevant Sites

19. Result: BIG TIME RANKING GROWTH

20. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers

21. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers

22. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers

23. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & LinkersNo correlation between shares and links
Source: Moz and BuzzSumo

24. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & LinkersNo correlation between shares and links
Uh Oh!
Source: Moz and BuzzSumo

25. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & LinkersBut these have strong correlations
Source: Moz and BuzzSumo

26. Opinion-forming journalism works

27. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & LinkersThese also have strong correlations
Source: Moz and BuzzSumo

28. Data-driven research studies work

29. Case Study

35. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & LinkersAnd great links too!

36. 1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & LinkersAnd great links too!

39. This is Your
Target, Right
Here

40. Very Good Content is Not Good Enough
Elite Content is Where You Should Focus
Understand That Your Audience is Early
Adopters and Innovators
Create Content For Those Who
Will Listen, Share and Link
Part 1 Takeaways

41. 2. Create 10X Content for a 10X Brand

46. Brand Identity

47. Brand Identity
Buyer Personas

48. Brand Identity
Buyer Personas
Content Targeting

49. Brand Identity
Buyer Personas
Content Targeting
Social Promotion

50. Brand Identity
Buyer Personas
Content Targeting
Social Promotion
Yeah, I really love
that brand too.

55. Toughest Keyword for your competitors to
beat. Ever.

56. Create 10X Content for a 10X Brand
Realize DM Is an Ecosystem
Build Content Streams from Brand
Identity and Customer Personas
Unify Brand Message Across All
Channels
Part 2 Takeaways

57. 3. Create Content with Strategic Links

59. Current Ranking Data
What Terms are Close
to Money?

60. Success by Design:
What will it take to
move above
competition?

61. Pull Data on
Competitor Link
Profiles
Ranking in
the #7 Slot

62. Who is Ahead
of You in the
SERPS?
Your Site
#5
#6
#7
#8

63. Majestic SEO
Open Site
Explorer
ahrefs
Google
Search
Console
BackLink
Profiler
• Builds Master List Of Links
• Dedupes the List
• Prioritizes Targets
• Run on Your Site
• Run on Competitors
• Results Inform Campaigns
Integrate Data From Multiple Sources
Proprietary STC Tool

64. Pull the Detailed Link Data
for the Ranking Page for
Each Competitor

65. Figure Out Which
Links are Driving
Their Rankings for
Each Page

66. Tabulate This to Get
the Overall Picture

67. What Would
Explain This
Result Being
Here?

68. If High Authority Links Aren’t the Reason, Then What Is?
1. Superior Content
2. Query Deserves Diversity
3. Undetected Spammy Link Building
ç

69. If High Authority Links Aren’t the Reason, Then What Is?
1. Superior Content
2. Query Deserves Diversity
3. Undetected Spammy Link Building
ç

70. If High Authority Links Aren’t the Reason, Then What Is?
1. Superior Content
2. Query Deserves Diversity
3. Undetected Spammy Link Building

71. Sample Recipe to Get Into Top 5

72. Design and Pitch Content Strategically

73. Success By Design Makes Your Plan Quantitative and Clear

74. Case Study

77. 300% Traffic Increase
May-Aug 2016

78. 300% Traffic Increase
May-Aug 2016
• #3 “nepal travel expert
• #5 “manaslu treck”
• #1 “nepal short trecks

79. Content Marketing Must Meet Goals By Design
Identify Achievable Money Targets
Use Link Analysis to Design
Link Placement Strategy
Be Opportunistic!
Part 3 Takeaways

80. #SEJSummit
#Searchmetrics @NickWilsdon
Learn to Makea Good
Business Case
Be Interested,Open
andDiplomatic
SEO Can Influence
ManyBusiness Areas