The Science of Search - How SMBs Can Leverage Search to Grow Their Business

CEDAR CREEK PROPOSAL | JUL XX, 2012 1

T H E S C I E N C E O F
SEARCH MARKETING
How Small Businesses Can Use Search
Marketing to Drive Customers

SCIENCE OF SEARCH MARKETING FOR SMB| JULY 2014
Elasticity
>  Top 25 fastest growing companies in St. Louis
>  Focused on search marketing, social media,
public relations, and creative services
About Me
>  10+ years of working in search and digital
marketing field
>  Worked with businesses of all sizes, from
startups to Microsoft, Visa and the Federal
Reserve

TODAY
WHY DIGITAL MATTERS
HOW SEARCH WORKS
HOW TO LEVERAGE SEARCH
TOOLS & RESOURCES
1
2
3
4

YOUR
AUDIENCE

INTERRUPTION MARKETING
TV
Radio
Print
Direct Mail
Outdoor
Display
86%
Skip TV Ads
44%
of direct mail is
never opened
14%
Of people trust
advertisements
61%
Lower CPL from
inbound marketing vs.
outbound marketing
90%
Of Radio ads are
not profitable

INBOUND MARKETING
Marketers align themselves with
their audiences, earning
attention and drawing customers
into their sales funnel.
" Search Marketing
" Content Marketing
" Blogging
" Email Marketing
" Social Media
" Lead Nurturing

75%SEARCH MARKETING
PERCENTAGE OF MARKETERS THAT FEEL THAT A
MARKETING CHANNEL HAS A GOOD OR EXCELLENT ROI
41%SOCIAL MEDIA

Search is the
De Facto Way
People Navigate the Internet.

80%OF INTERNET TRAFFIC
BEGINS AT A SEARCH ENGINE

50% OF LOCAL
SEARCHES ARE ON
MOBILE DEVICES

THE VALUE
I want what you sell, please!

ANATOMY OF A RESULTS PAGE
SEARCH STARTS WITH THE WEB. IT’S MADE UP OF OVER
PEOPLES BANK UNIVERSITY | JULY 2014
Carousel
Local
Results
Organic
Search
Listings
Local
Results
Map
Paid
Search
Ads

ANATOMY OF A RESULTS PAGE
PEOPLES BANK UNIVERSITY | JULY 2014
Paid
Search
Ads
Organic
Search
Listings

THE BASICS (IN FIVE MINUTES OR LESS)

HOW GOOGLE WORKS
SEARCH STARTS WITH THE WEB. IT’S MADE UP OF OVER
60 TRILLION
INDIVIDUAL PAGES
AND IT’S CONSTANTLY GROWING

HOW GOOGLE WORKS
Google navigates the web by
CRAWLING
Software called “spiders” follows
links from page to page.

HOW GOOGLE WORKS
Google then stores the crawled pages in an
INDEXCapturing a wide range of information about the page
It’s over 100
million gigabytes

HOW GOOGLE WORKS
When a search is entered, Google uses
ALGORITHMSTo rank the results and deliver users the most relevant results.
We use +200
factors to rank
the results

THE ROLE OF SEO
0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Enquiro
(2007)

Chi9ka
(2010)

Slingshot

(2011)

CTR BY POSITION

TO BE AN SEO SUPERHERO
GET MORE LINKS

GOOGLE: NO LONGER FOOLED
>  In 2011, Google launched major
updates designed to stop spammers
– specifically unearned links
>  As more updates rolled out, tactics
that had been effective became a
liability
>  As a result, SEO has become an
earned media approach

So, what?
Can this help my business?

Know the
Keywords
That Matter1

WHAT ARE KEYWORDS?
Keywords are simply a word or phrase that
searchers enter into a search engine. By
using keywords in content, a site is deemed
more “relevant” for those searches.

KEYWORD RESEARCH
Brainstorm

Quan9ta9ve

Sources

Analysis
Op9miza9on

" Think like your
audience – how
would they search
for your offerings?
" Develop an initial
list of search terms.
" Use online tools,
analytics data to
expand your
keyword list.
" What keywords is
your competition
using?
" Use keyword
popularity from
Google
" Balance popularity
with relevance
" Prioritize the list
" Begin optimization of
content

KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS

Get the
Basics Right
2

BUILD A STRONG FOUNDATION
1.  Use a search-friendly CMS
2.  Create unique title tags for every page
3.  Draft unique description tags for every page
4.  Use keywords for internal links within your site
5.  Incorporate keywords into your copy
6.  Use descriptive URLs

TITLE TAGS
>  Title is the most important
element of on-page optimization
>  Integrate keywords into title tag
as well as your brand
>  Limit to 70 characters
>  Unique for each page
<title>Rally Saint Louis | Join Us
Today And Help Build a Better
Saint Louis</title>

DESCRIPTION TAGS
>  Does not impact rankings, but can
influence CTRs
>  Limit to 160 characters
>  Unique for each page
<meta name="description"
content="The Rally Saint Louis
project is a first-of-its-kind
crowdsourcing and crowdfunding
platform that generates ideas and
uses funding from the region’s
residents…" />

Athletic
Shoes
Dress
Shoes
Boots
Those
Toe Shoe
Things
INTERNAL LINKING

URL BEST PRACTICES
>  URLs are a critical part of both the
end users decision to click and the
search engines ability to access
content
>  Use descriptive words in URLs
>  Avoid dynamic URLs and session IDs
>  Use rewriting when necessary
>  Separate words with dashes
(underscores work, too)
>  Brevity is a virtue

Become an
Authority
3

MYTH:
You Can
Short-Cut
Your Way
To SEO

REALITY:
Start With
Your Audience’s Needs,
Not Simply With a List
of Keywords.

PENGUIN & PANDA CAUSE CHAOS
" Google’s new algorithm rewards
sites with loads of original, high-
quality content.
" Sites such as Answers.com,
eHow.com and many others saw
dramatic drops in referrals from
Google.

SO, WHAT MAKES CONTENT “GREAT”
Original
Simple
Valuable &
Useful
Entertains
Emotional

ABOVE ALL, CONTENT MUST BE
RELEVANT
TO YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

PROSPECTIVE
CUSTOMERS ARE
SEARCHING FOR
INFORMATION THAT
HELPS THEM MAKE AN
INFORMED DECISION
BUSINESSES THAT
PROVIDE THAT USEFUL
INFORMATION WILL WIN

KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Who is the audience that you need to reach?
Why will they care about you?
What are you doing to earn their interest?
What incentive do they have to share?
Finding Topics
>  Ask your sales team
>  Map the buying cycle
>  Q/A Sites – Quora,
Yahoo! Answers, etc.
>  Mine social media
>  Follow industry, peers

Think Local
4

7%
13%
16%
23%
42%
Mobile App
Internet Directory (Yelp)
Yellow Pages (Print)
Referral from Friend or Family
Search Engines
How do Consumers Find Local Merchants?

30%Or 7.6 billion per month
of searches have local intent

OPTIMIZING YOUR LOCAL PRESENSE
1.  Claim and verify your business
2.  Optimize your listing
3.  Build citations
4.  Get the basics right

CLAIM AND VERIFY YOUR BUSINESS
>  Google.com/business/
>  Follow process to locate,
verify your listing
>  Use GetListed.org or
Yext.com to scan and
submit your business to
other directories
1

OPTIMIZE YOUR LISTING
>  Use the same NAP – name,
address, phone - across all listings
>  Listings should be as complete as
possible:
»  Description
»  Categories
»  Hours
»  Contact Details
»  Photos/Videos
2
»  Status updates
»  Discounts or specials

BUILD CITATIONS
>  Citations are listings in other
directories that signal
authority or credibility to
Google
>  Use the whitespark local
citation tool to find potential
citations
3
www.whitespark.ca/local-‐cita9on-‐ﬁnder

GET THE BASICS RIGHT
>  Monitor reviews of your business.
Respond when appropriate
>  Do not submit fake reviews
>  Include separate pages on your
website for each of your locations
>  Clearly include your name,
address, and local phone number
for each location
4

Buy Your
Way to the
Top5

IMMEDIATE VISIBILITY
>  Get immediate
visibility with
potential
customers
>  Measure and
optimize

GEO-TARGETTING
>  Adwords enables
advertisers to target
specific regions
>  States, cities, zip codes,
DMAs, etc.

GOOGLE KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOL
www.google.com/AdWords/KeywordTool


Getlisted.org
(MOZ
Local)

LOCAL CITATIONS TOOL

hXp://moz.com/beginners-‐guide-‐to-‐seo

SEO 101 RESOURCE

SearchEngineLand.com

SEARCH NEWS & UPDATES

hXp://www.google.com/business/

GET LOCAL LISTINGS ON GOOGLE

THANK YOU.
@andybarneX

www.goelas9c.com

andrew@goelas9c.com

The Science of Search - How SMBs Can Leverage Search to Grow Their Business

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