This document provides an overview of search marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). It discusses how search engines work by crawling the web and indexing pages. It also covers the two main types of search engine marketing: SEO, which involves optimizing websites for organic search results, and paid search advertising. Key trends in search such as the growth of mobile search and the relationship between search and social media are also summarized.

1. SEARCH MARKETING 101

2. People Search – A Lot

3. Why is Search
Significant?
It s
It’s How People
Research Products
& Brands

4. …So It’s One of
So It s
the Best
Methods of
Customer
Acquisition
Best marketers are using
search to “close the loop”
started via other media

5. How Search Engines Work
Search engines run automated programs
(aka “bots”, “spiders”) that crawl through
billions of web pages, following links
pages
between those pages
As pages are crawled, data is collected
about what content each contains
Bots return to search engine and add
massive amounts of data to the index
Search engines analyze on‐page data (to
associate keywords) and quality of “back
links” pointing to each page (to gauge page
popularity and authority)
Searchers use keywords to look for
information – search engines match up the
keywords with indexed data and deliver the
most relevant results

6. Sponsored Listings
Natural/Organic Listings

7. Two Major Types of Search Engine Marketing
(SEM)
Description It’s Great …But It Has Its
Because… Challenges
Search Design, build and code a website Site referrals Competitive, hard to
so search engines easily find (clicks) from natural predict
Engine content search results are
Optimization Requires understanding
free of charge
Generate popularity of the site by of special techniques
(SEO) increasing quality inbound links Good long-term
Can require significant
strategy – effects
Listing displayed in the natural Web site coding,
often last for years
search results area copywriting and design
commitment
Paid Search Bid on placement in sponsored Allows for best Some keywords can be
areas of search engine listings control of listing competitive; bidding
(Pay-per- p
placement & copy py wars can result in high
g
Click
Cli k Select keyword phrases and set
costs
maximum bid amounts Control what you
Search) pay (and budget) Expertise and bid
Listing displayed in the sponsored
management tools are
results area Requires little Web
critical
site modification

8. Both Paid Search and SEO Matter

9. KEY SEARCH TRENDS

10. Key Trend: Searchers Get Impatient

11. Key Trend: More Complex Keyword Combinations

12. Key Trend: Several Popular Search Engines

13. Key Trend: Search Marketing Growth
Contin es
Continues

14. Key Trend: Search Marketing Makes
Up Nearly ½ of Online Ad Spending

15. Key Trend: Mobile Search Volume
Will Overtake Desktop Search

16. Key Trend: Mobile Search Spending
Becoming BIG!

17. Key Trend:
Search &
Social

18. Key Trend: Search & Social
(But Many Think Personalized Search is Kinda Creepy)

19. PAID SEARCH/PPC
/

20. Sponsored Listings = Commercial Intent

21. Major Search Networks
Nearly 100% of searches covered!
y

22. Paid Search Marketplaces are Similar
Advertisers “bid” a maximum cost‐per‐click for each
keyword to show up in sponsored search results
Search engines consider each advertiser’s bid for each
keyword plus the likelihood of searchers to click each ad to
determine where to rank them
◦ Other factors considered incl ding landing page “q alit ”
considered, including “quality”
Ads are mostly text characters and are displayed above and
alongside natural results
Additional links available for most popular ads
Advertisers can d id which geographic locations th i ads
Ad ti decide hi h hi l ti their d
are served

23. Google Ad Ranking Formula

24. SEARCH MARKETING
OPPORTUNITIES

26. Mobile Search
Marketing

27. Match Strategies to Objectives
Create awareness that a camera manufacturer
has a new compact digital SLR
Convince shoppers of a competing camera
C i h f ti
company that ours is better
Drive sales of 1000 units on the
manufacturer’s website

28. #1: Create Awareness
Target category searches, get product info views
◦ “compact dslr”, “best compact camera”

29. #2: Conquest competitors
Target competitor searches, say why ours is #1
◦ “(competitor) cameras”, “(model name) review”
(competitor) cameras , (model review

30. #3: Generate Sales of 1000 Units
Target brand, competitor & category searches
◦ Focus on keyword which drive best CPA
y

31. Determine Targeting Via Keyword Tools

32. Develop Search Listing Creative
Write page titles & descriptions to search engine specs
◦ Focus on selling the unique benefits of your brand/site; not
just the product/service that people are searching for
Leverage your site’s unique value proposition; “Official Site”,
“$10 off this weekend”, etc. http://www.clickz.com/3632847/
Consider your competition and what their listings communicate:
why should people choose your listing over the other options?
◦ Tailor creative by keyword or keyword group
Include keyword in title and description when possible
◦ Use Google, Yahoo & Bing’s unique ad extensions
Geo‐location, site links, click to call, product images, etc.

33. Optimize Bids, Keywords, Ad Copy
p y py
Evaluate effectiveness by KPI (key performance
indicator) – P d
i di ) Product video views? S l ?
id i ? Sales?
Keywords with good $/KPI are most important
◦ Bid for high ad position
◦ Discover similar keywords
Test multiple ad variations for each group of
y
keywords
◦ Different product benefits or offers
◦ Ad extensions

34. Keyword Expansion
Chasing the “long tail” of keywords is important
g g y p
– lower volume keywords may be most valuable!

35. QUESTIONS?

36. APPENDIX: SEO
(SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION)

37. What Users See vs. Search Engine Bots
What a site visitor sees at
a typical Flash‐heavy site:
◦ Visitors can click the
“Experience”, “Details” or
“Build” links and get a lot of
content about the Ford Flex
What a bot sees:
◦ Just image names (.jpg) for
items in the Ford Vehicles
Web site footer and links to
those pages
◦ No links into the actual Ford
Flex content

38. On‐
On‐Page SEO: Keywords in Content
Understand which keyword searches are most
important t your b i
i t t to business
Leverage Web tracking/analytics software, learnings
from paid search campaigns, competitor
information
Use various tools to learn which keywords are
closely related to your top keywords
Google or Yahoo Keyword Tool, Keyword Discovery
Build a target keyword list and segment into
g
categories
Determine which pages apply to each group of
keywords
Each page should be optimized to no more than 3‐4
34
related keyword phrases

39. On‐
On‐Page SEO: Code Optimization
Eliminate Flash Web site intros that redirect into site
◦ Or only serve these to visitors identified as having Flash capabilities
Flash Web content should sit on distinct HTML pages
◦ Make your Flash content visible to search engines as HTML
Restrict the use of frames
◦ Should only be used for content that doesn’t need to be seen by search engines
doesn t
Limit heavy reliance on Javascript for key site content
(especially links)
◦ And have your coder move heavy Javascript code to bottom of each page, if
possible
Avoid pages with duplicate content; search engines often use
the wrong signals to determine which is the best page
◦ Can result in significant dilution of inbound link value
◦ Use permanent redirects to point content across multiple domains to a single
location (e.g. www.Website.com and Website.com)

40. Off‐
Off‐Page SEO: Link‐Building
Link‐
Popularity and trustworthiness of Web pages that link to
your Web site has a major impact on your Web pages’
ability to rank for related searches
◦ PageRank is Google’s scoring of your site’s general value/popularity
◦ TrustRank is Google’s secret rating of a site’s trustworthiness in linking
Submit site to the major directories: Yahoo, Best of the
Web, Business.com & DMOZ
◦ Aside from these, avoid paying for links; may get your site
these
penalized by Google
Request links from sites within your industry
◦ Business partners and sister companies
◦ Association and industry Web sites
◦ Research who links to your competitor sites and request the same (Yahoo
Site Explorer ‐ siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com)
Social media optimization (e g links from blogs Twitter)
(e.g., blogs,
Publish keyword‐rich press releases linking to your site
◦ Submit your press releases to services such as PR Leap
Links within your own site are critical (e.g. cross‐linking)
cross linking)
◦ Leverage keyword‐focused linking text where possible

41. Off‐
Off‐Page SEO: Folders and Links
A straightforward URL structure helps searchers know
your content is relevant to their search
◦ Good URL: www.WebSite.com/Product/
◦ Bad URL:
www.WebSite.com/Folder1/Folder2/Content=Product
Code&Color=1&Size=A
◦ Leverage keywords in URLs where
possible/appropriate
Consistent user‐focused site structure and navigation i
C i f d i d i i is
also valued by search engines
◦ Global navigation menu leveraging keyword‐rich text
links
◦ Bread crumb navigation
e.g., “Category > Product > Color”
◦ Site map with keyword‐rich text links to key pages

42. Off‐
Off‐Page SEO: S.E.R.P. Creative
Create unique page titles and meta descriptions for each page
on your W b sites
Web i
◦ For less‐important pages, use page copy to automate process
Recognize character limits
◦ Titles: 65 character max
◦ Descriptions: ~150 characters will be displayed (200‐250 indexed)
Leverage keywords relevant to each Web page
◦ But don’t stuff them into titles and descriptions unnaturally
Write titles and descriptions to convince users to choose your
listings
◦ Leverage your site’s key benefits; “Official Site”, “outstanding selection”, etc.
◦ Consider your competition and what their listings communicate
◦ Why should people choose your listing over the other options?