The "New" Killer Content: Content with a Purpose is a presentation I gave at SMX West 2012 in San Jose, CA. This presentation exposes ways that website content strategy can be informed by audience need analysis and quality levels judged by the performance of individual pieces of content in relation to the website's overall business goals.

1. The “New” Killer Content:
Content with a Purpose
Presented by Gary Magnone | March 1, 2012

2. First Off, Who Am I?
Name: Gary Magnone Twitter: @garyjmag
Title: Senior SEO Strategist LinkedIn: linkd.in/gmagnone
Company: Thunder SEO Read My Posts: Blog

3. Quality Content??

4. The OLD Killer Content

5. The NEW Killer Content
Monitor & Refine
Research Industry Trends
Create a Plan
Align Business Goals
to Audience Needs
Understand Your
Audience

6. Understanding Your Audience…
It’s kind of a big deal!

7. What does that mean?
Audience Personas Need States
Primary internal & external
Set of characteristics that drivers that motivate a
make up a fictional person consumer to purchase a
who represents a major user product or solution.
group for your site.
Ex: Comfort, Convenience,
Ex: Name, Age, Family status, Social Proof, Function,
Job, Values, Interests, Goals Emotional, Gratification
Mapping need states exposes
Personas help maintain
priority stages in the buying
strategic focus on the end
cycle to optimize for
users’ goals and needs
conversions

8. Ok…So how do I do it?
The New SEO Process The Cat in the Hat
(Quit Being Kanye) Teaches SEO
The Past, Present & Understanding Your
Future of Personas Audience Using
in Search Social Media
bit.ly/audience-personas

9. Social Listening & Demographic Data

10. What Keywords Already Send Traffic?

11. Putting it into Action
Paid Channel
Persona: SEO Explorer ROI Hotshot
Perfectionist
Heard about SEO,
Knows they need Vetting vendors,
looking to learn
Audience SEO, looking to looking to learn
Needs: more before
find the right more about each
recommending
vendor company
investment
Clearly convey
Educate prospects Highlight your USP,
your products &
Business on what you do,
services, appeal to
show team,
Goals: show why it’s
your ideal
accomplishments
relevant to them & expertise
customers
Beginner Tips, Industry Insight, About-Us/Team,
Target How-To Guides, Breakthrough Awards,
Content: Comparative research, Thought- Achievements &
Buying Guides… leadership Press

12. SEO Explorer
Anne Phillips, Marketing Manager, Flash Fitness
Anne is a 26 year old female with a marketing
communications degree from UC Davis who started at
Flash Fitness as an intern. Her major responsibilities
include: maintaining the company’s website, social
networks, and newsletter, managing local mail
campaigns, radio, tv, and off-site promotions,
coordinating marketing initiatives with sales staff
Enters the conversation during research/learning phase
and looks for beginner content or asks questions
Example keyphrases: learn seo, beginner seo, how to do
keyword research, how to choose a seo company

13. Align Business Goals with Need States
Paid Channel
Persona: SEO Explorer ROI Hotshot
Perfectionist
Heard about SEO,
Knows they need Vetting vendors,
looking to learn
Audience SEO, looking to looking to learn
Needs: more before
find the right more about each
recommending
vendor company
investment
Clearly convey
Educate prospects Highlight your USP,
your products &
Business on what you do,
services, appeal to
show team,
Goals: show why it’s
your ideal
accomplishments
relevant to them & expertise
customers
Beginner Tips, Industry Insight, About-Us/Team,
Target How-To Guides, Breakthrough Awards,
Content: Comparative research, Thought- Achievements &
Buying Guides… leadership Press

14. What keywords are they using?

15. What topics are trending?

16. Of course there’s a tool…
http://bit.ly/topic-gen

17. Create a Plan

18. Understanding Your Audience
Paid Channel
Persona: SEO Explorer ROI Hotshot
Perfectionist
Heard about SEO,
Knows they need Vetting vendors,
looking to learn
Audience SEO, looking to looking to learn
Needs: more before
find the right more about each
recommending
vendor company
investment
Clearly convey
Educate prospects Highlight your USP,
your products &
Business on what you do,
services, appeal to
show team,
Goals: show why it’s
your ideal
accomplishments
relevant to them & expertise
customers
Beginner Tips, Industry Insight, About-Us/Team,
Target How-To Guides, Breakthrough Awards,
Content: Comparative research, Thought- Achievements &
Buying Guides… leadership Press

19. Monitor Performance

20. Set Goals for Your Content
Increased pageviews & time on site
for “how-to” content
Increased opt-ins generated from
whitepapers & research studies
Increased referrals to services/product
pages from case studies

21. Track what matters!

22. Always be Updating
QDF
Industry
Maturation

23. Thank You!
Questions?
@garyjmag
gary@thunderseo.com
www.thunderseo.com/blog
http://bit.ly/thunderseo-smx