This document discusses search engine optimization and marketing. It covers organic search results versus paid search results, factors that affect search engine rankings, and basic and advanced SEO strategies. These strategies include link baiting, developing affiliate programs, adding RSS feeds, and using other methods like exposing keyphrases and developing an e-PR strategy. The document also discusses pay-per-click advertising and how to identify audience behavior for PPC campaigns.
1. Search engine marke-ng
Understanding search engines and marke0ng to them.
www.bournemouth.ac.uk
2. What you need to remember
Google considers ‘links’ a sign of trust.
All natural SEO strategies are based around the
idea of increasing the number of external links
Op0mised pages perform be@er in Pay Per Click
(PPC) campaigns
cost of the keywords will be less
adverts will rank higher
be@er click through‐rate.
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3. Organic vs. PPC
Two types of results generated by search engines.
Organic ‐ these are results from all pages indexed
free!
users are 60‐80% more likely to click on an organic result,
than a PPC
more space to communicate your message.
(see controlling how your brand is found)
Pay Per Click (PPC) ‐ these are results from
adver0sers who have paid to appear
target by ‘keyword’
integrate into campaigns
give immediate results.
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5. Organic user behaviour
Tip:
90% of users do
not go beyond the
first page.
User most likely to click
first three results
The likelihood that user
will click on a link drops
by 15% per result
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6. Factors affec-ng ranking
There are ‘thought’ to be over two hundred factors, which
affect ranking in Google
Tip:
Google, doesn’t just consider structural factors:
Find out your page
rank, download the
Google Toolbar.
site layout
page content
links.
It also considers behavioural as well:
Further reading:
h@p://
click‐through rates
www.seomoz.org/
ar0cle/search‐ranking‐
Google/browser bookmarking.
factors/
Creates a quality score or ‘page rank’
low page rank = low perceived quality by Google
pages should have a consistent rank through‐out.
PageRank
1 ‐ 10
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8. The Good news
You can get good search results by following the
basics.
Incorporated into the 2008 Quality Review
help to improve the number of people visi0ng the site
raising the profile of our offer.
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9. The Bad news
90% of users do not go beyond the first results
page.
Users tend to click the first three links result.
Search Engine Op0misa0on is difficult.
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10. Controlling how your brand is found
Google, allows you to control how your brand is
found in three ways:
1. Title tag
2. Site descrip0on, controlled by the sites meta‐descrip0on,
and/or your dmoz lis0ng*
3. Site links, controlled using Google’s Webmaster tools.
Title tag
Site
descrip0on
Site links
*site links are Google’s recogni0on of brand!
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11. Tips: For controlling your results
Title tag ‐ make sure its your school name.
meta descrip0on ‐ describes what you do.
Site links ‐ reflect your key goals.
Consider buying your school name ‐ This is useful
if you are running a campaign, you can then link
directly to the campaign page and users will not
have navigate through your site.
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12. Basic SEO strategies
Flat hierarchical structure
Expose as many pages as possible.
Pages should be part of site structure, not stand alone.
Quality/Seman0cs of mark‐up
Use of 0tle tag
Correct use of heading, paragraph and other tags.
URLs
Use text links, rather than image links
URLs generated are meaningful and related to the document
Database should generate clean urls
Links need to be present for at least one year.
About relevance of document
Not about keywords, keyphrases
density of keyphrases
concentrate on what phrases users will search on
think what would be the primary, secondary and ter0ary phrase searched for
Google understands synonyms.
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13. Tips: Web authors and Basic SEO techniques
URL, reflects the 0tle and heading.
HTML validates and is seman0cally correct.
your copy use keyphrases users would search for.
your page is part of the sites naviga0on.
Your site uses a flat folder structure.
your page contains internal/external links, with
meaningful link text.
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15. 1. Link bait
Google treats links as signs of trust
Measures internal links, as well as external links.
Link bate
Further reading:
h@p://
The “idea of creating a lot of natural links” - Washington Post.
www.washingtonpost.co
m/wp‐dyn/content/
Possible examples of link bait
ar0cle/2006/04/26/
AR2006042602441.html
Free content e.g. example tutorials from the Media School on how to use video editing
software to create effects.
Research blogs from leading academics in their field, for example wordpress
Sample podcasts on lecturers about interesting or challenging subjects
Useful and/or helpful information about starting university and how to prepare
Virtual tour of BU, Bournemouth & Poole.
Social bookmarking
Will increase number of external links
Will raise the profile of the content on social bookmarking sites, e.g. Del.icious, Digg,
Stumble Upon
increase click-through
increase user bookmarks.
Example: www.soton.ac.uk
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16. Recommenda-ons for BU
Add social bookmarking to new templates.
Develop a link strategy
specify how links are name
who to link to
encourage exis0ng site to link to BU.
Develop a content strategy
iden0fy sources of exis0ng for promo0on
iden0fy sources of new content for promo0on.
Iden0fy methods of distribu0on
Encourage deep‐linking, when a page moves use
a 301 re‐direct.
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17. 2. Affliates
Setup an affiliate programme
Banner ads, which link directly through to BU site
Paid Per Ac0on (PPA).
Possible examples of affiliate programme
Interna0onal Recruitment Agent ‐ PPA on basis of
applica0on.
Courses that help you
shine shine Example affiliate adverts
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18. Recommenda-ons for BU
Inves0gate the feasibility of establishing a
University affiliate programme
Run trial programme with trusted partners for
example
Partner Colleges
University Agents
Associated BU websites.
Affiliates receive cash for comple0on of PPA (Paid
Per Ac0on)
For example University Agents are paid for
students who apply online and then go on to
enroll as a student.
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19. 3. Feeds
Set‐up XML feeds
Possible examples of feeds
News
Academic blogs
Courses
Sports results of BU Teams
Student Union Events.
Benefit content is pushed to users
Encourages repeat visits
Bookmarking
Content awareness.
Example: www.soton.ac.uk
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20. Recommenda-ons for BU
Integrated RSS feed technology into Cohort.
Explore different applica0ons for this technology.
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21. 4. Other methods
Expose search keyphrases on homepage.
Tip:
E‐PR
You can monitor
nega0ve PR by
seqng up a
Online press releases seeded with keyphrases
Google Alert
BU research blogs
Media guide to exper0se
Survey & polls
Brand monitoring.
Example: www.soton.ac.uk
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22. Recommenda-ons for BU
Incorporate user searches into homepage,
through the use of Tag clouds.
Develop an E‐PR strategy and iden0fy technology
required to deliver an online Media Centre.
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24. Audience behaviour
Short tail phrases Long tail phrases
simple phrases, most common, most complex phrases, less compe00on, more
compe00on , less intent as buyers intent as buyers
‘Browsing’ ‘Researching’ ‘Comple0ng’
Buying Cycle
Undirected, exploratory Directory goal‐oriented
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25. How to iden-fy PPC audience behaviour
Before you begin a PPC campaign, it is essen0al you work with MarComms
to carry out a keyphrase analysis
Tip:
Iden0fying audience behaviour:
Remember your advert has no
value if it can’t be seen. Make
what language do they search in?
sure that you know your
audience. So your advert has
maximum profile and impact.
what search engine are they most likely to use?
do they search at a par0cular 0me of day? (daypar0ng)
what stage of the buying cycle are they at?
what keyphrases or synonyms do they use?
Useful links
how do the keyphrases or synonyms perform (in terms of search volumes)?
h@p://
what gaps or pa@erns exist in keyphrases or synonyms?
www.davechaffey.com/
seo‐keyword‐tools
For example do users search on loca0on, on type.
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26. How understanding PPC audience behaviour can help
Understanding audience behaviour allows you to:
Target an audience depending on stage of buying cycle/stage of
Tip: informa0on journey
Conversion rates vary,
however, as an industry
anything above 3% is
using short tail keyphrases for ‘larger’ budget or high profile campaigns
good
larger search volumes
exploring what BU types of courses offers for example ‘postgraduate business courses’
at the beginning of the buying cycle.
using long tail keyphrases for ‘smaller’ budget or targeted campaigns.
Useful links
h@p://
Smaller search volumes
www.davechaffey.com/
Commi@ed to a course or specialism, for example ‘MBA with a specialism in finance’
SEO‐Best‐Prac0ce/
Using‐the‐AOL‐data‐
at the end of the buying cycle.
leak‐for‐SEO
Exploit gaps or pa@erns in keyphrases or synonyms that
compe0tors have missed.
Improve campaign performance
increasing click‐through and conversion rates
extending your campaign budget and improving Return On Investment (ROI).
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27. PPC bidding and budge-ng techiques
Highest posi0on is not always the best
Higher posi0ons tend to cost more and convert less
Tip:
As a rule target posi0on 4‐8, they tend to convert be@er
Remember to convert
visitors you need
compelling content with
Use matching types
clear calls to ac0on.
Ultralase
This give you more control where your advert appears.
For example ‘postgraduate courses’ + ‘business’ or ‘computer aided design’
Use nega0ve keywords where appropriate.
Useful links
Use daypar0ng
h@p://news.cnet.com/
2100‐1038‐5190324.ht
Buy your compe0tors name
ml
For example buy the keyword ‘Oxford Brookes’
Improve your quality score
Reduce fees
Increase conversions
Improve your return on investment
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28. Integra-ng offline.
Campaigns don’t have to be online
Can integrate PPC with offline as well
Tip:
Where prospects can
include reference to your brand or specific campaign message
speak to a trained
member of staff
conversion rates
Considering coinciding with ‘daypar0ng’
improve.
to achieve profile and impact
Possible examples could include:
Postgraduate recruitment campaign connected to unique
telephone number
number creates a measurable metric
Take the next step and get a
postgraduate qualifica0on.
Call:
0845 111 111
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29. Banner Ads?!?
Typically have a very low conversion rate
Tip:
Individuals are more
individuals tend to ignore images, which appear
likely to click on images
with faces and/or bodily
parts such as the chest
like adverts.
or groin
Shouldn’t be used as a conversion tool
used as a means to increase brand awareness.
Useful links
h@p://www.etre.com/
usability/eyetracking/
Shouldn’t, however, underes0mate there contribu0on
showme/
to conversion.
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30. Beyond Google.
Consider other adver0sing opportuni0es, applying
Tip: the same principles of:
Consider using bid
management tools for
managing mul0ple
Iden0fying and understanding user behaviour
Using PPC Biding and budge0ng techniques.
search engine PPC. For
example Atlas Search
Other search engines include:
Baidu ‐ China
Naver – South Korea
Live ‐ Global
Yahoo! – Global
Yandex – Russia
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31. Recommenda-ons for BU
Develop PPC strategy
Including a profile of visitor types and behaviour,
keyphrase dic0onary, with informa0on about
keywords and search volumes
English and foreign language version
Trial different types of campaigns on and offline.
Build market intelligence for HE conversion rates.
Experiment with regional search engines
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32. Bringing it all together – Effec-ve landing pages
It is about the visitor, not the designer or marketer:
Tip:
Tailor the page to the individual
Most people won’t
convert on their first visit
to a site
Use their language
Answer there ques0ons
Make sure you make clear what the next steps are
Useful links
h@p://
Cross sell products
www.dulux.co.uk/
index.jsp
Remember users do scroll.
Useful links
h@p://www.iabuk.net/
media/images/
Agency.com_Dulux_persona
_case_study_405.pdf
Useful links
h@p://www.davechaffey.com/
Internet‐Marke0ng/C7‐Service‐
Quality/Persuasion‐conversion‐
marke0ng/Effec0ve‐landing‐pages
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33. Bringing it all together – Effec-ve PPC & Web analy-cs
Tip:
Google offers A and B
split tes0ng. This tes0ng
will help iden0fy which Pay Per Click
page performs be@er. Advert Visitor
Analyse
advert and Landing
landing page page
Performance
MarComms
PPC/Web
analy0cs
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