2012 Search Marketing Agenda: What Every Small Business Needs to Know

The 2012 Search Marketing Agenda
What Every Small Business Needs to Know

James Svoboda
WebRanking.com
2 November 2011
James Svoboda, November 2011
Download: www.WebRanking.com/presentations

Who?

• Managing Partner at WebRanking.com

• Search Engine Optimization & Marketing
since 1999 (1/3 of my life)

• Co-Founder of the Minnesota Search Engine
Marketing Association

• Google AdWords Qualified and Microsoft
adCenter Accredited

• Sphinn.com Editor

• Husband and Father from Eden Prairie, MN

But maybe more importantly…

Download: www.WebRanking.com/presentation

I am a Small Business

+1 =


What being a Small Business means to me:

• Limited Time
• Limited Resources
• Limited Budget
• Wear Many Different Hats

Credit: tiredofh2o - flickr.com/photos/tiredofh2o/


Search Engine Marketing is
Great for Small Businesses
because…


It’s Always On.

Day, Night, Weekends and Holidays.

Credit: dawolf - flickr.com/photos/dawolf/


Search Engines are the Yellow Pages of the 21st Century

Only without the guilt of having to recycle something you never opened.

Credit: Paul Jahn - flickr.com/photos/localmn/


Search Engine Marketing is an Investment, Not an Expense.

Credit: CraftyGoat - flickr.com/photos/craftygoat/


When Done Right, Search Marketing Grows and Gains
Momentum Over Time.


The Big 3


Major Players: Google.com, Bing.com, and Yahoo.com
(Yahoo is powered by Bing)


Normal Search Engine Results Page: Google


Normal Search Engine Results Page: Bing


Normal Search Engine Results Page: Yahoo


Search Marketing
Opportunities for
Small Businesses


PPC Ads are Typically at the Top of the Search Page


PPC Ads are also on the Right Side of the Search Page


Search Marketing Opportunity: Organic “Free” Listings

• Organic “Free” Listings are Located in the Middle of the Search Page


Local Business Listings are Found at the Top or Middle of
a Search Page with a Map


Local Business Listings are also Found in “Maps” Search
Pages


PPC Ads are also Found in “Maps” Search Pages

Credit:


Your Search Marketing
Efforts Should Start…


With a Solid Foundation For Measuring Your Results
(hint: web analytics)

Credit: M4rvin - flickr.com/photos/yujin_it/


Google Analytics. Get it Now! (psst, it’s FREE)


These Companies use Google Analytics:


Web Analytics can be Overwhelming. Where to start is
often Unclear.

Credit: wonkybutt - flickr.com/photos/wonkybutt/


Start by Looking for Dinner Conversational Pieces

Credit: Cedric's pics - flickr.com/photos/cedric1981/


Dinner Topics:
• Goals & Conversions – What sales and leads did you get?
• Search Engine Traffic – Which keywords are interesting or popular?
• Performing Keywords – Which turned into conversions?
• Referring Traffic – What other sites sent you visitors? To which pages?

• Paid Advertising – What has Google AdWords done for you lately?
• Visitor Locations – What cities and states are visitors located in?
• Mobile Traffic – Are your visitors using mobile or tablet devices?
• Social Media – Are you getting traffic from social sites like Facebook, Twitter or
LinkedIn?


What to Measure with Analytics: Goals & Conversions
• Online Sales • Phone Calls
• Leads and Quotes • Emails & Contact Forms
• Appointment Requests • Event Registrations
• Email Newsletter Signups • Social Media Shares & Likes
• Blog Feed Subscriptions • Coupons and Special Offers
• Downloads


What is the Total Profit and Life Time Value of Your
Conversions?

• Sale of Product/Service A = $10 Profit GOOD

• Sale of Product/Service B = $50 Profit BETTER

• Sale of Product/Service C = $100 Profit BEST!

Not all of your Products & Services will have the same Profit
Margins. They will vary greatly.


Get to Know and Understand Your Conversion Rates!

• 1 Sale out of every 100 Visits = 1% Conversion Rate



Keywords & Traffic Sources do not all have the same
Conversion Rates. They will vary greatly.


What Affects Conversion Rates?
Positives Negatives
• Easy to Find Contact Information • Hidden & Missing Contact Information
• Clean & Simple • Cluttered & Disjointed
• Straight Forward Navigation • Confusing & Poorly Named Navigation
• Easy to Read Text • Small, White Text on a Dark Background
• Selective Linking • Many Unnecessary Links
• Relevant Images • Distracting Graphics
• Supports Multiple Browsers • Does Not Function in Certain Browsers
• Multiple Devices & Screen Sizes • Poor Display in Smart Phones & Tablets
• Trust Signs like Privacy Policy & BBB • No Stated Terms & Policies
Badge
• No Portfolio or Pictures of Previous Work
• Testimonials & Customer Reviews
• Site Design Outdated or Below
• Professional Designed Website Competition


First Impressions Matter!

You’ll Spend Considerable Amount of Time and
Resources to Generate Search Engine Visitors…

and Can Waste All That Work in Less Than 8 Seconds.


Flying Pie Pizzeria


Pizzicato


If You’re a New Customer, Which Would You Order From?


Friends will not tell you
that…
Your Website Sucks!

but Analytics will...


Use the Data That Web Analytics Provides to Help You
Improve Your Website’s Performance


Gaining a Clear Understanding of Analytics Takes Time

Credit: wonkybutt - flickr.com/photos/wonkybutt/


Analytics Will Change How You View Your Website

Credit: Laura4Smith - flickr.com/photos/blushingmulberry/


Narrow Your Focus
and Targeting for
Better Results.


Location! Location! Location!

Source: Search Engine Land - searchengineland.com/how-users-search-for-local-businesses-5-tips-to-optimize-local-listings-97612


Targeting By Location

• Where Are You Located?
– Country
– State
– County
– City
– Zip code
– Neighborhood
– Street

• Do You Drive to Customers?
– How Far Are You Willing To Drive?
– What Are These Areas You Will Service?

• Do Your Customers Drive To You?
– How Far do 80% of Your Customers Drive to Reach You?
– What Are The Areas These Customers Come From?


Larger Area Than The Twin Cities? - 50 Mile Radius around Minneapolis


Entire Twin Cities? - 20 Mile Radius around Minneapolis


Primarily Minneapolis?


St. Paul


White Bear Lake


Eden Prairie


How Many Competitors Will You Be Fighting With for
Local Customers? (map: dentists)


Fewer Competitors = Larger Range. (map: cosmetic surgeons)


Same Industry, Wider View = Few Rural Competitors.
(map: cosmetic surgeons)


Freeways, Highways & Customer Population Density Will
Define Your Range!


Keywords Are How Search
Engines Define You…

and How Customers Find
You.


Service Provider Keyword List: Dentists

Professional Title – Dentist
• Industry/Specialty – Pediatric Dentist
• Common/Unofficial – Kids Dentist

Business Classification – Dental Practice
• Industry/Specialty – Pediatric Dentistry
• Common/Unofficial – Kids Dental Office

Services Overview – Dental Services
• Industry/Specialty – Pediatric Dental Care
• Common/Unofficial – Kids Dental Check Up

Specific Services – Tooth Removal
• Industry/Specialty – Pediatric Dental
Extraction
• Common/Unofficial – Pull Kids Teeth
Credit: heraldpost - flickr.com/photos/heraldpost/


Sales & Product Keyword List: Clothing Store

Professional Title – Clothing Store
• Industry/Specialty – Children’s Apparel Store
• Common/Unofficial – Kids Clothes Store

Product Overview – Clothing
• Industry/Specialty – Children’s Apparel
• Common/Unofficial – Kids Clothes

Product Category – Shirts
• Industry/Specialty – Children’s Long-Sleeved
Shirts
• Common/Unofficial – Warm Kids Shirts

Specific Products – Nikes
• Industry/Specialty – Children’s Nike Shoes
• Common/Unofficial – Kids Nike Sneakers

Credit: Urban Shore - flickr.com/photos/urbanshore/


Local Business “Map”
Listings Stand Out in
Search Results and Get
Used… a Lot!


Search Marketing: Local Business “Map” Listings


Search Marketing: Local Business “Map” Listings

Major Players:
• Google Places
• Bing Business Listings
• Yahoo Local Listings
Primary Keys for Local Map Listing “Rankings”:
• Located in City
• Targeted Category
• Reviews
• Business Citations

Notable Players That Feed into Local Business Listings:
• Yelp.com
• CitySearch.com
• SuperPages.com
• InsiderPages.com
• JudysBook.com


Paid Search Advertising
for Small Businesses
can be Highly Effective


Specific Location Targeting + Exact Keyword Matching +
Searcher Need = High ROI.

Credit: williamhartz - flickr.com/photos/whartz/


Search Marketing Opportunity: Pay-Per-Click Ads “PPC”

Major Players: Google AdWords and Microsoft adCenter (Bing)


PPC can also be High Risk and High Reward.

Credit: Picture Perfect Pose - flickr.com/photos/pictureperfectpose/


Limit Your Risk When Building a PPC Campaign

• Start With Google AdWords.

• Measure Your Results with Analytics

• Set a Low Initial Daily Budget

• Use More Focused Keywords
– “Kids Dentist” instead of just “Dentist”

• Own Your Local Area First.
– “Eden Prairie” instead of “Minneapolis”

• Use Mostly Exact Match Keywords

• Do Not Use Standard Broad Match Keywords


Search Engines Need Content
and
Content Needs SEO


Search Engine Optimization & Website Content make a
Great Pair

Credit: Sean Choe - flickr.com/photos/bogomo/


Blank Pages Don’t Generate Search Engine Traffic


Neither Do Large Pages with Many Different Topics


Wikipedia’s Search Engine Optimization Page Works


Ranking #1 in Google


Ranking #1 in Bing Too


And It’s a Large Page, but also Highly Themed


Example of Content for Small Business


The Power of Content Without SEO (would be better with seo)


Build Optimized Pages Full of Themed Content & Search
Engines Will Show You Love

• Write compelling page copy that is easy to read.
• Include professional & technical details, but don’t over
do it.
• Photos, graphics and infographics.
• Videos.
• Audio such as MP3s and Podcasts.
• Downloads such as PDF, Word and Excel documents.
• Maps and location information.
• Reviews and testimonials.
• Links to relevant pages on your website.
• Links to relevant pages on other websites, but don’t
over do it.
• Add a moving call to action.


Search Engines Love
Collecting Data.

Lots of it!


Google Wants To Be a Reflection of the Web
Matt Cutts at WordCamp 2007: “We Want To Be a Reflection of the Web.”

Credit: thekenyeung - flickr.com/photos/kyeung808/


Google’s “Panda” Algorithm Updates – Focuses on
Humans & Quality
Google Starts Rolling Out “Panda” Algorithm Updates in February 2011.

Credit: Thos003 - flickr.com/photos/thos003/


Search Engine Results Starting to Reflect Popular
“Social” Content
SEOmoz Study: Correlation of Link Metrics vs. Social Signals – April 2011

Source: SEOmoz - seomoz.org/blog/facebook-twitters-influence-google-search-rankings


What Does All This Mean?

Get More Active Online.

Starting Today!

Here’s how…


Increase Your Online Publicity
by Building & Cultivating
Links, Citations & Reviews


Yelp Provides Small Business Links, Citations & Reviews


This is a Good SEO Link


This is a Good Local Search Citation


These are Good Local Search Reviews


Remember That Pizza Restaurant from Earlier? More
Good Local Search Reviews!


And The Other Pizza Restaurant? Reviews Not as Good.


Search Google to Find Good Sources of Links, Citations
& Reviews


Search Engines Are
Getting Social.


Social Signals like “Likes”, Shares, Tweets, Google
+1’s, etc., Are Now Counting in Search Engine Algorithms

Credit: fredcavazza - flickr.com/photos/fredcavazza/


Build Your Social Army on
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and more…


Give Your Visitors The Ability to Easily Share Your
Content on Their Social Networks


Being a Non-Profit is Like
Being a Small
Business, but Without the
Profit.


The Minnesota Search Engine Marketing Association

www.mnsearch.org


What being a Non-Profit means to me:

• Limited Time
• Limited Resources
• Limited Budget
• Volunteers Wear Many Different Hats


MnSearch: Outline of Search Marketing Strategy
Organic Search Engine Marketing Strategy
• Competitive Analysis and Keyword Research
• Website Content Planning
• Information Architecture and Internal Linking Planning
• Website and Event Promotion Planning
• Create Timeline of Activities
• Identify Needed Resources and Budget
• Search Engine Traffic Targets and Projections
• Benchmarking Based on Similar Non-Profit Websites

PPC Search Engine Marketing Strategy
• NONE – No Available Budget


MnSearch: Outline of Search Marketing Strategy
Local Search Marketing Strategy
• Identify Official MnSearch Address
• Create and Claim Local Directory Listings
• Optimize Local Directory Listings
• Create Structured Citations
• Microformatting on MnSearch.org (Schema.org address, phone, etc.)

Social Media Strategy
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Google+
• Yelp
• FourSquare
• MnSearch Blog
• External Search Marketing Bloggers


Thank You!

James Svoboda
Managing Partner at WebRanking.com
www.webranking.com

Email: james.s@webranking.com
Twitter: @Realicity
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/realicity

Download This Presentation:
http://www.webranking.com/presentation


2012 Search Marketing Agenda: What Every Small Business Needs to Know

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Empfohlen

Empfohlen (20)

2012 Search Marketing Agenda: What Every Small Business Needs to Know