In the crowded online marketplace of organizations and ideas, you and your content first have to be found! SEO is one of the most data-driven disciplines that PR communicators and marketers can leverage in driving more business. Expert Jenny Munn will share the ways you can make sure you and your organization can be discovered for your greatest assets and content.

1. You Will Be Found
How Communicators Can Leverage New
Search Engine Optimization Techniques to
Drive Results
Twitter: @jennymunn
Email: jenny@jennymunn.com
Website: jennymunn.com

2. Agenda
Overview of the Modern Consumer’s Searching Habits
SEO 2018: On-Page and Content
SEO 2018: Backlinks and Social
Trends
Wrap Up/Q&A
(Extra Time? Reporting and Measurement!)

3. About Jenny: Search Marketing Consultant
2009 20182013

4. The Modern Consumer’s Search Habits
(Be Afraid...)

5. Here’s What Google Had to Say Q4 2017
“What people look for provides a window into
their interests, needs, and wants. Amid all of these
searches, new consumer behaviors emerged
and a new super-empowered consumer took
shape. We found that people are:
● more curious
● more demanding
● more impatient
...than ever before.”

6. Mar. 2016 Google
The average mobile site takes 22 seconds to fully
load.

7. June 2017 Google
Huge increase for “best” and “top”..

8. Jan. - June 2017 vs. Jan. - June 2015. Google
People are regularly searching for “flights today”
or “hotels tonight"

9. Search interest in ”open now” has tripled in the past two years
At the same time, searches for “store hours” have dropped.
People are making on-the-spot decisions

10. We Favor Specificity...

11. In Summary...
“Impatience, immediate action, instant gratification, even some
impulsiveness—these are just a handful of descriptors for behavior today. We have
all been empowered and emboldened by information. With our phones acting as
supercomputers in our pockets, we can find, learn, do, and buy whenever the need
arises—or the whim strikes.”
In 2018 searchers want:
● more useful information
● more personalization
● more immediacy

12. SEO 2018 Best Practices:
On-Page and Content

13. PR’s Contribution to SEO
● Produce high quality, shareable content
○ → SEO = Content on site and offsite, engagement, backlinks, amplification
● Outreach to get key messages out there and increase discoverability
○ → SEO = Backlinks, authority, mentions
● Engaging with communities on social
○ → Traffic, reputation, relationships, trust
● Establishes your organization as thought leaders and experts
○ → all of the above
SEMRush Ranking Factors Study

14. Keyword Strategy Review
● Keywords aka “the language of your customers” = Marketing 101
● Biggest mistake I see: making up keywords, too clever, or too cute
○ Example: “language learning” or “child learning center”

15. Keyword Strategy (continued)
● Your keyword strategy must evolve alongside your company or
your website.
○ If you notice a trend, get in early and create optimized content
○ Carry it across to off-site content and social media
○ 15% of daily searches are new
● Targeting Strategy:
○ Common/competitive terms -> high-level pages
○ Long tail keywords -> blogs, guides, articles, white papers
● You should never repeat the same keyword

16. Favorite Keyword
Research Tools
● Google Search Console
● Google Suggest and
“Searches related to…”
● Keywordtool.io
● Google Trends
● Answer the Public
● Google Keyword Planner
● SEMRush and Moz

17. Keyword Research Tools: Google Search Console

18. Google Suggest and “Searches related to…”

19. Keywordtool.io

20. Google Trends

21. Answer the Public

22. Google Keyword Planner

23. SEMRush and Moz

24. Low Hanging Fruit
for Communicators
● SEO’d Headlines
● Optimized Title Tag & Meta
Descriptions
● Optimizing Press Releases
and Pitches
● Refresher - Content That
Ranks Well

25. On-Page SEO: Headlines Makeover
● Dependent on the medium:
○ Website, SEO, Social, Video, Press Release, etc.
● Tips:
○ Don’t keyword stuff
○ Priority determines clarity or intrigue
● Example:
Straightforward: “Nest has a new alarm system and doorbell video camera”
Social: “Nest’s new coveted technology is more than just a thermostat”
SEO’d compromise: “Nest’s new doorbell video camera is about to be on every
home’s must-have list”
Hat Tip: Moz’s WBF

26. On-Page SEO Skill: Title Tags & Meta Descriptions
1. First thing a user sees
in the search results.
2. It's also one of the most
important factors for
Google to decide what
the topic of a page is.
3. Often pulled in when
sharing on other
websites and social
channels
Source: SEW

27. On-Page SEO: Title Tags & Meta Descriptions
Title tag: 50-60 characters
Meta description: 160 characters
Include 1-2 keywords
Goal: get the click! 1) Descriptive of the Page 2) Engaging

28. Content That Ranks Well
● More important than content length: quality and relevance
● Data shows pages that rank higher have longer content on average
● Rule of thumb: valuable, well-written, optimized
● New study from SEMRush:
○ “Graphic design” - content is shorter
○ “Graphic design trends in 2017” is longer
● Broad topics - users do not expect a long read
● Narrower topics - more in-depth view is favored
SEMRush Ranking Factors Study

29. On-Page SEO: Optimizing Press Releases
● Optimized headline, sub-head, copy and boilerplate
● Headings: catchy, interesting, keyword-focused and clear
● Site link in the boilerplate
● Front load when you can - character counts
● Formatting: scannable, digestible
● Use and Optimize Media - aptly describe and use keywords if
you can (alt text, image file name)
● Know your keywords and use them naturally
● Repurpose and promote it
● Review analytics - traffic, shares, backlinks

30. Backlink Example from a Press Release
Reminder: The value of
press releases is in the
placement not the
release itself

31. Reminder: Optimize Your Pitches
“Before he starts writing a story:
● he searches for keywords related to the story in his email
inbox history to see if anyone has pitched him on that
topic or if someone sent over cool insights about it.
● Then, he can reach out to this person for more
information or request to interview a client on the topic.
● Meaning, even if you don’t get a response to your pitch
right away, you may get a bite down the road if you
utilized the right keywords and pitched the appropriate
reporter.”
Hat Tip to ARPR

32. SEO 2018 Best Practices:
Social and Backlinks

33. How Off-Page Contributes to Successful SEO

34. Backlinks
● The most overwhelming
tactic for SEO
● Not all backlinks are created
equal
● Quality not quantity
● Philosophy: It doesn’t hurt to
ask
● Follow Up Is Key: “70% of the
links we earn are through
follow up emails”
● Easy 2018 win: Podcasts

35. SEO History: “Good” PR Tactics That Got Ruined
● Guest Blogging
● Press Releases/PR
● Free Products to Bloggers
● Advertorials
● Blog Comments
● Forum Links
This is where “nofollow” and
disclosures really started coming up
“Avoiding penalties”

36. Favorite Backlink Tools
● Google Search Console
○ For YOUR site
● SEMRush and Moz OSE
○ For competitor sites

37. Social SEO: Indirect Ranking Signals

38. Social Media Optimization
Amplifies discovery, content and message -
results in:
● Driving traffic to your site
● Community will engage and share
● Increases chances of backlinks
● Another place for discovery
● Tweets are indexable
Source: toprankblog.com

39. Bypassing Google: Social as a Search Engine
Ages 16-64: Social media is now the second most-used tool for product
research:
● Search Engines: 52%
● Social Media: 41%
● Consumer Reviews: 35%
Ages 16-24: Social has overtaken search engines for product research
Hootsuite “Social Trends 2018” and GlobalWebIndex. GWI Social, Q3 2017

40. 2018 Trends

41. Mobile SEO
● Mobile First Indexing
● AMP
● Page Speed is Critical
● Content
○ Include media
○ Internal links
○ “Snackable” content
○ Concise does not mean “short” or
“dumbed down”
● Content diversification Image Credit: Think with Google

42. AI/Machine Learning: SEO Usage Examples
● Google:
○ Ranking results in real time: 15% of queries per day
had never been seen by Google.
○ Context: Give RankBrain credit for understanding a
page is about baseball even if the words, and only
the words, “New York Yankees” and “Boston Red
Sox” are present on a page.
● Pinterest:
○ Visual search engines are using machine learning to
help consumers search by images rather than
keywords, a shift that will redefine the future of
online product browsing.
Hootsuite “Social Trends 2018”
Image credit: SEL

43. Voice Search Tips
1. Authority and History:
Ranking on the first page will
be critical
2. Schema: Rich results (like a
featured snippet) help
substantially
3. Content: Q&A style - literally
write and include the
question and answer on the
page
Credit: backlinko.com

44. Rich Results -> Position 0 -> Voice Search
If you want THIS:

45. Structured Markup
Important to make sure google understands the context and content of pages

46. Technical SEO: The Last Piece

47. Wrapping Up

48. Your Takeaways and
Questions

49. Questions?
Thank You!
Twitter: @jennymunn
Email: jenny@jennymunn.com
Website: jennymunn.com