The behavior of searching online has become almost instinctual – it is
a part of our lives – we rely on it to answer our questions, give us
driving directions, plan our vacations, manage our banking, and
purchase commercial products which were only available in retail
locations just a few years ago.
The fact is, patterns in search behavior can be tracked, analyzed, and
interpreted to help companies make informed decisions about their
digital marketing initiatives. It's a matter of being relevant,
valuable, and trustworthy – at least more so than your competition.
Join us for our upcoming seminar “Search and Sociability in 2010 –
Leveraging the Web for High ROI Lead Generation”, where SEO Sumo's
master practitioners explore practical steps your company can take to
identify, correct, and maximize elements of your company's web
presence. Join us at http://seosumo.com
4. The behavior of search
How do people discover and access websites?
74% of American adults (ages 18 and older) use the
internet1 -- a slight drop from the survey in April 2009,
which did not include Spanish interviews.
At that time, PEW concluded that 79% of
English-speaking adults use the internet.
1.http://www.pewinternet.org/Trend-Data/Online-Activites-Total.aspx
5. The behavior of search
What are people doing online?
Online activities by percentage of all American adults (including both internet users and non-users)
Percentage of U.S. adults
20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Use the internet
Send or read e-mail
Use a search engine
Research a product
Check the weather
Buy a product
Get news
Buy or make a travel reservation
Visit a government website
Watch a video
2000-1 2002-3 2004-5 2006-7 2008-9
6. The behavior of search
Search Engine Usage
The percentage of internet users who use search engines on a typical day has been steadily rising
from about one-third of all users in 2002, to a new high of just under one-half (49%).
Daily Internet Activities With this increase, the number of those using a search
% on typical day engine on a typical day is pulling ever closer to the 60% of
70
internet users who use email, arguably the internet’s all-
60 time killer app, on a typical day.1 Underscoring the
50 dramatic increase over time, the percentage of internet
40 users who search on a typical day grew 69% from January
30 2002, when the Pew Internet & American Life Project first
20
tracked this activity, to May 2008, when the current data
were collected. During the same six-year time period, the
10
use of email on a typical day rose from 52% to 60%, for a
0
Visit social Surf web for
networking fun
Research
hobby
Check
weather
Check
news
Online
search
Email
growth rate of just 15%.
site
8. The behavior of search
Why Google?
●
Quality of Results
●
Intuitive Use
●
Rapid Social/Mobile Adoption
●
Functional/Logical extension of Memory
●
Rapid Reference
●
Trustworthy
9. The behavior of search
Trust as an algorithmic interpretation
●
What is trust and how does Google calculate trust?
●
Why is trust important to Google?
Google Philosophy says it all
http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html
10. The behavior of search
Google ranking algorithm composition
Components of Google's Ranking Algorithm
(According to 72 SEO's Surveyed for SEOmoz's Biennial Search Ranking Factors)
5%
6%
24%
7%
15%
22%
20%
11. The behavior of search
How does Google evaluate
a trustworthy website?
mozRank
mozTrust ext. links
www.trademonster.com
domains linking www.optionmonster.com
external mozRank
domain mozRank
12. The behavior of search
Can being trustworthy bring you business?
●
Think about how you research products and services online.
●
What factors do we take into account when looking for something
online?
●
First impressions matter
●
Usability Matters
●
Endorsement Matters
●
Build a seamless user experience
13. The behavior of search
Trust = Targeted Leads
There are several rules you can follow to create a
trustworthy website, valuable user experience, and
efficient conversion funnel.
●
Be Searchable
●
Be Accessible
●
Be Sociable
●
Be Shareable
14. The behavior of search
Maximize your SEO
Five categories to focus on:
●
Competitive Landscape
●
On-site Keyword Targeting and IA
●
The Inherent value of your site
●
Links: Constantly increase link equity through
natural channels
●
Market Authority: Work to increase the
authority of your site within a specific search market
15. The behavior of search
Crack the Competition
●
Learn from the strengths and weaknesses of your competition
●
Analyze their link profile and information architecture – why are
they ranking well for primary keywords?
●
Is their strategy in line with yours?
●
Segregate the competition based on the metrics Google uses to
rank websites
17. Perfect keyword targeting
The “Perfectly” optimized page
(for the complete keyword phrase “chocolate
donuts”)
Page Title: Chocolate Donuts | Mary's Bakery
Meta Description: Mary's Bakery's chocolate
donuts are possibly the most delicious,
perfectly formed, flawlessly chocolately donuts
ever made.
Page URL: http://marysbakery.com/chocolate-
donuts
18. The behavior of search
Flat Site Architecture
Flat site architecture makes it easy to reach any
page in the site with just a few links
In deep site architecture many links
must be followed to reach content
21. Accessibility
Specificity
Standout in SERPs for primary key phrases (SEO, PPC, Google Maps)
22. Accessibility
Position Matters
Eye Tracking Research
removes all doubt...top
positions get the most
clicks and targeted traffic
23. Accessibility
Loading time
Akamai Technologies, Inc. released key findings from a commissioned study
(www.akamai.com/2seconds) conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of
Akamai examining eCommerce web site performance and its correlation with
an online shopper’s behavior.
The most compelling results reveal that two seconds is the new threshold in
terms of an average online shopper’s expectation for a web page to load and
40 percent of shoppers will wait no more than three seconds before
abandoning a retail or travel site.
In short: PAGE LOAD TIME is critically important
24. Accessibility
Loading time
Here are some of the findings from the study:
●
47% expect a web page to load in two seconds or less.
●
40% will abandon a web page if it takes more than three seconds to load.
●
52% of online shoppers claim that quick page loads are important for their
loyalty to a site.
Although this study focused on e-commerce sites, the findings should be relevant to any site
owner regardless of the type of site since the results clearly show how big an effect slow load
times can have on user behavior.
26. Sociability
About Sociability
●
Social Media = An ongoing conversation about your brand
●
Is your company's voice being heard?
●
People are talking about you whether you like it or not.
●
Use tools to monitor your social media channels
●
You can quantify social media lead generation with effective
conversion tracking/optimization and visitor behavior analysis
27. Sociability
Tools of the Trade
●
Su.Pr
●
Knowem.com
●
mag.ma
●
Trendistic
●
Google Trends
28. Sociability
Trends matter – you can see what's coming
●
Your most powerful market research ally
●
Google Insights for Search
●
Free tool to confirm centers of demand based on aggregated
search engine keyword data
●
Significant degree of accuracy
●
Redefining Market Research
●
Predicting Demand (global and domestic)
30. Share-ability
About Share-ability
The “Read Me” Model
●
Reason to Return
●
Engaging User Experience
●
Aesthetic site architecture
●
Direct User Benefit
●
Memorable User Experience
●
Effective Call to Action
32. Search-ability
Leverage Search and Social Media
●
Enforce your brand while establishing traffic channels
●
Own your market across all discussion venues
●
Blogs matter more than ever
●
Become an information hub – get leads – guaranteed
33. Share-ability
Don't neglect the fundamentals
Social media is great for:
And i f you're Ignoring other Important
Connecting with your users (assuming they're
fundamentals of online marketing. like:
●
already on social media platforms and talking
about you) ●
Building a website with a unique value
●
Building another channel for communication, proposition
branding & messaging
●
Creating amazingly useful content that people
●
Appealing to early adopters want to share
●
Wasting time on non-business essential ●
Conducting effective email marketing
communication :-)
●
Finding ways to sca!ably acquire new users &
retain existing ones
But it can't do what search/SEO does: ●
Leveraging conversion funnels & conversion
●
Answer a direct need precisely when it's testing
requested in a scalable fashion
●
PPC
●
Gain Visibility from virtually all Internet users
with an Interest in your brand, product, sector, You should probably concentrate
or content at once
on those first
34. Share-ability
Let's just be friends
Linkedin, Facebook, YouTube, Yelp, and 1300
other social networks...
Prepare for the future of search and social media
●
Build for your visitors, not for show
●
Have goals
●
Be socially worthwhile
●
Be discoverable and shareable
●
Be a leader – make friends – be a resource for
information, observation, and quality
35. Make it happen
●
Create a digital marketing strategy designed to achieve specific goals
●
Determine your budget based on what you stand to gain
●
Gather as much information about your domain as you can
●
Find the right people for the job – it's a big responsibility
●
Ask lots of questions
36. Thanks
Special thanks to all of the attendees at
“Search and Sociability in 2010” seminar.
www.advaion.com www.growthadvisorsinc.com www.telecommanagement.us
www.5starcomm.com www.healthcoalition.com www.tera-us.com
www.businesswire.com www.jeffreygroup.com www.thinkfactory.com
www.cclspanish.com www.lpmediafilms.com www.vbridge.com
www.costatech.net www.mdgadvertising.com www.vbridgeinc.com
www.cpamiami.com www.merk.com www.wpbt.org
www.dgdesignstudios.com www.paetec.com www.xo.com
www.floribbeanproducts.com www.symbits.com