This document contains a presentation on website optimization and search engine optimization (SEO) topics for Blackbaud. It discusses optimizing communication channels, factors that influence SEO, why SEO is needed, before and after examples of SEO, implementing SEO for nonprofits in phases, website usability testing, mobile optimized websites, and the website redesign process. Visual aids like diagrams and screenshots are included to explain concepts.

1. BLACKBAUD FORUM
W E B S I T E O P T I M I Z AT I O N
2.10.12
NYC
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2. HELLO
JONO YOUNG
Interactive Design Principal, Strategic Services
jono.young@blackbaud.com
Phone: 843-654-3079
Twitter: @chsWeb
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jonoyoung
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3. OPTIMIZING COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
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4. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST
INFLUENTIAL FACTOR IN SEO?
a. How many Facebook fans your website has
b. How many pages your website has
c. How great your content is
d. How much content is on your homepage
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14. SEO IS EVERYWHERE, IN EVERY CHANNEL
Every channel that communicates with
people can be optimized for people, by
applying the multi-channel principals of
Search Engine Optimization
Download Around the World in 120 Characters to
learn more about multi-channel communication:
http://chsweb.me/bbcon11-120char
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15. OPTIMIZING
COMMUNICATION
CHANNELS
SUMMARY
1. Every communication channel can be optimized
2. Consistent content across communication channels broadens the reach of
your brand
3. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Email (even Outlook notifications), and
printed material can be optimized for more effective communication
4. QR codes change a one-to-one print communication to one-to-many
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16. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION ?
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17. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
WHICH IS THE BEST FOR YOUR WEBSITE?
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18. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
SEO GENERATES THE MOST ENGAGED SITE VISITORS
* There are exceptions (of course), however on average, Search Engines are the best source of website traffic
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19. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
SEARCH ENGINES OUT PERFORM REFERRAL TRAFFIC
* There are exceptions (of course), however on average, Search Engines are the best source of website traffic
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20. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
SEARCH ENGINES OUT PERFORM DIRECT TRAFFIC
* There are exceptions (of course), however on average, Search Engines are the best source of website traffic
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21. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
SEARCH ENGINES OUT PERFORM CAMPAIGNS*
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22. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE TELL SEARCH ENGINE
USERS WHAT TO CLICK ON (PAY PER CLICK)?
Organic Search Engine Traffic
Paid Search Engine Traffic
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23. WHY DO YOU NEED SEO
SEARCH ENGINES VS OTHER TRAFFIC SOURCES
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24. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
SEARCH ENGINES VS REFERRAL TRAFFIC
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25. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
SEARCH ENGINES VS DIRECT TRAFFIC
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26. WHY DO WE NEED SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
SEARCH ENGINES VS CAMPAIGN TRAFFIC
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27. WHY
DO
YOU
NEED
SEO
SUMMARY
1. In general, most of your website traffic comes from search engines
2. Optimized websites have lower bounce rates
3. Optimized websites are more engaging
4. Optimized websites keep users on your website longer, providing
additional opportunities to connect with site visitors
5. Visitors from social networks and other referring websites are are more
engaged when a website has been optimized
6. Campaigns with optimized websites have a higher return on investment
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28. SEO: BEFORE AND AFTER
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29. NOT VERY OPTIMIZED
Page title
URL
Keywords
Headings
Images
Content (just barely )
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30. WHAT IS SEARCH ENGINE OPTIM MUCH BETTER
Page title
URL
Keywords
Headings
Images
Content
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31. SE-WHOA!
BEFORE AND AFTER
Before SEO Conversion Rate: 10% Average gift: $92 Total Revenue: $6,399
After SEO Conversion Rate: 10% Average gift: $92 Total Revenue: $14,618
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32. SE-WHOA!
DECEMBER DONATIONS: BEFORE AND AFTER
Date Count Total Average
December 2010 362 $85,044.00 $234.93
December 2011 434 $160, 342.00 $369.45
After SEO
Before SEO
After SEO
Before SEO
After SEO
Before SEO
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33. SEO
BEFORE
AND
AFTER
SUMMARY
1. SEO produces quality content for landing pages
2. Defining success criteria is critical
3. SEO progress has to be measured
4. Monitoring results ensures SEO is working as expected
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34. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
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35. IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 1 OF 4: DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY » FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS » OPTIMIZATION » MONITOR AND ANALYZE
1. Project Staffing 4. Introduction to Analytics Tools
2. Keyword Conversion Path 5. Define Keyword Reports
3. Define Success Criteria
Current Site Metrics
What’s trending?
Current Rank
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36. IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 2 OF 4: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
DISCOVERY » FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS » OPTIMIZATION » MONITOR AND ANALYZE
1. Review Discovery Data 4. Start simple with easy wins
2. Agree on keyword(s) 5. Project status reports
3. Review current keyword
score
Visualize Progress
Initial Keyword Score
Discovery Data
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37. IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 3 OF 4: OPTIMIZATION
DISCOVERY » FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS » OPTIMIZATION » MONITOR AND ANALYZE
1. Tips, Tricks & Best Practices 4. Make the most of your CMS
2. Real-time progress tracking 5. All-in-one document for better
3. Showing our work project communication
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38. IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 3 OF 4: BASIC OPTIMIZATION
DISCOVERY » FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS » OPTIMIZATION » MONITOR AND ANALYZE
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39. IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 3 OF 4: BASIC OPTIMIZATION
DISCOVERY » FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS » OPTIMIZATION » MONITOR AND ANALYZE
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40. IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 3 OF 4: ADVANCED OPTIMIZATION
DISCOVERY » FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS » OPTIMIZATION » MONITOR AND ANALYZE
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41. IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 4 OF 4: MONITOR AND ANALYZE
DISCOVERY » FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS » OPTIMIZATION » MONITOR AND ANALYZE
1. Reports measure success criteria 3. 3 follow up check-ins are
2. Alerts are established to notify conducted at 4 week intervals
project staffing of surges in traffic 4. Tweaks and revisions are made
or drastic changes in metrics based on current results
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42. SEO
FOR
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS
SUMMARY
1. SEO helps web pages appear in search engine results pages
2. SEO is important because SEO is everywhere
3. Content is king in SEO
4. SEO can help you raise a more money, grow your list, and increase event
registrations
5. Communicating with visual aids makes SEO easier for everyone to
understand and apply
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43. WEBSITE USABILITY
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44. USABILITY TESTING: NAVIGATION FLOW
Improve conversion rates by analyzing how people navigate a website’s
conversion paths from home page to confirmation page.
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45. IMPROVE CONVERSION RATES
Before Usability Testing this conversion path generated $2,356
After Usability Testing this conversion path generated: $4,092
This conversion path receives 300 unique visitors per month, with an average
gift of $62.00, this organization is now able to make an extra $6,876 per month
by optimizing their donation conversion path.
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46. USABILITY TESTING: CLICK TEST
Find out what your website visitors are most interested in exploring further.
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47. USABILITY TESTING: 5 SECOND TEST
Find out how effective your website is at communicating your mission to site
visitors and fine-tune your calls to action.
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48. LET’S TAKE A FEW TESTS
Take a Test: 5 Second Test
Star of Hope Mission http://ow.ly/8ZpNF
DFGFI: http://ow.ly/8Zq8C
New York Law School http://ow.ly/8ZpJ0
Results: 5 Second Test (What does this organization do?)
Star of Hope Mission (“helping homeless” = great, missed “Houston” focus)
DFGFI (great design conveys the mission immediately)
Results: Navigation Flow
Star of Hope Mission (79% success, redesign then retest soon)
Chesapeake Bay Foundation 94% Success (52% success w/old site)
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49. USABILITY
TEST
SUMMARY
1. 5 Second Tests are great for testing first impressions.
2. Navigation Flow Tests are great for testing conversion rates.
3. Click Tests are great for testing landing pages and calls to action.
4. Usability testing is a simple way to identify website problems
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50. MOBILE OPTIMIZED WEBSITES
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51. MOBILE DESIGN OVERVIEW
Creating and managing a mobile website is easy as creating and managing a
desktop website with all new template and style sheet capabilities.
Mobile Optimized Templates
• Every page can be mobile optimized
• Works just like the desktop templates
• Edit content for desktop and mobile
at the same time
Target Different Mobile Browsers
• iPhone, Android, Blackberry, iPad
Keep it Simple
• Mission critical tasks made easy
• Deep link pages are optimized
(Google search results traffic)
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52. ALL NEW MOBILE WEBSITE DESIGN SOLUTIONS
Single Page Just the Basics Mobile Campaigns
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53. ALL NEW MOBILE WEBSITE DESIGN SOLUTIONS
Single Page Just the Basics Mobile Campaigns
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54. MOBILE
OPTIMIZED
WEBSITE
SUMMARY
1. Keep it simple (for small screen space)
2. Focus on conversion paths (from Landing page to Thank You!)
3. Content is king (concise, clear, directive)
4. QR Codes are an easy way to promote
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55. WEBSITE REDESIGN OVERVIEW
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56. COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING
Audience Needs Stakeholder Needs Blackbaud Experience
Your website has the potential to We rely on you, as stakeholders, to Our responsibility, as experienced
reach hundreds and thousands of inform us about who your audiences designers and consultants, is to
visitors every day; we can make it are. We also rely on you to tell us address your needs as stakeholders
easier for them to find the information what your organization’s specific while advocating for what is in the
they are interested with User goals and expectations are. Once best interest of your target audiences.
Research. When making decisions we understand what you need from We must ask ourselves, “How does
about your website, ask yourself, your website we can recommend a addressing this stakeholder need
“How does this help our target strategy and begin to design align with or affect the needs of the
audiences accomplish their online solutions that meet your needs. target audiences?”
tasks?”
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57. VISUAL DESIGN DISCOVERY
We learn as much as we can about your organization, your audience and
your goals before any visual or strategic design work begins.
Assess Current Website
Complete Creative Worksheet
Define Audience Tasks
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58. USER RESEARCH
We gain a deeper understanding of your website audiences and their ability to
complete various actions online through data collection and usability testing.
Audience Personas
Understanding
Your Audience
On-site Card Sorting
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59. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
We can begin to re-architect your website now that we have a thorough
understanding of your audience and their behaviors.
Optimized Site Map
Wireframes
Rapid Prototyping
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60. VISUAL DESIGN
All of our research and collaboration converges where the visual design
solution becomes invisible and the user experience comes forward.
Concept One Concept Two
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