How to Win With Direct Answers as a Content Site

March 3rd, 2015

Winning with Direct Answers as a Content SiteEhren ReillyDirector of Product, Growth Glassdoor@ehrenreilly

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• How should content sites approach approach the direct answer revolution? Wrath?

• What can we actually do about it?

• What tactics enable you to make the best of the situation?

OVERVIEW

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• Panda is about quality.

• Content can be high-quality but bite-sized.

• Ask a simple question, get a simple answer, success!

PANDA ≠ THIN CONTENT

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QUICK, EASY FACTS

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QUICK, EASY FACTS

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QUICK, EASY FACTS

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IT’S NO LONGER VIABLE TO BE HIGH-QUALITY AND BITE-SIZED

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IT’S NO LONGER VIABLE TO HAVE HIGH-QUALITY NON-PROPRIETARY CONTENT

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IT’S NO LONGER VIABLE TO HAVE HIGH-QUALITY NON-PROPRIETARY CONTENT

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#SMX #11A

IT’S NO LONGER VIABLE TO HAVE HIGH-QUALITY NON-PROPRIETARY CONTENT

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IT’S NO LONGER VIABLE TO HAVE HIGH-QUALITY NON-PROPRIETARY CONTENT

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BUT WHAT IF I HAVE HIGH-QUALITY, UNIQUE, PROPRIETARY CONTENT?

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SPOILER ALERT

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SPOILER ALERT

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THOSE FU*#%RS ARE STEALING PUBLISHERS’ CONTENT!!!!

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REALITY CHECK

“Take that, Wiki-freakin-pedia!”- John Doe, SEO Director

at Britannica.com

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REALITY CHECK

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THAT’S MY SERP!

THAT’S MY SERP!

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THAT’S MY SERP!

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BETTER FOR USERS, WORSE FOR DA

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FOLLOW THE FORMULA

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I CAN DO THAT

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MEGASNIPPET!

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Every direct answer follows a formula.

1. Figure out the formula for the DA you want to appear in.

1. Create that sentence with your information.

FIND THE FORMULA

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Classic SERP: Get the click vs. competitor getting the click.

Direct answer SERP:Get the click vs. no click at all

OK, BUT WHAT ABOUT CLICKS?

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SOME DIRECT ANSWERS ENTICE CLICKS BETTER THAN OTHERS

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GET PICKED• Do good SEO 101• Match the formula• Avoid unhelpful structure & markup

GET CLICKED• Shock and awe – Make the answer seem not-so-

simple. “This is a full page type of answer”.• Teasers – What’s the next thing people want to

know?

DIRECT ANSWER SEO TACTICS

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• DAs disrupt the classic SERP organization.

• Some rank tracking software doesn’t handle them well.

• Possible handling:• DA counted as ordinal 1• DA counted as ordinal 1 and 2• DA not treated as an ordinal.

RANK TRACKING WITH DIRECT ANSWERS ON THE SERP

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EXPECT FLUX

• DA is a new technology

• New formats

• Fixing errors

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