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How to accelerate lead quality and conversions with content marketing optimization
Sponsored by:
April 26, 20121:00 PM ET
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Kaci Bower Senior Research Analyst, [email protected]@kacibower
W. Jeffrey RiceSenior Research Analyst, [email protected]@wjeffreyr
Speakers
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A research‐based webinar
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Webinar content follows rigorous research
• Annual research cycle•Industry research surveys•Case studies and articles•Identify best practices•Formulate methodologies•Actionable training
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• The collective wisdom of more than 48,000 marketers
• Nearly 5,000 pages of analytical commentary and marketer insights
• More than 6,000 charts and data tables to validate what’s working – and what’s not – in marketing today
Benchmark Research Library – since 2008
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Today, we’re going to discuss:
1. Key findings about content marketing from research into 1,530 search marketers
2. Five steps ( 5 P’s) to improve lead quality and conversions with content marketing optimization
3. Two case studies showcasing examples of content marketing optimization tactics to build traffic, generate leads and drive revenue
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1,530 search marketers were surveyed on:
– Challenges and goals for search marketing programs
– Growing shift to inbound marketing
– Popularity, effectiveness and difficulty per SEO tactic
– Role of content in SEO programs
Research background
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Key finding: Content creation most effective – and most difficult
• Content creation stands apart in cluster of SEO tactics
• Most effective at achieving marketing objectives
• Also the most difficult tactic in terms of time, money and effort required
Digital asset
optimization
Competitor Benchmarking
SEO landingpages
Blogging
Social media
integration
External link building
Content creation
Internal linking
URL structure
Meta description
tags
Title tags
Keyword and keyphrase research
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Level of E
ffectiv
eness
Degree of Difficulty
Sphere size indicates level of usage
Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530
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Key finding: Marketers are using many different content formats
• Half of marketers surveyed state that Web pages are very effective in helping them achieve their marketing objectives
• Important to look beyond Web pages in content marketing optimization efforts
Customer Reviews
WebPages
Webinars/Wecasts Whitepapers
Microsites
CaseStudiesE‐newsletters Articles
eBooksBlogs
PressReleases Online
VideoMobile ContentImages Social Media
(other than blogs)
Podcasts
Digital Magazines
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Level of E
ffectiv
eness
Degree of Difficulty
Sphere size indicates level of usage
Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530
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Attendee question:
Can you provide any statistics or results of using content optimization in terms of lead conversion?
‐ B. Saltys
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Key finding: Content accelerates lead quality and conversions
Content creators:
• Convert 28% more organic traffic
• Deem leads from organic search to be of the highest quality more often
• Produce higher‐quality leads that are more likely to convert
16% 20%
7%
9%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
NON‐CONTENT CREATORWe do not use content creation or digital asset
optimization as SEO tactics.
CONTENT CREATORWe use content creation and digital asset
optimization as SEO tactics.
% Organizations Rating Leads from Organic Search as Highest‐Quality
Average Conversion Rate on Organic Traffic
Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530
28% lift
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How can organizations mindfully approach the creation and optimization of their content products?
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Content Marketing Optimization
1. Purpose
2. Process
3. People
4. Presentation5. Performance
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Content marketing optimization is a term that describes the marriage of content strategy and SEO expertise.
“It is the art of understanding exactly what your prospects and customers need to know, deliberately producing optimized content based on keyword phrases that are driving organic search traffic and conversions, and then delivering that optimized content to them in a relevant and compelling way
to grow your business by socializing the content through your organization’s social networks.”
Sources: Content Marketing Institute; Krista LaRiviere
But, first, a definition…
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Content Marketing Optimization
1. Purpose
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Set a goal before you start
• Why should you create a piece of content?
• What purpose is it going to serve?
• Don’t take a checklist approach, thinking you have to do all types of content products
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Focus on aligning content with your goals, audience and opportunities – and let that drive the design and topic.
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Poll
• Do you develop content for all 5 stages of the customer engagement cycle (Awareness, Consideration, Inquiry, Purchase, Retention)?
– Yes
– No
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Target content to stages in customer engagement cycle
Setting even basic, high‐level goals will provide a compass to keep you on track when you're planning and publishing content.
Customer Engagement Cycle Stage Content Goal
Awareness• Raise general awareness of your brand
• Increase website traffic
Consideration • Encourage consideration of and active interest in your products and servicesInquiry
Purchase• Get prospects to choose you over
competitors
Retention • Retain customers
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Example: Think like your ideal customer
Customer Engagement Cycle Stage Questions Asked
Awareness How can I find the best deals on footwear?
Consideration What do I need to consider when purchasing women’s running shoes?
Inquiry What types of running shoes does this company offer?
Purchase Why is it better to purchase from this company over another?
Retention What would make me purchase from this company again?
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Content Marketing Optimization
2. Process
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Attendee question:
I blog for a very small niche and have trouble finding keywords so I create content based on my experience (18 years in my field) and what I know will be of use to my readers. I need a more structured approach. How to go about this ?
‐ S. Bardot
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Gauge the content demand by keyword area.
Examine social conversations to define the context of the content demand.
Outline content topics and keywords for which you’re optimizing and create content themes by month.
Evaluate the quality of existing content.
Inventory your existing content and compare existing content sources against required content.
Distribute optimized content to your social networks and give content consumersevery opportunity to socialize it.
Develop a gap‐closure plan and create new oredit existing content.
2 31 4 5 6 7
Plot out a process
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Gauge the content demand by keyword area
• Enter search terms related to your business to bring up additional keywords, related search volumes, and level of competition
• Find greater opportunities by targeting topics with:
– Relevance to prospects' needs– Somewhat lower search volumes– Significantly less competition for rankings
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Create content themes by month
• Understand the cyclical nature of your market so you write for their mindset at that time
• Assign each month an overall theme
• Structure content around four questions: What? Where? Why? How?
• Answer each of these questions every week in your content strategy document
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Existing content Repurpose existing content as
News releases Rewrite in conversational tone and post on blog
Video of CEO annual meeting speech
Post video on YouTubeConvert audio to MP3 for downloadable podcastTranscribe speech and post on blog
Customer case studies Create PowerPoint and post on SlideShareRecord PowerPoint with voiceover as video and post on YouTubePost video (YouTube embed code) on blog
PowerPoint presentations Record with voiceover as video and post on YouTubeConvert audio to MP3 for downloadable podcastRewrite in conversational tone and post on blog
Self‐published articles Rewrite in conversational tone and post as a blog seriesRecord audio to MP3 for downloadable podcast
Outdated blog posts Rewrite with updated titles, references, etc. and post on blog
Inventory existing content for repurposing
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Worksheet: Original content development
Format and description of content required Keyword use Date required Assigned to
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Content Marketing Optimization
people 3. People
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A page that is “too optimized” can be awkward to read.
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Write for people, not search engines
Content creation for SEO works best when you:
• Understand your target audience and their behaviors.
• Heed their preferences for information discovery, retrieval, consumption and sharing
• Address their needs and interests in your topics and keywords
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Use customer vernacular
• The words organizations use to describe their products and services may differ from what their target audiences use
• Example: “wireless phone” vs. “cell phone” vs. “mobile phone”
Dominant keyword choice is still “cell
phone”
The impact of customer language on search volumes is even greater after adding the qualifier “best”
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Develop relevant and compelling content
Relevant content• Interesting or useful to search engine user for a keyword search
• Answers questions, deepens understanding, expands knowledge
Compelling content• Goes beyond relevance• Useful to user at hand ‐‐ and those in the user’s social network
• Shared and used in building relationships
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Case study
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Case Study: Background
Experiment ID:Makana SolutionsLocation: MarketingSherpa Case Study LibraryTest Protocol Number: #CS31765
Research Notes:
Problem:Makana provides subscription‐based software that helps organizations perform sales compensation planning. But few prospects knew the SaaS solution was available and weren’t actively searching for it.
Goal: Become a top destination for advice about sales compensation planning.
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Step 1: Content creation
Aim: • Help prospects answer questions about their sales compensation
planning challenges
Methods:• Created and offered content based
on best practices for sales compensation planning
Sample sales compensation plans Educational webinars
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Step 2: Keyword research
Aim: • Optimize website around high‐value search terms
Methods:• Researched broad and longer‐tail
key terms that reflected targeted searches or specific industry verticals
• Identified a list of 600 keywords • Optimized specific web pages
around two or three relevant terms per page
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Step 3: Link building
Aim: • Boost inbound links to improve search rankings
Methods:• Identified sites with a high Google
PageRank from which they could get a link
Online directoriesInformation sites about sales compensation planning News sites to target for their press release distribution list
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Results
First page ranking for key industry search terms
Key performance metrics after 3 months of adopting strategy Change
Website traffic + 200%
Lead generation rate + 200%
Lead conversion rate + 100%
Paid search as % of total traffic ‐ 60%
! "We’re very happy with our success, but I’ll be honest and say we haven’t even touched the potential. The potential is tremendous to be even more successful with the realm of content
we can develop for various verticals. The possibilities just go on and on.“ – Alan Gehring, Marketing Director, Makana Solutions
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Content Marketing Optimization
4. Presentation
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Conventional wisdom dictates that quality trumps quantity. While this may hold true in other spheres of life, in SEO you need both.
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Focus on both quality and quantity
• Consistently publishing content that is both frequent and of high quality can lead search engines to rank your page and site as an authority on the subject.
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Quality and quantity content checklist
Do:
•Create content that’s well‐researched, well‐written, and well‐received
•Understand that quality articles make your site more authoritative and trustworthy
•Give search engines fresh content and regular updates
• Establish a pattern for content updates to set expectations and reward visitors
Don’t:
•Focus too much on keyword density
•Disregard the quality of the writing
•Overlook that search engines have become more capable of recognizing valuable, quality content over content that is hastily produced
•Risk looking like you’re only after title and heading tags by writing articles that are too short
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With the right layout, you can make your content both search engine‐ and reader‐friendly.
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Place keywords carefully
Create attention‐grabbing title, using the keyword in the title.
Use sub‐headings that include relevant keywords.
Position keywords towards the top of your article, as in the first line or paragraph.
Introduce synonyms for your keyword phrase in the second or third paragraphs.
Repeat your keyword phrase throughout the text –but don’t force!
Use the keyword in links and the image ALT text and captions.
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Example of keyword placement
Source: SEOMoz – The Beginners Guide to SEO
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Don’t ignore readability
Break up blocks of text into subcategoriesText blocks
Restrict paragraphs to five linesParagraphs
Use bullets, numbering and listsLists
Use short sentencesSentences
Use plenty of white spaceSpaceMake your links part of your copy, especially if links feature your keyword phrasesLinks
Use (and tag) images effectivelyImages
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Choose content formats mindfully
• Never choose content formats by default – or because “everyone else is doing that”
• Identify formats that connect with your customers
• Decide on formats and designs that define and give voice to your brand
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Case study
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Case Study: Background
Experiment ID: Eloqua, a marketing automation providerLocation: MarketingSherpa LibraryArticle ID: #HOW31938
Notes:
Problem: Faced a strong socially savvy Web 2.0 competitor
Solution: Create an independent, comprehensive content marketing department
Content Goals: • Fill the top of the sales funnel• Create customer attention and customer satisfaction • Develop content to improve SEO
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Tactic 1: Be different from the competition
Aim: • Get noticed by creating a brand identity
based on a design "voice"
Methods:• Give everything ‐ from whitepapers
to live presentations ‐ a heavier touch of design and graphics than might be expected
• Make frequent use of infographics“[The playful feel is] startlingly unexpected, and it absolutely without question triggers conversation because people just aren't used to seeing a playful
side of a B2B brand."
Joe Chernov, VP of Content Marketing, Eloqua
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Tactic 2: Brand your content
Aim: • Create a groundswell of association between
Eloqua and the term "revenue”
Methods:• Blog referred to as the “revenue blog” and
titled “It’s All About Revenue”
• Slideshare, the hub of Eloqua’s content, is called the “revenue hub”
• Created video combining playfulness of Eloqua's brand identity with concept branding of “revenue performance management”
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Tactic 3: Inject creativity into whitepapers
Aim: • Redesign predictable whitepaper
concept
Methods:• Splinter large whitepapers into
individual “Grande Guides”
• Cover topics related to core business and broader issues of interest to marketers
• Give early recipients (prior to public release) opportunity to be the first to distribute links to the guides
Eloqua came up with what it calls its Grande (think 16 ounces of coffee) Guides. The
promise is it takes about 15 minutes to drink that coffee and the same amount of time to
read the entire guide.
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Tactic 4: Hire a brand journalist
Aim: • Hire someone to provide content, ideally
independent from marketing control, such as blog posts, industry trends and other things of interest to your customers
Methods:• Hired a “corporate journalist”, not a PR
or Marcom writer
• Looked for someone who could speak to 90% of untapped market
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SEO benefits
• SEO value comes more from sharing content than creating keyword‐rich content, such as a whitepaper, that doesn't get distributed or republished by the audience
Focus on design helps content get noticed – and
shared
• Corporate journalist “loaned out” to other venues –and Eloqua gets a valuable inbound link from these media outlets in their corporate reporter's bio
• Larger goal of each Grande Guide is to generate and nurture links
Links come from many sources
"For me the SEO value isn't what is embedded in the content we
create. The value is derived when other people host, distribute or
talk about our content.”
Joe ChernovVP of Content Marketing, Eloqua
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Results
• $2.5 M in closed business, plus $3.2M in contract stage, from 4 Grande Guides
• “It’s All About Revenue” blog reached Ad Age Power 150 within first year
• People who discover website through content pieces are 21% more likely to view a product demo, Eloqua’s most desirable lead activity
• Viewers of “The Blog Tree” infographic are 32% more likely to fill out a web form
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Content Marketing Optimization
5. Performance
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The more relevant your content, the better your results.
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Measure the appeal of your content
• Gauge both the popularity and applicability of your content
• Look at conversion rates of your most desirable lead activities (e.g. view demo, complete web form, purchase, etc.)
• Look at the impact on search rankings and traffic
• Look at key indicators of subject matter interest, engagement and relevancy:
– Content downloads
– Content shares
– Comments
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In summary
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5 P’s of content marketing optimization
• Set a goal before you start• Target content to stages in customer engagement cyclePurpose
•Plot out a process•Gauge the content demand by keyword area•Create content themes by month• Inventory existing content and create a gap closure plan
Process
•Write for people, not search engines•Use customer vernacular•Develop relevant and compelling content
People
•Focus on both quantity and quality• Place keywords carefully•Don’t ignore readability• Choose content formats mindfully
Presentation
•Measure the appeal of your contentPerformance
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Attendee question:
Are there new best practice tactics in relation to overall content strategy impacting social strategy?
‐ K. Owens
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Register to receive a complementary website analysis!
http://www.slingshotseo.com/contact/free-seo-opportunity-assessment/
*limited to the first 50
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W. Jeffrey RiceSenior Research Analyst, [email protected]@wjeffreyr
Kaci Bower Senior Research Analyst, [email protected]@kacibower
