There’s No Quick Fix to Your SEOAPTERA DIGITAL MARKETING SERVICES

Speaker Introductions

Ron Mattocks – Director of Digital Marketing Services

Tim Williamson – Lead Developer at Aptera

Webinar Intent and TakeawaysIntent

Provide you with a brief overview of what search engine optimization means today, why it has changed, and how to now approach it.

Key Takeaways

SEO is geared to user experience

SEO is no longer a project; it’s now an ongoing process

SEO today is fundamentally content-driven

SEO done correctly can lead to better quality traffic, leads, & sales

SEO is Like Living Healthy

Changes in SEOIT ’S GEARED TO USER EXPERIENCE

Timeline of SEO Algorithms (Google)2003 – Backlink quality, index infrastructure, keyword stuffing

2004 – Invisible text, meta tag-stuffing

2005 – Link quality, duplicate content, personalized search, map data

2007 – Universal search (News, images, video, local)

2009 – Real time search

2010 – Places and local search, long-tail keywords

2011 – thin content, ads, fresh content

2012 – Google+, local search, link schemes, keyword stuffing, low quality sites

2013 – Long-from content, search context, high-quality content

2014 – Local search, site security, removed authorship

2015 – Mobile-friendliness

Key Google AlgorithmsPanda – Penalize poor quality content

Penguin – Penalization of over-optimization & link spam

Hummingbird – Taking contextual search into account

Pigeon – Refined focus on local search

“Mobilegeddon” – Mobile responsive site

Common Misconceptions It’s some magical thing the developer takes care of

SEO and AdWords are the same thing

It’s ALL about keywords / I need keywords everywhere

“Just tell me the 3 things I can do to fix things now, and maybe I’ll do the rest later.”

“I don’t need a blog.”

“I don’t want my competitors to find out my keywords.”

“These are the keywords we should be using.”

“We can guarantee to get you on page 1.”

“In 2004, good SEO made you remarkable on the web. In 2014, good SEO is a result of being remarkable on the web.”

- RAND FISHKIN, MOZ CO-FOUNDER

SEO TodayIT ’S NO LONGER A PROJECT; IT ’S AN ON -GOING PROCESS

The Science vs. The Art of SEO“SCIENCE” – DEVELOPMENT

Titles and Meta Data

Alt Image Tagging

Header Tags

Internal Links

Broken Links / URL Redirects

URL Structure

Load Time

Layout

Duplicate Content

Schema.org Markup

XML Sitemaps

Flash/AJAX/Java Script Issues

Backlink Authority

HTTPS/SSL

Mobile responsive optimization

“ART” - MARKETING

Content Quality and Value

Content Length and Form

Content Freshness

Content consumption and authority

Social Sharing activity

Quality over quantity of backlinks

Correctly Researched Keywords

Keyword density

Anchor Text (keywords as links)

Keyword Tagging

Content Optimization Tactics by form

Local SEO factors

Personalized search

Content Distribution

Long-tail Keywords

You Control: On-Site Weighted FactorsMega Heavy Heavy Light

Development

Keywords in HTML title tags Meta description match page Keywords in headers

Architecture is easily crawled Avoid duplicate content Page data structured

Mobile optimized Short URLs with keywords

Site speed

Marketing

Quality content Reader engagement

Researched keywords Content freshness

Keyword phrase match intent Source: Search Engine Land Periodic Chart of SEO

Don’t Control: Off-Site Weighted Factors

Mega Heavy Heavy Light

Link quality from other sites Linking text authority Social shares

Is your site trusted Social share reputation Site history

Personal – Country & Local Social follows within network Number of backlinks

Personal search history Verification of site

Weighted Search Penalties

Gut Buster Super Size Regular

Purchasing links Thin content Numerous spammy links

Page cloaking search engines Keyword stuffing Ad heavy above the fold

Hiding text with colors

Flagged for pirated content

“Write content for people.Write code for engines.”

- ALAN BLEIWEISS, FORENSIC SEO CONSULTANT

Making SEO WorkIT ’S FUNDAMENTALLY CONTENT -DRIVEN

What Makes SEO HardSEO strategy is going to be content-driven (Marketing Function)

Creating content is hard.

Creating good content is harder.

Creating good content consistently is even harder.

Creating good content consistently that people like seems impossible

“Where do I start?”

The Process - PersonasPersonas are fictional, generalized characters that encompass the various needs, goals, and observed behavior patterns among your real and potential customers to better understand them.

Role in the organization and decision making process

Priority Initiatives and Success Factors

Misconceptions and Objections

Trusted information sources and tech use

Decision factors and process

The Process - Buyer’s JourneyBuyer’s Journey is the active research process a potential buyer goes through leading up to making a purchase decision broken into several stages

Awareness: Is doing educational research to more clearly understand, frame, and give name to their problem.

Consideration: Prospect has now clearly defined and given a name to their problem or opportunity. Is committed to researching and understanding all of the available approaches and/or methods to solving the defined problem or opportunity.

Decision: Prospect has now decided on their solution strategy, method, or approach. Is compiling a long list of all available vendors and products in their given solution strategy

The Process - Keyword GlossaryBuyer’s Journey

Root Word Examples

The Searcher’s Question The Answer = Topics for content Keyword Glossary

Top FunnelAwareness

IssueResolve RisksImproveOptimize Prevent

What is [insert problem] and how can I prevent or resolve it?

[Problem] is defined as this and toprevent or resolve it this is what you need to do.

Top Funnel Keywords

Mid FunnelConsideration

Solution ProviderService SupplierTool Software

What are the best solutions to [problem] and which service provider should I talk to?

There are several solutions to [problem] depending on a few factors. The best service providerwill account for these in assisting you.

Mid Funnel Keywords

Bottom Funnel Decision

Benchmarks Pros & Cons Compare Price/Cost of Reviews

What are the pros vs. cons of these solution & how does it compare to others?

In making your decision consider these pros and cons as they will affect the outcome and overall cost.

Bottom Funnel Keywords

Keyword Glossary - ToolsCOMING UP WITH THE QUESTIONS

Quora

Ask.com

Yahoo Answers

Twitter Search

Industry forums and message boards

RESEARCHING THE KEYWORDS

Google AdWords Keyword Tools

Google Suggest

Uber Suggest

Don’t forget mobile and international

Keyword Glossary – On-Site ApplicationsDEVELOPMENT

Keywords in HTML title tags (3)

Meta description match page (2)

Avoid duplicate content (2)

Keywords in headers (1)

Short URLs with keywords (1)

MARKETING

Quality content (3)

Researched keywords (3)

Keyword phrase match intent (3)

Reader engagement (2)

Content freshness (2)

Employ Tactical Best Practices without Sacrificing Quality

“Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.”

- WENDY PIERSALL, AUTHOR & CEO

Defining SEO SuccessIT CAN LEAD TO BETTER QUALITY TRAFFIC, LEADS, & SALES

Measure, Adjust, RefineTOOLS

Google Analytics, AdWords Tools, Webmaster Tools (Google, Bing, Yahoo)

Diganostics -MOZ, RavenTools, Google’s Mobile Friendly Test

Marketing – HubSpot (campaigns, grader)

Chrome extensions – MOZBar, SEOQuake, WooRank

TOP-LEVEL KPI’S – QUALITY

Organic search traffic as a % of overall site traffic

Average page views, time on site, bounce rate

Lead conversions from organic search

Search traffic by device

Quality of backlinks

Page rank position (up or down)

Case Study Example 1

Source: Google Analytics – Organic Search Traffic

Case Study Example 2

Source: HubSpot – Organic Search Traffic/Contacts

Case Study Example 2

Source: HubSpot – Organic Search/Paid Search/Contacts

“It’s much easier to double your business by doubling your

conversion rate than by doubling your traffic.”

- JEFF EISENBERG, CMO AT CITIZEN.VC

QuestionsE M A I L U S AT W E B I N A R S @ A P T E R A I N C . C O M

F O L LO W U S O N T W I T T E R V I A @ A P T E R A S O F T WA R E O R @ A P T E R A I N B O U N D

F O R A N O V E R V I E W O F A P T E R A’ S D I G I TA L M A R K E T I N G C A PA B I L I T I E S : H T T P : / / B I T. LY/ 1 E Z Q L A E