FREE Ways to Improve Digital Marketing in 15 Minutes per Week. Gabrielle K. Gabrielli, Ph.D.

Transcription

1 FREE Ways to Improve Digital Marketing in 15 Minutes per Week Gabrielle K. Gabrielli, Ph.D. 13 November 2012

2 Introductions Name Business(es), organization(s) What is your brand? Experience with marketing Current web presence What you hope to learn from this session

3 Example of Weekly Schedule Digital Marke,ng in One Week 3 Minutes Examine Metrics to Determine where to Focus Energy 3 Minutes Update Website - Fresh Content Helps SEO 4 Minutes Alternate Weeks- Campaigns, Blogs, Facebook Campaigns 2 Minutes Solicit Customer Feedback and Tes,monials 2 Minutes Visit LinkedIn Groups; Comment or Respond to Connec,ons 1 Minute Extra Time? Update Facebook Business Status; Feed to TwiQer; Copy to LinkedIn Work on YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Metadata, Create Engaging Content (graphics, pics, videos, etc.)

4 7 Online Marketing Trends It's not just mobile! Consumers are device indifferent. 2. Social media marketing grows up and moves out of marketing. 3. Content marketing makes brands media. 4. Real time matters more than ever. * Source: ClickZ, Jan. 2012

5 7 Online Marketing Trends isn't dead (yet!). Communication counts. 6. Commerce happens everywhere. 7. Actionable metrics count, not just collecting big data. * Source: ClickZ, Jan. 2012

6 Research on Social Media 53% of social media users follow a brand. 60% create reviews. 37% of mobile phone users access social media from phones; social networking is 2 nd most valued feature to GPS. People aged are majority, 62% female. African Americans more highly represented on Twitter than other social networks. Nielsen s Q Social Media Report

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8 Top 10 Websites * Source: Experian Hitwise, Nov. 2012

9 Top 10 Social Networking Websites * Source: Experian Hitwise, Nov. 2012

10 Tip: Take Advantage of Free Tools Google Analytics Webmaster Tools, AdWords, Google Plus Tutorial:

11 Pagerank Represents how important page is on the Web Google's Score = (Kw Usage Score * 0.3) + (Domain * 0.25) + (PR Score * 0.25) + (Inbound Link Score * 0.25) + (User Data * 0.1) + (Content Quality Score * 0.1) + (Manual Boosts) - (Automated & Manual Penalties) PageRank = * (a "share" of the PageRank of every page that links to it)

12 Search Ranking Factors Survey Retrieved 18 Oct. 2011

13 Metadata Page Title Description Keywords ALT Tags H1

14 Metadata Description Character Limit 160 BUT you want 153 or less When absent, a snippet of random text may be chosen for you When limit is exceeded, some search engines may bump you

15 Metadata Title Character Limit When limit is exceeded, some search engines may bump you Default page name in some software is Home - be sure to change it For local businesses, regionalize Unique title is needed for each page (note: TSAE page titles are still all the same)

16 Metadata Title Examples Needs Improvement: Home Events and Training Calendar The Southeast's Premiere Destination for Weddings, Hunting Trips, Retreats & Special Events - Honey Lake Plantation - Resort & Spa (130) FSAE Home Better: Workforce Florida - Priorities & Initiatives About the Foundation FSAE Home

17 Metadata Keywords Character Limits- No real limits on most search engines but figure first 20 words as most important No real consequence when limit is exceeded Doesn t carry nearly as much weight as it once did with SEO, but doesn t hurt

18 Keywords Don t use capitalization. Don t use plurals. Put most important search terms at the top of the list. For local organizations, regionalize search terms. Add unique descriptors.

19 Metadata Keywords BAD Example hotel near the crown center plaza, kansas city hotels, missouri hotels, meeting hotel in kansas city, wedding hotel in kansas city, hotel near hallmark crown center, shopping hotel kansas city" Which hotel do you think this is?

20 Metadata Keywords Examples florida, dental care, florida dental profession, oral health care, dental education osteopathic medicine,osteopathic physicians,osteopathic manipulative therapy,florida,foma DO NOT use words like Florida, retail, sale, etc. unless they are combined in phrases

21 ALT Tags Help drive traffic to website and ensure Section 508 accessibility VERY important to SEO Good example: <img src="images/fesmasthead.jpg" alt="back to Florida Engineering Society Home Page >

22 Keyword Discovery (this is a great product when it is working).

23 XML Sitemap Keyword Tool Keyword density = frequency of keywords on your website 2-5% density is considered optimal Above 7% may require tweaking...but many that are more dense perform great

24 Metamend Keyword Density Analyzer Prominence = relationship to metadata and other HTML markers T=Title, D=Description, K=Keywords, H=Heading, L=Linktext, B=Bold, I=Italic, A=Alt, C=Content (note: this wasn t working this morning but sometimes that happens with free tools...try again later if this ever happens)

25 Blekko Search engine that has SEO built in through slash tags Use /seo after any URL to analyze inbound links, hostrank, cross links, and allows you to compare you and a competitor

26 TouchGraph Shows interrelationships of dominant sites and keywords

27 Solo SEO Helps with cross-promotion and URL submit

28 SMM: Social Mention Conducts social media search and analyzes mentions and keywords

29 Check for Accessibility - Check ADA and ALT Tags to ensure accessibility

30 Check Out Your Competition - enter URL in top window, check out any website s keywords and more

31 Free Website Monitoring - ensure uptime

32 Free Website Speed Test es/analyze - free website optimization tool

33 Tip: Improve Online Presence Lung-Association-in-Florida- Tallahassee/ should be Go to to create a custom username.

34 Tip: Increase Engagement KPIs - Key Performance Indicators Time spent on site Pages per visit Return frequency to site Page view Visitors per referrer Bounce rate

35 Bounce Rate Metric Stickiness of a website High number = lack of appeal or relevance from landing page

36 Ways to Improve Bounce Rate Know your audience. Create more appealing web content. Keep text to a minimum (but do not make your site graphics only). Include a call to action. Show them how you help meet needs. Track metrics and adjust accordingly.

37 Tip: Save Time by Cross-Linking Facebook to Twitter link:

38 The Value of LinkedIn Complete your personal profile to 100%. Network with many prospective contacts. Join industry groups and participate. Excellent ROI. Add a company profile: w

39 The Value of Great Content...when a video goes viral on YouTube Connect with audience Know who you want to reach Create a relationship with them Actively build audience base Add meaningful metadata

40 Tip: Create Campaigns Personalize when possible. Make content visually appealing. Keep text to a minimum. Provide discounts or incentives to click. Keep frequency to less than once per 1-2 weeks.

41 Rules of Thumb Customize for the individual and the group. Have powerful subject line & call to action. Reinforce your brand. Provide unsubscribe with comments for people to tell you why they are leaving. Make adjustments as needed.

42 Blogs Blogs can be a great way to drive traffic to your site Update at least once every 2 weeks Have search engine friendly titles

43 Blogs Doesn t cost anything but time Top 100 sites, great for ideas

44 Tip: Take Advantage of Free Tools dtoolexternal - SEO Tools including bounce rate (<50% for starters, the lower the better) - tools to check metadata, URLs, page load time, and more

45 Add Google Analytics Tracking Code <script type="text/javascript > var _gaq = _gaq []; _gaq.push(['_setaccount', 'UA ']); _gaq.push(['_trackpageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createelement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = (' == document.location.protocol? ' : ' + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getelementsbytagname('script')[0]; s.parentnode.insertbefore(ga, s); })(); </script>

46 Generate Sitemaps HTML sitemaps Page that shows every page on your site Pages you don t want indexed should have code added Link to sitemap should be on all pages XML sitemaps Much more important to search engines

47 I ve attracted visitors, now what? Website must: Be well designed Provide appealing headline, image Attract clicks Drive traffic Include a call to action that leads to engagement

48 Tip: Cross-Promote Connect all of your web presence sites to one another. Social networking Blogs Website Connect with others through reciprocal links.

49 Other Metrics Server analytics such as AW Stats (Quality and Relevance of Content) unique page views, time on page, total pages viewed, bounce rate, etc. Klout (Social Media Influence) Social Mention (Share of Voice) Topsy (Engagement) Bitly.com (Referral Statistics) Thousands of Others!

50 Content Marketing A marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience with the objective of driving profitable customer action. Communicating without selling

51 The Value of Organic 80% use search engines to find products and services they want to buy. 85% of searchers ignore paid listings. 63% of top organic listings get clickthrus. Organic search results convert 30% higher than PPC.

52 Social Media Marketing - SMM Use of social networks, online communities, blogs, wikis, or any other online collaborative media for marketing, sales, public relations and customer service Includes writing content that is remarkable, unique, and newsworthy. This content can then be marketed by popularizing it or by creating a viral video on YouTube and other video sites.

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54 Keys to Marketing Success Have a website Domain name should be easy to remember, no dashes, and search engine friendly. Businesses should have.com. Nonprofit organizations should have.org. Educational institutions should have.edu. Buy more than one domain and mirror it! Domain names can be bought for <$10/yr. My favorite places to buy are ADimeADozen.com and GoDaddy.com. Hosting varies but $35 per month for small business is typical (more for e-commerce).

55 Keys to Marketing Success Have an effective LinkedIn profile Get to 100% completeness Connect with everyone who may be a customer Join industry groups Customize your public profile link Customize your website links Connect your Twitter account if you have one Cross-promote Include LinkedIn link in all communication Include LinkedIn link on website and FB page

56 LinkedIn Set custom URL to make it more shareable and search engine friendly Example: versushttp:// su

57 Set Custom URL in LinkedIn You can customize your public profile URL when you edit your public profile from the Settings page. Go to Settings and click "Edit your public profile". In the "Your public profile URL" box on the right, click the "Customize your public profile URL" link. Type the last part of your new custom URL in the text box. Click Set Custom URL

58 Pinterest

59 Keys to Marketing Success Have an effective Facebook business page Unless you are part of an organization that has its own and regulates others, this should be separate from your personal page Invite everyone who may be a customer Customize your Facebook domain name Cross-promote Include Facebook link in all communication Include Facebook link on website and LinkedIn

60 Keys to Marketing Success Optimize your website Search engine friendly No errors including technical Simple but elegant Easy to navigate Quick page load time Accessible to everyone (includes no Flash!) People with disabilities Mobile devices Include Call to Action

61 Keys to Marketing Success Add testimonials Quotes from happy clients Should be on your website Get recommendations on your LinkedIn profile Create a blog Update at least once every 2 weeks Use search engine friendly titles and content Develop lists such as 7 ways to...

62 Keys to Marketing Success Create a YouTube business channel If you already have a personal account, log out then create a new account. Customize URL to be search friendly Should be on your website Create a video Start with one and plan to develop more Use search engine friendly titles and content Make it interesting, informative, and fun! Allow embedding

63 Keys to Marketing Success Create a Twitter account Even if you don t use it, create one Automatically update it via your Facebook business page Cross promote Cross-link to instantly update your Twitter page through Facebook Cross-link to instantly update your LinkedIn page through Twitter

64 Keys to Marketing Success Maximize your Mine data on your website to capture addresses Offer contests to capture addresses The best customer is an existing customer; do what you can to keep them engaged Communicate effectively Don t send s more than once per week Always cross-promote your Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter accounts

65 Conclusion You don t have to spend a lot of time improving your digital marketing reach. You don t have to be an expert in SEO or digital marketing in general. You don t have to spend money. This entire presentation will be available at Questions? gabrielle@gabrielleconsulting.com