5/23/2012. The Best in Search Engine Optimization. Elmer Mobley. What is SEO? Digital Media Strategist ACS Advertising. Maximize Your Visibility

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1 5/23/2012 Maximize Your Visibility The Best in Search Engine Optimization May 24, 2012 Elmer Mobley Digital Media Strategist ACS Advertising What is SEO? 1

2 5/23/2012 Definition of SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website in search engines natural or organic search results. The higher a site ranks and the more it appears in search results, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine s users. Search Engines Are Here to Stay In January, 2012 there were 17.8 billion searches in the U.S. 92% of Internet users used a search engine in & Search are the most popular Internet activities. Google Dominates the Search Market 2

3 5/23/2012 Why Is SEO Important? SEO is a long-term marketing strategy. You should think of it as search engine marketing. Making sure your website is found, read and indexed by search engines is critical to a successful marketing strategy. Why Is SEO Important? (cont.) Billions around the world use search engines to conduct their daily lives. Being listed in the first few results is critical to being visible to your audience and instills trust in consumers about the worthiness and relative importance of your company. Online visibility has a direct impact on offline activity. Anatomy of a Search Result All search engines display organic search results and paid (PPC) results. 3

4 5/23/2012 Localized search is becoming increasingly important as well. Anatomy of a Localized Search Result (cont.) The explosion of mobile devices has made local search a vital part of SEO strategy. Anatomy of a Localized Search Result (cont.) Your Rankings Matter 61% of total clicks occur on natural (non-paid/organic) search results. The top three results get nearly 58% of user clicks. 4

5 5/23/2012 Your Rankings Matter (cont.) First three ad positions get 50% of all clicks on paid search results (PPC advertising) 94% of users click on a first-page search result. Your Rankings Matter (cont.) If you re not on page one, your site is basically invisible! Q&A 5

6 5/23/2012 SEO Best Practices On-Page Factors That Help Your Site Rank Optimizing Your Website On-page SEO is made up of several factors including: Usability search engines reward sites that are userfriendly, have solid site structure & have easy-to-use navigation Quality content Proper use of tags, keywords and other code Targeted keywords to drive traffic Use of analytics tools to measure success Website Analytics Who, When, How? Analytics is critical to understanding who visits your site, when they visit, what pages they visit and how they got there. 6

7 5/23/2012 Website Analytics Who, When, How? (cont.) There are dozens of analytics programs available. Google Analytics is an industry leader and it s FREE. SEO Best Practices Develop your strategy Implement effective tactics Track your results Developing a Strategy Three Strategic Questions 1. What do we do? 2. Who is our audience? 3. How do we reach that audience? 7

8 5/23/2012 Effective SEO Strategies Optimize your website Own your brand Integrate website into your overall marketing strategy Quantify your results Tactics Keyword research Competitive research On-site optimization Quality content User-friendly navigation Optimize Your Website Tactics Sitemaps Search engines Submissions Build links Install analytics Optimize Your Website (cont.) 8

9 5/23/2012 Own Your Brand Research your company name. What do you see on page one? Search engines love brands and will reward sites that have strong branding. A Brand Case Study Xerox dominates page one search results with their main corporate site and subsidiary sites. A Wikipedia page adds additional relevance and trust to the Xerox brand. 9

10 5/23/2012 Importance of Owning Your Brand Earning page one rankings for your brand is an easy win putting you in control of your message. The more page one real estate you own for your brand the less space there is for negative comments and competitors. A strong page one presence for your brand has a direct benefit to the rest of your SEO strategy. Tactics Submit your site to relevant directories. Build quality, relevant links. Implement social media into your marketing plan. Use press releases and a company blog to support brand awareness. Owning Your Brand Tactics Consistently use logos, slogans and brand names across all marketing materials. Owning Your Brand (cont.) 10

11 5/23/2012 Social Media & Your Brand Social media provides the most cost-effective way to communicate with your audience. 66% of all adult online users use social media. Facebook has 845 million active users. Twitter has 127 million active users. Social Media & Your Brand (cont.) Social media provides the most cost-effective way to communicate with your audience. LinkedIn has 150 million registered users. Social Media & Your Brand (cont.) Active use of social media tools will help you own page one search results You control your message. You build trust and relevance. You stay engaged with your audience. 11

12 5/23/2012 Quantify Your Results Identify your goals: What is the purpose? Building awareness Reaching new clients Communicating with existing clients Hiring new employees Selling products Quantifying Results (cont.) Use website analytics data, lead forms, phone calls, inquiries, search engine rankings and other metrics to quantify the success of your website. Quantifying Results (cont.) Be prepared to modify your tactics and adjust your strategy as you compile your data. 12

13 5/23/2012 SEO Is Not Optional Today Search engines, social media, Internet shopping and other online activities have permanently changed the marketing landscape. Develop a Plan Two Options Develop an in-house SEO department. or Utilize your existing agency or an outside SEO firm. Depends on your needs, capabilities and goals Resources Google offers a great SEO guide: nt/untrusted_dlcp/ ters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starterguide.pdf Google s Keyword Research Tool is one of the best free tools c= & u= &ideareques ttype=keyword_ideas 13

14 5/23/2012 Resources (cont.) Bing s Webmaster blog has good learning resources: master/default.aspx SEOMoz.org is an industry leader in SEO and Social Media. They have a really good free guide available Q&A Brought to you by: 2012 Truckload Carriers Association, Inc. All rights reserved. 14

15 Addendum Full-sized Charts and Graphs

16 Google Dominates the Search Market

17 Anatomy of a Search Result All search engines display organic search results and paid (PPC) results.

18 Localized search is becoming increasingly important as well. Anatomy of a Localized Search Result (cont.)

19 The explosion of mobile devices has made local search a vital part of SEO strategy. Anatomy of a Localized Search Result (cont.)

20 Your Rankings Matter 61% of total clicks occur on natural (non-paid/organic) search results. The top three results get nearly 58% of user clicks.

21 Your Rankings Matter (cont.) First three ad positions get 50% of all clicks on paid search results (PPC advertising) 94% of users click on a first-page search result.

22 Your Rankings Matter (cont.) If you re not on page one, your site is basically invisible!

23 Website Analytics Who, When, How? Analytics is critical to understanding who visits your site, when they visit, what pages they visit and how they got there.

24 Website Analytics Who, When, How? (cont.) There are dozens of analytics programs available. Google Analytics is an industry leader and it s FREE.

25 Effective SEO Strategies Optimize your website Own your brand Integrate website into your overall marketing strategy Quantify your results

26 Optimize Your Website Tactics Keyword research Competitive research On-site optimization Quality content User-friendly navigation

27 Optimize Your Website (cont.) Tactics Sitemaps Search engines Submissions Build links Install analytics

28 Xerox dominates page one search results with their main corporate site and subsidiary sites. A Wikipedia page adds additional relevance and trust to the Xerox brand.

29 Social Media & Your Brand (cont.) Active use of social media tools will help you own page one search results You control your message. You build trust and relevance. You stay engaged with your audience.

30 Quantify Your Results Identify your goals: What is the purpose? Building awareness Reaching new clients Communicating with existing clients Hiring new employees Selling products

31 Resources Google offers a great SEO guide: nt/untrusted_dlcp/ ters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starterguide.pdf Google s Keyword Research Tool is one of the best free tools c= & u= &ideareques ttype=keyword_ideas

32 Resources (cont.) Bing s Webmaster blog has good learning resources: master/default.aspx SEOMoz.org is an industry leader in SEO and Social Media. They have a really good free guide available