Internet Marketing Reality Check: Discover the Techniques Proven to Increase Leads FEBRUARY 6, 2014 10:00 11:00 AM Presenter: Chris Behan // Socius Marketing, Tampa, FL Presentation Overview Search Engine Optimization Common Misconceptions About SEO Blogs Link Spam Social Evidence & Testimonials Web Design & Conversion Factors Ownership & WordPress Mobile Design Pay-Per-Click Landing Pages or Mircrosites Search Engine Optimization 1
Pay-Per-Click Organic Did you know? When you conduct a search in Google, you re actually searching saved sets of information vs. the web! Out of more than 1 trillion pages on the web, Google stores copies of about 47 billion of them. http://www.google.com/about/datacenters/gallery/#/ Google s Stated Mission Google s mission is to organize the world s information (content) and make it universally accessible and useful (relevant). 2
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Cabinet Refacing 90,500 Refacing Cabinets 74,000 Google Search Data Monthly Averages (non-branded): Kitchen Cabinets 673,000 Kitchen Designs 368,000 Bathroom Remodeling 301,000 Home Remodeling 246,000 Kitchen Remodeling 201,000 Cabinet Refacing 90,500 Cabinet Refinishing 90,500 Custom Cabinets 74,000 Refacing Cabinets 74,000 Reface Cabinets 60,500 Kitchen Refacing 49,500 Kitchen Refinishing 40,500 Remodeling Company 22,000 Cabinet Resurfacing 18,100 Total searches for JUST these exact keywords = 2.3 million 4
SEO Facts Content is the key ranking variable! On a consistent basis, add original (not duplicate) and readable content (not an image) to your site: Build each page to work with purpose Incorporate variants of keywords = more salespeople online Size Matters Example: Wikipedia WWW: Who you are What you do & most importantly, Where you do it Common Misconceptions about SEO 5
Taking Shortcuts Can Cost You When it comes to SEO, results can take time. Unfortunately, a lot of companies complicate the process by taking shortcuts. http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2171174/google-penguin-update-5-types-of-link-issues-harming-some-affected-websites Algorithm Chasers Affected Most Common Forms of Manipulation: 2011-2014 Panda Update Cracked down on duplicate content, thin content, content farms, and a number of other quality issues. 1) Example: Blogs 2011-2014 Penguin Update Aimed at decreasing rankings of sites using keyword stuffing, link schemes, duplicate content, etc. 2) Example: Link Spam 6
1) Dispelling a Myth Blogs Don t Rank Well www.example.com/blog or blog.example.com/ 2) Link Spam 7
Link Spam In the beginning of 2011, Overstock.com & JCPenney were penalized for link Spam. Google manually adjusted their rankings and the websites fell to an average position of page 70. Why does Google change its algorithm? To take out the trash! Social Evidence & Testimonials 8
Social Media Facebook, Twitter, etc. Pros Social evidence (+) Credibility Can help with reputation management Nice place to showcase products & projects Cons Social evidence (-) Doesn t help much with lead generation No appreciable SEO gain 9
Traffic in Google Analytics Out of 28,046 visitors during this timeframe (July 1 st Dec 1 st, 2013)! Tip: Use testimonials on your site to help with social evidence and/or reputation management 10
Web Design & Conversion Factors Conversion Funnel Gathering Information & May Buy in the Future Considering Options & Going to Buy Soon Very Decisive & Will Buy NOW 11
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Bad CTA s (In-Home) STRANGER DANGER! Do You Really Own Your Site? Your website is in an open source CMS (content management system) -Example: You have full access to your website - Easy to edit text, add images/photo galleries, testimonials, news feeds, calendar of events, etc. - YOU OWN IT! You own your URL & have set up your own hosting - Meaning nobody else has access to change, redirect, or take down your website 13
Mobile Web Design Example: Alure Home Improvement s Mobile Site Pay-Per-Click 14
Pay-Per-Click Organic Pay-Per-Click Pros Quick to set up & drive traffic You can advertise for specific or seasonal services (patios, decking, damage, storms, hail, floods, hurricanes, etc.) Geo-targeting should be used to only get customers from the communities you serve Cons Can become costly You don t own it like a billboard, you have to pay to keep it up and it only works when people see it PPC does NOT contribute toward improving your SEO rankings Only about 30% of all search traffic clicks on these ads Easy to mismanage When PPC Goes Wrong The clicks were too expensive Which made the CPL (Cost Per Lead) too high And the quality of the leads wasn t what you were looking for anyway 15
Campaign Mismanagement Low-quality and low-converting keywords The keywords you re spending money on don t convert or won t issue Negative keywords Are you spending money on keywords that you don t want leads from? For example: Cheap, DIY, jobs, or windows (are they car, truck, wood, or Microsoft windows?) Geo-Targets Residential vs. city Negative Keywords Bad Ad Copy 16
Residential Geo-Targets http://www.trulia.com/local/#prices/chicago-il Campaign Mismanagement You pay them to manage your budget, not spend your budget! Ask your PPC company if they are throttling your campaign to include display (like Fox News or CNN) or extended networks (online directories like Yellow Pages or Yellow Book) Landing Pages or Microsites 17
Landing Page Microsite 18
Online Help / Chat Feature Conversion Rates Utilizing microsites helps: Increase conversion rates We ve seen CVR s almost double Decrease the cost per lead We ve seen CPL s go down 40% How to Choose a PPC Company Full transparency of campaign(s) Reports with data about ad groups, keywords, negative keywords, times of day, territories and zip codes, etc. Handled by humans, not software managed campaigns Full budget disclosure Money allocated toward the Google AdWords spend should be separate from their monthly management fee. Some companies will lump their 40-100% fees into your monthly spend so you don t notice it Exclusivity The # of clients they work with in the same area should be limited 19
In Closing Where Should You Begin? Consider Web Design Include multiple CTAs to collect people s contact info Make sure to think about what they say & don t use In-Home Rank Organically - Search Engine Optimization You should consistently add original CONTENT to your site and have separate pages for different services & territories Know where you already rank and what you stand to gain Be Aware Of What Not to do! Watch out for algorithm chasers Ownership Make sure you hold the keys to your website Analytics Does it make sense to create a mobile site? Pay-Per-Click Make sure you know what your money is being spent on Speaker Contact Info: Chris Behan 813.282.8300 1.888.876.2487 2701 North Rocky Point Drive Suite # 410 Tampa, FL 33607 20