drive traffic to your website: budget friendly tips, tools and techniques

DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE...with a nod to Google’s Hummingbird update.

And a few pointers on how to get them to convert once they’re there.

DEAR TECHNOPHOBES:I’VE GOT GOOD NEWS

IT’S STILL BUSINESS AS USUAL

YES, OFF-LINE WORKS TOOALL ROADS LEAD TO YOUR WEBSITE

CONNECTING WITH HUMANS IS STILL THE PRIORITY

EVEN GOOGLE IS WORKING HARD TO MAKE THAT A

REALITY

KEYWORDS: DIGITAL DNA

Imagine what people use to search

Be specific; use 2-3 word phraseskeywords +

relevance +

location +

personalization +

inbound links

= Rank

200+ parameters

.org

Keyword Planner google.com/adwords

youtube.com/keyword_tool

.com

HUMMINGBIRD

• Pages matching meaning do better than pages matching a few words.

• More about “answers” than “results” -- how, why, where, when in search phrases matter

• Search via mobile and voice is being taken into account.

• Google Analytics not showing keyword results anymore.

• Breadth of websites measured by number of pages receiving organic referrals.

• Niche websites should be able to gain a higher page ranking

Sources: The Telegraph, Search Engine Land

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCEBe where your potential customers are

Say things they care about to attract & engage

HELP SEARCH ENGINES FIND YOUR SITE

Visibility

SEO

SEM

On-site

Off-site

Make it easier for people to find you when they search

Blockbeta Marketing

psychographics by zip code

X

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

SEO: ON-SITE

Visible to Humans Visible to Search Engines

VIEW “SOURCE”

Page Source

ON-SITE: FRONT

Graphic Text

KeywordsSocial

1. Clearly ID your USP and become an authority

2. Provide answers to questions people are really seeking through search; will reduce bounce rate

3. Create quality, engaging, shareable, linkable information on different entry pages

4. Content needs to be shared across social networks through influencers

5. Mobilize your site

DESCRIPTION META TAG

No effect on the ranking of your site in search engines

It is displayed in SERP; more likely to be clicked

Do not spam full of keywords; will have a

negative effect

ON-SITE: BACK

Where Frequency & Relevance

URLs

Meta title (each page)

Meta description (ea pg)

Page headers (H1, H2’s)

Intro paragraph

Image alt and title tags

Link text

Repeat keywords 2-3x’s, but don’t “stuff ”

Natural language

Text, not graphic

Different forms: ing, s, ed, etc.

Short, attractive: like newspaper headlines

Place forms, tables and java script near bottom

CHECKLIST

ALT TAGS FOR IMAGES

<img src="building.gif" alt="Building on the water">

“Building on the water”

WHY?• Text-only browsers

• Accessible browsers

• Mobile browsers

• Search engine image search

SEM: OFF-SITEregistration

advertising

link juice

social media

SEM: STEP 1

Network Channel Media

Business cardsEmail signaturePrint materials

Etc.

REGISTRATION

Submit URL to search enginesCover 90% of searches

www.google.com/submityourcontent/website-owner/

www.bing.com/webmaster/SubmitSitePage.aspx/

search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html

SEM: STEP 2Webmaster Tools

google.com/webmasters

CREATE A SITEMAP

• Tells Google about pages on your site

• Sitemap protocol: same file can be submitted to other search engines

• Verify on Webmaster Tools

http://code.google.com/p/sitemap-generators/wiki/SitemapGenerators

www.google.com/places/

aka Google+ Local

Hide your address if you don’t want to show your location

SEM: STEP 320% OF SEARCHES ON GOOGLE ARE

RELATED TO LOCATION

SEARCH ADVERTISING: PPC

Paid search traffic results in higher conversion to ecommerce sites

It’s getting harder to rank organically

• Ads placed based on keywords/content of a webpage or by channel

• Behavioral targeting: actions, visits, frequency determine ads to serve

• Buy search by ZIP code (Google)

CONTEXTUAL & BEHAVIORAL

SEARCH ADVERTISING: COSTS

1

2

3

Set Your Limit:Daily MaxCPC

Get Estimated Keyword Costs

Pay for Results

LANDING PAGES

Link from ads, SM, etc.

Connect keywords, ads,

landing page copy and your business

Build your own or use something like:

One Call to Action, Not Part of Main Navigation

ANSWER QUESTIONS

• Follow Yahoo! Answers, LinkedIn Answers, Quora, etc. to figure out unanswered questions

• Create a page that answers that question

• Every time it comes up, send people to that page

LINK JUICE (BACKLINKS)

YourWebsite

HGFE

DCBA

Get found from related sitesGet known in your industry: “halo effect”

Backlinks: a primary driver of rankingsSearch engines “informed” by social data

LINKBAIT AKA CONTENT• Content on your website that other

websites want to link to...

• ...and people want to share

• Regularly publish fresh and interesting content; useful, interesting, opinionated...

• ...blog posts, articles, resource pages, tools, widgets, polls, surveys, contests, podcasts, white papers, eBooks, images, infographics, audio/video

• Make it easy to share with buttons and links

DIRECTORIESGeneral: DMOZ.org

Specific: Pet directories

Source: www.wordsinarow.com/wheretogo.html

Search Engines Find It (spiders and bots,

oh my)

THE SOCIAL CONNECTION

Choose the Right Places for Links

Attract, engage, share

• Listings from social connections are often given higher importance

• Specific to the person searching

• Google incorporates Google+ social data and user profiles in SERPs

• Requires individual to connect Google account to social account

Create Content by Being Social

FIND LINK OPPORTUNITIES

Do a search using keywords

Link with “referrers” from

analyticsRelated Sites

Competitors’ sites, industry associations, neighborhood groups, directories, online publications, online groups (i.e., Google Groups,

vendor sites, social sites)

Comment on a Blog

Press ReleaseQ&A Join GroupReview Add Event

SITE SWAG

NOW THAT THEY’RE HERE,WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO

DO WITH THEM?

GENERATE LEADS

Goal

(low-high involvement)

FB Like

Newsletter Signup

Email Contact

Bid Request

Call

Motivation

Discounts

Timely info: events, news

Specific questions

Want to keep up with you, engage

Compel

Set expectation

Communicate Benefits

Convince

Provide an incentive:

Downloads: apps, tips, papers

Free estimates

Access to...

Your time

65

4

3

2

1

WHY PEOPLE CONVERT• USP

• Differentiators: shop like your customer

• Merchandising

• Trust, clear returns policy, reassurance logos

• Likability

• Value adds: green

• Frictionless shopping experience

• They can buy the way they want to: view, select, quantity and pay

Average Conversion Rates

IDENTIFY YOUR WEAKNESSES

Weak Links Investigative Tools

Qualified prospects?Homepage

Product pagesCheckout pages

“Order Confirmation” pagePhone/selling skills

etc.

Analytics and ecomm reporting

A/B testing

Live usability tests

Customer surveys

Live Chat (what non-buyers have to say)

WEBSITE REC’S

1. Proper ecommerce software

2. Test products versions and packaging

3. Test payment options: one-month free trial, buy one/ get one free, installments, etc.

4. Include content that increases conversion; remove content that doesn’t

5. Test product images (what affects conversion): product being used -- even better, perceived role model; result of using product; happy customers holding product

6. Captions, call-outs, testimonials, zoom

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME

© copyright Block Media LLC 2007 - 2013Trademarks and images are all owned by their respective owners.

A Big Picture Approach to Small Business™

206-335-5929info@blockbeta.com

blockbeta.com

Like Us: facebook.com/blockbetaTweet me: @robbinblock

reality radio for entrepreneurs

mybmedia.com

LEARN MORE ABOUT SEARCH ENGINES

Google.com/insidesearch/

Blockbeta.com/guides

SearchEngineWatch.com

SearchEngineLand.com

Test your site with PluginSEO.com