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In-House Enterprise SEO Challenges
Alex Volk
Search Marketing Director
Microsoft Corporation
@alexvolk
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In the Beginning…
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SEO at Microsoft circa 2009
No centralized, all-up Microsoft SEO program
No access to consistent all-up or site-level SEO metrics
Minimal cross-Microsoft SEO collaboration
Misconceptions of SEO were common
Dozens of SEO vendors provided the same list of recommendations
Digital marketers and developers wanted guidance
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Office
Windows
Support
Dynamics
TechNetSMB
MSFT
Online Store
WindowsPhone
XBOX
Overlapping Content
Inconsistent UX
Domains/Subdomains
Product Versions
Internal Kywd Comp
Skype
MSN
Yammer
MSDN
Surface
Content Types• Pre-sales
• Post-sales
• Ecommerce
• News/Blogs
• Search
Global Markets• 1-140+
Objectives• Customer Acquisition
• Revenue
• Customer Satisfaction
• Market Share
CMS Platforms• Over 12 in use
Analytics• Webtrends
• Omniture
• MDA
• Other
Stakeholders• IT (OPS)
• Design/Dev
• Writers
• Site Managers
• Subsidiaries
• Agencies/Vendors
• Executives
All-up SEO Challenges
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The “Hybrid SEO” Approach
o Assigned designated SEO lead
o Defined and reporting SEO targets
o Categorized lists of targeted keywords
o Prioritized technical SEO opportunities
o Adopted our social sharing button specs
o On-boarded with Bright Edge
o Utilizes iCrossing or other SEO agency
Central SEO Team
Office
Windows
Support
Dynamics
MSDNSMB
MSFT
Online Store
WindowsPhone
XBOXSkype
MSN
Yammer
STB
Surface
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@alexvolk
SEO as Storytelling
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Opportunistic
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Non-branded phrases
Opportunistic
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Fear
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Fear
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Fear / Opportunistic
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Discomfort
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Discomfort
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
Branded phrases
Monthly Estimated Search Volume
Search Visits to Microsoft
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
Non-branded phrases
Estimated Search Volume
Search Visits to Microsoft
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Discomfort
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Cadence Matters
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@alexvolk
http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexvolk