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The Business Case for SEO Content Development:
Turn Words Into ACTION!
Heather Lloyd-Martin, SuccessWorksUlli Muenker, BusinessWeek
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- Pioneers in SEO content since 1999
- Train clients in SEO copywriting best practices
- Develop strategy, new content and edited content
- Founders of SEOCopywriting.com
SuccessWorks overview
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- SEO content through the sales cycle
- Why build content – AmsterdamEscape case study
- Why focus on content – BusinessWeek case study
- In-house or outsource
- Justifying the budget
What we’ll discuss today
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Why care about content?
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SEO content across the sales cycle
Purchase
Research
AwarenessGeneral overarching keyphrases
Digital camera reviews, blog posts,
brand/features comparison
Make/model search
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Plethora of “consideration” keyphrases
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Everyone’s doing it! Articles on CircuitCity.com
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Everyone’s doing it: Zappos.com blog
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Case study – Amsterdam Escape
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- #1 Specialty Lodging – Trip Advisor
- “Bad” SEO created duplicate content, which…
- Caused AmsterdamEscape to be banned from Google
- Was paying $4,000 per much in PPC to fill the gap
Past issues
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Travel to Amsterdam Hotels in
AmsterdamAmsterdam vacation rental dam square things to do in Amsterdam
Amsterdamrestaurants what’s the currency in Amsterdam
Amsterdam nightlife Amsterdam shopping Amsterdam
apartments vacation rental rembrandtplein Travel packages Amsterdam
Creating content across the sales cycle
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Content page example
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Ranking examples
- “Amsterdam nightlife” - #7 in Google
- “Amsterdam shopping” - #16 in Google
- “Amsterdam red light district” - #13 in Google
- “Amsterdam apartments” - #2 in Google
- “Amsterdam Nieuwmarkt” - #11 in Google
- “Vacation rentals Amsterdam” - #7 in Google
Plus, scads of rankings for long-tail keyphrases!
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Cost savings through content development
$48,000
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BusinessWeek.com - Overview
Overview:
- Online since 1995
- Majority of content is available for free
- Advertising based model: more page views => more revenue
Site receives high traffic referral from search, above industry average
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SEO Role for Publisher Site
Since 2006, BusinessWeek focuses on more traffic from search
Goal:
Traffic increase from search engines: More page views = more advertising revenue
Initiatives:
Evangelize SEO concepts by:
- Optimizing templates & customized pages
- Publishing more free content pages – accessible to SE
- Conducting regular SEO training for Editorial team
Results:More than doubled traffic from SE over the last two years
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Importance of SEO Copywriting for Publishers
Template pages• Articles• Blog/Forum posts• Job listings• Profile pages
How to optimize:Set up template to include keywords in metadata
SummaryShort-lived contentVery newsy
Opportunity due to high page volume
Customized pages• “Best of …” / “Top …” pages• Overview pages about specific topics• Special collection pages
How to optimize:Research strong keywords and spread these words on the page & in metadata
SummaryEvergreen contentRegular feature
Opportunity due to targeted SEO copywriting
Majority of pages can be separated into template and customized pagesMajority of pages can be separated into template and customized pages
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SEO Copywriting: In-house or Outsource
Template pages
In-house:
Create SEO awareness on how to write keyword rich headlines
Outsource:
Get recommendations on template format
Example: Article
Page title => uses article headline
Customized pages
In-house:
Generate basic keyword research with tools & internal search engine
Outsource:
Determine best keywords
Example: “Game Room” overview page
Page name => customized keywords
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SEO Copywriting Outsourced: Results
Examples – pages optimized in 11/07
“Economy” Overview page
“Game Room” Overview page
Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08
Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08
=> 1,150% traffic increase from SE
Customized keywords:
Customized keywords:
=> 405% traffic increase from SE
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Outsourcing SEO Copywriting: Pros & Cons
Pros:
• Allows staff to focus on prioritizing overall SEO initiatives
• Level of expertise & specialization
• “External consultant” status
• Fewer full time staff
Cons:
• Time for consultant training on brand & website content
• Agencies often have high staff turnover
• Less control over project turn-around time
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In-house or outsourced?
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting
different results.”
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SEO copywriting – the real scoop
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What SEO copywriting is NOT
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SEO copywriting basics
- Keyphrases in headlines and subheadlines
- Keyphrases in hyperlinks
- Keyphrases throughout the content
- Keyphrase-rich Title
- “Longer” copy (250 words is a rule of thumb, but it depends on page content and the page templates.)
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Whether in-house or outsourced
If your copywriter is writing sales-related copy, look for direct response copywriting experience…
If your copywriter is writing informational copy, look for journalism experience
Either way, the writing – and how it flows on the page – is crucial. Don’t pay low dollar for bad writing!
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Content and conversion
Q: What’s your first conversion opportunity?
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In-house or outsourced?
Partnership approach
Outsourced
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In-house or outsourced?
Outsourced
- No writing staff
- No time
- No editorial calendar
- No clue
Solution: outsource the work to build content
Cons: Expensive Finding the “right” firm Training writers in your tone and feel
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How to decide?
Partnership approach
- Have existing writers on staff
- The writing team has time for SEO content development
Solution: SEO copywriting training
OR
Writers create content, and outsource keyphrase editing
Cons: Explaining tone, feel and parameters to the training/content strategy
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Justifying budget
- Review current positions and do keyphrase research. Where are the positioning “holes.”
- Review current conversion rates. Well-written content converts at a higher rate than so-so copy.
- Are the PPC keyphrases represented in the organic campaign?
- Can you baby step the budget/process?
- Can you show success with long tail keyphrase?
Remember, organic doesn’t necessarily replace paid – they can both work together.