drive traffic to your website: budget friendly tips, tools and techniques
DESCRIPTION
This presentation was delivered at a workshop designed for entrepreneurs, small business owners and anyone interested in keeping up with some of the latest in digital marketing. Includes: -- How to increase the right kind of traffic to your site for more leads and sales -- 6 techniques for getting visitors to sign-up, call or buy -- Why all the buzz about content marketing and what you need to know -- No-cost tips and tools you can put into practice immediately -- Includes info about Google's Hummingbird updateTRANSCRIPT
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
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