seo 101 in 2015: ranking higher on google

© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.

SEO 101 in 2015: Ranking Higher in GoogleAdam Dince @adamdinceDirector of Earned Media, Deluxe SB


Agenda

• Introduction

• Earned Media

• SEO

• Results

• Questions

Introduction


About me

• Prior to Deluxe: VP, Director of Search MRM-McCann, iCrossing

• MBA, Integrated Marketing Communications (2017), St. Catherine University

• More than 14 years of experience in online marketing and Web development, both B2B and B2C

• Have helped dozens of Fortune 100 companies as well as small business owners create winning online

strategies

Overview of online mediaPaid vs owned vs earned


The three primary types of media

Paid MediaPaid (advertising)

Earned Media

Non-Paid (Not advertising)

Online WOM Marketing

Owned Media

Web Properties

Drives Traffic

Pays off media with quality content/experience


Definition of earned media

Earning (not buying) marketing results on search engines, social networks and the Web at large


Three components of earned media

• SEO: Convincing search engines that we are the best possible result to return for a user’s query• High quality content + keyword optimization + Website experience + clean code + inbound

links

• Social Media: Building a relationship with our audience that nets in long-term sales and friendships

• Empowering happy customers to advocate on our behalf• Content Marketing: Helpful content that solves problems and convinces them we are the right

solution


SEO continues to be the biggest driver of earned media performance

SEO Social Media

Content Marketing

Earned Media


SEO will continue to be the biggest driver of earned media results

• Searchers are actively looking for something

• People on social media are in a passive mode, don’t want to be bothered by brands

• People already have content fatigue which makes content marketing challenging

What is SEO?


People are searching

91% of Internet Users Search (via search

engines) Every MonthHubSpot, 2014

Over 80% of Deluxe customers use search

engines to find products


Across a multitude of devices


Across a variety of search engines


The search results landscape

PPC

PPC

Traditional SEO

Maps Local

SEO Local

News SEO

Earned MediaNon-PaidLong-Term



Paid MediaAuction BasedImmediate

Paid MediaAuction BasedImmediate



Organic / earned results, most trusted

How SEO works


SEO starts by a search engine robot visiting your Website


Remember Pac-Man? Search robots work the same


Once search engines store Website pages, they become eligible for return in search results pages


There’s a science behind ranking well in search results

200 + factors

Updated 2-3 times a day

Machine learning


The algorithm boils down to the following top-level themes

WINNING!

Earning Trust

Premium Content

Technical Stuff

The technical stuff


Have you heard the rumor that all you need is good content to rank well in search results?

Source: www.rimmkaufman.com

http://www.rimmkaufman.com/

Premium contentFollowing Google’s lead


What does Google know about quality anyway?


Google knows a lot!

Source: http://www.mylocalbusinessonline.co.uk/google-quality-rater-guidelines-leaked/

http://www.mylocalbusinessonline.co.uk/google-quality-rater-guidelines-leaked/




Human feedback informs algorithmic factors

Source: Searchmetrics.com

Source: WiredSEO.com


Like the Phantom update launched on April 29th 2015


Google does provide free advice for quality content

• Would you trust the information presented in this article/page?

• Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?

• Does the article/page provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?

• Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?

• Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?

• Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?

Source: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-high-quality.html

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-high-quality.html




You’ll get what you give

Source: thisisindexed.com

On-page optimization


The perfectly optimized Web page

1

2

3

4

56

7

# Element Description1 URL Including keywords in the URL will help search engines

better understand what the page’s content is about

2 PAGE TITLE The most important SEO element. Include keywords as close to the beginning of the title as possible. Limit 55 characters.

Appears in the browser tab and is the blue clickable text in a search result.

3 META-DESCRIPTION Does not appear on page. Returns as the regular text underneath the blue clickable text in a search result

4 PRIMARY HEADLINE The second most important SEO element. Include keywords within the H1 tag.

5 BODY CONTENT Make sure to include keywords where appropriate. Do not stuff. Ensure content reads well.

6 IMAGE NAMES When placing important images on your Web pages, include keywords in the filenames as appropriate

7 IMAGE ALT TAGS Most Website platforms allows you to append ALT text to images. Include keywords as appropriate.


Some on-page elements return in search results pages

Page Title

URLMeta-

Description

Page TitlePage Title


Ensure keywords are included in content


Give your location the spotlight

In the header of every page

In the footer of every page

Earning Trust


What is off-site optimization?

• Just because you write content doesn’t make you an authority

• Google sees quality Websites linking to your Site as votes of trust in your favor

• The more quality inbound links your Website receives, the better you will rank in Google search results


How search engines view links

Your Site

Competitor Site

Competitor Site


Link relationships are stored in search engine databases


Tips on building authority and trust• Links to your site from 3rd party sites

• Website citations

• Local directory listings

• Business partners

• Local news interviews

• Share links to important content on your site through your social networks

• Build relationships online and offline


Get listed in important local directories, keep consistent NAP


Register with Google My Business and Bing Places for Business


Publish helpful editorial content and share through social, email and print marketing


There are rules to the linking road

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2604774?hl=en

Results can be meaningful


An example of organic search growth

Traffic Revenue -

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

3,500,000

2013 2014

+44%

+75%

Traffic Revenue -

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

Jan-Feb 2014 Jan-Feb 2015

+52%

+25%


Is organic search more effective than social media?


Improved brand recognition


Own the first page of SERPs for your brand name

Conclusion


In summary

• SEO is a powerful part of online earned media

• SEO is an investment that takes time to mature

• SEO is comprised of technical & content optimization + inbound linking

• SEO and PPC make a great team

• SEO can be influenced by social activity, but no direct causation

Questions & Answers

@adamdince

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