seo best practices: ewqa15 tips & advice for … … · seo helps your target audience find you...

SEO BEST PRACTICES: T IPS & ADVICE FOR ONLINE MARKET ING.

EWQA15

© COPYRIGHT 2003-2015. GOOD GROUP, LLC

“WE REALLY DON’T NEED ADVERTISING”…

“I read a marketing book last year AND I took a two-

day seminar…

I KNOW MARKETING.”

EWQA 2015 © COPYRIGHT 2003-2015. GOOD GROUP, LLC2

OH, LOOK, THEY’VE DECIDED TO ADVERTISE!


‘THE GOOD OLD DAYS’: “SHOTGUN APPROACH”


‘NEW ORDER’: “TARGETING & RELATIONSHIPS”


SEO BEST PRACTICES


DEFINITION

A best practice is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has been proven to reliably lead to a desired result.

SEO BEST PRACTICES

SEO helps your target audience find you – your company, product, service

SEO gets you to the top of the search results page Google places Advertising Articles/Blogs Social media/events

Research & identify keywords that your prospects search for to find your product/service/company Use keywords in product titles and descriptions Use keywords in photo tags and blogs Publish continuous content optimized for identified keywords

MYTHS AND TIPS on hiring a SEO company


EWQA 2015 2015

PROBLEM: Unclear, “unfiltered” message.

SEO BEST PRACTICES

© COPYRIGHT 2003-2015. GOOD GROUP, LLC8

WATER QUALITY & SEO

WATER QUALITY & SEOFOUNDATION of EFFICIENCY:Must use the right equipment to do the job properly.

EWQA 2015

SEO BEST PRACTICES

© COPYRIGHT 2003-2015. GOOD GROUP, LLC9EWQA 2015 2015

SOLUTION: Clear, satisfying results.

SEO BEST PRACTICES


WATER QUALITY & SEO

SEO BEST PRACTICES – STATISTICS

The average impression lasts ONLY 8 seconds ‘One and Done’ might as well be NONE! RELEVANCE mixed with FREQUENCY is the most effective blend. UPDATES must be CONSISTENT. Don’t forget: Seasonality Target Audience Promotions

81% of shoppers conduct online research before buying 60% begin by using search engines. 61% read reviews before making purchase.

(SOURCE: SocialTimes, Nov2014)


SEO vs. SEMSEO – Search Engine Optimization

Organic (FREE) – getting to the top of list when user searches by keywords related to your business product or service

Search engines are your best friend:

Google

Bing

Yahoo

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SEO BEST PRACTICES – KEY TERMS & DEFINITIONS


SEM – Search Engine Marketing

• PAID (ppc campaigns, banner/tile advertisements, remarketing, geofencing, social advertising)

• Bidding process to win top spots in search engine ranking list

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SEO: Organic results

SEM: Paidresults



SEO vs. SEM

Relevancy – being connected with the matter at hand.

Content is KING!!!

Website content – don’t get too technical; know your audience “Laymen's Terms”

Creative use of content – saturate the online market, i.e.. social sites, blog, news (white pages)

Keywords

Research – competitor’s websites, google your product/service, ask customers (survey)

Continue keyword consistency across other resources, i.e.. YouTube, Google+

Google analytics – research how your website is found

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RELEVANCY

Authoritative – measured by the number and quality of other pages that link to your site.

Links

Industry related sites

Directories and SEM (paid online advertising), i.e.. yp.com, patch, yelp

Social support – get and keep conversation going, i.e.. twitter, Facebook, houzz, Pinterest

Quality vs. Quantity

Search engine spiders look for content and keywords that are relevant to search

Watch keyword stuffing!

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AUTHORITATIVE

SEO MATH – ALGORITHMS ARE EVER CHANGING

Relevant Content

+

Quality Links

SEO SUCCESS!EWQA 2015



DEVELOPING A STRONG FOUNDATIONContent and Keywords = Value

Good Content

Message must be clear; value easy for reader to recognize

Made up of keywords your Target Audience uses when searching for your product/service

Consider embedding video and RSS feeds (from credible sources)

FRESH content – must update regularly, i.e.. seasonality, industry updates, sales, new photos of products or projects

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SEO BEST PRACTICES – SEARCH ENGINE RANKING


Content and Keywords = Value

Platform – CMS (content management system) vs. WordPress

Title tags – 4-8 word billboard for main message of page

Optimize NON-TEXT Content, i.e.. pictures - include photo tags

Infrastructure = Performance – how fast and does it work properly

• Hyperlinks = longer time on site, increased rankings

• Main information not too deep

• Watch for broken links

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DEVELOPING A STRONG FOUNDATION


Good Content

Request, Monitor, Learn From REVIEWS!!

Google Places, Directory Sites, Yelp, Angie’s List/HomeAdvisor

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BUILDING “CREDIBLE” LINKSNOT Sites You Link To but Who Link To YOU!

Inbound links from credible sites

Consider embedding video and RSS feeds

Find and develop relationships with online “Influencers” in a specific topic area, i.e.. Klout, Kred or PeerIndex

• Popular tools for tracking online influence. Monitors activities and content across various social media. Find the influence and reach of everyone in your network who interacts with and shares your content.

Local… Relevant…

EWQA 2015



https://klout.com/home

http://home.kred/

https://www.brandwatch.com/peerindex-and-brandwatch/

NOT Sites You Link To but Who Link To YOU!

Inbound links from credible sites(Social – link to relevant landing pages)

Use #s

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BUILDING “CREDIBLE” LINKS

http://www.biggreenegg.com/features/fgl-this-is-how-we-roll/

http://www.biggreenegg.com/features/fgl-this-is-how-we-roll/

https://twitter.com/search?q=%E2%80%AA%23thisishowweroll%E2%80%AC&src=typd

https://twitter.com/search?q=%E2%80%AA%23thisishowweroll%E2%80%AC&src=typd


MARKETING IS EVERYWHERE AND IT IS MORE DIRECT THAN EVER! CONSISTENCY & FREQUENCY is CRITICAL to STAYING IN FOREFRONT!

EWQA 2015

EVERYONE wants to compete for our attention AND our $$$:

On-line Email Direct Mail Print Advertising Billboards Television Event Sponsorships


CONSISTENCY AND FREQUENCYSCHEDULE SEO Updates into Your Calendar

• Consider your target audience and how “often” they want to hear from you

Read & respond to reviews: 5-15 minutes/day *do it when you check emails

Update Facebook: 30 minutes 1-2 times/week

Update Website: at least 1 time/month

For example:

• New product (pictures, video)

• Sales

• Projects

• Industry knowledge

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SCHEDULE SEO Updates into Your Calendar

Utilize online social media management systems:

HootSuite

Buffer

CrowdBooster

Sprout Social

Social Flow

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CONSISTENCY AND FREQUENCY

https://hootsuite.com/

https://buffer.com/

http://crowdbooster.com/

http://sproutsocial.com/

http://www.socialflow.com/


WEB DEVELOPMENT: More than an Online Brochure WordPress or Content Management (CMS)?

• Both Mostly ‘Open Source’• Both Easily Updated• Business goals: 1 year, 5 years, 10 years• Expense• Management• Style

Consider Hiring an Expert Regular maintenance/updates SEO/SEM campaigns



Website Architecture

Mobile friendly

Easily navigated

Safe

Attractive

Bounce rate

EWQA 2015




https://www.contact1to1.com/marketing_materials

https://www.contact1to1.com/marketing_materials

Remember, mobile isnot just phones!

Website development has changed AGAIN because of mobile:

• Responsive

• Adaptive

For Home Improvement & Garden Retail,Mobile Dominates:(SOURCE: comScore MarketReview, Feb2014)

HIRE A PROFESSIONAL!

DON’T FORGET MOBILE DEVICES

EWQA 2015




MARKETING IS A SCIENCE

DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

SEO BEST PRACTICES

GOOGLE ANALYTICSWhat does it teach us?

Traffic

Search, Referral, Direct

Visits: Unique, New, Returning

Behavior: Pageviews, Average time on site, bounce rate

Pages

Keywords

SEM

SEO BEST PRACTICES: FREE INSIGHT

EWQA 2015© COPYRIGHT 2003-2015. GOOD GROUP, LLC29EWQA 2015 2015


EWQA 2015© COPYRIGHT 2003-2015. GOOD GROUP, LLC30EWQA 2015 2015

GOOGLE ANALYTICSWhat does it teach us?

Traffic

Search, Referral, Direct

Visits: Unique, New, Returning

Behavior: Pageviews, Average time on site, bounce rate

Pages

Keywords

SEM

Relevancy

EWQA 2015



https://www.google.com/analytics/web/?hl=en%23report/trafficsources-organic/a28591613w54367764p55296777/%3Fexplorer-table.plotKeys%3D%5B%5D%26explorer-table.rowStart%3D0%26explorer-table.rowCount%3D50/


Relevancy

EWQA 2015





Update website 1/month Add images, photos (tags) Keep content relevant Remember “TIMING”

What do search engines read? Right click—view source meta title, description, keywords Relevancy and unique to page


SEO BEST PRACTICES – EASY DO-IT-YOURSELF TRICKS

REQUEST REVIEWS!Social Media:

Reviews: timeliness & consistency

Ask for Referrals and do the leg work to make it easy for your customer!

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Social Media:



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REQUEST REVIEWS!

NEGATIVE REVIEWS: Crisis Management Plan:

timeliness & consistency! Attack it within 48 hours Make lemonade out of lemons!

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LEAVE (REALLY) OLD ONES ALONE.DON’T OPEN PANDORA’S VIRTUAL BOX!


REQUEST REVIEWS!

DON’T FORGET OTHER REVIEW POSTS: Social Media Google, Yahoo, Merchant Circle, BBB, Facebook,

Blogger, Twitter, LinkedIn

Online Marketing Listings Supermedia/DEX, HIBU, yp.com

Service/Trade Lead Generators: Angie’s List, Home Advisor (Old Service Magic)



http://www.philadelphia-electricians-how-to.com/2011/03/blog-post.html


http://www.facebook.com/gen3electric




CLAIM YOUR LISTINGS!FREE OPTIMIZATION - What are the benefits?

Google Places, Yahoo Local, Bing

Manage this page:

Insert services

Contact information

Pictures, video

Service area

Events

Blog Posts, Newsletters

Reviews

EWQA 2015



https://plus.google.com/107070172931011471802/about?hl=en&gl=us

SEO BEST PRACTICES – ONLINE MARKETING(AKA SEM)

PAY-PER-CLICK Search Engine Marketing - Is it worth the investment? Ads/Campaigns - Seasonal: Message short & sweet Use co-op when available



PAY-PER-CLICK Search Engine Marketing - Is it worth the investment? Budget: $500/mo / 30 days = $16.66/day If average click is $1.50-$3.00/click = 5.5-11 clicks/day* *pending inventory, competition (bidding process)

*pending relevancy and credibility of website



PAY-PER-CLICK Search Engine Marketing - Is it worth the investment? Keywords: Algorithm changes rapidly Destination URLs = relevant search! NEGATIVE KEYWORDS


SEO BEST PRACTICES – ONLINE MARKETING(AKA SEM)‘DIRECT’ MARKETING THAT STALKS US!

EWQA 2015

REMARKETING ADS: can follow our page views and interests based on where we’ve previously visited AND what we looked at…

‘Remarketing’ is Also a GREAT use for Co-op dollars!


Set clear goals

Get multiple bids

Listen to stories

(SOURCE: Forbes, Sept2013)


TIPS:

SEO BEST PRACTICES – CHOOSING BEST SEOPARTNERMYTHS

SEO company has nice website

Rank #1 for searches related to SEO in my geographic area

Have hundreds of employees and making millions

GO BACK TO THE BASICS – WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?

Relationships & Results• Repeat Business• Referral Business (WOM)• Positive Reviews

EWQA 2015

SEO BEST PRACTICES – YOUR BUSINESS MODEL

VALUE• To Your

Target Audience

USP• Versus Your

Competition

MESSAGE • Brief & to the Point


YOUR

COMPETITION Out of Town Competition

‘Fly by Night’ Competitors

Bait-and-Switchers’

‘DIY’ers

YOU


You are also surrounded with ONLINE COMPETITION.



Your message needs to feature what makes YOU different, otherwise…

YOUR CUSTOMER WILL SEEK (AND FIND) IT ELSEWHERE!


Tell your prospects and customers what you do and give them a reason to CHOOSE YOU!

You might find that PRICE is a SECONDARY consideration.


“WE SERVICE ALL EQUIPMENT EVEN IF WE DIDN’T INSTALL IT”

“WE DON’T SUBCONTRACT”


Your offer can be your longevity and reputation, but EVERYONE needs to offer a special now and then…


REMEMBER: Loss Leader vs. Return on Investment (ROI) – What is the cost to acquire a new or return customer?


SEASONALITY


Reflect HOW you market your product…

WHAT product you market…

And WHO would be interested…

Based on what’s going on WHEN.

SEO BEST PRACTICES – TIMING

MESSAGING Tax Credits or Tax Refunds

In the News (Local and National)

Seasonal (Holidays and Weather)

Financial data

Identify and market DIRECTLY using these timely messages.


SEO BEST PRACTICES – TIMING

USE CURRENT EVENTS

I’M LOOKING FOR A “NEW STOOL.”

Cutting Edge… Comfortable…

Attractive…

BUT…


SEO BEST PRACTICES – BUDGETING FOR MARKETING

I WANT TO SAVE SOME MONEY.



“Go ahead and remove part of that leg before I purchase the stool and give me the discount.

I THINK I can make it work without that leg.…”



SAVINGS?



NOT Saving.NOT a Good Idea.

SAVINGS?



If You sit or stand on this stool, You are most likely going to

fall over.YOUR MARKETING PLAN

IS NO DIFFERENT.

BUDGETING FOR MARKETING


Then Invest in Marketing Around that $$$$$

Set a budget:

3% - 9% Reinvest Track Results & ROI Quarterly Monitoring Don’t forget PR & community support

REMEMBER, YOUR TIME IS MONEY – HIRE A PROFESSIONAL!

GO BACK TO THE BASICS – WHAT IS 1 CUSTOMER WORTH?

EWQA 2015

BEST PRACTICES – BUDGETING FOR MARKETING


SEO BEST PRACTICES – LEAD GENERATORS

Angie’s List; PAID Membership (Consumer) Charges contractor if job accepted Over 500 business categories More comprehensive customer

review component than SM Consumer reaches out to company

Additional Advertising Products: Store Front Big Deal Magazine

MANY CONSUMERS USE BOTH!

HomeAdvisor (Old ServiceMagic); FREE Membership (Consumer) Charges contractors for referrals SM does work for consumer, providing up to 4 prequalified, prescreened leads Negative to consumer –bombarded by calls Review component but not as comprehensive as AL



Press: online and offline (i.e.. press releases, social media)

Local business associations/chambers/networking

Parallel trades/industries

Partner with emergency responders, medical, schools

Parallel businesses/non-profits

Set a sponsorship budget (time & money) and don’t go over!

SEO BEST PRACTICES – PUBLIC RELATIONS

BEST PRACTICES –YOUR EXPERIENCES, YOUR QUESTIONS


Q&A

WANT ‘GREAT’ MARKETING…GET ‘GOOD’ ADVICE


SO MANY OPTIONS… SO LITTLE TIME… HIRE AN EXPERT!

WHAT MAKES THE GOOD MARKETING GROUP “GOOD”?

The Good Marketing Group is EWQA affiliate and member benefit:

What is Contact 1:1™? Customized to water treatment industry – Personalized to YOUR company Discounts for EWQA members Programs and Toolkits: proven success, turn-key Dedicated experienced marketing professional assigned to YOUR company GOOD Advice… GREAT Marketing… While You Run the Rest of Your Business!


WHAT MAKES THE GOOD MARKETING GROUP “GOOD”?

The Good Marketing Group is a full-service marketing services PARTNER Who? Advertising & marketing partners What? One stop shop – strategy, design, execution When? Good marketing advice – consistently with an eye on set goals Where? Virtual Why? Because you specialize in your business and we specialize in marketing

Our Mission: To be the preferred marketing services company that provides superior resources

(attention, thinking, solutions, execution) to clients that are trying to advance their business.


MEET OUR “GOOD” PARTNERS…

Shannon Good

Shannon takes pride in her years of marketing experience and willingness to continue to stay current and forward-thinking in the ever changing marketing and advertising world.

Her background includes client services and account management for major international advertising agencies, J. Walter Thompson and TMP Worldwide. Her experience in the large agency world focused on campaign and marketing management for companies such as Monster.com and First Union National Bank (Now Wells Fargo).

Shannon founded The Good Marketing Group in 2003, which has given her the opportunity to develop customized marketing strategies for all sizes and types of businesses. Specializing in campaign management, graphic design, media planning, on-line marketing and SEO/SEM, Shannon looks at the unique goals of her clients and creatively 'integrates' various media to accomplish those goals, on any marketing budget!


MEET OUR “GOOD” PARTNERS…

Brad Good

Brad has an extensive background in direct marketing working for internationally recognized companies such as Tribune Media, (parent company of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and WGN), Hearst Communications, First Union National Bank (Now Wells Fargo) and Advanta Corp.

While at Hearst Magazines, Brad worked on customer subscription and acquisitions for Good Housekeeping Magazine, Popular Mechanics, Town & Country Magazine and Esquire. At First Union National Bank, he was responsible for managing direct marketing fulfillment operations for the Capital Management Group and Evergreen Funds. Brad also served as Direct Marketing Manager/Manager of New Business Acquisitions with Advanta Corp, a business finance company and national bank.

Before taking on day-to-day operations at the Good Marketing Group, Brad served as General Manager of the northeast branch of Tribune Direct, a national direct marketing company, overseeing sales, marketing and operations.


seo best practices: ewqa15 tips & advice for … … · seo helps your target audience find you...

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