the down-low on seo: an overview
DESCRIPTION
A brief overview of how SEO fits into online marketing, intersects with PR and social media efforts, and the differences between organic and paid search activities.TRANSCRIPT
THE DOWN-LOW ON SEOAn Overview of Search Engine Optimization – What it is, what it does, and how it relates to other marketing efforts
SEO DEFINED: A VISUAL FRAMEWORK
Other online marketing types include:-Banner ads-Email marketing
WHAT IS SEO?
Search Engine Optimization – the process of getting found by
Search engines Target audiences
SEO shares goals and tactics with public relations and social media efforts:
Building the organization’s reputation Attracting attention and interest Improving and creating external
relationships Driving, connecting, and matching people
to services they need that we offer
THE CUMULATIVE CYCLE OF SEO
SEO TASKS IN THE CYCLE
Keyword research continues,
informs
Page/site optimization tasks signal authority, credibility to search engines
Good SERP listings; competitor research
Page/content optimized
Social media platforms, content accelerate sharing
Link – building boosts rankings
Analytics reports should show increased ranks, traffic, conversions
SERP: SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS PAGE
Paid Search Ads
News
Keyword
SEARCH ENGINES… Google (including image search, etc) Yahoo Bing You Tube, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes,
Amazon…
SEO TASKS: DETAILS
•Page optimization•Link building•Analysis, tracking•Content strategy
ONLINE PRESENCE
•Social media•Press releases •Website content
KEYWORD RESEARCH PPC
KEYWORD RESEARCH
On the most basic level: Keywords are the terms or phrases people use when performing a search on the web.
Keyword research answers the question what are people looking for and how are they finding it? And:
Forms the foundation of any SEO strategy Constantly evolves, shifts Involves identifying effective, common terms on both
broad and specific scales Must take into account complex factors, including
competitor performance, existing website content, trends
OPTIMIZING PAGES
For a page to be found, it must clearly and accurately identify itself and its content to both search engines and
users.
This means both the content users see and the metadata search engine robots read must clearly state the topic and its relevance – so users know if they want to click and robots know where to rank the page.
LINK BUILDING
Why? Search engines give more weight to websites
with a large number of links from other credible websites
Inbound links maximize the ability for users to find the site
Most desirable connections:- Government, education sites- Directories, industry associations- Reputable blogs, recommending sites
ONGOING CONTENT PLAN
It’s not enough for a website or page to be accessible through search; to maintain high search engine rankings over time requires that users consider the content on the site itself
Worthwhile User-friendly
Customer-centric Trustworthy
Appealing
SEO & PR: GOOD FRIENDS
“SEO PR,” a sub-branch of SEO, is defined as:
…a blend of search engine visibility and traditional public relations that disperses a company’s message across the Internet by way of online media outlets and search engines. SEO PR not only helps disseminate an organization’s messages, but it also incorporates search engine-friendly communication through techniques such as optimizing copy in online content such as press releases, articles, whitepapers, blogs, RSS feeds and websites.
SEO-OPTIMIZED PRESS RELEASES SUPPORT SEO EFFORTS BY GENERATING:
Media relationships that can lead to valuable linking and social media connections
Backlinks from credible news sites Visibility in search engines Ranking in Google News and Yahoo Tens of thousands of headline impressions
across hundreds of blogs, websites, and news sites that run RSS headlines
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTRIBUTES TO SEO EFFORTS BY:
Identifying inbound-linking opportunities Providing inbound links Helping cover the first page of a SERP with
brand sites (company, blog, twitter, facebook, linked in, press releases, news)
Giving traffic: 60-75% of web users read blogs; websites with blogs get 55% more traffic than those without
Ramping up site value with fresh content
SEO VS. PPC
Organic search results are based on the web pages’ relevancy to the keywords typed into the search engine
Paid search is a quick way to have a site listed on or near the top; it is based on the keyword chosen and the highest bid for that keyword; includes Google AdWords as well as Facebook ads
SEO & PPC: BENEFITS
WHEN IS IT BEST TO USE SEO?
WHEN IS IT BEST TO USE PPC?
CONDUCTING SIMULTANEOUS CAMPAIGNS
Some of the most powerful SEO strategies blend PPC and SEO, taking advantage of both systems:
- Dominate results page- Attract all kinds of users- Use PPC to inform SEO strategy- Note: Adwords campaigns DO NOT increase
organic rankingsAn SEO strategy, built up over time, should reduce
the cost-per-click price of a combined strategy. If a site ranks well for expensive terms, then you may be able to switch PPC bidding away from these terms and use the funds on covering other terms.
HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER?
Keep the SEO informed about the dates of events and campaigns to enable tracking of the affects of these on website traffic
Help ensure all materials use the same URLs Use keywords and links in press releases and
other communications (e.g., emails) to help drive traffic to uvahealth.com
Find and share ideas on magnetic content Find and share other sites – partners,
competitors – for benchmarking, linking
RESOURCES & REFERENCES
http://www.adamsherk.com/seo/newsroom-editorial-seo-tactics/http://www.slideshare.net/searchmojo/how-pr-and-social-media-impact-seo-5706825
“An
Empirical Study Of Paid Listings In Product Search And Purchase” (PDF)
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-social-media-marketers-seo-checklist