the future of seo (in conjunction with sempo)
TRANSCRIPT
The Future of SEO: How Technology
is Changing The Way SEO is Practiced
Nathan Safran
Senior Research Analyst
Conductor, Inc.
@Conductor
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Hashtag: #SEOFuture
#SEOFuture
“Travelocity has noticed significant growth in SEO traffic and bookings since
engaging with Conductor.” - Jeff Glueck, Travelocity
Powering SEO for Over 100 Leading Brands
Largest SEO Technology Company in the World
Searchlight - Most Widely Used Enterprise SEO platform
Optimizing Over $3 Billion Worth of SEO revenue
About Conductor
Founded in 2005
#SEOFuture 3
Conductor Research
Provider of ‘SEO Effectiveness Score’ to
Internet Retailer 500
Recent Study on ‘Panda’ Volatility
Syndicated on Business Insider Study on Google Instant Impact on User
Behavior Widely Covered
Nathan Safran
Senior Research Analyst
Former Forrester Research Analyst in
Consumer Product Strategy Group
4 #SEOFuture
#SEOFuture 5
Agenda
Marketers’ Attitudes Toward SEO: Budget, Metrics, & Keyword Management
Key Challenges Facing the SEO Professional
Solutions: Technology - Primary and Ancillary Impact on the Practice
of SEO
#SEOFuture 6
Marketers’ Attitudes Toward SEO:
Budget, Metrics, and Keyword Management
Key Challenges Facing the SEO
Solutions: Technology - Primary and Ancillary Impact on the Practice
of SEO
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SEO Pros – They are Everywhere
#SEOFuture
#SEOFuture 8
Internet Retailer 500 Companies with In-house SEO Jumped
24% in Seven Months
Conductor Study, March 2011
Marketers Increase Commitment to SEO in the Next Year
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Source: Econsultancy: SEO Trends, Issues and Opportunities, March 2011
#SEOFuture
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More Than Half of Budget is Allocated to Headcount and
Content
Source: Econsultancy: SEO Trends, Issues and Opportunities, March 2011
Nearly 8 out of 10 SEOs say Natural Search Metrics More
Important as an Input to Business Strategy
Source: Econsultancy: SEO Trends, Issues and Opportunities, March 2011
78% of
Marketers say
natural search
metrics more
important than
a year ago
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62% of Marketers Have Increased Keyword Coverage in the
Last 12 Months
Source: Econsultancy: SEO Trends, Issues and Opportunities, March 2011
62% of Marketers have increased keyword coverage
in the last year
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No. of Non-Paid Keywords Driving Traffic Grew by 20% YOY
Source: Conductor 2010 Holiday Study, February 2011
•Holiday Season 2010 vs. 2009
•18 million+ visits
•5 High Traffic Ecommerce Websites
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Traffic Increase Follows Similar Curve as Keyword Coverage
Source: Conductor 2010 Holiday Study, February 2011
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#SEOFuture 15
Marketers’ Attitudes Toward SEO: Budget, Metrics, and Keyword
Management
Key Challenges Facing the SEO Professional
Solutions: Technology - Primary and Ancillary Impact on the Practice
of SEO
Wide Spectrum of Challenges Facing the SEO
Professional Today
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Natural Search
Visibility
Ambiguity
Opportunity Identification
Competitive Landscape
Visibility
Task-Time Conflict
Changing Complexity of
SERPs
Long Term Endeavor
Results Vary by Landscape/Vert
ical/Domain
The „Where do I Start?‟ Problem
#SEOFuture
Today We Will Discuss a Subset Addressable by
Technology
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Natural Search
Visibility
Ambiguity
Opportunity Identification
Competitive Landscape
Visibility
Task-Time Conflict
Changing Complexity of
SERPs
Long Term Endeavor
Results Vary by Landscape/Vert
ical/Domain
The „Where do I Start?‟ Problem
#SEOFuture
TASK-TIME CONFLICT
Optimizing yourself
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SEO Task-Time Conflict
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Source: Conductor Blog, How to Save Time With SEO: Using Technology to Resolve the Task-Time Conflict, June 2, 2011
The Tension Between the Time Consuming, Low-Impact Tasks that Drive SEO, and High-
Impact Tasks that Have a Material Impact on Search Rankings,Traffic and Revenue
#SEOFuture
#SEOFuture 20
SEO Professionals are Hampered by Time Consuming, Low-
Impact Tasks…
Conductor , Inc. The Unoptimized SEO, How Manual Tasks Sabotage the Potential of Search Marketers, March, 2011
…While Preferring to Spend Time on High-Impact Activities
Conductor , Inc. The Unoptimized SEO, How Manual Tasks Sabotage the Potential of Search Marketers, March, 2011
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Task-Time Conflict Becomes Even More Apparent When Actual vs.
Desired Tasks Viewed Side by Side
Conductor , Inc. The Unoptimized SEO, How Manual Tasks Sabotage the Potential of Search Marketers, March, 2011
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CHANGING COMPLEXITY OF
SERPS
Managing the ever-changing face of search results
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SERP for ‘iPhone’ – 2007 to Today
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2007 2011
News
Images
Video
Shopping
#SEOFuture
SERPs Have Become a Hodgepodge of
Blended Results
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4,227 of the Most Expensive Paid keywords
81% with universal search results of some kind
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EFFECTIVELY ANALYZING
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
“I know where *I* am in the SERPs, but what neighborhood am I in?”
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Classic Challenges Persist in Gaining Insight
into the SERPs Beyond Your Own Rank
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Here I am…
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…But What is Around Me?
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News
Shopping
Publisher
Publisher
Competitor
Forget it (Wikipedia)
Competitor
Competitor
Competitor
Competitor
Publisher
Publisher
#SEOFuture
#SEOFuture 30
Marketers’ Attitudes Toward SEO: Budget, Metrics, and Keyword
Management
Key Challenges Facing the SEO Professional
Solutions: Technology - Primary and Ancillary Impact on the Practice
of SEO
Recap - Key Challenges
• Task-Time Conflict
• Changing Complexity of SERPs
• Effectively Analyzing Competitive Landscape
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TASK-TIME CONFLICT
Solutions
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Technology Enables Up to 339x Efficiency Gains in Rank
Tracking Activities
Conductor , Inc. The Unoptimized SEO, How Manual Tasks Sabotage the Potential of Search Marketers, March, 2011
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Efficiencies on Low-Impact Tasks Enable Focus on High-
Impact Activities
Conductor , Inc. The Unoptimized SEO, How Manual Tasks Sabotage the Potential of Search Marketers, March, 2011
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Manual/Semi-Auto On-Page Auditing Requires Dedicated
Resources…
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…So SEOs Auditing Half as Frequently as They Should Be
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SEO Platform Provides Maximum SEO Oversight with
Least Effort
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CHANGING COMPLEXITY OF
SERPS
Solutions
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Understand Your Neighborhood
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Classification
of rankers by
domain type
#SEOFuture
Source: Conductor Searchlight Keyword Screen
EFFECTIVELY ANALYZE
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Solutions
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Technology Solutions Enable Clear Insight into Natural
Search Visibility
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Source: Conductor Searchlight
#SEOFuture
Insight into Competitive Landscape
42 #SEOFuture Source: Conductor Searchlight Competitors Screen
Closed Loop Analysis - Determine ROI by Viewing
Rank/Traffic/Conversion Together in the Same Place
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Source: Conductor Searchlight
#SEOFuture
Key Takeaways
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•Marketers Increasing Commitment to SEO—Budget & Headcount
•SEOs Increasingly Scaling Keywords
Key Challenge Technology Helps By…
Task-Time Conflict Enabling Focus on High-Impact Activities by
Automating Repetitive, Low-Impact Tasks
Changing Complexity of SERPs Providing Transparency Into Dynamic, Digital
SERPs
Effectively Analyze Competitive Landscape
Enabling Insight into Competitive Landscape
#SEOFuture
Web: conductor.com
Twitter: @conductor
Blog: conductor.com/blog
Email: [email protected]
Thank You!
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