the state of seo and tips for selling to smbs - · pdf filethe state of seo and tips for...

The State of SEO and Tips for Selling to SMBs

August 9, 2016

Kelly Shelton

Vice President, Marketing

Boostability

@kellyshelton32

Abid Chaudhry

Senior Analyst

BIA/Kelsey

@abidc

2 © 2016 BIA/Kelsey. All Rights Reserved. |

Today’s Webinar – What We’ll Be Covering

Provide a background and introduction on the state of local online advertising

Refresher on search engine optimization and its use for SMBs

Why social media is more important than ever, especially combined with SEO

How to think about the social + SEO story as a SMB services reseller

Make sure you get a complimentary copy of the new

report, Selling SEO & Social Automation to SMBs


Today’s Presenters

Abid Chaudhry Senior Analyst BIA/Kelsey

Kelly Shelton VP Marketing Boostability


WHO WE ARE

In an industry where change is constant, BIA/Kelsey delivers deep intelligence about market direction and viable economic opportunities through our research and analysis of emerging trends in key coverage areas. Guided by a team of globally recognized subject matter experts, BIA/Kelsey offers briefings, insight papers, national and local market forecasts, local/SMB spend research, and in-depth competitive intelligence.

PRACTICE EXPERTISE

Online Search & Marketing Mobile Advertising & Monetization Social Media SMB Spend Trends Loyalty & Transactions

Video Advertising Print/Broadcast Marketing Local Media & Business Services Emerging & Vertical SMB Markets

AT A GLANCE

Founded in 1983

130+ clients globally across traditional media, technology, and financial/investment industries.

Since launch, have served over 400 clients with research, consulting, and advisory services.

Focused team of 42 Industry Analysts, Researchers, Economists, Financial Analysts and support staff.

Metropolitan Washington DC based headquarters with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago & Denver.

PROCESS & ENGAGEMENT RIGOR

Strict adherence to BIA/Kelsey five-stage ‘Project Lifecycle Management’ framework Multi-stage quality assurance process Defined tollgates for interim client reviews Extensive use of technology for knowledge management, operational efficiencies

Background & Areas of Expertise


Advertising Continues to Grow, Engagement Has to Follow

In 2015, local advertising totaled $140 billion in the United States, with digital advertising accounting for 28 percent of spending.


Online Advertising Is Just The First Step

BIA/Kelsey’s Local Advertising Forecast estimates that advertising will account for $146.3 billion of total local spend in 2016. That goes a long way in winning consumer attention, but without web or social presence advertising is a lost cause.

7 © 2016 BIA/Kelsey. All Rights Reserved. | 7

Social Media reaches over 2 billion people globally and will generate more than $32.9 billion in 2016 advertising revenue worldwide.


In Today’s World, Most Engagement Begins Online

In the digital era, marketing and customer engagement tools are essential to converting traffic to action, yet:

21.2% of SMBs have adopted digital marketing

and customer relationship tools


Driving Consumers to Your Presence Online

For SMBs that want to stand out there’s nothing better than a deep, useful website that consumers find through genuine and engaging content online. SEO is a great way to do just that.


Quick Refresher on Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization is a discipline that builds content using strategies that make it authoritative and relevant to the searcher. It’s essential that content crawled by a search engine provide cues that help identify exactly what it is about.


Distinguishing Between SEO and SEM

SEM vs. SEO pay for content, maintenance,

link strategy to gain organic traffic

delivers traffic over time

works for as long as SEO practices are in place/maintained

pay for search result listings and the traffic produced by them

deliver traffic immediately

stops working as soon as spending stops


But its not just SEO investment alone that drives the most bang for the buck when it comes to building search authority and result relevance.


The Power of Combining SEO With Social Marketing

Social focuses on repeating and amplifying website messaging in social network postings. Executed together, SEO and social reinforce each other and help drive up relevance + authority for search engine algorithms.


Omnichannel Engagement is the Name of the Game

SEO, combined with social marketing, tie all these channels together to influence search results. BIA/Kelsey found that Among Plus Spenders, SEM/SEO services topped the list of channels for best return on investment. Plus spenders spend more than $25K per year on advertising & marketing.


POLL


Why Social Media Should Be Part of Your SEO Strategy


SEO and Social: Difficult But Worth It

Successful SEO and Social Marketing Requires:

Authentic Content

Time to build relationships to drive increased traffic.

Active engagement


Social Media is Here to Stay

Social media isn’t just a passing fad. According to a 2014 report on social media marketing, 92% of marketers stated that social media is an important part of their businesses.


Social Media Increases Inbound Traffic

SMBs want inbound traffic to their website. Not using social media limits inbound traffic to people who already know about the business and people who search the Web for the keywords your site ranks for.


Social Media Helps You Earn Links

Not all links are created equal. Like a megaphone, social media amplifies SMB voice and gets content in front of more followers to link and share.


Social Media Increases Awareness & Conversion Rates

The more familiar people are with an SMB’s social media, the more likely they’ll search for it online.

People are more comfortable talking to, engaging with, and doing business with SMBs that build trust through social media presence.


Social Media Increases Customer Loyalty

SMBs want loyal customers. The relationships built on social media act as a foundation for an SMBs business to grow from.


SMBs want SEO, they’re going to buy SEO, so why not buy SEO from you?


SMB Resellers: Which Flavor Do You Go With?

How About an Automated Solution? Nope: DIY automated SEO and social marketing fare poorly because they lack the diversity of content and engaging value propositions that personalized content creates.

SEO providers must balance the complexity of SEO and social content management with the need to stay aligned with their customers’ in-store and online messaging.


Plus Spender SMBs Prefer DIWM & DIFM Models

Plus Spenders prefer Do-It-With-Me and Do-It-For-Me business models over DIY solutions. The high-touch engagement involved in SEO = a marker of willingness to increase the quality of marketing.


Resellers should look out for SMBs engaged in SEO without Social and vice versa – the combined value proposition is a compelling sell.


But, But…We’ve Tried SEO and It Didn’t Go Well...

SEO and social marketing are relatively new skills - many companies have attempted and failed to deliver meaningful results.

Usual Suspects Behind the Frustration: - Overall Lack of Customer Engagement

- Lack of Hands-On Support from SEO

Provider, vendor or reseller

- Lack of product knowledge training within sales and support teams

- Lack of focus-Took test the waters approach


Syncing Up Sales + Account Teams on The SEO/Social Story

Training salespeople to communicate the complexity and lasting impact of SEO is difficult. SMB customers are conditioned to think in terms of immediate returns. Its essential for sales teams to put their reps through training on SEO, how it works and how it changes the underlying ranking of an SMB website.


SEO and Social: Difficult But Worth It Social + SEO In Action

In all cases, one or more metrics shifted in the first six months

longest reported investment to reach a 50% increase in overall traffic was 12 months.

Across categories, average time to an initial positive result was four months


What SEO Success Looks Like

1. Increased overall traffic

2. Higher search result rankings on Google, Bing and other search engines

3. Lower bounce rates combined with higher conversion rates on their site.

SEO and social marketing =


What Your SMB Customers Should Expect from SEO

As an SEO client, SMBs should expect:

1 Clear and complete reporting of progress toward defined goals, such as traffic lift, reduced bounce rates, and website ranking.

2 Comprehensive listings, with SEO-supporting language, across all local and mobile search engines, business directories, and IYP’s.

3 A consistent business profile on all major online directories.

4 Embedded geo-location information across major mapping tools and location-enabled social networks.

5 Consistent keyword marketing campaign that support SMB goals

6 Hands-on professional writing and SEO expertise.


Wrapping Up & Final Thoughts

Less than a quarter of SMBs in the U.S. have adopted SEO+social campaigns –

SMBs, SEO vendors and resellers are ready for their at-bats, and it’s still early in the multi-channel

game. This is an opportunity not to be wasted.


More on SEO + Social Marketing for Increased Search Lift

Learn More About The SEO + Social Story – Download BIA/Kelsey’s ‘Selling SEO & Social Automation to SMBs’ White Paper, Sponsored by Boostability:

http://bit.ly/selling-SEO-Automation-SMBs


Discussion + Q&A


Questions & Comments:

Abid Chaudhry Senior Analyst

BIA/Kelsey

@abidc

Kelly Shelton VP Marketing

Boostability

@kellyshelton32

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