Janet Driscoll MillerPresident & CEO

SearchMojo

Elizabeth SheaPresident & CEO

SpeakerBox Communications

Content For Customers: Search, Content, Social

Search + Content

+ Social Media = Leads

Start With Some Math…

* According to HubSpot, 2009, Inbound Marketing Software Provider

Content Strategies for Government

Start with the keywords! Identify, rank, execute against. Identify where your customers live online. Put a search plan in place.

Take content inventory: Where are the gaps? Create, revise, disseminate, track.

Leverage social media tools to optimize search, drive leads back to site, landing pages.

1.2.3.

Keyword Development

Content For Customers: Search, Content, Social

Selection of Keywords, Content

Research what your keywords turn up

Talk to customers about key messaging

Develop a “short list” for inbound links

Not too broad, not too niche

BASELINE

Optimizing Your Search

Content For Customers: Search, Content, Social

Keys to High Search Engine Rankings Select good keywords

– Not too broad (“software”), not too specific (“virtualization software for the public sector”)

Site content edits– Include the keywords in the text of the website– Keyword Density: percentage of times that a keyword

appears in page text Site structure

– Certain technologies can “block” search engine bots Inbound links

– Serves as a measure of site “popularity” on a subject Ongoing monitoring

Optimizing Website Pages Keyword should appear in:

– Filename– Title tag– Meta keyword, Meta description– Bold text– Link text– Overall content of the page

Keyword Density– Percentage of times a keyword appears in the

total page content Ask for links to your website from partners, etc.

Optimizing Blogs Host the blog on your domain

– Example: blog.search-mojo.com– NOT: search-mojo.wordpress.com

Use SEO plugins to optimize title tags, etc.– Wordpress: All in One SEO Pack

Promote blog content to get viral inbound links

Register blog with blog directories (i.e. Technorati)

Articles If you own the copyright:

– Post articles on your website or blog– Post to article distribution sites

Creates inbound links from those that republish your article

Further establishes your subject matter expertise across the web

Whitepapers Submit to whitepaper submission sites For maximum SEO benefit, focus on

sites that link to the paper on YOUR website

Images Especially important if images really showcase your offering

– Example: National Geographic Name the image file with the keyword as the filename. For multiple

keyword phrases, separate terms with a dash (-) or an underscore (_). Example: <img src=”/images/keyword.jpg”>

Ensure that the alt text of the image tag contains the target keyword. Also consider incorporating a title tag on the image tag.Example: <img src=”/images/bear.jpg” alt=”A bear eats a fish.” title=”A bear eats a fish.”>

Incorporate the keyword into the page content where the image resides. If the image has an enlargement version, ensure that the link to the

enlarged version contains the keyword in the anchor text. Ensure that the surrounding text on the page uses the keyword for that

image. Append your keyword with the word “picture” or “pictures”.

Videos Include the word “video” in your keyword when possible. Many people

searching specifically for video will use this term with their search phrase.Example: Polar Bear Video

Name the video file with the keyword as the filename. For multiple keyword phrases, separate terms with a dash (-) or an underscore (_). Example: <img src=”/videos/keyword.jpg”>

If Flash is used as a player model, be sure to also embed the video in the non-Flash page version, contained in the <noscript> tag.

Include the keyword in any video meta data when possible, such as titles, descriptions and keyword tags.

Include the keyword in the anchor text for links to the video. Example: <a href=”/videos/polar_bear_video.mpg”>keyword</a>

Try to include the keyword as much as possible in the page linking to that video, using standard SEO techniques.

Incorporate your video into a video sitemap or an mRSS feed. Information on how to build one can be found at: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=80472

Webinars/Podcasts Promote events through various event

sites Provide a registration page ON your

website Archive, archive, archive!

– Creates viral inbound links to content– Register archived content links with

webcast and podcast directories

Press Releases Distribute

press releases online– Example:

PRWeb Make sure that

you use SEO keywords as the anchor text on your press release links

Why is Content So Important to Search Engines? How does the engine know WHAT your website is about if it

cannot READ it on the site? Site content should contain keywords/phrases relevant to

your messaging and offerings IMPORTANT: Search terms and brand terms are not ALWAYS

equal– Example: “certified used vehicles” vs. “used cars”

“used cars” searched 600% more Incorporate non-attractive keywords by spinning

them in content» Example: “Our certified used vehicles are better

than regular used cars – each vehicle has passed a 20-point safety inspection.”

– If you don’t want to use a keyword on your website, maybe you shouldn’t be optimizing for it!

It’s Not Just AboutWritten Content Either… Google Universal

Search– Mix of many

types of content in web search results

How Important Are “Inbound” Links? The most important ranking factor for

Google

Good content can create viral, inbound links

Which Links Are Most Valuable? Is a link from Government Computer News more

valuable than Federal Computer Week?– Check PageRank

GCN: 6/10 FCW: 7/10

– PageRank is a measurement of inbound links to that page/site.

– Does the link contain your keyword in the anchor text?

Bottom line: Treat links like PR efforts.– If you’d want press there, you’d want a link from

there too!

Social Media If you’re not on Twitter, you should be!

– Twitter links affect SEO rankings– Get a Twitter ID for company– Tweet news, events, blog posts, etc.– Use links back to your own website to

help SEO Facebook and LinkedIn also helpful for

marketing, but have less impact on SEO

Content Development

Content For Customers: Search, Content, Social

What Qualifies as Content?Website

Search-optimized press releases

eBooks

Blog comments

Twitter feeds

Photos/Videos (with keyword tags)

Blog Posts

Articles in publications/blogs

Surveys

Product Reviews

Whitepapers

Social conversations

Marketing Strategies

Customer

Outbound Marketing

Inbound Marketing

(e)Mail Call-to-action

Collateral Leavebehind

Advertising

Direct Mail

Tradeshows

Press release pickups

Article Syndication

Editorial coverage

Link from Twitter

Viral Campaigns