ISA Marketing & Sales Summit Workshop:

Taking Your Search Marketing to the Next Level, 20101

September 7, 2011

Shari L.S. WorthingtonTelesian Technology

Search Market Share, July 2011

• Google– 65.1% US search share 2011, 11.2 billion searches– 65.8% July 2010

• Yahoo– 15.9% US search share, 2.8 billion searches– 17.1% July 2010

• Microsoft– 14.4% US search share, 2.5 billion searches– 11.0% July 2010

Google 1998

Autocomplete

Instant

Agenda

• Eye-tracking studies• Google Analytics• Universal Search• Google’s Quality Score• SEO: Search Engine Optimization• SMO: Social Media Optimization• PPC: Pay Per Click Advertising

Eye Tracking Google vs Bing

User Centric 2011

Eye Tracking Conclusions

• All searchers look at organic results– Google gaze time is 28% longer

• Almost all searchers look at top sponsored results

• There is no different between right hand sponsored results– About 25% of searchers will look

• Advertisers should place their ads above the organic search results– Hit rate is 3x higher– Gaze time is 5x longer

Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web

• Google Updates– Used to be every 4-6 weeks– Now is continuous

• Panda Update– New algorithm update every 4-6 weeks– Major update February 24, 2011– Focus on higher quality content for individual searcher

• Reduce rank of poor quality sites• Increase rank of high quality sites

– Block unwanted domains

http://www.youtube.com/google#p/u/2/J5RZOU6vK4Q

What Gets a Site in Trouble?

• You must dig deep to find issues• High % of duplicate content• Low amount of original content• High # pages with low amount of original content• High % of boilerplate content on each page

What Gets a Site in Trouble?

• High amount of inappropriate adverts that don’t match search queries

• Page content & page title tags that don’t match search queries a page does well for

• Unnatural language, e.g. heavy-handed SEO

What Gets a Site in Trouble?

• High bounce rate on page or site• Low visit times on page or site• Low % of users returning to a site• Low click-through % from Google SERPs

What Gets a Site in Trouble?

• Low or no quality inbound links to a page or site• Low or no mentions to a page or site in social media

July 2011 Google Benchmarks

• Site Metrics

July 2011 Google Benchmarks

• Geographic breakdown

July 2011 Google Benchmarks

• Bounce rate by country

July 2011 Google Benchmarks

• Avg time on site by country

July 2011 Google Benchmarks

• Breakdown by source

July 2011 Google Benchmarks

• Goal conversion rate

July 2011 Google Benchmarks

• Traffic sources

Google’s Universal Search

Google’s Universal Search

Analyze the Competition

Search Engine Optimization

• What can go wrong?– Trying to hard– Expecting too much too fast– Lack of knowledge/experience– Not thinking about the site visitor

SEO: What Does Google Want?

• Relevance: give user exactly what they want• Comprehensiveness

– Index billions of pages– Universal Search: content, images, video, news,

books, blogs, etc

SEO: What Does Google Want?

• Freshness– Continually crawl the web– Realtime Search: Twitter contract expired July 2nd

• Speed– Autocomplete search box– Google Instant results

SEO: The Core

• Keyword rich content– Identify top keywords– Use them naturally in visible content– Tweak keyword density for top keywords

• Search friendly site architecture– Easy to navigate, easy to crawl & index– Optimize site code

SEO: Page Title

• Page / browser title– Most important on-page factor determining ranking in

eyes of search engine

SEO: Page Title

• Is your title less than 70 characters?– Only 70 are displayed in search results

• Does it include your primary target key phrase?– Unique title for each page

• Is keyword one of first words in title?• Does your title make sense?

SEO: Page Title

• Put keyword first, not brand• Keep title short, sweet, simple• Ensure each page targets a relevant keyword

– If you duplicate page titles, Google thinks your pages are similar and it won’t include them in the index

• Page titles have to read well & make sense to your customers

• EXERCISE: Go to your home & main products pages & rewrite page title

SEO: Page URLs

• Use a CMS that allows you to customize URLs on a per page basis

SEO: Page URLs

• URL should not include spaces or special characters– Google considers hyphens to be spaces

• Ensure the URL relates to your site structure– Sections, sub-sections, pages

• Keep URL simple & memorable

SEO: Meta Description

• <meta name=“description” content=“A description of the page content goes here” />

• Include the target keyword phrase of that page• Ensure the description accurately describes the

page & presents your brand the way you want• Keep it short and simple

SEO: Meta Description

• Do not stuff keywords or load description with every variation. This is for your users, not the search engines

• Do not write too much. Only displays first 155 characters

• By not including it, you are missing an opportunity to talk to your customers

• EXERCISE: Go to your home & main products page & rewrite description

SEO: Header Tags

• Page content should always start with an H1 tag• Use the headers in order: H1, H2, H3• Use your primary keyword phrase within your

headers, but don’t force it

SEO: Header Tags

• Don’t use more than 1 H1 per page• Don’t skip the H2, H3 tags• Use page specific keywords within all headers

– Avoid generic phrases, such as “About Us”

SEO: Page Content

• Have a minimum of 350 words per page• Write naturally, with users in mind• Target keyword phrases in top of copy & use

throughout• Be aware of keyword density

– Most prominent words on the page are your target keywords

– Vary the word order and use synonyms

• Don’t overuse bold & other text formatting

SEO: Review Meta Keywords

• Has no impact on rankings• Reflect your primary target keywords• Use primary keyword phrase & variations• No more than 5-6 keywords• Keep keywords unique for each page of site

Social Media Optimization

• Create shareable content– Encourage links

• Make sharing easy– Embed buttons & widgets

• Reward engagement– Use promotional or content offers

Social Media Optimization

• Proactively share content– Syndicate articles to other partners or platforms,

Slideshare or Scribd

• Encourage “mashups”– Encourage others to take and remix your content so it

becomes user generated

Cisco’s Aggregated Services Router Product Launch

• Second Life• 3D Game• YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDi0FNcaock• Facebook• Social Media Widget• Blogs• Twitter Chat with CEO John Chambers

SMO: What to Test

• Scour analytics, use testing…– Which sharing activities & promos lead to leads,

sales, or changes in brand preference?– SMO is an SEO ranking activity so encourage

backlinks– What is the optimum frequency for initiating sharing?– What are the best methods for identifying influencers

& seeding content?– How can we integrate sharing of content via social

platforms, web, mobile, & email?

PPC: Google’s AdWords Quality Score

• Increase reach – how many times your ad is viewed by searchers

• Increase clicks – higher positions which means more visits

• Decrease spend – maintain current positions at lower cost vs competitors

Google’s AdWords Quality Score

• AdWords calculates a QS for each of your keywords

• Evaluates variety of factors to measure relevancy to search query

• Updates frequently• High QS means keyword will trigger ads in a

higher position at a lower CPC

PPC: What is Quality?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7l0a2PVhPQ

How to Boost QS

• Click-through rates are crucial– Product smaller, highly targeted ad groups with

relevant ad text & offers– Beware of too much reliance on broad matches

• laser level sensors – broad match– which sensors use laser level

• [laser level sensors] – exact match– laser level sensors

• “laser level sensors” – phrase match– who has new laser level sensors

– Google does not include Display Network in this calculation

How to Boost QS

• Make sure you have relevant ad text– Ad headlines and descriptions should contain same

keywords as search terms– Also an issue with landing page copy

• Ensure keyword relevance– Degree of match between keyword triggering ad and

search term entered

• Maintain a good history of QS within your account– Remove poorly performing keywords or ad groups– Brand bidding increases quality

How to Boost QS

• Peel & Stick– Look for keywords with highest number of

impressions and lowest QS– Is ad is relevant to search terms? If yes…– Is ad directing to relevant landing page? If yes…– Move keyword to new ad group– Create new ad or update ad-text displayed– Create new landing page or update content

PPC: First Things First

• Creat a Traffic Map– Collect site wide statistics– Identify the most popular page on your site– Find out how most people get to your site– Identify follow up pages– Repeat for your sales funnel pages– Identify any “cross-feeders”– Calculate theoretical CPA

Traffic Map: Site Wide Statistics

• Pick a date range that covers a few thousand visits in your analytics report

• Total visits• Total absolute unique visitors• Site wide bounce rate

Traffic Map: Identify Most Popular Page

• Usually your own domain “/” – internal linking• Unique pageviews• Bounce rate• Exit rate

Traffic Map: How People Get to Site

• Most through homepage, but landing pages are preferable in many cases

• Top landing page• Entrances• Bounce rate

Traffic Map: Identify Second Step Pages

• Focus on top 5 pages• Unique pageviews• Bounce rate• Exit rate• NOTE: Look out for cross-feeders

– A funnel page that receives significant traffic from two or more pages

1,977 entrances(55% of all visits)

Unique pageviews: 2,038Bounce 54.5%Exit 54.8%

File: xxxxUP: 843Bounce 63.0%Exit 48.2%

Top Landing Page

File: xxxxUP: 175Bounce 37.3%Exit 26.1%

Second Step Pages

File: xxxxUP: 32Bounce 100%Exit 25%

White PaperThank You Page

The more clicks it takes to get to a page, the fewer Visitors, but the ones that make it there will be very motivated

How Long Should Your Conversion Funnel Be?

• Free and low-prices goods require shorter check-out processes

• Gather data from your competitor sites, the good and the bad

Case history landing page

Technology page

Product page

Make request

The Path to Conversions

• Single conversion goal– Does every page in your sales funnel have a primary

call to action?– Can the purpose of the page be understood by a

typical visitor in less than 5 secs?– Is the intended goal of the page clearly spelled out in

the headline?– Is the purpose of the page clearly visible “above the

fold”?

The Path to Conversions

• Eyeline– Do the shapes and colors of the page clearly lead the

eye to the desired call to action?– Are you using no more than 2 columns in your layout?

• Anxiety– Are you asking for data the visitor may not want to

give?– Are you offsetting user’s anxiety with a payoff?– Can you use testimonials?– Can you use third-party trust seals to improve

credibility?

The Path to Conversions

• Friction– Are there too many elements on the page?– Arer there too many links or navigation elements?– Is there sufficient white space on the page?– Are you sing an appropriate font?– Are form fields aligned with one another?– Are links and buttons used appropriately?– Are you asking for unnecessary information?

• Remember the stages of the buying process

– Are you limiting the use of Flash & other 3rd party technologies?

The Path to Conversions

• Length– Is the page copy of the appropriate length?– Are there 10 or fewer form fields on the page?

• Congruency– Does the page look similar to the ones immediately

before and after it?– Is the page hosted on a third-party domain?

• Load Time– Does the page load in under 5 seconds on IE & FF?– Is the page size under 150k?

The Path to Conversions

• Urgency– Do customers feel a strong need to not only buy your

product but to buy it NOW?– If not, can you offer an incentive to boost response

rates?– Is the incentive something that would be useful to

your ideal customer?

Single Conversion Goals

• ONE call to action per page– Subscribe to opt-in email newsletter– Add a product to the shopping cart– Accept a special offer– Complete a contact information form– Download a white paper– Watch a video tutorial or demo

Coverage

• Maximize your coverage• Impressions don’t cost anything but can build

brand awareness• Low coverage means you are overpaying for

traffic

Increasing Coverage

• Be careful with capped budgets• Is your ad appearing a small % of time but high

up on page? Consider dropping bid, e.g. position 6, where you can better compete

• If your ad has a 0.2% CTR but competitors have 0.05%, you’re doing ok. But if it’s opposite, your ad coverage will suffer– Craft an ad that’s as good as or better than theirs

Increasing Coverage

• Improve ad copy only if the keyword is a good fit for your business

• Examine your landing page & general web site content for quality

• Are you relying only on broad match terms? Add “phrase match” and [exact match]

Click-Through Rate

• Important component of your quality score• Quality score determines the share of

impressions your ads receive• High QS can put you at the top of the search

results page (at no additional cost) which can increase your click-through rates

• CTRs do increase with average position of ad– Premium ad CTRs are higher but unpredictable

0-2.5% CTRUp to 9.0% CTR

Click-Through Rate

• Keep your action area above the fold• The closer the similarity of your ad copy to the

searcher’s keyword phrase, the higher the CTR• Ad copy plays a more important role in position

than the bid rate!!!

Look at Competitiveness of Keywords

• Actual number of advertisers bidding on the term• Estimated CPC for top ad position• Competition level as reported by the search

engines• Number of words in the phrase

Go for the Long Tail

• It’s much better to target hundreds or thousands of niche terms than to target a handful of broad terms– Level of competition is lower– You get a bigger bite of the apple

• Benefits of niche keyword targeting are higher for advertisers appearing in lower positions– Spend less– More qualified site visitor

Building Your Keyword List

• You should have thousands of niche terms that are relevant to prospects– Minimum 5,000

• Don’t rely solely on brainstorming– Leads to obvious keywords that generate lost of traffic

but few sales– Usually don’t reflect purchasers intentions

• Don’t rely solely on popular or free tools– Cuz everyone else is using them too

• Remember to regularly update your keyword list

Keyword List

• Brainstorm• Mine marketing collateral• Use keyword suggestion tools

– Wordtracker (large db compiled over years)– Adgooroo (searches for competitors ads, does

reverse lookup of keywords)

• Expand horizontally with Google Adwords Keyword Tool

• Reverse engineer competitors keyword lists• Weed out off target keywords

22 Best Practices from Best Ads

• Include keyword phrase in ad titles• Respect your customers’ language• Localize your ads, e.g. [keyword] Chicago• Use endorsements & testimonials, e.g. “ranked

#1 by Control Magazine”• Sell features & benefits• Use attention grabbers, how to• Use action words, learn, get, receive

22 Best Practices from Best Ads

• Have a call to action– Get quote now– Request free white paper

• Squeeze more text in using &, special symbols– TITLE: 25 characters– LINE1: 35 characters– LINE2: 35 characters– Visible URL

• Capitalize Every Word In The Ad

22 Best Practices from Best Ads

• Experiment with very short ads• Include a brand name if it’s known• Capture leads everywhere you can• Optimze niche keywords• Include www in domain name• NOTE: Tread carefully with {keyword insertion}• Don’t overrely on broad keywords• Spell check• Avoid superlatives as they generate mistrust

Questions?

Shari L.S. Worthington

Phone: 508-755-5242

sharilee@telesian.com

Blog: http://blog.telesian.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sharilee

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharilee

Thank you!!