SEO: Tactics are Out -- Strategy and Experimentation are Paramount
Bill Sebald
Managing Partner Greenlane @billsebald
Act 1 Understand The Past To Know The Present
1 #mpb2b @billsebaldbillsebald
SEO Google becomes a happens household (1996) name
SEOs learn (and exploit) some “secret” ingredients
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2 The playbook was out there!!!
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SEOs
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3 Footer Link Spam
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4 “Destroy what destroys you!”
- Google *
*Disclaimer: Google may have never said this, but probably did. #mpb2b @billsebald
Google gave us warnings, but some of us didn’t listen.
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5 Act 2 The Misconceptions
We want to rank for the keywords our competitors rank for. Should we add more keywords?
6 Do you think just We want to rank for adding the keywords will do it? the keywords our Do you think Google is competitors rank for. that easy to game?
#@%!!!!
7 A keyword with 720 esv.
A company called Schneider is ranking well without the keyword anywhere in its code.
8 What kind of We want to rank for the keywords our copy have you competitors rank for. invested in?
We have a company writing 400 word blog posts everyday for $30 a post. It’s not driving any organic traffic.
9 You know, tactical SEO We want to rank for writing doesn’t usually the keywords our impress Google these competitors rank for. days.
Content is king…
10 We want to rank for the keywords our …until content is noise. competitors rank for.
#@%!!!!
11 “You don’t have a keyword problem, you have a marketing problem.”
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In 2014, Google Hit Adolescence
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12 Hummingbird brought us:
1. An improvement in contextual search 2. Semantic search 3. Voice search
(And marked the end of old school SEO as we knew it)
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13 Are you refusing to allow your Google to grow up?
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14 2017
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People are expecting “G” to understand the intent of searches
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15 We can’t just rank relevance on keywords alone anymore.
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We need to get smarter and avoid being influenced so easily by tactics.
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16 We need to read, learn, and think like humans. We need to mature like searchers have.
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Act 3 Investments Into Intelligence For Strategies
17 Social Media Affiliate What is your 7% 8% Email industry’s biggest 13% source of new traffic Display and revenue? 4% SEO 64% (For most of you, it’s organic search)
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Social Media Affiliate Organic search 7% 8% Email traffic is not free 13% traffic. There is Display always some kind of 4% investment needed. SEO 64%
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18 Social Time Media Affiliate may be the 7% 8% Email largest investment! 13%
Display If SEO makes up X% 4% of your traffic, are SEO 64% you investing X% into time and budget?
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SEO has always been about understanding the searcher.
(But now we have to practice what we preach!)
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19 Characteristics of the B2B searcher
• 71% of B2B researchers start their research with a generic search. (Google, 2015)
(Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)
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Characteristics of the B2B searcher
• B2B researchers do 12 searches on average prior to engaging on a specific brand's site. (Google, 2014)
(Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)
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20 Characteristics of the B2B searcher
• 49% of B2B researchers who use their mobile devices for product research do so while at work. (Google, 2015)
(Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)
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Characteristics of the B2B searcher
• Customer journeys are more complex (compared to B2C). Longer cycles. Not impulse buyers.
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21 Characteristics of the B2B searcher
• On average, B2B marketers allocate 28% of their total marketing budget to content marketing.
(Source: Content Marketing Institute, 2015: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp- content/uploads/2015/09/2016_B2B_Report_Final.pdf)
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But these are general industry stats. What are the differences in your searchers? (SEOs must invest in analytics)
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22 Biggest resource of all? Your own website data.
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Analytics are your
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23 SEO means Search Engine Optimization.
Optimization means to take something that is working, and make it work better!
Invest more into what is working.
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http://bit.ly/url-performance-tool
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25 Go past standard keyword research.
Invest in topic research.
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26 #mpb2b @billsebald
Google knows the questions people are asking.
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27 Click on, get more questions.
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https://www.greenlanemarketing.com/tools/topic-opportunity-finder/ #mpb2b @billsebald
28 #mpb2b @billsebald
Invest in your shiny, happy sales team!
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29 Your sales force can be your biggest allies.
Educate them on why you’re taking their time from the phones.
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30 Invest in understanding what Google wants post-Hummingbird.
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Make sure your content is triggering semantic search models.
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31 #mpb2b @billsebald
The Knowledge Card might be a clue.
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32 #mpb2b @billsebald
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33 Look at the SERP landscape. What query intent is Google seeing?
How do you fit?
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Invest in mobile.
After 10+ years, the future-of-mobile is finally upon us, and we must evolve (per Google).
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34 Characteristics of the B2B searcher
• 49% of B2B researchers who use their mobile devices for product research do so while at work. (Google, 2015)
(Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)
#mpb2b @billsebald
Our customers don’t use mobile…
35 Google doesn’t care. We want to rank for They will be valuing the keywords our you based on your competitors rank for. mobile presentation.
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36 #mpb2b @billsebald
https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly #mpb2b @billsebald
37 Invest in new technologies.
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Our customers don’t actually talk to Google, or Alexa, Cortana, Siri, Bixby.
38 Maybe not yet. But We want to rank for when it comes to SEO, history proves it’s the keywords our unwise to miss the competitors rank for. wave.
Our customers don’t use VR, AR, or any of that hocus pocus!
39 Maybe not yet. But all We want to rank for signs point to a likely adoption shift. Want the keywords our to impress Google? Be competitors rank for. first and gain buzz.
Competitors Voice Search
- Made better by Hummingbird
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40 Google feels confident they can better Competitors understand intent in a search…
…and they can better comprehend meaning in content.
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They also believe they can have a reasonable conversation with searchers.
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41 Invest in figuring out the unknowns that specifically impact your site.
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42 RankBrain
“RankBrain leverages the historical performance of essentially, or nearly, identical queries, to see what worked and what didn’t, and then leverages that information to adjust and improve the delivered results for the current query.”
http://searchengineland.com/learned-danny-sullivangary-illyes-keynote-smx-advanced-278272 - Eric Enge on SEL #mpb2b @billsebald
RankBrain
My translation: Make sure your webpage “works well” by creating for searchers’ needs.
If your content and funnel doesn’t match the users’ expected result, they will bounce.
Test your usability / CRO, messaging, recall, clickpath, and get a lot of feedback!
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43 It’s starting to seem like great digital marketing is in sync with great SEO.
And I need to be treating my SEO like a full-fledged digital marketing channel.
44 We want to rank for #!@% Yes! the keywords our competitors rank for.
Act 4 Invest In The Strategy
45 Go back home and put all of this together to build the master plans.
“I believe people make their own luck by great preparation and good strategy.” – Jack Canfield
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Despite all the tools, learnings, and areas of opportunity we discover, there is no true SEO silver bullet...
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46 …but we have the groundwork to build an SEO strategy that can succeed.
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And hey… strategies work for digital marketers. Why not SEO marketers?
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47 I wrote about it on Moz.
https://moz.com/blog/seo-strategy #mpb2b @billsebald
strat·e·gyˈ stradəjē/
- A method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem.
- A plan of action or policy designed to achieve an overall aim.
- The art and science of planning and marshaling resources for their most efficient and effective use.
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48 The purpose of a strategy is to identify goals and build a plan of attack towards achieving those goals. The purpose of tactics are for smaller goals that could feed something bigger.
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49 #mpb2b @billsebald
Think of your strategy as a “connect-the-dots”.
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50 Prepare to be flexible… Like Google
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Every part of your strategy is experimental.
All of marketing is experimental. #mpb2b @billsebald
51 Think through and list out:
• Dependencies • IT requirements • Target customer demographics • Data Trends • Different B2B customer funnel entry points • Other marketing channels (how can they support and benefit)
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52 Every Strategy
Needs Goals
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SMART GOALS
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53 Document It. Make it real.
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Take Time, Think It Through
54 Take Time, Think It Through
The team with the best strategy can rule the world.
Act 5 GOOGLE DOMINATION
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Ask me anything at the Post-Presentation Huddle!
Bill Sebald @billsebald I’m very active [email protected]
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