THE Performance Marketing Conference The Venetian Resort & Casino, Las Vegas March 15-17, 2016 Search Engine Optimization Workshop: From Visibility to Revenue Page | 1 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Workshop: From Visibility to Revenue Workshop Overview Welcome to the LeadsCon Las Vegas 2016 SEO Marketing Workshop led by Jim McKinley of 360Partners. This half-day workshop is designed to give you an end-to-end view of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), how it works, and the tangible things you can do today to improve your SEO performance. What to do about SEO is one of the most difficult challenges that marketers face today. The importance and significance of SEO as a source of converting traffic is growing, but so is the confusion and complexity around what needs to be done to gain traction. How to Get the Most Out of the Workshop The goal of the workshop is to provide you with the theory AND the actionable learnings that you can apply to your website. In each section of the workshop you will learn specific things that you can do today to get started on the road to improving your SEO performance. There are several things you can do to maximize your workshop experience: Take notes on key points covered in the presentations Ask questions along the way Think about your own website and how you might apply these learnings in your own situation This workbook will serve as a guide and also as an additional resource of SEO information. The workbook will be referenced at various times throughout the presentations to point out exercises, best practice information, and links to online resources for further learning about specific topics. We are glad you are participating in the workshop today, and hope this will be an informative and productive experience for you. Jim McKinley Principal, 360Partners Page | 2 Page | 3 Contents SEO Philosophy ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Visibility ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Clicks ........................................................................................................................................................... 16 Engagement ................................................................................................................................................ 24 Lead Form ................................................................................................................................................... 34 Tracking & Reporting .................................................................................................................................. 36 Putting It All Together ................................................................................................................................. 38 About 360Partners ...................................................................................................................................... 40 Page | 4 Page | 5 SEO Philosophy SEO needs to be thought of as “Search Experience Optimization” as much as is does “Search Engine Optimization”. The overall goal of SEO is to influence each step of the process, from the initial search to the final sale, which includes how users engage with the website and its content. SEO must also be built on a foundation of accurate website activity tracking and reporting. This is important for gaining valuable data insights and information about how well SEO campaign activities are performing. Page | 6 The Buying Funnel The Buying Funnel is a concept that supports the development of SEO strategies that aim to meet searchers wherever they are in their buying process. Keywords, content, and website conversion activities and goals can be targeted to different levels of the buying funnel to create a search-to- conversion process that is more tightly connected with the customer. Page | 7 Visibility Visibility is simply how many people will see your site listed in the search engines’ search results pages. Building search engine visibility is a core component of most SEO campaigns. This section of the workshop provides background information on how search engines organize the information of the internet, and how understanding these processes is the first step to knowing how to build visibility for your own website. How Google Works Page | 8 How to Build Visibility Organic search visibility is built on four main elements of SEO: - A technically sound website that supports search engine crawling and indexing, and user navigation and conversion - Keyword research that identifies relevant, high-value keyword targets - Content development that is aimed at building relevancy for targeted keyword targets - Content promotion that amplifies the content messaging Page | 9 Technical Resources Mitigating any technical issues that could slow or stop search engines from crawling and indexing your website, or visitors effectively using your site, should be a top priority at the beginning of any SEO effort. The following resources provide additional information on the tools and strategies for ensuring your website is technically sound. Technical SEO [Basics] A Beginner’s Guide to Technical SEO: https://www.quicksprout.com/2015/07/31/the-beginners-guide- to-technical-seo/ Technical SEO for Non-Technical People: https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how- to/2300520/technical-seo-for-nontechnical-people [Advanced] Moz Collection of Technical SEO Articles: https://moz.com/blog/category/technical-seo Technical SEO Tips: http://www.bruceclay.com/seo/technical-seo-tips.htm Technical Site Audit Checklist: https://moz.com/blog/technical-site-audit-for-2015 How to Conduct a Technical SEO Site Audit: https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how- to/2200756/how-to-conduct-a-technical-seo-site-audit Technical SEO Tools [Basics] Which SEO Tools Are Worth Your Time?: http://searchengineland.com/tools-tools-everywhere-seo- tools-worth-time-222123 [Advanced] Technical SEO: Tools and Approaches: https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2063967/technical- seo-tools-and-approach The 100 Best Free SEO Tools & Resources: https://moz.com/blog/100-free-seo-tools Screaming Frog SEO Spider Tool: http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/ Page | 10 Keyword Research Resources There are a number of components to conducting keyword research that will result in a targeted, topically-themed list of relevant keywords for your SEO campaign. A number of strategies and tools are available to make your keyword research as effective as possible. Keyword Research Strategies [Basics] How to Do Keyword Research: https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/keyword-research How to Do Keyword Research for SEO: A Beginner’s Guide: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to- do-keyword-research-ht [Advanced] Keyword Research: The Definitive Guide: http://backlinko.com/keyword-research The KISSmetrics Guide to Keyword Research: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/keyword-research-part-1/ How to Build a Customer-Centric Keyword Strategy: http://searchengineland.com/build-customer- centric-keyword-strategy-220472 Keyword Research Tools [Basics] Google AdWords Keyword Planner: https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner Bing Keyword Research Tool: http://www.bing.com/toolbox/keywords [Advanced] Three Free Keyword Research Tools: http://searchengineland.com/threefree-keyword-tool-reviews- 126217 The Best Free and Premium Keyword Research Tools: http://www.iacquire.com/blog/the-best-free- premium-keyword-research-tools Page | 11 Content Development Website content drives search engine relevancy, and is the single biggest factor search engines have to evaluate a webpage against a search query. There are several critical content elements that can help your website achieve visibility for your targeted keywords and search queries. Content Development Strategies [Basics] A Content Strategy Template You Can Build On: https://moz.com/blog/content-strategy-template The Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing: Content Strategy: https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to- content-marketing/content-strategy [Advanced] Content & Search Engine Success Factors: http://searchengineland.com/guide/seo/content-search- engine-ranking How Your Content Strategy Should Affect Your SEO Expectations: https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/opinion/2419874/how-your-content-strategy-should-affect-your- seo-expectations How a Good Content Strategy Can Repair Your “SEO Problem”: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/repair-seo-problem-with-content Arnie Kuenn’s Book on Content Marketing Content Marketing Works: 8 Steps to Transform Your Business: http://info.verticalmeasures.com/content-marketing-works Page | 12 Content Promotion Promoting the great content you have created for your website is a crucial strategy for amplifying the messaging and attracting linking and sharing signals of usefulness and authority. There are a number of best practices for integrating social media with SEO and maximizing the potential of your content. SEO & Social Media [Basics] The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media: https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-social-media The Relationship Between SEO & Social Media is Real: http://blog.hootsuite.com/how-social-media- affects-seo/ [Advanced] Social Media & Ranking in Search Results: http://searchengineland.com/guide/seo/social-media- ranking-search-results SEO & Social Media Alignment: http://searchengineland.com/seo-social-media-alignment-174775