Small Business Marketing & Business Acceleration | FrontlineMarketingSystems.com

It’s Not SEO Anymore, It’s Marketing. Deal With It.

Posted on 29. Feb, 2012 by Lee Odden in Blog, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Optimize For Customer Experience

When people learn I’ve recently written a book called Optimize they usually ask what it’s about. I say it’s about optimizing customer discovery and engagement with content. The response I usually get is something like, “Oh, cool. I thought it was about SEO.”

Well, in a way optimizing content and customer experiences is SEO. That’s because what most of the better SEOs practice today is really more about the promise of marketing: attracting, engaging and inspiring customers to buy.

Whether it’s Google, Social Networks, Online News Media, Digital Assets or any other channel/format for content – best practices optimization is in effect for smart companies that want an advantage.

2005 Called, It Wants Its SEO Back. If your SEO is still overwhelmingly focused on massive keyword lists, ranking reports and directory/social bookmarking style link building then you’re stuck in 2005. It’s time to evolve with an optimized state of mind.

Optimize Throughout the Customer Life Cycle. To “optimize” in the search world may have traditionally focused on keywords and links but has changed to focus holistically on the journey from prospect to customer to advocate. At least in my view it does. When companies look at the entire customer life cycle, it will reveal a tremendous opportunity for optimization, not just for the top of the sales funnel.

Modern Optimization is Adaptable. When Google, Bing and Ask implemented various media and data sources into common search results (Universal Search) SEOs adjusted with digital asset optimization. When Google evolved their place pages, SEOs adjusted with local, mobile and geo-specific optimization. Panda? Better quality and less duplicate content. Personalization? Better title tag and meta description writing to inspire greater CTR. Social? Say hello to a tirade of G+ SEO. Conversions? Check. Pigeon Rank? If was real, check.

Helping Search Engines Helps Our Optimization. Technical SEO will have it’s place as long as there is an opportunity to create advantage by doing so. Search engines are imperfect in their attempt to crawl, index and rank all of the digital content that exists online. Making that process easier, more efficient, more useful and meaningful for search engines is something website owners must pay attention to regardless of how the search experience evolves ala universal, personal and social.

Optimization is Art and Science. Process, continual data analysis and tools are also persistent characteristics within the world of SEO because they enable some science into the art of optimization so it can scale.

Holistic Optimization for the Win. At the same time, the notion of optimization with a holistic view extends to all aspects of the customer experience with brand content. Whatever can be discovered, consumed or shared can be optimized for better performance – both for customers and for achieving brand business objectives. That means marketing, public relations, customer service, investor relations, human resources/recruiting and any other content a businesses publishes online.

Optimization Follows Search Engine Innovation. The best practices of optimization mirror many marketing best practices and in the end, the best way to view business investment in modern SEO is as an investment in marketing and all that marketing tactics can achieve. Optimizing the search experience works concomitantly with changes in search technology and how search engines work. There is no death to SEO, just a shift in what to optimize in order to improve performance.

Continuous Optimization Is Forever and Profitable. Just because Google masks keyword referrers for logged in users, emphasized Google+ content and signals, elevated content quality standards and changed how links are evaluated doesn’t mean opportunities to optimize have gone away. For companies that employ optimization as a process of continuous implementation, assessment and improvement, there’s nothing closer to effective online marketing than the practice of optimization.

Don’t Tread on SEO, Elevate It. For those who think SEO is dead. It’s just your limited understanding of SEO that’s dead. For web developers that treat SEO as a one-time task during web design and only focus on marketing content (vs. ALL of the website content), and no ongoing content promotion, you’re only touching the surface and may be causing your clients to lose revenue in the long run. For bottom feeding SEOs that continue to over-promise and under-deliver with sensationalized accounts of traffic boosts, rankings and links, you’re short sightedness is hurting companies and our industry.

SEO is really just marketing, so deal with it. The evolution of customer centric content marketing and it’s intersection with social media and optimization represents the kind of online marketing that companies are really sinking their teeth into in 2012 and beyond. To be a great SEO, be a great marketer because that’s what SEO is.

Learn More at Search Congress, Barcelona. I am very much looking forward to presenting on this very topic at Search Congress in Barcelona this week. I may not speak a lick of Spanish or Catalan, but hopefully my enthusiasm for the topic will make up for my Midwestern accented English.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
It’s Not SEO Anymore, It’s Marketing. Deal With It. | http://www.toprankblog.com

Full-Bodied SEO: Looking Past Keywords

Posted on 15. Feb, 2012 by Jeffrey_Smith in Blog, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Just like degusting a fine wine to appreciate its full-bodied flavor, don’t omit the chronology that it’s the process of the grapes aging combined with a semblance of subordinate processes that merge a plethora of complex layers into simplified notes to cultivate a delectable, yet exquisite fine wine. In parallel, SEO is quite similar.

Like a fine wine, authority occurs over time

While most blindly assume that SEO is about keywords (which is partially true), real SEO is involves grasping the underlying metrics and logic that search engines use to determine which websites are authoritative and which others are not.

The real goal of SEO is to create authority; and the faster you accomplish domain or page level authority for any website, the faster keyword conquests are realized and achieved. The extent of the authority of a website, determines how long (or short) a keyword conquest becomes.

If your website has exceeded the necessary tipping point (meaning it has enough term weight, link-flow from supporting anchor text and pages) and nests the proper on page signals, then that website is a candidate for occupying the top 1000 seed pages in Google’s index otherwise dubbed “the authority set“. In essence, the more weight the pages have, the more pages from that domain can be included as seeds in the organic search landscape.

While other pages are crawled, only the top 1000 matter and from those 1000 pages there are typically a handful of domains which are considered dominant within the scope of that topic.

Those websites are considered “the authority set” and once any page from any website has reached the apex of a topic and breaches the authority set, it now becomes the model that Google and other search engines compare other pages to (to ascertain relevance, validity and rankings).

Your objective is to (a) model your data (b) site architecture (c) internal linking structures (d) backlinks and (e) navigation schema to reinforce the topical scope of a page for (1) the primary phrase (2) parallel themes or categories (3) synonyms and sibling themes and (4) adjacent pages which could benefit from the link-flow or page level / theme /authority of that page.

This in turn allows you to funnel PageRank, trust and authority to any area of your website with the ideal anchor text (at will) which makes your website less dependent on off-site linking structures to achieve buoyant ranking factor.

For example, we have built websites using this technique and created PR5 sites from brand new domain (which achieved first page results in 30-45 days time for competitive keywords up to 7,500,000 competing pages using less than 50 backlinks off-site.

Similarly, the 70+ of the 95 internal pages also sprouted page rank (PR3,PR4 and PR5) which in turn funneled that ranking factor to other select pages creating an unparalleled tipping point like a tube Taurus folding in on itself) to propel even more rankings as a result, which leads to my next point.

Rankings can be observed from two perspectives (similar to the haves and have nots) and while the ultimate goal or optimizing your website stems from the desire to reach the top 3 spots (the traffic band) getting there is ultimately determined by how authoritative your page is and the website that supports it.

Allow me to elaborate.

Every page of your website (if optimal) represents an opportunity to rank that page and dozens more when combined with SEO best practices, such as:

• Relevant meta data (for every page).
• A mirrored keyword-rich URL structure for the primary market and semantic focus of the page.
• Proper H1 use to reflect the primary keyword
• Sufficient inclusion of theme relevant keywords for the primary and secondary keyword shingles (groups of words).
• Awareness of link-flow limitations (not having 100+links on a page via navigation and contextual areas to bleed ranking factor).
• Use of optimal internal linking
• Proper site architecture that reflects a natural data hierarchy (with more competitive keywords higher up in the hierarchy and less competitive categories and mid-tail and long-tail keyword variations supporting the theme).
• Proper grammar and conversion cues
• The proper proportion of themed inbound links from qualified sources to the home page and deep links to various supporting categories and landing pages (with their primary shingles and / or synonyms).

The takeaway here is, cultivation of authority is the goal of SEO. Once that authority has been realized, it must be leveraged to propel entire clusters of keywords into a prominent search engine position (with minimal backlinks) from using the overlapping nodes of relevance and page level trust and relevance score it has accumulated.

The extent of the authority depends on (a) the freshness and introduction of new / supporting content (b) the volume of content (c) the age of the domain (d) the relevancy or the internal link structure and most importantly (e) the time to authority factor (like a fine wine aging over time) that represents the priceless / more elusive ranking factor to distill in reverse or from the perspective of a competitor to emulate.

-Jeffrey

Related Posts

1. Planting Seeds for Future Harvest, Tilling Keywords from the Past
2. Moving Past the Google Panda Update!
3. Find the Best Keywords to Bait New Consumers
4. Which Types of Keywords are Best for SEO?
5. Keywords, SEO and the Tipping Point

3 Ways to Optimize Images: Search, Social Media & User Experience

Posted on 05. Jan, 2012 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, Search Marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Optimize Your Images for Better Digital Asset Optimization

From Marketing to PR, digital assets are an essential part of the content used to tell stories and communicate brand messages.  For publishers and public relations professionals, optimizing the images used in news stories and press releases can have an important impact on visibility in search engines.  Images not only add flavor to news content, but they are also an opportunity to extend the reach of your message through image specific search.

Images are essential for both search and social media marketing with growing popularity as a social media asset. Long time image hosting and social network Flickr hosts well over 50 billion images and social media image sharing services like Instagram and Pintrest have exploded in popularity:

• Pinterest has grown 4,000% in the past 6 months
• Instagram added over 2 million users in November

Optimize Images for Search

To improve rankings of your images, here are 6 tips to make sure images are search engine ready:

File Name. Keywords used in image file names provide very specific information to people and search engines on the topic of the image.  img05.jpg isn’t nearly as useful as image-optimization.jpg

Text Surrounding Image. The text used to describe your image like a caption can help search engines associate the image with keywords used in the surrounding text.

Image Linking.  Links from other pages to your image or the page your image is embedded on can help search engines find the image for crawling and also pass PageRank.

Alt Text.  Adding descriptive text to the image alt attribute is helpful for search engines as well as a usability best practice in situations where images are not shown in a browser such as when a visually impaired person uses a screen reader. However, do not stuff a long string of keywords in the alt text, that will simply dilute the meaning and usefulness.

Image Sitemaps. If you are having difficulty getting your images into a search engine like Google, or you want to show that some images are less important, you can add image specific tags to a sitemap and provide that information to Google.

Focus Keyword Usage. For example, if you are writing a piece on flowers and have an image of a particular type of flower then your keywords should reflect the name of that specific flower.

Optimize Images for Social Sharing

Inspiring social shares is important to extend the reach and visibility of image content.  A basic first step is make it as easy as possible for your audience to consume and share your images.

Use Inspiring Images.  I am a strong believer that your content and your images should first be relevant to your audience, and then optimized for search engines.  A good example of news images that have received a lot of social sharing are collections of compelling photos. This group of the most powerful photos of 2011 on BuzzFeed has receive over 45,000 Tweets and 862,000 likes on Facebook.

Use Standard Formats.  While there are many types of images formats to choose from .jpg, .gif, and .png are the most common.  Use images that will be easy to display on any device and you’ll avoid any barriers to sharing or viewing.

Post Images on Multiple Social Media Sharing Sites.  The more relevant places you make your images available the better the chances are that they will be shared.  In addition to social networks like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, popular image hosting and sharing sites include:

• Flickr
• Photobucket
• Pinterest
• Picassa
• Instagram
• TwitPic

Optimize Images for User Experience

The human eye can see things that search engines can’t.  Humans can also associate emotion or take action based on the images used in news stories, press releases and web pages.

High Quality.  People will be more likely to spend additional time on an image that is high quality in terms of composition and image resolution.

Maintain Relevancy.  It is even more essential that your imagery is relevant for your audience.  An image that is disconnected from the text will put people off and they will be discouraged to visit again.  An example would be a photo of a cute dog sleeping when your article is about your clients love for cats, or their rocky relationship with their boyfriend.

Don’t Make Them Work Too Hard. While some journalists or PR representatives may lean toward using abstract images, it is important to always keep the end user in mind. An abstract image may be interesting to look at but does it really help you sell your story? Use your web analytics to determine whether abstract or more literal images result in more pageviews and traffic.

Bonus Tip: Inspire User Generated Content

An interesting way to gain access to new images is to get your network involved.  Try running a contest on your website or social media network page encouraging potential vendors, clients, or those interested in your brand to create an image for an event or as a promotion. The images used in such a promotion can provide content on your site, inspire sharing and links amongst participants as well as a way to recognize your community.

I would recommend that going forward you try to optimize more of your image content and other digital assets.  Many press release distribution services such as PRWeb (a TopRank SEO client) allow users to upload images to their press releases.  If you are a journalist be sure to include optimized images in your column. If you’re a retailer, make sure your product images are easy for Google to access and consider supplying an image sitemap. The next time you upload an image to a social media site, think about using relevant keywords in the file name, in the description and alt text.

The possibilities for image asset optimization are endless and I hope that the tips I have provided show you that some small adjustments to your image optimization can improve search visibility, social sharing and a better user experience for your community.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
3 Ways to Optimize Images: Search, Social Media & User Experience | http://www.toprankblog.com

A to Z Internet Marketing News: Happy Birthday TopRankBlog!, 2012 Marketing Predictions, Social Disasters, Cashing in on XMAS

Posted on 30. Dec, 2011 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, facebook, News, Search Engines, Search Industry News, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, YouTube

21 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2012

Curious to find out what 2012 could have in store for online marketers?  This presentation from DreamGrow shares 21 predictions on what 2012 could look like.

Highlights include:

• Social CRM making inroads
• Social media influencing more sales
• Social commerce on mobile devices

Facebook IPO and Most Popular Social Sites:

Social Media: Disasters

“Ocean Marketing vs. Penny Arcade: Paul Christoforo PR Disaster Goes Viral” Documented via email and enacted on numerous YouTube videos, this might be one of the most reprehensible exchanges in the history of customer service. A PR/Marketing contractor representing N-Control, a maker of modified game controllers for hardcore gamers and disabled people has been accused of insulting a customer, plagiarism, extorting a past client and shady SEO practices. Could it get any worse? Yeah. Domestic abuse.  Via International Business Times.

“Social media, rumors might have fed melee at MOA”  On Sunday December 25th it was rumored that rappers Lil Wayne and Drake were going to be making an appearance at Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.  In the afternoon mayhem broke out involving more than 200 young people, one of the most serious disturbances at the mall in over 15 years with 10 people arrested.  Via StarTribune.

“Top 5 Most Common Networking Mistakes”  Good networking is an art and a science.  While some people may not have an innate networking skill this article points out basic mistakes and how to avoid them.  Via Inc.

Network Growth: Exceeding Expectations

“Pinterest: Crazy Growth Lands it as Top 10 Social Site”  Pintrest has grown 4,000% over the past 6 months marking it as the number 10 social media site.  While most traffic comes from California and Texas, Pinterest also receives unusually high traffic from states like Utah, Alabama, and Tennessee.  Via cNet.

“Instagram Becomes the Largest Mobile Social Network” In the past two months Instagram has added over 2 million new users.  While currently only available on iPhone, Instagram is poised to outpace Foursquare, the largest mobile focused social network available today.  Via Social Fresh.

“Google+ may reach 400 million users by end of 2012”  Google+ is on average adding 625,000 new users per day.  While the numbers are reflecting total users not active users, there is no denying that Google+ is growing.  Via LA Times Blog.

Cashing in on Christmas:

“Final Christmas Push Propels U.S. Online Holiday Spending to $35.3 Billion, Up 15 Percent Versus Last Year”  Spending reflected in this report takes into account the first 56 days of the November – December holiday season.  It is said with certainty that Cyber Monday 2011 ranked as the heaviest spending day of the season for the second year in a row.  Via ComScore.

Battles In the Court & On the Screen

“A Dispute Over Who Owns a Twitter Account Goes to Court” How much is a Twitter follower worth?  In a world where social media influence can mean the difference between a new customer and a fruitless cold call, one company thinks it’s worth a lot.  The question remains, can a company claim ownership of an employee’s social media account, and what does that mean for employee’s posting during work hours?  Via NY Times.

“YouTube Slam Begins Video Clip Battles for Users’ Votes”  Each week YouTube will put user submitted videos head-to-head to battle it out on screen.  Users will be asked to submit a vote for their favorite video.  This contest is designed to keep visitors on YouTube for longer periods of time and deepen their connection to the site.  Via BBC.

Online Marketing News You Can Use = TopRank Team Edition

Ken Horst – “Google Will Change Web Marketing in 2012”
Google has designed a new method for websites to structure data so that its crawler can pull better information. These plans revolve around metadata that will allow Google to access more rich data about a topic.  This may be a wakeup call for marketers and web masters to start looking at the new data and plan for the deployment of the new code in order to improve or maintain rankings.  Via Harvard Business Review.

Emily Conley – “The 22 Best Infographics We Found in 2011”
This is a compilation of some of the best infographics released in the past year.  I thought this was a pretty cool trend feature to reflect on the past year and gear up for 2012!  Via Co.Design.

Alexis Hall – “77 of Top 100 Brands Now Have Google+ Pages”
This article from Marketing Land discusses the fast adoption of Google+ by businesses, since its launch on November 7th.  According to BrightEdge’s December SocialShare report, 77 of the top 100 brands now have Google+ pages. This adoption rate will likely continue to increase in 2012 as big and small businesses begin to leverage Google+.  Via Marketing Land.

Ken Horst – “Will Clever Sense Help Google Become The Perfect Search Engine?”
Google is beefing up its voice search capabilities with the recent purchase of Clever Sense.  Similar to Siri for Apple, Google’s new voice search app will remember things it learns about the user so that future search results are even more targeted.  As more people use voice search on their mobile devices, online marketers will need to learn what it takes, other than location, to acquire a high ranking in the SERP.  Via Search Insider.

Happy Birthday TopRank Online Marketing Blog!

We’ve celebrated our 8th year of blogging this week. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed, shared, linked, commented and reached out over the  years. It’s an honor to be a part of such an amazing community and in this world of information overload, we appreciate your attention a great deal.  Thank you!

Have A Safe Holiday Weekend!

From the entire team at TopRank Online Marketing

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
A to Z Internet Marketing News: Happy Birthday TopRankBlog!, 2012 Marketing Predictions, Social Disasters, Cashing in on XMAS | http://www.toprankblog.com

A to Z Internet Marketing News: Happy Birthday TopRankBlog!, 2012 Marketing Predictions, Social Disasters, Cashing in on XMAS

Posted on 30. Dec, 2011 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, facebook, News, Search Engines, Search Industry News, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, YouTube

21 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2012

Curious to find out what 2012 could have in store for online marketers?  This presentation from DreamGrow shares 21 predictions on what 2012 could look like.

Highlights include:

• Social CRM making inroads
• Social media influencing more sales
• Social commerce on mobile devices

Facebook IPO and Most Popular Social Sites:

Social Media: Disasters

“Ocean Marketing vs. Penny Arcade: Paul Christoforo PR Disaster Goes Viral” Documented via email and enacted on numerous YouTube videos, this might be one of the most reprehensible exchanges in the history of customer service. A PR/Marketing contractor representing N-Control, a maker of modified game controllers for hardcore gamers and disabled people has been accused of insulting a customer, plagiarism, extorting a past client and shady SEO practices. Could it get any worse? Yeah. Domestic abuse.  Via International Business Times.

“Social media, rumors might have fed melee at MOA”  On Sunday December 25th it was rumored that rappers Lil Wayne and Drake were going to be making an appearance at Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.  In the afternoon mayhem broke out involving more than 200 young people, one of the most serious disturbances at the mall in over 15 years with 10 people arrested.  Via StarTribune.

“Top 5 Most Common Networking Mistakes”  Good networking is an art and a science.  While some people may not have an innate networking skill this article points out basic mistakes and how to avoid them.  Via Inc.

Network Growth: Exceeding Expectations

“Pinterest: Crazy Growth Lands it as Top 10 Social Site”  Pintrest has grown 4,000% over the past 6 months marking it as the number 10 social media site.  While most traffic comes from California and Texas, Pinterest also receives unusually high traffic from states like Utah, Alabama, and Tennessee.  Via cNet.

“Instagram Becomes the Largest Mobile Social Network” In the past two months Instagram has added over 2 million new users.  While currently only available on iPhone, Instagram is poised to outpace Foursquare, the largest mobile focused social network available today.  Via Social Fresh.

“Google+ may reach 400 million users by end of 2012”  Google+ is on average adding 625,000 new users per day.  While the numbers are reflecting total users not active users, there is no denying that Google+ is growing.  Via LA Times Blog.

Cashing in on Christmas:

“Final Christmas Push Propels U.S. Online Holiday Spending to $35.3 Billion, Up 15 Percent Versus Last Year”  Spending reflected in this report takes into account the first 56 days of the November – December holiday season.  It is said with certainty that Cyber Monday 2011 ranked as the heaviest spending day of the season for the second year in a row.  Via ComScore.

Battles In the Court & On the Screen

“A Dispute Over Who Owns a Twitter Account Goes to Court” How much is a Twitter follower worth?  In a world where social media influence can mean the difference between a new customer and a fruitless cold call, one company thinks it’s worth a lot.  The question remains, can a company claim ownership of an employee’s social media account, and what does that mean for employee’s posting during work hours?  Via NY Times.

“YouTube Slam Begins Video Clip Battles for Users’ Votes”  Each week YouTube will put user submitted videos head-to-head to battle it out on screen.  Users will be asked to submit a vote for their favorite video.  This contest is designed to keep visitors on YouTube for longer periods of time and deepen their connection to the site.  Via BBC.

Online Marketing News You Can Use = TopRank Team Edition

Ken Horst – “Google Will Change Web Marketing in 2012”
Google has designed a new method for websites to structure data so that its crawler can pull better information. These plans revolve around metadata that will allow Google to access more rich data about a topic.  This may be a wakeup call for marketers and web masters to start looking at the new data and plan for the deployment of the new code in order to improve or maintain rankings.  Via Harvard Business Review.

Emily Conley – “The 22 Best Infographics We Found in 2011”
This is a compilation of some of the best infographics released in the past year.  I thought this was a pretty cool trend feature to reflect on the past year and gear up for 2012!  Via Co.Design.

Alexis Hall – “77 of Top 100 Brands Now Have Google+ Pages”
This article from Marketing Land discusses the fast adoption of Google+ by businesses, since its launch on November 7th.  According to BrightEdge’s December SocialShare report, 77 of the top 100 brands now have Google+ pages. This adoption rate will likely continue to increase in 2012 as big and small businesses begin to leverage Google+.  Via Marketing Land.

Ken Horst – “Will Clever Sense Help Google Become The Perfect Search Engine?”
Google is beefing up its voice search capabilities with the recent purchase of Clever Sense.  Similar to Siri for Apple, Google’s new voice search app will remember things it learns about the user so that future search results are even more targeted.  As more people use voice search on their mobile devices, online marketers will need to learn what it takes, other than location, to acquire a high ranking in the SERP.  Via Search Insider.

Happy Birthday TopRank Online Marketing Blog!

We’ve celebrated our 8th year of blogging this week. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed, shared, linked, commented and reached out over the  years. It’s an honor to be a part of such an amazing community and in this world of information overload, we appreciate your attention a great deal.  Thank you!

Have A Safe Holiday Weekend!

From the entire team at TopRank Online Marketing

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
A to Z Internet Marketing News: Happy Birthday TopRankBlog!, 2012 Marketing Predictions, Social Disasters, Cashing in on XMAS | http://www.toprankblog.com

Search, Social, & Content Work Together at SES Chicago 2011

Posted on 16. Nov, 2011 by Ashely Zeckman in Arnie Kuenn, Blog, content marketing, content marketing optimization, lee odden, Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing, ses chicago, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, social media marketing

Wednesday morning’s panel discussion on search, social, and content was flush with information that was easy to digest and provided helpful tips for implementation. The session was moderated by Anne Kennedy from the SES Advisory board and featured speakers:

• Aaron Kahlow, Chairman & Founder, Online Marketing Summit & SES Advisory Board (@omconnect)
• Arnie Kuenn, President, Vertical Measures (@arniek)
• Lee Odden, SES Advisory Board & CEO, TopRank Online Marketing & SES Advisory Board (@leeodden)

Kahlow Presents the What, Why, How, and Who of Search, Social, and Content

Aaron Kahlow focused on some very basic but essential areas that all marketers should focus on when creating a campaign either online or offline. In regards to search, social, and content he had this to share:

What is Convergence?
According to Kahlow what convergence really means is that it’ is important to understand how these disciplines work together and how they impact each other.

Why is it Important?
If marketers are able to figure out how to leverage search, social, and content efforts the return on investment can be so much greater.

How Does Convergence Make A Difference?
By incorporating search, social, and content in multiple locations you are able to set next steps for prospects. An example would be leading users to a landing page that also allows them to like your Facebook page, follow you on twitter, get a link to a free white paper or fulfillment piece.

Who Should Be Participating?
Each and every one of us as marketers has an opportunity to participate and should take the next steps necessary to get involved.

Research & Idea Generation for Content with Arnie Kuen

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for clients is trying to come up with ideas for content that will engage customers. If a prospect is searching online one of two things will happen. They will find you, or they will find your competitors.

Why Should You Focus On Content?
A study conducted by GroupM Search found the following:

• 93% of all buyers online or in stores use search prior to making a purchase
• 86% of searchers conduct non-branded queries.
• 94% of buyers click on organic links versus 6% on paid links for branded queries.

What is the Path to Success?
Kuen provided a series of steps that will not only build foundational success but allow for killer implementation. Included were:

• Start with keyword research
• Do online research
• Determine types of content to create
• List the possibilities
• Put together a calendar

If Peanut Butter & Jelly Could Talk with Lee Odden

Marketers often get in the habit of optimizing strictly for keywords. What marketers should focus on is optimizing for customers and optimizing for outcomes. Odden went on to compare search, social, and content to a PB&J sandwich. It simply wouldn’t be the same without all of the ingredients. According to Odden Peanut Butter is the SEO, Jelly is the social media, and Bread is the content.

Optimized State of Mind
The evolution of SEO will continue to keep marketers on their toes. It is important that marketers understand that anything that can be displayed in search results can be optimized. By making sure that your content is optimized for keywords related to the audience you are trying to reach will put you on the path towards success.

Optimize For Consumer Behavior & Engagement
Knowing what it is that influences your customers is key in determining an content marketing strategy. Some examples of optimizing for consumer consumption would include determining the following:

• What devices do your consumers use?
• What format of information do they prefer?
• What different types of media can be used?
• What types of information would be useful?
• What time of day and frequency would they prefer?
• What topics and keywords are important to them?

Search, Social, and Content Takeaways

• Always know what, why, how, and who of creating a search, social, and content strategy.
• Research is essential in creating an educated marketing plan.
• Build the foundation for success.
• Take a customer centric approach
• Practice proactive optimization

Trying to find the forest through the trees can prove very difficult as it relates to marketing search, social, and content planning. However, what we learned from the speakers today was that doing your homework and building your plan the right way can produce enormous return on investment. I’m curious to know what process you as marketers have found works for creating an integrated online marketing strategy?

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
Search, Social, & Content Work Together at SES Chicago 2011 | http://www.toprankblog.com

7 Principles for User Generated Content: Michael DeHaven SES Chicago 2011

Posted on 16. Nov, 2011 by Ashely Zeckman in Blog, content marketing, Interactive Marketing, Search Engine Strategies, Search Engines, ses chicago, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, ugc, user-generated content

Michael DeHaven’s presentation at SES Chicago on “User Generated SEO” started with some actual user generated content from the audience. Before the session DeHaven gave 5 volunteers a bite sized Ghirardelli chocolate bar. In exchange for the treat he asked that each of the volunteers write a review of the chocolate and then share it with the rest of the audience.

What Was the Response?
The chocolate was called everything from waxy, to too sweet, messy, and melt in your mouth goodness. In contrast the packaging created by the Ghirardelli marketers was quite different, “take time to slow down and feel yourself melt with each bite.” As you can see the professional marketers took a much different approach than the consumers.

The Marketer vs. the Consumer
According to DeHaven 80-90% of total content on many major ecommerce sites is written by end users who come to the site and give their opinions or post reviews. He then proceeded to provide a few examples of what companies believed the best keywords for their product or services were and the actual keywords consumers used to describe the business. In both of the examples listed below the keyword lists were not at all aligned.

Restaurants
Marketing Keywords: romance, fine dining, gourmet food
User Generated Keywords: great drinks, partying, view

Cosmetics
Marketing Keywords: cleanser, gentle, healthy looking
User Generated Keywords: soap, younger, looking great

7 Principles of User Generated SEO

#1: Don’t Forget SEO Fundamentals
While user generated content can be extremely powerful it is important not to forget the basics such as link building, optimization, and proper tagging.

#2: Search Engines Get Bored
When Google bots are crawling your website they are looking for fresh and relevant content. If the bots return week after week and the content has not changed they become “bored” and will be less likely to return. In order to remain competitive in the online marketplace frequent updates are a must.

#3: The Primanti Principle
A Primanti sandwich is unique because of the French fries inside the sandwich. If you add too many fries to the Primanti it can become overwhelming for the user. Similarly as a marketer you want to make sure that you aren’t overwhelming Google with too many “French fries” but a reasonable combination of foundational information and user generated content.

#4: Beware of Dilution
Typical product descriptions are optimized and written by professional marketers, user reviews are not. While user generated content is important it has it’s place. Beware of what too much user generated content can do for your SEO.

#5: Unlock the Long-Tail Vault
Marketers are constantly working to determine what keywords users are typing and which ones will drive the highest ROI. An additional challenge is determining which content should be housed on the top-level domain and which ones are better suited for microsites.

#6: Ask For Content at Relevant Times
Spending time to determine when your audience will be most willing to write a review and determining their level of qualification for submitting a review is key. If you’re promoting a concert emailing attendees the morning before the concert and asking them to share their photos on the site is a great way to entice user generated content.

#7: Convert Reviewers into Advocates
It is important that marketers set next steps for reviewers. An example provided was that of a user that wrote a laptop review and then spent the next hour (in the middle of the work day) answering over 130 laptop questions asked by other users. If that user had a great experience using the laptop think of the number of people they are reaching and advocating to on behalf of the company selling the laptop.

I really enjoyed that DeHaven’s presentation covered the ways that content can be generated by users but also what we must do as marketers to facilitate, moderate, and encourage user generated content.

I’m curious to know how much of your content you believe is generated by users? If the number is low, do you have a plan for increasing interaction? If the number is high, what have you done well that encourages users to generate content on your behalf?

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
7 Principles for User Generated Content: Michael DeHaven SES Chicago 2011 | http://www.toprankblog.com

Grab Your Jacket – The Windy City Blows In Big Talent For SES Chicago 2011

Posted on 01. Nov, 2011 by Ashely Zeckman in Blog, conference, content marketing, Search Engine Strategies, ses chicago, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media

With over 70 sessions SES Chicago running November 14-18, 2011 is a virtual smorgasbord of information for Marketing and SEO professionals alike.  Many topics will be covered including: PPC, keyword research, SEO, social media, local marketing, mobile marketing, link building, content, optimization, usability, and so much more.  With so many sessions to choose from where should you begin?  Below are a list of ‘must see’ sessions that I will be sure to check out while I’m there.

#1 – Winning! Measuring Social Media Success

While I doubt that Eli Goodman and Tami Dalley will be channelling Charlie Sheen I am still very interested to hear their take on measuring the success of social campaigns.  I would recommend having your social media metrics handy if possible ( I know I will), so that you can apply the speakers instruction on estimating the value of your fans and followers in real time.  Who knows, we may find that we score better than anticipated.

#2 – Information Architecture for the Modern Website

This session featuring Shari Thurow really caught my attention.  Why?  As marketers and SEO professionals we are mostly aware of best practices for optimizing a site and making it search friendly.  But what about the site structure and content flow?  Is it user friendly? Does it allow my audience to get to where they want to go as hassle free as possible?  As the online landscape evolves I for one intend to learn as much as I can to help my company engage our audience.

#3 – Conversion Tools of the Master Crafstman

Having the right tools in your arsenal can quantify a companies social media strategy.  However, when shopping around the question always arises: do I use the tools that are free and might have limited capabilities, or go for the Ferrari that may be outside of the current budget?  Author Bryan Eisenberg will be providing the audience with the lowdown on tools (free and paid) that assist with identifying and fixing web conversions.  Also, be sure not to miss Bryan’s guest post on the TopRank Online Blog next week which will have a preview of some of the tools he recommends.

#4 – The Convergence of Search, Social, and Content Marketing

Working with Lee Odden I’ve come to realize just how important the combination of search, social, and content really is.  I am curious to hear the methods that the panel moderated by Anne Kennedy and featuring Aaron Kahlow and Arnie Kuenn recommends for combining the three to target and engage an audience.  I am also very interested in the step-by-step case studies that will be provided as examples for compiling a list of our own successes for our clients.

#5 – Keynote – Search: Where to Next?

I have my own ideas on where search will be within the next year or two, but five to ten years?  No clue!  Thursday morning’s keynote moderated by Anne Kennedy and featuring speakers Eli Goodman, Zephrin Lasker, Alan Osetek, and Dana Todd will provide insight into the next generation of search and what it means for marketers.  I would be prepared to take great notes during this session so that you can begin dialing in your strategy for not only 2012 but what you should be on the lookout for in the years to follow.

#6 – Content Marketing Optimization

If it can be searched it can be optimized.  Makes sense right?  So much of the social web has become focused on content creation, promotion, and optimization.  What is the point of creating all of this useful content if your audience can’t find it?  This session by Lee Odden will provide strategies and tactics for executing on a successful content strategy while keeping optimization and search in mind.

And Don’t Forget To Network

As a conference attendee I’ve found that I often learn just as much while networking as I do during the sessions.  While I wouldn’t recommend charging at the presenters from across the room when you spot them I would ask that you keep a couple things in mind:

1. If you have a question that you would really like answered be sure to write it down during the session so that if you do catch the attention of a presenter you have a clear and concise question to ask.
2. Attend the conference organized meals if possible.  This is a great opportunity to get to know other people within your industry and learn from their experiences.

I hope to see all of you at SES Chicago in a few weeks.  Be sure to follow the conference buzz on twitter under hashtag #SESCHI.  Check out SES Chicago’s information page for a full schedule of sessions and training.  TopRank will also be live blogging and tweeting at the event @toprank, @leeodden, and @azeckman for those of you who don’t already follow us.

Are there some great sessions you’ll be attending that I didn’t include?  Feel free to share your top picks for SES Chicago by commenting on my post.  Also, if you’re a foodie like me and you have an opportunity to explore the city, Chicago Magazine recently released a list of the 22 best new restaurants in Chicago.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
Grab Your Jacket – The Windy City Blows In Big Talent For SES Chicago 2011 | http://www.toprankblog.com

MarketingSherpa 2012 SEO Benchmark Report

Posted on 31. Aug, 2011 by Lee Odden in benchmark report, Blog, marketingsherpa, report, research, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

One of the report categories from MarketingSherpa that I’ve been reviewing for a long time, as in 5 or more years, is their coverage of Search Engine Marketing.  In particular, the Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report – SEO Edition.  (See last year’s review here).

The sub-title is appropriately a great indication of the theme for this guide: “Research and Insights for Creating and Capitalizing on a Rich End-User Search Experience. This is a far cry from the days of “Boost Your Search Engine Rankings and More!”.  As Online Marketers have matured, there is an increasing focus on optimizing for customers and customer experience vs. the sole KPIs of rankings and traffic.

Authored by Research Analyst Kaci Bower, MarketingSherpa’s 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report SEO Edition is broken down into an executive summary that outlines key findings from the survey from which the report is based, 10 chapters on everything from integrating Social Media & SEO to Mobile tactics to SEO Success Stories. There’s also an appendix that includes charts from the research.

If you’re a nut for data, charts and research based insights, this guide is priceless. The section on Planning and Tracking budgets as well as the Agency Perspectives offer helpful information for consultants and of course the SEO Objectives/Tactics, Local, Mobile and  Content Marketing sections offer plenty of tactics and insights for practitioners.

If you read Online Marketing Blog, you know we’ve been promoting the notion of “optimize for customers” over a sole focus on keywords. That perspective blends well with the customer-centric theme of MarketingSherpa’s SEO Report.

Just think about the richness of users search experience today in stark contrast to the bland search results made up mostly of just web pages several years ago. With Google in particular, Universal Search, Personalized Search, Social Search, Instant Search, Local/Mobile, Preview and even the currently suspended Real-Time Search all factor together to  give users what they’re looking for. The diversity of search experience is the basis for the research and recommendations in the 2012 SEO Guide.

One of the interesting insights from the research in this report includes the disconnect between marketers that consider SEO Strategy an important challenge to overcome, but not a a top objective.  That mismatch in priorities can be costly in terms of ineffective prioritization of tactics and inefficient utilization of resources. The real irony is stated in the report, “Interestingly, increasing measurable ROI ranked higher as an objective than developing an actual strategy to do so!”

Another key finding concerns the importance of Content Marketing, which was rated  as one of the most effective tactics for SEO but also one of the most difficult to implement. Content has been a hot topic for years, with many SEOs dismissing “content is king” as a whitehat SEO battle cry. But of course, relevant (optimized) content is effective for link building, sharing and certainly for inspiring prospects to become customers.  The SEO Report identifies many other top SEO tactics as well, segmenting by organization SEO maturity and industry.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. MarketingSherpa has done a great job at providing data sliced and diced every way you can imagine with this year’s version of the SEO Report.  The survey findings presented according to level of SEO maturity is especially helpful for companies that have been utilizing SEO best practices for some time, but want to continue to advance their progress.

For organizations that are just starting to investigate a more holistic approach to SEO to professionals that want to incorporate SEO best practices in their areas of expertise (like Public Relations, Web Design, Interactive), the 2012 SEO Guide is full of data, examples and insights.

You can get a sneak peek at the Search Marketing Benchmark Report, SEO Edition and more information about the report overall on the MarketingSherpa website (affiliate link).

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
MarketingSherpa 2012 SEO Benchmark Report | http://www.toprankblog.com

#Optimize Your Online Marketing With Social Media, SEO & Content

Posted on 30. Aug, 2011 by Lee Odden in Blog, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, social media marketing, social media seo, social SEO

With the boom in brands publishing content and the explosion of user generated content from social networks, the competition to stand out is only going to get more challenging for companies that rely on the web to attract new business.  Online Marketers that adapt, evolve and scale through a more holistic approach to marketing online gain both short and long term benefits, distinct from competitors reliant on the latest tactic du jour.

The process of change starts with acknowledgment that change is needed and then extends to identifying goals, understanding target audiences & communities, developing an approach and tactical mix for reaching business objectives. Assessing a starting point is usually accomplished through an audit, research and benchmarking for future performance tracking.

When taking a look at our TopRank Slideshare account for past presentations I found one on Social Media & SEO from back in 2007 offering the following advice:

• Inventory your media & content
• Keyword optimize your media
• Research social media communities
• Make it easy for readers to save/share content
• Create profiles and grow a network of friends
• Participate in the community
• Measure results

That’s as solid advice today as it was then. As a advocate of the power of optimization (not just search engine optimization but optimizing online marketing for better performance) it’s interesting how much hasn’t changed in the past 4 years.  No matter what BS certain mainstream publications or social media pontificators say, SEO brings a competitive advantage to an online marketing mix.  It may not be the silver bullet it once was, but SEO is an amplifier and catalyst to Social Media and Content Marketing. What smart marketers know, is how and when to apply SEO best practices to extend the reach of their social media and content marketing efforts.

Last week I gave my first presentation at Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis St. Paul #SMBMSP on the intersection of SEO, Social Media and the importance of Content in Online Marketing. In order to scale the impact of Social SEO & Content, internal advocates need to become Social SEO Heroes that can lead, educate and support the organizational change necessary to empower business social media and SEO literacy.  This presentation starts with context and perspective, then provides a framework and even specific tactics for the Content Marketing Trilogy of  Discovery, Consumption and Sharing. I hope you find it useful and share your feedback in the comments.

I’m looking forward to giving a more Content Marketing centric version of this presentation at Content Marketing World: “A Content Marketer’s Guide to SEO and Social Media Strategy” on Thursday, Sept. 8th in Cleveland.

After that I’ll be giving the opening keynote at the 2nd Annual Minnesota Blogger Conference with a presentation on how I’ve used blogging to grow our business from a tiny lifestyle company to one of the best known agencies for online marketing in the U.S.. I hope to see you there.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
#Optimize Your Online Marketing With Social Media, SEO & Content | http://www.toprankblog.com