+ B2B Search Marketing Business Marketing Association of Kansas City

Feb 20, 2014

David Vogel

+ About Me

David Vogel

Digital Marketing Manager

Layered Tech (cloud & hosting provider)

Board Member

Business Marketing Association

of Kansas City

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Agenda

Why Search Matters

Where Search Marketing has been… and where it’s Going

Common B2B Challenges & Solutions

Framework for SEO projects

Quick Wins

Appendix:

Search Lingo

Building your Digital

Marketing Career

SEO & PPC 101 Resources

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Why Search Matters

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo http://www.pardot.com/demand-gen/report-state-demand-generation/

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo http://chitika.com/google-positioning-value

http://connect.relevance.com/a-tale-of-two-studies-establishing-google-bing-click_through-rates

+ Where Search Marketing

has been…

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

What’s my motivation?

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo http://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html

+ “The goal of many of our ranking changes is to

help searchers find sites

that provide a great user

experience and fulfill their information needs. We also want the

“good guys” making great sites for users, not just

algorithms, to see their effort rewarded.”

Matt

Cutts

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2012/04/another-step-to-reward-high-quality.html

+ Evolution of Search

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

Search Engine Technology

Search Marketing Tactics

Keyword

relevancy

Keyword

stuffing

Spammy links

(buy, trade or hack) More strategic

keyword stuffing

Less spammy-

looking links

Page Rank

(link-based scoring)

Matt

Cutts Ongoing algorithm updates…

Better

UX

+ Evolution of Search (cont’d)

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

Search Engine Technology

Search Marketing Tactics

Localization

Locally relevant

content & links

Invest in

social media

& content

Admit defeat of

blackhat tactics

Semantic

search

Social

signals Matt

Cutts 2.0

Oh Crap!

Author

rank

Algorithm

updates

named

after

animals

Wailing &

gnashing

of teeth

+ …and where Search

Marketing is Going

+ Authoritative & Engaging Content

The next era of search marketing will be won by content that:

Is created by trusted sources

Captures attention

Engages visitor

Is worth sharing

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Authoritative Content: Surveys

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

+ Authoritative Content: Guides

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo http://www.marketo.com/definitive-guides/marketing-automation

+ Authoritative Content: Blog Posts

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo http://blog.mailprint.com/index.php/1125/create-trackable-qr-codes/

+ Blogging Example:

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ B2B Challenges

+ B2B SEO Challenges: Ambiguity

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ B2B SEO Challenges: Ambiguity

+ B2B SEO Challenges: Ambiguity

An ambiguous website leads to poor rankings and traffic.

The solution:

Research the keyword phrases used to search for your solution

Architect site to support these keywords

Make content speak the same

language as your audience

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ B2B SEO Challenges: Ambiguity

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ B2B SEO Challenges: Ambiguity

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ B2B PPC Challenges

Compared to B2C:

Longer buying cycle with lots of touch points

Niche targets spread across wide geographic area

Smaller search volume

More expensive keyword bids, but

Higher customer value

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ B2B PPC Challenges: Reporting

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

Initial

search

More

targeted

search,

clicks ad,

visits site

Branded

search,

click

organic

result

Served

retargeted

ad, visits

site

Types in

site url,

completes

contact

form

5,428 sales

and lead

nurturing

touches Contract

signed

Search Engine Technology Prospect lifecycle (web traffic analytics)

Sees news

about

company,

clicks to

site

Lead lifecycle (CRM)

+ B2B PPC Challenges: Reporting

Solution 1: Tech Upgrade

Only way to tie data on specific

visits to lead/customer data is

integrating web marketing

software with CRM.

Track micro data on specific

leads, plus tie real ROI to your

PPC, SEO & Social campaigns.

+ B2B PPC Challenges: Reporting

Solution 2: Free tech for Macro view

1. Install Google Analytics

2. Create “Conversion Goals” for lead

form completions or engagement goals

3. Link to AdWords for PPC

conversion data (Cost

Per Conversion, etc)

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ An SEO Framework

+ An SEO Framework

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

1) Keyword Research

Build keyword database containing:

•Estimated Traffic

•Competition Level

• Judged Relevancy

•Topic Grouping

2) Site Architecture

Design architecture to support:

•Keyword topic groupings

•Content needed to gain links

•Content needed to convert visitors to leads

3) Content Creation

Write and design content that is:

•Engaging

•Link-worthy (authoritative)

•Optimized for keywords

•Moves reader down sales funnel

4) On-Site SEO

Optimization of page

elements

Internal linking

Technical elements

5) Off-Site SEO

High-quality link building

Strategic outreach to influencers

Social promotion

6) Analysis & Optimization

Traffic & behavioral analytics

Rank tracking

Conversion optimization

+ Quick Wins

+ Quick Win: Keyword Research

Identify potential demand for product/service

Learn how to speak your prospect’s language

Judge competition and ranking potential

Guide website architecture

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Quick Win: Keyword Research

Keyword Keyword Group

Estimated Traffic

Pay Per Click Impressions

Competition Level

Current Ranking

Ranking Page

Keyword 1 Group A 24,600 749 76 -

Keyword 2 Group A 8,300 76 65 37 www…

Keyword 3 Group B 760 18 42 14 www…

Keyword 4 Group C 185,200 - 92 -

Keyword 5 Group C 79,300 315 87 73 www…

Google Keyword Planner

https://adwords.google.com | http://moz.com/products | http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker/

AdWords

+ Quick Win: Low-Hanging Links

Your vendors and partners

Provide testimonials for their website

Offer to be featured in online case study

Guest post on how you use their solution

Charities you support

Organizations you’re a member of

Executive/Board Member bios on other websites

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Quick Win: Improve Top 10 Pages

Your Top-10 webpages may account for >50% of total traffic

Take fresh look (or get outside perspective):

Are their user experience issues (technical, copy or design)?

Does content payoff visitor’s expectations?

Is pay engaging for skim readers?

Does it move visitor down funnel? Are their strong CTA’s in place?

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Quick Win: Remarketing

Stay top of mind during lengthy buying cycles.

Will likely become your highest-ROI PPC tactic.

Incredibly easy to implement:

Create text ads, image ads, and landing page(s)

Place remarketing code on site

Google will cookie visitors, then show them your ads on other sites

Start with Google Display Network, expand to cross-network platforms

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Quick Win: Negative Keywords

Fastest way to improve your PPC

ROI

Eliminates wasted spend and

improves Quality Score

Helps you avoid spend on B2C

searches

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Quick Win: Negative Keywords

To get started:

AdWords > Keywords > Details > Search Terms: All

Select and exclude irrelevant searches.

Make broader rules using library: “Campaign Negative Keywords”

Great list of B2B negatives to consider: http://www.komarketingassociates.com/blog/200-plus-negative-keywords-to-consider-for-b2b-ppc/

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Connect

Email: mail@DavidVogel.co

Web: http://DavidVogel.co

Twitter: @DavidVogelDotCo

Google: +David Vogel

LinkedIn: /in/dlvogel

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Connect

Email: David.Vogel@LayeredTech.com

Web: http://www.LayeredTech.com

Twitter: @LayeredTech

Jobs: http://www.layeredtech.com/careers/

+ Appendix

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Search Lingo

+ Resources

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

Introductory: •http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo

•http://searchengineland.com/seotable

•http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

•http://www.wordstream.com/articles/what-is-google-adwords

Daily Reading:

•http://blog.hubspot.com

•http://moz.com/blog

•http://searchengineland.com

•http://www.ppchero.com/

•http://www.certifiedknowledge.com/

•http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

+ Building Your Career

+ Building Your Career

Why Digital?

No barriers to entry

FREE KNOWLEDGE

Continued growing demand

Constant change

Fun combination of Strategy, Analytics and Creativity

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Building Your Career

Practice what you’re learning

Help A Friend (small biz, non-profit, startup):

Google+/Maps listing

Use free $100 to setup/test PPC

Build a simple website

Repeat for great experience and portfolio pieces

Volunteer for internal projects:

Research in advance of initial meeting

Come with questions and suggestions

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo

+ Building Your Career

Show your knowledge by sharing

Blog, or at least comment

Relevant Q&A sites (Quora.com, MarketingProfs.com, moz.com)

Curate and share relevant content

Setup Google+ and start building your Authorship Rank!

Build a portfolio/résumé site

#BMAKC @DavidVogelDotCo