Online & New Media

SNC-MKTG350October 16, 2013

Tonight’s Agenda: Search Engine Optimization• Reading:

– Ch. 5, Analytics: Search Analytics Key take-aways• Discussion:

– Search engine marketing (SEM)• Blog Post Review:

– Nobody clicks on banner ads anymore. 7 tips for overcoming banner blindness.

– 9 best practices small businesses should use in optimizing a website.

Reading Recap: Ch. 5, Analytics: Search AnalyticsYour top 5 take-aways from Chapter 51. 2. 3. 4. 5.

How might you use these Search Analysis tools in your digital marketing plan?

How big is search?

19,400,000,000 searches

in July 2013

Source: comScore Search Engine Ranking

What are we talking about today?

• Search engine marketing:– Marketing your business through the engines– SEM has specific costs– SEM also requires time to manage campaigns

Goes by “SEM” among friends…

SEO vs. SEM

• Search engines find your site

• Users find you through the search engines

• No direct costs

• You bid on keywords valuable to your biz

• Text ads show on search engines

• Lots of direct cost

The results show on same page

Organic resultsPaid results

Paid results

SEARCH: the right side delivers clients

Source: comScore’s Search Engine Ranking, July 2013

1 2 3 4Idea about your product or service

Research on a search engine

See your ad and click

Visit your microsite, already self-qualified

How Search Works:

Search’s efficiencyAttract people already in a mindset for your service, allowing you to engage with people ready to buy:

•You set the budget by click or visitor

•15-25% of visits should become calls

•Only pay when someone clicks

•Shortens your sales cycle

How marketers use SEM

• Understand what customers WANT when they search and find your site Keywords

• Sales tracking, optimizations Sales funnel management

• Create topic-specific landing pages Landing pages best practices

Tools for SEM

• 50-250 keyword list

• Text ad AdWords campaign

• Landing page microsite

• Google Analytics on microsite

• Know your conversion targets. I like 25% visitor-to-caller conversion target.

• Unique, trackable phone number

Good keyword hygiene• Describe your product from your client’s

point of view• Think in terms of campaign groupings:

– “Yoga for beginners” vs.– “Yoga trainer certifications”

• Be specific• Layer in geography• Use phrases

Keyword Thinking

• A single word: “fountain”• Or a phrase: “outdoor fountain

with lights and timer”• Short terms

= high volume, high competition, more ambiguity• Longer phrases

= lower usage volume, more likely to connect

Evaluating keywords• Some words

get lots of clicks

• Some words get few clicks

• Compare to sales funnel – not all clicks are equal

SEO Key Ideas

• Should you always go with the highest clicked keywords?

• What’s the relationship between keywords and sales funnel?

• Do your optimal keywords change over time?

• How do you evaluate the value of your keywords?

Text adsHeadlineURLThree lines

• Be VERY succinct• Stand out, make an offer• Action-oriented (“buy flowers” not “we have flowers”)• Use your most important keywords• Optimize the ads: this is dynamic and on-going work

Good landing page practices• Simple design• Clear, concrete offer• Don’t link out – this is a

sales funnel• Attractive, for credibility• Include your phone,

address, email

Blog Topic: 9 best practices small businesses should use in optimizing a website.• Blog criteria:

300-500 words Has 1-4 imagesHas links to other articlesTakes a position/opinionTagged the post with relevant categoriesUsed a systematic research process?What did you learn?

Blog Topic: Nobody clicks on banner ads anymore. 7 tips for overcoming banner blindness.

• Blog criteria: 300-500 words Has 1-4 imagesHas links to other articlesTakes a position/opinionTagged the post with relevant categoriesUsed a systematic research process?What did you learn?

Next session:• Quiz on Monday• Reading: Ch. 6, Analytics: Audience Analysis• Discussion:

– Website, campaign & mobile analytics– Key performance indicators: Clicks, Impressions,

Leads, Conversions, Time on site• Blog Post Review:

– Why mobile websites matter in the marketplace.