How to Implement SEO on a Budget

#SearchLondon

Presenter Jo Turnbull

July 2014@SEOJoBlogs

@SEOJoBlogs

Who is SEO Jo Blogs?

• Jo Turnbull started in SEO while working for a mobile tech company

• Moved agency side 2009• Organiser of Search London since

October 2010• Editor and Events Organiser for

State of Digital since June 2012• Freelance online marketing

consultant, helping small and medium sized businesses with their marketing since 2010

@SEOJoBlogs

How Can I do SEO on a Budget?

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

SEO Budget

• £0 but lots of time• £0 - £2,500 • £20,000 – £30,000

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

SEO With No Budget

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

1) Brilliant Basics Are Still Important

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

• Ben Holbrook wrote a post about his favourite things to do in Barcelona

• He then scheduled tweets to promote it every day for a couple of weeks

• He added the #lp (Lonely Planet) hashtag when tweeting

• Lonely Planet then retweeted the post to their 1M+ followers

• 10,000+ unique visitors to Driftwood Journals, 33 re-tweets and 128 “favourites”.

No Finance = Use Social Media

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Promoting via Twitter

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Traffic Affected Rankings

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

That Post is Still Driving Traffic

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

2. Maximise Offline

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

“Search London” Grew

• Networking group for those in search• Jan 2012 – 592 members• 5 meetups 2012• January 2013 – 1100 members • Increase 86%• June 2014 – 1315 members• Meetup.com/Search-London continues

to grow

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

How Did Search London Grow?

• Strong domain - www.meetup.com • Good speakers – don’t be afraid to

ask• Catchy titles each presentation• Guest posts• Interact with others at the event• Email members• Tweet before, during and after• Central venue

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

3. Integrate Off and Online

#SearchLondon

Tweets Matter

@SEOJoBlogs

Tweets Affected Traffic

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

• Jo Turnbull attended a Search Conference the week before Search London took place

• Jo spoke to many search professionals at the conference and let them know about “SEO at the Heart of Google”

• She wrote a post on her blog – SEOJoBlogs about Search London taking place at the Google Campus

• She published the post, tweeted it and shared with others

• Sharing is caring – other people retweeted it and there were 650 visits to SEO Jo Blogs in one day

No Finance = Use Your Networks

#SearchLondon

#SearchLondon @SEOJoBlogs

4. Use Facebook – It works !

@SEOJoBlogs

Use Different Headings for Facebook

• Include a teaser text

• Attract attention of the readers

• Include an image

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Results

• Ben “liked” the Facebook pages of each place mentioned in the post

• Emailed places he had written about, suggesting shares

• Ben also contacted the Madrid tourist board • 2.1k Facebook likes• 100 tweets• Almost 4,000 unique page views within a week

#SearchLondon

#SearchLondon @SEOJoBlogs

@SEOJoBlogs

SEO £0 to £2,500

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Be Creative

• Don’t Forget about Offline• Melville Jewellers moved to a new location in

Perth, Australia• Opportunity to attract new visitors• Official launch party of Jewellery Store• Off site promotion in newspapers • 4 adverts in lead up to the event• Flyers distributed in store and local surf club

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Integrate SEO with Traditional Media

• Newspapers still work• Compliment Relationships• Networking + SEO• SEO + PR = Great Results• Long lasting effect

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Be Active in the Promotion

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Maximise Your Circles

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Sell the USP

• Leaflets, advertisement in local paper• Emphasised the “local” and “well established”

jewellery store• Offered Incentives eg $500 Pearl Necklace to be

won• Customers would win from a prize draw• Opportunity to collect customer details• Cost = $2,250 AUD promotion (plus cost of

wine on the day)#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Do something different – for your clients

• Loyal customer of 13 years wins star prize

• $500 pearl necklace• Further 10 prizes

won• Happy customers at

Melville Jewellers

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Long Term

#SearchLondon

• Doubled Turnover on the Day• Increase in sales MoM 20%

when industry sales dropped• SEO is important part of

marketing plan• The following year, no SEO and

sales dropped

@SEOJoBlogs

SEO For £20,000 - £30,000

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Sponsorship• A financial services company

sponsored a sporting event in a capital city

• The aim was to increase brand awareness and traffic

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Worked with Marketing Dept and Bloggers

• Education with Marketing Department• Encompassed the Sponsorship within the Content

Marketing Plan• Content Written in the lead up to the event• Blogger outreach with The Remarkables• Arranged for 2 bloggers to write up and take part in run• Post run content• Activation on the day – Fruit Stand and Chillout Zone

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Impact on Traffic and Social Media

• Organic traffic: Up 100%• Direct: Up 41% • Referral: Up 9%• 22% Increase in Conversions• 463% Increase in blog traffic referrals• 1,723 new Facebook fans gained on non-paid digital

efforts alone• 5% increase in Twitter followers in one month• 46% growth in FB likes

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

SEO has a Positive Experience on Brand

• 68% participants agreed about leaving with a more positive view of the brand

• 50% participants more likely to buy from the company

• 96% participants agreed the company was a great fit for a sponsor

• 65% participants viewed the company as a genuine brand

• 90% participants can’t wait for the next event#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

There Will Always be a Cost to SEO

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

• Time • Money • What will you

choose?

@SEOJoBlogs

1. Building Relationships Takes Time

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

How To Maximise Time

• Brainstorm ideas for content• Buzz monitoring tools – buzz numbers (free

trial)• Topsy (what is trending)• Google Keyword Tool (yes still useful)• Google Instant Search – don’t click enter• Google Insights/Trends• Be prepared to address negative mentions on

FB#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Create Content Users Want to Read

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

A Picture Tells a Thousand Words

Photo from driftwoodjournals.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Use the Tools to Maximise Exposure

• Twitter• Networking• Creating good content• Facebook• Sponsorship• PR and newspapers

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

2. Don’t Be Afraid of the Finance Director

Finance Director

Photo from being30.com

@SEOJoBlogs

Work with Your Agency

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Love What You Do

Photo from being30.com

#SearchLondon

@SEOJoBlogs

Shout About Your Results

Be Proud of Them and then Chillax (but not too long)

Photo from being30.com

@SEOJoBlogs

Share Great Content

Get in Touchhttp://SEOJoBlogs.comTurnbull.Jo@gmail.com

Ask Your Questions Through: https://www.sli.do/SearchLondon

Photos from Being30.com and DriftwoodJournals.com

Thank You

Photo from being30.com