The  Leading  Content  Produc2on  Pla4orm  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

   

Revving  Up    Content  Strategy  Efficiencies    

At  AutoTrader  March  7,  2013  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Today’s  Presenters  

ScoI  Markle  @smarkle    Sr.  Manager,  Content  Strategy,  AutoTrader  

David  Woodrow  @davidwoodrow  SVP  of  Strategic  Services,  Skyword  

2  #SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Agenda  

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§  Disrup2ve  forces  shiQing  consumer                                                                                                                                                                behavior  §  Why  content  is  cri2cal    §  AutoTrader  case  study  §  Key  findings  

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

The  Impact  of  Disrup2ve  Forces  

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Disrup2ve  Force  #1:  Search  

5  #SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Consumers  Are  Searching  for  Informa2on  

Search  For  Consumer  Informa2on  Discovery  

62% 62%  of  US  smartphone  users  query  search  engine  daily  

billion  global  searches  every  month  on  Google  alone  100  

Smartphone  Search  

All  those  people  who  have  been  doing,  for  lack  of  a  beIer  word,  ‘over  op2miza2on’  or  ‘overly’  doing  their  SEO,  compared  to  the  people  who  are  just  making  great  content  and  trying  to  make  a  fantas2c  site,  we  want  to  make  that  playing  field  a  liIle  bit  more  level.  

MaI  CuIs,  Google  Spam  Chief  (March  2012)  Sources:  

‘Google  100  Billion  Searches  Per  Month’,  Search  Engine  Land,  Danny    Sullivan,  2012  

‘US  Mobile  Consumer  Behavior  &  Smartphone  Usage  Stats’  ,SMB  Marke2ng  Tips,  2012    

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Volume  of  Search  Clicks  

PAID  SEARCH  15%  

53%    

15%    

9%    6%    

85%  

ORGANIC  SEARCH  Source:    searchenginewatch.com  2012  

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Disrup2ve  Force  #2:  Social  Media  

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©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Consumers  Are  Searching  for  Informa2on  

Social  Media  Drives  Content  Consump2on  

Likes  /  comments  on  Facebook  every  day  

Marketers  now  using  social  media  to  distribute  content    

87%  

billion  2.7  

5   billion Google+  buIon  used  5  billion  2mes  per  day  

Sources:  

‘Is  2013  The  Year  Social  Finally  OverTakes  Search  Traffic?’,  OpenView  Marke2ng  Lab,  February  2013  

‘Facebook:  The  Making  of  100  Billion  Users’,  Ashley  Vance,  Bloomberg  Business  Week,  October  2012  

‘The  Latest  Social  Media  Facts,  Figures  and  Sta2s2cs  2012’,  Jeff  Joskisch,  November  2012  

    #SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Disrup2ve  Force  #3:  Mobile  Devices  

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#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Mobile  Content  Consump2on  Increasing  

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45%  of  users  access    TwiIer  &  Facebook    using  mobile  device    

Source:  Social  Media  Went  Mobile  In  2012,  Reveals  Study,  MediaBistro,  January  2013,  

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Content  Is  At  The  Core  Of  Success  

Brand  Visibility  Higher  Search  

Rankings   Social  Signals    

 Long-­‐Tail  Relevance  

Backlinks   Consumer  Trust   Web  Traffic  Engagement  

content  

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Writer’s  Payments  

Financial  Management  

Search  OpSmizaSon  

Brand  Alignment  Review  

Project  Management  

Legal  Department  

Writer  Management  

Copy  EdiSng  Company  Writer’s    Content  

CMS  

Master  Spreadsheet  

CMS  

Crea2ng  and  Scaling  Quality  Content  is  Difficult    

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

   

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ScoI  Markle    Sr.  Manager,  Content  Strategy

PuYng  Content  Into  High  Gear:  Revving  Content  Strategy    At  AutoTrader  

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Who  Is  ScoI  Markle?  

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§  Child  of  programmer  &  author  

§ Web  developer  since  1996  §  At  AutoTrader  since  March  1998  

§  Sr.  Manager,  Content  Strategy  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

What  Is  AutoTrader?  

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§  Top  automo2ve  classifieds  site  

§  Division  of  Cox  §  Acquired  KBB  in  2010  §  3,500  employees  §  3.5mm  new  &  used  cars  for  sale  

§ More  than  $1B  in  annual  revenue  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Content  At  AutoTrader.com  Was  Orphaned…  

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§  Last  resource  leQ  June  2009  

§  Only  syndicated  content  

§  Research  traffic  down  50%  

§  Asked  to  show  what’s  possible  

§  Apply  content  strategy  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Why  Content  Strategy?  

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§  Had  money  &  nothing  else  

§  Need  to  get  crea2ve  

§  Content  is  secondary  

§  Focus  on  strategy  §  Right  content  at  right  2me  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Content  Strategy  In  Ac2on  At  AutoTrader.com  

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§  Just  3  dedicated  in-­‐house  resources  

§  Pool  of  experienced  freelancers  

§  Invest  in  content,  not  overhead  

§  Treat  content  like  a  product  §  Content  for  shoppers,  not  enthusiasts  

§  Connect  content  to  inventory  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Is  It  Working?  

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§  54  ar2cles  in  2009,  ac2vity  up  233%  

§  1,714  ar2cles  &  199  videos  in  2012;  8/day  

§  Impressions  up  281%  in  3  years  

§  Facebook  audience  up  108%;  YouTube  231%  

§  Just  launched  content-­‐centric  iPad  app  

§  Helped  Sales  in  $10mm  in  new  revenue  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

What  About  The  Audience?    

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§ Most  engaged  ATC  users  §  Twice  as  likely  to  come  from  SEO  §  50%  more  likely  to  return  §  Spend  4  minutes  longer  on  site  §  View  5X  Research  pages  §  Comparable  KPIs  and  convert!  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Why  Skyword?  

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§  Ini2ally  skep2cal  (get  lots  of  calls)  

§  Solved  some  specific  problems  

§ Manage  &  pay  freelancers  §  Enforce  best  prac2ces  §  Detailed  metrics  §  Access  to  addi2onal  resources  §  Extremely  responsive  §  Calendar  is  killer!  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

   

23  #SkyContent

 Key  Takeaways  for    

Media  Companies  &  Brands      

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

     

Ø  Content  Op2mized  For  Search  

24  #SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.   25  #SkyContent  

     

Ø  Content  Op2mized  For  Social  Web  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

     

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Ø  Content  Op2mized  For  Modern  Mobile  Devices    

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

     

Ø  Framework  For  Crea2ng  Content    

   

27  #SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

   

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Summary  

#SkyContent  

©  2012  Skyword  Inc,  Confiden2al.  All  rights  reserved.  

Next  Steps  

§  Contact  ScoI  Markle,  AutoTrader  –  Email:  ScoI.Markle@AutoTrader.com  

§  Request  a  Skyword  demonstra2on  –  Send  an  email  today  to  learnmore@skyword.com  

§  Keep  up  to  date  on  news  from  Skyword!  –  Blog  at  hIp://www.skyword.com/blog/  –  Facebook  at    hIp://www.facebook.com/skyword  –  TwiIer  @skyword  –  LinkedIn  Groups  –  Look  for  Skyword’s  group  

29  #SkyContent