[500DISTRO] Catalyzing with Content: What B2Cs Should Be Doing in the First 6 Months
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Transcript of [500DISTRO] Catalyzing with Content: What B2Cs Should Be Doing in the First 6 Months
Catalyzing with Content: What B2Cs Should Be Doing in The First Six
Months
What we didWhat we fucked up
What worked
Who I am:• Ran customer acquisition/retention
at LivingSocial
• Co-founded coursereport.com
• Fair warning: I love business stock photography
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Let’s begin!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
coursereport.com
• Ratings/review site for programming bootcamps
• Focused on organic search
• Lead gen model
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
coursereport.com
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Yay - Bootstrap!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
coursereport.com/schools
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
coursereport.com/school-name
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
coursereport.com/blog/blog-post
BONUS:Tags link to
schools!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
At this point I’m feeling
good
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
We have 6 entity types…– schools– campuses/locations– courses– Instructors– cities– blog posts
… let’s give each one a page!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Fuck up #1
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Google thought it was duplicative because it was
Inbound links were spread across different (similar)
pages
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Deploying new pages/templates was easy
I didn’t stop to think about how those pages would have
distinct content
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Fuck up #2
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Filters = search results
My first idea: index it all - more pages that can
rank!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
https://www.coursereport.com/schools?focus=Rails&location=New+York
Vs:https://www.coursereport.com/
cities/new-york
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
My second idea: use rel= canonical
Closer… but no
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
My third idea: Noindex!
Better!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
The future?Why not create pages for
common filters with unique content?
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
https://www.coursereport.com/schools?focus=Rails&location=New+York
https://www.coursereport.com/cities/new-york/rails
Plus content! Hooray!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Ok, so what content then?Guides
ListsEditorial analysis
U.G.C.Interviews
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Guides•Big time investment•Useful for email capture too
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Lists•First thing people do… so extremely competitive
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Editorial
Also takes a lot of time
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
UGCChicken v Egg
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Interviews!!!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
• Pros:– Easy to produce– Universally applicable– Almost always interesting– Potentially good link bait
• Cons:– Editing is a huge pain in the ass
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Pro tip
eLance & Odesk!Cheap, relatively high
quality, and dramatically increase output
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
More on elanceTry a couplePlenty of solid english speakers$5 -$10 MAX per hour<24 hour turn around, if not sub <3
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Site is in placeMost effective content
is knownLet’s get links!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Conquesting!• Only could drum up ~50-100
decent targets• Yielded a few decent quality links
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Guest blogging• Templatized/mass outreach has not
worked for us at all• Success with:–Partnering with players in the space
(schools)–Focusing on adjacent niches (ex: Women
in tech, Career advice)
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
The money maker!
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Results
• 14 links on release–EdSurge, FastCompany, Tech
Cocktail• Continues to draw ~1 high quality
backlink per week
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Quick tips
• Roughly 10% hit rate amongst our primary reporter target list• Downloadable PDF seemed to add
some authority/credibility• Referencing other original research
also added credibility
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
Takeaways
• Simpler page structure to start• More focus on static pages• Find pockets of content that are both
fast & good• Invest in long form content… it really
is worth it BUT you need a purpose in mind
Adam Lovallo | @alovallo
And finally
Interested in a bootcamp- coursereport.com
Interested in acq events/conferences – grow.co
Do you know a lot about SEO and think we are doing something wrong? I’m sure you are right.
Email me at [email protected]