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Search Engine Marketing Overview for UW Business School – 11/3/10

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What We Will Cover Today» Organic vs Paid Media» Some Stats» Search Engine Basics» Organic Search (Natural)» Organic and Social Together» Paid Search» New Issues with Search» Landing Pages

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Organic Traffic & Leads» Direct/Brand» Natural Search (SEO)» Social Media» Referrals (Links)

Organic vs Paid Lead Acquisition Strategies

Paid Traffic & Leads» Paid Search» Display/Banners» Affiliate (CPA)» TV/Radio/Print

The Interne

t

Organic strategies work TOGETHER to improve visibility

Paid strategies are managed and analyzed as INDIVIDUAL channels

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US Advertising Spending by Media2007 – 2012 in Millions

» Search has overtaken display as the #1 media spend online (as of 2008)

» Internet will overtake newspapers in 2011 (if not sooner)

» Internet is bigger than spot local/national TV in spend

» Search is already bigger than print Yellow Pages/directories

» Lots of traditional media spends are in decline while Internet is up, up, up!

Source: Jack Meyers Media Business Report as provided to eMarketer, Sept 14, 2009

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Why Search Engine Marketing?

» The #1 driver of non-direct traffic to most websites» High quality traffic

» All stages of the buying cycle from research to price compare

» Organic traffic has no media costs» Pay Per Click search traffic is highly targetable

» By keyword, location, time of day, day of week, demographic, etc.

» PPC is self-service, easy to get up and running» PPC is a great way to test messaging, offers, landing

pages and positioning

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Types of Search Engines» Crawlers

» Rely on search spiders and algorithms» Google/AOL, Yahoo Web, MSN, Teoma

» Directories/Human Editors» Rely on submissions and editors to review» Yahoo! Directory, DMOZ, Business.com, CNET, About.com

» E-Commerce» Rely on merchandise managers and submissions» Froogle, eBay, Amazon.com, Shopping.com

» Meta Search» Automate queries across other indexes» Dogpile, MetaCrawler

» Industry Vertical Engines/Directories» Focus on specific industries through human editors & submissions» ThomsonGuide.com, musicsearch.com

» Social Media» Twitter is “Real Time” search» LinkedIN, Facebook and MySpace are search networks

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The #1 Job of Search Engines

Provide the Best Search Results Based on the Limited Information (1-4 keywords) the Searcher Gives the Engine.

» Better search results (organic & paid) = happier searchers» Happier searchers = more search/repeat usage» More search usage = more inventory» More inventory = more opportunity to sell pay per click

advertising

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Search Engine Marketing ProgramsSearch Engine Optimization (SEO)» Listed in the editorial or organic area of engine.» Higher quality traffic – legitimate search results.» No guarantee of placement, mid to long term results.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Search» Auction, bid or CPC system.» Immediate, cost effective, trackable.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Content Network» Google/Bing have matched your keywords to content

on the internet» You push ads to a site without a specific search» Managed through your same search PPC interface

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A Google Example SEM of ProgramsPaid Results: The top two performers from the AdWords CPC program.

Main Results: Natural search listings which cannot be bought, but influenced with SEO program. Google does not have a trusted feed or paid inclusion program.

Paid Results: AdWords closed-bid CPC placements. Ranked by CTR x CPC. Top three listings distributed to partners. Top three and more distributed to Google’s Content-Targeted Ad network.

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Example of a Content Ad Network Placement

Content Network: Page content mapped to your keywords. Highly efficient buy, but lower in quality.

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The Golden Triangle of Search Usability» The results of an eye

tracking study on Google.

» The focus is on the upper left with a glance over to the top of the right hand side placements.

» Underlines the volume importance of the top placements.

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The Importance of Position

Rank% of Rank's Natural CTR

Relative to Rank 1CTR Multiple Relative

to Rank 8

Incremental Improvement For Each

Rank1 100% 12.2 50.1%2 67% 8.1 18.2%3 56% 6.9 229.0%4 17% 2.1 37.0%5 13% 1.5 23.7%6 10% 1.2 18.0%7 9% 1.0 4.2%8 8% 1.0 n/a

The higher the position, the higher the click through rateThe higher the position, the lower the conversion (in general)Critical to understand position vs cost vs conversion trade off

Source is Yahoo! site wide data.

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How Crawlers Work

WebPage

WebPage

WebPage

WebPage

WebPage

WebPage

Link Link Link Link Link

Search Bots follow links and return information to index Googlebot, MSNbot, Muscat Ferret (www.robotstxt.org lists 298 bots)

News(hourly)

Fresh(recent)

Local Content(standard update)

Foundation Database(standard update)

Index

Web Page Content

Crawl Site andSitemap.xml

Business RulesAlgorithm

Ancillary Data Sources

Cached PagesIn Database

Update &RefreshSchedule

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How Do They Get Data? – Spiders…Search Spiders follow links and return data to search engine for

processing with algorithms. They can:» Read meta tags, title tags and HTML content.» Read URL’s (some read past a ? variable, some don’t).» Read some dynamic content.» Follow links through-out the site if built into page.» Are looking for STRONG uses of keywords.

» H1 tags, title tags and HTML content are more important.» Bold and italic words.

» Are looking for CONTEXT» Block of related text, pages with single themes, etc.

Spiders can only return what they can read and find. Our job is to help them find the right information in the right format

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Why Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

» 60 – 80% of clicks on a search engine results page emanate from the organic search area.» Google: 80% of clicks from organic» Yahoo: 70% of clicks from organic» MSN: 60% of clicks from organic

» Organic clicks may or may not be more qualified.» The clicks are free of media costs (although there are

internal & management costs).» It is an important part of your entire SEM program.

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Search Engine Optimization Truths

» Your #1 job is to make finding, crawling and indexing your site as easy as possible for bots

» High rankings are built on relevant content & links» Remember the #1 goal of search engines

» Following white hat strategies is best» Engines getting smarter about search spam» Do you have time to fight the search engines?

» The simpler a site the easier to get ranked» Balance CMS/Rich Media vs Search Objectives

» SEO is NOT fast and never ends» Set aside budget for SEO as you would PPC

» SEO will effect your marketing, IT, Web site and copy writing groups.

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SEO Programs Contain Five Elements

» Keyword Selection» Volume vs. Relevancy vs. Competitiveness

» Site Content» Align Words, Files, Tags, etc. with Keywords

» Submission, Indexing, Site Structure» Get More Pages into the Engines» Sitemap.xml’s are critical for large sites» Leverage on-site link structure

» Linking» Inbound, On-site and Outbound Links are All Important

» Reporting» Consistent, Timely Reporting to Manage Progress

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Twitter – The Latest in Search

» Looks like a search engine to me» Hashtags and @ symbols drive direct relevance» Popular topics drive HUGE traffic» Find people who are talking about topics you are interested in» Now Twitter feeds in Google and Bing (just announced)

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Social Media and Search» Social media has dramatically increased the amount of indexable

content available – everyone is a publisher» Social has also increased the SPEED at which content is created» Blogs, comments and articles are much easier to publish and now

have revenue attached to them via Google Adsense, etc.» Social media networks has raised the bar on cross linking, product

communication and personal profile publishing.» The concept of a homepage is changing

» Not just on your site, but Facebook, LinkedIN, Twitter» Being involved in a conversation and pointing (via links) too an

authoritative piece of content adds to the link building tool set

» Social is boosting the distinction between organic & paid campaigns

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Twitter Feeds in Google

Twitters feeds in Google search results page

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The Major Modes of Use for Twitter

» Listen and respond to conversations» Listen to what is being said about your products and brand» Respond to accolades and criticism» If something positive or negative is said > how do you engage

the conversation?» Syndicate and engage your audience

» Use Twitter to promote your content, webinars & releases» Create and manage Twitter campaigns

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Listen and Respond to Conversations

» The reactive mode of social media requires on-going monitoring and engagement» There are LOTS of tools for monitoring different conversation streams

BlogPosts

BlogComments

Tweets

ForumPosts

ForumComments

Re-tweets

Conversations Listening Tools Response Systems

NewsPosts

RSSFeeds

Your website- blog posts- customer service- press releases- email/newsletters

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Syndicate and Engage Your Audience via Twitter

» Utilizing social media and Twitter to extend the reach of your content is ideal» Tracking the results through campaign variables on your link back to your site,

increased number of visitors and increased number of followers

Create Content Create Campaigns Syndicate Track Results

Your Content• articles• blog posts• conferences• information guides• online courses• podcasts• press releases• speaking events• videos• webinars • white papers• webinars

One off Tweets• Blog post• 3rd party content• Whitepaper

Create a Series of Tweets in a Campaign• Build your tweets for the

week in one sitting• Build all of the tweets

for the campaign at once• Include links to your site

which we shorten for you

• Schedule tweets to go out through your account

ReTweetsFacebookLinkedInYour SiteOther Blogs

In Optify Reports• Increased visitors• # of leads• # of sign-ups• Source = Twitter• Detail =

Campaign

In Twitter• Increase

followers• # of ReTweets

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Paid Media Cost Methods» Online Media Can be Purchased Using Various

Cost Methods, Each with Pros & Cons.» Time: Great for guaranteed SOV and placement, but

inventory is determined by visitor traffic. Effective method for page takeovers to build awareness and to block out competitors.

» CPM: Strong guarantee of impressions, share of voice, and targeted placements, but greater risk (of ROI) falls on the advertiser.

» CPC: Provides targeted placement at less risk than CPM, but impressions are not guaranteed and risk of forced and/or incentive clicks.

» CPA or Revenue Share: The least amount of risk for advertiser and paid only when an user-action is performed, but no guarantee of impressions, placement, nor acceptance by publishers.Les

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Paid Search Overview

» The most effective, timely and trackable way to start spending marketing dollars.

» Market is in transition from a Google + Yahoo + Bing + others to just Google + Bing

» Google is king – they have the largest volume, highest quality audience, best testing tools & easiest user interface.» Bing is gaining with marketing, innovation and business

development» Google content network is MUCH bigger and more

refined than Bing

Testing is what will make or break your program!

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How Paid Search Programs Work

Google,BingEtc.

www.Google.com(Search)

Syndicated EnginesAOL.com

(Syndicated Search)

AdSense Sites(Content Ads)

• All of these programs are ad serving systems.• Search is just one outlet of impressions for the system.• Everything is centered around a pay per click model vs a CPM or CPA• Even CPM programs in Google are judged on an effective CPC basis

CPM Sites(Sub Set of AdSense)

Advertiser

Advertiser

Advertiser

Advertiser

Advertiser

Advertiser

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Paid Search Testing is Critical

» The success of your program depends on testing and your ability to expand/improve

» Look for incremental improvement over a long term.» Include seasonality, week parts & day parts

» Your web analytics/tracking protocol is critical» What level of granularity can you support/afford?» Do you automate bid management?

» Balance between click volume and statistical significance.» Does it make sense to optimize terms that get 4 clicks per

month?

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Paid Search - Areas to Optimize» Inventory (# of impressions accessible)» Campaign Structure & Categories» Budget» Keywords» Match types (broad, phrase, exact)» Negative Keywords» Publishers/Engines» Copy» Placement: Search vs. Content» Bid Strategy/Ad Rank» Conversion Process» Landing Pages» Balance with Life Time Value

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Paid Search Metrics, Levers and ActionsMetrics Levers ActionsImpressions Total Budget

# of Keywords# of EnginesBid PositionSearch v ContentMatch TypeCampaign Set-Up

A campaign daily or monthly cap will limit the # of impressions.Add keywords via expansion.Include misspellings & similes.Add content traffic to search program.Bid positions 1-4 get the most circulation through syndication.

Click Through Rate Bid PositionRelevancy of CopyCompelling CopySearch v ContentMatch Type

The higher bid positions get more click-throughs.Putting keywords into the copy increased click-through.Free now and offers tend to increase click-through rates.Content ads have much lower click-through rate than search ads.

Cost per Click Publisher/EngineBid PositionMax Cost per ClickCompetitionMatch Type

Different engines have different ranges of prices.The higher the bid position you go for, the higher the CPC.By setting a higher max CPC, your cost will rise to meet position.The more competition for a term, the more expensive.

ConversionRate

Relevance of CopyLanding PageOfferFunnel Efficiency

The closer the copy matches the product offer/the higher the conversion.Create a very clear, singular action landing page that matches keyword.What is a compelling offer? Make it so and match the copy.What speed bumps exist between the ad the thank you page.

Average Order Size

Product Pricing Cross/Up SellDiscounts

Focus more dollars on the categories that drive highest average order size.Manage to a higher LTV for keywords and categories by acquiring at a higher CPS.

Life Time Value Acquisition SourceRe-marketing SequenceProduct Suite/Releases

Improvements in conversion process and post acquisition communication will allow for a higher allowable acquisition rate which can open up the acquisition funnel.

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Customer Segmentation & Search

Two Major Ways to Segment with Search» By Keyword

» Each keyword someone enters is a behavioral indicator.» A correlation exists between the stage of the research or

purchase process and the type of keywords entered.» MP3 Player vs ipod 4GB nano black» Music vs Free Rhapsody Trial

» By Demographic Data» New tools that link account information with keyword

searches are available.» Research keywords to get demographic profile (very helpful

for wider campaigns)» Target broader keywords to a narrower demographic (helpful

for expanding keyword campaigns)

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New Issues with Search Engines» Competition

» Bing running Yahoo search – impact?» Google updating UI to add in Bing “esque” features» Google Instant – rapid update of results interface while you type

» Real Time Search» Google’s “caffeine” is trying to index content faster» Adding Real Time tweets to Google Index

» Universal Search» Combining multiple media types into same Search Engine Results Page.» Text, Video, Audio, Images, etc.

» Personalized Search» Change results page based on previous search behavior and website visitation patterns» Off-shoot of behavioral targeting

» Latent Semantic Indexing» Already in use to improve results» Context of keywords as well as words around the word.

» Mobile Search» iPhone, Blackberry, Google Android Platform» Is it form or function?

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Landing Page Best Practices» Relevancy

» The copy, colors, look & feel should all be in-line with the message of the media.

» Any disconnects between what the marketing message said and what the landing page says causes friction in the process.

» Simplicity» The fewer words, the fewer images, the fewer links, etc. – the

better the page will convert.» Narrow Focus

» Lose any extraneous links, unfocused navigation.

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Testing Methodologies & Tools» No Testing is Death» Start with A/B/C testing > but be disciplined in variable

control (only one at a time!)» Move to multi-variant when you have the dollars and traffic

to support it.» Ability to test millions of combinations of variables via tree’d

approach (aka smart test design)» Taguchi method is de-rigueur, but new, more modern

methods are now commercially available.» Small incremental changes are the rule, not the exception.

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What to Test on a Landing Page» Headlines and Headings» Offer» Layout» # and Type of Testimonials» Bonus Gifts» Coupons» P.S. Messages» Guarantees» Opening Sentence Image» Closing Sentence Image» Colors» Location of Images» Hyperlinks

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That’s a Wrap!

» Visit www.optify.net for more articles, information & blogs (in the process of being updated)

» Also visit www.optify.net for jobs » E-mail me with comments, additional questions,

clarifications – scott@optify.net» Join the LinkedIn University of Washington MBA Alumni

Group – go beyond your class!» Thank You!

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Is Google the New Microsoft?

Microsoft Google

Operating System Windows The Internet, Linux, Open Source

Primary Interface Windows Browsers (esp Chrome)

Business Productivity Microsoft Office Google Docs

App Interaction Microsoft Office Google Gears

Email Outlook, Exchange Gmail

Messaging Microsoft Messenger Gtalk, Wave (very cool)

Search MSN > Live > Bing Google

Mobile Windows Mobile AndroidYou can now functionally live without every installing a Microsoft product

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Share of Searches by Engine

Is the bloom coming off of Bing?Why does Google keep winning? What will it take to change this trend?

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Interrelationships Between Engines

• Main Search Results, Secondary Search Results, Directory Results & PPC are all shared/powered by various partners

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A Yahoo Example SEM of ProgramsPaid Results: Auction style results from YSM! (Overture)

Main Results: Natural search listings which cannot be bought, but influenced with SEO program. Google does not have a trusted feed or paid inclusion program.

Paid Results: Trusted feed results. Flat category CPC pricing.

In-House Inventory: Yahoo! owns the page, they can do what they want.

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How do the PPC Programs Differ?» The primary web sites are different

» Google & Ask > strictly a search engine» MSN & Yahoo > portals with search» Twitter > spaz messaging!

» The syndicated networks are different» Google feeds AOL, Amazon.com & lots more» Yahoo! Search Marketing feeds Yahoo!» MSN Search feeds MSN.com and Live!

» The content networks are different» Different sites» Different ways to identify the way to place the ad on a site» Different ways to optimize ads

» The rules for placement are different» Underlying algorithms are slightly different» Match types, minimum bids, normalization, targeting

» The concept of relevancy is different» Google > extended relevancy past click through rate to landing page consistency and

post landing pages > crawling deeper into sites.» Google > higher priority on “clean” ads that don’t duplicate each other

Yahoo, Bing and ASK are fast following Google (but Google is still faster)

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Appendix - Fun SEO Tools» http://www.optify.net/

» Blog posts, guides, SEO and Lead Intelligence software» http://www.optify.net/labs/link-building-advisor/

» http://www.SEOmoz.org» Local company with great tool set

» http://www.seodigger.com» See a list of keywords and what rank for a specific URL

» http://www.seotoolset.com/tools/free_tools.html» Various free tools for linking, keyword inventory & more

» http://www.seocompany.ca/tool/seo-tools.html» 142 SEO tools for all things

» http://www.marketleap.com» Easy to use SEO tools that includes competitive comparisons.

» http://www.searchengineworld.com/cgi-bin/sim_spider.cgi» Search engine spider simulator

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Appendix – SEM ResourcesSEO Technical Resources» www.robotstxt.org/wc/active/html/i

ndex.html (list of bots)

» www.webmonkey.com (developer site with good tips for SEO)

SEO Strategic Resources» www.searchenginewatch.com» www.branddigital.net» www.bruceclay.com/» www.clickz.com

SEO Free Tools» www.marketleap.com» www.seotoolkit.com

RSS Feed Resources www.marketingprofs.com www.feedster.com (find feeds) www.netgator.com www.firefox.com

Local Search Resources www.geolocal.com/

Paid Search Resources

http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/

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Appendix - DirectoriesSearch Directories» Dmoz.org» Dir.yahoo.com» www.joeant.com» www.skaffe.com» www.bluefind.com» www.zeal.com» www.goguides.org» www.gimpsy.com» www.wowdirectory.com» www.sevenseek.com» www.thisisouryear.com» Search.looksmart.com» www.microsoft.com/

smallbusiness/hub.mspx

Articles Directories www.Ezinearticles.com www.goarticles.com www.netterweb.com www.articlefinders.com www.articlecity.com www.ideamarketers.com www.buzzle.com thewhir.com/find/articlecentral/ www.certificate.net www.amazines.com

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Appendix - ResourcesDesign Resources» www.pixelmill.com» www.templatezone.com» www.templatekit.com

Web Analytics Resources» www.clicktracks.com» www.urchin.com» www.nettracker.com

Optimization Resources» www.websiteanalyzer.com» www.websiteoptimization.com

Testing ResourcesASP Hosted Applications www.Optimost.com www.Offermatica.com www.NetConversions.com www.sitespect.com www.Vertster.com

Split Testing Calculators www.splittester.com http://calc.in-the-name-of-profit.com/864

29/ab_test.jsp http://www.vertster.com/adwords-tool/

Split Testing Software http://www.onlinemarketingtoday.com/sof

tware/split-testing/ http://www.splittestgenerator.com/

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Appendix – More Resources

Pop-up Generator» www.dynamic-popup-generator.com/Opt-In List Builders» www.advertisingknowhow.com/Optin_List_builder.htm» www.coregcomplete.com/index.php (co-reg software)» www.opt-intelligence.com (co-reg network)Marketing Information and Content Sites» www.marketingexperiments.com» www.clickz.com» www.marketingsherpa.com» www.marketingprofs.comExamples of Viral Marketing Campaigns» http://showdown.contagiousmedia.org/