© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Technical SEO Metrics – Keeping S.C.O.R.E.
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 2
Dave Lloyd Senior Manager, Global Search [email protected]
Global team delivering Organic & Site Search strategies for all Adobe products Team charter
• Deliver industry best practices • Drive KPI-focused results • Align with Marketing Cloud product teams
[email protected] @davelloyd1 linkedin.com/in/davelloyd
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Moneyball
“When the numbers acquire the significance of language, they acquire the power to do all the things which language can do…and it is victory and defeat which is all that the sub-conscious really understands.”
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
How to hit less foul balls – and more technical HRs
5
Your Domain
Once you’ve hit a foul ball, it’s too late. You’ve got to be able to correct your swing early.
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
What’s the S.C.O.R.E. ???
1. Standardize on Metrics 2. Commit to tools & tracking 3. Organizational alignment 4. Reports & Dashboards 5. Execute Consistently
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Standardize on Metrics
Business Question? 1. Executives & BU 2. Web Strategy 3. Analytics
Technical Question? 1. SEO Team 2. Web Production 3. IT
1
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Inherent challenge of being data-driven
You can’t manage what you can’t measure
8
All that’s measureable should not be managed
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Questions you must answer Why
Ruthless prioritization
Offensive vs. defensive metrics
Who
Will gather
Will analyze
Will you share with
What
Is the risk
Metrics are possible
Metrics matter most
Can you do to impact change
Where
Might you be out of compliance
To find metrics
To store – email, dashboard
When
How often will you count them
How often will you distribute
How
Will you distribute
Will you share
Will you act on 9
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
What’s considered acceptable
Webmaster Guidelines
http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35769
Algorithm Changes – 200 in 2H 2012
http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/10/search-quality-highlights-65-changes.html
How Search Works
http://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/algorithms.html
10
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Commit to using tools & tracking metrics
• Use the right tools • Track the right metrics for you
2
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Tools Adobe uses
Adobe Analytics (Site Catalyst, Discover)
Adobe Media Optimizer Adobe Social Google Webmaster Tools Bing Webmaster Tools BrightEdge Google Insights & Trends Advanced Web Ranking SEOMoz Xenu LinkSleuth Screaming Frog Web Position + 5 others
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
In data analysis, 90% of the analysis takes 90% of the time. The last 10% takes the other 90% of the time.
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Principles of data analysis
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Automate data
Don’t go for home runs every time
data as needed Drill in to
Watch for red flags Focus on key KPIs
gathering if possible
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Organizational alignment
• SEO Maturity Model • Align team focus to algorithm • Center of Excellence
3
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
SEO Maturity Model
http://www.searchenginuity.com/seo-maturity-model/
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Optimize team focus to SEO signals
SEO Algorithm Team Priorities & Workload
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How to get traction with teams – who & what
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Execs
User Interface
Web Strategy
IT
Web Production
Analytics
Global Teams (Loc)
Store Teams
BU & Content Owners
Social
Paid Search
& Media
Product Mktg
SEO Team
IT Crawl rate, crawl errors, 404 trends, redirect
chains, log file analysis, malware alerts
Web Production Minimize redirects, Crawl Errors, Page Load
Speed, Internal Link trends, Robots.txt errors, not followed or unreachable, 302 redirects, browser caching, using CSS sprites, defer parsing of Javascript
Web Strategy, Editorial Rank, HTML Suggestions, Bounce Rate, Search
Queries, Formulaic Metrics (AOV, Order Rate)
Global Country Web Ranking of key terms, Localization
benefit, Country growth trends, Impact of Geo strategies, Canonical issues
Analytics Segment governance, Agree on KPIs, SEO as part
of all revenue drivers
Social Correlation of Social activity with SEO KPIs
COE model - Weekly, Monthly, or Quarterly
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Getting traction in your organization
WIIFM – What’s in it for them
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care – about their interests
Experiment with how (email vs. dashboard vs. meeting) you share insights with your org
Unless an emergency, your metrics & analysis may not initially be used
Ask - Get feedback from stakeholders on what metrics matter most to them
Be transparent and make analytics a part of most discussions
Share wins – give credit where due
19
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Reports & Dashboards
• Reporting Process • Success Metrics • Tools
4
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
One-slide Executive Summary
Keep it simple Report on current
trends Provide context
for data changes
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Monthly Webmaster Tools dashboard
• 36 key metrics • Pulled manually • Monthly export • Stakeholder
distribution & meetings • IT • Web
Production • Global • Social
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23
Pages not Found (404) Reporting
• Track number of 404 PageViews and URLs Google couldn’t crawl on the site • Provide context and provide recommendations to Dev/IT (i.e. setup 301 redirects) • 404 PageViews data from Adobe Analytics (SiteCatalyst) • Google 404 URLs from Google WT
dummy data
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Your critical metrics and how do you measure them?
2 minutes
End
Talk to someone 1 minute each
1. Top technical metrics? 2. What tool do you use to measure or monitor?
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Common Mistakes of Analysis
Correlation vs. Causation
Data Bias
Making decisions based on a small sample size
Analyzing too much data (analysis paralysis)
Working with biased data (i.e. seasonal trends)
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Execute consistently
Identify patterns & anomalies
Operations plan
5
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Big data isn’t about having more data. It’s about getting to the data that matters, identifying patterns & anomalies, and then executing.
27
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Agile Scrum methodology
Benefits • Adaptable • Collaborative • Accountable • Organized • Measureable
http://searchengineland.com/have-you-adopted-agile-marketing-yet-2-127247 http://www.slideshare.net/jcolman/agile-marketing-4-principles-and-13-hacks-seomoz-mozcon-2012
Scrum methodology - Prioritized team projects (200+) - Twice weekly “stand up” meetings 1. what you did? 2. what you’re doing? 3. challenges?
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
What’s in the Appendix
6 charts of technical SEO metrics (all dummy data)
Key browser plug-ins for tracking technical impact
RFP Checklist for evaluating SEO Dashboards
100+ Industrial Strength Digital Marketing Tools
Social metrics – what to track and who to send to
29
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
What’s the S.C.O.R.E. ???
1. Standardize on Metrics 2. Commit to tools & tracking 3. Organizational alignment 4. Reports & Dashboards 5. Execute Consistently
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
32
Site SEO Global Visits Reporting
• Provide month/month and year/year change for the latest month • Present total results for the whole year and project current year SEO Visits • Indicate data source, i.e. Adobe SiteCatalyst or Discover
dummy data
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
33
Site SEO Global Revenue Reporting
• Provide month/month and year/year change for the latest month • Present total results for the whole year and project current year SEO Revenue • Indicate data source, i.e. Adobe SiteCatalyst or Discover
dummy data
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
34
Project Dashboard: Tracking KPIs
Decrease in cross-links may reflect setup of GEO targeting tool (directories assigned to regional sites) Project reporting: provide stakeholders with monthly report on KPIs like Visits, Revenue, Members, Trial Downloads and Orders
dummy data
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
35
Project Dashboard: Tracking KPIs
Decrease in cross-links may reflect setup of GEO targeting tool (directories assigned to regional sites) Provide stakeholders with monthly report on each of the KPI,s i.e. SEO Visits
dummy data
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
36
Target Keywords Visibility vs Competition
• Provide month/month and year/year change for the latest month for your website and competitors • Provide context of the trends, for example, change in algorithm, provide recs • Identify source of data (i.e. WebPosition) and visibility score methodology
dummy data
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
37
Site Crawl: Cross-links/Backlinks
Decrease in cross-links may reflect setup of GEO targeting tool (directories assigned to regional sites) • Report on Backlinking and Cross-linking trends • Provide actionable recommendations • Indicate source of data (i.e. Google Webmaster Tools)
dummy data
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Browser Plug-ins
WooRank (Chrome) iSEO (Chrome) SEO Site Tools (Chrome) Web Developer (Firefox)
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
WooRank
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
GTMetrix
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
WebPageTest.org
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Enterprise SEO Dashboards
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Questions for a major tool purchase
Will it: 1. Free up time for Strategy? 2. Improve executive visibility? 3. Scale across teams, geos, products?
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
RFP Checklist for evaluating SEO Dashboards
Must-have Features Customizable for our criteria Executive roll-up Stakeholder views Data aggregration Analytics integration Robust Reporting Link Management Keyword Discovery Trend monitoring Monitoring & Alerts Competitor Analysis Training Case Studies
Variable Features
QA & broken link evaluation
Highlight KPIs
Paid integration
Actionable Recommendations
Task management
Long tail recommendations
Predictive Analytics
ROI Measurement
Country & language support
Social signals
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
100+ Industrial Strength Digital Marketing Tools
SEO http://searchengineland.com/enterprise-seo-tools-part-1-the-browser-41994
http://searchengineland.com/enterprise-seo-tools-part-2-the-cloud-46133
http://www.directionseo.com/seo-tools/ultimate-seo-tools-list/
http://dailywebtip.com/seo/top-enterprise-seo-tools-for-businesses/
http://www.seosoftware.net/category/enterprise-seo-software/
http://www.seosoftware.net/best-seo-software/
Keyword Research, Paid, Social, MVT
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2140051/Tools-to-Monitor-Online-Reputation-Across-Different-Languages
http://www.websitetestingtools.com/category/ppctools/
http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2011/12/05/master-list-of-multivariate-testing-tools.aspx
http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/pages/popular-keyword-research-tools-for-2012.aspx
http://sproutsocial.com/insights/2011/10/twitter-tools-enterprise/
http://software.topseos.com/
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
SEO Metrics articles
http://dynamical.biz/blog/web-analytics/measuring-seo-performance-37.html
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2049476/Measuring-SEO-Results
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1014-Measuring-SEO-Performance
http://yoast.com/measuring-seo-rankings/
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/506-SEO-Metrics-That-Matter
46
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Social KPIs - Measurement Approach
47
Executives
Budget Stakeholders
Social Practitioners
Provide the right metrics to the respective audience.
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Social KPI Framework Business Objective
KPI 1 KPI 2 KPI 3 KPI 4 KPI 5
Awareness Volume of conversation / sentiment
Share of voice Sentiment Engagement* Community Growth %
Engagement Re-tweets Repeat comments
@messages hashtags Repost shares
Lead Gen RFI submission Sales call led through social
Demand / Conversion (adobe.com)
Direct attribution revenue and trial (samcap and bitly): button/link/tweet/post
Referring URL (volume of traffic to adobe.com from channel/page)
web analytics tracking: Impressions, Conversions, trials (engaged vs. not engaged with designated social media)
Social analytics: Measure the correlations between awareness, sentiment, volume of conversation and revenue and trial.
Support Cost savings (decrease call volume, y, z)
CSAT (adobe.com)
Sentiment Volume conversations
Loyalty (individual)
Retweets Repeat comments
@messages hashtags Repost shares
Advocacy # advocates #conversion from neg, to positive
Influence score of the advocate
Impact (variance on KPIs compared to non-advocates)
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
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