SEO is dead, long live SEO

SEO is dead, long live SEO

Marc Uhlig

Agenda

Introduction Definitions What works in SEM Factors in SEO

In detail: Code, keywords, link building Social Media Landing pages Analytics and metrics Branding Search engine users Suggested readings

04/21/23 SEO is dead, long live SEO - Marc Uhlig 2

Definitions

A/B split Acquisition cost Backlinks (inbound links) Bait-and-switch (agent name delivery, IP

delivery, or cloaking) Clickthrough rate (CTR) Consumer generated media: (user

generated content) Conversion rate Conversion Cost per lead (CPL)


Definitions

Cost per thousand (CPM) CPA (cost per action, or cost per

acquisition) CPC (cost per click) Keyword density Scraping Search engine optimization (SEO) Searchjacking Usability


SEO is all about communication

Usability is key, search engines are not

Need for a more holistic approach

04/21/23 5SEO is dead, long live SEO - Marc Uhlig

SEM opportunities


High importance factors in SEO


SEO: Positive keyword factors

Title tag Body tag Keyword density H1 tag Domain name Page URL H2, H3... tags Alt and image Title tags Bold/Strong tags Meta Description/Keyword tag


SEO: Positive page/site attributes

Global link popularity Quality/relevancy of inbound links Rate of new inbound links Internal link popularity Quality/relevancy of outgoing links Quality of content Organization/hierarchy of navigation Age of page/domain Frequency of updates


SEO: Positive page/site attributes

Amount of indexible content Spelling and grammar HTML validation Historical performance Relevancy to query Number of queries TLD extension Google PageRank of page


SEO: Positive inbound link attributes

Anchor text Surrounding text Global link popularity of linking site Internal link popularity of linking site Topical relevancy of linking site TLD extension of linking site Google PageRank of linking page


SEO: Negative factors

Server is down/very slow Duplicate content Low quality outbound links Duplicate Title/Meta tags Keyword stuffing Participation in link schemes


Code example: Separate main/sub navigation


Code example: Separate main/sub navigation


Code example: Integrated main/sub navigation


Code example: Integrated main/sub navigation


Keyword research tactics


Keyword research tools

Google Wordtracker Trellian keyword discovery


Greater specificity means more words


Word count in search phrases


Words per query on standard keypad vs. BlackBerry phones


Keyword research: Clustering


Example: Keyword cluster


Keyword clusters

Content Anchor text of site navigation URL architecture


Basics of link building


Link building using media outlets

Industry specific/trade magazines Check Yahoo directory or DMOZ

Classifieds Direct visitors to resource area on your

site Specialty directories

Submit your site


Link building using media outlets

Discussion forums Identify top contributors and establish

relationship Electronic newsletters

Are usually archived


Link building using press releases

Paid Prnewswire.com Marketwire.com Richcontent.com


Link building using press releases

Free Prurgent.com Live-pr.com Pr-inside.com Pressbox.co.uk Clickpress.com Ukprwire.com Usprwire.com


Link building: One last tip

Find pages or sites which used to offer a service and no longer do


Social media

Link baiting: Cloaking? Digg.com Reddit.com Stumbleupon.com…

Communication Twitter.com Facebook.com…


Social media

Invest in exceptional product Listen to the buzz Be transparent Be more accessible


Impact of landing page elements


What analytics programs get used most?


Avinash Kaushik, Google

Spend 10% of your budget on your tool implementation cost, 90% on

analysis, interpretation and acting on the results


Be careful: Don’t over-analyze


Search marketers rank most under-used metrics


SEM campaign tests ROI


ROI of SEM: 2007 vs. 2008


Indexed ROI of big 3 search engines


Clickthrough rates 2005-2008


Clickthrough rates


Natural search conversion rates vs. paid


Conversion rates by conversion type


Brand most important consideration among clickers


Combined brand effect of search and display


Searchers focus on page 1 of the SERP


Clicks vs. page rank


Business decision makers’ engine of choice


Composition by age of top 5 search engines by searches


Household income profile of top 5 search engines


European searches


Search property comparison: Germany


Search marketer salary boom slowing


MarketingSherpa's Search Marketing Benchmark Guide


MarketingSherpa's Landing Page Handbook

04/21/23 SEO is dead, long live SEO - Marc Uhlig

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition by

Steve Krug


E-Commerce User Experience High-Level Strategy by NN/g


Net Words: Creating High-Impact Online Copy by Nick Usborne


Thank you very much

Marc [email protected]/marcuhlig

Documents

SEO is dead, long live SEO