How to Build SEO into Content Strategy

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HOW TO BUILD

INTO CONTENT

STRATEGY

SEO


JONATHON COLMAN PRINCIPAL EXPERIENCE ARCHITECT FOR REI

WWW . REI . COM

TWITTER @ JCOLMAN


CAN HUMANS

LIVE WITH…


ROBOTS?!


Logo copyright © REI - http://www.REI.com/


CORE VALUES MATTER.


AT REI WE INSPIRE,

EDUCATE, AND OUTFIT

FOR A LIFETIME OF

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

AND STEWARDSHIP.


AT REI WE INSPIRE,

EDUCATE, AND OUTFIT

FOR A LIFETIME OF

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

AND STEWARDSHIP.


AT REI WE INSPIRE,

EDUCATE, AND OUTFIT

FOR A LIFETIME OF

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

AND STEWARDSHIP.

HEY, THAT’S CONTENT STRATEGY… RIGHT IN OUR MISSION!


AT REI WE VALUE

AUTHENTICITY,

TRANSPARENCY, AND

FRIENDLY EXPERTISE.


SO I HAVE A LITTLE

CONFESSION TO

MAKE TODAY…

I DON’T KNOW

ABOUT CONTENT

STRATEGY.

ANYTHING

DON’T TWEET THAT!

MY BOSS MIGHT FIND OUT.

OK, OK… I MIGHT BE

A LITTLE BIT.

EXAGGERATING

AFTER ALL,

I DID READ

THIS BOOK.

MY BACKGROUND AND

EXPERIENCE IS IN

SEO Image copyright © Blyzz - http://www.flickr.com/photos/blyzz/5329087821

Image copyright © Blyzz - http://www.flickr.com/photos/blyzz/5329087821

YEAH. I’M ONE OF

THESE GUYS.

Image copyright © Blyzz - http://www.flickr.com/photos/blyzz/5329087821

YEAH. I’M ONE OF

THESE GUYS.

A NERD.

BOTTOM LINE:

BAD SEO IS A

DISASTER.

GOOD SEO IS

VERY HELPFUL.

SO LET’S BUILD A BRIDGE:

BETWEEN CONTENT STRATEGY OVER HERE

Image copyright © Francisco Diez - http://www.flickr.com/photos/22240293@N05/3849106201

…AND SEO OVER HERE

WHY? SEOs NEED YOUR HELP.

SO DO THEIR CUSTOMERS.

SO DO THE SEARCH ENGINES.

WHY? YOU NEED HELP FROM SEOs, TOO

*

* YOU JUST DON’T KNOW IT YET!

CORE VALUES MATTER.

SO WE’LL START BY

EXPOSING A FEW OLD

MYTHS Image copyright © jaredflo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaredflo/219190131

Image copyright © David July - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mountsutro/4667697699

MYTH #1:

YOU CAN SHORT-CUT YOUR WAY TO SEO

REALITY: SUSTAINABLE SEO

REQUIRES LONG-

TERM INVESTMENT.

REALITY: SUSTAINABLE SEO

REQUIRES LONG-

TERM INVESTMENT.

IN LATE 2007, WE BEGAN INVESTING IN SEO. WE’LL FIND OUT THE RESULTS IN ABOUT 19 SLIDES FROM NOW…

Image copyright © alsis35 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/alsis35/7325200906

MYTH #2:

YOU HAVE TO SPAM TO RANK

REALITY: ENGAGING CONTENT

IS MORE IMPORTANT

FOR SEO THAN EVER

BEFORE.

Image copyright © unknown - http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/181jyg51mqy12jpg/original.jpg

SPAM CAN’T

DO THIS

Image copyright © Radian6 - http://www.radian6.com/blog/2012/10/how-red-bull-stratos-successfully-soared-across-social-media/

RANK MUST

BE EARNED.

RANK MUST

BE EARNED.

SPAM CAN’T GET THESE RANKINGS FOR A BRAND NAME SEARCH

AS WELL AS

CLICK-THROUGH.

AS WELL AS

CLICK-THROUGH.

“RICH SNIPPETS” INCREASE USER CLICK-THROUGH BY UP TO 30%

NOT TO MENTION

CONVERSION.

NOT TO MENTION

CONVERSION.

HERE’S THE STRUCTURED CONTENT DRIVING OUR “RICH SNIPPETS”

NOT TO MENTION

CONVERSION.

HERE’S THE STRUCTURED CONTENT DRIVING OUR “RICH SNIPPETS”

ORIGNAL, BRAND-DRIVEN PRODUCT INFORMATION WRITTEN BY OUR TEAM OF IN-HOUSE EXPERTS

MYTH #3:

SEO TAKES AWAY FROM MY OTHER EFFORTS

Image copyright © dfb - http://www.flickr.com/photos/geodanny/7031816979

REALITY: THESE ALL WORK

BETTER TOGETHER

THAN THEY EVER

COULD APART.

Image copyright © Rand Fishkin/SEOmoz - http://www.seomoz.org/blog/inbound-marketing-is-taking-off

YOU CAN EVEN USE

SEO METRICS TO

CREATE BUSINESS

CASES TO SUPPORT

YOUR OTHER WORK.

Image copyright © Rand Fishkin/SEOmoz - http://www.seomoz.org/blog/inbound-marketing-is-taking-off

$$$

FOR EXAMPLE, WE

USED SEO TO

SUPPORT WEB

PERFORMANCE

ENHANCEMENTS

MYTH #4:

SEO IS FOR ROBOTS, NOT PEOPLE

Image copyright © whirledkid - http://www.flickr.com/photos/whirledkid/3263379234

REALITY: ROBOTS DON’T HAVE

CREDIT CARDS. SO

THEY’RE NOT OUR

AUDIENCE.

Image copyright © 401(K) 2012 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6280507539

BUT HUMANS

DESIGN ROBOTS…

Image copyright © unknown - http://i.stack.imgur.com/pcXBR.jpg

BUT HUMANS

DESIGN ROBOTS…

THERE’S PART OF

US INSIDE THEM.

Image copyright © unknown - http://i.stack.imgur.com/pcXBR.jpg

ROBOTS ACT AS

OUR PERSONAL

WAYFINDING

AGENTS.

Image copyright © Jonathon Colman

WE USE THEM TO

FIND THE THINGS

THAT WE NEED

Image copyright © Jonathon Colman

DESIGN FOR REAL

PEOPLE, ACCOUNT

FOR THE ROBOTS


MYTH #5:

SEO IS JUST ABOUT TEXT

Image copyright © dwyman - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwyman/92490928

REALITY: THE GOOGLE

KEYWORD TOOL IS

NOT AN EDITORIAL

DICTATOR.

KEYWORD VOLUME

IS NO SUBSTITUTE

FOR EDITORIAL

GOVERNANCE.

WRITE AND DESIGN

FROM YOUR

AUDIENCE’S NEEDS

OUT, NOT FROM THE

KEYWORDS IN.

Image copyright © Note Booker, Esq. - http://www.flickr.com/photos/notebookeresq/4798286779/

KEYWORD RESEARCH CAN’T DO THIS. Video copyright © Dollar Shave Club - http://www.dollarshaveclub.com/

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS VIDEO

http://www.dollarshaveclub.com/


SEARCH ENGINES

REWARD YOU FOR

BUILDING BRANDS,

NOT FOR USING

KEYWORDS

Video copyright © Dollar Shave Club - http://www.dollarshaveclub.com/


MYTH #6:

SEO IS JUST ABOUT LINKS

Image copyright © ravages - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages/2831688538

REALITY: GOOD LINKS ARE

IMPORTANT, BUT

GOOD EXPERIENCES

ARE ESSENTIAL.

NEED TO BUILD

LINKS? START BY

BUILDING OUT

GREAT CONTENT.

MYTH #7:

YOU HAVE TO BUY LINKS

Image copyright © 401(K) 2012 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6355388579

REALITY: THIS IS, FINALLY,

NO LONGER TRUE.

GOOGLE’S PENGUIN

UPDATES PENALIZE

PAID LINKS

Image copyright © unknown - http://www.gifbin.com/981126

…BUT IT DOESN’T

HELP THAT LINK

SELLERS ARE STILL

IN THE INDEX.

Image copyright © howzey - http://www.flickr.com/photos/howzey/2129104204

MYTH #8:

SEO IS DEAD

REALITY: YOU CAN BELIEVE

WHAT YOU LIKE…


WHAT YOU LIKE…

BUT I’LL BELIEVE

THE DATA.


WHAT YOU LIKE…

BUT I’LL BELIEVE

THE DATA. LOOKS LIKE THAT EARLY INVESTMENT PAID OFF!

BELIEVING THE

MYTHS.

STOP

Image copyright © nadi0 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/nadio/385590715

SEO WORKS BEST

WHEN IT’S BUILT

INTO CONTENT

STRATEGY

Image copyright © ludovicp - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ludovicpoitou/4598981013

SEO WORKS BEST

WHEN IT’S BUILT

INTO CONTENT

STRATEGY

YES, SEO IS THE

CAN OPENER.

Image copyright © ludovicp - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ludovicpoitou/4598981013

8 WAYS TO BUILD

SEO INTO YOUR

DAILY CONTENT

STRATEGY WORK

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Image copyright © David Boyle in DC - http://www.flickr.com/photos/beglendc/290713888

STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS

• ASK HOW THEY FIND AND SEARCH THE WEB SITE

• ASK THEM TO KEEP A DAILY SEARCH DIARY

• ASK THEM ABOUT THE KEYWORDS THEY CARE ABOUT, LOOK OVER COMPETITION’S CONTENT

CONTENT AUDIT

• DO NOT INCLUDE RANK; INCLUDE TRAFFIC AND AVG. CONVERSION

• INCLUDE METADATA, NOT JUST <META> CONTENT; DO NOT INCLUDE <META> KEYWORDS

• INCLUDE COMPETITIVE LINK-GRAPH AND SOCIAL-GRAPH DATA

Image copyright © GenBug - http://www.flickr.com/photos/genbug/4309890987

Image copyright © Relly Annett-Baker - http://24ways.org/2011/extracting-the-content

PAGE TABLES

• INCLUDE FINDING/ENTRY METHODS, WHETHER OR NOT THEY INVOLVE SEO

• THEN REVIEW ALL THE POINTS OF ENTRY TO THE PAGE BEING DESCRIBED

• ADD DETAILS ON YOUR CONTENT’S PRIMARY COMPETITORS AND DIFFERENTIATORS

Image copyright © litlnemo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/litlnemo/3296424414

TEMPLATES

• INCLUDE VARIABLES FOR SEARCH AND SOCIAL METADATA (SUCH AS FACEBOOK OPENGRAPH, RDFa, OR SCHEMA.ORG)

• DO NOT REQUIRE <META> KEYWORDS

• ENSURE ALL CONTENT PUBLISHED IS ADDED TO AN XML SITEMAP

Image copyright © sarah0s - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahseverson/6245395188

METADATA

• MOVE BEYOND <META> CONTENT INTO METADATA

• BE FORWARD-THINKING AND PROGRESSIVE; SEARCH ENGINES ARE JUST BEGINNING TO CONSUME AND USE THIS

• BEGIN THINKING ABOUT HOW METADATA WILL BE PERCEIVED WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF CONTEXT

Image copyright © Erin Scime - http://uxmag.com/articles/content-strategy-and-ux-a-modern-love-story

THE CONTENT LIFECYCLE

• INCLUDE SEO WHEN WORKING ON AUDITS, TAXONOMY, METADATA, STANDARDS, AND QA/QC

• MAKE SEO A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY; ONE PERSON CAN’T DO IT ALL

• BUILD SEO ADVOCATES IN OTHER DISCIPLINES

Image copyright © Jonathon Colmant - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcolman/542404001

GOVERNANCE

• DOCUMENT YOUR SEO STANDARDS, BUT DON’T STOP THERE

• INCENTIVIZE STAFF TO SUPPORT STANDARDS, INCENTIVIZE MANAGERS TO EVALUATE THEIR STAFF’S SUPPORT

• MEASURE THE IMPACT BY PAGE TEMPLATE FAMILY, NOT BY KEYWORDS

Image copyright © DonnaGrayson - http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnagrayson/94131371

EDITORIAL CALENDAR

• GIVE SEO LOTS OF LEAD TIME

• INCENTIVIZE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SEO AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN CONTENT CAMPAIGNS

• INCLUDE TOUCHPOINTS FOR MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING

NOW I KNOW

WHAT YOU’RE

THINKING…

Image copyright © @boetter - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakecaptive/3205277810

“ WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?”

CORE VALUES

MATTER. WHAT

ARE YOURS? Image copyright © Oberazzi - http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/318947873

YOUR CONTENT

STRATEGY CAN

DRIVE EVEN MORE

TRAFFIC AND

BUSINESS GROWTH

Image copyright © ndot – http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndot/320119213

YOU CAN IMPROVE

DISCOVERABILITY,

FINDABILITY, AND

USABILITY FOR

YOUR CUSTOMERS

Image copyright © andercismo – http://www.flickr.com/photos/andercismo/2349098787

YOU CAN USE SEO

TO GET MORE

RESOURCES FOR

YOUR WORK

Image copyright © Narisai - http://www.flickr.com/photos/narisa/105039934

YOU CAN BETTER

MEASURE THE

IMPACT OF YOUR

EFFORTS…

Image copyright © janGlas – http://www.flickr.com/photos/kokjebalder/2348461718

…AND USE THAT DATA

TO SHARE YOUR STORY.

Image copyright © Thos003 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/thos003/6026477089

ARE YOU LOOKING

FOR WORK? WANT

TO GET PAID MORE?

Image copyright © krissen – http://www.flickr.com/photos/andercismo/2349098787

ARE YOU LOOKING

FOR WORK? WANT

TO GET PAID MORE?

Image copyright © krissen – http://www.flickr.com/photos/andercismo/2349098787

LEARN SEO.

HERE’S THE BEST

PLACE TO START SEOMOZ.ORG/BEGINNERS-GUIDE- TO-SEO

Image copyright © SEOmoz

http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo












WHAT CAN SEO AND CONTENT

STRATEGY ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER?

LET’S FIND OUT…

WE MADE IMPLICT

EXPERTISE

EXPLICIT AND

FINDABLE

HUNDREDS OF “EXPERT ADVICE” ARTICLES DRIVES HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW PEOPLE TO DISCOVER REI

WE TRANSFORMED

THAT CONTENT

INTO VISUAL,

SHAREABLE DATA

AND OUR CREATIVE AND MERCHANDISING TEAMS WERE ENGAGED BY THIS INFORMATION DESIGN CHALLENGE

WE REACHED NEW

AUDIENCES WITH

EARNED MEDIA

CONTENT MARKETING SHOULD BE PART OF EVERY CONTENT STRATEGY – AND YOU SHOULD BE FLUENT IN THE ANALYTICS

WE LEVERAGED

NEW METADATA

FORMATS FOR

INTEROPERABILITY

THESE ARE ACTIVE ACROSS OUR ENTIRE PRODUCT CATALOG, DRIVING TRAFFIC RIGHT WHERE WE WANT IT: OUR PRODUCTS!

WE CONSTANTLY

PROVE THE VALUE

OF STRUCTURED

PRODUCT INFO.

ADHERENCE TO GOVERNED SEO STANDARDS IS PART OF THE WAY OUR IN-HOUSE TEAM IS EVALUATED

WE HELP BUILD

SKILLS AND

COMMUNITIES

ACROSS CHANNELS

REI IS THE LARGEST OUTDOOR EDUCATOR IN THE UNITED STATES BY NUMBER OF PEOPLE TAUGHT

WE LINKED DATA

WITH CONTENT TO

AID IN WAYFINDING

AND GREW OUR HYPERLOCAL AWARENESS AT THE SAME TIME BY PROVIDING A VALUABLE SERVICE

Image copyright © Sean Dreilinger – www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/4208435158

WE AMAZED AND

DELIGHTED OUR

CUSTOMERS

PRO-TIP: SO CAN YOU!

CONCLUSION AND FINAL THOUGHTS

CORE VALUES MATTER.

CORE VALUES MATTER.

WHO VALUES CONTENT

STRATEGY

I’M AN SEO

BUT I’M NOT

THE ONLY ONE.

Image copyright © gardenskate - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gardensk8/6273808719

WE WANT TO BUILD

A BRIDGE TO THE

CONTENT STRATEGY

COMMUNITY

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Image copyright © Gane - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gane/5229616694

BRIDGES BRING

PEOPLE TOGETHER,

HELPING US TO

SHARE AND LEARN

BRIDGES BREAK

DOWN OUR MYTHS

ABOUT THE

UNKNOWN

Image copyright © Jon Person - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonperson/3952343914

AND BRIDGES

MEAN BUSINESS.

A LOT OF

BUSINESS.

Image copyright © tsnoom - http://www.flickr.com/photos/28438611@N05/5467944943

Image copyright © m.prinke - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mprinke/370602038

FINALLY, BRIDGES

HELP US START

CONVERSATIONS.

Image copyright © m.prinke - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mprinke/370602038

LET’S TALK.

FINALLY, BRIDGES

HELP US START

CONVERSATIONS.

LET’S TALK.

JONATHON COLMAN PRINCIPAL EXPERIENCE ARCHITECT FOR REI

WWW.REI.COM

TWITTER @ JCOLMAN

Technology

How to Build SEO into Content Strategy