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The rules for both SEO (search engine optimization) and paid search advertising keep changing. But in some cases, what's old is new again - content is more critical than ever! That means PR professionals are uniquely suited to leverage search marketing strategies and squeeze more benefits out of PR tactics. Join PRSA Georgia and seminar leader Stacy Williams, founder and president of Atlanta-based Prominent Placement, to get caught up on the latest in SEM and get prepared to implement strategically sound and measurable SEM strategies in 2014. You will: - Learn how to determine what types of content and topics your audiences are looking for; then, create it and make it easy to be found online. - Find out how social engagement benefits SEO, and how to effectively use keywords in hashtags. - Hear what to do and what not to do regarding Google's new rules for links in online press releases and the best way to leverage bylined articles. - Discover how to use paid search ads in a crisis, and what to do when negative mentions of your company show up in search engine results. - Take away strategies for measuring the impact of SEM efforts. Seminar speaker Stacy Williams established Prominent Placement, a full-service, award-winning and industry leading search marketing agency, in 2001. She has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and was named the 2012 Search Engine Marketer of the Year by Technology Association of Georgia. Stacy is also past president of SEMPO Atlanta, a local chapter of the global Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization.
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PRSA GeorgiaSearch Engine Marketing for PR Professionals:
What You Need to Know for 2014December 5, 2013
www.prominentplacement.com blog: www.searchadvisory.net @ProminentPlcmnt
Stacy Williams, CEOProminent Placement,
Inc.
Who I Am
Stacy Williams, Founder & CEO Degrees in Business/Marketing &
Communications Management Doing SEO since 1998 Launched PPI in 2001 Founding Leadership Council member of
SEMPO Atlanta & Immediate Past President “Search Engine Marketer of the Year” per
TAG in November 2012
Thank You to My SEO Team!
Aaron AbbottSEO & Analytics Manager
Conor Lee, SEO Associate
Dionne WalkerSEO AssociateFormer AP Journalist
Who PPI Is
Search Engine Marketing Agency Next month is our 13th anniversary West Midtown-based, serve clients
nationwide Primarily B2B clients, especially
tech/software Win awards for client results as well as
work environment
What We Do
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Paid Search(PPC – Pay-Per-Click)
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
Increased Conversions (Analytics Service)
Agenda
Search Engine Marketing for PR Professionals: What You Need to Know
for 2014 Content & SEO Social Engagement & SEO Press Releases, Articles & Linking Crisis & Reputation Management Measuring Results Takeaways & Resources
These slides are already on Slideshare – you’ll get a handout at the end with the URL, along with the takeaways & additional resources.
About You
How many of you… Independent practitioner? Agency? In-house at non-profit? In-house at company?
Know very little about search marketing Know some about search marketing Know quite a bit about search marketing
Content & SEO
But what kind of content? Topic or subject Format
Written (web page, article, blog post, white paper, newsletter), infographic, video, audio, etc.
Image credit: allthingslearning.wordpress.com
Pop Quiz!
How do you decide which topics to cover
and what type of content to create?
General Keyword Research (Volume)
A Word About Keywords…
It’s What They’re Actually Searching For,Not What You Wish They Were Searching
For
Source: www.google.com/trends
A Word About Keywords…
Common terminology, not internal or industry jargon
Categories & products that exist now, not that you’re trying to create
Target emerging or desired keywords: Article comparing
different terminology (don’t force it)
Target via paid search instead
Specific Keyword Research (CTR & Traffic)
Branded Keywords
Non-Branded Keywords
Specific Keyword Research (Conversions)
Use AdWords or
Webmaster Tools instead
Specific Keyword Research (Site Search)
Hummingbird
Image credit: Vertical Response
Response to voice searches Longer queries More natural sentences So…target “long tail” keywords
Hummingbird
Image credits: The Guardian, Schestowitz.com, The Inquirer
“pizza”
“pizza 30318”
“where’s the closest pizza place to Georgia Tech?”
Content Gap Analysis
Before:
Content Gap Analysis
After:Addition of case studies & video
Pop Quiz!
Now that you’ve done keyword research and a content gap analysis…
what do you do with the targeted keywords?
Create & Optimize the Content
Image credit: ruleranalytics.com
Written Content for the Web (HTML Pages)
Targeted keyword in the headline & body copy – use similar (“semantic”) words too
Targeted keyword in the web page’s title tag and description meta tag
Structured data
Where To Put Keywords – Web Page
Headline (yes, this is text, not an image)
Body copy(page text)
Where To Put Keywords - Code
To see any web page’s code: right click
anywhere on the page & this pops up
Title tag shows up here in Google’s listing
Description meta tag shows up here in Google’s listing
Where To Put Keywords - Code
Structured Data (aka Microdata) Creates “rich snippets” in search engine
listings Shhhh…also increases rankings!
26
Normal HTML
w/ Structured Data
Structured Data – Sample Code
Structured Data - More
Types of Structured Data Blog posts Articles (Case Studies & Whitepapers) Organization information Brand information Videos Events Ratings & reviews Website elements Contact information Much, much more
Where To Put Keywords – Other Content
Video & Audio Files Host on YouTube, Vimeo, etc. Optimize video/audio files there
Title
Description
Also add category & tagsAdd transcript or captions
Embed into your site Optimize web page that
video/audio files are on
Where To Put Keywords – Other Content
Infographics & Images Keywords in filenames,
image title tag & alt tag
To see any image’s properties: right click
anywhere on the image & this pops up
Filename
Alt Tag
Finally…Outreach!
Broad/Popular• More eyeballs• Less qualified eyeballs• More link/social authority• Less relevant links
Narrow/Targeted• Fewer eyeballs• More qualified eyeballs• Less link/social authority• More relevant links
Image credits: contently.com & gravitateonline.com
Finally…Outreach!
Who Do You Reach Out To?
• Influential bloggers & social media folks, industry experts, socially active journalists
How Do You Find Them?
Finally…Outreach!
How Do You Reach Out?• Casual and humble conversation, not an official pitch• Use a company email address, not agency• Brief and to the point• Spells out content so expectations are clear
And Don’t Forget…
Get links in online article placements! Don’t waste that opportunity!
Recap
Content & SEO Keyword research & analytics analysis to
determine desired content subject & type Create content Optimize content (work in keywords) Publish content & do outreach
Social Engagement & SEO
Take Up Room in Search Results
Pop Quiz!
Which is more important?
Social icons that link to that company’s profile pages?
Or social share icons?
Pop Quiz!
Answer: Both! Links to profiles:
Keeps your brand/message in front of people who already know you.
Go deep with fewer people. Doesn’t help SEO.
Sharing your content: Puts your brand/message in front of people who may
not already know you. Go wide with more people. Helps SEO.
Rel=Author & Rel=Publisher
Connect your online content (blog posts, articles) to your Google+ profile page
Rel=Author & Rel=Publisher
Why Bother? Content stands out in the search engines
More credibility/personal branding More clicks Exposure to more content
Authentication & trust Potential for higher rankings Reputation management
More followers on Google+
How To?http://sem4.me/author
http://sem4.me/publisher
Smart Hashtag Usage
Hashtags are showing up in search engine results (in addition to social media site searches)
• Metadata about post• Factual, accurate• Helps people find post
#marketing
#atlanta
#pr
#seo
#webinar
• Part of content of post• Adds humor, cleverness• Probably doesn’t help
people find posts
#mypersonalhell
#imnotangryjustdissapointed
#dontmindme
#mixedfeelings
#whattheheck
#justmyluck
Smart Hashtag Usage
Smart Hashtag Usage
How Do You Know Which Hashtags To Use?
See what influencers in your industry are using Regular keyword research can suggest Online tools:
Press Releases, Articles & Linking
The Good Old Days
Then…
Image credit: firstinternet.co.uk
Panda Targeted “thin content” sites (including article
sites)
Penguin Tightened up rules on link-building Low quality links discounted Exact match anchor text discounted
Now
Press Release & Article “To Do’s”
Distributed Electronically
• Optimize the release• You can put keywords in link
anchor text (if it makes sense to for the reader) – no SEO benefit
• Add a “nofollow” tag to all links
Posted On Your Site
• Optimize the release• Put keywords in link anchor
text – this may help organic rankings a bit
• No need to add a “nofollow” tag to links
• Same rules if a bylined article is picked up “by hand” on only one other, quality site
Crisis & Reputation Management
Monitor Search Engine Results
Pop Quiz!
What can you do if there are negative listings in search engines?
Monitor Search Engine Results
What Can You Do? Get it taken down (difficult) Respond appropriately to complaints Optimize other content to push negative
mentions to second page of results or deeper
Take Up Room in Search Results
Use Paid Search
Tell Your Side of the Story
Image credit: Mediavision Interactive
Measuring Results
Pop Quiz!
Which KPI’s should PR professionals be tracking?
Google Analytics
Which KPI’s? Traditional:
Visits Conversions
PR Pros may also include: Engagement: bounce rate, time on site, pageviews
per visit Real Answer:
What are the company’s goals? Measure against that.
Image credit: cloud4ministry.com
Google Analytics – Custom Dashboards
Campaign Tracking – Custom Variables
Google Analytics – Campaigns
Without Custom Variables
• Track visitors & onsite behavior from a website as a whole
• All visitors from PRWeb lumped together
• PRWeb syndicates Content X to “Site A” – those visitors tracked as being from Site A
With Custom Variables• Track visitors & onsite
behavior from particular pieces of content
• Visitors from PRWeb segregated by press release
• PRWeb syndicates Content X to “Site A” – those visitors tracked as being from that Content X
• Test different releases or distribution services against each other
In Conclusion…
Kumbaya….
SEO/SEM & PR Complementary, not Competitive Get more bang out of what you’re already
doing
Takeaways & Resources
Key Takeaways
Content & SEO Keyword research: universe of searchers in
Google AdWords Keyword Planner Keyword research: past behavior on your site in
Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics, onsite search
Content gap analysis Create content & optimize
Keywords in headline, body copy, title tag, description meta tags
Fields for images, fields for audio/video Structured data
Publish & do outreach – find influencers & ask Get links in unique online placements you’re
already gettingImage credit: wpmu.org
Key Takeaways
Social Engagement & SEO Add social share buttons to content Use rel=author and rel=publisher Research hash tags & use them appropriately
Image credit: wpmu.org
Press Releases, Articles & Linking Optimize press releases & articles Add “nofollow” tags to links on syndicated
content (not unique placements)
Key Takeaways
Crisis & Reputation Management Monitor search engine results Have social media profiles & other content you
own so as to dominate branded searches & push down negative mentions
Use paid search to tell your side of the story in a crisis
Image credit: wpmu.org
Measuring Results Determine your KPI’s Create custom dashboards in Google Analytics Implement custom variables for tracking
syndicated content
Resources
Content & SEO Google AdWords Keyword Planner: http://
sem4.me/keyplan Google Trends: www.google.com/trends Google Webmaster Tools:
www.google.com/webmasters/tools Google Analytics: www.google.com/analytics About structured data: www.schema.org Find influencers: http://technorati.com, http://
klout.com, http://followerwonk.com About Google+ Ripples: http://sem4.me/ripples
Resources
Social Engagement & SEO Social sharing buttons: www.addthis.com How to implement rel=author: http://sem4.me/author How to implement rel=publisher: http
://sem4.me/publisher Research hash tags: www.hashtags.org, http://topsy.com,
http://twubs.com
Press Releases, Articles & Linking About nofollow tags: http://sem4.me/nofollow
Measuring Results About Google Analytics custom dashboards: http://
sem4.me/dash Custom variable URL builder: http://sem4.me/urlbuilder
More About Us
prominentplacement.com Blog & newsletters: searchadvisory.net facebook.com/prominentplacement linkedin.com/company/prominent-
placement-inc. youtube.com/user/prominentplacement slideshare.net/stacywms @ProminentPlcmnt
Stay in touch with Stacy:• linkedin.com/in/stacyswilliams• @StacyWms
