Google's rapid, recent transformation of search

Pandas, Penguins and Hummingbirds: Google’s Rapid Transformation of Search

November 2013

Welcome!

Agenda

• Introductions and Overview

• How search marketing can help your business

• Recent changes to Google’s Algorithm

• Google’s ever-evolving search engine results page (SERP)

• How your strategy is affected

• Questions & Answers

Introductions

A Brief Introduction to Top Floor Technologies

Top Floor Technologies

• Website Design & Development

• Search Engine Marketing

• Web Analytics & Conversion Improvement

• Marketing & Branding Strategy

Maximizing Online Marketing Resultsfor Hundreds of Businesses Since 1999

Getting the MostFrom Today’s Workshop

Write down 2-3 learning points that you will begin putting into

action within the next two weeks. Then – follow through.

When you search for something online, where do you start?

When your prospects & customers search for vendors online,where do you thinkthey start?

Overall Share of Searches

Source: ComScore

Google66%

Yahoo14%

Microsoft15%

Ask3%

AOL2%

B2B Preferred Search Engines

Source: Enquiro Business to Business Survey

Google77%

Yahoo14%

Microsoft7%

Others2%

The Power of Search

• Over 100 billion global searches each month.

• Inbound leads cost 61% less than outbound leads.

• SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads have a 1.7% close rate.

Source: searchenginejournal.com

Being found on

Google

SEO – Organic Results

Over 80% of activity on the first results page (top 10 results)

Keys to success: Keyword

analysis Content

development Linking

strategy Monitoring &

updating

Justin KerleySEO Manager, Top Floor Technologies

Eric ValleeSenior SEO Specialist, Top Floor Technologies

Recent Changes to Google’s Algorithm

What is Google’s Algorithm?

Panda Update• Nicknamed after an engineer that helped create

the update

• Targeted sites that tried to manipulate Google’s focus on content

– Thin Content (typically user-generated)

– Content Farms

– High Ad-to-Content Ratio sites

Penguin Update• The “Over Optimization” update

• Predominantly penalized sites that participated in bad linking practices

– Purchasing links

– Unnatural (over optimized) anchor text

– Link networks

Hummingbird• Not an algorithm update like Panda or Penguin

• A new “engine” for Google’s algorithm that incorporates elements from the previous iteration

• Focused on better understanding the intent of the searcher

Major Myth About Hummingbird

Wearable Technology

Location Searches

Conversational Search

Myth Debunked!• Create the best content possible

• Take into consideration what your target audience is looking for and the types of questions they ask

• Keyword Theme

Example Keyword Theme• Target keyword phrase “Luxury SUV”

– “heated leather seats”

– “built-in navigation”

– “five star safety rating”

– “backup camera”

– “seating for eight”

Changes to the SERP

Dr. Pete’s “Mega-SERP”• 25 different elements that may appear in a SERP

• 5 paid (Adwords)

• 11 elements are designed to keep you on a Google Products (Search, Maps, Plus)– Knowledge Graph

– Carousel

– Images

Source: http://moz.com/blog/mega-serp-a-visual-guide-to-google

Banner Ads (Beta)

It’s time for acoffee break.

What Does This Mean For Your Strategy?

Content is King• Content can be text, images, videos or any asset

used to communicate your message to users

• Fresh content

– Company News

– Industry News

– Blog Posts

– How Tos

• Web content is the foundation

What Makes Good Content• What differentiates you from your competition?

• What type of information is your target audience looking for?

• What are the pain points/questions that arise during the sales process?

• Use your web content to answer these questions

Example: Wikipedia Page-Elvis• Content covers a vast array of topics

• Content is broken down into relevant sub-sections

• Do I need a page for that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley

Think Integration, Not Silos• We used to think of SEO, PPC, Social Media, PR

and other marketing as separate tactics

• Google Used to Get it’s Data from Search

• Now, with Knowledge Graph, Google is influenced by many different channels

– SEO

– PPC

– Social Media

– PR

– Television, Radio

Real Life Example

Q & A

Thank You!Please leave your comments on the

seminar feedback forms.