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Search Engine Optimization and Social Media

WHO ARE WE?

Jerilyn Soncrant: Sr. Manager, Social Media

Jill Hoffman: Sr. Director, Marketing & Media

WHO ARE WE?

SCOTT’S MARKETPLACE (Coming soon!)

Shop local businesses for American made products and local services!

• Connect with a community of shoppers.• Built in social sharing.• No risk. No subscription fees.• No technical skills needed!

TODAY’S PRESENTATION

PART I: SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATIONPART 2: SOCIAL MEDIA

SEO: PART 1

• Understanding Your Customers• Understanding Google’s Goals• Decide What to Write: Keywords and Content• Optimize Your Site for Search• Optimize for Local Search

YOUR CUSTOMERS

SEARCH INTENT: It All Starts Here!What will your customers search for?

HOW DO PEOPLE SEARCH?

• Navigational Queries• I already know where I want to go!

• Transactional Queries• I’m ready to sign-up, find, buy, download

• Informational Queries• I’m just searching for weather, maps, product information

THINK ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS

• What might they search for?• Industry speak may not be valid• What are their problems?• What solutions are they looking for?• Where are they? Mobile vs desktop

GOOGLE'S GOALS

GOOGLE’S JOB = RETURN RELEVANT RESULTS

• The person searching is Google’s “customer”

• Google wants to return the best information possible so the searcher has a great experience

• Increasing importance placed on high quality information that answers the searcher’s query

YOUR JOB: HELP GOOGLE OUT

SEO is the process of helping the search engines find and index your site’s information

Google is not human. It uses a complex set of rules to “crawl” and analyze the content on your site.

TIME TO BRAINSTORM!

BRAINSTORM

What 2-3 words phrases will customers use to find you? (don’t use single words)

• Arizona inns Arizona adventures

• White water rafting Arizona sightseeing• Historic hotel Mine tours Arizona

• Hotel rates Arizona landmarks

• Things to do Phoenix day trips• Hiking in Arizona Historical Arizona

BRAINSTORM

What content do you already have on your site?

Can this be turned into a page about Arizona adventures, Phoenix day trips, mining tours or hiking treks?

BRAINSTORM

How will your site benefit from targeting specific phrases? Are they relevant?

• Who is your target audience?• Do hikers generally stay overnight in Globe?• Are there events that attract crowds to town?• Is your hotel dog-friendly? Romantic? Luxury?• Are historical attractions a big draw?

BRAINSTORM

Which words are most likely to convert to sales?

• EX: hotels in Globe AZ vs. things to do in Arizona• Search volume may be high, but only use words if

they are relevant to your site

KEYWORDS AND CONTENT

FEED THE GOOGLE MONSTER

• Google wants great content• Your customers want great content• Define your keywords and get started!

USE GOOGLE KEYWORD TOOL

• Use the Google Keyword Tool to discover the right words to go after.

• Google Keyword Tool will tell us what words searchers actually use!

GOOGLE KEYWORD TOOLGO TO: www.google.com/adwords

SELECT:Tools and Analysis

FROM DROP-DOWN:Select Keyword Tool

FIND KEYWORDSEnter a “word or phrase”Select “exact match”Unselect “broad match”Location: United States

HOW POSITION MATTERSPOSITION IN ORGANIC SEARCH

CLICK-THROUGH RATE

Position #1 42.10%

Position #2 11.90%

Position #3 8.50%

Position #4 6.10%

Position #5 4.90%

Let’s try a new search =

KEYWORDS AND CONTENT

• Bed and breakfast = 49,500 searches• Bed and breakfasts = 1,900 searches

• Arizona bed and breakfast = 210 searches• Arizona bed and breakfasts = 28 searches

• Historic bed and breakfast = 110 searches• Luxury bed and breakfast = 260 searches• Romantic bed and breakfast = 360 searches

KEYWORDS AND CONTENT

Let’s assume we select “Arizona bed and breakfast” as the keyword for our home page

NOW – IT’S TIME TO START CREATING CONTENT AND OPTIMIZING FOR SEARCH!

KEYWORDS AND CONTENT

• Write first for your audience• No grammatical or spelling errors• Create fresh, unique content• Gain readers’ confidence in your business/website• Google will “punish” your site for duplicate content• Write naturally – don’t stuff keywords

OPTIMIZE YOUR SITE FOR SEARCH

LET’S BUILD A SEARCH RESULT

CURRENT =

STEP 1: TITLE TAGS

• Should be unique for each page• 65 characters (includes spaces)• Most important element of SEO• Tells search engines what the page is about• Put brand name at the end if not a lot of name

recognition• Use | (pipe) or – (dash)• Could include physical location and/or main focus • Include keywords at the beginning of the title tag• Title tag not displayed on the web pages, but is

visible in browser windows

STEP 1: TITLE TAGS

Browser =

Source Code = (right click, view source)

STEP 1: TITLE TAGS

RECOMMENDED =

Arizona Bed and Breakfast in Globe AZ | The Noftsger Hill Inn

CURRENT TITLE TAG =

LET’S BUILD A SEARCH RESULT

Arizona Bed and Breakfast in Globe AZ | The Noftsger Hill Inn

STEP 2: SIMPLE URLs

• Descriptive and friendly so users and search engines can understand them

• Don’t intimidate visitors with long, confusing strings of characters

• Use less then 115 characters• Use hyphens vs. underscores• Don’t use caps• http://www.example.com/green-dress is better than

http://www.example.com/greendress

LET’S BUILD A SEARCH RESULT

Arizona Bed and Breakfast in Globe AZ | The Noftsger Hill Innwww.noftsgerhillinn.com/

STEP 3: META DESCRIPTIONS

• 160 characters (includes spaces)• Gives a longer description that accurately summarizes

the page’s content• Be sure to use your keywords here again – they will

appear bold on the SERP if they closely match the search query.

• The meta description does not appear on the website• Google usually uses the meta description• Not actually used by Google for SEO – but still very

important to the searcher!

STEP 3: META DESCRIPTIONS

LET’S BUILD A SEARCH RESULT

Arizona Bed and Breakfast in Globe AZ | The Noftsger Hill Innwww.noftsgerhillinn.com/Arizona bed and breakfast offering easy access to hiking, mine tours, white water rafting, scenic drives, more. 425 North Street, Globe, AZ, 85501, (928) 402-8235

A FEW OTHER SEO ITEMS

IMAGES

• Include alt tags = tell Google what the picture is• Use descriptive image filenames• Most browsers support jpg, gif, png and bmp• Use an image sitemap• Don’t keyword stuff here either – be natural

OPTIMIZE FOR LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

H1 & H2 Tags =• H1 tag = on-page title• Include only one H1 tag – use keywords• Can have multiple H2 tags• H tags are visible to site visitors (vs. title tag is only visible

to search engines)• Use H tags to create content hierarchy on your site• Include your full business name and service type

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

H1 & H2 Tags =• The Noftsger Hill Inn has no H1 tag.• OK to use images but make sure it’s not the only place

you include your business name• Be sure it’s in HTML format that the search engines

can read

• EXAMPLE: <h1>The Noftsger Hill Inn, an Arizona bed and breakfast<h1>

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Full Business Address =

Help the search engines separate this important information by using micro formats. Information can be found at:

http://www.schema.org/

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Full Business Address =

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Regional/Local Phone Number =ALWAYS use a local phone number. It instills trust from both customers and search engines.

Use the format: (111) 222-3333

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Services Offered & Business Hours = Detail what you do and when you do it

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Embed Google Maps = Adding a map to your site helps both your customers and Google. Want to see your business in a Google ten-pack? Add a map.

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Include Driving Directions = • Yep, the map is already there, but put directions in

words as well.• Mention your neighborhood or other important

geographic information. • Consider giving directions from different freeways

or sides of your city• Think about city centroid

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Include Address in the Footer = • Include your address again in a single line.

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Meta Tag Descriptions =• Include your local address and phone number• Could include a tracking number to see if

searchers call from the SERP, or if they click through and call the number from your website

INCLUDE YOUR ADDRESS

• Home Page = mention your location• About Page = mention your location • Press Page = mention your location• Contact Page – location, a map, your cities served,

hours, neighborhood, phone number, directions – establish your location over and over!

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Create one landing page for each location!

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

• Make sure your business data is accurate and complete and that it matches exactly across:

• Google+ Local: (formerly Google Places)https://accounts.google.com/servicelogin?service=lbc

• Yahoo Local: http://listings.local.yahoo.com/account

• Bing Local: http://www.bing.com/businessportal/

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIESGoogle+ Local (Sign-up at Google Places)

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

• GOOGLE+ LOCAL SUGGESTIONS• Request reviews – very important!• Add photos• Completely fill out your profile• Create your address here and make sure all others

match it exactly• If a listing already exists, claim it. Don’t start a new

one.• If multiple listings exist for your business, claim them

all so Google can consolidate the information.

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

GOOGLE+ LOCAL SUGGESTIONS

• Use an accurate business name; no keywords• Use a physical address + make sure it’s accurate on Google maps• Use a local number; no tracking numbers here• If a single location, link to your website home page• If multiple locations, create a Google+ Local page for each location

and link to the appropriate web page• Business description – use keywords here!• Category – this give Google a strong clue, choose wisely! (Hint:

check out your competitors if you aren’t sure what to pick.)

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

• Make sure your business data is accurate and complete at secondary sources such as these top three data aggregators. Again, claim and update current listings vs. creating new ones.

• InfoUSA: http://www.infousa.com • Acxiom: http://www.acxiom.com • Localeze: http://www.localeze.com

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

• Next, look for listing opportunities in the top Yellow pages directories, directories that are specific to your industry and the top local search engines. Start here:

• SuperPages: http://www.supermedia.com/business-listings• YellowPages: http://adsolutions.yp.com/advertise-with-us • Local Search Guide: http://www.localsearchguide.org

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

• Keep going! What other local directory resources can you dig up?

• Local online Yellow Pages• Additional industry directories not in the local search guide

• Local newspapers• Chambers of Commerce• Online classifieds• Local directories (search Google with your city name

or zip code and see what you can uncover)

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

• Don’t forget these specialty Yellow Pages:

• Christian Yellow Pages: http://www.christianyellowpages.com

• Jewish Yellow Pages: http://www.jewishyellow.com/index.html

• Black Business Planet: http://www.blackbusinessplanet.com

• National Green Pages: http://www.greenpages.org

• Indian Yellow Pages: http://www.indianyellowpages.com

• Hispanic Yellow Pages: http://hispanicyellow.com/default/home/index

• Dog-friendly businesses: http://www.dogfriendly.com

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

Local First AZ: http://localfirstaz.com/ Open List: http://www.openlist.com/ Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/ BOTW Local: http://local.botw.org/helpcenter/premiumproduct.aspxGetListed: http://getlisted.org/ Go-Arizona: http://www.go-arizona.com/Globe/Hotels/

UTILIZE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

• Things to keep in mind:

• Include your URL in each listing• Directory links are NoFollow, so they don’t have

SEO value, but still drive traffic to your site• Make sure your information is exactly the same

everywhere!• Generate good user reviews

GAIN CITATIONS

FROM GETLISTED.ORG

“Citations are defined as ‘mentions’ of your business name and address on other webpages, even if there is no link to your website. An example of a citation might be an online yellow pages directory where your business is listed, but not linked to. It can also be a local chamber of commerce or a local association where your business information can be found, even if they are not linking at all to your website.“

SOCIAL MEDIA: PART 2

• Have a Strategy• Identify Your Audience• Social Keywords• Increase Your Linkability• Make Sharing Easy

HAVE A STRATEGY

1. How much TIME do you have to commit to social media; weekly, daily or monthly?

2. How FAMILIAR are you with social media networks?3. What are you LOOKING TO ACHIEVE from social media?4. Do the things you’re looking to achieve through social

media line up with your overall BUSINESS GOALS?5. What is my COMPETITOR DOING on social networking

sites?

IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE

Who is your ideal customer? What is their age and gender? What do they like to do?

By understanding who your customers are, you’ll be able to clearly see what social networking cultures fit best with their lifestyles.

WHERE IS YOUR AUDIENCE

Are they on Facebook? • 64 % of USERS are between the AGES of 18-34• 425 million MOBILE users• Users by gender 57% FEMALE / 43% MALE• 20 minutes TIME SPENT per visit

WHERE IS YOUR AUDIENCE

Are they on Twitter?• Over 465 million ACCOUNTS• 175 million TWEETS a day• 45% of USERS are between the AGES of 18 and 34• 25% follow a BRAND• 37% login via MOBILE device

WHERE IS YOUR AUDIENCE

Are they on Pinterest? • More then 10.4 million USERS• The biggest demographic for Pinterest: WOMEN ages 25 to 34• TOP INTERESTS: crafts, gifts, hobbies/leisure, interior design,

fashion designers/collections• 50% of users have KIDS• TUTORIAL, DIY, and RECIPE pins see a 42% higher CTR then other

pin types

SOCIAL KEYWORDS

Execute a Plan of Attack• Connect with your high-findability keywords• Optimize your social media profiles with these

keywords

SOCIAL KEYWORDS - FACEBOOK

• Profile picture• Cover photo• About section• Tabs• URL

• Posts• Participate

SOCIAL KEYWORDS - TWITTER

• Hashtags• Tweets• Participate

Optimize your bio

SOCIAL KEYWORDS - PINTEREST

• Pin description• Image file name• URL

• Bio• Boards• Participate

INCREASE YOUR LINKABILITY

• Social Media Links• Newsletter sign-up• Create a blog

MAKE SHARING EASY

By including social plugins

SOCIAL PLUGINS

Add This: http://www.addthis.com/Share This: http://sharethis.com/Facebook: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/Twitter: https://twitter.com/about/resources/widgets/Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/

SCOTT’S MARKETPLACE RESOURCES

Blog: http://scottsmarketplace.com/blog/businessFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScottsMarketplacePinterest: http://pinterest.com/scottsmktplace/SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/ScottsMarketplaceTwitter: @ScottsMktplace, @Scotts_Corner

SPEAKERS

Jill Hoffman – Sr. Director, Marketinghttp://www.linkedin.com/in/jillhoffman1Twitter: @Jill_HoffmanEmail: jill@scottsmarketplace.com

Jerilyn Soncrant – Sr. Manager, Social Mediahttp://www.linkedin.com/in/jerilynsoncrantTwitter: @JeriCratesEmail: jerilyn@scottsmarketplace.com

THANK YOU!