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Google and Search Engine Success. How to Rank Well Organically, Locally, and with Obituaries. Selected Independent Funeral Homes May 1, 2014 – St. Charles, MO. Kip Johnson - FuneralNet. This Morning’s Topics. 1. How search engines work and what they’re looking for
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Google and Search Engine Success How to Rank Well Organically, Locally, and with Obituaries Selected Independent Funeral Homes May 1, 2014 – St. Charles, MO Kip Johnson - FuneralNet
This Morning’s Topics • 1. How search engines work and what they’re looking for • 2. Types of search results and how-to’s for each • 3. Reviews and their role in search results • 4. Navigating the Google Zoo • Pandas, Penguins, and Hummingbirds • 5. Examples and case studies
1. How Search Engines Work • Enormous indexes in many dimensions • Keywords and phrases • Page titles and headers • A mix of text, photo, and video • Position of content on page • Easy to find contact information (NAP) • Name, address, phone number • Original, current, and relevant content
2. Types of Search Results and How-To’s • Organic • Local • Paid
Organic Keyword Search Results Organic Local
Keywords for Winning SEO • Keys to Keywords • Think titles, tags, and text • Strike a keyword-rich balance • Use analysis tools to help ID keywords
Keywords for Winning SEO • Keys to Keywords • Think titles, tags, and text • Strike a keyword-rich balance • Use analysis tools to help ID keywords
Keyword Analysis Google AdWords Keyword Planner
Keyword Analysis Google AdWords Keyword Planner
Keyword Analysis Google Trends - www.google.com/trends
Keyword Analysis Google Trends - www.google.com/trends
The Importance of Obituaries • Integral part of the website • 60-90% of most death care industry websites’ visits are obituary related • Naturally generates current and original content • Rich-snippets enhancing search results
Types of Search Results and How-To’s • Organic • Local • Paid
Localizing for Winning SEO • Stake your claim • Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo) • Google Places and Google+ Local example • Other on-line sources for local information • Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc. • A Tale of Multiple Cities • Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods
Localizing for Winning SEO • Stake your claim • Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo) • Google Places and Google+ Local example • Other on-line sources for local information • Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc. • A Tale of Multiple Cities • Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods
Claiming Your Business There are 15 million businesses in the United States . . . Less than 4 million have been claimed . . . And of those, less than half are reasonably complete. Chances are, for 90% or more, this is currently a big search opportunity missed.
Localizing for Winning SEO • Stake your claim • Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo) • Google Places and Google+ Local example • Other on-line sources for local information • Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc. • A Tale of Multiple Cities • Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods
IYP and Data Providers • Acxiom • CitySearch • Dex Knows • Kudzu • Manta • Superpages • Yahoo • Yellowpages • Yelp IYP I – Internet Y – Yellow P- Pages
Localizing for Winning SEO • Stake your claim • Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo) • Google Places and Google+ Local example • Other on-line sources for local information • Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc. • A Tale of Multiple Cities • Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods
Reaching Into Many Markets • Location-specific content • Dedicated location pages • Titles, tags, and text (location keywords) • Footer content • Sub-landing pages
Photos and Virtual Tours http://www.majorfamilyfuneralhome.com/_mgxroot/page_10787.php
3. Online Reviews • Why they matter • What they look like and where they are posted • Legitimate vs. ‘manufactured’ reviews
Why Online Reviews Matter • Ever-increasing importance to SEO • More users looking at reviews • 89% of people now use the web as an influencing part of their purchase decisions • More users leaving reviews • 47% of people reported leaving an online review about a recent experience
Search and Review Example Superpages Reviews Google Review
Legitimate vs. ‘Manufactured’ • Only use actual statements and testimonials • Do not ghost write reviews • Avoid promises of ‘web saturation’ through dozens/hundreds of reviews
Asking for Family Participation • When a family is very with satisfied with the services you’ve provided, help them share that with the world: • While letters of thanks are nice, ask that they submit online • Be prepared to point them to your Google Places and Google+ Local profiles, Facebook, and others • Selectively contact via mail
Obstacles to Success • Technical know-how (or lack thereof) for older demographics • Mandatory profiles to leave on-line reviews with major review sites (e.g. Google+, Yelp)
4. Welcome to the Google Zoo • Panda anti-pandemonium • Quality user experience with relevant results • Penguin punishes purveyors of poo • Getting rid of spam and link-factory sites • Hummingbird lifts quality sites and content • Beyond keywords to match quality content with user intent • Sophisticated natural language methods applied
5. Examples and Case Studies • Carmon Funeral Homes (Hartford, CT area) • Results of on-site vs. off-site SEO techniques • Wichmann-Fargo (Appleton/Fox Cities, WI) • On-site obituaries vs. third-party obituaries • Bliley/Nelsen Funeral Homes (Richmond, VA) • Site rich in content vs. corporate/chain template
Carmon Funeral Homes • A firm with numerous location outside of Hartford wanting to do well on Hartford searches • Started non-existent in Organic Search results (not in first 100 listings), and now ranking #5 • This is separate from Local Search results
Wichmann-Fargo • Comparing website traffic for 90 days after de-integration of obituaries vs. 90 days before: • Number of visits was down by 20% • Number of unique visitors was down by 23% • Average visit duration was reduced by 30% • Obituary visits, even if no other site content is viewed, represent significant branding time
Bliley / Nelsen • Bliley and Nelsen used to duke it out for the #1 and #2 search rankings • Nelsen was sold to SCI and they implemented their SCI corporate umbrella template to the site • Bliley is now solidly #1 both Organically and Locally, and the Nelsen entity is several organic notches lower, and not even first page on Bing
Summary of Best Practices • Original, current content in multiple formats • Proper keyword use – NAP, titles, tags, text • Photos and virtual tours • Treat obituaries as an integral part of your site • Claim and complete business profiles • Encourage on-line reviews
Google and Search Engine Success How to Rank Well Organically, Locally, and with Obituaries Selected Independent Funeral Homes May 1, 2014 – St. Charles, MO Kip Johnson - FuneralNet