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Event Websites, Part I: Understanding Search Engine Optimization and Web Analytics

Event Websites, Part I: Understanding Search Engine Optimization and Web Analytics. John Curtis, Quotient Stephen Nold, ATI Ian Strain-Seymour, Apogee Search. Before we begin…. Entry level session. Terms and tools will be clearly explained and defined so that anyone can learn the basics.

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Event Websites, Part I: Understanding Search Engine Optimization and Web Analytics

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  1. Event Websites, Part I: Understanding Search Engine Optimization and Web Analytics John Curtis, Quotient Stephen Nold, ATI Ian Strain-Seymour, Apogee Search

  2. Before we begin… Entry level session. Terms and tools will be clearly explained and defined so that anyone can learn the basics. Turn off Cell Phones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBl3doFXlIE&feature=related Q&A at end, but questions are fine during the session

  3. Search Engine Marketing • Search Engine Marketing (SEM) • Improving traffic • paid placement • contextual advertising • sponsored listings • Pay-Per-Click Campaigns • Display campaigns • Content network • Paid Directory Submissions • Tracking and Reporting

  4. Search Engine Optimization • Search engine optimization (SEO) • Process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results • The higher a site appears in search results, the more visitors • Different kinds of search including • Web search, Universal (news, images, video, blogs) • Local search • Mobile search

  5. Web Analytics • Core benefits • Source of visitors • Behavior on website (click path) • Lead and sales data • Attribution • Future direction: • Call center/phone sales integration • Advanced segmentation • Attribution

  6. What is Search Engine Marketing? • NA market: Google, Yahoo, Bing (MSN) • Specialized networks: Business.com, local, vertical players • Search engines vs. Content Network • Paying to have ads appear on the engine • Higher the bid, the better your placement • Quality Score is balancing factor

  7. SEM Fundamentals Measurement

  8. Approaches to SEM • In house management • Devote time: • Set tight parameters to prevent over spend • Agency outsourcing • Clear goals • Multiple players • What about bid management tools?

  9. Skills Needed for SEM Success • Organization • Ad writing • Willingness to Experiment • Analytical skill • Web design

  10. SEM Checklist • Focus your Ad Groups • Watch your Quality Score • Align keyword, ad copy, quality score • Daily / Weekly review • Weekly / Biweekly deeper dive • Set aside 5-10% of budget for experiments

  11. What is Search Engine Optimization? • Setting your site up for highest target possible ranking in Google • When done right, least expensive source of high quality traffic • Long term game plan • What is it not? • Not about gaming or tricking Google. • Not something that will be black and white • An industry rife with snake oil salesmen

  12. SEM Tools • SEM Tools: Google AdWords, Yahoo Sponsored Search, Bing Search Advertising • Keyword Research: Google Keyword Tool, Google Trends • Competitive Research: SpyFu, Keyword Discovery • Call tracking: Mongoose Metrics, Marchex

  13. Fundamentals of SEO Measurement

  14. Content • Content of your page. • This should be you major focus. • Get this right before moving on • Content of your tags: title, meta keyword, meta description, H1, alt, and H2 • Targeting: max of 2- 5 terms per page • Strategic in your selection of terms • #1 ranking on a low volume keyword does you no good

  15. “Good content and linking to it is all we are talking about. That is 90% of what we are doing.” Arran Coole

  16. Links • Incoming links are votes on the relevance of the page (& site) for the term in the link • More links is better, but • Quality matters • Diversity matters • Links to home page, but • deep links for all of your target terms • Future direction: social links & social graph is huge influence

  17. Link Sources • Web Directories • Social Website • Image Sites • Social Bookmarks • Press Releases • Partners • Articles • Blogs • Purchased Links • Rented Links

  18. Press Releases • Great source for links • Get syndicated, so you end up with multiple links • Real strength is • Ability to target specific words • Google treats as news • Creation and Distribution of Press Releases • Optimize releases, look for HTML support • Consider local : can be more cost effective

  19. Site Structure • The organization of the site • The structure of the URLs • Use logical structures • Geo and date are well recognized • Avoid going deeper than 5-6 levels deep

  20. Coding • Tags: • Title, meta keyword, meta description • H1, Alt, H2 • Canonical link • Flash • Embed into page, not stand alone • Use separate search engine file • Be careful with redirects • New: code for speed – page load time matters

  21. SEO Checklist • Great content on the page • 2-5 terms targeted for each page • Optimized tags • Incoming links to each targeted page • Google Webmaster Account • Worry about traffic, leads, sales, not rankings

  22. Tools & Resources • Google (Yahoo, Bing) Webmaster Tools • Google Webmaster Tools Blog & videos • Google Keyword Tool • SEOmoz • Competitive data: Compete, Quantcast, Spyfu, Keyword Discovery • Authority Labs: rank checking

  23. Analytics • Variety tools in the market • Google Analytics becoming a standard • Tool cost = $0 • People cost (implementation & analysis) can be high • Measure web traffic • Identify high quality sources • Make mid-course adjustments.

  24. Implementation • Add code snippet, “tag”, to each page • When page is loaded in browser, sends data back to Google • Data is anonymous • Many CMS systems include plug-ins for automated tagging • Watch for tag drift as new pages are added • Consider auditing tool

  25. Checklist of Key Web Metrics • Traffic volume (visits, visitors) • Conversions/Goal Completion • Leads, Sales • Email & Blog subscriptions, Twitter, Facebook • Conversion Rates • Traffic source distribution • Top entry & departure pages • Top keywords • Quality of Experience: Bounce Rate, Time on Site

  26. Analytics Tools • Free Web Analytics Tools • Google Analytics, Yahoo Analytics • Paid Web Analytics Tools • Omniture, Webtrends, Coremetrics, FireClick, Hitslink • Audit: ObservePoint

  27. Questions?

  28. Contact Information John Curtis, | President Quotient Solutions www.quotient.net john.curtis@quotient.net @Social_Quotient Stephen Nold| President Advon Technology www.apogee-search.com stephen@advontech.com @stepnold Ian Strain-Seymour | Director, Online Strategy Apogee Search www.apogee-search.com ifss@apogee-search.com @ifss

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