SEO Strategies for Success Nick Jones

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SEO Strategies for Success Nick Jones Peter
Twiggs1st March 2007
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Content

• Introduction to I-Spy (1 slide only!!)
• Why are search engines important in reaching UK
  Internet Consumers?
• Know Your Audience UK Search Engine Landscape
• SEO vs. PPC Thoughts on Balancing SEO and PPC
  spend
• SEO Top Tips for Success in 2007

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Introduction to I Spy

• I Spy is a specialist search engine marketing
  agency and offers a complete search solution for
  clients

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The Importance of Search

• Search engines offer highly qualified traffic to
  websites because the user is actively looking for
  information related to you product or service

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Search become indispensable

• 88 of those on broadband use a search engine
  every week
• More than 8 out of 10 users rely on a search
  engine after partially remembering a website
  address
• 71 of people see search as the main source of
  information when researching to buy a product or
  service - Henley Centre 2006
• The database of intentions Battelle 2005

Source Ipsos Insight conducted for Isobar and
Yahoo! Search, May 2006
Yahoo! Search Marketing, ISOBAR, UDA research 2005
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UK Search Engine Market Share

• Google dominates the UK market in both searches
  and visits

Google users have a tendency to do more searches
per visit, with an average visit time of 13
minutes compared with rival Yahoos average visit
time of 10 minutes
Source Hitwise
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Anatomy of Search

• Paid Search Listings (40 of Click-Throughs)
• Bid on Keywords (or phrases)
• Auction for rankings (highest price typically
  wins)
• Instant, scalable and ongoing cost

• Natural Search Listings (60 of Click-Throughs)
• Natural (aka. Organic or real results) with
  credibility
• Optimisation is technical and time intensive
• Experience and expertise required

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Natural Search Strengths and Weaknesses

• A majority of the Search engine users prefer to
  click on natural listings than sponsored ones
• SEO drives consistent volume of qualified
  business traffic
• The cost per click is inversely related to
  traffic, unlike PPC where its constant
• Drives free traffic to your website
• Underpins cost effective Pay-Per-Click activity
• Maintains user credibility and quality of user
  experience
• Takes time, especially on high volume terms (2-6
  months)
• Algorithms change frequently
• Less control over messaging
• Your site may simply not be SEO friendly
• Poor overall quality of natural listings

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Paid Search Strengths and Weaknesses

• Immediate Results
• Control of copy, landing page, cost
• Control of where and when your listings appear
• Easy(!) to track through 3rd party solutions such
  as Atlas
• Allows for promotion of special offers, deals etc
• Option to vary spend/traffic volume by seasonal
  demand
• Can be very expensive (Head Terms)
• Most users click on natural links
• Complex management
• Increasingly complex ranking methodologies
• Click fraud

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SEO vs PPC Ideas on Balancing Spend

• PPC listings - due to cost are CPA driven, sales
  focused, difficult to justify spending on generic
  head keywords how can you drive incremental
  business and brand engagement?
• Natural search listings allow you to reach
  consumers in research mode because there is no
  cost per click
• Do you need to bid on your brand name when you
  have top natural positioning?
• TEST, TRACK, TEST TEST AGAIN dont guess,
  benchmark and decide
• Now my SEO is sorted and I have good positioning
  in the Natural search should I switch off my PPC
  campaigns?
• Very unlikely. The advantages of PPC in
  flexibility, copy control and driving conversions
  conversions argue strongly in favour of a
  combined approach

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SEO vs. PPC Summary

• Decide on your search strategy and make sure it
  aligns with your overall business objectives
• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of PPC
  and SEO and divide both budgets and time
  accordingly
• Be realistic about what you can achieve through
  SEO
• Where possible co-ordinate SEO and PPC
  management to maximise effectiveness
• Leverage your site analytics and act on the
  information - Optimise both the search and
  on-site user experience
• SEO and PPC together has positive impact on
  brand

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1. SEO Best Practice - Top Tips
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Introduction to Strategic Keyword Research
Importance of Keyword Research

• Well executed keyword research forms the
  foundations of a natural optimisation campaign
• Poorly executed keyword research will result in a
  considerably lower R.O.I
• It is important to dedicate as much time as
  possible to keyword research
• If it becomes necessary to re-optimise the site
  due to poor keyword research, any existing
  inbound links with targeted link text will in
  most cases be wasted
• Any initial on-site optimisation done on the site
  will have to re-done costing developer or
  analyst time and further damaging the R.O.I by
  missing possible traffic

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Strategic keyword research tips
Keyword research process
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Introduction to Site Architecture

• The methods and technologies used to build a site
  are fundamental to its success in the rankings
• Ineffective site architecture results in a site
  that is difficult or impossible for search
  engines to index completely
• Well implemented site architecture will have
  benefits beyond search

Site Architecture tips

• Correct implementation of layout languages
• Validate any HTML to at least the XHTML 1.0
  transitional doctype
• Not directly proportionate to rankings but will
  lay the foundations for well executed on-site
  optimisation such as
• Optimised header tags
• Reduce bloated code which will up the density of
  key tags and keyword occurrences

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Site Architecture tips

• Implement a well optimised internal linking
  structure
• Use keywords wherever possible in internal links
• Ideally use them where benefiting usability, use
  them sparingly otherwise you risk a ranking
  penalty
• Use sitemaps to the fullest advantage
• Implement and update an XML sitemap regularly
• A navigation site map with a well optimised
  hierarchy will help search rankings
• Insert keywords into copy but be careful not to
  create a document with unnatural reading flow or
  that has to many keyword occurrences
• Meta tags especially the meta description tag

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Link building tips

• Links are still arguably the most important
  ranking factor
• There is still no substitute for one way links
  from high quality, relevant sites
• One relatively new method for link building
  that is making a lot of noise in the SEO world is
  link baiting
• This involves many techniques the most common
  being posting on forums or social media sites to
  generate buzz and natural links back to the
  target site being optimised
• Many other link baiting methods exist such as
• Creating unique content on a site to attract
  linking
• Exposing scammers
• Jokes or funny images

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Contact Details

• Peter Twiggs
• Senior Search Analyst
• I Spy Search
• Tel [phone]
• Mob [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• peter_at_ispysearch.com
• 42 Elcho Street
• London,
• SW11 4AU

Nick Jones Managing Director I-Spy Search Tel
020 7078 7288  Fax [phone] nick_at_ispysearch
.com 42 Elcho Street Battersea, London SW11 4AU