Content is Still King

I talk every day with clients and write often in this blog about the importance of links in any SEO strategy. Anyone who has spent more than ten minutes reading about SEO knows that back links are critical ingredient for organic search engine rankings.

One point I make often is that a good link strategy will yield limited results or no material results without a strong foundation of content. In fact, we say that (in round numbers) 30% of a website’s SEO success is based on “on page” factors. On-page factors refer to well-optimized content with good use of keywords, meta tags, header tags, search engine friendly URLs and optimized source code.

The math is obvious. We like to say that about 70% of a website’s SEO is based on off-page factors. Primarily, this refers to the extent to which others think your content is good. At first, this sounds very strange. How can others determine how good my content is? And, how can Google (and other engines) determine what others think?

Consider a comment made by a Google engineer at the Online Marketing Summit conference I attended last October. He said this: “Google doesn’t care about your content. Google cares about who cares about your content.” What he means, is when other content (on other websites) link to your content, they are “casting a vote.” for your content.

The Google technology explanation describes how this works.  Essentially, other web pages link to your content and Google considers that a “vote” for your content.

To accentuate this point consider how Google’s origin as Backrub, is based on this concept of keeping score of the popularity of your content.

So, if creating links to content is so critical to SEO success then why don’t we just go out and buy a g-zillion links to our content?  Well, some do.  First, consider that if you pay a site to link to you, that is frowned upon by Google and the other major engines.  We don’t condone it.

Let’s go back to the comment by the Google engineer.  In fact, Google does care about your content.  He went on to say that the more relevant, keyword-rich content you have (along with a search engine friendly architecture), the more links your content will naturally attract.

Then, if you pay someone to build legitimate links to your website (not pay the website to link to you), those links will be well supported by your content and provide good SEO value.

Now, let’s go back to the 30/70 ratio although, this is admittedly hearsay, not a statistic backed up by Google.  The point to this ratio is this.  If you build a strong foundation in your SEO plan with great, relevant content, then the links you get will carry weight in SEO value. 

Of course, the Google PR value of the source of the links counts as well.  The point here is that links without content are not effective.

So, it comes back to this - content is king! 

Tags: Google PR, link strategy, links, organic search engine rankings, SEO, SEO plan, SEO strategy

Posted in Link Building, SEO | 1 Comment »

SEO: The Perfect Storm

I often talk with marketers about the difference between SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay per click advertising).   I remind myself that, unlike me and my team at Find and Convert (and others in our business), most marketers don’t spend their days thinking about Internet marketing strategies as we do.

So, when we look at the difference between SEO and PPC, it goes beyond the costs.  After all, most marketers understand that PPC can cost a lot more than SEO.  But, for so many marketers PPC (also known as SEM) is the path of least resistance. 

Many marketers believe they can measure results from PPC easier than from SEO strategies.  But, let’s examine some of the facts.

We spend a lot of our time producing reports for clients.  These reports summarize (usually in painstaking detail) many statistics.  For the sake of this blog post I’ll hone in on the most telling stats which really point to the advantages of SEO over PPC. 

Time and again we see that visitors to our client’s websites which come from organic searches spend more time on the website, visit more pages and have lower bounce rates than paid search traffic.  The first two stats mentioned here should be self evident.  A bounce rate refers to someone who visits a web page on your site and does not visit another page, essentially “bouncing” off your site.

Moreover, when we provide reports on our PPC plans for clients, we track the cost of conversion (the desired action for the client).  Such conversion costs are tracked for the ads and for the keywords.  The most telling conversion cost is for the keywords we track.  This metric really tells us the cost to produce a lead for the most desirable keywords.

All too often we see marketers show the most interest in the most competitive keywords.  They wind up paying dearly for these keywords simply because they are competitive.

In SEO strategies, we are able to (with a lot of hard work) build optimization strategies for select keywords which are less competitive (long tail keywords).  For example, we work hard for a client to rank on page one for “project accounting software.”  But, the software client we represent has a product that runs only on Oracle.  So, when someone searches for “oracle project accounting software,” we hit a home run in ranking and in a qualified website visitor.

So, the message in this post is to think long term with SEO strategies.  Do the hard work which will require ongoing care and feeding, but can have long lasting and cost effective sales results through organic search traffic.  And, don’t be afraid to target lower searched, less competitive and long-tail keywords. 

I’ve always said I’d rather be found by the 10 people who are a perfect fit, than targeting 1000 people who may be a fit but are harder to reach and therefore a higher risk search strategy. 

Tags: long tail keywords, pay per click advertising, PPC, search engine optimization, SEO, SEO strategies

Posted in Pay per Click, SEO | No Comments »

Making PDF Content Search Engine Friendly

We often see web content in PDF format.  In most cases PDF content can be read by search engines.  But, if the content is made up of something that was scanned and saved in a PDF format, that content is image based.  And, of course you already know that image based content can NOT be read by search engines. 

To ensure your PDF content is SEF (search engine friendly) make sure the content can be read by search engines.  Start by saving a plain text document (word processing, spreadsheets, etc.) in a PDF format.

To get the maximum SEO value from your PDF content, link important keywords from your PDF document into relevant pages on your website containing those keywords (don’t over do it though). 

In your PDF document, select File, Properties.  In the Description tab type in meta data including a Title comprised of a few keyword phrases which represent the main theme of your document.  Enter the subject (a short sentence) and a description using the main keywords in the document (once again, don’t over do it). 

Once you’ve done this, you have optimized your PDF document and when it is placed on your website you will get search engine optimization value from your PDF content! 

BTW, you need Adobe Acrobat Professional to do this, but it is well worth the price if you place PDF content on your website.

Tags: Adobe Acrobat Professional, PDF, search engine optimization, SEO

Posted in SEO | 1 Comment »

Podcasting Basics

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1610)

Podcasting Basics Show Notes:  To listen to the podcast click the play button above, download it or subscribe to our podcasts below to the right. 

What is a Podcast?

A podcast is digital file which can be audio or video, that someone can subscribe to, download-able, or listen to on the spot on their computer.

A podcast can be played on a PC or portable MP3 player.

A podcast is time shifted delivery of content similar to a VCR.

Why should marketers care about podcasting?

Podcasts are in the top 10 of most frequently accessed types of online content.

Survey conducted by KnowledgeStorm and Univeral McCann of 3900 B2B professionals summer 2006 (highlights):

32% said they listen to more podcasts than before.

B2B technology buyers are listening to podcasts for business interests.

72% said they have listened to downloaded or subscribed to podcasts on technology topics.

23% said they listen to podcasts on technology topics frequently.

About 60% said they want more content delivered in podcast format, specifically they named white papers and analyst reports.

55% said they would be more likely to consume white papers and analyst reports if delivered in podcast format.

57% said their biggest frustration with podcasts is the scarcity of interesting content (opportunity).

Conclusion: podcasts are not just for entertainment, they are a bonafide business tool!

Podcast strategy considerations for marketers:
Define your marketing objective.
Consider your audience and the topics of interest to them.
Identify the content subjects for podcasting to your audience that meets your objective.
Consider content on tips, trends, thought leadership ideas, case studies, white papers, analyst reports, etc.
The content for podcasting has to be manageable. Not too much in one podcast episode. Segment content into episodes.

Decide on the podcast show format.
Interview style: 2 or 3 people.
Or a solo approach if the personality is appropriate for a solo podcast.

Post your podcasts to a web page or blog post.
Include keyword rich text show notes for search engine optimization (SEO) benefits. Show notes can serve as “spider food.” People can link to your show notes which is also good for SEO.

Offer subscription options to your podcast in directories such as iTunes, and other podcast directories. iTunes is the biggest directory. But, it will only display the top 150 results per keyword phrase, e.g., search on “Web 2.0.”

Track your podcast statistics an episode by episodes basis. Measure which podcast topics have been popular. Track downloads and subscriptions through iTunes. Track podcast blog pages in your web analytics.

Marketing – how much marketing (promotion) can you do in a podcast?
It depends on your audience and topics. Here are some promotional possibilities.
Consider a show sponsor: “This podcast is brought to you by…”
Consider a short commercial at the beginning of the podcast or at the end or both.
Consider a “commercial” break (word from our sponsor) in the middle of the podcast just like a radio show.
Offer your audience a call to action that is only available to the podcast listeners.
Consider a short form for podcasts on topics of high interest that will interest people to fill out the form.

Podcast idea example:
OTA- over the air delivery of broadcasting. Example: iPhone can download music or a podcast or push a podcast out to subscribers.
Consider this scenario: A VP of Sales assembles internal subject matter experts to record a podcast with up to date product and competitive info that needs to be distributed to their glogal salesforce ASAP.  They then push out the podcast to their salesforce using OTA.  Rather than relying on a long voicemail or email, the podcast is delivered to their sales force quickly because they were previously subscribed to the “sales podcast” for just such occasions. Sales people can listen to the podcast even while traveling and stay up to date on time sensitive information.

There are almost no rules in podcast marketing.  Do whatever makes sense for your audience and your content.

Tags: iTunes, podcasting, Podcasts, search engine optimization, SEO, Web 2.0

Posted in Podcasts, Web 2.0 | No Comments »

What’s in a (URL) Name?

One of the most overlooked best practices in search engine optimization (SEO) involves naming a web page.  Each website page which is optimized for good content has an opportunity (in SEO terms) to be named after the main theme of the page.

When search engines crawl your website they consider all factors to rate the quality of your content and links.  One way to tell the search engines you care about your website visitors is by naming URLs using specific keywords.

Even competitive keywords can be optimized for good results, especially when combined with a keyword specific URL and a long tail keyword.

Here are two examples:
Find and Convert provides SEO services. While we market our services nationwide, to compete for the keyword “seo” is very difficult. So, one of the long tail keyword phrases we have optimized for is “seo services tampa” since we’re located in Tampa Bay. At the time of this blog post, our search engine listing is in the middle of page 1 in Google for this phrase with “seo” in the URL ranking on page 1. 

SEO Services | Search Engine Website Optimization | SEO Site …

Another example is “outsourced medical transcription.”  The number one position has “outsource” in the URL.

Medical Transcription Services Company Outsourcing, Medical …

Some website’s architecture (or content management system) does not allow specific naming of website URLs.  That can be a very limiting factor.  Website URLs with the exact name of the keyword phrase for which you want to be found can make a big difference, e.g., www.yourcompany.com/outsourced-medical-transcription-services.htm.

A similar idea is to buy domain names based on your most desirable keyword phrases.  You may have to get creative, or buy long domain names.  Don’t be afraid to buy domain names using hyphen separators like the example above.  The way to make this a white hat (legitimate) tactic is to put original content on your new domain and link it back to your main website.  Put this content and URL to work for you using ethical SEO practices through keyword-specific URLs.  You just might see your search engine ranking positions (SERPs) increase significantly!

Tags: ethical SEO practices, search engine optimization, SEO, SERP, white-hat SEO

Posted in SEO | No Comments »

Measuring Web 2.0 Buzz

At Find and Convert we’re all about measuring.   We provide our SEO clients detailed metrics.  You know, the usual stuff including unique visits, page-views, time on site, conversions, bounce rates, keywords, referral sources, yada, yada, yada.  I’m not trivializing it by any means.  The metrics we track for SEO and PPC are very important.

But, as more of our clients enter the brave new Web 2.0 world the question is how do we measure results?  Great question!  Not a simple answer….But, there are ways to measure results from your Web 2.0 campaigns.

If you’re blogging, you can measure RSS subscriptions.  You can measure how many others link to your blog.  Who are they?

You can measure how many social bookmarks you receive from popular sites like DIGG and StumbleUpon and how easily your social media content is found in Technorati and Del.icio.us.

You can certainly monitor and measure the comments on your blog.  You can see the tone of comments and the trends in the comments.  In fact, you may find comments to be invaluable “research.” 

Don’t overlook your web stats reports.  You can track referral sources from social media sites.  When you see social media referrals increase, that’s a trend to watch.  If you run campaigns in social media sites, track your web stats carefully to observe traffic from these sites and time spent on your site.  Make sure to have conversion strategies in place for these referral strategies so you can track them easily.

Don’t overlook tools such as Google Alerts and Yahoo Alerts.  In Google Webmaster you can track links from social sites. 

If you manage a large brand, or multiple brands there are more advance social media tracking tools.  Some of them include Andiamo, Website-Watcher, WathThatPage and Visual Sciences.

Internet Marketing strategies require planning, measuring and revising.  The methods and tools used to measure Web 2.0 results vary somewhat from measuring SEO and PPC, but not drastically.  The web analytics field is evolving.  Keep up to date and profit from the results you can measure.

Tags: , Blogging, DIGG, Internet Marketing strategies, PPC, RSS subscriptions, SEO, social media, Technorati, Web 2.0, web stats

Posted in Blogging, SEO, Web 2.0 | No Comments »