RSS for Law School Faculty and Staff

Search Engine Marketing Online Branding, SEO, Online PR, PPC Advertising, and Analytics. The Four P’s Online • Product • Price • Place – Web site that is fully integrated into the overall company strategy. • Promotion – Online Marketing verse traditional advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and personal selling. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 2 A Brief History • AOL Was The Original Portal. • Organic Search Results From Google. – AOL Search is mostly used by AOL users. • Paid Placement Results From Google AdWords. – Optimize for Google and you get AOL. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 3 Yahoo! • The Original Directory. • Acquired Organic And Paid Search Companies. – Inktomi – Overture • Today Is A Full-Service Portal. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 4 Microsoft • MSN Was Introduced As An Alternative To AOL. • Organic Search Results From MSN Search. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 5 Today • Universal Search – Search results include news, images, maps… • Evolution of the Portal. – Yahoo! > Browse – Google > Search – Facebook > Share 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 6 Search Engine Marketing (SEM) • Why Do It? – To get into the Consideration Set, if a new customer cannot find you online, they cannot buy from you. • SEM Is Everything You Do To: – – – Get into the consideration set. Get users to click through to your web site. Reduce landing page abandonment rate and increase hang time. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 7 Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Directories Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay-Per-Click-Advertising (PPC) Yahoo! Google Google AdWords 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 8 Market Share • Google • Yahoo! • Microsoft Sites Source: comScore 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 9 55% 24% 12% Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Basics • Online Branding • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 1. 2. 3. 4. Choose Keywords Optimize Content Get The Site Indexed. Linking Strategy • Online Public Relations • Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising – Google Adwords • Web Site Analytics – Google Analytics 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 10 Search Engine Optimization “Location, Location, Location!” What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? • SEO Is The Process of Writing, Designing, Coding, And Your Web Site So That Your Web Pages Will Get The Best Visibility In Both Search Engines And Directories. • Search Engine Visibility – Being listed towards the top of search results. – Organic searchers who click through are qualified visitors. • Directory Visibility – Vertical Directories becoming popular. – Search engines spider all the major directories. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 12 How Search Engines Work • The Search Engine Spider Starts With A Search Index. – A database that holds a list of all of the words on all of the pages on the web that have been indexed so far. • Within The Search Index There Is A Seed List of URLs, That Include Directories, That The Spider Starts With. • Matches The Search Query – The search engine analyzes the “key words” the searcher typed in and picks the pages matches those words. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 13 Ranks The Matches • Ranks The Matches – The search engine then sorts the matched web pages so the most “useful” results are displayed at the top. • The Spider Follows Links To URLs. – The spider records “reads” a list of words and phrases found on that URL. – Determines a word or phrases “weight” By using a mathematical algorithm. – Stores URL, title, and a descriptive snippet. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 14 Deep Crawls • Google Does A Deep Crawl of The Web Approximately Once A Month Looking For New or Changed Content. – This deep crawl takes more than a week, and an undisclosed amount of time to index new or changed content. – Google also skims the web regularly with less intensive fresh crawls of important seed list web sites. • Google Sitemaps – Provides fast updates to a web sites most popular pages with a direct data feed to Google through a XML based sitemap. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 15 SEO Basics • Online Brands • Get The Site Indexed. • Choose Keyword Phrase. • Optimize Content 8/21/2008 • Attract Inbound Links To The Site. beachrunner@gmail.com 16 Online Brands • Simple, Memorable, And Easy To Spell. • Intuitive Meaning That Attracts The Attention Of The Targeted Customer. • Use Keywords Or Keyword Phrases If Possible. • Test Your Brand Online Before Committing To See How Strong The Competition Is. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 17 Choose Target Keyword Phrases • Create A List of Keyword Phrases. – You are an expert, your customers are not. – WordTracker, KeywordDiscovery.com • Local Search • Test List – What is the competition doing? – KeyCompete.com – Don’t pick keywords that are too hot. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 18 Free Resources • Research List – Google Suggest http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en – Google AdWords Keyword Tool https://adwords.google.com/select/KeyWordSandBox – LowerYorBidPrice.com http://www.loweryourbidprice.com/freekeywords/ – Yahoo! Keyword Selector Tool http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/sugges tion/ 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 19 Good Content Trend • Major Search Engines Are Now Measuring: – How often users visit you site, how long they are staying, entry and exit paths, if they bookmark a page, and how often they return. – The information is recorded by the Google Toolbar. • Good Content Is Also Part of Making Your Site “Link Worthy.” • Unique or Helpful Content Is An Additional Thing A Directory Editor Also Looks For. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 20 Optimize Content • Keyword Prominence – Title, subheading, first sentence, and throughout the page. • Term Rarity – High weighted value for rare words. • Keyword Density – Approximately 7%. • Term Proximity – Keywords close to each other. • Emphasized Text – Bold, italic, larger font size, and color. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 21 Clean And Simple Layout • Each Category Page Is A Potential Entry Point For Searching. • Page Style – Newspaper • 1,000 Words or Less – Strong topic sentence. – Effective us of keywords. – Call to action. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 22 Layout Chinese Home Page If Required Home Page Content Topic Content Topic About Us Value Proposition FAQ In The News Contact Us Future Additional Content Success Stories 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 23 Chinese Home Page If Required 1. Home Page Content Topic Content Topic About Us 2. Product Categories FAQ In The News Contact Us Future Additional Content 3. Product Index 4. Product 5. Shopping Cart 6. Checkout 7. Thank You Product Detail Special Offers Picture Detail 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 24 Home Page • The Objective of the Home Page Is To Overview The Company, It’s Products, And Services. • By Far The Most Important Page For Customers, Search Engine Spiders, And Directory Editors. • The First 100 To 250 Words Are Critical. – Use the keywords in the domain name (if possible), in the title (bold), sub-title (italic), topic sentence, first paragraph, throughout the text, and in the conclusion. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 25 Title Tags • Title Tag – Title Tag – Use keywords if possible. – Searchers spend 30% of their decision time scanning the title tag before deciding to click the link. Source: Human-Computer Interaction Group Cornell University 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 26 Snippets • The Two To Three Line Page Excerpt That Search Engine Use to Show Where The Query Words Were Found On The Page. • Typically the Search Engine Takes The First Full Sentence of Page Text That Contains The Keywords. • Searchers Spend 43% of Their Decision Time Looking At The Snippet Before Deciding To Click The Link. Source: Human-Computer Interaction Group Cornell University 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 27 Meta Tags • Google Rarely Uses The “Meta” Description Tags For Snippets But Yahoo! And MSN Search Still Frequently Do. • Place Your Important Keywords Together At The Beginning of The Description Tag. – Snippets are typically 100 to 150 characters. – Balance quality traffic verse quantity traffic. <*meta name=“description” content=keyword in your description”> 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 28 Anchor Text • The Words That Are Shown On The Page In The In The Hypertext Link. • Search Engines Use Anchor Text To Infer The Subject Matter of The Page Linked To. • Keywords In Anchor Text Significantly Improve Click Through Rate. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 29 California Online Privacy Protection Act • Privacy Statements Are Required By Law In California As Of 07/04 For Any Web Site That Collects Information About California Residents. • Basic Requirements: – Conspicuously post. – Disclose the type of data you collect and share. – Provide information to consumers on how to opt out. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 30 Local Search • Google Has Pioneered Local Search Using IP Addresses, Zip Codes, And City Names To Allow Consumers To Locate Local Small Businesses. • Online Yellow Pages Trends – 66% of web surfers use search engines rather than Internet based yellow pages. Source: ComScore 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 31 Local Search Strategy • Google Local/Maps – Getting your SMB listed in Google Maps is an essential part of a local search strategy. • MSN Local – Indexes Citysearch. • Industry Specific Directories • Infospace – Indexes Verizon and SuperPages.com • Yahoo! Local – Indexes InfoUSA. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 32 Online Yellow Pages • Yahoo! Yellow Pages • MSN – Indexes Verizon SuperPages.com. • Verizon SuperPages.com • AOL Yellow Pages – Yellow Pages ads from SBC/Bell South joint partnership. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 33 Directories Directories Use Human Editors. How Directories Work • Directories Don’t Index Web Pages, They Index Web Sites. – Sites are assigned to categories, categories contain web site title and basic description information. – The original idea was customers could browse through categories like an online yellow pages, then “drill down” on the most interesting site descriptions. • Most Directories Today Are In Fact Hybrid Directory/Search Engines. Hybrids Get There Primary Results From A Directory And Its Secondary Results From A Search Engine. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 35 Home Page Design – Directories • The Most Important Keyword Page For Search Engine Spiders As Well As The Most Important Credibility Page For Directory Editors. • Include These Credibility Pages For Directory Editors: – – – – Company name, logo, and tag line prominently displayed. A link to Company Contact page. A link to About The Company page. Privacy Statement, Customer Service Section, Money Back Guarantee, Return Policy, Customer Feedback, FAQ… • Additional Things A Directory Editor Also Looks For Unique Content. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 36 Get The Site Indexed • Directories Are On The Seed List Of All Search Engines. • Yahoo! – Paid Inclusion – http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/ – http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request • Open Directory Project – Volunteer Editors – http://dmoz.org/add.html • MSN 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 37 Submitting URLs • Submit Only The Home Page, Your Site Map Will Allow The Spider To Find Everything Else. • Google/AOL – www.google.com/addurl • MSN Search – Primary results from Overture, Inktomi, LookSmart, and Alta Vista. – http://search.msn.com/docs/siteowner.aspx?t=search_webmaster_ref_getti ngsiteindexed.htm – http://search.msn.co.in/docs/submit.aspx • Ask Jeeves/Teoma – https://sitesubmit.ask.com/Main/login.jsp 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 38 Vertical Search • Search > Local Search > Vertical Search • Focused Essential Verse Exhaustive Results. – Alternative to multiple keywords. – Organized by content and audience, example LookSmart. • The Web is Starting To Organize Itself. • Creates The Opportunity For Communities To Form. – View most popular. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 39 Linking Strategy PageRank Why Is Linking Important? • Web Pages With High PageRanks Appear Closer To The Top of Google’s Search Results. – Google maintains the quality of it’s search results by focusing on web pages that have Backlinks pointing to them as essentially endorsements of the site. • Link Popularity Measures Both PageRank And Adds A Relevance Factor. – Just like with keyword spamming, the Google algorithm penalizes you for numerous non-relevant links. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 41 Why Is Linking Important? • Getting Listed In Google Is Much Easier And Faster By Pursuing A Linking Strategy Than By Submitting The Site To Google or The Open Directory Project. • With No Incoming Links You Are An Unreachable Island As Far As The Google Spider Is Concerned. • Estimates Are That About 25 High Quality Back Links To Your Site Will Significantly Increase Your Search Rankings. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 42 Who Are Other Sites Linking To? • Start With Searches Based On You Keyword Phrases And Check Their Backlinks. • Google Back Links Tool – Advanced Search > Links – Google Toolbar > i > Backward Links • Google Will Only Count And Display The Highest Quality Pages In Its Index That Are Linked To The Page. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 43 Linking Opportunities • Suppliers • Media Coverage • Vertical Directories • Strategic Partners • Business Associations • Business Directories • Government Publications 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 44 Contact The Linking Partner • Why You Like Their Site. • What They Should Link To You. • How The Link Helps Their Visitors. • Exactly Where The You Think The Link Should Be On Your Site. • Suggest Keywords To Use In The Link Anchor Text. – Consider sending the actual HTML for the link. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 45 Online Public Relations Credible, Free Promotion Public Relations 101 • What Is It? – The proactive management and placement of information in the media to enhance a brand or reputation. • Why Do It? – PR can achieve your promotion objectives at a fraction of the cost of paid advertising. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 47 Additional Advantages of PR • PR Has More Credibility Than Advertising. – The audience does not think of it as a sales pitch. – Like advertising, PR is effective in it’s ability to motivate a desired behavior. • In An Extremely Cluttered Advertising Environment, PR Is Very Effective At Breaking Through The Clutter. • PR Is Win/Win. – Helps busy journalists get their jobs done, and the same companies are usually chosen to be quoted when articles are written about their field of expertise. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 48 Online PR Strategy • Use BusinessWire For High Priority Press Releases. • Use PRWeb For Low Priority Press Releases. • Email Press Releases To A Targeted Media List. • Press Releases Need To Be Optimized For Search Engine Visibility. • Press Web Page Is Part Of Backlinking Strategy. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 49 Press Friendly Web Page • Effectively Serves Secondary Audiences: – The Press – Strategic Partners – Potential Investors. • Press Kit – Company fact sheet. – Product information and images. • In The News Article Library. • Press Release Library. 8/21/2008 • Complete Press Contact Information. beachrunner@gmail.com 50 PR Linking Strategy • Always Ask Reporters For Links To Your Site For Articles That Are Going To Be Published On The Web. • Hyperlink References To You Company And Product Back To Your Site. • The Number of Links To This Particular Type of Content Is Not As Important, The Content Is Expected To Be New And Has No Time To Gather Links. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 51 Online Press Release Resources • BusinessWire.com • PRNewswire.com • WebWire.com • 24-7PressRelease.com • PRWeb.com – SMB • Pluck.com – PR clipping service. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 52 Google AdWords Targeted Advertising And Measurable ROI. Three Types of Online Ads • Search Linked Ads – Google AdWords – Sponsored Links, Promoted Ads • Context Linked Ads – Google AdSense – Linked by textual analysis. • Banner Ads – Loosely related to the content. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 54 Ad Performance • Rank = CPC x CTR • Bid Price (CPC) – AdWords Discounter, you pay the minimum necessary to keep your position. • Click-Through Rate (CTR) – Clicks divided by impressions. – The higher your CTR the lower your CPC for the same position on the page. • Hang Time – If searchers exit your site to fast you get penalized for irrelevance. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 55 Keyword Phrases • Look At Both Popularity And Competition. • Computer – Too expensive. – Strong competitors. • Computer Hardware – Less expensive. – Weak competitors. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 56 Keyword Matching • Broad Match – – – – – Default setting. Display’s ad whenever the keyword appears anywhere in the user query. Shows ads for similar terms, including plurals and synonyms. Best For: Multi-word keyword phrases. Advantage: Expanded reach. • Phrase Match – – – – Display’s ad when search term matches the phrase’s exact sequence. Manually assigned using quotation marks. Best For: Keyword phrases including general terms. Advantage: Allows your ad to appear when additional terms precede or follow the keyword phrase. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 57 Keyword Matching • Exact Match – Displays ad only on the exact keyword or phrase. – Advantage: Reaches precisely targeted viewers. • Negative Match – Do not display ad if query contains negative keyword for a campaign or ad group. – Advantage: Fewer impressions and higher click through rate. • Embedded Match – Used Phrase or Exact Match with Negative Match keywords. – Displays ad for every variation of the keyword phrase except the exact match of that keyword phrase. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 58 Location/Language Targeting • IP Address – Includes location information. • Internet Domain – By country. • Query Location – Query parsing, for example “hotels in Los Angeles”. • Language Preference – You can write English ads and have them target Chinese language preference users. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 59 Web Site Translation • Start With The Just The Home Page. • Keyword Phrases – Translation • Technical/Business Specific Translators. • Localization of Content: – Translation of HTML. – Resolution of text expansion/contraction. – Adapt graphics. – Maintain links. • Strategic Rethinking – Cultural Customization 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 60 Google Analytics • How Visitors Interact With Your Web Site. • Integrated Into Google AdWords. – Conversion Tracking – CPC is more important than CTR. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 61 In 7 Seconds They Stay or Go. 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 62 Split Testing • Use Ad Variations • Rotate Equally • Test Results – www.askhowie.com/split 8/21/2008 beachrunner@gmail.com 63 Search Engine Marketing SEM