How to Set Goals for Your Marketing - Matt Bailey

"How to Set Goals for Your Marketing", by Matt Bailey.

Marketing expert Matt Bailey explains how to set marketing goals - by identifying revenue-producing actions and the segments and personas needed to accomplish those goals. "By measuring motivation and revenue, you can better measure success." He gave a similar message during SESSF 2012. This is an excellent presentation.

See Matt Bailey's presentation at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEWoxE5CLAw&feature=share&list=PL981F1D7041031039

Is Saying SEO is Dead... Dead?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not Dead. But don't get too complacent.

SEO extinction doom and gloom tends to come out of hiding whenever Google makes notable changes to its search algorithm. As Google is a quasi-monopoly in search, these dire alarms should be looked at and evaluated. The changes made by Google primarily focus on filtering out spammers and improving SERP quality. Big changes like Panda and Penguin can crush black and grey hat SEO efforts. But white hat SEO rarely is adversely affected. So use white hat tactics. In other words, if you conduct your SEO efforts with your target market needs, website usability, and original content relevancy as top of mind, then you'll have a good chance to succeed with organic search optimization for Google, Bing, Blekko, and other search sites.

Here lie the ancient ruins of SEO,
destroyed by barbarian pandas, penguins,
and SERPs.

Search Engine Land has produced a humorous infographic detailing the failed predictions of SEO disaster and SEO death over the years. Folks have been predicting the death of SEO for as long as SEO became an acronym for search engine optimization.

As someone who has been successfully conducting and managing B-to-B web marketing SEO for over 10 years, I find this infographic amusing and entertaining. We've heard urgent 'SEO is Dead' warnings before, I just didn't realize that SEO downfall predictors have been at this for so long. This infographic pulls all the SEO doom and gloom prognosticators together in one handy guide.

To see this infographic please visit: "The Death Of SEO, Failed Predictions Over The Years"

For anyone who has been at SEO for a few years, predictions that the SEO sky is falling can have a déjà vu feeling. Like other apocalyptic predictions of death and destruction (zombie invasion, thermo-nuclear war, magnetic pole reversal, peak oil, mega-quakes, killer asteroids, alien invasion, supernovas, super-bug pandemics, evil super-computers, mega-solar storms, etc.) this one has not happened, just yet. Given enough time, like a Monte-Carlo probability simulation, the unthinkable could happen, SEO could be squashed like a bug one day. So in this regard we shouldn't mock SEO death predictors, but monitor their early-warning chatter. One day, they could get it right.

Alternatives to Google Analytics 'Not Provided' Organic Search Keywords: Google Closes The Curtain on Organic Keyword Research.

SEO Ranking Factors as a Periodic Table

Search Engine Land has produced a very useful "Periodic Table" for search engine optimization ranking factors. This is a great at-a-glance graphic which can help anyone involved with SEO the opportunities, dangers, and housekeeping required to produce and maintain superior SERPs in the face of tough and determined competition. It's also fun to look at and impress your coworkers when you post it on a wall.


See the article on this SEO infographic at http://searchengineland.com/seotable. You can download the .pdf version here, and look at the complete graphic.

How to do Keyword Research - Infograph

Keyword Research Process Infographics.
Here is a good, simple graphic showing the major steps in keyword research for organic and paid search engine marketing.

From: Promodo.com
Learn more about keyword research at:
http://searchengineland.com/infographic-how-to-do-keyword-research-for-seo-134202

Geo-location and local search video: Bruce Clay discusses at SES San Francisco 2012

Bruce Clay is the owner of Bruce Clay, Inc. a well known internet marketing company. Mr. Clay is another valuable and informative speaker at SES events, and he was once again enlightening and thought-provoking at SES San Francisco 2012. In this interview, Bruce focuses on local search, Google's plans, and what changes to local search are likely over the next 18 months. A great video which reminds us that local search is very important - - and should not be overlooked.

Big Data Marketing Video interview of Bryan Eisenberg at SES San Francisco 2012

Here is a great video interview of Bryan Eisenberg on Big Data and Search Engine Marketing at Moscone Center in San Francisco during SES 2012. Mr. Eisenberg had just given an excellent presentation on Big Data during SES SF 2012, which I made sure to attend!

Here is the video interview of Bryan Eisenberg discussing Big Data:



Learn more about Big Data and search engine marketing at: Fun With Big Data @ SES San Francisco 2012

SEO Diagnostics @ SES San Francisco 2012

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Diagnostics for the Skilled Search Mechanic

Speaker: Chris Boggs, SES Advisory Board; Director, Rosetta

This session at Search Engine Strategies San Francisco 2012 was one of the most valuable strategic guidance presentations during the entire SEO knowledge-packed week, which is saying a lot, as all the SEO presentations were top-shelf in terms of quality and value. Chris covered mission-critical steps anyone can take to help understand the true situation when confronted with poor or mediocre SEO. He then shows a path forward to fix problems and exploit opportunities on a prioritized basis.

First SEO Diagnosis Steps:

• Confirm the SEO problem exists
• Look at the log data
• Look at the analytics data

Second SEO Diagnosis Steps:

• Begin Assessment
• Look at off-site promotion
• Look at on-site promotion
• Look at website's technical status

Ask yourself: 

• Is the content still worthy? Unique? Up-to-date? 
• What are the competitors doing?
• Does your snippet still work for a keyword?
• Is the right webpage ranking high? 

Links:

• Review your linking strategy, as the Google Penguin updates are punishing low-original content sites and spammy sites which have heavily relied upon link-building for SERP rankings.
• Black-hat Negative SEO - - beware of competitors buying links to YOUR site to hurt you.
• Is your anchor text over-optimized, so that Penguin is punishing your site?

Social Media:

• If you're having SEO problems reviewing your social media activities will be valuable. Are you exploiting this growing area of search behavior? Are your competitors busy with social media postings and content? Evaluate your relative positioning with Social compared to your competition, and take steps.

Intelligent SEO Diagnosis will help
your SERPs stand out in the crowd.

After diagnosing and taking action - - Go BACK and RE-MEASURE. "Things change rapidly with SEO."

Chris Boggs emphasized that putting a priority on potential actions to take is crucial.... there is never going to be enough time, investment or knowledge to do it all. So our priorities for diagnosis and action must focus on the most lucrative fixes - those fixes we think which will generate the most profit at the end of the day. He stressed that SEO managers should be in 'diagnostic mode all the time' to get the most out of your efforts.

Chris stressed the 'sweet-spot' is when you are working on PROACTIVE fixes, not REACTIVE ones. Proactive actions include analysis of a new competitor, review of algorithm updates, catching market or industry shifts, and 'cleaning your own rifle' - - making sure your SEO campaigns are clean, efficient, and effective. Reactive fixes are similar to panic-driven actions - - scrambling to repair sudden losses in traffic, conversions, phone calls, email, etc. Better to avoid having to implememt damage control in the first place, with proactive diagnostic methodologies.
Common SEO problems may be caused by our own people. Serious problems can occur from our IT making changes  to pages which can hinder search engine bots (robots.txt), for example. Other SEO problems can originate from issues as simple as not using best practice for H1 and H2 titles. Your existing CMS system may be lousy, or inadvertently set-up to hurt your SEO efforts. Constantly  "check with your IT team!" is Chris' advice.
New competitors, or reinvigorated competitors, can cause SEO problems. "Check your competitive neighborhood". Use analytical tools to drill-down, analyze, and see those important "Uh Oh" moments.
Chris listed a number of useful SEO tools he likes, including Bright Edge, Google Webmaster Tools, URI Valet, Majestic, Raven, and SEOMOZ.
At the end, Chris emphasized that the best SEO diagnosis and fix is good content. "Content is still King". Links will still have place in SEO, though deliberate at-scale link-building campaigns are losing value thanks to Penguin. Chris stressed don't ignore social media. Matt Cutts from Google himself pointed in a direction where Google will search deeper and rank social media content more highly than in the past. This all points to having great, original content on  your website as a prime proactive step which can be taken to improve your SEO and SERPs.
My other take on this presentation and many others at SES is that we should learn to exploit Big Data (analytics) as much as possible. Conducting SEO campaigns without factual website analytics knowledge to help guide us is similar to driving a car with just one eye open, a lot can be missed!

Life after Google Penguin - Pretty Good!

How has your SEO life been faring after Google’s Penguin update?

Mr. Milind Mody, CEO at eBrandz, has posted an excellent question on Linked-in today regarding search engine marketing and the Penguin Google search updates which have shaken up the SEO industry.

His question is straightforward:
"How has your Life been after Google’s Penguin Update? – Diagnose, Recover, Rebuild"

My answer is essentially: No Worries. (Good) Content is (Still) King

Here is my extended answer, posted on Linked-in:

Matt Cutts +  Google + Penquin =
SERP Pain & Suffering for Some.

I can discuss B-to-B search engine marketing, I realize B-to-C is a different matter. The SERP rankings for the B-to-B businesses that I cover are excellent, and even 'dominate' many important search results. I've been enjoying this happy state of affairs for years now. I focus on the target customers first and try to provide relevant + concise + precise long-tail content, apply suitable internal cross-linking, use niche social media and other 'white hat' best practices.
I do not engage in link-buying, nor spend time on link-building campaigns. I trim extraneous content to enhance the pages for both the reader and Google. I ignore artificial techniques attempting to 'game' the system in a useless attempt to acquire inbound links. I don't need them!
Penguin, Panda, Farmer and the rest of the Google anti-spam updates have cleaned up the SERPs and have benefited my content focused pages and my SERP results. I try to stay on a virtuous path regarding SEO... this approach has brought significant benefits to our search engine marketing and lead generation results.

Learn more about the Penguin SEO anti-spam updates:

• Changing SEO Strategies Post-Google Penguin
• Google Penguin (Wikipedia)
• Post-Penguin SEO Link Building: The Naked (URL) Truth
• Poke The Penguin!
• Thoughts on PANDA, FARMER and other Search Engine Creatures.

Ten Tips For Maximizing Your iPhone and iPad

Great tips for using your iPad and iPhone:

WSJ's Katherine Boehret has produced an excellent video with some great tips to enhance your ability to use iPhones and iPads. Recommended viewing for anyone who owns an iPhone or iPad.

Paid Search Marketing Wisdom @ SES San Francisco 2012

Pay Per Click Analytics Marketing Tips at SES San Francisco 2012

I attended as many PPC focused sessions at SESSF 2012 as I could. The presentation by Steve Latham and Crispin Sheridan was a motivating, and useful addition to the full day of PPC training I had earlier in the week. See Fun With Adwords @ SES San Francisco 2012 for more details on Monday's two 1/2 day classes devoted exclusively to PPC.

Paid Search Analytics and Multi-Touch Attribution Analysis
Moderator: Andrew Goodman, SES Advisory Board; President, Page Zero Media
Speakers:
Steve Latham, Founder and CEO, Encore Media Metrics
Crispin Sheridan, SES Advisory Board; Sr. Director Search Marketing Strategy, SAP

Make Adwords work smarter for you.

There were good strategic key points and take-aways in this informative session. Some suggestions may seem obvious to someone familar with Adwords, but these points go deep and require going beyond the routine.... using drill-down efforts to really benefit from gained knowledge and insight. These suggestions can have subtle and important implications in the success of your PPC campaigns.

A good rule of thumb is to never get complacent with your PPC campaigns. Ignorance is not bliss with PPC, it is merely just another way for Google to make more money off your Adwords account!

• Paid Search is much faster than any other marketing channels. Exploit this advantage.
• Paid Search provides a sense of urgency, on a constant basis.
• Paid Search provides a form of inexpensive market research. 
• Start your PPC campaigns with actions, then apply and study the analytics.
• PPC Factors and Measurements to look at:
  CPA (cost per action), ROAS (return on ad spend), CTR, Conversion Rates, Ad Quality Score, Match Type, Ad Text.
• Bid Management Tools can be useful. Try automated tools for routine work. Monitor!
• Inaccurate bids are some of the biggest costs in PPC today.
• The Quality Score is connected to search intent. A poor quality score score can be a warning of misguided notions about potential client behavior.

There are 7 suggested areas ripe for PPC Campaign Improvement:

1. CTR and Conversion:

• Ad Content makes a big difference. 
• Test your ads often. Don't rest. Try A B tests. Use Ad extensions. 
• Conversion Rates can be misleading if the volume is low. Don't assume!
• Understand and use setting filters and negative search terms.

2. CTR on Keywords:

• "Sculpt" your campaigns. Remove or move poor quality score keywords. Filter. Use negative search terms to weed out wasteful clicks. Focused keywords "tend" to perform better than broad search.
• Get the keywords closer in intent to your ads.
• Get more granular in your campaigns and ad groups.
• Conversion Rate is an important quality factor, but what if the search term is generating quality first time visitors who are researching, in discovery mode, and don't convert on the first click? It is very important to use analytical data to track actual behavior over time before slashing low conversion rate keywords.

3. Bad Segments:

• Are there differences between device behavior? PC versus Tablet versus Mobile? Apple versus PC?
• Are time zone settings, geography and language campaigns in need of dire attention?
• Adwords 'teems with waste' - - find and prune.

4. Attribution and Analytics:

• Try to understand how PPC works with your other marketing channels. Dig into Analytics for insight. The book Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics by Brian Cliftin is highly recommended.

5. Steady and Constant Account Adjustment and Expansion:

• Always look at adding new products, services, offerings. 
• Capture trends and opportunities before your competition have time to think about it or react.
• Target category leadership.
• Try using Display Ads, Geography and Language settings. 
• Never stop experimenting. 

6. Reshape your Adwords accounts to pursue 'high intent keywords'.

7. Be proactive. Less reactive.

• Over time, you'll be spending much more of your PPC time working on opportunities than fixing problems.