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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

What Cheap SEO Services Actually Get You

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A December 2013 article posted over at Search Engine Watch titled, “How Much Should You Spend on SEO Services?” does a really good job of hinting at what to avoid when choosing a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) provider. Despite the article’s best attempts at deterring business owners and marketers from taking the cheapest route, we still see it happen time and time again. Today, I’m going to make the decision even easier for you. Not by detailing what to avoid, but telling you exactly what Cheap SEO services will do for (and to) your business.

Cheap SEO Services Lack in the Strategic Department

At DMG, we’re huge proponents of this marketing maxim: “Strategize first, execute second.” This is especially important for SEO because as a tactic, it plays a critical role in so many other digital campaigns a business may be running. If a search strategy isn’t comprehensive; that is, covering the client’s website structure, technical elements, keyword research, and content development, to name a few, suffice it to say that this agency is probably approaching SEO like it’s the year 2005.

As an example, imagine there is a retail business that’s currently running Paid Search advertising (PPC) focused on brand awareness and online sales. This company wants to begin incorporating SEO. A cheap service provider won’t perform industry research, conduct any sort of SWOT analysis, or take these PPC campaigns into consideration when devising its SEO strategy. In other words, they’re going to try to increase SEO performance in total isolation. Without a strategic approach that aligns all aspects of search marketing, this client can expect higher costs and diminished returns, both paid and organically.

A Note on “Instant” SEO Results

A cheap SEO provider is one that guarantees #1 spots and “instant results.” To be blunt, this is a bold-faced lie. It’s common knowledge that the search environment is constantly changing, and SEO providers can only base their offerings on what information Google (and reputable news outlets) is willing to make public. What’s interesting is that many of these cheap SEO firms operate as if the search engines can be fooled. Nearly every major change made by Google, Yahoo, and Bing is to combat tactics that work to “cheat” the system.

To move forward and actually help your business in organic search, don’t think about rankings as the goal. Being #1 for a keyword has little to no impact on whether a prospective customer can find you or if they’ll actually buy from you. Any company that claims to have the “secret sauce” to making that happen has a completely inaccurate notion of SEO’s business value.

The Man Behind the SEO Curtain

When browsing a service list for an SEO provider, take a look to see the type of support they offer. Are there any “checks and balances” in place, such as a project management system? How much insight are you given into what they’re actually doing on your behalf? How accessible are they on and off business hours? Over the years, we’ve learned that successful SEO doesn’t happen without transparent communication.

An open dialogue about what’s being done, what’s being planned, and how SEO can benefit other marketing initiatives is critical to a successful agency/client relationship. Failing to provide SEO transparently means there will be no accountability on the execution of the project. Even if the strategy is comprehensive, it takes communication to make sure it’s being executed properly and adjusted when necessary.

SEO website audit
How’s this for transparency? These SEO audits allow us to establish a baseline of fundamental SEO issues on client websites.

Here’s Our Recommendation

When choosing an SEO provider, it’s important to go into the process understanding that every other business out there is competing on the same playing field. And if there was a silver bullet to maximized ROI and sales, it wouldn’t take long before SEO agencies all went out of business. Approach the selection process with key questions, both about the agency’s SEO process as well as how they manage client relationships. Keep an eye out for talk of “guarantees,” because like we said, SEO is too varied and dynamic an environment for that. Finally, do a bit of your own research about what realistic SEO goals actually look like and how they’re measured. Don’t be afraid to put the agency on the spot and ask the question, “How will you prove that the money we spend led to a positive business result?” If they can’t answer these questions with confidence, you’ve got more searching to do.
Have a bargain-bin SEO horror story? Share it in the comments!

The Biggest Questions in B2B and Enterprise Search

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”We are a B2B company, so we don’t need to worry about organic search or SEO.”

In our experience with various B2B and enterprise clients, we’ve heard this proclamation in one way or another. If and when the discussion comes to this, we typically utilize the example of the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), which essentially boils down to showing up at the right place, at the right time, and with the right content in order to capture customers at the key decision-making instant.

Being in a B2B sales environment doesn’t dehumanize this process, because people are still the ones making purchasing decisions. According to Google, 71% of people they spoke with use the internet on a daily basis for their business purchase decisions. The questions are: are you there (mobile, tablet, PC), is the content relevant, and is it delivered in a timely way?

”Why do we need content development and strategy if we’re primarily B2B?”

Simply put, if you don’t have content being created on a regular basis, it’s going to be like mission impossible to not only acquire new customers, but retain existing ones. Research has shown that content is of utmost importance to all stages of the purchasing process. Having a plan around content marketing is mission-critical in terms of conveying your products’ features, benefits, and key differentiating factors.

This process starts with the right types of content. Content isn’t isolated to just words on pages, but also images and videos as well. People can find just about anything in the search results, from PDFs (brochures) to online video demos. All of these must work to both represent your brand and differentiate your company from the competition.

”But our target audience already knows our products and our company.”

There are companies out there that I feel very familiar with, but that’s completely different from knowing enough to make a purchasing decision. Without proper details, research, and competitive information, the decision becomes far more difficult. This is because so many factors impact that final purchase decision, including the personnel involved (department heads, procurement, etc.).

Internal site search is a great opportunity to help these folks find relevant content about your company. However, if the best practices for organic search aren’t implemented across this information, it won’t matter how much you’ve invested in your enterprise search configuration. Garbage in means garbage out, and in this case, it means a poor experience for someone looking to learn more about (and maybe even purchase) your products.

”Trade shows and publication ads work for us.”

But can you prove it? I’ve noticed that some B2B companies put a significant amount of their budgets into trade shows or conferences without assessing or measuring their influence on the purchasing process. Prospective clients may visit your booth or see an advertisement, but as some point, they’re going to want more proof that you’ve got the solution to their problems. The ideal setup for trade show marketing is a marketing mix that includes organic search, direct mail, a phone call, email, etc. (aka “multichannel”). In the end, it is the process behind nurturing these prospects that will drive sales growth.

”How can we justify the cost of an organic search campaign?”

You can assess the influence that most tactics that are associated with your marketing mix have on purchasing or lead generation. Organic search should go deeper than a simple justification of cost; it should also be a part of a cost analysis for all tactics within your marketing mix. It is the ability to identify what contributes to revenue and high profit margins which are vital to all businesses.

If you’re still unsure of the way organic search, content, and strategy work together in the B2B environment, then I would recommend the following:

  • Read ZMOT for more details that focus on B2B
  • Run a few searches on keywords that prospects are using (see search queries in Webmaster Tools or matched queries from paid search) that led to an action on your website such as a download, form submission, etc. This way, you’ll be able to see if your most engaged visitors are actually getting to the most relevant information on your company, products, or solutions
  • Determine which marketing tactics are attributing to leads, sales, and revenue over the customer’s entire purchase process
  • Take a hard look at your “big ticket” items within your marketing mix and assess the cost per sale
Are you willing to take a second look at your B2B search strategy? Share your story in the comments!

No SEO or New SEO?

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Is SEO No More?

Google’s Hummingbird algorithm update has created quite a stir in the realm of SEO. Some have even gone as far as to say that SEO is dead. In reality, SEO is far from being “dead”, in fact, SEO has changed quite drastically. Google and other major search engines are shifting away from isolated keyword-centric relevancy and run-of-the-mill directory submissions and are focusing on broader keyword categories as well as quality, shareable, and relevant content.

SEO Process

Relevancy of Keywords

With the recent algorithm change, many have questioned whether keywords still matter in the process of SEO. Keywords are still a significant part of the overall SEO process; however, search engines will not be looking for them in isolation.

When we mention keywords, the idea of a specific search-term may come to mind. With the implementation of Hummingbird and the other algorithm changes, the idea of keywords encompasses a broader category. Keyword qualifiers are an important aspect to consider when researching keywords. Qualifiers refer to the words in a keyword phrase that specify time, quality, location, and user intent. Though you want to keep a general category in for keywords, qualifiers will be important in more specific landing pages. For example, if you’re operating an online store for shoes, searchers will most likely be looking to research/purchase a specific product and will use query a specific term, such as, “buy canvas shoes.”

Are Content and Linking all That Matter?

As mentioned earlier, content is king of the SEO and digital marketing realm. Is this all you have to do? Just create content and share it? Even though this is a keystone of the new SEO strategy, it’s not an “end-all-be-all” solution. Though the SEO process is changing drastically, it’s still a complex machine that requires several working parts to produce results.

Long gone are the days of simply just submitting URLs to directories. Linking now focuses on creating unique and shareable content and disseminating it through reliable sources. Rather than thinking of this process as link building, it should be thought of as link earning. Links can be earned through sharing unique content that provides value to the reader, such as how-to-guides and infographics (ensure that they are relevant to your topic).

Conclusion

Despite the SEO world being shaken, it is here to stay. The entire SEO process still maintains traditional elements such as keywords, linking, etc., but they must be looked at from an updated viewpoint. Keywords must be imagined in broad categories that can encompass a variety of keywords rather than one specific term. Link earning strategies should focus on creating unique and shareable content that provides value to the reader and that is disseminated to reliable, trustworthy sites. With these parts in play, you’ll be able to produce a workable SEO plan for the updated digital space.

Have any questions about the new SEO process? Contact us today or leave a comment!

Link Building: Then and Now

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Link building has always been an important aspect of SEO and, with the latest algorithm changes, still is. However, long gone are the days of simple mass directory submissions and overly-optimized content made for search engines. Even though these tactics may garner a smidgen of link equity, it will not suffice in the world of Google’s Hummingbird algorithm change and the direction the search engine is taking.

Google and the other major search engines are shifting their ranking factors to include content that is original, relevant, readable, and shareable. Therefore, it is imperative to take the time and effort to develop great content that will improve your search rankings, industry knowledge, and reputation.

Bridging Link Building and Measurement

While going through this infographic, keep in mind that to really understand any content’s impact and the significance of your linking opportunities, you need to measure. When you see a site that might make a good linking opportunity, be sure to check its domain and page authorities as well as what that site is linking to. Again, you’re evaluating the opportunity’s overall value.

Another good measurement to employ is looking at the bounce rate of pages that your content is on. Google defines bounce rate as “the percentage of visits that go to only one page before exiting”. If your bounce rate is high, not many visitors are staying on your site. There are several factors that can affect bounce rate but content is one of them. Check out the infographic below for more details!

link building services in Reading, Pa - DaBrian Marketing
Have any questions about link building or content development? Contact us today or leave a comment below!

A Guide to Data-Informed SEO Storytelling

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How our SEO Tools led us Astray

Experience has shown that for a large portion of business owners, a glaring issue exists with the accepted perception of search engine optimization and the plethora of assistive software suites. Everyone seems to tout that high rankings and “the top spot on Google” are the primary goals associated with an SEO campaign, so vendors make solutions to fit those expectations. The problem is that these tools are proving ineffective at impacting businesses’ actual goals and objectives because they don’t help answer some fundamental questions, including:

  • Why is the business choosing to explore search engine marketing tactics?
  • Why are high rankings the primary goal?
  • In what way(s) do rankings specifically impact future marketing efforts?
  • How will SEO be justified from a budgeting standpoint?
  • Where is the connection between SEO and more leads and sales?

Getting Back to Basics with Goals and Objectives

The first step toward finding the answer to the questions above falls to outlining goals and objectives. Generally speaking, these goals and objectives help businesses enhance their “kwan” (And yes, that was a Jerry Maguire reference!). An example of a business goal would be to grow sales. An example of an objective would be to grow sales among new customers through organic search traffic by 25% of the next 12 months. Note the distinct differences here. While goals are very general statements, objectives provide additional context with which appropriate metrics can be identified.

It is critical that all key stakeholders agree and sign-off on the business goals and objectives because they’ll form the foundation for the next step toward data-informed storytelling: identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Regardless of whether you work for an agency or an in-house marketing team, it always boils down to, “Did we make money or lose money as a result of our efforts?” For that, proper measurement planning is essential.

KPI Mapping that Aligns with Goals and Objectives

KPIs represent the way by which progress is measured regarding a marketing campaign. When defining these metrics, it’s important to also identify reasonable thresholds. That way, appropriate action can be taken if the numbers fall above or below your expectations. By aligning the KPIs with the aforementioned goals and objectives, it will help the key higher-ups to see SEO’s tangible value. Figure 1 (below) shows a very generic mapping of a goal and objective with a possible choice of KPI. If you complete this process, it will give you a better understanding of what data needs to be collected to show the impact the SEO is having on your business.

KPI mapping for Sales Growth
Figure 1 is a simplified version of mapping sales growth for new customers via organic search traffic and potential outcomes from this audience.

The Case for a Measurement Plan

The fact of the matter is that with all of this data making its way into your SEO campaigns, you’re going to need analytics to effectively capture your metrics and provide a way to visualize progress (and tell a truly impactful story). This will require an approach and a plan of action to accurately collect the data necessary for reporting. One of the most simple, but effective approaches can be found on Occam’s Razor By Avanish Kaushik. Just be sure to thoroughly document what data you’re collecting, how, why, and provide an example of the output. It should help everyone not only understand what you’re trying to show, but also offer them the chance to make changes to the approach if necessary.

Analytics Implementation

Google Analytics is a commonly used solution for analyzing this type of information. It’s important that you implement the measurement plan accurately and evaluate the data that’s being collected for reporting. A good place to start is the setup checklist and starter guide provided by Google. There are also numerous videos available on the Google Analytics YouTube channel.

Reporting

Using GA’s more advanced features as our primary example, there are multiple opportunities to not only streamline your reporting process, but also add deeper dimensions to your data-driven “story.” Creating advanced segments, custom filters, and dashboards can bring to light information you may not have otherwise seen. Exploring deeper into the data you’ve collected can make for more established insights, which lead to greater impact among your audience.

Custom SEO segments in Google Analytics

For your SEO campaigns, this could mean creating a dashboard showing correlations between site visit metrics and organic keywords or pages per visit organized by geographical location. With a little analytical know-how, you’ll have no problem tying your data back to your high-level goals and objectives.

SEO traffic data in Google Analytics
Conversions broken down by traffic source.

Figure 3 and 4 are example of items that might be found in your SEO performance dashboard.

Conclusion

There is a big misconception surrounding SEO for the average uninformed business owner, VP of marketing, or IT professional. On the frontlines, we always seem to hear business professionals talk about rankings, but they rarely care to understand why their business is even paying for or considering paying for SEO services. We still hear that the need for “visits” or more “hits” to the websites is the be-all end-all. Rather than the end in and of itself, SEO provides the means towards achieving unique business goals. The story of this journey from campaigns and tactics to business success is told through data, first and foremost.
Have your SEO tools and processes led you on the path to righteousness or dishonorable data? Let us know in the comments below!

Why Manage Local Listings?

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For any business, your customers need to be able to find you. You wouldn’t take any signage down from your building, would you? This includes the customer having quick and easy access to basic information such a telephone number and hours of operation. The majority of customers now turn to the internet to find this information; about 97% of customers use the internet to research business and products at a local level according to a study conducted by Bia/Kelsey. With this much purchasing intent at a local level, wouldn’t you like to boost your visibility?

Benefits of Local Listings

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the obvious benefit of managing local listings is to make your business visible to those customers searching at a local level. But what else is there? When internet searchers utilize a specific geographic location, they are usually close to converting (i.e. making a purchase). It is imperative to draw these searchers in to convert, whatever you choose to define as a conversion.

Local listing management allows you to stay visible.
Example of one of our Local Listings.

Speaking of drawing in searchers to convert, making sure you have top notch local listings can help you stand out among the plethora of competitors. A great way to ensure that your local listings are up to par is to develop a local listing strategy for your business.

Local Listing Strategy

The process of managing local listings sounds relatively simple, but there are actually many steps in this entire process that require attention. The first step in your local listing strategy is to verify your place of business. Google, Bing, and Yahoo! have similar processes in which the business must fill out an online form. The form automatically generates and will send a postcard with a verification PIN to the business address listed. Therefore, you must have a physical location to claim a local listing via these major search engines.
While implementing a local listing strategy to the fullest extent, you will be maintaining business information across several platforms. It is important to ensure that this information is consistent across the board so that your prospective customers can find the correct information. Not only will you have to provide the correct information initially, but you will have to maintain this information. If there is a large-scale re-branding or something as small as a new telephone extension number, remember to update your local listings.

Local Listings are Going Mobile

Knowing the importance of local listings, where will it go from here? Will it affect certain demographics? With the rapid growth of mobile searching, business information will have to be available at a local level to be seen by this growing demographic. Just to explain this point by some numbers: According to Google, 95% of smartphone users look for local information specifically. Knowing this, local listings can be a significant source of traffic and potential customers. In conjunction with local listings management, it may be a good idea to create a mobile site or configure your current desktop site to fit a mobile screen. As mobile usage continues to rise, it will be critical to stay on top.
Have any questions about local listings management? Contact us today or leave us a comment below!