PRESENTER:

Becky VardamanVP of StrategyConverge Consulting

WHAT DOES MOZ’S NEW SEO STUDY MEAN FOR HIGHER EDUCATION?

HANNON HILL & CONVERGE CONSULTING | 9.1.15

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INTRODUCTIONS

BECKY VARDAMAN• VP of Strategy at Converge Consulting• 2004 University of Iowa graduate• Focus on Google Analytics, Social

Media, Content Strategy and SEO

CONVERGE CONSULTING IS A DIGITAL MARKETING FIRM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

We use what’s new and next in content strategy, search engine optimization, digital advertising, web analytics and video storytelling

to positively impact student recruitment and alumni engagement for colleges and universities around the world.

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AGENDA

•SEO 101•About Search Engine Ranking Factors 2015•Key Findings›Correlations› Survey•What This Means for Higher Education

SEO 101

The majority of web traffic is driven by the major commercial search engines.”

“DO I NEED SEO?

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EVEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION?

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1. Search engines use robots, sometimes called “spiders” or “crawlers,” to creep

around the pages of the web using links like a subway system.

2. The spiders read and store select sections of the pages in a big database.

3. A users types a keyword or search term into the search engine.

4. The engine accesses that huge database to find the best fit using a top secret

algorithm.

ROBOTS AND CRAWLS

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http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change

SEARCH ENGINE ALGORITHM CHANGE HISTORY

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ON PAGE VS OFF PAGE

http://searchengineland.com/seotable

SEARCH ENGINE RANKING FACTORS

2015

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WHY IS BECKY SO EXCITED?

Moz’s New Search Engine Ranking Factors Study is Out!!

•Moz is a leader in the Search Engine Optimization community

• Huge study, only conducted every two years

• Over 150 leading search marketers on over 90 ranking factors

•Moz’s Data Science team ran an extensive correlation study› Not proof, but characteristics of sites that rank higher

https://moz.com/search-ranking-factors

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CONTRIBUTORShttps://moz.com/search-ranking-factors/contributors

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METHODOLOGY

https://moz.com/search-ranking-factors/contributors

https://moz.com/search-ranking-factors/methodology

KEY FINDINGS:CORRELATIONS &

SURVEY

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MOZ KEY FINDINGS

KEY FINDING:

We continue to see lower correlations between on-page keyword use and rankings. This could likely be because Google is smarter about what pages mean (through related keywords, synonyms, close variants and entities) without relying on exact match keyword phrases. We believe matching user intent is of the utmost importance.

https://moz.com/blog/ranking-factors-2015

RELATED, SYNONYMS & CLOSE VARIANTS

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Modern Tactics

• Everything works together to build AUTHORITY– Not just one keyword, lots of keywords

• Develop high level strategic themes

Over 70% of the traffic you earn for any given page will come from keywords you didn’t try to optimize for.

15% of all Google searches, over half a billion per day, have never been seen before.

KEYWORD THEMES

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MOZ KEY FINDINGS

KEY FINDING:

Despite rumors to the contrary, the data continues to show some of the highest correlations between Google rankings and the number of links to a given page.

A LINK = A VOTE

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BEST PRACTICS:• Local media• National media• Existing relationships• “Experts”• Guest blogs• Ask!

QUALITY VS. QUANTITY

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MOZ KEY FINDINGS

KEY FINDING:

Our study showed little relationship with the type of top-level domain (.com, .org, etc.) and rankings in Google.

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.EDUs VS .COMs

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NEW DOMAINS

Everyone wants to be online!

THE WEB IS DECAYING:Causation vs. Correlation

“We can't promise that (the age of links) is not a factor, but if it is a factor, it's super tiny. It's a really small thing. We're using it primarily in conjunction with other things to try and see what's going on.”

“Think about the fact that there is this huge billions of page index for the World Wide Web but only about 20% year-over-year is really surviving.”

HISTORY OF A WEBSITE

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MOZ KEY FINDINGS

KEY FINDING:

While not quite as strong as page-level link metrics, the overall links to a site’s root and subdomain showed a reasonably strong correlation to rankings. We believe links continue to play a prominent role in Google’s algorithm.

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ONE BENEFITS ALL

Amazing BlogPost

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SUDOMAIN VS. SUBDIRECTORY

http://www.convergeuniversity.edu/loginProtocol

Subdomain

Root Domain

subdirectory

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MOZ KEY FINDINGS

KEY FINDING:

Use of anchor text was another prominent feature of high-ranking results, with the number of unique domains linking with partial-match anchor text leading the way.

Jon Wye’s Custom Designed Belts

WHAT IS ANCHOR TEXT?

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MOZ KEY FINDINGS

KEY FINDING:

Always controversial, the number of social shares a page accumulates tends to show a positive correlation with rankings. Although there is strong reason to believe Google doesn’t use social share counts directly in its algorithm, there are many secondary SEO benefits to be gained through successful social sharing.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHARES

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SOCIAL MEDIA REPUTATION

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MOZ KEY FINDINGS

KEY FINDING:

Engagement metrics from SimilarWeb showed that pages with lower bounce rates, higher pageviews, and better time-on-site metrics were associated with higher rankings.

ANALYTICS: LANDING PAGES

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ANALYTICS: LANDING PAGES

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Value is future proof and algorithm proof.”“

QUALITY CONTENT

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Side Note: What is “compelling”?

THE CONTENT RULES!1. Embrace that you are a publisher.2. Insight inspires originality.3. Build momentum (trigger an action).4. Speak HUMAN.5. Reimagine and COPE.6. Share or solve. DON’T SHILL.7. Show, don’t just tell.8. Do something unexpected.9. Stoke the campfire.10. Create wings & roots (sharability & point of view).11. Play to your strengths.

From Content Rules by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman

WHAT IS COMPELLING?

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WHAT HAPPENED 4.21.2015?

• Google released its new mobile-friendly algorithm

• SEOs have dubbed it #mobilegeddon

• Algorithm favors web pages that are deemed mobile friendly

• Pages are either mobile friendly or no – there is no scale

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THE MOBILE TAG

• Rolled out last fall

• Helps users identify mobile friendly sites

• Same overall criteria to #Mobilegeddon

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WHAT THIS MEANS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

1. Fix technical errors.

2. Do on page keyword research and develop a strategy.

3. Implement.

4. Do thematic keyword research.

5. Build some valuable content.

6. Develop a link-building strategy.

7. Monitor and improve – repeat.

GETTING IT DONE

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TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT

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BASIC ON PAGE KEYWORD RESEARCH

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The Perfectly Keyword Optimized Page(keyword: chocolate donuts)

http://moz.com/learn/seo/on-page-factorshttp://moz.com/blog/visual-guide-to-keyword-targeting-onpage-optimization

IMPLEMENT

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IMPLEMENT

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THEMATIC KEYWORD RESEARCH

VALUABLE CONTENT

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LINK BUILDING STRATEGY (AMPLIFICATION)

No One Size Fits All:

• Combine your good content into resources page

• Research competitors

• Make it easier to link to you with HTML ready snippets

• Link out to others

• Utilize social media and emails

• Create a RSS feed

• Build relationships

• Ask people you existing relationships with for a link

• Press releases

• Relevant directories

• Niche websites with existing audiences

• Joining (and participating) in existing online communities

• Partnerships

MONITOR, IMPROVE & REPEAT

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MONITOR, IMPROVE & REPEAT

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30-day free trial: http://moz.com/

MONITOR, IMPROVE & REPEAT

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MONITOR, IMPROVE & REPEAT

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Technical AssessmentOn Page OptimizationOff Page Growth Strategy

Improved Domain AuthorityIncrease in # and quality of linksIncrease in Organic Search VisitsIncrease on Converting Organic Search Visits

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MONITOR, IMPROVE & REPEAT

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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CASCADE SEO FEATURES

• Pertinent metadata fields (description, title, keywords) can be made required fields

• SEO friendly, human readable URLs based on file names and directory structure

• Broken link checker• Sharing content through social media

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CASCADE SEO FEATURES

• Ensuring content freshness through• Stale content report• Content up for review report• Notifications to content owners

• COPE• Easy content sharing across pages and sites• Structured content (“smart chunks versus dumb

blobs” – Karen McGrane) is much more conducive to COPE

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SPECTATE SEO FEATURES

Keyword tracking:• Search volume, Ranking Difficulty,

Conversion Rate• SEO score • Referral sources and inbound links reports

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SPECTATE SEO FEATURES

• Load time checker• Content audit download• Analytics• Social media (automatic promotion of new content)

and engagement tracking

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TOPIC

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MATTHEW BROWN

http://convergeconsulting.org/blog/2015/08/matthew-brown-answers-key-questions-about-seo-and-content

Promo Code: BackToSchool

$700 individuals$500 groups

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QUESTIONS?

BECKY@CONVERGECONSULTING.ORG

@BeckyVardaman

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