seo essentials for choosing a marketing automation platform
TRANSCRIPT
Presented byChristina Hecht
SEO Strategist
Christina Hecht
Search Engine Strategist, Vertical Measures
★ 10 years industry experience★ Vertical Measures
○ Content Marketing Agency in Phoenix★ Subject Matter Expert on SEO and Marketing
Automation★ Read more of my work at verticalmeasures.com/blog
@christinahecht
SEARCHELORETTEThe
How an SEO Fell in Love with Marketing Automation
What You’ll Learn:
● Marketing Automation Overview● Setting the Stage for SEO● What to Look for in a Marketing Solution● Using Marketing Automation to Boost SEO● Best Practices for a Long and Happy Relationship
Marketing Automation Overview
“Meeting the Bachelors”
What IS Marketing Automation?
Microsite orLanding Pages
Contacts and Leads
Targeted Content
OptimizeCommunicatePersonalize Contextualize
Content Management
Customer Relationship Management
Who Uses Marketing Automation?
79%of B2B Marketers Worldwide Use in Marketing Automation, 2015
Source: eMarketer.com, May 2015
of Top Performing Companies Have Been Using Marketing Automation for Two Years
Source: Gleanster, Aug 2013
Who Uses Marketing Automation?
Companies Outgrowing Their Competitors
Source: The Lenskold and Pedowitz Groups, Nov 2013
Companies Large and Small
Source: Buyer Zone, Aug 2013
2,000 Marketing Automation Products
● CRM● Content Management● Landing Pages● A/B Testing● Lead Nurture● Lead Scoring● Email Marketing● Event Marketing● Social Campaigns● Measurement Analytics● SEO
● Adobe Campaign● Eloqua (Oracle)● Silverpop (IBM)● Marketo● Pardot (Salesforce)● Hubspot● Infusionsoft● Act-On● Constant Contact● MailChimp● … and thousands more
Complete software suites or best-of-breed solutions
Setting the Stage for SEO
“Dating the Bachelors”
“Marketing automation can pose inherent challenges to traditional optimization in ways companies may not have considered.”
SEO Heartbreakers to Avoid
● No server access● No root directory
access● No SQL database
access● Limited control over
HTML source code
Photo Credit: ABC
No server access
● Funky URLs● Server-level adjustments● Logfiles Marketing
Automation Server
Your Website Server
Your Website:example.com
Microsite/LP CNAME:landing.example.com
No root directory access
● .htaccess file● URL redirects● Duplicate content● 404 Errors 30
1 red
irect
..example.com/Product_Category/product%20name
..example.com/category/product-name
Database
No SQL database access
● Site-wide improvements
● Site migration Marketing Automation
Server
Microsite/LP CNAME:landing.example.com
Your Website:example.com
Limited control over HTML source code
● Meta data● Robot directives● PageSpeed● CSS ● Viewport/Mobile● International targeting
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Example | Example Page Title Goes Here</title>
<meta name="description" content="This is an example of the meta description for the page. It shows up in the SERPs. It should be 165 characters or fewer." />
<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.example.com/shop/us"/>
<meta name="robots" content="noindex,follow" />
<meta http-equiv="cache-control" content="no-cache" />
<script src="//cdn.example.com/js/242545251.js"></script>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/43d1ddd/css/min/global.min.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/43d1ddd/css/min/site.min.css" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-ca" href="http://www.example.ca" mpdisurl="href" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-uk" href="http://www.example.com" mpdisurl="href" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="http://www.example.com" mpdisurl="href" />
</head>
“The good news is you can avoid most, if not all, the SEO heart breakers that can come with Marketing Automation.”
What to look for in a Marketing Automation solution
“The most dramatic Rose Ceremony ever.”
Test-Friendly Environment
● Authoritative content● SEO● Organic traffic● Inbound links
Marketing Automation
Server
Microsite/LP CNAME:landing.example.com
Your Website:example.com
● A/B Testing● noindex or canonicalized● Direct traffic
Content Optimization
Example | Example Page Title Goes Here
This is an example of the meta description for the page. It shows up in the SERPs. It should be 165 characters or fewer.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas mattis laoreet dolor. Duis est purus, viverra efficitur ex sit amet, venenatis cursus lorem. Praesent facilisis, risus tincidunt posuere aliquet, ipsum mauris pretium risus, vel varius leo sapi
Page Title
Description
http://www..example.com/blog/post
Canonical Tag
Body Content
index,follow
Robots Tag
URL Mapping Solution
example.com/default.asp?sid=g&name=product1
example.com/default.asp?sid=d&name=product2
example.com/default.asp?sid=g&name=product3
example.com/default.asp?sid=g&name=product4
example.com/category/product1
example.com/category/product2
example.com/category/product3
example.com/category/product4
Old URL New URL
301
301
301
301
3xx
<head> Editor
assets/43d1ddd/css/min/site.min.css
<meta http-equiv="cache-control" content="no-cache" />
<script src="//cdn.example.com/js/242545251.js"></script>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-ca" href="http://www.example.ca" mpdisurl="href" /><link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-uk" href="http://www.example.com" mpdisurl="href" /><link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="http://www.example.com" mpdisurl="href" />
Stylesheet Options
Additional HTML Head Markup
Content Delivery Network
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Database/Site Export Tool
Setting
Option
Export
Using Marketing Automation to Boost SEO
“The Final Rose”
Ideation and Optimization
● Broader Keyword Research● Marketing Data● Personas● Buyer’s Journey● Ideation
“Stop looking at keywords. Look at topics. Look at connected topics. Look at what matters for the whole page.”
-Marcus Tober, Searchmetrics
Keyword Research Process
Source: Moz.com
Marketing Data
8 24 93 8,832Keywords Ranked in Top 3 Keywords Ranked in Top 10 Contacts from Organic Last 30 Days Organic Traffic Last 30 Days
Keyword Visits Monthly Searches Rankblogging 14 12,100 100+content marketing 32 14,800 30+content marketing agency 47 720 17internet marketing guide 32 20 30+keyword stuffing 5 390 7marketing automation 17 4,400 30+search engine marketing 18 3,600 30+search engine optimization 16 22,200 30+
Personas
Bargain Bailey
“cheapest widget”
Techie Taylor
“required specifications for widget”
Decisive Devon
“Brand A widget reviews”
Buyer’s Journey
Awareness Consideration Decision
“Brand vs. Brand”“Solution”“Troubleshoot”
Non-Transactional Transactional
Ideation
Persona: Bargain Ben Search Intent: Cheap and In StockBuyer’s Journey Phase: Decision
“store name price on widget”“where to buy cheapest widget near me”“best widget prices in 90210”
Persona: Techie Taylor Search Intent: Config and Implement Widget Buyer’s Journey Phase: Consideration
“widget configuration settings”“widget implementation guide”“widget integration api”
Persona: Decisive Devon Search Intent: Reviews and EndorsementsBuyer’s Journey Phase: Decision
“Brand A widget reviews”“widget testimonials”“widget consumer reports”
Persona: Techie Taylor Search Intent: Problem SolvingBuyer’s Journey Phase: Awareness
“widget troubleshooting guide”“upgrade widget”“how to resolve widget issue”
Best Practices for a Happy Relationship
“After the Final Rose”
No Duplicate Content
● Noindex any off-the-shelf pages/templates unused● Audit your 3xx redirects● Audit your canonical tags● Audit your robot directives● Set up custom 4xx and 5xx pages; noindex them
Capture Your Data
● Install Google Analytics● Set up Google Search Console● Set up Bing Webmaster Tools● Use your CNAME for all CDN images and files
Optimize Your Content
● Use proper URL structure● Research landing page title ideas
1. Search Google for your keywords/title2. Identify whether one of your pages “owns” that
topic already3. Note the competitive landscape4. Tweak the idea if cannibalization or
competition are an issue● A/B test marketing landing pages● Keyword optimize every organic post
Links
● Use internal links with exact-match anchor text● Ensure internal links point to the correct canonical
version of the destination URL● Ensure internal links point to the content hub or
topical “owner”● Semi-annually audit all incoming backlinks
○ Use automated tools to score overall○ Manually review questionable links○ Disavow spammy links or domains
Questions?
6 Ways Marketing Automation Can Hurt SEO
(That No One’s Talking About)
Downloadbit.ly/6SEOAuto
Join us 9/17The Conversion Rate
Optimization ConspiracyPresented by Armen Vartanyan of
Wordstream
Register:http://verticalmeasures.com/webinars
➢ How Conversion Rate Optimization Works?➢ The Importance of Call to Action➢ Keyword Strategy; Quality vs Quantity ➢ How To Drive Leads Through The Funnel
Thank You!