Free Webinar presented by Hitwise on 29th July 2009. Agenda: - SEO Fundamentals - Tactical SEO - Structural SEO - Promotional SEO - Analytics / Conversion Optimisation Please note, this presentation has been updated to include image attribution.

1. Advanced SEO Strategies Stuart McKeown, Product Director Edward Lakman, Sales Director 29th July 2009

3. Tactical SEO

4. Structural SEO

5. Promotional SEO

7. Structural Promotional Tactical Fundamental Components Sub Domains vs Sub Folders Meta Data Keyword Focus URL Structure Navigation Structure Accessibility Sitewide Optimisation Internal Linking Focus Social Media Video Syndication Press Releases Social Bookmarking Directory Submissions Article Submissions Competitive Analysis Keyword Research Keyword Gaps Content Gaps User Generated Content Segmenting Content

8. Tactical Preparation / Planning / Execution Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

9. Advanced Keyword Research Research Tools Actions Goals & Objectives Opportunities Permutations (i.e. cheap) Gaps in current Content Internal Search Competitor Search Terms Industry Search Terms Seasonal Fluctuations Commercial or Informational Hitwise CI Search Intelligence Clickstream Data Google Keyword Tool Google SK Tool Analytics Data MSN Keyword Estimate MSN Forecaster Optimise Meta Data Generate New Content Restructure Site Segment Customers Plan Seasonal Offers Increase Conversions Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

10. Compare Data Sources Data sources can be wildly different, always include multiple sources during the keyword research & selection process. Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

11. Prepare in Advance Plan SEO Activity & SEO Promotions Early.

13. The homepage is often one of the most underused SEO advantages

14. What are your top converting or performing pages? Bring them closer to the homepage to take advantage of that link juice

15. Use descriptive anchor text, avoid using language like click here or more infoImproved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

17. Can you use your existing content better by segmenting it towards a different keyword focus?

18. Can you break keywords down to a city or suburb level (i.e. real estate melbourne)

19. Are you showing too much content on one page that could be split out into multiple pages?

21. Structure static pages for the content variations (i.e. yoursite.com/holidays-homes/lorne/

23. Include key terms in H1 tags & content

24. Bring the content closer to the homepage

25. Include your top converting content as sitewide links in your navigationImproved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

27. Use product names as internal anchors

28. Identify pages with similar content themes & use varying anchor text between them.

29. Good internal linking also increases pageviews per user (more banner impressions)

30. Use internal linking to silo pagerank into your content themes & tactical content Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

32. Compare Organic against Paid, Search against Display & Search/Display against Email

33. Use this data to remove non-converting sources for each campaign type & improve ROI

34. This can easily help you win more budget for search when you show how it outperforms more traditional methods

36. You can run different messages in parallel

37. You know your top converting terms

38. You know the copy that works best

39. You know which landing pages convert best

40. SEO compliments your Paid results by reinforcing your position

42. Identify your SEO Red Flags There’s over 100 structural factors that can impact SEO performance, some of these include: URL Canocalisation URL Structure 301 Redirects Title Tags <title> Javascript Menus & AJAX Navigation, Category & Brand Structure

43. Canocalisation This page: http://www.ebay.com.au/cars/ Can technically exist at 8 locations: http://www.ebay.com.au/cars/ http://www.ebay.com.au/cars https://www.ebay.com.au/cars/ https://www.ebay.com.au/cars http://ebay.com.au/cars/ http://ebay.com.au/cars https://ebay.com.au/cars/ https://ebay.com.au/cars Not redirected properly & this can lead to duplicate content & usability problems

44. URL Structure http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLd4x3tXAESYGYRq6m-pEoYgbxjgiRIH1vfV-P_NxU_QD9gtzQiHJHR0UAFwCmzg!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvd0ZNQUFzQUMvNElVRS82X0FfNENR http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/about/pr/ http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/about/pr.html http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/about/pr.php http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/about/pr.aspx

46. Changing URL Structure

47. Moving a Sub Domain

48. Moving to a new Domain

50. Javascript Menus & AJAX Search Engines can’t execute Javascript

51. Navigation & Category Structure ‘Grab the handle & spin the cup for navigation’ Clear, usable & search engine crawlable navigation with rich anchor text

52. Promotional Link Building / PR / Social Media Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

54. Linear link profile – Link growth is never this linear

55. Logarithmic / Geometric – Typical link profiles look like this, slow to start and build up over time at the site becomes a more trusted source of content.Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales Image Copyright SEOBook.com

56. Link Quality Factors “Backlink profiles are being scrutinised more than ever & paid links are easy to detect.” Permanance Named Anchor Text Anchor Text Spread Contextually Relevant Domain Authority In Content Surrounded by Relevant Content Temporary links indicate paid links or low trust Does the link have relevant anchor text (i.e. Car Hire Melbourne) Natural link profiles have varied anchor text Is the domain linking in highly relevant to yours? Is the domain linking in Strong / High Authority / Backlinks Is the link within content or in the sidebar (could indicate paid) Is the content surrounding the link relevant? Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

57. Outside the Box Link Building Hiring journalists to write eye grabbing, sharable content Bookmark the content on Digg, Stumbleupon, Tweetmeme & Reddit Contact blogs and websites and promote the content (hint: offer incentives) Create useful tools that your industry will use and link to (i.e. mortgage calculators) Offer prizes and incentives to get people talking about your content Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

58. Analytics & Conversion Optimisation Analysis / Actionable Data Improved rankings = more targeted traffic = more sales

59. Channel Conversion Rates 0.5% TV 1% Display Conversion Optimisation 2.5% 3.1% PPC 1.2% Increase to Conversion Rates 2.5% Organic SEO Huge increase to bottom line 3% Email 2% XML Feeds

61. Use segments & filters to split up sections of your site for deeper analysis

62. Notice trends within specific product categories that aren’t apparent with unfiltered data

64. You can run different messages in parallel

65. You know your top converting terms

66. You know the copy that works best

67. You know which landing pages convert best

68. SEO compliments your Paid results by reinforcing your position

69. PPC Cost can reduce over time as the campaign becomes optimisedImage Source - http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/2008/11/excellent-analytics-tip-measuring-value-of-ecommerce-sales-tools.html

72. Having controlled testing environments is the key to success – change, test, analyse, action

73. Layout is just one part of the equation, notice in the example above how use of language can also have a huge impact on conversion rates

74. Other factors to consider – removing noise on the page (navigation etc), adding testimonials, reducing ‘barrier to entry’Image Copyright SiteTuners.com

75. Questions?

76. Now You Know stuart.mckeown@hitwise.com