Off-Label SEO - Brighton San Diego 2025 (Long Conference Deck)

Transcript

1. Using SEO to improve your product Jenn Long SolarWinds speakerdeck.com/jennlaurenlong @jennlaurenlong
2. September 2025 Jenn Long Lead SEO at SolarWinds – Ex-Zoom Off-Label SEO Jenn Long
3. Hobbies A vegetarian, avid gamer, dinosaur fanatic, science fan, movie enthusiast, friend of the earth, Francophile, wine drinker, Mustang driving, super nerd. I have more than 10 years of SEO experience working in-house and in agencies. I’ve worked on SEO strategies in a variety of industries including B2B SaaS, e-commerce, franchise, small business, editorial, healthcare, and more. I am a firm believer in the fact that SEO touches most aspects of marketing beyond the website and can be a valuable research tool for other marketing teams. About Me Jenn September 2025 Jenn Long
4. What is Off-Label SEO? September 2025 Jenn Long
5. Off-Label SEO is using search interest to influence the change or planning for products & services and make them better. We’ve identified something our products/services are lacking with search volume behind it. September 2025 Jenn Long
6. September 2025 Jenn Long In Practice • Influencing innovations in your company's product and services • Inspiration for product and feature names • Discovering audiences not currently being targeted or new use cases
7. Whisker Biscuits September 2025 Jenn Long These are our fictional brands we will use for this process: Retail/Ecom SaaS Automotives Rendezvous Novalis
8. Step 1 Learn Everything September 2025 Jenn Long Competitive Analysis Step 2 Find Gaps Step 3 Search Interest Step 4 Share Your Findings Step 5
9. Things you’ll need September 2025 Jenn Long • Keyword research tool • Search engine • Localization tool*
10. Step 1 Learn Everything September 2025 Jenn Long
11. Learn everything you can about your products/services including: • Features (current and planned) • Audiences • Regions sold to • Languages offered • Competitors (company specified & organic) September 2025 Jenn Long Step 1
12. Features • Product warranty offered • Weight capacity: 66.14 lbs • Wall anchors • Non-skid base • Fleece fabric • Padding • 15 cm scratching post September 2025 Jenn Long Example Audiences & Use Cases • Business meetings • HR Interviews • Brainstorming • Enterprises Example Advanced Features • Backup camera • Heated/cooled seats • Blind-spot monitor • Adaptive cruise control • Remote start • Android/Apple Connect • Adaptive headlights Example Step 1
13. Step 2 Competitive Analysis September 2025 Jenn Long
14. September 2025 Jenn Long Make an exhaustive list of your competitors. Start to note the same kinds of information you learned about your own products/services so you can use it as a reference. Step 2
15. September 2025 Jenn Long • Catastrophic Creations • Cozy Cat Furniture • Habitat Haven • Armarkat Cat Trees • Cat Tree King • PetSmart & Petco • Chewy • Amazon Example • Zoom Meetings • Microsoft Teams • Google Meet • Webex • GoTo Meetings • Zoho Meeting • Riverside • Descript Example • Ford • Toyota • Honda • Hyundai-Kia • Nissan • Dodge • GM • Subaru Example Step 2
16. Step 3 Find Gaps September 2025 Jenn Long
17. Step 3 September 2025 Jenn Long Cross examine the information you gathered about your products/services with your competitors to find gaps like: • Features • Compatible integrations • Regions sold to • Audiences & use cases • Languages offered If you have access to the product, try to perform the same functions competitors offer and see how they compare.
18. Step 3 September 2025 Jenn Long Feature Gaps • Hammock or bowl • Litter box • DIY/Modular • Outdoor-friendly Example Audience/Use Case Gaps • Podcasting • Media Interviews Example Advanced Feature Gaps • Adjustable cup holders • Auto climate control • Hill assist • Heads-up display • Lane departure • Self parking Example
19. Step 4 Search Interest September 2025 Jenn Long
20. Step 4 September 2025 Jenn Long Now that you have your gaps, start compiling search volume for them using your keyword research tools. And I would include search volume for competitor branded queries for the audiences or features you’re proposing.
21. Step 4 September 2025 Jenn Long Keyword Global MSV: • diy cat tree: 7k • outdoor cat tree: 3k • cat tree with litter box: 1.5k • cat tree with hammock: 500 Example Keyword Global MSV: • podcast software: 4.5k • Podcast recording software: 3.3k • Podcast editor: 2.1k • Podcast maker: 3.4k • Video interview: 2.8k • Video interview software: 1.1k • Podcast interview: 1.9k Example Keyword Global MSV: • lane departure warning: 4.7k • heads up display: 23k • self parking cars: 1.3k • hill start assist: 6.2k • adjustable cup holder: 300 • auto climate control: 250 Example
22. Step 5 September 2025 Jenn Long Share Your Findings
23. Step 5 September 2025 Jenn Long • Find the right team to present your findings to. • Show them the volume potential of the gaps. • Help them prioritize addressing the gaps. • Make sure they keep you in the loop for future changes or new launches! Why wouldn’t we have something our customers are looking for related to our products or services?
24. Step 5 September 2025 Jenn Long • It only takes one team to agree to try your strategy, then you’ll have data to back up the approach with other teams. • Position search interest as the valuable metric it is! • Use your research to influence product/service positioning and messaging. Tips
25. Timeline September 2025 Jenn Long 1-2 Weeks Step 1 ~3 Weeks Step 2 1-2 Weeks Step 3 ~1 Week Step 4 1-2 Weeks Step 5 Rankings 2-3 Months Results: After Implementation Conversions ~6 Months
26. Measuring Success Once the gap has been addressed and you have added content to the website about it, start tracking the keywords you identified and report back to the teams you worked with in monthly or quarterly updates on rankings and conversions. Jenn Long September 2025
27. Results September 2025 Jenn Long 53% increase in top #10 rankings for the product page 18 of 35 feature gaps addressed in one year Recovered $140k MRR from clients lost to niche competitors 173% increase in product awareness in organic search 22% increase in organic leads
28. Constraints September 2025 Jenn Long • Some types of implementation will take longer than others. • Product teams usually have an SEO knowledge gap. • Multiple variables in play can make measurement tricky.
29. Where to begin September 2025 Jenn Long • Start with newer products or services. • Ask marketing managers & sales what they think is missing. • Build a relationship with the product managers ASAP.
30. 5 Things to do next week September 2025 Jenn Long 1. Decide what product/service you’re going to start with 2. Connect with all relevant stakeholders to gather intel 3. Find product/service roadmaps 4. Start compiling competitors 5. Set your benchmarks for performance
31. Thank You!