LDNWebPerf October 2017 - Saija Mahon

Quick wins for your website in the SEM game

Even though online marketing can be a long term investment and game where you need to test, optimise and trial various tactics and strategies – us marketers are often pressured to show progress quickly. Saija Mahon’s session on ‘Quick wins for your website in the SEM (search engine marketing) game’ will provide some valuable ideas for quick wins that you can start implementing immediately and that will show value whilst waiting for your longer-term initiatives to start gaining traction.

Transcript

1. Quick wins for your website in the SEM game
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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2. The number of searches performed each year across
   Google/Bing and smaller search engines =
   At least 2 trillion but less than a quadrillion.
   UK small businesses missing out on £27bn
   mobile shopping boom because websites
   aren't optimised
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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3. Google Analytics
   • Set this up on the site to track
   traffic volume and sources
   • Configure Goals to track
   sales, leads or other KPIs
   • Gather Demographic data on
   the site visitors
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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4. Google Search Console
   • Lets you tell Google to index the site’s landing
   pages
   • Monitor organic search data in detail :
   • Search queries
   • Organic search positions
   • Clicks, impressions & CTR
   • Check for errors that may impact SERP position
   or performance:
   • Sitemap setup
   • Crawl errors
   • 404 pages
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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5. Get On The Map
   • Set up a Google My Business profile
   if the business has an office or other
   physical locations. For Google Maps
   and Local Pack visibility
   • Bing Places covers the same
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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6. Google Isn’t Everything
   • Create profiles in Facebook and all the
   other major social networks
   • Make it easy for people to find the site
   across all the most common
   destinations/directories
   • For B2B services, don’t forget LinkedIn
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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7. Check Out The Competition
   • Tools like SEMrush, Spyfu,
   KeywordSpy will give useful
   information on keywords that
   competitors are targeting organically
   or through PPC
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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8. SEO Plugins
   • Many of the most common CMS and
   ecommerce systems such as Wordpress
   & Magento have SEO plugins
   available e.g., Yoast, AllInOneSEO
   • These can provide SEO tips for each
   page and the site as a whole
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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9. Site Speed
   • Google is placing increasing importance
   on mobile friendliness and site speed
   • They provide a free tool to evaluate a site
   for each and provide recommendations at:
   https://search.google.com/test/mobile-
   friendly and
   https://developers.google.com/speed/pages
   peed/insights/
   @saijamahon @mahondigital
   

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10. META Data Is For People Too
    • Your page Title and Description, which are hidden in
    the HTML code are partly what search engines decide
    what searches to show a site for
    • But this ‘Google snippet’ is also what people see, so
    should be clear and entice people to click
    @saijamahon @mahondigital
    

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11. Keyword Research
    • Research search volumes and
    keyword variations and alternatives
    using tools such as:
    • Adwords Keyword Planner
    • Google search console
    @saijamahon @mahondigital
    

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12. Pay For First Page Visibility
    • Google and Bing have ad services that
    allow you to pick the keywords and
    phrases you want to show ads for
    • If you have the budget this can get instant
    visibility at or near the top of the 1st page
    • Drive leads or sales through site visits or
    phone calls
    @saijamahon @mahondigital
    

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13. Google Adwords
    Not just search ads
    • Display Network – pick an audience by interests,
    demographics, site placements, apps, topics
    • Create audiences to promote to – site visitors, or
    previous purchasers to remarket to
    • Google Shopping – ideal for ecommerce sales,
    can show above search ads, the visual appeal &
    extra information can boost conversion rates over
    search ads
    @saijamahon @mahondigital
    

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14. Spread Your Social Posts
    • Not every social network posting goes viral, obviously
    • Promote your key or best performing posts or create new
    ones as ads show to a wider audience
    • The various social networks have different targeting options
    to appear in the feeds of your chosen audience
    • Offered by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and
    Pinterest, Snapchat & more
    • Better engagement than the small ads that LinkedIn and
    Facebook also offer
    @saijamahon @mahondigital
    

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15. Get Blogging
    • Fresh content gives search engines more
    topics and keyword phrases to show your
    site for
    • Promote posts through your social
    channels
    • Gain backlinks to improve your search
    rankings
    @saijamahon @mahondigital
    

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16. Shoppers are predicted to double the amount
    they spend on purchases made on mobile
    devices this year.
    Capitalise on the growth!
    @saijamahon @mahondigital
    

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17. Thank You (saija@mahondigital.co.uk)
    @saijamahon @mahondigital
    

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