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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
11. Keyword Research • Research search volumes and keyword variations and alternatives using tools such as: • Adwords Keyword Planner • Google search console @saijamahon @mahondigital
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
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
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
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
16. Shoppers are predicted to double the amount they spend on purchases made on mobile devices this year. Capitalise on the growth! @saijamahon @mahondigital
17. Thank You (saija@mahondigital.co.uk) @saijamahon @mahondigital