Referrals from social media and email marketing efforts may be on the rise, but organic search is still a top driver of traffic to B2B websites. Searchers have matured and become savvier in recent years – however, search engine algorithms have as well. With that in mind, how important is keyword research in today’s online world, and how can you modernize your keyword strategies? In a recent webinar, SEO veteran Tracy Sabattis discussed five questions often asked about modern keyword strategies. These slides formed the basis for that presentation; they include several actionable tips and a list of SEO research tools (both free and paid) along with each tool’s pros and cons.

1. KEYWORD STRATEGIES IN
TODAY’S WORLD:
5 QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY SEO VETERAN TRACY SABATTIS
Sponsored By:

2. TODAY’S PANEL
Tracy Sabattis, VP of Media
College Factual, a property of Media Factual
Twitter: @tracys
Michele McDonough, COO
Rock the Deadline
Twitter: @NVMichele
Mike Agron, Co-Founder
WebAttract, LLC
Twitter: @WebinarReady

3. IT’S NOT 2009 ANYMORE
So, why are we
still talking about
keywords?

4. AREN’T KEYWORDS
DEAD?

5. THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
SEO is DEAD …. So KEYWORDS are DEAD AND BURIED!
Then, what‟s the
point of this
discussion?
Image from The Death of SEO infographic at http://www.seobook.com/learn-seo/infographics/death-of-seo.php

6. LET’S TIME TRAVEL TO 2009
Microtrends in New Info Shoppers
(PSB Study - Wall Street Journal)
“They believe in the information they find, not in the
information that is spoon-fed to them.”
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123144483005365353.html

7. LET’S SKIP FORWARD TO 2010
A More Social Future (PSB Study)
“Social Media is shaping Consumers Behavior”
Source: http://www.psbresearch.com/press_pubs/press_publications_Jan_7_2010.aspx

8. WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
Optify‟s Benchmark Study from 2012:
“Google is the single most important referring domain to B2B
websites…. Google‟s share of organic traffic to B2B websites in
the study, topped 90% in November, 2012.”
Source: http://www.optify.net/business-to-business-marketing/the-highlights-2012-b2b-marketing-benchmark-report

9. WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
• Search incorporates
social signals
• Social builds brand
awareness
• The more you can
get in front of
someone the better
Source: http://www.stateofsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/social-vs-search-infographic.png

10. WATCHWORDS ARE BEREFT OF LIFE
SEO was never just about keywords.
Online marketing – like any marketing – is all about
understanding your customer and targeting them all
along the buying cycle with words they’ll understand.
hashtags
These all incorporate keywords.

11. EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT
DEAD, AREN'T
KEYWORDS SPAMMY?

12. THE DEFINITION OF SPAM
Keywords are not spammy.
SEO is not spammy.
PEOPLE are spammy.
SPAM is unsolicited.
People are searching for YOU and YOUR INFORMATION
actively… on Google, in social media and through other
online tools.

13. WHY DO YOU NEED TO
RESEARCH
KEYWORDS?

14. UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE
• Insider language is too easy to fall into.
• Buyers are shopping all along the cycle – not just at the
end. They are arming themselves with information and then
deciding.
• Remember, 92% of buyers don't want our carefully
constructed websites and marketing messages. They just
want to be smarter and better informed. They want to be
entertained.
• We have to communicate without selling. We have to
hook, without obviously pitching and selling.
• Optimize through content marketing.

15. WHERE DO YOU
RESEARCH
KEYWORDS?

16. KEYWORD RESEARCH
• UBERSuggest.org – Google Suggest (in the browser)
• PROS – Many searchers let Google‟s „suggestions‟ guide
them. So targeting those can sometimes be wise.
• CONS – Google bases this on their data, and they want
people to search specific ways, due to ads.
• Soovle .com
• PROS – Suggestions from multiple places. Often surfaces
different combos.
• CONS – Often repetitive
• Internal Search through Google Analytics
• PROS – Can help identify what‟s missing, what people
are looking for on your site.
• CONS – Only used by a small slice of visitors. The better
your navigation, the less it‟s used.

17. KEYWORD RESEARCH
• Bing Analytics
• Have you set up a Bing Webmaster Account? Do it –
NOW…
• Bing offers great webmaster tools – better than Google.
• They do „not‟ block any search phrases.
• Competitors
• Don‟t just look at the top. (Brands, domain age,
backlinks.) Also look at the ones you are „surprised‟ to
see in top 10.
• Strongly recommend paid tools:
• SEMRush.com
• Keywordspy.com
• Compete .com
• On a budget?
• Target two sites and look at all their HTML data on
core pages, in their blog, in their social media posts.

18. KEYWORD RESEARCH
Keyword Eye (Basic and Pro)
• PROS – Nice visualizations, very easy to spot keyword
phrases.
• CONS – Based on AdWords. Don‟t depend solely on
Google AdWords data. It‟s designed to make money for
Google, not for you.
Wordstream (Free and Paid)
• PROS – Unique slices and dices, including a „Niche‟ Finder,
tons of long-tail keyword searches.
• CONS – Free is limited to 30 searches (which disappear
quick) – This is really a Paid tool designed more for PPC in
order to guarantee ROI.
SEOmoz (Paid)
• Keyword Difficulty Tool (but only if you are using all the other
items)

19. KEYWORD RESEARCH
• Google Analytics
• PROS – Can often pick up good long-tail clues or new
word combinations you aren‟t consciously targeting.
• CONS – When people are signed in to Google, those
keywords are „blocked‟ to protect the searcher. You
have no insight – it‟s running at about 50%. You are blind
to a lot of core searches.
• Google Webmaster Tools
• PROS – More general search terms than Analytics.
• CONS – Tends toward broad. Google controls what is
shown.

20. WHERE DO YOU
INCORPORATE
KEYWORDS?

21. MARKETING
Everywhere you market, you should be thinking about
your customer and how they would describe you.
• Content Marketing
• Hashtags
• HTML Titles
• Descriptive Website Content
• About Us Pages
Think holistically.

22. CONTACT INFO
Tracy Sabattis
Twitter: @tracys
Michele McDonough
Twitter: @NVMichele
Mike Agron
Twitter: @WebinarReady
Connect with us
and continue the
conversation!
We‟d love to hear
your thoughts.