Ever wonder what could happen if someone did a complete audit of the internal links of your website? What if your top entry point for inbound traffic was also giving you a huge bounce rate? Major 'red flag". Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn't just about title tags and keywords. In this search marketing webinar, you'll learn how one company was able to find these "leaks" in their SEO efforts and how their strategy to fix them gave them a major return. Also, learn how you can prevent future SEO issues. Want more tips and steps? Download the free excerpt from MarketingSherpa's Inbound Handbook (http://bit.ly/IPM3db).

1. Search Marketing
How three simple steps turned an 82% bounce rate into a
400% increase in conversion

2. Today’s presenters
Courtney Eckerle, Reporter
MECLABS
@courtneyeckerle
Jennifer Stagner, Technical Support Manager
Tops Products

3. Join the conversation
#SherpaWebinar

4. Developing strategy is a top challenge
According to the 2012
MarketingSherpa Search
Marketing Benchmark Report…
“
“
42% of respondents forecasted “Developing an effective and methodological
strategy” as one of their MOST FRUSTRATING SEO challenges for 2013.

5. Self- assessment…
How mature is your organization’s SEO strategy?

6. The campaign
• Reviewing Google Analytics data, Stagner noticed a substantial amount of
inbound traffic was coming onto Tops Products e-commerce website from
a referral path from an online automobile website.

7. The campaign
• Reviewing Google Analytics data, Stagner noticed a substantial amount of
inbound traffic was coming onto Tops Products e-commerce website from
a referral path from an online automobile website.
• Despite this high inbound traffic count, Stagner noticed the bounce rate
was even higher.

8. The campaign
• Reviewing Google Analytics data, Stagner noticed a substantial amount of
inbound traffic was coming onto Tops Products e-commerce website from
a referral path from an online automobile website.
• Despite this high inbound traffic count, Stagner noticed the bounce rate
was even higher.
• For every 100 visitors that were clicking through to the site, 82 of them
were instantly exiting the landing page.

9. The campaign
• Reviewing Google Analytics data, Stagner noticed a substantial amount of
inbound traffic was coming onto Tops Products e-commerce website from
a referral path from an online automobile website.
• Despite this high inbound traffic count, Stagner noticed the bounce rate
was even higher.
• For every 100 visitors that were clicking through to the site, 82 of them
were instantly exiting the landing page.
• Surprising since Tops Products had just rolled out a fresh, modern site.

10. The challenges…
• Tops Products’ SEO objective is to drive traffic to their site that will result
in a high number of conversions and additional revenue, as well as
delivering a great experience for their user.

11. The challenges…
• Tops Products’ SEO objective is to drive traffic to their site that will result
in a high number of conversions and additional revenue, as well as
delivering a great experience for their user.
• Needed to find out why such a large percentage of the people who were
landing on the page were exiting immediately.

12. The challenges…
• Tops Products’ SEO objective is to drive traffic to their site that will result
in a high number of conversions and additional revenue, as well as
delivering a great experience for their user.
• In order to find out why such a large percentage of the people who were
landing on the page were exiting immediately.
• Stagner and her team dug deeper into the issue causing the high bounce
rates, and were able to fix it and stop the site from hemorrhaging traffic.

14. Monitor SEO avenues
• Ensures visitors to Tops Products have a consistent and smooth path onto
the website

15. Monitor SEO avenues
• Ensures visitors to Tops Products have a consistent and smooth path onto
the website
• Utilizes different buckets to find leaks in sales funnel and discover new
opportunities

16. Monitor SEO avenues
• Ensures visitors to Tops Products have a consistent and smooth path onto
the website
• Utilizes different buckets to find leaks in sales funnel and discover new
opportunities
• Domain authority is consistently evaluated for trust in Tops Products over
their competitors

17. Monitor SEO avenues
• Ensures visitors to Tops Products have a consistent and smooth path onto
the website
• Utilizes different buckets to find leaks in sales funnel and discover new
opportunities
• Domain authority is consistently evaluated for trust in Tops Products over
their competitors
• Foundation for analyzing is Google Analytics

18. Monitor SEO avenues
• Ensures visitors to Tops Products have a consistent and smooth path onto
the website
• Utilizes different buckets to find leaks in sales funnel and discover new
opportunities
• Domain authority is consistently evaluated for trust in Tops Products over
their competitors
• Foundation for analyzing is Google Analytics
• With so many paths and elements to monitor, the amount of data can be
substantial to track

19. Monitor SEO avenues
Stagner and her team noticed the same domain was consistently passing
traffic to Tops Products website.

20. Monitor SEO avenues
But the initial bounce rates from that inbound referral link, shown in
Google Analytics, were astronomical.

22. Identify the issue
• Tops Products secured
a partnership from
AutoTrader.com
• AutoTrader provided a
link to Socrates.com
offering:
“Get an As is Addendum
from Socrates.com”

23. Identify the issue
“Get an As is Addendum from Socrates.com” should
have redirected TOPS customers to this…

24. Identify the issue
But, They were being redirected to this…

25. Identify the issue
• Google Analytics showed high amount of traffic being passed from that
link onto Tops Products website

26. Identify the issue
• Google Analytics showed high amount of traffic being passed from that
link onto Tops Products website
• Soon realized that the traffic was good, but the overall result was harmful
to the health of their SEO program

27. Identify the issue
• Google Analytics showed high amount of traffic being passed from that
link onto Tops Products website
• Soon realized that the traffic was good, but the overall result was harmful
to the health of their SEO program
• Most visitors were exiting immediately – not browsing the site or making
any purchases

28. Identify the issue
• Google Analytics showed high amount of traffic being passed from that
link onto Tops Products website
• Soon realized that the traffic was good, but the overall result was harmful
to the health of their SEO program
• Most visitors were exiting immediately – not browsing the site or making
any purchases
• Discovered 10 different links on AutoTrader that were funneling traffic to
Tops Products

29. What you need to know
Verify SEO elements by viewing them like
! a consumer
* By looking at the links to see what people were viewing and
where they were redirected, Stagner and her team were able
to identify the cause of the high bounce rate

31. Correct false links
Tops Products used analytics and link information to redirect
customers to what they expected to find

32. Correct false links
• Stagner and her team had their webmaster set up a 301 redirect site,
configured so that the consumer would automatically go to the correct
page.

33. Correct false links
• Stagner and her team had their webmaster set up a 301 redirect site,
configured so that the consumer would automatically go to the correct
page.
• If your company doesn’t have the ability to set up a redirect, contact the
other company to correct the links would also be a simple fix.

34. Correct false links
• Stagner and her team had their webmaster set up a 301 redirect site,
configured so that the consumer would automatically go to the correct
page.
• If your company doesn’t have the ability to set up a redirect, contact the
other company to correct the links would also be a simple fix.
• Waited a few weeks to see what the impact in Google Analytics would be
now that consumers had a smooth path to the product.

35. VIP SPECIAL
Save $700
Ends May 31
San Francisco Reserve your seat today:
Grand Hyatt
MECLABS.com/VIPLeadGen
Sept. 30 – Oct. 3

37. Results
400% Increase in conversion
39% Reduction in bounce rate
* What you need to know: Dedicating time and resource
management is key to a strong SEO strategy that catches costly
simple mistakes.

38. What you need to know
! Make API’s work for you!

40. Three Key Steps
1 Monitor SEO avenues for bounced
traffic
2 Identify the issue and find false links
3 Correct false links

41. Thank you
Courtney Eckerle, Reporter
MECLABS
@courtneyeckerle
Jennifer Stagner, Technical Support Manager
Tops Products