Using SEO to generate online traffic and be discovered

1. Using SEO to generate
online traffic and be
discovered
22
Oct
2014
Sylvain Reiter from Cyber-Duck Ltd
Presentation at Business Media Insight 2014
1

2. Hi. I am Sylvain Reiter
Co-Founder & Development Director @ Cyber-Duck
@sylvainreiter
2

3. THE EVOLUTION OF SEO
3

4. The History of SEO
“Archie”, first Internet search engine, written in 1990
Spider crawling the web
Content analysis / Keywords / Header tags
Over 20 different search engines by 1995
4

5. The arrival of Google in 1997
Started using links as ranking signal
Page Rank metrics = “Link Juice”
Count as an editorial vote for a page / site
Global dominance by 2008, now 89% of UK search queries
5
pixabay.com

6. SEO vs PPC
6

7. SEO via link building
Optimising for the major ranking factor: links
Reciprocal link exchange programs, selling of link-ads,
syndicated article portals…
Opened the door to “black hat” SEO (hidden pages, white text
on white background, blog comment spam…)
7
seolinkbuildingservice.com

8. Penalties
Google regularly updates its algorithm
Introduction of penalties in 2006, dropping offending sites’ rank
Global brands get penalised for black hat SEO
8

9. Penalties
logicworks.net
9

10. Major Google updates
Panda in 2011: quality content (ban duplicated content)
Penguin in 2012: anti-spam against low-quality / paid links
Hummingbird in 2013: semantic understanding
Pigeon in 2014: more accurate local results
nubemedia.com
10
bluepolointeractive.com

11. Aim for Top Rankings
11

12. WHERE TO START WITH SEO?
12

13. Search Engine “Compliance”
logicworks.net
As Eric Enge put it:
"Design your site as if search engines did not exist, but be
search engine smart in your design"
"Market your site as if search engines did not exist, but be
search engine smart in your marketing efforts!"
13

14. ON SITE - Focus on content
Become the trusted authority in your sector
Create content that your customers want to read
Blog / White Papers
Infographics
Videos
Calculators
Have a professional looking website
Start with long-tail keywords
14

15. ON SITE - Technical requirements
Site and pages structure + URL
Markup and semantic HTML
Server speed and location
Domain name history
logicworks.net
15

16. ON SITE - Optimise for all devices
Google runs several spiders to identify how websites respond
on mobile devices
Rankings are influenced by the browsing device
High bounce rates can indicate a bad user experience, which is
a worrying sign
logicworks.net
16

17. OFF SITE - Build a digital footprint
It's all about citations, connections, mentions and associations
Work closely with your PR team
Benefit from social media amplification, viral campaigns
Plan localised strategies and events
Encourage your customers to use reviews / comparison sites
Use PPC and "display ads" campaigns wisely
17

18. IMPORTANCE OF ANALYSIS
18

19. Importance of measurement
Need to measure ROI of campaigns (email, social…)
Identify market / audience and trends in sales channel
Review conversion funnels and website pain points
Use social media analytics for outreach to influencers
logicworks.net
19

20. Free tool: Google Analytics
Free tool with thousands of metrics
Tag your site to track events, goals and funnels
Analyse geographical or timely trends
Combine with Google Webmaster Tool for warnings
20

21. Funnel optimisation
Web Analytics
User testing (eye tracking, focus groups)
A/B or MVT testing
CrazyEgg recordings
21

22. CASE STUDY
22

23. 23

24. SUMMARY
24

25. Don’t
You cannot get on the first page in a week, and don’t try to fool
Google!
Have any of these ideas
“We will have an SEO push later in the year”
“We don’t need SEO, we are not eCommerce”
“It’s OK, we are on Facebook”
“SEO and PR are two different activities”
25

26. Do
Have a long term strategy, tied in with your Marketing plan
Develop your brand off- and on-site
Build a culture of measurement, monitoring and data analysis
Make your developers SEO-aware
Hire engaging content creators
26

27. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME!
27