The document provides an introduction to search marketing. It discusses how search marketing offers marketers the best opportunity to engage with intent-driven prospects who have identified their interest in a specific category, brand, or product. It then covers typical paid and organic search results. The rest of the document outlines typical search marketing steps including increasing inclusion, page ranking and consideration, and traffic. It also discusses keyword management, effective keyword planning, keyword research tools, and keyword phrase segmentation. Finally, it touches on developing content to satisfy searcher needs, search engine optimization, how search engines work, common SEO problems, and on-site and off-site optimization best practices.

1. Introduction to Search Marketing
SES Hong Kong
Bill Hunt

2. What Does Search Marketing Offer?
The best opportunity marketers
have to engage “intent-driven”
prospects who have self-identified
their category, brand and/or
product interest.
Twitter: @billhunt

3. Typical Search Results
Paid Search
Organic Search
Twitter: @billhunt

4. Typical Search Marketing Steps
• Increase Inclusion
– Systematic spidering by Google, Yahoo, Bing, Baidu etc.
– Link building programs
– Participating in Pay Per Click (SEM) programs
– Optimize Social Media and Video assets
• Increase Page Ranking & Consideration
– Modifying page attributes and content to ensure page attributes comply with specific
ranking criteria.
– Implement internal protocols to minimize problems
– Paying for specific placement via CPM or highest bids
• Increase Traffic
– Identifying optimal keywords and implementing keyword based strategies
– Optimize natural search snippets
– Developing effective creative with specific calls to action
– Leverage “co-optimization” to maximize paid and organic search collabortion
Twitter: @billhunt

5. KEYWORD MANAGEMENT
Identifying keywords and monitoring their
performance to maximize your connection
to prospective customers.
5 Twitter: @billhunt

6. Effective Keyword Planning
 Think like your customer – What would a prospect use to search
for products and services like yours?
 Consider Purchase Cycle – Recognize that individuals use different
terminology based on their awareness of what they are seeking.
 Keyword Research Tools – Use free and paid keyword research
tools to identify keyword variations
 Current Visitor Search Terms – Review log files to identify
keywords that are currently attracting visitors.
 On-site Search Engine Searches – Review the log files of the on-
site search engine to see how people search within your site.
Twitter: @billhunt

7. Keyword Research Tools
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
7 Twitter: @billhunt

8. Keyword Phrase Segmentation
Group Keywords # of Words Notes
Head Top 20 1-2 Head keywords have a very high search volume, but tend to
be generic terms. Typically awareness and branding words
Neck 21-200 2-3 The Neck is typically a “sweet spot” of moderate to high
search volume phrases with a higher conversion rate
Body 201-1000 More specific and Plural and variations of phrases
less predictable
Long-Tail 1000+ 2-8 Consists of:
• Product codes, models, names and SKU data
• Misspellings of products and parts
• Combinations of products, parts, and other descriptors
Twitter: @billhunt

9. Develop Content to Satisfy Searcher Needs
80,000
How To related searches
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10. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Making changes to your site to ensure it
maximizes the key elements used by
search engines to score and ranking pages
10 Twitter: @billhunt

11. How Search Engines Work
1. Spiders (crawlers, robots) crawl the Web and extract
information from each page
2. Information helps to build an Index
– What the page is about (number of times an important word appears)
– Where on a page the word appears
– How the word appears (capitalization, punctuation, bolded, etc)
– Who else links to the page (number of times, and rank, of other pages
linking to it)
– Why they bothered to link (Importance of other pages pointing toward it)
3. Encodes and stores information
Simple right?
Search engines have many hurdles to overcome.
Twitter: @billhunt

12. How does the Algorithm Work
• Spam and Inflation Detection
– Verifying that no unethical tricks are being used
– Verifying that there are not duplicates or redirections
• Keyword Phrase Inclusion/Content Relevancy
– Does the exact phrase occur on the page
– Location and proximity of keyword and/or keyword phrase
– What is the relationship of the keyword to the content?
– How many other similar or relevant pages on the site are connected
to this page?
• Internet Relevancy
– How many other sites/pages are linked to this site and page?
– How “relevant” are the pages/sites linking to the page?
– How are the other links references which point to the page?
Twitter: @billhunt

13. Common SEO Problems
• Common infrastructure Problems
– Session ID’s: “?id=12345”
– Redirects: Meta, JavaScript, 302 & 301
– robots.txt: Provides engines some direction
– Required JavaScript or cookies: Engines cannot read them
• Coding & Design Problems
– Flash – Engines can’t follow links or read content
– Frames – One page site and orphaned pages
– JavaScript – Engines cannot read or complete
– Complex Tables – Reduces content prominence
– Slow-to-Load Pages – Keep pages < 100k
– Graphical Text – Engines can’t read graphics
– Image Maps – Engines can’t follow
Twitter: @billhunt

14. Spam, Spam, Spam…
• Keyword stuffing: Used to be effective
<title>plasma tv, plasma tv, plasma tv</title>
• Invisible text and tiny text: Keyword rich content that is the
same (or almost the same) as the background color
• Cloaking: Using IP detection to serve one set of (often
highly optimized) content to the engines, and another to the
searcher
• Redirects (Meta and JavaScript): Low-Tech cloaking
• CSS Hidden Text: Careful! Any hidden content opens the
door for abuse! History tells us the engines will respond
Twitter: @billhunt

15. ON-SITE/ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
• On-site optimization refers to all of the things we
can do to the Web site itself from the architecture,
file names, code, design, and content to enhance
the visibility of the Web site in search engines.
15
Twitter: @billhunt

16. OFF-SITE/OFF-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
• Off-site optimization refers to all of the things we
can do to increase the authority of the site by
increasing the quantity of contextually relevant,
authoritative links from other websites.
16
Twitter: @billhunt

17. 4 Fundamentals of SEO
Relevance Authority
Indexibility Clickability
SEO
17 Twitter: @billhunt

18. Indexability
• Is the site created in a way to enable the spiders to get
into the site and capture all the pages within the site?
• Eliminate spider traps and barriers to indexing
– Improper redirects
– Incorrect robots coding
– JavaScript and DHTML navigation
– Multiple dynamic variables & Session ID’s
– Session ID’s or cookie restrictions
• Test how many pages in the indexed
– site:yourdoman.com
18 Twitter: @billhunt

19. Relevance
• Do the on-page elements align with the search industry’s
understanding of the algorithm scoring model as
represented by accepted best practices?
• Keyword included on the page?
• Is keyword included in key elements on page like title and
heading?
Twitter: @billhunt

20. Keyword Placement
• Title Tags are the MOST IMPORTANT attribute
– <title> Las Vegas hotel – Mirage </title>
• Heading Tags - <H1> and <H2>
• Body Copy - Keywords appearing throughout page
content
• Anchor Text - The keyword phrase appearing in a
hyperlink to your site or within it
• Alt Attribute - In lieu of keyword rich content, engines will
pull a page description from an images alt attribute.
Twitter: @billhunt

21. Optimal Keyword Locations
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22. Title Tag: Your Secret Weapon
• The title tag? Yes -- the <title></title> tag!
• Every page should have a unique title
• Title is built around target term for that page
– This will be a two or three word term
– “Keep it short, attractive and enticing.
– Remember, you want people interested
• Most important phrase as far to the left as possible
• <title> Hong Kong Hotels – Reservations & Discounts </title>
Twitter: @billhunt

23. Titles Serve a Dual Purpose
<title>Routers - Products & Services - Cisco Systems</title>
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24. Page Headings
• Search engines consider Page Titles and related headings to be
important signals.
• Headings act like a Table of Contents with sections and subsections.
• Each page should have one main header tag marked as <H1> and
may be followed by subdivisions from a <H2> level down to <H6>.
Twitter: @billhunt

25. Tools – SEO for Firefox
• http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html
25 Twitter: @billhunt

26. Tools – Web Developer for Firefox
• http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/
26 Twitter: @billhunt

27. Leverage Webmaster Tools
• Google Webmaster Tools - www.google.com/webmasters/tools/
• Yahoo Site Explorer - siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
• Bing Webmaster Center - http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmasters/
Twitter: @billhunt

28. Authority - Links
• Are the links limited in number and do those links use
anchor text that is highly relevant to the page being linked
to?
• Do we have links to the page from reputable sites?
• Do we have links from authoritative sites?
• Have we created relevance with our site links?
Twitter: @billhunt

29. 5 Tips for Successful Link Building
1. Build Links Naturally – The engines want to reward
sites that people voluntarily link to due to great content.
2. Get Links from Sites That Give Few – The less links on
the referring page the better.
3. Get Your Keywords into Your Link Text – The engines
first indication of the theme of your site is the link text.
4. Get Links from Relevant Sites – The search engines
are looking for thematic hubs, bunches of pages focused
on a similar topic.
5. Go for Deep Links – Your home page is usually about a
broad range of topics then your deep pages. Remember,
a link is more powerful when it’s on topic.
Twitter: @billhunt

30. Natural vs. Artificial Links
The engines are looking for page and sites that people link to voluntarily.
How do they determine a Natural vs. Artificial link?
Natural Links Artificial Links
Inbound links have varied link text Inbound links have identical link text
Increase gradually over time Link count increase rapidly
Site links out to reputable pages Outbound links to link farms
Links are rarely reciprocal High percentage of reciprocal links
Twitter: @billhunt

31. How Do You Build Links Naturally?
It’s All About Content!
Do you have content that is link-worthy?
– Provide a Useful Tool – Creating a simple, useful online tool for
your target audience is one of the best ways to attract links.
– Provide Educational or Informative Content – These types of
pages can be very effective in attracting links.
– Be the Authority – An effective and relatively easy way to secure
inbound links to the site is by writing articles and getting them
published to relevant sites by submitting them to article directories.
– Resources Page - Reciprocal links have lesser SEO value, but can
help with relevance.
Twitter: @billhunt

32. A Closer Look at Links
• Popularity:
95 Pages linking to this page
• Authority:
3.9% are quality links (PR>5)
• Relevance:
74.7% of the links are relevant
Twitter: @billhunt

33. Authority Cluster - Internal Linking
33
Twitter: @billhunt

34. Link Building Tactics
 Consolidate existing internal link equity
- Consolidate existing links from old or legacy pages or domains and properly
redirect them to the proper page or primary domain
- Free Management tools: Yahoo! Site Explorer or Google Webmaster Tool
You can export the results.
You can choose to see
only external links.
Twitter: @billhunt

35. Link Building Tactics
 Check and repair any broken links
- Google Webmaster Tools – if implemented, provides information on “broken”
links
Shows you pages that link
to the Page Not Found.
Twitter: @billhunt

36. Social Bookmarking
 ‘Add This’ and ‘Social Marker’ offer more than 30 choices of social
bookmarking sites.
Twitter: @billhunt

37. Look for Shared Links
7/10 share links
Twitter: @billhunt

38. Clickability
• Is the search result as relevant and engaging as possible to
encourage searchers to click on the listing?
• Have we made the snippet engaging and compelling?
• Are we engaging the searcher when they land on the
page?
Twitter: @billhunt

39. Twitter: @billhunt

40. Optimize Search Results
Due
to
the
flash
problem
with
the
sites,
many
snippits
are
less
than
op5mal
Search
Phrase:
Ford
SUV
Search
Phrase:
Ford
truck
fuel
efficiency
Twitter: @billhunt

41. SEO Best Practice Key Takeaways
1. Keyword phrase in far left of title tag
2. <H1> heading tag includes primary keyword phrase
3. Emphasize the primary keyword early in the content and
include secondary phrases as you write
4. Use relevant keywords in the anchor text for all links
5. Contextually relevant inbound links from quality sites
6. Consolidate links and pages to form clusters
41 Twitter: @billhunt

42. SEM BEST PRACTICES
42 Twitter: @billhunt

43. SEM/PPC Advertising
• Keyword Targeted advertising
• Only pay when clicked
• Match search term to ad to landing
page
43 Twitter: @billhunt

44. Keyword Match Types
• Ads are continuously matched to Internet users’ interests based on your
keywords
• Use keyword match types to your advantage
– Broad Match
– Modified Broad Match (new)
– Phrase Match
– Exact Match
– Negative keyword
• Ads are placed as buying decisions are made
The Result: Businesses reach their audience at the
right time, with the right message
44 Twitter: @billhunt

45. Broad Match Example
• For the broad-matched keyword used book
• used book dealer
• buy used books
• used and rare book
• second hand book
Ad can appear
• cheap used book
for any of these
queries
45 Twitter: @billhunt

46. What are Negative Keywords?
• Prevent ads from appearing on irrelevant search queries
• Eliminate unwanted impressions
Keyword: used book
Negative Match: -cheap
46 Twitter: @billhunt

47. Paid Search Creative by the Buying Cycle
Stages of the Buying Cycle
Search Awareness Interest Consider Purchase
Example Business Varieties of Laser printing HP LaserJet
Keywords: printing Laser printers comparison Printer
Example
Creative:
47
Twitter: @billhunt

48. Matching Keywords to Creative
• Organize your ad groups based on themes:
Wireless Network Local Area Network VoIP Bluetooth 802.11b Wireless
• This will allow you to generate specific creative for each type of product.
• This will help our system serve your ads appropriately on both our Search &
Content Networks.
48
Twitter: @billhunt

49. Develop Ad Groups & Relevant Creative
Wireless Network Local Area Network VoIP Bluetooth 802.11b Wireless
49
Twitter: @billhunt

50. Creative Development: What NOT to do
• Avoid Slogans
– “It’s better with the Butterfly”
• Avoid Questions
– “Need Enterprise Software?”
• Avoid text that doesn’t get to the point
– “We offer enterprise solutions for many types of needs.”
• Don’t mislead users or exaggerate
– Don’t mention “10 Free White Papers” if only 3 are available
– Don’t say “Download Now” if users have to register and wait 24 hrs for access
50
Twitter: @billhunt

51. Dynamic Keyword Insertion
Wireless Network Local Area Network VoIP Bluetooth 802.11b Wireless
51
Twitter: @billhunt

52. Advertise by Location
Location in ad text can increase performance
• Attracts attention of local users
• Non-local users will not click on ad
New York Advertising
52 Twitter: @billhunt

53. Inter-capitalize Display URL
Inter-capitalizing your display URL may make your ad
stand out more and lead to better clickthrough rates
53 Twitter: @billhunt

54. Including Multiple Ads
Use multiple ads to test messages and see which on works best
54 Twitter: @billhunt

55. Managing Budget & Costs
– No minimum spend
– You choose your own maximum daily spending limit (daily budget)
– Choose how much you want to spend per click for every keyword
– Conversion tracking = real-time return-on-investment data
55
Twitter: @billhunt

56. Paid Search Quality Score
• Quality Score =
• Keyword CTR
• + ad text relevance
• + historical keyword performance
• + landing page quality
• + other relevancy factors
• Landing Page Quality Factors
– Link to the page on your site that provides the most useful and accurate
information about the product or service in your ad.
– Ensure that your landing page is relevant to your keywords and your ad
text.
– Try to provide information without requiring users to register. Or, provide a
preview of what users will get by registering.
– In general, build pages that provide substantial and useful information to
the end-user.
56
Twitter: @billhunt

57. OTHER BEST PRACTICES
57 Twitter: @billhunt

58. Missed Opportunity Matrix
Validates the opportunity in terms management can understand
Projection
Summary
Twitter: @billhunt

59. Monitor SEO & PPC Collaboration
• Demonstrate the collaboration of PPC and SEO
• Use SEO to reduce clicks on high CPC keywords
Fortune 100 company increased PPC efficiency 300% by
monitoring SEO & PPC Performance
59
Twitter: @billhunt

60. Measuring Success
• Diagnostic tools
measure the
“geeky stuff”
• Performance tools
measure the
business results
• Program
Management tools
measure
organizational
impact
Twitter: @billhunt

61. Handy Reference
Updated 2nd Edition
• “Buy this book, read it, and then read it
again.” --Chris Sherman
• Helps guide you through developing
your program
• How to form your team and manage for
success
Twitter: @billhunt

62. Thank You.
eMail: bill@whunt.com
Twitter: billhunt
Blog: www.whunt.com
Site: www.back-azimuth.com
Presentation - http://www.slideshare.net/billhunt