This is your funnel on content… Top of the Funnel 1 What topics do they want? It’s all about empathy… Help your audience make a buying decision. Your website is the mousetrap, Your content is the cheese… - Barry Feldman Which words convert? It’s all about readability… Latinate Words • More formal • Longer (polysyllabic) • Fancy, proper Examples acquire, transmit, construct, resist, deposit, imitate, determined Anglo-Saxon Words • Less formal • Short (often monosyllabic) • Forceful, direct Examples get, send, build, stop, put, mock, set Write like an 8th grader! …but don’t dumb it down Source: NN Group Which posts have ranking potential? Low hanging fruit is delicious! Top content… Find your traffic champions The Spike and the Long Tail Initial spike from email marketing and social promotion (one week) 20 to 40 visits per day from organic search (months or years) Posts that rank high on page two… Queries Report with Advanced Filter for “Average Posts that rank high on page two! Queries Report with Advanced Filter for “Average Now for a little on-page SEO Let’s indicate the relevance... Use the phrase in 4 places A. Once at the beginning of the title <title> B. Once in the first header <h1> C. Four to six times in the body of the page D. Within the links to the page from other pages on your site. 1. Title: Once in the beginning It appears above the address bar in your browser… Don’t be too aggressive! This stuff works… Middle of the Funnel 2 Optimize for subscribers Grow. Your. List. Before… After… 1900% increase. Not bad! Why it works 1. Prominence 2. Promise 3. Proof Find your conversion champions Which are your most compelling posts? Subscribers per blog post… Reverse Goal Path with Advanced Filter for “Goal Previous Step 1” set to /blog/ Pageviews per blog post… Subscribers per page view per blog post …well hello, champions! Let’s watch that in slo-mo… Now put on your traffic driving gloves… Are they finding what they’re looking for? Your website unsatisfying… Are they reading what you’re writing? The creation / consumption gap… Percent Content Consumption source: Avinash Kaushik Testimonials = supportive evidence Never make a testimonials page “When you say it, it’s marketing… When they say it, it’s social proof.” Where there’s traffic, there’s hope... Subsequent conversions The thank you page after the thank you page… But wait! There’s more… Subsequent Conversions… Your pages. Your funnel. Let’s break it down…

1. Content, Conversions
and Lead Generation
November 2014 Presentation
Andy Crestodina

2. Join the conversation on Twi!er
@thuelmadsen #KISSwebinar

3. Andy Crestodina - Orbit Media Studios - @crestodina
Andy Crestodina is a co-founder and the Strategic Director
of Orbit Media, an award-winning 38-person web design
company in Chicago.
Andy’s a top-rated speaker at national conferences. He’s
wri!en hundreds of articles on content marketing topics
including search engine optimization, social media, Analytics
and content strategy.
He is also the author of “Content Chemistry: The Illustrated
Handbook for Content Marketing.”

4. Join the conversation on Twi!er
@crestodina #KISSwebinar

5. Introduction
Content. It’s why they visit and why they convert (or don’t). Content is part of every step in your funnel.
So how’s it working on your site? How can you measure the impact of your content? How can you
create content that converts?
Let’s analyze the birth of a lead, deconstructing each page in the process and each stage in the funnel.
Together, we’ll discover:
• Which topics a!ract visitors and deepen engagement?
• How to create content for every stage of the funnel?
• What elements on pages and posts ultimately drive leads?
This session covers how content affects the conversion funnel, from high-ranking blog post to the
thank you page a#er the thank you page.

6. WATCH WEBINAR RECORDING NOW

7. This is your funnel

8. This is your funnel on content…

9. Top of the Funnel
1

10. What topics do
they want?
It’s all about empathy…

11. Help your audience
make a buying decision.

12. Your website is the mousetrap,
Your content is the cheese…
- Barry Feldman

13. Sources of Topics
1. Keywords
2. Q&A Sites
3. Listening

14. Finding Topics: Google Suggest

15. Finding Topics: Ubersuggest
Source: Ubersuggest.org

16. Finding Topics: Soovle
Source: Soovle.com

17. Google
Keyword
Planner

19. Finding Topics: Analytics Queries

20. Finding Topics: Analytics Site Search
source: Justin Rondeau

21. Finding Topics: Analytics Site Search

22. Finding Topics: Yahoo! Answers
Source: Yahoo! Answers

23. Finding Topics: Quora.com
Source: Quora.com

24. Finding Topics: Listening
1. Sales Team
2. Customer Service Team
3. Client Stories

25. source: Deana Goldasich

26. Source: Periodic Table of Content

29. Which words
convert?
It’s all about readability…

30. Latinate Words
• More formal
• Longer (polysyllabic)
• Fancy, proper
Examples
acquire, transmit,
construct, resist,
deposit, imitate,
determined

31. Anglo-Saxon
Words
• Less formal
• Short (o#en
monosyllabic)
• Forceful, direct
Examples
get, send, build, stop,
put, mock, set

34. Write like an 8th grader!
…but don’t dumb it down
Source: NN Group

36. Which posts
have ranking
potential?
Low hanging fruit is delicious!

37. Top content…

38. Find your traffic champions

39. The Spike and the Long Tail
Initial spike from
email marketing
and social promotion
(one week)
20 to 40 visits per day
from organic search
(months or years)

40. Posts that rank high on page two…
Queries Report with Advanced Filter for “Average
Position” set to Greater than 10

41. Posts that rank high on page two!
Queries Report with Advanced Filter for “Average Position” set to
Greater than 10

42. Finding posts with ranking potential
1. View: Search Engine Optimization > Queries
2. Set Advanced Filter: “Average Position” greater
than 10
3. Sort by “Average Position”
4. Confirm the rank and the post by searching for
the phrase

43. Start Your Free KISSmetrics Trial
LOG IN WITH GOOGLE

44. Now for a li!le
on-page SEO
Let’s indicate the relevance...

45. Use the phrase in 4 places
A. Once at the beginning of the title
<title>
B. Once in the first header <h1>
C. Four to six times in the body of the
page
D. Within the links to the page from
other pages on your site.

46. 1. Title: Once in the beginning
It appears above the address bar in your browser…
…and it’s the link in Google search results!

47. <<ttitiltel>eH>oHmoem</eti<tl/et>itle>

48. 2. Header: once, anywhere

49. 3. Body: 4 - 6 Times

50. Don’t be too
aggressive!

51. This stuff works…

52. Middle of the Funnel
2

53. Optimize for
subscribers
Grow. Your. List.

54. Before…
A#er…

55. 1900% increase. Not bad!

56. Why it works
1. Prominence
2. Promise
3. Proof

57. Call to Action Conform

58. GOOD

59. BAD

60. Find your
conversion
champions
Which are your most compelling
posts?

61. Subscribers per blog post…
Reverse Goal Path with Advanced Filter for “Goal
Previous Step 1” set to /blog/

62. Pageviews per blog post…

63. Subscribers per page view per blog post
…well hello, champions!

64. Let’s watch that in slo-mo…

65. Now put on your traffic driving gloves…
• Put it into heavy rotation on the social streams
• Add it to your home page slideshow
• Link to it from your email signature
• Run an ad using PPC, Facebook, etc.
• Write a guest post. Link back to the page
• Include it in a roundup of your best posts
• Link to it from other high traffic pages

66. Are they finding
what they’re looking
for?
Your website unsatisfying…

71. Are they reading
what you’re writing?
The creation / consumption gap…

72. Percent Content Consumption
source: Avinash Kaushik

73. Bo!om of the Funnel
3

74. Testimonials = supportive evidence

75. Never make a testimonials page

76. “When you say it, it’s
marketing…
When they say it, it’s social
proof.”

83. Where there’s traffic, there’s hope...

84. Subsequent
conversions
The thank you page a#er the
thank you page…

85. But wait! There’s more…

86. Subsequent Conversions…

87. Your pages.
Your funnel.
Let’s break it down…

93. source: Lead Generation Best Practices

94. Bo$om Line.

95. Questions?
Andy Crestodina
Co-founder, Strategic Director
Orbit Media Studios
@crestodina
andy@orbitmedia.com
Thue Madsen
Marketing Associate
KISSmetrics
@thuelmadsen
tmadsen@kissmetrics.com

96. THANK YOU
Andy Crestodina
Orbit Media Studios