Search has evolved into one of the most critical pillars of the modern web ecosystem - search engines don't just send people to websites, they can make or break brands, influence opinion, and take the pulse of the world in real-time.

1. flickr // Erik Pitti

2. hi there
i’m sean mulholland

3. hi there
i’m sean mulholland
today we’ll be talking
about search

4. hi there
i’m sean mulholland
today we’ll be talking
about search
beyond keywords
and links

5. search marketing is often thought
of as…
• Driving direct traffic on your site.
• Optimizing your website to rank more highly.
• Largely dependent on things like keywords, links, and tags.
or…
• Paid search marketing (PPC/CPC) ads.
• Conversion tracking and profitability.
• AdWords, AdCenter, Yahoo Search Marketing, etc…

6. …but search is about much more
than just traffic
flickr // doug88888

7. when people search, what do the
results influence?
• Relevance
• A high ranking can associate your site with the search query.
• Brand perception
• Do you rank well for key terms related to your brand?
• Are the results positive? How about 3rd party sites?
• Message
• Do the 3rd party sites appearing in the results support you?
• Are there conflicting messages appearing in the results?
• Volume of results
• Do you appear once (or not at all) vs. having a dominant
presence in the SERPs?
* Enqiro / Google “The Brand Lift of Search”

8. for example…
* 1st page results on 08/17/09

9. this is a little better
* 1st page results on 08/02/09

10. search engines are the gateway to
information on the web
flickr // hendry

11. everything is searchable

12. sometimes instantly

13. search will surface
content you don’t control

14. search will surface
content you don’t control
and some of those searches
won’t be on “search engines”

15. search will surface
content you don’t control
and some of those searches
won’t be on “search engines”
and the results won’t
always be websites

16. there is a world of search beyond
web results
• Image search
• Video search
• Blog search
• News search
• Real-time search
• Trend / Popularity search
• People search
• Product search

17. beyond your website, what
content appears?
flickr // respres

18. for example…

19. for example…

20. for example…
* 1st page results on 08/05/09

21. for example…
* 1st page results on 08/05/09

22. for example…

23. it’s vital to develop and influence
3rd party content
• Websites, microsites, or blogs you control
• Social networking profiles
• A searchable Twitter history
• Directory listings
• Proprietary site profiles
• Third-party mentions in the media or blogosphere
• Video, images, and other multimedia
• Forums and bulletin boards
• Wikipedia, Yelp, review sites, and other social media

24. because that 3rd party content is
not just searchable, but trusted

25. and it can have positive effects on
your search strategy
• Links are the backbone of modern search
• Lots of 3rd party content means a high likelihood of inbound links
• Lots of inbound links ultimately benefit your root domain

26. thanks for listening.
any questions?
(www.seanmulholland.com)