3 Important social media SEO tips for advertisers – ad: tech San Francisco

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Today I’ll be speaking at ad:tech San Francisco with one of my favorite people in the Search Marketing industry, Melanie Mitchell, who is a Senior VP of Search Strategy at Digitas. She’s tasked a panel including Simon Heseltine, Rob Snell and myself to talk about “Modern Search Engine Optimization”.

While SEO is a billion dollar industry, many companies focused on advertising are quite new to how SEO might fit within an online marketing strategy. With plenty of outdated and mis-information online amidst a fast changing industry, it can be a challenge to have confidence in what’s true and best practices. Few marketers want to invest in something they don’t quite understand. Or at least not understand where it fits for connecting the brand and customers to drive revenue.

So part of the education process is a framing of what SEO is and more importantly where it fits within a digital marketing mix. While there may be appreciation for what SEO could do, there’s plenty of opportunity to clarify Search strategy, applications, business value, workflow and essentially where SEO might fit within the marketing mix. To that end, here are few tips:

1. What are a few best practices for getting your content out in front of the competition on today’s search engines?

Companies are creating content in many forms, whether it’s editorial or advertising. One of the ways to ensure engagement and value from that content is to make sure it’s findable. SEO is the primary method consumers use to discover new products and services that they then go and purchase. It only makes sense to be where your customers are looking. If you’re not there, then your competition certainly is.

SEO isn’t some wild animal that’s never been seen in real life. It’s a perfectly reasonable complement to web design, content strategy, social media, public relations, recruiting, customer service and any other function that publishes content online. If you have content that should be found online, it should be optimized. For marketers new to search engine optimization, here are the essentials:

Pages and digital assets are “findable” by search engines that copy the webKeywords are incorporated into page copy and links between pages (on and off site)Content is promoted via social channels and attracts links from other, topically relevant websites

Focusing on those three things in your Content Marketing Strategy takes care of the essential blocking and tackling of SEO. Incorporate successful execution of those tasks throughout your organization. That means, anyone in a position to create and promote content is aware of the potential SEO impact of their actions. Keyword glossaries are shared with content creators, copywriters promote the content they create through social networks and marketers analyze performance data to continuously improve content creation, optimization and promotion in ways that are most relevant to the target audience.

2. What information for your brand and your Web site matters most to search engines?

Content designed to sell products and services is the low hanging fruit for SEO. Marketing is usually the department that funds investment in outside consultants or internal SEO staff. The drive for marketing to increase search traffic and online sales and leads is strong, so increasing revenue takes priority over other functions.

I would challenge marketers to think a little more about their customer’s information needs and how they can add value to the ongoing relationship. The information discovery needs for marketing and customer acquisition are the focus of most SEO efforts, but there are many other reasons prospects and customers use search. There are also other types of content besides products and services published by brands online that can affect the bottom line if easily discovered through search.

Of course marketing content should have the emphasis, but consider applying SEO best practices to improve the search discovery of other online content that will help advance business goals. News and public relations content for example. Journalists are working in bare bones newsrooms and increasingly using technology to make up for a lack of research resources. They use search to find news sources, releases, information about people and companies. Make your news content more “findable” and you can increase unsolicited media coverage.

A similar principle applies to job listings. It costs companies money to pay recruiters and certainly it costs to not have key positions filled. Make it easy for candidates to find job listings and you may increase the number of candidates for hire and positively affecting meeting talent acquisition goals.

Yet another opportunity for the application of holistic SEO is optimizing FAQ and knowledge base information. Think of the things customers most often ask about and not only compile those questions and answers, but make sure they are easy to find via search. Reducing the number of calls made to customer support reps can lower costs for the company but it can also lower the frustration and increase customer satisfaction because the answers to what they’re looking for are so easily found – via search.

Bottom line, focus on content that will be meaningful for your customers first and foremost. Then apply SEO best practices to ensure it’s easily discovered when and where they’re searching. That might start with marketing and extend holistically across other departments and businesses within the corporation.

3. What are some takeaway tools for building your SEO roadmap?

Marketers LOVE tools. Actually, it’s a little scary how much people will gravitate towards a flashy new SEO tool that either does nothing meaningful but does it in style or simply repackages what existing tools can do. With that in mind, the following tools can be quite useful for advertisers that want to get their feet wet with practical SEO.

Other useful tools for auditing, managing and researching for a little more savvy SEO enthusiast include:

Thanks to my Twitter network for suggesting some of these tools they most often recommend for marketers that are new to SEO.

Clearly, there are many, many other SEO tools out there but a tool is really only as good as the exertise and intentions of the person using it, so I recommend trying a few of the basics out before seeking outside help. Then you can decide the right approach and mix of tools according to someone with experience and that can understand your individual situation.

Advertisers looking at SEO as a channel for driving relevant traffic should gain some fundamental understanding, test, seek outside advice if necessary and be patient. This isn’t renting traffic, it’s growing traffic organically with a flat rate investment in time, resources and budget. The longer good SEO practices are in place the better the performance. Not only is a holistic SEO approach a great complement to paid advertising, it provides additional benefits in terms of cost deflection and increased effectiveness of other business communications.

Update: Here’s an embed of the presentation I gave to complement this blog post. Enjoy!
(Feedback is greatly welcomed)

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Chance for better B2B marketing with social media & SEO

Often marketing budget, planning and implementation of online marketing tactics in silos. When it comes to SEO, social and content marketing integration is the best practice, this means a competitive enormous opportunity. Why social media and SEO for B2B? The intersection of social media and search engine optimization is a perfect complement for B2B marketers for several reasons:

Long B2B purchase cycles have involved always commitment by content. The possibility for coordinated social SEO is partially inspired by buyer information discovery, use and sharing habits have changed with the influence of social technology and search.

Consumers increasingly use both search and social, to discover content. In a recent study by GroupM and ComScore, only 1% of consumers were 51% resulted in a purchase via social media but were channeled via search and 48% through a combination of search and social media.   I’ve heard, B2B buyers are to people and these behaviors are also reflected to some degree in the B2B sector as consumer.

B2B companies have adapted also for the implementation of search engine marketing programs. You have also begun to experiment with social media marketing. In fact, social media industry report (PDF), B2B marketing much more common search engine optimization are after the recent SMEs (71% B2B vs. 65% of B2C) to deal with than B2C marketers.

According to the Forrester B2B social reach 54 m by 2014 and BtoB spend magazine reported that 93% of B2B companies will use a social media application.

However, there is a big difference between social media marketing and effective implementation with social SEO and content marketing test.  Here is a video interview I at SES London, most recently on this topic with Tracy Falke. We discuss the intersection of social SEO and content (content marketing optimization) as also the importance of the integration and how companies can use across the organization.

If you a long time SEO practitioner, coordinate you content marketing and social media with optimization search engines? Extend your social media SEO and content marketing about products and services to content? What challenges the people responsible to implement a co-ordinated effort?

One of the reasons why, I ask that this second question is, because I at ad: tech San Francisco tomorrow a holistic view speak modern search engine optimization, mainly on the subject on search, social media and content will be like cutting. I don’t think that a company can achieve success in categories without this triumvirate of tactics.

Consumer and B2B buyers alike search for more reasons than buy something and company business value can recognize by their content according to these myriad reasons has easily by search.  Consider the customer life cycle of content requirements, and it shows the possibilities of optimization for better search visibility.  The result?  Higher revenue of course, but also costs, improved efficiency and reach for things such as customer service, recruiting, investor and public relations reduced.

An integrated and holistic approach to social media, SEO and content marketing is its effectiveness and competitive advantage to create a great opportunity for B2B marketers. I hope to demonstrate corporate marketing realize the vision for the coordination of the various resources in the Organization and the collective advantage outside of just marketing.

Be loaded…

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Create social tools to your brand Ividual

In the recent Facebook question function test, I thought it would be interesting step away from corporate marketing and issues, our network of personal brand marketing and the tools that have the most effective. With hundreds of millions of people active on social networks around the world there were more than a few “Brandividuals” through the social network spawned.

Some are better suited than others based on that you try of course, but my question was directed mainly to marketing and PR professionals.

About 140 people responded and here is at least the outbreak of the tool by most:

Facebook (I asked the question on FB, so I suppose, it’s a given that FB would be the most popular)Blogging (This was my choice of course)LinkedIn (Logical choice given LI is for business social networking)Twitter (I actually thought this would be higher)Real world events & networking (Tied with “Others”)A column that coverage in the media write, contributed articles, PR (For people who can write well, this rocks)Webinars (No votes)E-Mail (NADA)Commented on other blogs (Again, nothing)

“Other” proposals include podcasting and personal or business websites.

I can imagine someone not that this survey on only one of these tools via the social Web to promote itself and to get involved. They work together, of course, but some work better than others, or “lead” tactics. Think of the hub and spoke-model, I’ve written here in the past where a central tactics is the core networking and information surrounded by channels.

What an interesting discussion started this comment: “I believe in the personal Branding…”

My take on that is, if a person is active in the industry, is engage, exchange of opinions and promoting themselves / their ideas that you results in consciousness and growing a network. Whether they it or not believe, is the result of becoming known and talked of others, a personal brand.

The simple publishing and promoting the level of noise, undue self-promotion and claim behavior, so it’s hard to distinguish boost a personal brand.

By personal brand, I mean: what you mean, what you are expertise is and what you’re known for. I don’t even use the terminology of “personal brand” if I I plan our own marketing but people think this reading know what I mean.

In an increasingly social business consumers and buyers with people vs. corporate voices # cluetrain want to connect. This means investing in the development of content, relationships and commitment between individuals working for a company (or itself) and the people with businesses want to make.

Should they jump on social networks to promote your business?

There are many rumors in the world of PR online on social networks, whether traditional social networks like Myspace and Facebook or social networks through services of microblogging such as Twitter.

Should they jump on social networks to promote your business? Do, and if so, with so many options available, how to choose which social networks to participate in?

Benefits of social networks

I’m not much of a supporter of diving in each new or great social network environment or fashion to promote a business. However, social networks have some benefits that are worth considering as a complement to the efforts of PR in line:

1. Social networking and microblogging services can serve several functions with a single tool. For example, can network with colleagues, also promote offers or information to customers and potential customers of your company.

2 Social networking is profitable. Most networks are free.

3. Social networking and microblogging services can help you to get news or message out quickly to a particular audience.

Problems with social networks

Despite its benefits, there are also some drawbacks to social networks to promote a business.

1 Networks social can be a productivity killer. Many companies simply try to do too much, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, etc.. Multiple updates are not always coming to different audiences, and it is a waste of time which could invest elsewhere if simply destined for the same groups with the same messages, but in different places.

2 It is easy to get too personal, or also outside theme, when social networking, Twittering, etc.. You can disclose more information that you want (or you should), and once it has been said, you can not retrieve it. The instant gratification factor also makes it easier to communicate without thinking things “Web wars” contributing sometimes negative.

3. The vast majority of the population still has not adopted these technologies, which means that its addressees can not yet be well represented there.

Choice of services of social networks for your needs

There are good things about social networking for PR there negative things. Then, how can you a happy balance? How to choose the best communication tools of social media for your business, without extending their resources to reach only a small part of the audience?

1. Destination, destination, destination! No matter what is the largest social network if your specific audience isn’t there represented. Niche social networking tools can be an option far better than simply with networks that always seem to be getting the buzz. For example, there is no network still beats Myspace to promote musicians. If you are trying to arrive at an adult audience with adolescents, it may be better to use a service like Gather.com. If you want to connect in a network with other industry professionals, LinkedIn could meet their needs more effectively. There are also small social networks aimed at very specific niche (webmasters, photographers, etc.). There is no reason to try to “do everything”.

2 Understand the numbers. Not joining a social network just because they say they have x number of members. Those numbers mean absolutely nothing. What you should care about is not the total membership, but the “active” membership (and specifically within your target audience – goes back to combat).

3 Learn the policies of the network of promotion, as it applies to their plans. The last thing you want is to be labeled as an identifier. I understand that these tools are more on networks, relations and communications of blatant promotion and marketing and sales.

No matter how deep you want to delve into social networks and / or microblogging, always be sure that it is making the best use of your time and achieve their goals.

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Social media & SEO search Congress Barcelona

Yesterday, I spoke search Congress Barcelona Spain to help of improve the online-marketing (and PR) with social media and SEO. My co panelist was Aaron Kahlow online marketing connect and the leader was the famous Massimo Burgio.

Shortly before the event, we beat Massimo our Spanglish in the break out presentations plus I ran in Bryan Eisenberg, a keynote – unexpectedly in Spanish, Act because the translators do not display. “Gracias” and “Si” are about all that I know that the so that you can imagine the situation.

Talk and presents all would not be in English very considerate to the audience, so I decided to use Google (suggested by Mike Grehan) translator and translate most of my slides from English into Catalan. The presentation went over pretty well I think:

Here is a summary of what I presented:

Search is increasingly social with the inclusion of content from social sources (blogs, video, images) standard search ALA universal search results in 2007 followed by potential toolbar data and information covering while you registered.

All major search engines take data feeds from Twitter and Facebook. In fact, if you search volume numbers together in this article of search engine land compare, Twitter is the second most popular search engine (Google 88bn, Twitter 18, Yahoo 9.4bn, bin Alliance shares queries per month).

It exploded that social media usage has an understatement to say that in the last year. LinkedIn is more than 100 million users, Facebook is around 600 million users, and Twitter has more than 200 million accounts.

Discover the art and way consumers and B2B buyer, consume and share information has been influenced significantly by search and social technologies.

For example, I could my friends on Facebook questions whether anyone can recommend good restaurants here for tapas in Barcelona. I will have a few recommendations and Google search for the name of the restaurant. At the restaurant, I perhaps website see that Fodor’s or Lonely Planet has the restaurant checks and decide after reading that look at the menu, comments and Flickr can photos I, that is the place to make a reservation. In the restaurant I may check-in on foursquare, you take a few photos and Tweet which great (or terrible) food and service is. Then I could leave a review on Google HotPot test.

It can be argued that I am somewhat of an “early adopter”, since I know a lot of people issues would only their friends email probably you recommendations. Then Google could update the options and their Facebook status, if she have a particularly good or bad experience. But this is still a reflection of the changed discovery, consumption and release behavior in a few years.

As marketers we opportunity, in accordance with customer behavior to remain and customize our marketing accordingly. To do this, are two tactical approaches to consider:

Cycle of social & SEO:

Create, optimize & promote: the cycle begins with optimized content creation and promotion. to awaken an interest: content is noticed, shared & voted. Awareness is growing.The network grow: increased exposure draws more subscribers, fans, friends, gain new audience trailer & Links.Ein: links & social exposure increased grow search & referral Verkehr.Erkenntnisse from data extract: traffic & community help research, develop and grow social networks for content & SEO.Learn, change, repeat: will data with the information from the community, can editorial optimization plans for a more effective content creation, optimization and promotion.

Hub and spoke-model for social, SEO & content marketing:

Create a social hub: blog, Facebook fan page, YouTube channel, Forum, niche social network, what you want to drive social traffic development of distribution channels and communities from the HubSpend create time, risks of content communities is power optimization, promotion of the great content on the hub and growing networks on the Speichen.Die, publish created editorial visibility and links back to your Hub.Links traffic send and to increase search visibility.

Three things to do now:

Listen to set up a program: audience analysis, brand monitoring, social keyword-Forschung.Erstellen a social media SEO strategy: create, optimize & promote social content to develop networks.Make it easy to promote & support: build a distribution network for content promotion & network with influence employees.

Thanks to Congress for the opportunity to speak as well as Matt McGowan & Mike Grehan of incisive for inviting me and Aaron Kahlow of OMS as a co panelist Ouali and the search team. I hope to visit again in the future of Barcelona.

Be loaded…

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