Transcription

1 Watch a video recording of this webinar to see Kaci Bower and W. Jeffrey Rice guide you through the presentation and answer questions from the audience.

2 How to accelerate lead quality and conversions with content marketing optimization April 26, :00 PM ET Sponsored by:

3 Speakers Kaci Bower Senior Research Analyst, W. Jeffrey Rice Senior Research Analyst,

4 Join the conversation on Twitter

5 A research based webinar

6 Webinar content follows rigorous research Annual research cycle Industry research surveys Case studies and articles Identify best practices Formulate methodologies Actionable training

7 Benchmark Research Library since 2008 The collective wisdom of more than 48,000 marketers Nearly 5,000 pages of analytical commentary and marketer insights More than 6,000 charts and data tables to validate what s working and what s not in marketing today

8 Today, we re going to discuss: 1. Key findings about content marketing from research into 1,530 search marketers 2. Five steps ( 5 P s) to improve lead quality and conversions with content marketing optimization 3. Two case studies showcasing examples of content marketing optimization tactics to build traffic, generate leads and drive revenue

9 Research background 1,530 search marketers were surveyed on: Challenges and goals for search marketing programs Growing shift to inbound marketing Popularity, effectiveness and difficulty per SEO tactic Role of content in SEO programs

10 Key finding: Content creation most effective and most difficult Level of Effectiveness 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Title tags Meta description tags Internal linking Sphere size indicates level of usage URL structure Keyword and keyphrase research SEO landing pages Digital asset optimization Competitor Benchmarking Social media integration Content creation External link building Blogging Content creation stands apart in cluster of SEO tactics Most effective at achieving marketing objectives Also the most difficult tactic in terms of time, money and effort required 0% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Degree of Difficulty Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

11 Key finding: Marketers are using many different content formats Level of Effectiveness 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% Images Sphere size indicates level of usage Press Releases Web Pages E newsletters Social Media (other than blogs) Customer Reviews Microsites Blogs Webinars/ Wecasts Articles Mobile Content Digital Magazines ebooks Whitepapers Case Studies Online Video Half of marketers surveyed state that Web pages are very effective in helping them achieve their marketing objectives Important to look beyond Web pages in content marketing optimization efforts Podcasts 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Degree of Difficulty Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

12 Attendee question: Can you provide any statistics or results of using content optimization in terms of lead conversion? B. Saltys

13 Key finding: Content accelerates lead quality and conversions % Organizations Rating Leads from Organic Search as Highest Quality Average Conversion Rate on Organic Traffic Content creators: 12% 10% 8% 6% 7% 28% lift 9% Convert 28% more organic traffic Deem leads from organic search to be of the highest quality more often 4% 2% 0% 16% 20% NON CONTENT CREATOR We do not use content creation or digital asset optimization as SEO tactics. CONTENT CREATOR We use content creation and digital asset optimization as SEO tactics. Produce higher quality leads that are more likely to convert Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded April 2011, N=1,530

14 How can organizations mindfully approach the creation and optimization of their content products?

15 Content Marketing Optimization 1. Purpose 2. Process 3. People 5. Performance 4. Presentation

16 But, first, a definition Content marketing optimization is a term that describes the marriage of content strategy and SEO expertise. It is the art of understanding exactly what your prospects and customers need to know, deliberately producing optimized content based on keyword phrases that are driving organic search traffic and conversions, and then delivering that optimized content to them in a relevant and compelling way to grow your business by socializing the content through your organization s social networks. Sources: Content Marketing Institute; Krista LaRiviere

17 Content Marketing Optimization 1. Purpose

18 Set a goal before you start Why should you create a piece of content? What purpose is it going to serve? Don t take a checklist approach, thinking you have to do all types of content products

19 Focus on aligning content with your goals, audience and opportunities and let that drive the design and topic.

20 Poll Do you develop content for all 5 stages of the customer engagement cycle (Awareness, Consideration, Inquiry, Purchase, Retention)? Yes No

21 Target content to stages in customer engagement cycle Customer Engagement Cycle Stage Content Goal Awareness Raise general awareness of your brand Increase website traffic Consideration Encourage consideration of and active interest in your products and services Inquiry Get prospects to choose you over Purchase competitors Retention Retain customers Setting even basic, high level goals will provide a compass to keep you on track when you're planning and publishing content.

22 Example: Think like your ideal customer Customer Engagement Cycle Stage Questions Asked Awareness How can I find the best deals on footwear? Consideration What do I need to consider when purchasing women s running shoes? Inquiry What types of running shoes does this company offer? Purchase Why is it better to purchase from this company over another? Retention What would make me purchase from this company again?

23 Content Marketing Optimization 2. Process

24 Attendee question: I blog for a very small niche and have trouble finding keywords so I create content based on my experience (18 years in my field) and what I know will be of use to my readers. I need a more structured approach. How to go about this? S. Bardot

25 Plot out a process Examine social conversations to define the context of the content demand. Inventory your existing content and compare existing content sources against required content. Develop a gap closure plan and create new or edit existing content Gauge the content demand by keyword area. Outline content topics and keywords for which you re optimizing and create content themes by month. Evaluate the quality of existing content. Distribute optimized content to your social networks and give content consumers every opportunity to socialize it.

26 Gauge the content demand by keyword area Enter search terms related to your business to bring up additional keywords, related search volumes, and level of competition Find greater opportunities by targeting topics with: Relevance to prospects' needs Somewhat lower search volumes Significantly less competition for rankings

27 Create content themes by month Understand the cyclical nature of your market so you write for their mindset at that time Assign each month an overall theme Structure content around four questions: What? Where? Why? How? Answer each of these questions every week in your content strategy document

28 Inventory existing content for repurposing Existing content Repurpose existing content as News releases Rewrite in conversational tone and post on blog Video of CEO annual meeting speech Post video on YouTube Convert audio to MP3 for downloadable podcast Transcribe speech and post on blog Customer case studies Create PowerPoint and post on SlideShare Record PowerPoint with voiceover as video and post on YouTube Post video (YouTube embed code) on blog PowerPoint presentations Record with voiceover as video and post on YouTube Convert audio to MP3 for downloadable podcast Rewrite in conversational tone and post on blog Self published articles Rewrite in conversational tone and post as a blog series Record audio to MP3 for downloadable podcast Outdated blog posts Rewrite with updated titles, references, etc. and post on blog

29 Worksheet: Original content development Format and description of content required Keyword use Date required Assigned to

30 Content Marketing Optimization peopl e 3. People

31 A page that is too optimized can be awkward to read.

32 Write for people, not search engines Content creation for SEO works best when you: Understand your target audience and their behaviors. Heed their preferences for information discovery, retrieval, consumption and sharing Address their needs and interests in your topics and keywords

33 Use customer vernacular The words organizations use to describe their products and services may differ from what their target audiences use Example: wireless phone vs. cell phone vs. mobile phone Dominant keyword choice is still cell phone The impact of customer language on search volumes is even greater after adding the qualifier best

34 Develop relevant and compelling content Relevant content Interesting or useful to search engine user for a keyword search Answers questions, deepens understanding, expands knowledge Compelling content Goes beyond relevance Useful to user at hand and those in the user s social network Shared and used in building relationships

35 Case study

36 Case Study: Background Research Notes: Experiment ID: Makana Solutions Location: MarketingSherpa Case Study Library Test Protocol Number: #CS31765 Problem: Makana provides subscription based software that helps organizations perform sales compensation planning. But few prospects knew the SaaS solution was available and weren t actively searching for it. Goal: Become a top destination for advice about sales compensation planning.

37 Step 1: Content creation Aim: Help prospects answer questions about their sales compensation planning challenges Methods: Created and offered content based on best practices for sales compensation planning Sample sales compensation plans Educational webinars

38 Step 2: Keyword research Aim: Optimize website around high value search terms Methods: Researched broad and longer tail key terms that reflected targeted searches or specific industry verticals Identified a list of 600 keywords Optimized specific web pages around two or three relevant terms per page

39 Step 3: Link building Aim: Boost inbound links to improve search rankings Methods: Identified sites with a high Google PageRank from which they could get a link Online directories Information sites about sales compensation planning News sites to target for their press release distribution list

40 Results First page ranking for key industry search terms Key performance metrics after 3 months of adopting strategy Change Website traffic + 200% Lead generation rate + 200% Lead conversion rate + 100% Paid search as % of total traffic 60%! "We re very happy with our success, but I ll be honest and say we haven t even touched the potential. The potential is tremendous to be even more successful with the realm of content we can develop for various verticals. The possibilities just go on and on. Alan Gehring, Marketing Director, Makana Solutions

41 Content Marketing Optimization 4. Presentation

42 Conventional wisdom dictates that quality trumps quantity. While this may hold true in other spheres of life, in SEO you need both.

43 Focus on both quality and quantity Consistently publishing content that is both frequent and of high quality can lead search engines to rank your page and site as an authority on the subject.

44 Quality and quantity content checklist Do: Don t: Create content that s well researched, wellwritten, and well received Understand that quality articles make your site more authoritative and trustworthy Give search engines fresh content and regular updates Establish a pattern for content updates to set expectations and reward visitors Focus too much on keyword density Disregard the quality of the writing Overlook that search engines have become more capable of recognizing valuable, quality content over content that is hastily produced Risk looking like you re only after title and heading tags by writing articles that are too short

45 With the right layout, you can make your content both search engine and reader friendly.

46 Place keywords carefully Create attention grabbing title, using the keyword in the title. Use sub headings that include relevant keywords. Position keywords towards the top of your article, as in the first line or paragraph. Introduce synonyms for your keyword phrase in the second or third paragraphs. Repeat your keyword phrase throughout the text but don t force! Use the keyword in links and the image ALT text and captions.

47 Example of keyword placement Source: SEOMoz The Beginners Guide to SEO

48 Don t ignore readability Text blocks Paragraphs Lists Sentences Space Links Images Break up blocks of text into subcategories Restrict paragraphs to five lines Use bullets, numbering and lists Use short sentences Use plenty of white space Make your links part of your copy, especially if links feature your keyword phrases Use (and tag) images effectively

49 Choose content formats mindfully Never choose content formats by default or because everyone else is doing that Identify formats that connect with your customers Decide on formats and designs that define and give voice to your brand

50 Case study

51 Case Study: Background Notes: Experiment ID: Eloqua, a marketing automation provider Location: MarketingSherpa Library Article ID: #HOW31938 Problem: Faced a strong socially savvy Web 2.0 competitor Solution: Create an independent, comprehensive content marketing department Content Goals: Fill the top of the sales funnel Create customer attention and customer satisfaction Develop content to improve SEO

52 Tactic 1: Be different from the competition Aim: Get noticed by creating a brand identity based on a design "voice" Methods: Give everything from whitepapers to live presentations a heavier touch of design and graphics than might be expected Make frequent use of infographics [The playful feel is] startlingly unexpected, and it absolutely without question triggers conversation because people just aren't used to seeing a playful side of a B2B brand." Joe Chernov, VP of Content Marketing, Eloqua

53 Tactic 2: Brand your content Aim: Create a groundswell of association between Eloqua and the term "revenue Methods: Blog referred to as the revenue blog and titled It s All About Revenue Slideshare, the hub of Eloqua s content, is called the revenue hub Created video combining playfulness of Eloqua's brand identity with concept branding of revenue performance management

54 Tactic 3: Inject creativity into whitepapers Aim: Redesign predictable whitepaper concept Methods: Splinter large whitepapers into individual Grande Guides Cover topics related to core business and broader issues of interest to marketers Give early recipients (prior to public release) opportunity to be the first to distribute links to the guides Eloqua came up with what it calls its Grande (think 16 ounces of coffee) Guides. The promise is it takes about 15 minutes to drink that coffee and the same amount of time to read the entire guide.

55 Tactic 4: Hire a brand journalist Aim: Hire someone to provide content, ideally independent from marketing control, such as blog posts, industry trends and other things of interest to your customers Methods: Hired a corporate journalist, not a PR or Marcom writer Looked for someone who could speak to 90% of untapped market

56 SEO benefits Focus on design helps content get noticed and shared SEO value comes more from sharing content than creating keyword rich content, such as a whitepaper, that doesn't get distributed or republished by the audience "For me the SEO value isn't what is embedded in the content we create. The value is derived when other people host, distribute or talk about our content. Joe Chernov VP of Content Marketing, Eloqua Links come from many sources Corporate journalist loaned out to other venues and Eloqua gets a valuable inbound link from these media outletsin their corporate reporter's bio Larger goal of each Grande Guide is to generate and nurture links

57 Results $2.5 M in closed business, plus $3.2M in contract stage, from 4 Grande Guides It s All About Revenue blog reached Ad Age Power 150 within first year People who discover website through content pieces are 21% more likely to view a product demo, Eloqua s most desirable lead activity Viewers of The Blog Tree infographic are 32% more likely to fill out a web form

58 Content Marketing Optimization 5. Performance

59 The more relevant your content, the better your results.

60 Measure the appeal of your content Gauge both the popularity and applicability of your content Look at conversion rates of your most desirable lead activities (e.g. view demo, complete web form, purchase, etc.) Look at the impact on search rankings and traffic Look at key indicators of subject matter interest, engagement and relevancy: Content downloads Content shares Comments

61 In summary

62 5 P s of content marketing optimization Purpose Set a goal before you start Target content to stages in customer engagement cycle Process People Presentation Plot out a process Gauge the content demand by keyword area Create content themes by month Inventory existing content and create a gap closure plan Write for people, not search engines Use customer vernacular Develop relevant and compelling content Focus on both quantity and quality Place keywords carefully Don t ignore readability Choose content formats mindfully Performance Measure the appeal of your content

63 Attendee question: Are there new best practice tactics in relation to overall content strategy impacting social strategy? K. Owens

64 Register to receive a complementary website analysis! *limited to the first 50

65

66 Kaci Bower Senior Research Analyst, W. Jeffrey Rice Senior Research Analyst,