SEO and Google Analytics. Tips for getting the most out of your website

Transcription

1 SEO and Google Analytics Tips for getting the most out of your website

2 Katherine Grace Director, Industry Specialist Over 17 years owning & running businesses Author for the HIA magazine & Business Franchise magazine Coached over 30 trades, construction and property businesses Low cost marketing business Elemental Solutions Second passive business (health clinic) 7th Year with the HIA - over 3,000 members 40+ industry website reviews and 20+ industry websites Marketing Coach for 6 (and growing) builders & trades

3 Nicola Dore Digital Marketing Strategist & Trainer Former corporate marketing professional Masters Degree in Business (Marketing) Multiple further studies in websites & online conversion Diploma of Executive Coaching Diploma in Workplace Training & Assessment Own successful consultancy business since 2013 Industry website expert Project managed over 40 builders/trades site reviews

4 Elemental Solutions Down-to-Earth, Low Cost Marketing Advice 1. WEBSITES reviews, strategy plans & industry insight 2. COACHING plans, accountability and measuring ROI 3. SUPPORT seo info, newsletters, online advertising 4. TRAINING webinars, workshops, personalised NB: ADVICE GIVERS - NOT A WEBSITE COMPANY

5 Elemental Solutions SEO Services 1. Keyword Analysis 2. Social Media Strategy Plan 3. Social Media Monthly Review 4. Training on the above...

6 WHO IS SEO FOR? At basic site level and online directories (especially googlemybusiness - everyone. At an intermediate level with blog, reputable back links, analytics review and social media plan - companies who have the basics of marketing in place, room to grow and a good modern website. At an advanced level - companies who have budget spare after the basics are done and want to expand their brand and dominate in their speciality, potentially integrating adwords and social media strategy NB: You are working to be where your customers are.

7 Getting Found.

8 GETTING FOUND Why SEO is critical for your site and online presence Helps people find you by name Adds credibility Cost effective marketing strategy Your competitors are all doing it Allows you to monitor how your marketing is working through analytics

9 GETTING FOUND SEO is not what you think SEO is no longer just about keywords SEO is now going back to a more traditional marketing approach you must give your clients what they want. SEO includes Branding and product names Online PR marketing Content marketing - video, social media, blogs Credible links back to your site Keywords...but not as much as the above

10 GETTING FOUND How long do I need to invest in SEO? Should I DIY this or employ someone? How can I find/tell a genuine SEO company? Should I sign a 12 month contract? Do I let the SEO company choose the keywords? *ES can do a keywords analysis ($250 members only)

11 GETTING FOUND How long do I need to invest in SEO? Ongoing commitment Takes 3 months to start seeing results Before starting anything ensure site has no errors Concentrate on organic reach prior to AdWords spend Create a content marketing strategy Must create a Google+ account and Google my business listing.

12 Getting Started. Current 2015/16 SEO Guidelines

13 What s changed No longer about just keywords Spammy sites now penalised Authentic sites are finally receiving all the benefits

14 Three main components 1. Trust 2. Authority 3. Relevance

15 Three main components Trust High quality content and backlinks from reputable sources. Authority Overall strength in the market. Pure numbers. Social media followers, social shares, backlinks. Relevance Relevance of keywords and supporting keyword phrases. Most useful in highly competitive markets

16 Top Ten Factors 1. Word count 2. Relevant keywords on page 3. Responsive design 4. User signals such as click through rate, time on site, bounce rate 5. Domain SEO visibility - how strong is domain based on links and authority 6. Site speed 7. Referring domains which is number of legit sites linking back to your site 8. Keywords in internal links 9. Content readability 10. Number of images If competitors have more of the above items, they will rank higher than you.

17 Step One (professional SEO marketers) If you are planning on doing SEO yourself it is often worth paying someone to perform the first two steps for you and provide you with a plan to move forward with. After these steps are done it gets much easier. Check latest Google Algorithm update Use search metrics to check Google ranking factors Keyword Analyser Google Adwords for search volume data and trends remember this data is based on AdWords keywords so good indication of what people search for but not conclusive on its own. Use a Keyword Difficulty Tool to check difficulty, view serp analysis reports. (SERP = Search Engine Results Page) Use Open Site Explorer to see the number of links you need to beat the competition. Helps choose easy keywords with weak competition Make sure main site navigation is text not images Check complimentary phrases Google expects to see with your keywords Check site speed insights, file sizes, mobile friendly, web standards validator, 404 errors, readability test Check hosted in local city or at least country. Once all these checks have been done and recommendations for improvement put in place, automatic improvement is seen before even starting on keywords.

18 Step Two Next step - digital marketing plan utilising content management as a way to get authority, social shares and trust. Legit links to site - give testimonials to businesses that have provided you a service - with a link back to your site. Guest blog posts Directory listings Other sites advertising your services or recommending you - great for keyword anchoring. Video link building - Google LOVES especially in YouTube Linkbait with infographics etc Social mention Donate or sponsor charities - high quality link back Feature other well connected companies etc in your blog post, ask for a mention on their site or social media.

19 Step Three If you have a wordpress site this is very easy. Install SEO for Yoast plugin.

20 Step Three Add the relevant keyword you have selected for the page, complete the meta description and see what Yoast has to say about your ranking.

21 Step Three Make changes as suggested by Yoast. You are always looking for a green light or orange as a minimum. Repeat this step for all pages including blog posts.

22 Step Four Google takes some time to crawl through your site again so if you run the report again immediately you may not see much change. Run the report again in 2 weeks. Make any other recommendations that come up. Continue running reports monthly and making improvements, changing keywords etc

23 Step Five Consider adding an Adwords campaign to test what keywords work best for your customers Continue adding more copy to your website (this is where a blog is useful) with relevant keywords - remember don t double up on keywords! Long tails keywords are the best for this as easier to mix them up and get better results ie: What do I look for in a builder? rather than Builder

24 Major changes for 2016 Mobile and voice searches are shaping the future of SEO Google emphasis on direct answers to questions Mobile searches will have overtaken desktop in 2016 Have a mobile mindset for your website. Content, product pages, service pages, layouts, signups, searches, advertising etc Case study - Zazzle, changed site to be stronger on mobile by prioritising products popular for mobile users, simple navigation, mobile only specials 186% increase in mobile sales. Must use Google+, Google Search, Maps

25 Major changes for 2016 Rise of voice search such as Siri, Cortana, Google Now - how does this change the way people search? Longer keywords i.e.: type: Melbourne CBD Cafe voice: Where is the nearest Cafe in Melbourne s CBD? Keywords using When, Who, How, Where, What Interested to Ready to act uses: What/who - how - when - where Google launching voice recognition search features for google apps SEO needs to be incorporated into EVERY form of digital marketing. Use lots of FAQ s, Facts, How to s, Explainer videos etc Long tails keywords - keep analysing regularly to keep ahead of the competition Your brand s knowledge graph logo, company contact numbers, social profile links

26 Google was built for users not websites. Be the direct answer to a question.

27 Google Analytics

28 Why you must have this on your website Measure where your traffic is coming from See what percentage of traffic is mobile v s desktop How long people are viewing your pages What pages they are viewing Where they are coming from Demographics Search by dates and times to see if certain promotions or advertising is working

29 What does Google Analytics look like?

30 Measure where your traffic comes from

31 Mobile v Desktop

32 Mobile v Desktop

33 Bounce rate and page view time

34 Which pages get the most traffic

35 Where are they coming from

36 Other key measurements

37 Other key measurements

38 Other key measurements

39 Other key measurements

40 Other tips If you are active on social media you should be running similar reports. Facebook is in house analytics Twitter is Instagram is Pinterest is in house for business accounts Other measurement tools include social sprout, hootsuite and other bulk posting apps. *Social media plans and reviews are available on request

41 In Summary.

42 In Summary

43 GETTING HELP 1. Keyword Analysis 2. Keyword Copywriting 3. Social Media Strategy Plan 4. Social Media Monthly Review 5. Training on the above. - join mailing list for updated SEO news Questions?