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Sept. 13, 2012

Five Steps for Building Links that Improve Search Results

Sponsored by:

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• Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content MECLABS/MarketingSherpa Twitter: @DanielBurstein

• Alex Dunks, Manager, Business Development Webmarketing123 Twitter: @acdunks

Introductions

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Join the conversation

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MarketingSherpa is a research and publishing organization serving the marketing community

• MarketingSherpa’s annual research cycle provides knowledge for continuous marketing improvement

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• We surveyed over 3,000 marketers focused on lead generation to uncover:

• Top challenges• Best marketing tactics• Lead scoring, nurturing and management• Content strategies• Marketing automation• Marketing analysis• Marketing operations and metrics

• Result of this research – MarketingSherpa’s FUEL methodology to power marketing effectiveness from lead generation to sales conversion

Research Background

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Laying a strong foundation

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•According to MarketingSherpa research, 94% of inbound marketers list SEO as most valuable lead source

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Laying a strong foundation

• MarketingSherpa research also indicates 33% of B2B marketers find external link building to be a very difficult tactic for capturing SEO leads

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• What best defines your organization’s top goal?• Lead generation• eCommerce• Brand awareness• Supporting a cause (non-profit)• Consulting (Agency)

Poll

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Building Links that Improve Search Results

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1

Laying a Strong FoundationDo You Have Tracking in Place?Links as Diverse as Your KeywordsTailor Your Content StrategyThree-Month Game Plan

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5

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Laying a strong foundation

• Keyword Selection

• Keyword Mapping

• Keyword Benchmarking

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Selection

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Selection

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Selection• Introducer• Influencer• Closer

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Selection• Purchase Process

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Selection• Portfolio

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Selection• Competition/Conversion

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Selection• Measure Demand

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Selection• Evaluate Trends

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Mapping

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Laying a Strong Foundation

Keyword Benchmarking• Organic Traffic

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Building Links that Improve Search Results

2

1

Laying a Strong FoundationDo You Have Tracking in Place?Links as Diverse as Your KeywordsTailor Your Content StrategyThree-Month Game Plan

1

2

3

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5

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• Yes• No• Only on an aggregated level

Do you track individual organic keyword conversion rates?

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Do You Have Tracking in Place?

Keyword Tracking• Landing Pages• Analytics

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Do You Have Tracking in Place?

Keyword Tracking• Evaluate Success

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Building Links that Improve Search Results

2

1

Laying a Strong FoundationDo You Have Tracking in Place?Links as Diverse as Your KeywordsTailor Your Content StrategyThree-Month Game Plan

1

2

3

4

5

#sherpawebinar

Links as Diverse as Your Keywords

Seek Diversity• External/Internal

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Links As Diverse as Your Keywords

Seek Diversity• Link Profiles

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Links As Diverse as Your Keywords

Seek Diversity• Evaluate Risk

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Building Links that Improve Search Results

2

1

Laying a Strong FoundationDo You Have Tracking in Place?Links as Diverse as Your KeywordsTailor Your Content StrategyThree-Month Game Plan

1

2

3

4

5

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Tailor Your Content Strategy

Inventory Content• Existing• Future

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Tailor Your Content Strategy

Evaluate Content• Suitability

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Tailor Your Content Strategy

Evaluate Content• Syndication

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Building Links that Improve Search Results

2

1

Laying a Strong FoundationDo You Have Tracking in Place?Links as Diverse as Your KeywordsTailor Your Content StrategyThree-Month Game Plan

1

2

3

4

5

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Three-Month Game Plan

1. Low Hanging Fruit

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Three-Month Game Plan

1. Low Hanging Fruit2. Press Releases

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Three-Month Game Plan

1. Low Hanging Fruit2. Press Releases3. Images & Alt Text

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Three-Month Game Plan

1. Low Hanging Fruit2. Press Releases3. Images & Alt Text4. Guest Blogging

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Three-Month Game Plan

1. Low Hanging Fruit2. Press Releases3. Images & Alt Text4. Guest Blogging5. Relevant Directories

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Three-Month Game Plan

1. Low Hanging Fruit2. Press Releases3. Images & Alt Text4. Guest Blogging5. Relevant Directories6. Social

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Three-Month Game Plan

Social /Google• Influences Search• Earn Links

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Three-Month Game Plan

Social/Bing • Influence Search• Earn Links

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MECLABS.com/aquent100

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• Low hanging fruit

• Press Releases

• Images

• Guest Blogging

• Relevant Directories

• Social

Three-Month Game Plan

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Key Takeaways

• Use diversity as a guiding principle for keyword strategy, link sources, and your overall link profile.

• Leverage your existing collateral and empower your team to generate more unique, high quality & share-worthy content.

• Don’t waste effort. Lay a foundation by establishing the right keyword list and checking your goal-tracking.

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• Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content MECLABS/MarketingSherpa Twitter: @DanielBurstein

• Alex Dunks, Manager, Business Development Webmarketing123 Twitter: @acdunks

Introductions