How to Build SEO into Content Strategy

I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CONTENT STRATEGY.

DON’T TWEET THAT! MY BOSS MIGHT FIND OUT.

OK, OK… I MIGHT BE EXAGGERATING A LITTLE BIT.

AFTER ALL, I DID READ THIS BOOK.

BOTTOM LINE: BAD SEO IS A DISASTER.

GOOD SEO IS VERY HELPFUL.

WHY? SEOs NEED YOUR HELP. SO DO THEIR CUSTOMERS. SO DO THE SEARCH ENGINES.

WHY? YOU NEED HELP FROM SEOs, TOO *

YOU JUST DON’T KNOW IT YET!

REALITY: SUSTAINABLE SEO REQUIRES LONGTERM INVESTMENT.

REALITY: SUSTAINABLE SEO REQUIRES LONGTERM INVESTMENT. IN LATE 2007, WE BEGAN INVESTING IN SEO. WE’LL FIND OUT THE RESULTS IN ABOUT 19 SLIDES FROM NOW…

RANK MUST BE EARNED.

RANK MUST BE EARNED. SPAM CAN’T GET THESE RANKINGS FOR A BRAND NAME SEARCH

AS WELL AS CLICK-THROUGH.

“RICH SNIPPETS” INCREASE USER CLICK-THROUGH BY UP TO 30% AS WELL AS CLICK-THROUGH.

NOT TO MENTION CONVERSION.

HERE’S THE STRUCTURED CONTENT DRIVING OUR “RICH SNIPPETS” NOT TO MENTION CONVERSION.

HERE’S THE STRUCTURED CONTENT DRIVING OUR “RICH SNIPPETS” ORIGNAL, BRAND-DRIVEN PRODUCT INFORMATION WRITTEN BY OUR TEAM OF IN-HOUSE EXPERTS NOT TO MENTION CONVERSION.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE USED SEO TO SUPPORT WEB PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS

REALITY: THE GOOGLE KEYWORD TOOL IS NOT AN EDITORIAL DICTATOR.

KEYWORD VOLUME IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EDITORIAL GOVERNANCE.

REALITY: GOOD LINKS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT GOOD EXPERIENCES ARE ESSENTIAL.

NEED TO BUILD LINKS? START BY BUILDING OUT GREAT CONTENT.

REALITY: THIS IS, FINALLY, NO LONGER TRUE.

…BUT IT DOESN’T HELP THAT LINK SELLERS ARE STILL IN THE INDEX.

REALITY: YOU CAN BELIEVE WHAT YOU LIKE…

REALITY: YOU CAN BELIEVE WHAT YOU LIKE… BUT I’LL BELIEVE THE DATA.

REALITY: YOU CAN BELIEVE WHAT YOU LIKE… BUT I’LL BELIEVE THE DATA. LOOKS LIKE THAT EARLY INVESTMENT PAID OFF!

STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS • ASK HOW THEY FIND AND SEARCH THE WEB SITE • ASK THEM TO KEEP A DAILY SEARCH DIARY • ASK THEM ABOUT THE KEYWORDS THEY CARE ABOUT, LOOK OVER COMPETITION’S CONTENT Image copyright © David Boyle in DC - http://www.flickr.com/photos/beglendc/290713888

CONTENT AUDIT • DO NOT INCLUDE RANK; INCLUDE TRAFFIC AND AVG. CONVERSION • INCLUDE METADATA, NOT JUST <META> CONTENT; DO NOT INCLUDE <META> KEYWORDS • INCLUDE COMPETITIVE LINK-GRAPH AND SOCIALGRAPH DATA Image copyright © GenBug - http://www.flickr.com/photos/genbug/4309890987

PAGE TABLES • INCLUDE FINDING/ENTRY METHODS, WHETHER OR NOT THEY INVOLVE SEO • THEN REVIEW ALL THE POINTS OF ENTRY TO THE PAGE BEING DESCRIBED • ADD DETAILS ON YOUR CONTENT’S PRIMARY COMPETITORS AND DIFFERENTIATORS Image copyright © Relly Annett-Baker - http://24ways.org/2011/extracting-the-content

TEMPLATES • INCLUDE VARIABLES FOR SEARCH AND SOCIAL METADATA (SUCH AS FACEBOOK OPENGRAPH, RDFa, OR SCHEMA.ORG) • DO NOT REQUIRE <META> KEYWORDS • ENSURE ALL CONTENT PUBLISHED IS ADDED TO AN XML SITEMAP Image copyright © litlnemo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/litlnemo/3296424414

METADATA • MOVE BEYOND <META> CONTENT INTO METADATA • BE FORWARD-THINKING AND PROGRESSIVE; SEARCH ENGINES ARE JUST BEGINNING TO CONSUME AND USE THIS • BEGIN THINKING ABOUT HOW METADATA WILL BE PERCEIVED WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF CONTEXT Image copyright © sarah0s - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahseverson/6245395188

THE CONTENT LIFECYCLE • INCLUDE SEO WHEN WORKING ON AUDITS, TAXONOMY, METADATA, STANDARDS, AND QA/QC • MAKE SEO A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY; ONE PERSON CAN’T DO IT ALL • BUILD SEO ADVOCATES IN OTHER DISCIPLINES Image copyright © Erin Scime - http://uxmag.com/articles/content-strategy-and-ux-a-modern-love-story

GOVERNANCE • DOCUMENT YOUR SEO STANDARDS, BUT DON’T STOP THERE • INCENTIVIZE STAFF TO SUPPORT STANDARDS, INCENTIVIZE MANAGERS TO EVALUATE THEIR STAFF’S SUPPORT • MEASURE THE IMPACT BY PAGE TEMPLATE FAMILY, NOT BY KEYWORDS Image copyright © Jonathon Colmant - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcolman/542404001

EDITORIAL CALENDAR • GIVE SEO LOTS OF LEAD TIME • INCENTIVIZE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SEO AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN CONTENT CAMPAIGNS • INCLUDE TOUCHPOINTS FOR MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING Image copyright © DonnaGrayson - http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnagrayson/94131371

“ WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?”

WHAT CAN SEO AND CONTENT STRATEGY ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER? LET’S FIND OUT…

WE MADE IMPLICT EXPERTISE EXPLICIT AND FINDABLE HUNDREDS OF “EXPERT ADVICE” ARTICLES DRIVES HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW PEOPLE TO DISCOVER REI

WE TRANSFORMED THAT CONTENT INTO VISUAL, SHAREABLE DATA AND OUR CREATIVE AND MERCHANDISING TEAMS WERE ENGAGED BY THIS INFORMATION DESIGN CHALLENGE

WE REACHED NEW AUDIENCES WITH EARNED MEDIA CONTENT MARKETING SHOULD BE PART OF EVERY CONTENT STRATEGY – AND YOU SHOULD BE FLUENT IN THE ANALYTICS

WE LEVERAGED NEW METADATA FORMATS FOR INTEROPERABILITY THESE ARE ACTIVE ACROSS OUR ENTIRE PRODUCT CATALOG, DRIVING TRAFFIC RIGHT WHERE WE WANT IT: OUR PRODUCTS!

WE CONSTANTLY PROVE THE VALUE OF STRUCTURED PRODUCT INFO. ADHERENCE TO GOVERNED SEO STANDARDS IS PART OF THE WAY OUR IN-HOUSE TEAM IS EVALUATED

WE HELP BUILD SKILLS AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS CHANNELS REI IS THE LARGEST OUTDOOR EDUCATOR IN THE UNITED STATES BY NUMBER OF PEOPLE TAUGHT

WE LINKED DATA WITH CONTENT TO AID IN WAYFINDING AND GREW OUR HYPERLOCAL AWARENESS AT THE SAME TIME BY PROVIDING A VALUABLE SERVICE

CONCLUSION AND FINAL THOUGHTS

CORE VALUES MATTER.

CORE VALUES MATTER. I’M AN SEO WHO VALUES CONTENT STRATEGY

JONATHON COLMAN PRINCIPAL EXPERIENCE ARCHITECT FOR REI WWW.REI.COM TWITTER @ JCOLMAN LET’S TALK.