How to Build SEO into Content Strategy

A presentation at Content Strategy Forum 2012 in October 2012 in Cape Town, South Africa by Jonathon Colman

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I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CONTENT STRATEGY.

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

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

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AFTER ALL, I DID READ THIS BOOK.

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BOTTOM LINE: BAD SEO IS A DISASTER.

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GOOD SEO IS VERY HELPFUL.

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

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WHY? YOU NEED HELP FROM SEOs, TOO *

YOU JUST DON’T KNOW IT YET!

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REALITY: SUSTAINABLE SEO REQUIRES LONGTERM INVESTMENT.

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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…

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RANK MUST BE EARNED.

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

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AS WELL AS CLICK-THROUGH.

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

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NOT TO MENTION CONVERSION.

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

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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.

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FOR EXAMPLE, WE USED SEO TO SUPPORT WEB PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS

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

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KEYWORD VOLUME IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EDITORIAL GOVERNANCE.

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

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

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REALITY: THIS IS, FINALLY, NO LONGER TRUE.

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

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REALITY: YOU CAN BELIEVE WHAT YOU LIKE…

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

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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“ WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?”

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

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

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

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

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