Using the Wisdom of the

Crowd for Content

ExcellenceChanging Perspective on Keywords

for a Better Search Experience

Your Presenter

20 years of Online Experience• AMD• HomeAway.com• Builders Digital Experience• SpareFoot.com

Dell (4 years)• SEO Technology Lead, DCS (formerly eDell)• Technical SEO Instructor

Currently• Chief SEO Evangelist,

www.linkedin.com/in/keithlgoode

@keithgoode

Keith L. Goode, Chief SEO Evangelist

Changing PerspectivesOverhauling SEO One Activity at a Time

Perspective Is Everything

• Links lead to better ranking

• Ranking leads to more traffic

• More traffic leads to more revenue

• Content Is King• Publishing Lots of

Content Leads to Greater Relevance for

More Keywords• More keyword

relevance leads to more traffic…

Wrong Perspective = Red Herring• When perspective is off,

good results can be• Attributed to the wrong

causes (false causality)• Used to support incorrect

assumptions (confirmation bias)

• Used to assume the same results will happen every time (gambler’s fallacy)

• This can reinforce the wrong behaviors

Realigning Metrics for True SuccessYes… But…

Traffic increases are a measure of online success

Stickiness and Conversion Rates tell you if it’s good traffic

or notRankings are

highly influenced by links

Links are earned as a result of a Great Product or Great

ContentTargeting

keywords in content

establishes relevance

Being relevant for Topics, rather than keywords, establishes broader

Relevance

Redefining SEO as Search Experience Optimization

UsabilityIs your site fast, responsive, engaging, shareable, crawlable, and indexable?

Usability 01

Relevance

RelevanceYou establish relevance with great content that inspires, educates, informs, and entertains.

02

AuthorityEarned links, company online reputation, article references, citations, co-citations, etc.

Authority 03

The Key to Keyword Mining

How to Access the Wisdom of the Crowd

The Problems with the Classical Model of SEO Metrics

Keyword research can be time-consuming

Could be missing keyword

opportunities we don’t even know about!

A hyper-focus on keywords misses

out on the conversations

Problem #1: Time InvestmentNo Excuses. Do the work!

Relevance via Content StrategyRoad-mapping Relevance1. Audience and Market Size

evaluation (Topic development)

2. Audience segmentation (Topic management)

3. Content Mapping4. Content Optimization

Resources You Can Use• seoClarity Search Volume

Other Options:• Google Keyword Planner Tool • Keyword Difficulty Tool from Moz• Google Trends• Google Suggest

Problem #2: Tapping into the WoC

Keywords You

Rank For

Keywords Competitor B

Ranks For

Keywords Competitor A

Ranks For

Might be branded terms that you can’t

possibly rank for

Very likely that these are keywords you

should be interested in pursuing

Missed Opportunities: The Struggle is Real

How to Remove the Blinders1. Enter Your Competitor’s URL into a site analysis tool2. Download the resulting list of keywords3. Repeat this for one or more competitors4. Alphabetize the lists and align within the same

spreadsheet5. Insert your own list of ranking keywords6. Look for keywords where 2 or more competitors rank,

but you don’t

Resources You Can Use• seoClarity Data Grid

Other Options:• Google Keyword Planner Tool (“website” option)• SpyFu• SEMRush• Moz OSE• BuzzSumo

Head to Tail – Bridging the Gap

KEYWORDS TOPICS

Problem #3: Conversational Queries

Redefining the Long Tail of SearchSe

arch

Vo

lum

e

Query Length

Traditional Keyword Research

Traditional Long-Tail

Conversational Queries

Head Terms: Laptops

Body Terms: 15 inch laptops

Long-Tail Terms: 15 inch gaming laptop with 64GB memory

Conversational Queries: What is the best gaming laptop for Modern Warfare?

The Universe of Keywords Is Expanding

Keywords You

Rank For

Keywords Competitor B

Ranks For

Keywords Competitor A

Ranks For

Conversational queries relevant to your

industry

Google Is Proving My Case

Google going beyond Google

Suggest to recommend Instant

Answers

Organic Position 3 is Now

Position 5

How to Tap Into the Greater WoCManual Steps1. Identify source sites2. Run keyword queries on these sites (or “site:”

searches)3. Compile list of questions or conversations4. Prioritize list based on social shares, upvotes, etc.5. Use list to edify content strategy6. Rinse and Repeat for each product or service you offer.

How to Tap Into the Greater WoCThe Easy Approach • seoClarity Content Ideas

1800+ Sources Based on continuous review of sites that rank for over 120M keywordsCustomizable list of sources based on industry

The New Approach to Content• Only use Search Volume tools initially• Research what questions are being asked• Write simple, concise (but effective) answers• Use ordered or unordered lists• Mark up the key copy on the page

Thank You!Feel Free to Connect with Me!

@keithgoode