How To Choose a Search Marketing Agency, Massimo Burgio Sempo

SEM 2008 – WARSAW, MAY 28 INTERNET STANDARD POLAND

HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD SEARCH MARKETING AGENCY

Massimo BurgioSEMPO Board of Directors, SEMPO Global / EuropeSEM 2008 WARSAW – MAY 2008

A TO Z CHECKLIST


• Chris Boggs, SEMPO Board of Directors (2004, remixed)

• SEMPO Learning Center

• Google Desktop application

• SEM 2008 / IDG / IAB Poland

HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD SEARCH MARKETING AGENCY – CREDITS & KUDOS


HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD SEARCH MARKETING AGENCY - A TO Z CHECKLIST

• algorithm is the heart of SEO work, and constantly changes

• ensure ongoing maintenance is a part of any SEO dealA

ALGORITHM


• what’s your company’s business model? B2B? B2C? B2C2C?

• adopt the power of blogs to help your search engine relevancy

• make sure your SEO Company understands the nature of your business modelB

BUSINESS BLOGS



• make sure you are not getting “boxed services”, but tailored to your business environment

• always keep an eye on competition, ask your agency regular competitive reports

• as Caesar said: “keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closerC

COMPETITION



• don’t accept proposal that rely on easy tricks that can get you banned

• think of what’s beyond the doorway as searchers enter your siteD

DOORWAYS



• ethics in methodology

• check agency profile via search

• try to implement an e-shelf strategy on SERP

• “if it looks and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck” E

ETHICS EXPERTISE E-SHELF



• still using frames?

• still using a flash splash-page?

• skip that!

• you might need to redesign entirely your website if built with frames or entirely in flash, no matter what the agency saysF

FRAMES FLASH



• agency should prioritize Google rankings

• use all the resources available at Google Webmaster Central

• “I’ve seen the future: you were not included in it”

• don’t forget that the majority of searches occur within the Google network G

GOOGLE



• don’t translate or localize, try to approach international targeting through cultural adaptation efforts

• rely on local hosting and domain names when targeting internationally

• H1/H2 tags still matter!

• not all search agencies are qualified to help with foreign language market segments

HHISPANIC

HOSTING H1/H2 TAGS



• search agencies are companies that should understand in full internet dynamics

• all your users are on the internet, no matter which demographic or social segment

• your search marketing agency should suggest to integrate your search strategies within your overall online (and offline) activities and marketing mix

• the Internet as a marketplace and a branding platform is here to stay

IINTERNET

INTEGRATION



• good search agencies should be able to move JavaScript in a part of the code where it won’t impede search engine robots to do their job

• JavaScript can be bad, but not deadly, to search engine positioning J

JAVASCRIPT



• forget about high-level keywords that “guarantee” rankings

• adopt a deep keyword analysis, and deploy a consistent keyword strategy

• ask your search agency to “think long tail”

• a search agency should give you a list for approval of keywords to target after seeing your initial list and analyzing your site and market

KKEYWORDS



• discuss link strategy with your agency

• the only good links are to and from sites relevant to your industry

• avoid “link farms” and affiliate linking, when cluttered

• optimize landing pages (both for search ranking and conversion), not only the home page

• link farms are bad and can actually hurt your link popularity

LLINKS

LANDING PAGES



• title tag still important for ranking

• description still relevant to users

• a search agency should create META content that is unique to each of your pages to be optimized M

META TAGS



• usability comes first, for both users and search engine crawlers

• site maps are paramount

• google sitemaps is bliss

• all of your main theme pages should be easy to navigate-to from any other main page within the site. You should have a Site Map N

NAVIGATION



• SEO = ROC = MAO

• ask your search agency to deploy an e-shelf strategy for your core strategic keywords

• use online press release distribution (with tags and RSS) to maximize your organic listings

• provide the proper relevant content, improve your traffic and linking, and you will appear within the organic listings

OORGANIC ONLINE PR



• PageRank is dead, viva PageRank!

• integrate a paid search strategy (PPC) to your organic SEO strategy for maximum reach / effectiveness

• learn the new 4 Ps of online marketing to avoid stress: Passion Patience Proactivity Perseverance - make sure your search agency adopted them too!

• note that PageRank is only one part of the overall algorithm used by Google to rank sites: content and popularity make up the other parts

PPAGERANK

PAID SEARCH 4Ps



• check out agency references and proof of work

• quality of work vs. quality of relationship

• make sure your paid search campaign are not impacted by previous negative quality score

• make sure that the money that you are investing in outsourcing SEO will provide predictable results

QQUALITY QUALITY SCORE



• good search agencies will provide you with rankings report within the top search engines for your targeted keywords

• ask also for linking reports

• don’t forget competitive reports

• try to read the reports, and use them to assess and re-plan your strategy and operations

• search marketing = highest ROI in the history of direct response

• maximize your content distribution through optimized RSS feeds

• regularly requesting your search agency updated reports

RREPORTING

ROI RSS



• avoid agencies proposing “easy” spam techniques (cloaking, excessive keyword density, hidden text, …) to rank in search engines

• Did you try SEMPO’s member directory and RFP section of sempo.org?

• pimp up your e-shelf (and boost your SEO) with relevant social media results

• help the internet get better: engage in social search

• ensure that your search agency doesn’t use these methods, unless you don’t care that your site may be penalized after initial success

SSPAM

SEMPO SOCIAL MEDIA



• good SEO results take time, and so does a paid search campaign constantly optimized

• if you are in a rush, use paid search and online PR

• test all your efforts with alternative SEO strategies, landing page testing, and always test new channels (RSS feeds, social media, video content?)

• after testing, test again

• if you are in a hurry, buy listings through methods other than SEO

TTIMING TESTING



• focus on users, not on search engines

• users don’t navigate or search only within search engines

• engage with users before thinking sales – listen to users on and off site

• remember that users are in control of your reputation through the power of blogs and social media

• universal search feeds on social media

• don’t lose focus: website are for searchers not search engines

UUSERS POWER

UNIVERSAL SEARCH



• look outside the bottle - ask your search agency to perform a consistent keyword and competitive research

• help the agency help you by sharing full insight on your business, business language, and business strategies

• always remember that the online scenario changes often, don’t get stuck on a vision!

• adopt online video strategy as part of your SEO strategy

• SEO is an iterative process

VVISION

VIDEO



• What You See Is What You Get

• try to figure out who is the search agency who sent you a quote: search them on Google!

• web analytics should be offered by your search marketing agency – ask them also to help you understand data, not only to send you reports!

• if you cannot find anything about a search agency on the web and they provide no solid references: buyer beware

WWYSIWYG WEB

ANALYTICS



• factors that affects the selection of a search agency: local company, pricing structure, contractual terms, legal and resource capabilities, reputation, …

• factors that affect client/agency relations: lack of communication client/agency, lack of resources, lack of understanding the nature of the work, lack of professionalism

• factors that affect search performance: bad SEO choices, bad content, google dance, blog power

• use common sense and analysis as opposed to emotions when choosing your search marketing agency

XX-FACTOR



• google rules, but don’t forget Yahoo! is around

• same as for MSN, NetSprint, Seznam, and local

• integrate power of content, services and social media into your search strategy

• perform SEO first, then submit your website for inclusion within the directory. Many search agencies will do this for you and build the cost into their SEO price

YYAHOO!



• engage within the blogosphere and social media space for max search engine effectiveness, brand exposure, and user interaction

• increase relevancy and search penetration through optimized social media assets and buzz about it

• adopt social bookmarking and use news sites to distribute your optimized press releases

• adopt, optimize and distribute RSS feeds

• as our French friends would say: au-revoir!

ZZE END BUZZ



THANK YOU!

MASSIMO [email protected] Board of Directors, SEMPO Global / Europe

www.sempo.org

www.sempoglobalsearchblog.com

How To Choose a Search Marketing Agency, Massimo Burgio Sempo

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