European Blogger SummitBlogging SEO
Gareth CartmanDirector of Digital Marketing
Clever Little DesignBarcelona 24-25 September 2013
Clever Little Design LimitedCommunications House, Maidenhead, SL6 2LS01628 627853 www.cleverlittledesign.co.uk
Most blogs live here…
Give people what they want… (be the jelly)
jelly
new
baby
brother
happy
What do our readers want?
People want shared sentiment, distraction, advice… and help.
So blog for them, not yourself.
Even if they’re strange.
Where do our readers come from?
SOCIAL
Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin,
G+, etc.
DistractionSimilar sentiment
Viewed as RSS feed
Emphasis on catchy titles & shareable
imagery
SEARCH
Google, Bing, Yandex, etc.
Information, helpful advice, facts &
research
Emphasis on keywords in
strategic positions
DIRECT
Typing the URL or bookmarked
Obviously a fan, coming back for
more…
Emphasis on regularity &
freshness
REFERRAL
Someone has linked to your blog
Visitor: CuriosityLinker: you are a
reference
Emphasis on linkability – having
quality content
It’s never just one channel…
SOCIAL SEARCH DIRECT REFERRAL
SEARCH SOCIAL
DIRECT DIRECT
DIRECT
SOCIAL
SOCIAL
Different types of content
SOCIAL SEARCH DIRECT REFERRAL
SentimentOpinion
ShareabilityConclusionsDistraction
InformationAdviceActionFacts
Depth
FreshnessFun
DistractionCommunity
Personal
ReferenceAdvice & OpinionHelpful
CommunityResource
The path to a regular, engaged readership
SEARCH SOCIAL
NETWORKFOLLOW-UP
ENGAGE
DIRECT REFERRAL
What do search engines want?
They want to understand:• … what you’re writing about (CONTEXT)• … how good your writing is (AUTHORITY)• … how popular your writing is (AUTHORITY &
TRUST)
They want to present:• … the most useful websites• … the most informative websites• … the best user experiences
SEARCH
Google, Bing, Yandex, etc.
Information, helpful advice, facts &
research
Emphasis on keywords in
strategic positions
What do social users want?
They want:• … real people• … distraction, similar sentiment• … a discussion
They are more likely to visit & share if…• … they agree (or disagree) strongly with you• … you have a catchy headline & imagery• … you give them the opportunity to share!
SOCIAL
Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin,
G+, etc.
DistractionSimilar sentiment
Viewed as RSS feed
Emphasis on catchy titles & shareable
imagery
Social article:
“What I had for breakfast”
Search article:
“Breakfast recipe for diabetics”
What Search Engines Are Looking For
Search term “Coping with Diabetes”
Search engines are simple creaturesPage title…Web directory structureAssess the competition……
Search term “best cocktails for diabetics”
No exact match Therefore – big sites win. Great opportunity
Search term “low-carb Moroccan recipes for people with gestational diabetes”
Wow, that’s long-tailLower competitionMixed page titles (no exact match)Higher chance of clicking around
If you’re not saying it… how will anyone know?
And you won’t rank for itThink page title, H1, text, internal links
Getting noticed by search engines
Page titlesH1 tagsKeywords in the textSocial SignalsSites linking to youHelpful content…… Evergreen content
Evergreen Content
Evergreen content never dies
… if it’s any good
Evergreen content
Evergreen content
Evergreen content – what is it?
Permanently useful or Recurring Usefulness
HelpfulInformativeAdviceA reference that referencesLong & Detailed
Everyone is talking about it
LinksSocial mentionsEmails (Gmail)CitationsReferences
Unique
A new angleWhy you, and not another blogger?Differentiate
Inspiration for evergreen content
diabetes
cookingrecipes forhow to cook for
best
diabeticsfood fordiets forfoods to avoid for
recipesdietsfoods
Type 1Top 10 people with
Inspiration for evergreen content
Google Keyword Planner
Free keyword dataUnderstand how people searchAlternative keyword ideasLocation-based data
Keywords & their volumes
720 people in the UK search “recipes for diabetics” every month
480 people search for “diets for diabetics”
But that search volume increases significantly in January (of course)
10 searches / month is not insignificant
Even keywords without volumes do get searched for
Ubersuggest.org
Keyword research
What would Sherlock do?
Research your keywordsResearch your competitionGoogle Adwords & Ubersuggest.orgVisualise & DevelopInvestigate
Other tools:- Wordstream (paid)- SEMrush (paid – top 10 results free)- SEObook / Wordtracker (free)
Implementing keyword research
• Define a schedule for evergreen content (Monthly? Weekly?): QDF• Get high volume keywords into page title & header (often the same on
blogs)• Get low volume keywords into the blog copy itself• Use low volume keywords in H2 (sub-headers)• Link from other blog posts to your evergreen content
- internal links should use ‘anchor text’ (keywords as hyperlinks)- internal links tell search engines ‘look at this page, it’s important!’
• Keep evergreen content ‘evergreen’- use a navigation category, such as ‘resources’- ensure it doesn’t drop down the site hierarchy- keep linking to it- update it regularly
Going evergreen
TOPIC
KEYWORDS
CONTENT
KEEP THE CONTENTUPDATED
REGULARLY
DEVELOPFURTHER RELATED
CONTENT
Choose a topic you know well
Research your article’s audience
Unique, long-form, keyword-rich
PROMOTE Social, bloggers, forums, links
Use feedback & comments to help you develop your content
Become the authority on the topic
Developing evergreen
CURATE
CO-CREATE
SHARE
CROWDSOURCE REGULARITY
Develop relationships with other bloggers
Don’t always write on your own. Collaborate.
Don’t always write for yourself. Share your knowledge.
PROMOTE Social, bloggers, forums, links
Use your community to help you develop ideas & content
QueryDeservesFreshness
SEO Fundamentals for blogs• Page titles: for competitive keywords• Headers (h1 tags): for competitive keywords• Headers (h2 tags): for sub-headings & less competitive keywords• Alt tags on images: for usability & competitive keywords• Internal links: link to blog posts you want to rank using relevant keywords• Domain names: get a unique domain name• URL structure: ideally it should be domainname.com/category/page-title-here
- wordpress is great for this- clear URLs are better understood by users & search engines alike
• Categories: use them & let search engines index them- lets search engines find older articles more quickly- the quicker your posts are found, the better
• Support evergreen content with related blog posts- link between the two- e.g. top-level “recipes for diabetics page” supported by actual recipe sub-pages
• Have a Google Plus profile- use “rel=author” tag on your name for every blog post- this ensures that your photo appears in SERPs and your content is not plagiarised
To summarise, SEO is…
Learn it… (research)
Say it… (write)
Shout it (marketing)
How to get a blog to take off
It takes time…
And… • Hard work & persistence• An understanding of your readership,
their needs, their problems, their viewpoints
• A clean, optimised website with a clear structure
Invest time in multiple channels
Every channel is different…
Search engines for information & help
Social networks for community, shareability, fun
Referring sites are friends or citations
Learn from surprises.Sometimes, shit happens…40k likes. 1811 tweets.Why?
Nobody else wrote about it… Reddit… controversy…
20% inspiration + 20% writing + 60% marketing
Blogs that are doing well… (inspiration)
How do people get diabetes (3)Pesto Vinaigrette Dressing (1)Statins and Leg Pain (4)Medtronic Pump Colors (3)Pioneer Woman Chili (4)Minimed CGM (5)
Blogs that are doing well… (inspiration)
A day in the life of a diabetic (8)Diabetic blogs (7)Diabetes paranoia (1)White Coat Syndrome (7)
Blogs that are doing well (inspiration)
Ketone meter (1)Home a1c test accuracy (2)Diabetic donuts (2)Diabetes medical devices (3)Blood ketone meter (4)Diabetes 504 plan (4)
Blogs that are doing well (inspiration)
Pumps sex (1)Insulin pump blogs (1)Diabetes type 1 blog (1)Insulin pump tubing (1)C-section recovery (5)Carbohydrate scale (5)
The path to a regular, engaged readership
Keywords researchOptimised pagesOptimised structure
SEARCH SOCIAL
Virality, ShareabilityCatchy headlinesUnderstand audience
Meets user intent & expectationsOffers action (share, more info)
NETWORKFOLLOW-UP
Follow re-tweetersThank them, retweet themDiscuss on Facebook or G+
What ranks well? More postsTraffic volumes?Amend evergreen to optimise
ENGAGE
Subscription options (mailshot)Social subscription
QDF
DIRECT REFERRAL
An Animas Keyword Cloud
DIABETIC(s)
DIABETESType 2 Diabetes
DIET PLANSHEETFood listGuidelines
Keyword Volume (phrase)
Diabetic diet 6,600
Diabetes diet 6,600
Diabetic diet plan 480
Diabetic diet sheet 390
Type 2 Diabetes diet 1,600
Diabetes diet plan 880
Diabetic diets 320
Diabetic diet food list 140
Gestational diabetes diet plan 140
Diets for diabetes 91
Diet(s) forDiet plan forRecipe forGestational Type 1/2Pre-ControllingBestLow carb Carbohydrates
And carbohydrates
Keyword Volume (phrase)
Carbohydrate Counting Diabetes 28
Diabetes and Carbohydrates 28
Carbohydrate Counting 720
Diabetic Recipes 3,600
Diabetes type 2 diet plan 260
Gestational diabetes diet 720
Diet plan for diabetes 170
Type 1 diabetes diet 170
Diabetes 2 diet 110
Diets for diabetics 590
RECIPES
Top Related