Success by Design: Content That Builds Both Brand and SEO by Mark Traphagen - #SEJSummit NY

transcript

SUCCESS BY

DESIGN CONTENT THAT BUILDS BOTH

BRAND AND SEO

Mark Traphagen

#SEJSummit

@marktraphagen

Mark Traphagen SR. DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Stone Temple Consulting

PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN

DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY

GEEKY meets

CREATIVE

Reliable, Passionate, Trustworthy

Helping leading brands: Expand reach to new audiences Optimize market opportunities Achieve better business performance

Advancing the science through

INNOVATIVE RESEARCH

70+ Employees

across the United States

83 Clients served over

past 12 months

Our multi-year engagement with Stone Temple Consulting has been very profitable. They have consistently delivered tangible business results… I strongly endorse and recommend them for their great content marketing expertise, but more importantly as a true business partner.

- Sean Kainec, Home Depot

“ ”

How we averted a Christmas disaster

November 15th: Competitor Leap Frogs Over Our Client From #3 to #2 Slot in Rankings

Competitor

Client

We Did a Detailed Analysis: Came Down to One Killer New Link in a News Story

Hey, Can You Add Our Link To Your Story?

Justice Prevailed! Client Moved Back to the #2 Slot

#SEJSummit #Searchmetrics @NickWilsdon

Learn to Make a Good Business Case

Be Interested, Open and Diplomatic

SEO Can Influence Many Business Areas

Traffic on a withering decline...

No clear turnaround plan

Recovery Plan

Full Site Audit

Comprehensive On Site Content Optimization

Competitive Backlink Analysis

World Class Content Marketing Plan

We Used Content Marketing to Get Links

From Many Relevant Sites

Result: BIG TIME RANKING GROWTH

1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers

1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers No correlation between shares and links

Source: Moz and BuzzSumo

1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers No correlation between shares and links

Uh Oh!

1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers But these have strong correlations

Opinion-forming journalism works

1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers These also have strong correlations

Data-driven research studies work

Case Study

1. Create Content for Listeners, Sharers & Linkers And great links too!

This is Your Target, Right

Very Good Content is Not Good Enough

Elite Content is Where You Should Focus

Understand That Your Audience is Early Adopters and Innovators

Create Content For Those Who Will Listen, Share and Link

Part 1 Takeaways

2. Create 10X Content for a 10X Brand

Brand Identity

Buyer Personas

Brand Identity

Buyer Personas

Content Targeting

Brand Identity

Buyer Personas

Content Targeting

Social Promotion

Brand Identity

Buyer Personas

Content Targeting

Social Promotion

Yeah, I really love that brand too.

Toughest Keyword for your competitors to beat. Ever.

Create 10X Content for a 10X Brand

Realize DM Is an Ecosystem

Build Content Streams from Brand Identity and Customer Personas

Unify Brand Message Across All Channels

Part 2 Takeaways

3. Create Content with Strategic Links

Current Ranking Data What Terms are Close to Money?

Success by Design: What will it take to move above competition?

Pull Data on Competitor Link Profiles

Ranking in the #7 Slot

Who is Ahead of You in the SERPS?

Your Site

Majestic SEO

Open Site Explorer

ahrefs

Google Search

Console

BackLink Profiler

• Builds Master List Of Links • Dedupes the List • Prioritizes Targets

• Run on Your Site • Run on Competitors • Results Inform Campaigns

Integrate Data From Multiple Sources

Proprietary STC Tool

Pull the Detailed Link Data for the Ranking Page for Each Competitor

Figure Out Which Links are Driving Their Rankings for Each Page

Tabulate This to Get the Overall Picture

What Would Explain This Result Being Here?

If High Authority Links Aren’t the Reason, Then What Is?

1. Superior Content

2. Query Deserves Diversity

3. Undetected Spammy Link Building ç

1. Superior Content

3. Undetected Spammy Link Building ç

1. Superior Content

3. Undetected Spammy Link Building

Sample Recipe to Get Into Top 5

Design and Pitch Content Strategically

Success By Design Makes Your Plan Quantitative and Clear

Case Study

300% Traffic Increase May-Aug 2016

• #3 “nepal travel expert • #5 “manaslu treck” • #1 “nepal short trecks

Content Marketing Must Meet Goals By Design

Identify Achievable Money Targets

Use Link Analysis to Design

Link Placement Strategy

Be Opportunistic!

Part 3 Takeaways

#SEJSummit #Searchmetrics @NickWilsdon

Learn to Make a Good Business Case

Be Interested, Open and Diplomatic

SEO Can Influence Many Business Areas