SEO v SEM
in a Google-mediated world
Digital Communications Strategies
Amber Burton aburton@bournemouth.ac.uk
20.02.12
Do what?
Today, we are looking at the consequences of an online world
defined by search engines, & what this means for digital
communicators (that’s you). By the end of this lecture, you will
be able to:
• Explore some ideas about the social-cultural impact of living in
a Google-mediated world
• Understand search engine optimisation (SEO)
• Understand search engine marketing (SEM)
• Know the difference between the 2
• Figure out how to acquire some of these skills as they are
crucial to a future career in digital communications
What is Google doing to us?
Is Google good for us?
Carr’s book suggests that Google has
a reverse effect on our cognitive
function. Being able to ‘google it’
means we don’t have to retain
memory, & we learn to ‘skip’ or ‘skim’
read. Nothing is digested in depth.
Do you agree?
Other studies suggest that searching online helps cognitive
function, providing new neurological pathways and problem
solving skills.
What do you think? (google it?)
Google fail
And sometimes even Google gets it wrong …
What is Google doing to us?
Some questions to think about:
• How often do you use search engines and typically what for?
5.3% of the people in this room have search for porn in the past 24 hours
• When do you get frustrated with the results?
pages 1 to 3, after that do you refine your search or keep clicking?
• Can you imagine studying/researching without Google?
• Do search engines determine the way we now work and
study?
technological determinism is the theory that technology such as the internet
determines the way we work; has the www made a difference to the way we live
our lives?
The stats
63% of people normally
find websites via a
search engine.
Verdict Research as cited by
digitalstrategyconsulting.com, April 2011
The stats
Researching products and
services is the second most
popular online activity among
Brits with 3 out of 4 UK internet
users doing so.
Office of National Statistics (ONS) as cited by
eMarketer, September 2010
The stats
27% of people rarely or
never look at more than
one page of search
engine results.
Verdict Research as cited by
digitalstrategyconsulting.com, April 2011
The stats
58% of purchase
decisions begin on
search engines
GroupM, February 2011
The stats
51% of people expect
leading brands to be on
top of the search
results page.
Verdict Research as cited by
digitalstrategyconsulting.com, April 2011
The stats
Online display advertising has grown by 34% over the past year in the UK
in terms of ad impressions. ComScore Ad Metrix, November 2010
UK Online Ad Spend estimates:
2009: £3.01bn
2010: £3.31bn
2011: £3.57bn
2012: £3.87bn MAGNAGLOBAL as cited by eMarketer, September 2010
UK Search Ad Spend estimates:
2009: £1.83bn
2010: £2.06bn
2011: £2.25bn
2012: £2.48bn MAGNAGLOBAL as cited by eMarketer, September 2010
The stats
Experian Hitwise Report, August 2011
SEO vs SEM
2: sponsored links (SEM and SEO combined)
3: organic/natural search results
5: paid-for ads
Google Search Results
Research on ‘Eye-Tracking’ of Google Results
tends to confirm that people:
• Read the sponsored links
at the top of the page.
• Read just 2-3 of the
organic results beneath
those.
• Focus on the titles of
the results; scan the
summaries.
• Ignore everything else,
including the paid results
in the right column.
What is Search Engine Optimisation?
search engine optimisation (SEO): The process
of making a site and its content highly relevant for
both search engines and searchers. SEO includes
technical tasks to make it easier for search engines
to find and index a site for the appropriate
keywords, as well as marketing-focused tasks to
make a site more appealing to users. Successful
search marketing helps a site gain top positioning
for relevant words and phrases.
Source: searchenginewatch 2012
What is Search Engine Optimisation?
In other words …
search engine optimisation (SEO):
making a site ‘findable’ using the most likely
keywords and key words, plus a few other tactics, to
get good organic search results
(optimisation = organic/natural)
Source: amber burton 2012
Search Engine Optimisation: benefits
• natural (organic) search engine results are
perceived to be non-biased
• search engine optimisation gives a better
ROI than any other online marketing
media
• there are no ‘bidding wars’ (as with Google
AdWords) in search engine optimisation
• search engine optimisation is useful if you
are trying to create an online brand
What is Search Engine Marketing?
search engine marketing (SEM): The process of
building and marketing a site with the goal of
improving its position in search engine results. SEM
includes both search engine optimisation (SEO) and
search advertising, or paid search.
Source: searchenginewatch 2012
What is Search Engine Marketing?
In other words …
search engine marketing (SEM):
The paid route to jumping the queue and getting
your site noticed immediately, and usually on the
first page. Includes Google AdWords and Google
AdSense.
(marketing= money/paid-for)
Source: amber burton 2012
Search Engine Marketing: benefits
• SEM gives pretty much instant results – a
campaign can be up and running within hours:
great for testing or a launch
• SEM can work really well in niche or ‘long tail’
markets, where there is less competition & lower
bid prices
• ‘Quality’ SEM campaigns will boost SEO results,
protecting your rankings from competitors.
• Really good SEM campaigns can result in
‘sponsored links’ at the top of the results page –
greater trust and click-through rates.
Google Search Results
• If you pay for search results,
either pay premium and get
the ones at the top, or don’t
bother.
• If you’re not in the top 3
results of organic searches,
consider paid search results
until you can improve your
ranking.
• Make sure the title and
description of your home
page (or your paid result)
are absolutely perfect.
SEO: how to do it
Step One: ‘Keyword’ Research
SEO: how to do it
Ascertain the amount of
‘difficulty’ you will have
in achieving a high rank
with your chosen
keywords (this tool is
from www.seochat.com)
– the calculation is
relative, but broadly,
the higher the
percentage of
competition, the lower
the chance of keywords
being successful
SEO: how to do it
Step Two: Research ‘The Opposition’
• find all ‘related’ websites
• find out how important these are
• find their link popularity (this will influence their
search engine ranking)
• find the number of ‘indexed’ pages they have
(i.e. how many separate pages will appear on a
search engine)
SEO: how to do it
Step Three: On-page Optimisation
Meta title
SEO: how to do it
Step Three: On-page optimisation
Header Tags
(not ‘big text’)
SEO: how to do it
Step Three: On-page optimisation
Use <alt>
tags for
images –
especially
logos or
brand
emblems
SEO: how to do it
Step Three: On-page optimisation
<html>
<head>
<title>Interactive Media Strategies</title>
<body>
<img src=“IMSlogo.jpg" width="150" height="150“
alt=“Interactive Media Strategies” />
<h1>Welcome to Interactive Media</h1>
<p>text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text</p>
<h2>What this Page has to do with Interactive Media</h2>
SEO: how to do it
Step Four: Keyword Density
Keywords
are
recognised
in the text
and the title
SEO: how to do it
Step Four: Keyword Density
Use of
Keywords
are
prominent
in the text
and the title
SEO: how to do it
Step Five: Site Map
Most search
engines will
also benefit
from the
creation of
an (unseen)
XML
sitemap
SEO: how to do it
Step Six: Off-page optimisation
• one of the keys to getting your page ranking
improved is to appear more ‘relevant’ – this is
partly achieved by the number of other web
pages that link to your website
• the first element is to submit your website to
online directories:
SEO: how to do it
Step Six: Off-page optimisation: Link
Development Campaign
Site A
Site B
One-way link
Site A
Site B
Two-way link
Site A
Site B
Site C
SEO: how to do it
Engine
optimisation
Step Seven: Article Submission
• designed with ‘keyword’ terms
• link back to your website
• same principle applies to blogs, online press
releases and rss feeds
Search Engine optimisation
Don’t upset Google
• Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should
be reachable from at least one static text link.
• Offer a site map to your users with links that point to the important
parts of your site. If the site map is larger than 100 or so links, you
may want to break the site map into separate pages.
• Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly
and accurately describe your content.
• Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and
make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.
• Try to use text instead of images to display important names,
content, or links. The Google crawler doesn't recognize text
contained in images.
Search Engine optimisation
Don’t upset Google
• Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
• Don't use cloaking or sneaky redirects.
• Don't load pages with irrelevant keywords.
• Don't create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with
substantially duplicate content.
• Don't create pages with malicious behavior, such as phishing or
installing viruses, trojans.
• Avoid "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other
"cookie cutter" approaches such as affiliate programs with little or
no original content.
Search Engine optimisation
Finally…
• think about whether search engine optimisation
really matters to your strategy
• there are a limited number of people who will
ever make it into the ‘hotspot’ for some of the
more generic keyword searches – does your
strategy mean that you must?
• consider alternative means of driving traffic to
your website
• consider how you construct your online copy to
avoid being misconstrued…
Search Engine optimisation
Bournemouth University Degree Courses
Degree courses at Bournemouth are easy to find using our course locator…
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Other tactics to think about:
and…
• social media is becoming very relevant in SEO and SEM –
LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, etc all help to boost rankings
(make sure for the right reasons though): this is an excellent
reason for brands/companies to use social media
• reciprocal links (mentioned) are very important, as traffic
quality & quantity will make a difference
• study Google analytics for rich information on who, what
and where your traffic is coming from & going to. Use landing
pages & content specific sections.
• Jargon busting; don’t be fooled by SEO ‘specialists’ claiming
to short-cut the SEO process, with ‘cookie cutter’ sites &
other dodgy practices
In summary
In summary
A very useful infographic
for small/medium
business using SMO,
SEO and SEM to build
local online presence.
Explanation, and source
material/ownership here:
http://blumenthals.com/ind
ex.php?web-equityinfographic
Getting skilled-up
It follows that anyone working in communications needs at
least a basic understanding of SEO and SEM … so what can you
do?
1. Get involved in the Google Online Marketing Challenge
(AdWords and Google+), more info here and/or email
Amber at aburto@bournemouth.ac.uk
2. Monitor your own Google Reputation. You must have an
up-to-date professional profile on LinkedIn, in time for
your placement applications.
3. Attend the ‘Leap into Digital’ event on 29th Feb, register on
the FaceBook page