Google and Search Engine Success

1. Google and Search Engine Success How to Rank Well Organically, Locally, and with Obituaries Selected Independent Funeral Homes May 1, 2014 – St. Charles, MO Kip Johnson - FuneralNet

2. This Morning’s Topics • 1. How search engines work and what they’re looking for • 2. Types of search results and how-to’s for each • 3. Reviews and their role in search results • 4. Navigating the Google Zoo • Pandas, Penguins, and Hummingbirds • 5. Examples and case studies

3. 1. How Search Engines Work • Enormous indexes in many dimensions • Keywords and phrases • Page titles and headers • A mix of text, photo, and video • Position of content on page • Easy to find contact information (NAP) • Name, address, phone number • Original, current, and relevant content

4. Text, Photo, and Video

5. Page Position: Eye Tracking “Heat Maps”

6. 2. Types of Search Results and How-To’s • Organic • Local • Paid

7. Organic Keyword Search Results Organic Local

8. Keywords for Winning SEO • Keys to Keywords • Think titles, tags, and text • Strike a keyword-rich balance • Use analysis tools to help ID keywords

9. Titles and Text

10. Keywords for Winning SEO • Keys to Keywords • Think titles, tags, and text • Strike a keyword-rich balance • Use analysis tools to help ID keywords

11. Keyword Analysis Google AdWords Keyword Planner

12. Keyword Analysis Google AdWords Keyword Planner

13. Keyword Analysis Google Trends - www.google.com/trends

14. Keyword Analysis Google Trends - www.google.com/trends

15. The Importance of Obituaries • Integral part of the website • 60-90% of most death care industry websites’ visits are obituary related • Naturally generates current and original content • Rich-snippets enhancing search results

16. Obituary Search Results

17. Obituary Search Results

18. Types of Search Results and How-To’s • Organic • Local • Paid

19. Localizing for Winning SEO • Stake your claim • Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo) • Google Places and Google+ Local example • Other on-line sources for local information • Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc. • A Tale of Multiple Cities • Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods

21. Localizing for Winning SEO • Stake your claim • Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo) • Google Places and Google+ Local example • Other on-line sources for local information • Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc. • A Tale of Multiple Cities • Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods

22. Claiming Your Business There are 15 million businesses in the United States . . . Less than 4 million have been claimed . . . And of those, less than half are reasonably complete. Chances are, for 90% or more, this is currently a big search opportunity missed.

23. Claiming Your Business

24. Claiming Your Business

25. Localizing for Winning SEO • Stake your claim • Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo) • Google Places and Google+ Local example • Other on-line sources for local information • Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc. • A Tale of Multiple Cities • Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods

26. IYP and Data Providers • Acxiom • CitySearch • Dex Knows • Kudzu • Manta • Superpages • Yahoo • Yellowpages • Yelp IYP I – Internet Y – Yellow P- Pages

27. IYP Listings

28. IYP Listings

29. Localizing for Winning SEO • Stake your claim • Business claiming (Google, Bing, Yahoo) • Google Places and Google+ Local example • Other on-line sources for local information • Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), Yelp, Manta, etc. • A Tale of Multiple Cities • Metros, suburbs, towns, neighborhoods

30. Reaching Into Many Markets • Location-specific content • Dedicated location pages • Titles, tags, and text (location keywords) • Footer content • Sub-landing pages

31. Sub-Landing Page Example

32. Photos and Virtual Tours http://www.majorfamilyfuneralhome.com/_mgxroot/page_10787.php

33. 3. Online Reviews • Why they matter • What they look like and where they are posted • Legitimate vs. ‘manufactured’ reviews

34. Why Online Reviews Matter • Ever-increasing importance to SEO • More users looking at reviews • 89% of people now use the web as an influencing part of their purchase decisions • More users leaving reviews • 47% of people reported leaving an online review about a recent experience

35. Search and Review Example

36. Search and Review Example Superpages Reviews Google Review

37. Legitimate vs. ‘Manufactured’ • Only use actual statements and testimonials • Do not ghost write reviews • Avoid promises of ‘web saturation’ through dozens/hundreds of reviews

38. Asking for Family Participation • When a family is very with satisfied with the services you’ve provided, help them share that with the world: • While letters of thanks are nice, ask that they submit online • Be prepared to point them to your Google Places and Google+ Local profiles, Facebook, and others • Selectively contact via mail

39. Obstacles to Success • Technical know-how (or lack thereof) for older demographics • Mandatory profiles to leave on-line reviews with major review sites (e.g. Google+, Yelp)

40. 4. Welcome to the Google Zoo • Panda anti-pandemonium • Quality user experience with relevant results • Penguin punishes purveyors of poo • Getting rid of spam and link-factory sites • Hummingbird lifts quality sites and content • Beyond keywords to match quality content with user intent • Sophisticated natural language methods applied

41. 5. Examples and Case Studies • Carmon Funeral Homes (Hartford, CT area) • Results of on-site vs. off-site SEO techniques • Wichmann-Fargo (Appleton/Fox Cities, WI) • On-site obituaries vs. third-party obituaries • Bliley/Nelsen Funeral Homes (Richmond, VA) • Site rich in content vs. corporate/chain template

42. Carmon Funeral Homes • A firm with numerous location outside of Hartford wanting to do well on Hartford searches • Started non-existent in Organic Search results (not in first 100 listings), and now ranking #5 • This is separate from Local Search results

43. Wichmann-Fargo • Comparing website traffic for 90 days after de-integration of obituaries vs. 90 days before: • Number of visits was down by 20% • Number of unique visitors was down by 23% • Average visit duration was reduced by 30% • Obituary visits, even if no other site content is viewed, represent significant branding time

44. Bliley / Nelsen • Bliley and Nelsen used to duke it out for the #1 and #2 search rankings • Nelsen was sold to SCI and they implemented their SCI corporate umbrella template to the site • Bliley is now solidly #1 both Organically and Locally, and the Nelsen entity is several organic notches lower, and not even first page on Bing

45. Richmond Search Results

46. Bliley Home Page

47. Nelsen (Dignity / SCI) Home Page

48. Summary of Best Practices • Original, current content in multiple formats • Proper keyword use – NAP, titles, tags, text • Photos and virtual tours • Treat obituaries as an integral part of your site • Claim and complete business profiles • Encourage on-line reviews

49. Google and Search Engine Success How to Rank Well Organically, Locally, and with Obituaries Selected Independent Funeral Homes May 1, 2014 – St. Charles, MO Kip Johnson - FuneralNet