Inbound Marketing and SEO: Insights from the Moz Blog

CONTENTS......Page 11
INTRODUCTION......Page 21
FROM SEO TO INBOUND MARKETING......Page 22
INBOUND MARKETING......Page 23
ABOUT MOZ......Page 24
THE BIRTH OF SEO......Page 25
CRACKING DOWN......Page 26
HOW SEARCH ENGINES MAKE MONEY......Page 27
THE FUTURE OF SEARCH......Page 28
CHAPTER 1: WHITE HAT SEO: IT F@$# ING WORKS......Page 29
SOME POINTS ON KRIS’ POST......Page 31
BLACK HAT ≠ SEO......Page 35
WHY WE CAN’T IGNORE BLACK HAT ENTIRELY......Page 37
WHY WHITE HAT IS ALWAYS BETTER......Page 38
CHAPTER 2: SCHEMA.ORG: WHY YOU’RE BEHIND IF YOU’RE NOT USING IT......Page 43
MYTH: SCHEMA. ORG MARKUP DOESN’T GET RICH SNIPPETS!......Page 44
SCHEMA.ORG IS NOT A LANGUAGE......Page 45
FIVE UNDERUSED SCHEMA.ORG APPLICATIONS......Page 46
WRAP-UP......Page 49
CHAPTER 3: PERFECTING KEYWORD TARGETING AND ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION......Page 51
BEST PRACTICES FOR OPTIMIZING PAGES......Page 53
BEST PRACTICES FOR RANKING #1......Page 57
CHAPTER 4: DUPLICATE CONTENT IN A POST-PANDA WORLD......Page 59
WHY DO DUPLICATES MATTER?......Page 60
THREE KINDS OF DUPLICATES......Page 62
TOOLS FOR FIXING DUPLICATES......Page 63
EXAMPLES OF DUPLICATE CONTENT......Page 69
WHICH URL IS CANONICAL?......Page 78
TOOLS FOR DIAGNOSING DUPLICATES......Page 79
I HOPE THAT COVERS IT......Page 81
CHAPTER 5: FRESHNESS FACTOR: 10 ILLUSTRATIONS ON HOW FRESH CONTENT CAN INFLUENCE RANKINGS......Page 83
HOW GOOGLE SCORES FRESH CONTENT......Page 84
CONCLUSION......Page 93
CHAPTER 6: ALL LINKS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL: 10 ILLUSTRATIONS OF SEARCH ENGINES’ VALUATION OF LINKS......Page 95
PRINCIPLE #1: LINKS HIGHER UP IN HTML CODE CAST MORE POWERFUL VOTES......Page 97
PRINCIPLE #2: EXTERNAL LINKS ARE MORE INFLUENTIAL THAN INTERNAL LINKS......Page 98
PRINCIPLE #3: LINKS FROM UNIQUE DOMAINS MATTER MORE THAN LINKS FROM PREVIOUSLY LINKING SITES......Page 99
PRINCIPLE #4: LINKS FROM SITES CLOSER TO A TRUSTED SEED SET PASS MORE VALUE......Page 100
PRINCIPLE #5: LINKS FROM “INSIDE” UNIQUE CONTENT PASS MORE VALUE THAN THOSE FROM HEADER/FOOTER/SIDEBAR NAVIGATION DO......Page 101
PRINCIPLE #7: LINKS FROM MORE IMPORTANT, POPULAR, TRUSTED SITES PASS MORE VALUE......Page 102
PRINCIPLE #9: A BURST OF NEW LINKS MAY ENABLE A DOCUMENT TO OUTRANK “STRONGER” COMPETITION......Page 103
PRINCIPLE #10: LEGITIMATE LINKS ON PAGES THAT ALSO LINK TO WEB SPAM MAY BE DEVALUED......Page 104
CONCLUSION......Page 105
CHAPTER 7: THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF SEO HAVE BEEN UPGRADED......Page 107
PART II: CONTENT......Page 111
TYPES OF CONTENT......Page 112
TURNING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES......Page 113
THE FUTURE OF CONTENT......Page 115
CHAPTER 8: BEYOND BLOG POSTS: A GUIDE TO INNOVATIVE CONTENT TYPES......Page 117
Q&A CONTENT......Page 118
PRESENTATIONS......Page 119
CURATED CONTENT......Page 120
IMAGERY AND PHOTOJOURNALISM......Page 122
VIDEO......Page 123
PRODUCT MARKETPLACES......Page 125
FACEBOOK NOTES......Page 126
WHY EVERYONE NEEDS A MARKETING ORACLE FOR THEIR CONTENT PLATFORM......Page 127
CHAPTER 9: SCALING WHITE HAT LINK BUILDING—SCALING CONTENT......Page 129
SCALABLE CONTENT......Page 130
GREAT CONTENT?......Page 132
DO WE HAVE ALL THIS STUFF?......Page 135
CHAPTER 10: 10 SUPER EASY SEO COPYWRITING TIPS FOR IMPROVED LINK BUILDING......Page 137
1. WRITE FOR POWER SKIMMERS......Page 138
3. GET 20% MORE WITH NUMBERS......Page 139
5. A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 CLICKS......Page 140
7. WHEN IN DOUBT, LIST IT OUT......Page 141
10. BE HONEST......Page 142
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: THE EARLY YEARS......Page 143
SOCIAL MEDIA AWAKENING: IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT ME, IT’S ABOUT YOU......Page 144
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY: A PART OF THE TEAM......Page 145
SOCIAL MEDIA: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?......Page 146
CHAPTER 11: THE RICH GET RICHER: TRUE IN SEO, SOCIAL, AND ALL ORGANIC MARKETING......Page 147
CHAPTER 12: LIFE AFTER GOOGLE IS NOW: 9 PIECES OF ADVICE ON HOW A NEW SITE CAN SUCCEED WITHOUT SEARCH......Page 151
WHAT DOES DESIGNING FOR SOCIAL MEAN?......Page 152
WHAT WE LEARNED......Page 153
IN CONCLUSION......Page 155
CHAPTER 13: TRACKING THE KPIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA......Page 157
WHY AND WHERE SOCIAL MATTERS......Page 158
WHICH SOCIAL METRICS TO TRACK......Page 160
TOOLS FOR MEASURING SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS......Page 173
CHAPTER 14: EVERYONE SHOULD HIRE “SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERTS”......Page 177
CHAPTER 15: A PEEK UNDER THE HOOD: HOW WE MANAGE THE MOZ COMMUNITY......Page 183
WHO ARE WE?......Page 184
COMMUNITY DOESN’T STOP THERE......Page 188
WHAT DO WE DO?......Page 190
WHY OUTREACH IS IMPORTANT......Page 205
HOW OUTREACH HAS CHANGED......Page 206
THE DANGERS OF BUYING LINKS......Page 207
THE IMPORTANCE OF EXCEPTIONAL CONTENT......Page 208
CHAPTER 16: THROW AWAY YOUR FORM LETTERS (OR 5 PRINCIPLES TO BETTER OUTREACH LINK BUILDING)......Page 209
1. TALK TO PEOPLE LIKE PEOPLE (THROW OUT YOUR FORM LETTERS)......Page 210
2. STAND OUT IN THE INBOX......Page 217
3. DO YOUR RESEARCH......Page 218
5. MAINTAIN THE RAPPORT......Page 219
CONCLUSION......Page 220
CHAPTER 17: A LINK BUILDER’S GMAIL PRODUCTIVITY SETUP (WITH OUTREACH EMAILS FROM 4 INDUSTRY LINK BUILDERS)......Page 223
GMAIL TOOLS AND TIPS......Page 224
LINK-BUILDING EMAIL TEMPLATES FROM INDUSTRY LINK BUILDERS......Page 229
CHAPTER 18: PUTTING GUEST POST OUTREACH THEORIES TO THE TEST [WITH SOME REAL-WORLD DATA]......Page 235
THEORY #1: BEING A WOMAN WILL GET YOU MORE LINKS......Page 236
THEORY #2: JOB TITLE MATTERS......Page 237
THEORY #3: TIMING IS IMPORTANT......Page 238
THEORY #4: PERSONALISATION IS WORTH IT (OR IS IT?)......Page 239
THEORY #6: PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF......Page 241
WHAT’S THE PERFECT COMBINATION?......Page 242
PART V: CONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATION......Page 243
THE EVOLUTION OF CRO......Page 244
TESTING AND CRO......Page 245
THE FUTURE OF CRO......Page 246
CHAPTER 19: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE SCIENCE OF INFLUENCE AND PERSUASION......Page 247
#1 RECIPROCATION......Page 248
#2 COMMITMENT AND CONSISTENCY......Page 249
#3 SOCIAL PROOF......Page 251
#4 LIKING......Page 252
#5 AUTHORITY......Page 253
#6 SCARCITY......Page 254
CHAPTER 20: THE 12-STEP LANDING PAGE REHAB PROGRAM......Page 257
STEP 1: USE A SEPARATE LANDING PAGE FOR EACH INBOUND TRAFFIC SOURCE......Page 259
STEP 2: A/B TEST YOUR LANDING PAGES......Page 260
STEP 3: MATCH YOUR LANDING PAGE MESSAGE TO THE UPSTREAM AD......Page 261
STEP 5: USE VIDEOS TO INCREASE ENGAGEMENT AND CONVERSIONS......Page 262
STEP 6: USE DIRECTIONAL CUES TO LEAD THE WAY......Page 263
STEP 7: FIND THE OPTIMAL BALANCE OF DATA VERSUS CONVERSION RATE......Page 265
STEP 9: MAKE IT DESIRABLE TO SHARE......Page 266
STEP 11: ONE PAGE, ONE PURPOSE......Page 267
STEP 12: POST-CONVERSION MARKETING......Page 268
WHAT NOW?......Page 269
CHAPTER 21: LESSONS LEARNED FROM 21 CASE STUDIES IN CONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATION......Page 271
THE ROLE OF DESIGN......Page 272
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL PROOF......Page 274
THE ROLE OF HEADLINE AND COPY......Page 278
THE ROLE OF CALL-TO-ACTION......Page 280
YOUR ROLE......Page 282
CHAPTER 22: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO WEB EXPERIMENTS......Page 283
A/B OR MVT......Page 284
MVT FACE-OFF: FULL FACTORIAL VERSUS FRACTIONAL FACTORIAL......Page 285
TESTING THE TEST ENVIRONMENT WITH THE A/A TEST......Page 286
STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE......Page 287
PRO TIP: RAMP UP TRAFFIC TO EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS GRADUALLY......Page 288
PART VI: ANALYTICS......Page 289
ECOMMERCE BUDGET ALLOCATION DECISION......Page 290
PAUL’S GRIEF OVER HIS LACK OF BLOGGING SUCCESS......Page 291
NAOKI’S OBSESSION WITH BEING #1......Page 292
TO SHOOT OR NOT TO SHOOT; THAT IS THE QUESTION......Page 293
CHAPTER 23: 11 GOOGLE ANALYTICS TRICKS TO USE FOR YOUR WEBSITE......Page 295
1. SET UP YOUR ANALYTICS GOALS......Page 296
2. CONNECT YOUR GOOGLE WEBMASTER TOOLS ACCOUNT......Page 297
3. LEVERAGE SITE SPEED REPORTING......Page 298
5. TRACK EVENTS......Page 300
6. REAL-TIME REPORTING......Page 302
8. USE CUSTOM CAMPAIGN TRACKING......Page 303
9. PLOT ROWS......Page 304
10. CUSTOM DASHBOARDS......Page 305
11. FLOW VISUALIZATION......Page 306
CONCLUSION......Page 307
CHAPTER 24: EYE-TRACKING GOOGLE SERPS—5 TALES OF PIZZA......Page 309
LOCAL #1: “BEST PIZZA IN CHICAGO”......Page 310
LOCAL #2: “PIZZA”......Page 312
VIDEO THUMBNAILS: “HOW TO MAKE A PIZZA”......Page 313
PRODUCT IMAGES: “PIZZA CUTTERS”......Page 314
EXPANDED SITE LINKS: “PIZZA HUT”......Page 315
SOME GENERAL IMPLICATIONS......Page 316
CHAPTER 25: CALCULATING AND IMPROVING YOUR TWITTER CLICK-THROUGH RATE......Page 317
Q: DO MY SHORTER TWEETS PERFORM BETTER?......Page 320
Q: DO ON/OFF-TOPIC TWEETS AFFECT MY CTR?......Page 321
Q: IS MY CTR IMPROVING OVER TIME?......Page 322
PART VII: CONCLUSION......Page 325
CHAPTER 26: LAUNCHING A NEW WEBSITE: 18 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL METRICS AND MARKETING......Page 327
#2: SET UP GOOGLE AND BING WEBMASTER TOOLS ACCOUNTS......Page 328
#4: TEST YOUR DESIGN WITH BROWSER EMULATORS......Page 330
#5: SET UP RSS FEED ANALYTICS......Page 331
#7: CONDUCT AN ONLINE USABILITY/BRANDING TEST......Page 332
#9: BUILD AN EMAIL LIST OF FRIENDS AND BUSINESS CONTACTS FOR LAUNCH......Page 333
#11: BOOKMARK BRAND TRACKING QUERIES......Page 334
#12: MAKE EMAIL SIGNUP/SUBSCRIPTION AVAILABLE......Page 335
#13: CREATE YOUR SITE/BRAND’S SOCIAL ACCOUNTS......Page 336
#15: MAKE A LIST OF OUTREACH CONTACTS......Page 337
#17: SET TARGETS FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS......Page 338
#18: PLUG INTO MOZ ANALYTICS......Page 339
MEET THE AUTHORS......Page 341
INDEX......Page 345