You are your brand! All entrepreneurs and business owners are representatives of their brand, online and offline. Building a strong brand authority online is the first step to generating leads; in the eyes of consumers a high search engine ranking equals high quality. Key Takeaways: How to optimize your website and rank higher on search engines for both your brand and name What is the importance of social factors in the Google ranking algorithm How to outrank your competitors with Local SEO and citations What is the future of online branding and advertising Speaker: Bassem Ghali Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner & CEO at Green Lotus Inc. Bassem is a search engine marketing strategist and speaker with more than 12 years of experience managing online marketing strategies for some of Canadian & International corporations including Canadian Tire, VistaPrint, Egypt Air, Xplornet, Direct Energy and Toronto Star. Demonstrated success in online marketing has led to speaking engagements at marketing events around the world, and the honour winning the 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Award, presented by the Canadian Association of Marketing Professionals!

1. Presented by:
Bassem Ghali
Canadian Entrepreneur of
the Year Award Winner
Founder of Green Lotus
Your Online Marketing Partner
Presentation Available on
How to Use SEO
to Build Your
Brand Authority
Online!

2. What Does Your Brand Mean To Consumers?

3. Why Bother With SEO Branding?
 People do not make buying decisions based on impersonal facts, they rely on their
perspective!
 SEO branding can help build recognition and trust for your company.
 In the eyes of most prospects: high ranking means high quality.
 Not being in control of your brand name online can become a costly mistake!

4. How Do We Find Answers?
89%
Of Consumers Use Search
Engines To Make Buying
Decisions.
75%
Of Users Never Scroll Past
The First Page Of Search
Results.
43%
Of Total Google Search
Queries Are Local.

5. Paid Advertising
- SEM
Local Search Results
- SEO
Search Results
- SEO
What Is On The 1st Page Of Google?

6. What Else Is On The 1st Page of Google?

8. Your Name Is Your Brand

9. Your Company/Product Name Is Your Brand

10. The Most Important
9 Verticals to Optimize to
Generate Brand Authority Online

11. 1. Your Website Content
 Home Page – include a brand/business summary
 About Us Page – include business founders, history, milestones, service standards,
mandate, goals, etc. (as applicable)
 Business Reviews Page – add a “reviews” page to your website, publish reviews
received, and include general business information
 Team Members Page – include biographies of your team members, their industry
relevant experience and interests
Aim for keyword-focused content:
Optimize for 1-3 keywords (per page, blog article,
etc.) and boost your chance of content ranking!
Use your best brand keywords to optimize the important pages of your website!
Choose your name, business name, or product/service name as your primary
keyword, and location as your secondary keyword and optimize content.

12. 2. Local Maps & Business Listings
This Could be Your
Quickest Win!

13. Local SEO Ranking Factors
Study Source: Moz

14. How Does Google Judge Your Business?
Local Maps Best Practices:
 Business NAP: Ensure you have accurate,
updated, and consistent business info (NAP,
summary, bio) on Google Places, Facebook,
Yelp, LinkedIn, etc.
 Reviews: Encourage happy customers to post
reviews of your business on Google,
Facebook, TripAdvisor, etc.
 Social Signals: Encourage Facebook users to
‘Check In’ to your business, this is becoming
an important signal!
 Reward customers with a promo if they ‘tag’
or ‘share’ pictures they’ve taken at your
business.
Google uses Web Citations of your physical address to verify location on Google Places,
and for local organic ranking. These citations are a human verification of your business!

15. 3. Pay Per Click Ad Campaigns

16. 4. Shopping Ad Campaigns
Stand out in search results when people search for your products! Perfect for
eCommerce and Lifestyle business.

17. 5. Generate News Results
Effectively share your business news and achievements with the world!
 Use premium PR distribution services for your best news.
 Submit your news to reputable local, business and industry publications online by
submitting the article to editors, or self-publishing on their network.
 Include links in your PR to boost your website backlink profile

18. 6. Optimize For Image Results
Image Optimization Best Practices:
 Quality: Use original and high-quality images, stock images won’t help your SEO
 Keywords: Optimize your image file name, captions and title tags
 Size: Reduce the file size of your images
 Usability: Create an Image Sitemap for search engine bots
Optimize your images for relevant search queries!
This is a must for décor and lifestyle businesses.

19. 7. Optimize For Video Results
YouTube is the 2nd largest online search engine!
 Canadians watch more YouTube videos than any other nation
 Of all videos watched online 1:2 is on YouTube
 Prime time is anytime!
Video Content Best Practices:
 Know your target audience, their demographics, interests, preferences,
and pain points
 Pure “sales” and “about me” videos do not do well
 Helpful tips, funny and interesting videos usually succeed
 Do not exceed 2:00 mins for your first video!

20. Your Video Marketing Strategy
Organic SEO:
Take advantage of Google’s Universal Search
Results and get your video to rank above your
competitors:
 On-page text and links to video
 Video file name
 Closed captions and video transcripts
 Metadata (description, title, keyword tags)
Paid Marketing:
Pay only when users choose to watch your ad!
 Reach the right viewer at the right price with
targeted video ads
 Options include: targeting geo location, interests,
remarketing,

21. 8. Social Media Signals
Social Media & SEO Best Practices:
 Publish awesome, relevant content on your blog (and lots of it!)
 Display your social media “follow us” buttons on every page of your website
 Make it easy for visitors to share your content on their favorite social media
websites, use “AddThis” or “ShareThis”
 Use a management program (Buffer, Hootsuite, etc) to schedule your social
media on days/times when your audience are most active, and track the
content that succeeds.
As social factors become increasingly integrated with search, it is now time to
add social media as a permanent tool to your online marketing arsenal!

22. 9. Lesser Known Gems!
Find different avenues to get your business in front of audiences online!
Your business profile on these specialized sites/networks can boost your chances to
rank for relevant keywords, and help you shape the perception of your brand by
consumers.
 Udemy or Coursera – great for coaches and education
 SlideShare – for education and training (note: a subsidiary of LinkedIn)
 Eventbright – for training and event organizers
 Focused Organizations – Example: CSI for social entrepreneurs and startups
 AngelList and Homestars – for home contractors and consultants
 Guest Blogging – for thought leaders

23. Basic Online Marketing Rule:
Start Where Others Ended!

24. What Is The Future Of Advertising?

25. Machine Learning Future Of Advertising

26. 22%Of Voice Activated Search
Is For Local Information.
21%Of Voice Activated Search Is
For Fun & Entertainment.
30%Of Voice Activated Search Is
For General Information.
1in5Online Adults Used Voice
Search In The Last Month.
Voice Search Is On The Rise!

27. Voice Search Is On The Rise!
“This year (2017), 25 million devices will
be shipped, bringing the total number of
voice-first devices to 33 million in
circulation.”
- based on a new study by VoiceLabs via Mediapost
Voice Activate Search Best Practices:
 Conversational Keywords: People interact with their Virtual Assistant differently
than they would type, and often use informal, everyday language.
 Questions & Answers: With voice-activated search, people are more likely to look
for direct answers and ask questions, it is important to optimize for the questions
people are asking about your business, products and services.
- to do this, implement a F.A.Q section on your website!

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