Far too often, SEM and SEO are managed in silos, leaving users with a disjointed search experience and causing brands to lose potential customers. SEO and SEM are complementary channels, which requires both teams to be unified in order to optimize the user experience and drive conversions.
This presentation goes over:
Educate key stakeholders about why the shift to holistic search is necessary
Evaluate your program from search query to conversion to identify areas of opportunity and growth
Understand how those elements translate to day-to-day account management
Create the plan for how your teams will work together moving forward
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@hannahijohnson @allisonpduvall
Why Should We Focus On
Holistic Search?
Agency optimizes website
based on Holistic Search data.
+44%
TOTAL SEARCH
CLICKS
+93%
TOTAL SEARCH
IMPRESSIONS
Leading FCMG brand uses
Holistic Search insights to
reduce site latency and
generate efficiencies
+200%
CONVERSION
GROWTH
-62%
CPC
Leading NGO builds content
around shared Holistic Search
goals.
+19.7%
SITEWIDE USERS
+2.3K%
REVENUE FROM SEARCH
Beauty retailer places Holistic
Search at the center of their program
to identify opportunities for content
and coverage.
100%
SEARCH COVERAGE FOR
BRANDED SEARCH TERMS
+20%
ROAS FROM NEW AD
GROUPS
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Identify Initial Opportunities for SEO and SEM to Work Together
Review if SEO and SEM teams sharing information or is each operated in a silo.
SEO
Organic query performance
Keyword intent mapping
Keyword research
Competitor research
Seasonality
Audience insights
Landing page content
Search traffic
Major SEO news impacting industry
SEM
Ad copy test findings
Landing page quality scores
Keyword research
Competitor research
Seasonality
Audience Targeting insights
Products over-indexing in Shopping
Landing page conversions
Major SEM news impacting industry
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Educate Your Audience About Strengths & Weaknesses
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
High reach Controlling targeting for CVR
Sustainable, long-term results Google’s control of rankings
Various SERP opportunities Results take time
Low cost Takes a bit of sweat equity
Targets all stages of customer journey Requires dev, UX, copywriting
Pull channel, requires user searches
SEO Strengths & Weaknesses
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…For Both Channels
SEM Strengths & Weaknesses
STRENGTHS WEAKNESS
Targeting Variable cost of ads
Control Smaller query coverage
Agility & speed Temporal, budget-based ownership
Nuanced measurability Time investment in active management
Easy on/off Requires skilled management
SERP prominence Specificity
Testing Pull channel, requires user searches
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Know Why to Combine Both Channels
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
High, low-cost reach Pull channel, requires user searches
Sustainable, long-term results
Measurable results
Conversion targeted ads
Agile, immediate, prominent, controlled coverage of
SERP landscape
Ability to cover total SERP real estate
Full funnel query coverage
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GROWTH DIFFERENTIAL
(BOTH VS. AD-ONLY)
All 3%
Brand 22%
Non-Brand 20%
Analyze the Overarching Incrementality
1. Paid & Organic
Report
2. Categorize queries
by brand and non-brand
3. Use a change
formula to calculate the
growth differential
Sum of Clicks
Sum of
Impressions CTR
Ad shown only 9,000 52,000 17%
Brand 200 1,500 13%
Non-Brand 8,800 50,500 17%
Both shown 12,000 67,000 18%
Brand 7,000 43,000 16%
Non-Brand 5,000 24,000 21%
(Both Shown - Ad Shown Only)
(Ad Shown Only)
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@hannahijohnson @allisonpduvall
Cross-Channel Collaboration Leads to a
+55% Increase in Total Search Revenue, YoY SEM Clicks
Holistic Search Clicks
Holistic Search Transactions
Holistic Search Revenue
162%
152%
135%
55%
50%
SEO Clicks
Collaborated about search topics such as:
• Major website updates (e.g. website
redesign and robots.txt issues)
• Cross-channel keyword sharing
• Search coverage review for both brand
and non-brand queries
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#SMXINSIGHTS
• Identify areas of opportunity for the teams to work together and educate on
how that sharing can happen.
• Educate your audience about both programs individually and together.
• Showcase the incrementality of a holistic search program using the paid and
organic report.
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When Creating a Holistic Search Program, Evaluate:
Conversions
Goals &
Reporting
Content
SERP
Search
Queries
Note: Consider reviewing your search presence for your industry, competitors, and your brand.
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Search Queries: Understanding Which Queries are Impactful for Each Channel
Will Help Focus Efforts
Report
Report
Strong Queries Weak Queries
Identify Queries
Paid & Organic Report Search Console
Combine Data
Data Studio Excel
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SERP Evaluation: Each Side of Search Has Elements to Optimize
Text Ads
SEM
Product
Listing Ads
Local
Inventory
Ads
SEO
Text-based
Results
Sitelinks
Images
Structured
Snippets
Shopping
Knowledge
Graph
Videos
Local
News
Related
Questions
Search
Engine
Experience
Sitelinks
Callout
Extensions
Image
Extensions
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Goals & Reporting: Align on Reporting Needs & Establish Goals
Query SEM Imps SEM Clicks SEO Imps SEO Clicks
sem is awesome 10,000 9,999 0 0
seo is the best 0 0 5,000 4,999
i heart search 24,000 5,000 24,000 10,000
collaboration is cool 12,000 100 4,000 3,000
content creation rocks 1,000 999 50,000 49,999
holistic search forever 14,000 7,000 15,000 6,000
Considerations for Creating Goals & Reporting:
Blind spots
Overperforming areas
Underperforming areas
SERP landscape
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A new approach to an old problem
Conversions: Lead Users to Convert by Creating a Positive Search Experience
Browse
Review
Visit
Decide
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#SMXINSIGHTS
• Prioritize the needs of your program by balancing effort and impact.
• Analyze queries, the SERP landscape, and current content to identify the
highest impact areas of opportunity.
• Align on KPIs and reporting needs in order to gauge the impact of the holistic
search program.
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@hannahijohnson @allisonpduvall
As Teams Work Closer Together, Consider the Synergies
On-page content
optimization
Keyword
strategy
Content strategy Analytics
Quality score
Bid
optimization
Conversion
optimizations UID
Shared
ROI goals
Keyword
governance
CVR & page
experience
SERP
ownership
SEO
SEM
Workstreams
Technical SEO
optimizations
Query matching:
DSA, PLA, LIA
Bot
experience
optimization
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Both Teams Can Collaborate on
CONSIDERATION
Integrated reporting • Drive strategy through data-driven insights
Keyword research & tracking
• Optimize content
• Determine keywords, DSA targets, and sitelinks
Competitive research
• Optimize on-page content
• Strategic insights for defense and growth
Seasonal insights • Understand and support seasonal trends
New client initiatives/launches • Interpret priorities & ad formats
Client/Vertical/Industry news • Allows for proactivity within search
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Sample Holistic Search Roadmap
TASKS
SEO team to educate the SEM team on workflows, reporting, and general insights
SEM team to educate the SEO team on workflows, reporting, and general insights
SEO team to collect data and provide insights for SEM analysis
SEM team to collect data and provide insights for SEO analysis
Analyze data and determine what data is useful toward adding strategic value
• Assess the value of creating an integrated search program
• Outline top data needs and wants by stakeholders
• Discuss cadence for reporting updates and meetings
• Set core KPIs
• Develop benchmarks
• Create agenda for meetings
Establish template for cross-team meeting conversations
Formalize proposal for integrated search action plan. Set point people and
expectations
Design and build custom search reporting to answer SEO & SEM questions
Meet on desired cadence:
• Create a shared agenda and notes
• Ensure cross-channel data needs are met
Evaluate progress against KPI benchmarks
Evaluate action plan by getting feedback on reporting, meetings, and actions
Modify action plan and adapt
SEO-LED SEM-LED BOTH
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Your Teams’ Ability to Work Together Will Grow Over Time
NASCENT EMERGING
CONNECTED
MULTI-MOMENT
START EMERGING CONNECTED MULTI-DISCIPLINARY
Fragmented
Siloed
Low Awareness
Single Tone of Voice
Specific
Unified Goals &
Benchmarks
Unified Experience
Collaborative
Aligned Strategies
Seamless and Agile
Synergistic
Online Searcher
Journey
CROSS-
CHANNEL
DELIVERY
WAYS OF
WORKING
STRATEGY
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We do that by
investigating
and evaluating
needs of users
Trigger Purchase
Messy Middle
user looking for ideas, answering
questions, evaluating options
Source: Decoding Decisions, the Messy Middle of Purchase Behavior
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#SMXINSIGHTS
• Identify where you currently stand with your SEO and SEM programs so you
can communicate opportunities to key stakeholders.
• Audit your SEO and SEM programs looking at everything from your target
keywords to the conversion path to identify your areas of opportunity.
• Collaborate to create shared goals, cross-channel education, and information
sharing to optimize the search experience for searchers.
HJ
Keyword optimization
How are we performing compared to our competitors?
What does “best in class” mean in this space?
What opportunity exists?
How does that apply to current positioning?
Searcher Behavior optimization
How are users searching in this space?
What key user needs exist?
What is the users desired messaging?
Website optimization
What is the user’s desired experience?
Do landing pages exist for key users needs?
Is high-interest content discoverable on-site?