Paula Keller, long-time Influencer, shares with New Orleans CVB members some ways they can start planning and thinking about their website content and online presence. New Orleans CVB hosts Tourism University bi-monthly in order to provide services to their members to help leverage the visitors that the CVB and NOTMC drive into New Orleans each day.

1. ONLINE MARKETING IN NOLA:
TURNING VISITORS INTO
CUSTOMERS

2. • Director of Account
Management, Search Influence
• 5+ Years at SI
• LSU Marketing graduate
• From New Orleans, LA
PAULA KELLERABOUT ME

3. ABOUT SEARCH INFLUENCE!
Helping customers successfully market online
since 2006. We work with 700+ clients, directly
and through our partners, major national
media companies.
Search Influence
• 85 full-time employees
• 100 contract writers
• 25 “white-label” partners
• 700+ businesses
Reputation
• 2014 Best Places to Work
• 2012 & 2013 Inc. 5000 honoree
• 2011 Inc. 500 honoree
• Recognized leader in search and
social for local business
@searchinfluence

4. 1. Importance of search engine visibility
2. Consumer search behavior
3. Keys to search success
a. Website content
b. Listings & profiles
4. A little lagniappe
@searchinfluence
WHAT WE’LL
DISCUSS TODAY:

5. image source: proffittmarketing.com
SEO & THE LONG TAILMETA DESCRIPTIONSO MANY OPTIONS!

6. HOWPEOPLE
FINDLOCAL
BUSINESSES
• 75% of Americans use
search engines on a regular
basis
• 56% of Americans use
search engines every day
• 40% of all searches are for
local businesses and
services
@searchinfluence

10. SEARCH ENGINE
OPTIMIZATION:
ALSO KNOWN AS SEO
@searchinfluence

11. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process
of influencing the visibility of a website in a
search engine’s search results.
@searchinfluence
WHAT IS “SEO?”

12. GOOGLE
SEARCH
RESULTS:
NEW
ORLEANS
HOTELS
ORGANIC
Search
Results
@searchinfluence
PAID
Search
Results
LOCAL
Search
Results

13. GOOGLE
SEARCH
RESULTS:
RESTAURANTS
NEW
ORLEANS
ORGANIC
Search
Results
@searchinfluence
PAID
Search
Results
LOCAL
Search
Results

14. ORGANIC
Search
Results
@searchinfluence
CAROUSEL
Search
Results
GOOGLE
SEARCH
RESULTS:
THINGS
TO DO
NEW
ORLEANS

15. IS SEO WORTH
THE EFFORT?
37% of clicks go to the #1 position
60% of clicks go to the top 3
90% of clicks go to sites on page 1

16. 1. Keywords
2. Content
3. Connections (links / brand mentions / “citations”)
Lather, Rinse, Repeat!
@searchinfluence
SEO 101

17. 1. KEYWORD & TOPIC RESEARCH
Don’t Guess! Use FREE Tools.
• Google
https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
• Google Trends
http://www.google.com/trends/
• Bing
http://www.bing.com/toolbox/keywords
@searchinfluence

20. Keyword
Avg. Monthly
Searches
Competition Suggested bid
things to do in new orleans 40500 0.23 2.41
new orleans events 5400 0.04 1.61
new orleans things to do 4400 0.22 2.35
concerts in new orleans 2900 0.21 1.46
new orleans concerts 2400 0.12 2.19
events in new orleans 2400 0.05 1.8
things to do new orleans 1900 0.1 2.08
new orleans opera 1000 0
live music new orleans 880 0.08 0.63
new orleans theater 720 0.11 1.52
concerts new orleans 480 0.12 2.17
new orleans entertainment 480 0.24 1.19
new orleans live music 480 0.08 0.5
new orleans music venues 390 0.1 0.39
events new orleans 390 0.05 2.33
things to do in new orleans la 390 0.26 2.5
shows in new orleans 320 0.32 1.39
new orleans shows 320 0.24 1.65
theaters in new orleans 320 0.12 2.12
new orleans ballet 320 0.02 2.76

21. 2. CONTENT
@searchinfluence

22. PLAN YOUR
CONTENT:
TOPICS
@searchinfluence
Opera
Concerts
Ballet
Live Music
Music Venues
Event Venue
Theatre HOMEPAGE
Event Rental
Things to Do

23. PLAN YOUR
CONTENT:
SPECIFICS
@searchinfluence
• What makes your business unique?
• Everyone can say they have
“Great customer service” –
why is it great?
• Purchase / reservation process
• Cost
• Expectations
• Examples
• Dress code

24. CRAFT YOUR
CONTENT
@searchinfluence
Google looks to certain elements
on the page for clues on what
the page is about.
Google will reward you if all on-site
content is unique and high quality.
Include the specific topic in all
available elements of the page
including:
• TITLE TAGS
• META DESCRIPTIONS
• ON-PAGE HEADINGS
• ON-SITE CONTENT
• ~500 words
• IMAGE ALT TAGS

25. Shows at the top of a browser window, and is
the blue / bold title in Search Results
TITLE TAG

26. META DESCRIPTION
Built into the HTML of a webpage and acts
as a summary or description of that page’s
content.
The Meta Description is also displayed in the 2
lines of black text on a SERP.

27. PAGE HEADINGS (H1)
Heading tags used on a page to create
structure and provide visual cues to the
reader.

28. ON-PAGE CONTENT
The on-page content that a visitor reads on a
webpage can also be optimized so Search
Engines can easily scan and know what your
page is all about.

29. PROPER
KEYWORD &
TOPIC
PLACEMENT
• If you are writing specific,
informative content, this will
happen naturally
• Place near top of page,
beginning of paragraphs
• Don’t force it
• Use variations
• Review for opportunities to
make more rich:
• Change “our rooms” to
“our hotel rooms”
• Change “our store” to
“our women’s
boutique”@searchinfluence

30. ONGOING CONTENT
CREATION / BLOGGING
• Further reinforces the focus of your site
• More content about the topics &
keywords that are impt for your business
• Earn trust from your potential customers
• Engage existing customers
• Publish fresh content to keep search
engine spiders coming back to your site
• Create online visibility for long tail (more
specific) keyword phrases
@searchinfluence

31. BEST PRACTICES
• Batch your topic creation & plan in
advance
• Post 1+ / week
• Link out to credible sources
• Use image(s) in each post
• Distribute via all your social channels
• Write timely posts
@searchinfluence

32. WHAT TO
WRITE
ABOUT?
• What questions do you
customers ask you?
• Dig deeper on topics
• New products & services
• Local events
• Promotions & sales
• Commentary on hot news
topics
• DIY
• Recipes
• Testimonials
• Customer Stories
• Employee Spotlights@searchinfluence

33. KEYWORD COMPETITION
Keyword Avg. Monthly Searches Competition Suggested bid
things to do in new
orleans
40500 0.23 2.41
what to do in new
orleans
9900 0.18 1.34
new orleans tours 5400 0.86 2.59
new orleans attractions 6600 0.18 2.63
fun things to do in new
orleans
1900 0.2 2.91
things to see in new
orleans
1300 0.12 1.36
things for kids to do in
new orleans
390 0.25 2.31
things for children to do
in new orleans
20 0.19 1.4

34. 3. CONNECTIONS
@searchinfluence
• Show Google that others think you are great too!
• Build an online network to reinforce
• Get “votes” from other websites

35. “VOTES” =
@searchinfluence
LINKS +
BRAND MENTIONS

36. HOW DO YOU GET LINKS?
@searchinfluence
• Vendors, suppliers
• Fellow business owners, if relevant
• Outreach to sites that already mention your business
• Better Business Bureau
• Industry directories and websites
• Local websites
• Traditional PR
• Social shares of your website

37. TO GET YOU STARTED…
@searchinfluence
BusinessFinder.NOLA.com
NewOrleansCVB.com
NewOrleansOnline.com
NewOrleansChamber.org
/page/directory
Thrillist.com
Zomato.com
Hotels.com
TripAdvisor.com
NewOrleans.com OpenTable.com

38. If you are a local business…
@searchinfluence
… with a physical location

39. GOOGLE
SEARCH
RESULTS:
RESTAURANTS
NEW
ORLEANS
ORGANIC
Search
Results
@searchinfluence
PAID
Search
Results
LOCAL
Search
Results

40. ORGANIC
Search
Results
@searchinfluence
CAROUSEL
Search
Results
GOOGLE
SEARCH
RESULTS:
THINGS
TO DO
NEW
ORLEANS

41. ESSENTIAL:
CONSISTENT
NAP
@searchinfluence

42. THE ANATOMY OF NAP
What is a local citation?
N A P + W
Name
Address
Phone#
Website
@searchinfluence

43. @searchinfluence
• Your NAP should be in each of these
places:
• Website
• Social media pages
• Business directories – “citations”
• Number of citations is important, but
consistency is MORE important
• Your NAP is your local search
fingerprint
WHY IS CONSISTENT NAP
ESSENTIAL?
Don’t confuse Google!

45. The Local Search Ecosystem

46. INCONSISTENCY &
DUPLICATION OF CITATIONS
@searchinfluence

47. • Confirm Name
• Multiple variations?
• Confirm Address
• usps.com/zip4
• Confirm Phone
• One per location
• Shoule be local
• Avoid call tracking numbers
Solidify your NAP first!
AUDIT BUSINESS INFORMATION
@searchinfluence
Step 1

48. Start at Google.com/business
CLAIM YOUR GOOGLE LISTING
@paulalmkeller Step 2

51. Inconsistent and duplicate listing profiles cause confusion for Google.
FIXINCONSISTENCIES: MOZLOCAL
Step 3@searchinfluence

52. Inconsistent and duplicate listing profiles cause confusion for Google.
FIXINCONSISTENCIES: MOZLOCAL
Step 3@searchinfluence

53. Inconsistent and duplicate listing profiles cause confusion for Google.
FIXINCONSISTENCIES: MOZLOCAL
Step 3@searchinfluence

54. LISTING
MANAGEMENT TIPS
• Keep track of login information
• Use one email account for verification &
communication with directories
• Be absolutely sure your business isn’t already
listed before creating a new listing
• Periodically review & update
@searchinfluence

55. A LITTLE LAGNIAPPE
@searchinfluence

56. MOBILE IMPORTANCE
@searchinfluence
• 93% of small business sites are
not mobile compatible, yet…
• 4 out of 5 consumers use their
smartphone to shop
• Average time spent on
phone: 3.6 hours / day
• Just this year, mobile searches
on Google surpassed desktop
searches for the first time.

58. WHAT IF I CAN’T TOUCH MY
SITE?
@searchinfluence
• Treat your social profiles like your site – build them out as much as
possible.
• Prioritize based on what’s already on page 1 of Google for
your business name
• Create a separate website or blog if possible (wordpress.com)

59. PAID ADVERTISING
@searchinfluence

60. PAID ADVERTISING
@searchinfluence

61. PAID ADVERTISING
@searchinfluence

62. PAID ADVERTISING
@searchinfluence

63. PAID ADVERTISING
@searchinfluence

64. QUESTIONS?

65. THANK YOU!
- PAULA KELLER
pkeller@searchinfluence.com
searchinfluence.com/blog
twitter.com/searchinfluence