Importance of SEO to support holistic marketing strategies and the rise of non-traditional search platforms

A presentation for the Digital Marketing World Forum by Jessica Redman and Andrew Fox.

Discussing how SEO supports across numerous marketing channels and how user search behaviour is changing.

Discover how to optimise social media posts for discoverability and learn about Topical Domination.

1. Importance of SEO to support holistic marketing strategies and the rise of non-traditional search platforms

2. Jessica Redman Founder & CEO Didgeheads Andrew Fox Head of Digital Marketing, Paid Media, Growth & Innovation Aviva

3. Importance of SEO to support holistic marketing strategies and the rise of non-traditional search platforms

4. Who is currently investing in paid media within their marketing mix?

5. Who is currently investing in SEO within their marketing mix?

6. 7 out of 10 marketers… Only think of paid media when it comes to driving performance growth. Source: Hubspot 2023

7. “More than 55% of marketers feel under pressure to be delivering more value back to their business” Source: Performance Marketing World 2023

8. Balancing act between short term payback vs. longer term sustainable growth

9. Investing in full funnel activity is key to drive efficiencies…

10. Investing in consideration and conversion activity on Meta delivered a cost per acquisition (CPA) efficiency of up to 50%. Source: Meta, Life Insurance 50+ Campaign, Apr 2024

11. BUT - with more channels and platforms to choose from, where do you start…

12. How can SEO help with driving efficiencies across the funnel?

13. We need to think differently…

14. Channels as distribution opportunities for your content…

15. Use onsite web content for as social media content… =>

16. … or different content as personalised emails for different user segments… Bonus: Great for A/B Testing! =>

17. … or blog content in native display and online video channels. =>

18. But wait there’s more!

19. More ways to leverage SEO… Capture in market customers and demand lower down the funnel Build authority in new or rising topics One Search strategy – SEO / PPC Onsite linking strategies inc. backlinks

20. “But last year, only 29% of marketers listed SEO as a top channel they plan to leverage.” (HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 2023).

21. Consumer buying journeys aren’t always linear...

22. And the way consumers research and seek information has changed…

23. “Over 10% of people now use ChatGPT to find information, including personal finance advice.”

24. “Nearly 40% of young people now skip Google Maps or Search and turn to TikTok or Instagram to find lunch spots.”

25. “40% of consumers now turn to TikTok as their go-to search engine”

26. But Google still owns search by a LARGE margin.

27. (User Generated) Content is king.

28. Reddit visibility TikTok visibility Pinterest visibility (AHREFS May 2024.).

29. You need to optimise for off-platform search results.

30. First step in traditional SEO? Keyword research.

31. Web Search trend for ‘makeup tutorial’ Tik Tok launched

32. Cluster keywords for each piece of content.

33. Apply traditional SEO methods to your social content.

34. Create Topical Domination. Definition: when you own the topic or keyword across channels

35. That seems like a lot of work.

36. Why Topical Domination should inform your content strategy in 2024 If the SERPs are dominated by blogs or social - you can win either way . Your brand is everywhere , no matter which platform users prefer. Protects your share of voice from algorithm updates.

37. The glow up. From “SEO” To “Marketer”

38. What SEO used to be. What it should be now. Prioritise search volume. Copy competitors. ‘What’s a customer archetype?’ Content only for search engine. Silo’d from rest of business. Obsessing over Core Web Vitals. Brand is a YOU problem. Social media is a YOU problem. Prioritise based on relevance. Unique viewpoints. ‘I know ‘Gertrude’ inside-out’ Content for customers. Regular comms with other teams. More important areas to focus on. Brand building campaigns. Oh damn, that too??

39. Create content that you would advertise.* *(thank you for this concept Ben Goodey @ What the F*ck)

40. Let your product/service lead the way. A great example of product-centred content is AHREFs. Every single blog by AHREFs weaves in product features. They give away high-value info for free. They have become their OWN search engine for SEO info (!!!)

41. Key takeaways… 1. Think about the balance between short and long term goals – SEO can support across both as a performance AND brand building channel. 2. Distribution of onsite content combined with full funnel activity across paid, owned and earned marketing channels will drive efficiencies. 3. Start utilising SEO principles across non-traditional search platforms to reach new customers where they are searching.

42. Thank you Any questions…?