Search and Social

Rob Garner is VP of Strategy at iCrossing, a Hearst Company, and is a widely recognized expert on the topic of interdependent search and social strategies and real-time content marketing. A MediaPost columnist since July 2006, Rob has been quoted in many major business and industry publications, including Reuters, Mashable, Dow Jones, Forrester Research, eMarketer, Adweek, and Ad Age. He is an active educator and speaker, and has spoken at SMX, SES, SXSW, Content Marketing World, and ad:tech, among many others.

Foreword xix Introduction xxi Chapter 1 Real-Time Publishing and Marketing 1 Introduction to Real-Time Content Marketing 2 What Is Real-Time Marketing? 3 What Is Real-Time Publishing? 6 Apply Immediacy to Your Approach 6 Be As Fast As Your Audience 6 A Real-Time Approach 7 Setting the Stage for a Search- and Social-Enabled Real-Time Publishing Platform 8 Dr. Manuel Castells and the Space of Flows 8 The Resource-Discovery Problem 10 The Web Gets a Robust Search Engine and Network Map 11 Social Emerges as a Description of Network Behavior 12 Engage One Bird, and You Might Attract the Whole Flock (and Flocks of Flocks) 12 Connectedness 13 Flows 13 Universally Identifi able, Shareable, and Networked Content 13 Making It Easy for People to Distribute Your Content via Networks 14 Social and Search Algorithms 14 Universal Search and Digital Asset Optimization 14 Understanding Delivery Frameworks Across Multiple Platforms 15 The Power of Reciprocation 15 Trust and Authority in Search and Networks 17 Listening to Your Audience, Data, and Your Competition 19 Brands and Marketers As Real-Time Content Publishers 21 Chapter 2 Understanding Search and Social 23 Defi ning Search and Social 24 Natural Language Connects Search and Social Together 25 Interdependent Search and Social Strategy Is a New and Evolving Discipline 25 Social Signals and Search 26 How Search Impacts Social 32 The Value of Approaching Social with a Search Frame of Mind 36 The Power of the Networked Link 37 A Second-Tier SERP Strategy for Increasing Your Visibility 38 Active and Passive Distribution in Networks 40 List of Social and Search Signals and Synergies 43 Chapter 3 Ramping Up for a Real-Time Content Marketing Strategy 47 Answering the Question Why? 48 Basic Elements of Your Real-Time Content Marketing Strategy 48 Considering the Real-Time User Experience As Engagement and CRM Strategy 51 Developing a Real-Time Presence Online 52 Bringing Consistency to Your Engagement Strategy 53 Establishing Your Goals 54 Valuing Real-Time and Social-Media Efforts 55 Formulating Your Real-Time Search and Social Strategy 57 Developing Your Market-Research Strategy 57 Developing Your Content Strategy 59 Developing Your Platform Strategy 61 Developing Your Community-Outreach and -Engagement Strategy 67 Some Final Thoughts About Real-Time-Strategy Development 68 Chapter 4 Market Research and Content Types 69 Keyword and Market Research 70 Keyword Research and the Living Language of Your Audience 70 Keyword, Social, and Demographic Research Tools 71 How to Apply Keyword Research to Social Strategy 78 Keyword and Conversation Buzz Tools for Content and Search 79 Questions for Your Audience Assessment 83 Types of Digital Assets 84 Chapter 5 Content Strategy: Auditing, Assessment, and Planning 89 How to Think About Strategy, Planning, and Assessment 90 Be Creative, Think Critically, and Learn to Solve Problems 90 Think Big: Approach Content Strategy Like a Forest, Not a Weed 91 Understanding Keyword Demand 93 Understanding Conversational Demand 93 A Factual Content Approach to Conversational Demand 96 Targeting Unpredictable Real-Time Search Queries 98 Content Auditing, Strategy, and Assessment 99 Performing a Content Audit 99 Content Assessment 100 Creating a Visual Site Map for Your Content Inventory 102 When to Spend More Time Finding Out What You Already Have 102 Auditing Your Domain for Unique Optimized Pages 103 How to Find Out Whether Your Site Has a Page Optimized for a Particular Keyword 104 The SEO Problem with Duplicate, or Repurposed, Content 106 Blocking Duplicate Content in Search Engines 107 Other Considerations for Content Strategy and Planning 108 Defi ning Roles in Content Production and Strategy 108 Creating Your Editorial Plan and Publishing Calendar 110 Creating a Style Guide 111 Chapter 6 Creating Eff ective and Engaging Content 113 Engaging Content Idea Types 114 Five Quick Ideas for Topic Brainstorming 120 Ambient Truth: In Search and Social, the Headline Is the Message 121 Quick-Start SEO Copywriting Guide for Social Marketers 122 The Title Element 124 The Meta Description 125 The Meta Keywords Tag 128 The HTML Heading Element and Body Copy 128 Internal Link Naming 130 Alt Text Attributes 131 Maintaining Keyword Consistency at the Page Level for SEO 132 Chapter 7 Social Network Platforms 137 How to Think About Search and Social for the Major Networks 138 Why Top-Tier Networks Are Fundamental to Your Publishing Platform 138 The Basic Interdependencies between Social Engagement and Search Visibility 139 Increasing Velocity for Publishing in Networks 140 The Big-Four Social Networks 142 The Quick Search and Social Guide to Google+ 142 The Quick Search and Social Guide to Twitter 152 The Quick Search and Social Guide to Facebook 161 The Quick Search and Social Guide to LinkedIn 163 Chapter 8 Blogs, Google News, and Press Releases 169 Blogs 170 The Real-Time Elements of Blogs 170 The Interdependent Search and Social Elements of Blogs 171 Blog Basics for Search and Social 172 News 185 The Real-Time Elements of News 185 The Interdependent Search and Social Elements of Online News 186 Determining Whether News Should Be Part of Your Real-Time Content Strategy 187 Google News Optimization 189 Press Releases 192 The Real-Time Elements of Press Releases 193 The Search and Social Elements of Press Releases 193 Press Release-Optimization Basics 194 Chapter 9 Developing and Engaging in Real-Time Communities 201 Introduction to Real-Time Communities 202 Search and Social Reciprocation in Real-Time Communities 202 Forums 203 The Real-Time Elements of Forums 204 The Interdependent Search and Social Elements of Forums 204 Is a Forum Right for Your Business? 205 Selecting a Forum Package and Host 206 SEO Elements of Setting Up a Forum 208 Managing Forum Spam 209 Engaging on Other Forums 210 Answer Marketing 214 The Real-Time Elements of Answer Marketing 214 The Interdependent Search and Social Elements of Answer Marketing 215 Be an Expert, or Just Be a Good Researcher 215 Overview of Selected Answer Sites 216 Use Answer Sites for Content Ideas and Keyword Research 217 General Tips for Answer-Marketing Management 217 Wikis 221 The Real-Time Elements of Wikis 222 The Interdependent Search and Social Elements of Wikis 222 Establishing a Theme and Community 222 MediaWiki Software 223 Managing Spam 223 Examples of Business-Themed Wikis 223 A Few Other Considerations for Wikis 224 Chapter 10 Technical Considerations and Implementation 227 Setting Up a Short-URL Service 228 Third-Party URL-Shortening Services 229 How to Set Up a Vanity URL Shortener on Your Own Domain 230 Schema.org: Integrating Rich Snippets 230 Rich Snippet Types and Examples 231 Optimizing for Rich Snippets and the Semantic Web 236 Top Considerations for Implementing Semantic Attributes 236 Sample Schema.org and Microdata for a Person 237 Author Rank and the rel=author Attribute 239 Author Rank and the Author Graph 240 Establishing Author Information in Google+ Using Links 240 Establishing Authorship with a Verifi ed Email Address 241 Establishing Authorship Using WordPress Plug-ins 241 Adding Social-Network Sharing Buttons to Digital-Content Assets 242 Individual Share Buttons and Network Buttons 243 Multibutton Share Widgets 246 How to Decide Which Buttons to Use 247 Where to Put Your Sharing and Network Buttons 248 Setting Up RSS Feeds for SEO and Social Spaces 249 Methods of Implementing RSS Feeds 250 Software with Built-in RSS Feeds 251 RSS Feed-Creation Software and Apps 251 How to Promote Your RSS Feed 254 Google Webmaster Tools and Bing Webmaster Tools Account Setup 254 Google Webmaster Tools 255 Bing Webmaster Tools 257 Google and Bing XML Site Map Feed Setup 258 Chapter 11 Video and Images 261 Video and Image Strategy Development 262 Video Optimization for Search and Social Channels 263 The Real-Time Elements of Video 265 The Interdependent Search and Social Elements of Video 265 Creating and Distributing Video Assets 266 Video-Optimization Elements 266 Image Optimization for Search and Social Channels 272 The Search and Social Elements of Images 273 Chapter 12 More Considerations for Real-Time Content Marketing, Search, and Social 279 Social Link Signals for Search Benefits More on How Social URL-Sharing Democratizes the Link Graph 281 Social Bookmarking 287 Tips and Considerations for Bookmarking Sites 288 Delicious 289 Pinterest 290 Reddit 291 Digg 291 StumbleUpon 291 How to Set Up and Utilize Alerts 293 How to Use Alerts for Your Real-Time Search and Social Strategy 293 Google Alerts 293 Yahoo! Alerts 294 Social Alerts Using Email and Private-Message Systems 294 How to Make Your Website Come Alive 294 Using the Creative Commons License to Distribute Your Digital Assets 296 Email as a Real-Time Marketing Function 299 Chapter 13 Social Media Management 301 Considerations for Integrated Search, Social, and Real-Time Content Strategy 302 Keywords Are Connections to People 302 Specifi c Considerations for Your Real-Time Social Content Approach 303 Using Common Sense in Social Spaces 307 Social Media Managers Are the Curators of the Living Keyword Language of Their Audience 308 Keyword History vs. Keyword Recency, and the Balance Between the Two 308 The Role of Social Keyword Research in Paid Media 309 Think and Act Like a Human Social Search Engine 309 Amplifying Content: Developing Your Distribution Network and Influencer Network 310 Integrating Your SEO and Social Teams 313 Engagement Strategy 315 Commenting Strategy 316 Empowering Your Networks, Both Internally and Externally 320 How to Determine the Authentic Voices in Your Organization 320 Defi ning and Developing Your Voice 322 Personality-Driven Media: Developing Social Personas to Inform Your Voice and Refl ect Your Audience 322 Job Description and Skill Sets for the Search-Informed Social Media Manager 323 When to Bring in Outside Talent 324 How Your Internal Teams and Disciplines Can Work Together Through Audience Outreach 324 Common Types of Social Interaction and Engagement 325 Chapter 14 Metrics and Measurement 329 Considerations for Measuring Content Success in Search and Social 330 The Business Effects of Real-Time Content Marketing Are Long-Term 330 Setting Up Measurement Early On Prepares You for Sound Business Decisions in the Future 331 A Few Key Considerations for Search and Social Measurement 331 Thinking About Data from Both a Quantitative Aspect and a Qualitative One 333 Your Data Is a Refl ection of the Content and Activity on Your Site and in Social Spaces 333 Why You Should View Certain Metrics Within a Short Frame of Recency 334 Using Real-Time Data to Measure Lift from Planned and Serendipitous Events 334 How Timely Data Can Inform Your Strategy for Actionable Response 335 The Importance of Assigning a Monetary Value to Various Actions and Events 336 Establishing a Media Value to Both On-Site and Off-Site Traffic 337 Establishing a Monetary Value for Search and Social Equity 338 Key Performance Indicators and Metrics 339 Don t Over-Obsess About a Single Data Point 340 Don t Hold Your Branding and Direct-Response Goals to the Same Standards 340 Common Metrics and KPIs 341 Insights 345 Analytics and SEO-Tool Providers 347 Using SEO Analytics for Measuring Content Performance 347 Other Real-Time Analytics Tools 351 Appendix Additional Reading and Resources 359 Index 365