Digital Marketing 2.0
Overview
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a key digital marketing discipline. A company’s website is the central hub of its digital presence, therefore it’s important to ensure that it can be found by an online search. Strategic SEO is closely aligned with traditional marketing techniques and is most effective when fundamental principles such as good content, design, and user experience are employed. The goal of optimizing your website for search engines and the end user is ultimately centered on getting your product information in front of a highly targeted audience at the very instance when they are looking to consume your product. In this assignment, you will research and develop a basic SEO strategy.
What You’ll Need
Your TechKit including laptop
Internet for research
At least 3 credible sources (Wikipedia does not count)
Prepare
Reuse the entertainment product or service from week one that you thought of for Project 1.
Think of three distinct audience personas for the target customers you described in the Project 1 assignment who will likely search for your product. Remember to include target group details such as demographic, geographic, psychographic, benefits sought, and patterns of use. For example, “Jane is a woman in her early twenties, single, who shares an apartment in Los Angeles. Fiercely independent, her busy lifestyle includes a full-time job and night school. Jane is always looking for time-saving solutions.”
Think of a focused list of keyword phrases that your target customers are likely to use when searching for your product. Your list must include a minimum of three short-tail keywords and three long-tail keywords. Reference the audience personas you’ve created as an insight to the personality and potential behaviors of your customers.
Create:
Prepare an audio Keynote or PowerPoint Presentation or a Word document. Be sure your presentation addresses each of the following elements:
1. List and describe the three distinct audience personas you created for the target customers you described in the Project 1 assignment who will likely search for your product.
2. Create a list of three short-tail and three long-tail keyword phrases that your target audience will probably use when conducting an online search for your product. Reference the audience personas you’ve created as an insight to the personality and potential behaviors of your customers. Avoid single word terms that are broad such as “film,” “music,” “TV,” and “entertainment” as these are too generic to drive traffic to your website. Explain why you’ve chosen each one.
3. Test each of the keyword phrases (a minimum of six) by entering them into the Google search bar.
Capture a screenshot for each results page.
Include the top two organic (not ads) search results for each keyword phrase in the screen grab.
Answer the following question:
Are any results direct competitors to your fictitious entertainment product?
4. Create a fictitious URL for your entertainment product or service website. You may not use an existing URL, so check by entering your fictitious URL into the search field at instantdomainsearch.com. Consider the keyword research you’ve completed thus far as a determining factor. What URL did you create?
5. Create the title tag for the home page of your website and explain why you chose it. Remember, title tags are critical for SEO and should be written to reflect an accurate description of a web page’s content. According to moz.com, the ideal length is 50-60 characters and the closer to the start of the title tag a keyword is, the more helpful it will be for ranking.
6. Write one thoughtful paragraph describing the role SEO plays on influencing organic search rankings. Include references to the tools, methods, and traditional marketing principles that should be utilized when developing an SEO strategy. Explain what optimization factors influence SEO metrics including keywords, rankings, and conversions.
7. Write one thoughtful paragraph of original content relevant to your product that you will use on your website to generate external inbound links. Outstanding content is the most important factor in effective SEO. Write clearly, grab the reader’s attention, and use a conversational style as if you’re talking to an individual.
8. Write one thoughtful paragraph describing the interaction of your SEO strategy and at least one other digital marketing channel such as social media, blogging, pay-per-click (PPC), mobile, or email. How do the target audience, consumer behavior, and campaign goals help to determine the digital marketing channels you will use? How do SEO and the digital marketing channel you’ve selected support each other in driving traffic and generating conversions? What are the pros and cons of SEO compared to the channel selected?
9. Write one thoughtful paragraph explaining how a company’s website is the central
