Michael King's (iPullRank) SMX presentation on using personas for search to improve conversion.

1. The Past Present & Future of Personas in Search Michael King SEO Manager / Publicis Modem @ipullrank

2. Search Marketers are Shortsighted Typically in Search we only categorize keywords into informational, navigational and transactional queries.

3. Search Marketers Need to Grow Up We are not just Search Marketers anymore we are full-fledged Digital Strategists.

4. People Search to Fulfill a Need Keywords must be categorized by the need states of personas and messaging must reflect those need states to improve conversion.

5. You’re Too Late To Be Cutting Edge If you don’t already use personas in your Search efforts you are trying to strike an invisible moving target while your competitors are effortlessly hitting the bullseye.

6. Luckily You Just Met Me… In the next 13 minutes (and counting) I will get you up to speed on lowering cost of acquisitionand take you into the future of increasing the life cycle and subsequent conversions.

7. THE PAST PERSONA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT USING SOCIAL MEDIA

8. Using Social Media to Define Personas Use the existing conversation in social media to identify need states and inform keyword research to ultimately define personas.

9. Social Listening Tools Scout Labs Alterian SM2 For my shoestring budget hustlers Social Mention Scout Labs & Alterian SM2 are extensive and expensive social listening tools but you can grab a decent data set for free using Social Mention.

10. Identify Need States Weight Loss Weight Management The TWTU Supporter This diet is perfect for anyone who needs that “umph” to lose those few pounds, quickly The Calorie Tracker I’m so glad [Yogurt Brand] is compatible with my points system . The Dieter [Yogurt Brand] helps curb my cravings so I can continue on my path toward losing weight The Maintainer I’ve lost a lot of weight, I can’t afford to cave to temptation when I’ve come this far . The Event Planner I need to lose 5-10 pounds in time for this event. I need a plan that gets noticeable results TWTU Skeptics This diet is unrealistic and not healthy – too extreme New Mom I want a low-calorie way to get my calcium so I can get the nutrients we need while losing the rest of this baby weight Steady Achiever I’ve lost a considerable amount of weight except for these pesky few pounds. I need to reach my goal by Thanksgiving. Distill the conversation in social media down to the need states of the people talking.

11. Define Personas The Connoisseur Super Tasters Newer to the product category but partial to authentic Greek yogurt because of the taste and texture; loyal to brands like Fage , Oikos and Chiobani; appreciates the authenticity of ingredients; uses Greek yogurt for cooking and baking; likes to enhance Greek yogurt with fruit and other toppings Integrity Protectors Consumed Greek yogurt before it became popular – feels entitled to defend ‘real’ Greek yogurt against newer ‘inferior’ brands entering the product category; savvy about ingredients and passionate about the unique straining process; tends to be set in her ways in terms of maintaining a healthy diet; loyal to original brands like Fage and Oikos The Steadfast Seeker Optimists Looks for ways of improving Greek yogurt but wishes she had a more accessible way to enjoy it; experiments with different brands like Yoplait and Dannon to find the best tasting option; sensitive to the higher price point of the original Greek Yogurt brands Brand Loyalists Wants a more familiar way to enjoy Greek yogurt; overall, hates the taste of Greek yogurt; loyal to the [Yogurt brand ]and appreciates the variety of flavors that Yoplait offers in their Greek yogurt line; appreciates not having to enhance the flavor of Greek yogurt to make it more enjoyable Use Social Listening to isolate key types within the conversation. Segment them into up to four groups or personas.

12. Identify Keyword Opportunities The Amateur The Reluctant Partaker The Connoisseur The Steadfast Seeker high protein choke down smoothies toppings too tangy weight training body building low fat physical fitness recipes no brand loyalty gross taste high price too thick Yoplait Dannon better tasting options health benefits need more variety toppings loves Greek straining process minimal ingredients no preservatives Fage Oikos rich texture Greek-style never/hardly tried likes blended yogurt wants Greek benefits tart taste attracted to variety no brand loyalty Use the conversation to understand what words personas naturally associate with elements of your product or service and apply those to keyword research and messaging

13. Create Targeted Messaging Present optimized messaging that will resonate with your personas with the goal of maximizing conversion. This is the magic behind Facebook Ads

14. Test Everything Test your messaging in Pay-Per-Click to get a sense of how well they will perform in Organic Search.

16. NY’ eve

17. Valentine’s D

18. Honeymoon

19. Birthday gift

20. Anniversary

21. Stag do

22. Reunion

23. Accomplishment

24. Time offExperience: -Broaden horizon -Hobby/skill -Well-being/R&R -Adventure -Landscape (sea, mountain, plant) -Weather (sun, snow, wind) Locate: Key trip info: -Luggage rules -Check in time -Terminal to go to -Currency exchange -Ways to and from airport -Travel tips Book: -Car hire -Accommodation -Airport bus Manage: Info updates, efficient and easy task completion Connect: -With local info -With resources (guides, gurus) -Activity ideas Record: -Experiences -Memories -New ideas, contacts, knowledge Get Ideas: From friends, family,colleagues, extended social media network, bloggers, TV personalities, movies, activity groups & forums Search for: Occasion or experience sought on google, publications, forums, social media groups,etc Search for: Activity and experience options at different destinations Compare: Destination options based on timings, costs, and ease of getting there Search for: -Cheapest flight options based on timings - Cheapest flight options based on destination (look for promos and time suggestions) Compare: Time options vs. budget across key providers Commit: To a scenario Examples of What’s happening Experience Commitment Inspiration Research We listened to the questions people ask when searching for air travel and why.

25. Semantic Grouping 1. 2. 3. 4 5. 6. 7. Research Decision- making Booking Pre-flight Travel Post-travel Motivation to travel Remember Simplify Connect Offering Occasion Activity Destination Core Semantic Groups We identified the need state matched the client’s business goals and mapped them to semantic groups. Flights Country/Region Logistics Timing City/Airport Cheap Flights

26. Keyword Mapping We mapped core semantic groups to keywords informed by social listening and then optimized accordingly.

27. Performance Organic Traffic Bookings Conversions improved in every need state in concert with improvement of traffic from Organic Search. It worked.

28. Case In Point: Consumer Electronics INFLUENCERS TARGET We used personas inform messaging for the target audience and determine who to reach out to for link building campaigns

29. THE FUTURE KEYWORD ARBITRAGE: CAPITALIZING UPON OFFSET IN LONG TERM KEYWORD VALUE THE PRESENT KEYWORD-LEVEL DEMOGRAPHICS

30. What if I told you…. …there is a free way to find out exactly who every person is that comes to your site for per keyword

32. By the way I’m Michael King SEO Manager at Publicis Modem recently left Razorfish Studied Computer Science at Howard University Lives in Brooklyn From Philadelphia Born August 29th, 1981 Speaks American English & Pig Latin Wouldn’t you want to have this info for every person that comes to your site?

33. The Flux Capacitor Keyword-Level Demographics Search Referrers FB:Admin

34. FB:Admin Code ProTip:Sessionize the original referrer when they first get to the site in case the user opts-in via Facebook later during their visit. Clear the session variable if they come from Search again. JavaScript does not natively support Session Variables so check out SessVars.js by Thomas Frank - http://www.thomasfrank.se/sessionvars.html @matclayton’s presentation:http://www.slideshare.net/matclayton/mozcon-seattle-2011-social-design

35. More Code Function to grab Facebook Data Function to grab the Search Referrer function searchRef() { if (typeofsessvars.ref == 'undefined') { // grab document referrer varurl = String(document.referrer); window.console.log("Doc Ref: " + url); // confirm they came from search if ((url.indexOf ("google.com") !=-1) || (url.indexOf ("yahoo.com") !=-1) || (url.indexOf("bing.com") !=-1)) { varurlVars = {}; var parts = url.replace(/[?&]+([^=&]+)=([^&]*)/gi, function(m,key,value) { urlVars[key] = value; }); urlVars["q"] = unescape(urlVars["q"]); urlVars["q"] = urlVars["q"].replace(/%20/g," "); sessvars.ref = urlVars["q"].replace(//g, " "); } else { sessvars.ref = "not search"; window.console.log("Referrer = " + ref); } return sessvars.ref; } else{ window.console.log("Referrer = " + ref); return sessvars.ref; } } All code can be found at: http://www.ipullrank.com/code/keyword-demographics

36. GA Custom Variables Code _gaq.push(['_setCustomVar', 1, // This custom var is set to slot #1. Required // parameter. You can do 1 - 5 ‘Referrer', // Category for the user activity. Required parameter. ‘Keyword', // Value of the custom variable. Required parameter. 1 // Sets the scope to page-level. Optional parameter. // 1 – Visitor-Level, 2- Session-Level, 3- Page-Level ]); Google Analytics function for pushing to Custom Variables Function for passing data to Custom Variables

37. Tada! It takes up to 72 hours for Custom Variables to Appear in Google Analytics so I don’t have a screenshot but this is the data from the JavaScript Console Birthday Gender Search Keyword Facebook ID Location Here is the data being pushed to Google Analytics

39. Male

40. Loves indie rock

41. Wishes he had a beard

42. 22-40

43. Male

44. Loves film soundtracks

45. Wishes he could live in the movie Avatar

46. 18-32

47. Male

48. Loves all music

49. Wishes he could move out his mom’s basement

50. 22-40

51. Male

52. Loves Techno

53. Wishes you would stopinvading his online privacy

54. 5000 Searches Monthly

55. Conversion Rate 5%

56. 1000 Searches Monthly

57. Conversion Rate 0.5%

58. 100 Searches Monthly

59. Conversion Rate 0.2%

60. 600 Searches Monthly

62. Male

63. Loves indie rock

64. Wishes he had a beardConversion will Improve Dramatically

66. THE FUTURE KEYWORD ARBITRAGE: CAPITALIZING ON OFFSETS IN LONG TERM KEYWORD VALUE

67. Keyword Arbitrage Tracking keyword demographics also allows the attribution of future purchases to the original keyword and will give way to keyword matrices.

68. Subsequent Conversion Prediction Curious George 60% of these users that buy sneakers from the keyword “sneakers” come back and purchase windbreakers These keyword matrices will allow the prediction of what the persona is likely to buy next so you know which people to aggressively pursue through retargeting and other channels such as email.

69. Annual Keyword Value Based on how often an initial keyword leads to future conversions of subsequent keywords businesses will be able to measure the annual value of a keyword and react accordingly. Keyword Earnings Ratio Price per Keyword Annual Earnings per initial click Annual Earnings per initial click Keyword Earnings Yield Price per Keyword

70. Search ROI Connecting Search to Conversion with Keyword-Level Demographics gives upticks in Search a directly quantifiable and forecast-able ROI. The future is now. Search has finally grown up.

71. The Credits Thank you to all the brilliant people who let me reference their awesome work and/or helped me make sense of my crazy ideas. Jason Pearson - @jasonpear Tony Effik - @aeffik Dupe Arolow - @dupe116 Micah Schipior - @micahschipior Mat Clayton - @matclayton Dennis Goedegebuure - @TheNextCorner Tom Critchlow - @TomCritchlow Joshua Giardino - @Techarity Pete Sena - @petesena

72. Thank You. Michael King SEO Manager www.ipullrank.com michael.king@publicismodem.com @iPullRank

73. Appendix Mat Clayton’s Social Design Presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/matclayton/mozcon-seattle-2011-social-design John Doherty’s Notes on Mat Clayton’s Presentation: http://www.johnfdoherty.com/social-design-how-to-co-mingle-social-features-earn-traffic-mozcon/ Facebook Open Graph Protocol Reference: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph/ Google Analytics Custom Variables: http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingCustomVariables.html My Keyword-Level Demographics Post on SEOmoz (Up 9/14/11): http://www.seomoz.org/blog/keyword-level-demographics My Code Repository: http://www.ipullrank.com/code/keyword-demographics Justin Briggs’ post on using Personas in Link Building http://outspokenmedia.com/seo/content-based-outreach-for-link-building/