With an ever-changing digital landscape, there’s been a clear shift in how SEO is best implemented. Google’s shifting algorithm, the introduction of machine learning and focus on brand search mean that standard SEO practices need to adapt to the change. It’s not simply a case of thinking outside the box, you need to steer clear of the more obvious SEO tactics and instead become more user-centric. In this talk, Hannah covers the most important aspects of SEO you need to consider when trying to convert high rankings into high traffic.

1. THE FUTURE OF SEO:
SEO WITHOUT
TRAFFIC

2. I THINK BRAND
IS A RANKING
FACTOR.

3. WE KNOW THAT THE
GOOGLE ALGORITHM USES
MACHINE LEARNING…

4. UNDERSTANDING
SYNONYMS ALSO MEANS
GOOGLE UNDERSTANDS
RELATED SEARCHES.

5. MACHINE LEARNING HAS
HELPED BUILD AN
UNDERSTANDING AROUND
SYNONYMS.

6. SO WHAT IF BRAND IS
JUST A TYPE OF
KEYWORD?

8. THESE BRAND
NAMES ARE
INTERCHANGEABLE
FOR ANY OF THEIR
PRODUCTS.

9. IF GOOGLE
UNDERSTANDS
SYNONYMS, THEN IT
CAN UNDERSTAND
‘SYNONYM BRANDS’.

10. I THINK THE WAY YOUR
BRAND IS SEARCHED FOR /
SPOKEN ABOUT /
LINKED TO IS A RANKING
FACTOR.

11. SO WE
NEED
TO
FOCUS
ON…
BEING FRONT
OF MIND.
BEING USEFUL.
BEING BETTER
THAN
COMPETITORS.
BEING A
BRAND.

12. THINK BIG MARKETING
CAMPAIGNS, OFFLINE AND
ONLINE, PRIME TIME TV,
ADVERTISING IN THE BIGGEST
PUBLICATIONS AND BEING SEEN
EVERYWHERE. SPEND ALL OF THE
MONEY.

13. THAT’S NOT
REALLY
PRACTICAL
ADVICE.

14. REALLY, ALL WE KNOW IS
SEO IN A FEW YEARS TIME
WILL BE DIFFERENT.

15. SEO IS IN ITS
INFANCY.

16. GOOGLE AS A SEARCH
ENGINE IS ONLY 19 YEARS
OLD.

17. IT WASN’T UNTIL
AMAZON WAS 19 THAT
IT STARTED OFFERING
STREAMING SERVICES.

18. WHAT DID
APPLE LOOK
LIKE AT 19?

19. AND THIS
WAS THEIR
WEBSITE.

20. SO HOW IS GOOGLE
CHANGING?

21. SO WE
NEED
TO
FOCUS
ON…
WHAT MAKES
UP THE
ALGORITHM.
HOW WE WORK
AS SEO’S.
HOW RESULTS
DISPLAY IN THE
SERPS.
THE FORMATS
AVAILABLE.
Changes
In..

22. OUR STANDARD METHODS
DON’T WORK.

23. STANDARD SEO TOOLS
STRUGGLE TO PREDICT
MORE THAN 15% OF
RANKING POSITIONS.

24. 34% OF SEARCHES
RESULT IN NO CLICK
FROM THE SERP.

25. HIGH TRAFFIC IS THE RESULT OF
BEING THE TOP PAGE.

26. UNLESS THERE’S A CLEAR ANSWER.
Keyword Search Vol Total
Traffic
Page
pustule 14,000 1,350 webmd.com
intemperate 6,000 289 dictionary.com
equiangular 3,600 92 wikipedia.org
december in
spanish
3,500 135 spanishdict.com

27. HIGH RANKINGS DO NOT
EQUAL HIGH TRAFFIC.

28. WHAT
WE
ARE
GOING
TO
COVER.
THINK HIGHER UP
THE FUNNEL
SIMPLIFY YOUR
CONTENT
MARK UP ALL THE
THINGS
DESERVE TO RANK
BE USER-CENTRIC
FOR REAL
REPEAT. REPEAT.
REPEAT.

29. THINK
HIGHER UP
THE FUNNEL.

30. THERE IS NO SUCH
THING AS A TRULY
ACCURATE SEARCH
VOLUME.

31. FOR EXAMPLE.
Keyword Search Vol
Cheap windows laptop 2,900
Cheapest windows laptops 2,900
cheap windows lapptop 2,900
windows laptop cheap 2,900

32. UNDERSTAND THE
CONSUMER’S JOURNEY
AND THE MOMENT
THEY’RE IN INSTEAD.

33. LOOK AT THE MOMENT.
WHAT ARE YOUR
CUSTOMERS DOING?
WHAT TYPE OF
INFORMATION DO
THEY NEED?

34. SIMPLIFY
YOUR
CONTENT.

35. START BY
THINKING ABOUT
FORMAT.

36. WHAT
WE
ARE
GOING
TO
COVER.
EXPANDED
EXAMPLES.
COMMENT.
POINT.
STRUCTURE
YOUR
CONTENT.

37. POINT
EXPANDED
EXAMPLES
COMMENT

38. TABLES.
Be clear
Keep number of
columns limited (no
more than 5)
Define what’s in the
table

39. LISTS.
Use numbers or
bullets
No double spacing
Keep points short

40. USE
STRUCTURED
DATA.

41. A STANDARDIZED
FORMAT OF PROVIDING
INFORMATION ABOUT
A PAGE AND
CLASSIFYING PAGE
CONTENT.

42. IMAGES AND PRICES.

43. CLARITY IN ARTICLES.

44. WHAT ABOUT
WHEN THERE’S
ZERO SEARCH
RESULTS?

45. EITHER WE HELP GOOGLE
TO UNDERSTAND, OR WE
ACCEPT THAT WE WON’T
WIN CERTAIN TYPES OF
RESULTS.

46. DESERVE TO
RANK.

47. IF YOU DO THE SAME
PRODUCT, FOR THE SAME
PRICE, WHY DO
CONSUMERS CHOOSE YOU?

48. GOOGLE NEEDS EVIDENCE
YOU’RE THE PREFERRED
BRAND.

49. WHAT
WE
ARE
GOING
TO
COVER.
THINK ABOUT
YOUR BRAND.
TALK ABOUT
YOUR BRAND.
SEARCH FOR
YOUR BRAND.
CLICK ON YOUR
BRAND.
PEOPLE
NEED
TO…

50. FOCUS ON
USERS.

51. THE PERFECT SEARCH ENGINE
WOULD REALLY UNDERSTAND
WHATEVER YOUR NEED IS. IT WOULD
UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING IN THE
WORLD DEEPLY, GIVE YOU BACK
KIND OF EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED.

52. THE PERFECT SEARCH ENGINE
WOULD REALLY UNDERSTAND
WHATEVER YOUR NEED IS. IT WOULD
UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING IN THE
WORLD DEEPLY, GIVE YOU BACK
KIND OF EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED.

53. WHO IS ‘YOU’?

54. GOOGLE IS CHANGING
FOR CONSUMERS, NOT
WEBSITES.

55. MEASURE
SUCCESS.

56. WHAT
WE
ARE
GOING
TO
COVER.
BRAND
AND
PRODUCT
SEARCH
VOLUME.
AVERAGE
POSITION
VS. CTR.
SCHEMA/
MARK-UP
CHANGES.
MEASURE
WITH…

57. [BRAND] + [PRODUCT] SEARCH.

58. AVERAGE POSITION VS. CTR.

59. TRACK STRUCTURED DATA.

60. FINAL
THOUGHTS.

61. KEYWORDS DO NOT EQUAL
RANKINGS.
RANKINGS DO NOT EQUAL TRAFFIC.
TRAFFIC DOES NOT EQUAL
CONVERSIONS.

62. WHY?

63. CONVERSATIONAL SEARCH,
ALGORITHM CHANGES, TIME IN
SERP, KNOWLEDGE GRAPH,
VOICE SEARCH, EBAY,
AMAZON, DELIVERY
EXPECTATIONS, PRICE
COMPARISON.

64. WHAT
WE
ARE
GOING
TO
COVER.
THINK HIGHER UP
THE FUNNEL.
SIMPLIFY YOUR
CONTENT.
MARK UP ALL THE
THINGS.
DESERVE TO RANK.
BE USER-CENTRIC
FOR REAL.
REPEAT. REPEAT.
REPEAT.
WHAT
YOU
NEED TO
DO.

65. THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING.
HANNAH.THORPE@FOUND.CO.UK
@HANNAHJTHORPE