2015 Enterprise SEO Buyers Guide

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO
The 2015 Enterprise
Buyers Guide to SEO
Guide to Sustainable SEO
digital.relevance.com
DigitalRelevance 2014
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
The Need for a Sustainable SEO Strategy
2015 Organic Search Trends
The Foundation of a Sustainable SEO Strategy
10
The Strategic Framework for Sustainable SEO
14
Common Traits of Winning SEO Providers
16
Must-Ask Questions to Include in an RFI/RFP
18
Conclusion
19
Sources
20
Executive Summary
Enterprise marketing executives have faced no shortage of challenges in 2014. The world of
digital marketing seems to turn on a dime, and todays executives must be adaptable to succeed.
The realm of organic search is no exception its breadth of influence in marketing has grown
dramatically in the past year alone.
Organic search affects every aspect of a brands digital presence and provides touch points for
customers at every stage of the buying cycle. The ante has been upped, and true SEO solutions
are more complicated than they used to be. As a result, finding the right SEO partner is now more
critical than ever before.
True SEO solutions are more

complicated than they used to be.
Finding the right SEO partner is now
more critical than ever before.
Questionable search engine optimization practices have led to disagreement among service
providers as the term SEO became associated with Black Hat tactics and assumed a negative
connotation. Convergence of service providers around content marketing and the resulting
ambiguity of messaging have made it difficult for enterprise brands to cut through the clutter,
understand core competencies and effectively choose search partners that will lead them to longterm organic search growth.
This guide was written to help enterprise marketing executives understand what it takes to
implement a sustainable SEO strategy amidst an ever-changing search landscape and how to
pick the right partner to lead them to success.
This guide will address the following topics:
The need for a sustainable SEO strategy in 2015
2015 organic search trends
The foundation of a sustainable SEO strategy
The strategic framework for sustainable SEO
Common traits of winning SEO providers
Must-ask questions to include in an RFI/RFP

The information and insights found in this guide will provide marketing executives with direction
for developing the type of SEO strategy that will drive results both now and in the future. It will
also provide clarity by which to choose an optimal partner for executing that strategy.
Successful marketing executives in the coming year will be the ones who understand what it takes
to win at search and who will lead them to victory. Its survival of the fittest, so let this be your
guide to SEO fitness in 2015.
The Need for a Sustainable SEO Strategy

As long as people are going to search engines to find information, products and services, SEO will
always be relevant. Today, organic search remains the channel that drives1 the most visitors, earns
the most customers, and produces the highest ROI for both B2B and B2C companies. Research2
has shown that nearly two-thirds of all web traffic is driven from organic search. As the Internet
continues to redefine and moderate consumer behavior in the future, search will tighten its hold
as the channel that rules the economics of global commerce. The small handful of companies
that are able to capitalize on this channel will ultimately own disproportionate shares of their
respective markets.
The first step on a long road to organic search growth is embracing a sustainable SEO strategy.
Shortcuts are no longer good enough. Its too expensive for enterprise brands to continue
pursuing SEO strategies built on loopholes in search algorithms, and the risk of manual penalties
is far too high. Search algorithms will only get smarter, and no company will beat the engines
in the SEO arms race. Its time for brands to stop chasing short-term returns. Success in organic
search cannot be bought or cheated anymore. It must be earned over time by creation of true
value for prospects and customers. In todays advanced search engine ecosystem, the only
strategy that will work is a sustainable one.
Success in organic search cannot

be bought or cheated anymore.
It must be earned over time by
creation of true value for prospects
and customers.
2015 Organic Search Trends

Most search engine marketers are aware of the major changes3 in Googles search algorithm
over the past few years. Elements like quality and frequency of content, social signals, bounce
rates, time on page, and link profile have long been known to affect Googles search results,
among other factors. Anything that can influence these results, no matter how small, must be
understood in order to stay on top in search. Here are a few key Google algorithm updates that
have occurred in 2014:
January
2014
February
March
Payday Loan 3.0
update targets
spammy search
queries
Top Heavy Page

Layout #3 update
penalizes sites with too
many ads above the fold
July
June
Pigeon update
creates closer ties
between local and
core algorithms
August
April
Authorship Photo
Drop update removes
all authorship photos
from SERPs
September
Payday Loan
2.0 update
targets especially
spammy sites
May
Panda 4.0 prevents sites
with low-quality content
from reaching top results
pages
October
2015
HTTPS/SSL update gives

ranking preference to
secure sites
Authorship Removal update

completely removes all
authorship markup from SERPs
???
THE BIG PICTURE

SEO has long been considered a technical specialty, siloed from other marketing
functions, and focused on adapting to irregular search algorithm updates. This
outdated SEO model is reactive, rather than proactive, and isnt sustainable.
But at the same time, its nearly impossible to predict algorithm updates
that will come in the future and banking on this approach is a fools game.
Industry-wide volatility has ushered in a new era of SEO; one that requires
a holistic view of macro search trends rather than a laser focus on one-off
algorithm updates. As search becomes an integral part of a larger digital
marketing mission, marketers can mitigate risk and build sustainable strategies
by focusing on the big picture. A true understanding of the following macro
trends is the first step towards implementing a sustainable SEO strategy.
16% of all searches done today have

never been seen before.
16%
INCREASE OF LONG-TAIL SEARCH TRAFFIC

According to Google, 16% of all searches4 done today will be ones that have
never been seen before. With the increase of long-tail search traffic, brands
must find creative ways to use consumer insights to regularly produce targeted
content that will capture traffic from a large volume of queries.
CHANGING DISPLAY OF SEARCH RESULTS

SEOs are often the only ones paying attention to the display of search results,
despite the substantial impact it can have on how companies bring in revenue.
Googles Carousel and Knowledge Graph have revolutionized the way search
results are displayed online, so brands must begin thinking about how they
can ensure visibility when Google has taken over delivery of information as a
purveyor. Additionally, with the marginalization of differences between paid
and organic search results, brands must consider how the two strategies can be
merged to support each other.
MERGING OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND SOCIAL

ENGAGEMENT
Even content that you may think is great, is not truly considered great by Google
unless it is supported with social proof. Neither thought leadership nor social
engagement on its own is enough, but, a combination of the two will drive SEO
success. Marketers need to create valuable content and ensure that the media
and consumers are engaging with it in order to see desirable returns.
7
VALUE OF TRULY EARNED LINKS

Link building, particularly off-page link building, has long been a way to
demonstrate value in search. In the past, brands have focused on a variety link
building techniques, many of which no longer carry the same weight they once
did. As a result, links that are truly earned are becoming more valuable due to
the devaluation of built and paid links.
FRAGMENTATION OF SEARCH
The internet search space is becoming fragmented, due largely to the
prominence of online information providers, mobile devices, and applications
that allow for internal search functions. Brands must focus on optimizing
content for other platforms like Amazon, Wikipedia, Yelp, and mobile
applicationsall of which are taking search volume away from Google.
DIMINISHING FOCUS ON KEYWORDS AND RANKINGS

This trend was first manifested in Googles encryption of keyword search
data. As information consumption continues to fragment across devices and
applications, search engine optimization, as its known today, may diminish. In
the future, focus on keywords and rankings may die entirely. Instead, search
optimization may become about increasing brand visibility across a multitude of
digital properties, whether online or in niche applications.
PERSONALIZATION
As the search for information fractures across digital properties, results will
become increasingly personalized. Each person will see different results based
on local, psychographic and demographic information. In a hyper-personalized
search space, a companys visibility across channels will depend on becoming
the most prominent brand in their digital realm. Brands that can effectively
utilize personalized marketing tools will stay ahead of the curve.
IMPORTANCE OF MOBILE
Mobile Internet usage officially surpassed5 desktop Internet usage in 2014.
While mobile browsing is flat, traffic from mobile apps is on the rise. Brands
need to position themselves to capture traffic from mobile devices, if they
havent already. Search engine mobile ranking algorithms call for different best
practices than desktop algorithms, so its crucial for brands to have mobilespecific content and set up site pages in a way that these algorithms are
familiar with.
2014: Mobile Internet Use Overtakes Desktop Use

mobile
desktop
mobile use
takes over
2000
internet users
1600
1200
800
400
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
The Foundation of a Sustainable SEO Strategy

There is no true future for any SEO strategy that involves gaming the search algorithm. Its not
news and its not a trend: hacking your way to search success is not a sustainable strategy. Black
hat SEO tactics provide little to no return and carry a high risk if caught by Googles Webspam
team. In an era in which search visibility can make or break a brand, understanding what is
necessary to execute a proactive and sustainable cross-functional search strategy is key to longterm organic search growth.
RECOGNITION OF ORGANIC SEARCH AS A TOP

MARKETING CHANNEL
Enterprise organizations cannot afford to take the organic search channel for granted. Search
demands the same budgetary respect of any other marketing channel it is being compared
against. This means that marketers should expect to get 5-10x annual return on their search
investment, and that they should expect to spend as much or more than their dedicated budgets
for paid and traditional campaigns with a true SEO partner. Anything less would likely not buy
the kind of services needed today, nor the kind of work that will move the needle over time. The
companies that are taking the channel seriously today will be the companies that dominate the
channel tomorrow.
Channel
Services
Search
Social
Media
SEO
Public
Relations
Website
Old SEO Structure
Mobile
Email
Display
$
Paid
Search
10
There is no true future for any SEO

strategy that involves gaming the
search algorithm.
INTEGRATION OF MULTI-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
In todays organic search landscape, tangible results come from the unified efforts of a variety
of functional groups, from PR teams to marketing communication teams, and social teams to IT
teams.
Traditional SEO was purely technical and results could be driven through SEO specialists alone in a
silo. Today, SEO looks more like good marketing, and integration across a multitude of marketing
functions is necessary to move the needle.
Sustainable SEO is about providing research, insights and strategy to guide and orchestrate the
efforts of other marketing functional groups in order to reap organic search benefits.
New SEO Structure
Public
Relations
Social
Media
Website
Channel
Services
SEO
Email
Mobile
$
Display
11
Paid
Search
Sustainable SEO should:

CONTRIBUTE
Contribute to all digital
marketing efforts on
topics ranging from
site architecture to
competitive gaps and
opportunities.
PROVIDE
Provide optimization
advice and content
suggestions for each
and every marketing
channel.
INFORM
Inform a company how
well its web properties are
serving its user base, what
kinds of questions users
are asking that the website
isnt answering, and how to
integrate an understanding
of user activity in search to
inform other functions like
social, PR, and email.
Most enterprise companies have started to restructure their organizations to make the most
of the organic search channel. This involves changing the way departments work and the way
they hire. To make it all sustainable, managers must assign vested owners with time and budget
for every department that touches the online space for their business. They must integrate the
understanding of search behavior and SEO best practices into the larger digital marketing strategy
for the organization.
A COMPREHENSIVE CONTENT STRATEGY

Todays SEO looks much more like a function of digital marketing than it used to. Now, its about
building an online brand while becoming a trusted and authoritative resource for prospects and
customers.
Creating valuable content is a great way to increase market share and help consumers through
the buying cycle. This requires the deployment of a strategy that utilizes both editorial and
commercial content to draw consumers to your website and convert them to customers.
A sustainable SEO strategy is one that ensures that the brands online properties are answering
customers questions and solving their problems at every stage of the sales funnel no matter
12
which channels they frequent or which devices they use. This means that great websites must be
accessible to all users in all digital formats. Back-end architecture must be optimized for front-end
usability, and content, both on-site and off-site, should be optimized for users first and search
engines second.
OPTIMIZING FOR USERS, NOT SEARCH ENGINES

No longer should SEOs optimize web content just for search engines they must focus on
optimizing for consumers. SEO success is achieved when consumers find a brands content to be
relevant, top quality and valuable. Truly optimizing for users has always been the best sustainable
SEO strategy, but its more important now than ever before. The days of gaming the system
are over. Temporary spikes may occur with short-term strategies, but long-term results will not
follow.
SEO success is achieved when

consumers find a brands content to be
relevant, top quality and valuable.
A SHARING MINDSET
The root of a sustainable SEO strategy is an organization-wide attitude. Everyone should be
on board with making a whole-hearted effort to share your companys best and most useful
information with the world, and to demand that that information gets seen and covered.
Thinking of search around traditional search engines is a limited focus. Now that social platforms
and commerce platforms are being used to answer questions, purchase products, solve problems
and entertain, they are intrinsically part of the overall search landscape. Social signals influence
organic results and organic results can contain social results. Third party endorsements, universal
results, knowledge graph, and app indexing all flood the search engine results pages.
Enterprise organizations must embrace the mindset that search is no longer just about rankings
in search results, its about overall brand visibility online. How a brand ranks in the top ten results
for a keyword query is a KPI only, and not the end goal of SEO.
13
The Strategic Framework for Sustainable SEO

Great content is at the root of every sustainable SEO strategy. Great content should help,
educate, and inform prospects and customers at every stage of the funnel. But when it comes
to earning inbound links as an off-site SEO strategy, content production alone is not enough.
Strategic promotion and distribution are necessary for earning media coverage and audience
engagement. Then, conversion steps must be in place to drive traffic and leads accordingly.
Embracing a sustainable SEO strategy involves earning links to a value-added contribution
rather than to a service, product or category page. This can be executed in four stages: research,
creation, promotion and conversion.
RESEARCH
The research phase is critical, as it will drive the execution of
all tactics in subsequent phases. The research phase should
determine the needs and behaviors of the target audience,
the subject matter and format of the content to be created,
the channels of distribution, and more. Keyword research,
audience analysis, content gap analysis, media and influencer
analysis, and competitive assessments should be the
foundation of the content creation and promotion phases.
CREATION
Brands need to look to new ways of building high-quality, offpage links by first creating valuable content to contribute to
their industry space. At the top of the funnel, however, not all
content is fit to be promoted. A true contribution that will build
online search visibility is one that solves customer problems by
educating, informing or entertaining. It is an inherently helpful
asset that will not only appeal to end users, but also to media
outlets and influencers in the industry. Enterprise organizations
should look to create hilltops with industry contributions that
position them as thought leaders in the eyes of their prospects
and customers.
14
PROMOTION
Off-page signals are the most influential elements in leading
search engine algorithms. This is not likely to change anytime
soon, so marketers must learn how to acquire links sustainably
by earning them rather than building them. Highly reputable
off-site signals drive a domains authority and search visibility,
and the most sustainable way to earn authoritative off-site
links is by creating content so valuable that its worthy of being
cited.
However, even the best content in the world is not guaranteed
to get discovered organically, especially for organizations that
dont have large existing audiences. Therefore, a promotion
phase is necessary for exposing content to a target audience
online and ultimately earning traffic, engagement, conversions
and links. Enterprise organizations should deploy a threepronged approach to content promotion: earned, owned, and
paid. A well-balanced promotion strategy is key to earning links
that will build brand relevance online.
CONVERSION
The ultimate goal of increased search traffic and visibility is,
of course, conversions. Whether leads or closed sales, organic
search must be tied into the bottom line to prove return on
investment. This means that organizations must be properly
user-optimized to convert all traffic that is driven back to
landing site pages. Success of a sustainable SEO strategy should
be measured through traffic and leads, rather than search
visibility and rankings.
15
Common Traits of Winning SEO Providers

PASSION
Enterprise companies should seek out SEO providers that have the guts to tell
them what its really going to take to get the job done. These partners will not
sacrifice quality for a quick win. They respect the organic channel enough to only
recommend pursuing a sustainable strategy that will allow their partner to sleep
better at night.
A TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS

A top-notch SEO provider should be able to demonstrate an impressive and
sustained track record across multiple brands and challenging verticals over time.
This will speak to the organizations ability to stay current with trends and adapt
to meet challenges presented by search volatility. If an organization has pivoted to
find success in the past, they will be more likely to be able to do it again.
A LONG-TERM FOCUS
A sustainable SEO partner will care about much more than just your search
rankings. They will seek to understand your sales funnel and how your content
aligns to it. They will assign appropriate KPIs to different projects depending upon
where those projects lie in the sales funnel. Then, they will have the ability to
measure and update campaigns accurately, report effectively in analytics, learn
from data and execute changes. A long-term focus requires a deep understanding
of the clients customer journey, sales funnel, current state of the website,
opportunities, challenges, competitors, market trends, and overall marketing
objectives.
16
A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH
Be wary of SEO providers that specialize in a single technical area. Lots of expertise
across a variety of practices is a sign of a holisticand sustainableapproach to
SEO. Look for a partner that has a true understanding of the interplay between
search, media outreach, content, technical elements, and social factors. An
enterprise company will see the greatest returns in its organic channel when all
those teams are working together. Each of those functional groups influence the
factors that Googles algorithm values.
THE ABILITY TO EXECUTE AND PROVE ROI

A sustainable SEO partner will have experience executing its strategy across a
number of verticals for both B2B and B2C clients. They must understand the
importance of research, creation, promotion and conversion, as well as the tactical
expertise and resources required to execute each phase. Finally, a sustainable SEO
partner will know how to measure the success of its campaigns and prove ROI for
its enterprise partner.
17
Must-Ask Questions to Include in an RFI/RFP

SEO providers may not give you direct answers to sensitive questions if you do not seek them out.
Learn where they stand in this volatile industry by asking tough questions about their philosophy,
capabilities, and differentiating factors. Here are ten questions focused on sustainable SEO
services that you should ask in an RFI or RFP.
1.
How do you engineer a content marketing campaign for success in organic search?
2.
What role does content promotion play in your SEO strategy?
3. What client accomplishment are you most proud of over the past 12 months?
4. Since youve been in business, how has your SEO strategy changed over time?
5.
What is your approach to earned media and building off-site signals?
6.
What relevant experience do you have executing content marketing campaigns in my industry space?
7.
What is your experience working with different marketing functional groups for clients in the past?
8.
What is your ability to produce recommended content?
9.
What do you consider to be best-in-class SEO?
10. How do you report on the impact of a campaign? What KPIs, how often, what format?
18
Conclusion
For consumers, search is a means by which to find answers and entertainment. For businesses,
search gives insights into how consumers use the Internet and how to respond to those
customers needs. Every day, people search for information about products and services, and
they search with commercial intent. As long as organic search is driving real business results,
SEO will not only be relevant, it will be a critical function within every enterprise organizations
marketing department.
SEO is not dead, but the short-term tactics designed to exploit rather than build relevance are
certainly dying and a new generation of customer-centric SEO is taking its place. While the role
of SEO specialists within enterprise organizations has fundamentally changed, 2015 will see that
role rise to prominence as SEO becomes an integral function of the big digital marketing picture
that is now more important than ever before.
True SEO touches every aspect of a brands digital presence and every stage of the customer
buying cycle. A sustainable search strategy that drives long-term ROI is no longer a nice-to-have,
its a need-to-have.
Organic search is a game of survival of the fittest. Is your brand positioned to survive in 2015?
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE

SEO STRATEGY FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
CONTACT US
19
Sources
1. Conductor Blog
http://www.conductor.com/blog/2014/04/infographic-marketing-channel-gets-bang-click/
2. Conductor Blog
http://www.conductor.com/blog/2014/07/update-organic-search-actually-responsible-64-webtraffic/
3. Moz
http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
4. Google Ads
http://www.google.com/ads/innovations/dynamicsearchads.html
5. Mequoda
http://www.mequoda.com/articles/digital-magazine-publishing/web-usage-prediction-whenmobile-and-desktop-collide/
6. Big Sea
http://bigseadesign.com/strategic-approach/resolutions-pun-intended-for-your-website
20
CONNECT WITH US!

Please contact info@relevance.com if you have questions on DigitalRelevance services.
Contact research@relevance.com if you have questions about this guide.
Office 888.603.7337
Facebook www.facebook.com/digitalrelevance
Twitter @drelevance
Content Promotion & Distribution Services

888.603.7337
317. 575.8852
317.575.8904
TOLL-FREE
LOCAL
FAX
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www.digital.relevance.com
2014 Digital Relevance. All rights reserved.
v.1, September 2014
21

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2015 Enterprise SEO Buyers Guide

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The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

The 2015 Enterprise

Buyers Guide to SEO

Guide to Sustainable SEO

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

The Need for a Sustainable SEO Strategy

2015 Organic Search Trends

The Foundation of a Sustainable SEO Strategy

The Strategic Framework for Sustainable SEO

Common Traits of Winning SEO Providers

Must-Ask Questions to Include in an RFI/RFP

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

True SEO solutions are more

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

This guide will address the following topics:

The need for a sustainable SEO strategy in 2015

2015 organic search trends

The foundation of a sustainable SEO strategy

The strategic framework for sustainable SEO

Common traits of winning SEO providers

Must-ask questions to include in an RFI/RFP

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

The Need for a Sustainable SEO Strategy

Success in organic search cannot

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

2015 Organic Search Trends

Top Heavy Page

HTTPS/SSL update gives

Authorship Removal update

THE BIG PICTURE

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

16% of all searches done today have

INCREASE OF LONG-TAIL SEARCH TRAFFIC

CHANGING DISPLAY OF SEARCH RESULTS

MERGING OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND SOCIAL

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

VALUE OF TRULY EARNED LINKS

DIMINISHING FOCUS ON KEYWORDS AND RANKINGS

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

2014: Mobile Internet Use Overtakes Desktop Use

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

The Foundation of a Sustainable SEO Strategy

RECOGNITION OF ORGANIC SEARCH AS A TOP

Old SEO Structure

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

There is no true future for any SEO

New SEO Structure

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

Sustainable SEO should:

A COMPREHENSIVE CONTENT STRATEGY

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

OPTIMIZING FOR USERS, NOT SEARCH ENGINES

SEO success is achieved when

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

The Strategic Framework for Sustainable SEO

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

Common Traits of Winning SEO Providers

A TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

THE ABILITY TO EXECUTE AND PROVE ROI

The 2015 Enterprise Buyers Guide to SEO

Must-Ask Questions to Include in an RFI/RFP

What role does content promotion play in your SEO strategy?