SEARCH ENGINE

OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Technology Overview

Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary 3

2 SEO Market Overview 6

3 SEO Vendor Landscape 8

4 Evolution of the Landscape 10

5 Analyst Bottom Line 13

Technology Overview Methodology 14

About Demand Metric 15
 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Technology Overview

Executive Summary
 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW 4

Executive Summary
SEO is no longer just about search.
In fact, SEO, which in its early days focused primarily on keywords
(finding, optimizing, ranking), is now a baseline factor of a broader
Internet Marketing strategy across the Enterprise.
This new SEO-driven market segment that has been called Web
Presence Management (WPM) is based on the reality that keywords
no longer drive search results, but rather optimized content does.
As the SEO market matures, quality measures, such as reputation, trust,
content relevance, and author authority, are replacing the old quantity
metrics, such as keyword rankings and link volume.
Advanced SEO solutions now weigh campaign performance metrics
(based on brand building, site traffic, and conversion) more heavily
than keyword rankings.
In this overview we will examine the state of the market, share results
from the SEO Benchmark Study, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses
of 15 top SEO solutions in our vendor landscape to help organizations
choose the best solution for them, highlight the current trends in SEO
that will have an impact on Enterprise SEO initiatives, and provide some
recommendations for the way forward as SEO is redefined right before
our eyes.
Demand Metric defines Search Engine Optimization Platforms
as those frameworks, tools, and technologies that use search-
related functionally to secure high visibility and web presence
for brands, products, services, and companies through the
use and management of elements such as keywords, links,
content relevance, and social signals tracking.

This reality is based on changes in the way customers search, the

increasingly integrated omni-channel marketing environment, and,
most notably, changes to Google’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
algorithms that favor page content freshness, density, and content-rich
media over standard keyword search.

All of this means that Modern Marketing Organizations (MMOs) must

re-evaluate their SEO strategies, processes, and campaigns.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Benefits of Enterprise SEO
Be seen – Everywhere! That is the fundamental mantra that drives SEO, and
has since the web began 20-plus years ago. Today, as noted previously, our
omni-channel, revenue-driven modern marketing environment demands
that SEO investments provide so much more than placement on the first
page of Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Yandex, Baidu, etc. searches.
That makes the choice of an SEO platform that much more important.
For those who don’t know the inner workings of the latest Google
algorithm, an SEO platform can demystify the process of managing SEO.
For advanced SEO professionals, modern SEO platforms can help
showcase the value of SEO data to senior management, marketing,
sales, and operations.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW 5
The benefits of Enterprise SEO, which encompasses search, content
marketing, social tracking, and third-party channel integration, enable
organizations to:
Increase sales through visitor call-to-action conversions
Acquire new customers and new markets through better web presence
Reduce advertising expenditures
Increase brand reputation and trust
Measure revenue increases from digital channels
Expand global markets
Increase competitive position
Deepen local presence (online and offline)
Forecast and prove ROI from SEO and all Digital Marketing
Increase value of content creation and management
Maximize company/brand social presence on the web
Market to customers earlier in the buyer’s journey
Increasingly, the quantifiable benefits to search are sales, revenue, and
profit, not visitor populations or eyeballs.
 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW 6

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Technology Overview

SEO Market Overview

 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW 7

SEO Market Overview

Demand Metric’s SEO Marketing: Benchmarks by Revenue Attainment highlights the impact effective SEO strategies are having on organizations,
especially on revenue generation. Three key conclusions emerged from this report:

SEO objectives remain constant with increasing website traffic, Outsourced SEO is more effective for revenue generation. Companies
increasing lead generation, and improving natural search rankings that are achieving or exceeding revenue goals are almost two times
rated as the top objectives for the year. Ultimately, the top choices are more likely to outsource all or part of their SEO programs. By outsourcing,
interrelated since increases in website traffic and leads generated are these companies are gaining access to the specialized expertise
often the result of an improvement in natural search rankings. required to execute difficult tactics effectively, leading to performance
improvements.
SEO drives successful outcomes. Overall, 89% of companies attaining
or exceeding revenue goals, and 64% of companies not achieving
revenue goals, report some level of success with SEO, whether
significantly or only slightly. Companies that achieve or exceed their
revenue goals are seven times more likely to have a “Very Successful”
SEO program than are those not achieving their revenue goals.

Download Demand Metric’s SEO Benchmark Report for a complete,

detailed analysis of the current state of the SEO market.
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