SEO DMS1 - v1.0 - 280719

Digital Marketing
Module Search Engine Optimization
Session No. I
Version 1.0
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Material from the published or unpublished work of others which is referred to in the Class
Notes is credited to the author in question in the text. The Class Notes prepared is of 8,337
words in length. Research ethics issues have been considered and handled appropriately
within the Globsyn Business School guidelines and procedures.
DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... 3
1. Understanding Search Engine Optimization ........................................................... 5
1.1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ....................................................................... 5
1.2. Features of SEO ..................................................................................................... 5
1.3. Significance of SEO ................................................................................................ 6
2. The Five Stage AACRO Model used in Digital Marketing...................................... 7
3. POEM ........................................................................................................................... 11
4. Inverted Pyramid in SEO .......................................................................................... 13
5. Content Drilldown ...................................................................................................... 15
6. LSI ................................................................................................................................ 17
7. E3.................................................................................................................................. 18
7.1. Engage ..................................................................................................................... 19
7.2. Educate..................................................................................................................... 19
7.2.1. Whole Foods ........................................................................................................ 20
7.2.2. Mint.com............................................................................................................... 21
7.3. Excite ........................................................................................................................ 21
7.3.1. Case Study of Starbucks....................................................................................... 22
7.3.2. Case Study of Burberry ......................................................................................... 23
7.3.3 Case Study of Rent the Runway............................................................................. 25
7.4. Benefits of applying the E3 Model .......................................................................... 27
7.4.1. Greater recognition of the Company and Product/Service Brand ............................ 27
7.4.2. Increase in the level of Customer Loyalty .............................................................. 28
7.4.3. Driving Conversion Rates...................................................................................... 28
7.4.4. Growth of Expertise Level ..................................................................................... 28
7.4.5. Increasing the Page Rank on Google .................................................................... 28

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7.4.6. Attracting considerable amount of web traffic......................................................... 28
8. Story Triangle Theory in Content Writing .............................................................. 29
References......................................................................................................................... 31
Tables &Figures
Figure 2.3: Tactics of AACRO Model...................................................................................... 10
Figure 2.4: Tactics of the AACRO Model ................................................................................ 10
Table 3.1: POEM Framework 1.............................................................................................. 12
Figure 4.1: Inverted Pyramid .................................................................................................. 14
Figure 5.1: Content Drilldown................................................................................................. 17
Figure 7.1: E3 Model ............................................................................................................. 18
Figure 7.2: Whole Foods ....................................................................................................... 20
Figure 7.3: Mint.com.............................................................................................................. 21
Figure 7.4: Starbucks ............................................................................................................ 23
Figure 7.5: Burberry............................................................................................................... 25
Figure 7.6: Runway ............................................................................................................... 27

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1. Understanding Search Engine Optimization

1.1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization or SEO as it is commonly known is identified as an ongoing
practice that helps the users of search engines arrive at end results of their queries. Again, SEO
is also identified as a potential investment undertaken by the firm for generating needed returns
within an effective period. SEO is also identified as an effective way for carrying out the online
promotion of business offerings made by a company and also the company brand. Again, SEO
is identified as an effective process for driving sales from the target customers based on
generating needed conversions and sales leads(Zimmerman, 2014).
1.2. Features of SEO
Identification of a content as SEO Content requires the same to ideally match some essential
features that are outlined as follows:
● Quality is identified as one of the most significant parameters that is required to mark a
content as a SEO content. The generation of quality content not only helps in attracting
the mind-set of readers but also helps the web page to earn higher rankings in the
search engines like Google and Bing. Customers desire to gain access to quality content
that would help them in retrieving salient, reliable and updated information for taking
needed decisions.
● Further, the content written also needs to help the reader retrieve the meaning of it in a
highly decipherable fashion such that it leads to clarity of understan ding and thereby can
be used for future research and information hunting purposes. Use of technical jargon is
a must ‘no’ regarding the generation of effective contents. A jargon free content is
evaluated to help in both ease of reading and also helps in g reater understanding.
Google has in its place a set of complex algorithms that help in judging the readability of
the content based on a set of scales and other statistical methods. Thus, an effectively
readable content helps in gaining a higher page ranking on Google(Duong, 2017).
● Another effective feature of a good SEO writing is identified in terms of keyword density.
Usage of a keyword in high density happens to affect the quality of the content and thus
needs to be strictly avoided by the writer. In fact, stuffing of keywords in content is also
not considered by Google as a good feature and this leads to lower page rankings.
Keyword density is estimated based on the use of a specific formula that divides the total
number of times the keyword is applied in the document by the total number of words in
the document and then multiplies the result by 100. This reflects that keyword density is

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estimated in terms of a percentage that ideally helps in determining and scaling the
potential of the SEO document in achieving higher rankings in the search engines. The
right amount of keyword density is taken to vary within a range of 1 to 3 percent which is
also approved by Google(Chaffey & Smith, 2017).
● A good SEO content is identified as such that is reliable and authentic in nature. The
contents written in a SEO needs to be totally original and fresh and not copied from
some sources. Existence of duplicate or plagiarized content in turn happens to affect the
page rankings and thus needs to be strictly avoided by the content writer. If the matter
written in the SEO article or document is proved to have been duplicated or plagiarized,
either in total or in parts it would tend to attract penalty for the same . A content to be
read and recommended thus needs to be original in approach in that the same makes
the reader rely on it.
● Finally, SEO content needs to be proofread in a specific fashion before deciding on to
publish the same. Existence of grammatical errors and also other types of syntax errors
happens to affect the quality of the content and thus needs to be identified and removed
by the writer. Google also works based on specific algorithms that help in the automatic
detection of grammatical errors and also wrong spellings. Existence of quantifiable
number of errors in turn makes the document unhealthy for which it tends to attract lower
page rankings in Google. Again, the existence of large number of errors in the SEO
article also happens to affect the readability of the same to the target audience in that
they would fail to gain an effective understanding of the central theme and meaning the
document tends to convey(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017).
1.3. Significance of SEO
SEO activities carried out in-house generate a potential advantage in terms of helping the users
gain access to content as and when needed based on the carrying out of relevant searches.
The ingraining of SEO based content preparation into the company culture id eally signifies the
generation of a set of best practices and thereby in generating guidelines to follow such for
content development purposes. Likewise, the preparation of in-house SEO ideally helps in
enhancing the accountability of the users regarding the preparation of effective contents.
Preparation of in-house SEO is also needed to be carried out in terms of retaining familiarity
with the core objectives and values of carrying out the business. The same encourages the
preparation of relevant contents. The generation of SEO contents in an in-house fashion
promotes greater leverage in implementing the same quickly. Again, the generation of in -house
SEO practices is also taken to encourage the existence of a whistle -blower that undertakes the

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main responsibility of ensuring that the contents prepared ideally match the scope or objectives
for which the same is generated. The persons responsible for evaluating the scope of the
documents are also encouraged to raise a flag in cases where the same has drifted from its
main scope. Finally, the generation of in-house SEO rightly encourages the identification of an
SEO expert that can be accessed easily regarding generation and updating of content. Again
the acknowledgement of an in-house SEO expert rightly contributes in continually prioritizing on
their activities for the generation of effective turnarounds on a timely basis(Enge, et al., 2015).
2. The Five Stage AACRO Model used in Digital Marketing

The AACRO Model associated to digital marketing was formulated by Seven Boats. The model
generated by Seven Boats is proved to have the potential in helping business institutions
generate more number of sales leads, while also contributes as an effective factor for carrying
out of branding activities to generate increased ROI (Return on Investment) in terms of the
amount invested associated to conducting of brand and marketing campaigns. The AACRO
Model stands as the acronym for five different stages that in turn constitute the model viz.
Activation, Acquisition, Conversion, Retention and finally Optimization. The same is reflected as
follows:
Figure 2.1: AACRO Model
(AACRO, 2018)
The Five Stage AACRO Model potentially reflects the five different stages of digital marketing
like Activation that focuses on incorporating tactics for helping in drawing the attention of mass
audiences and that too with minimal effort; Acquisition stage essentially focuses on the
application of techniques needed for enhancing the involvement of target customers and
thereby aims in getting hold of the desired web traffic to the website; Conversion stage of the
model essentially aims at converting potential leads into prospective customers that would take
interest in purchasing and availing the product or service marketed by the digital firm; Retention
stage of the model is more akin in employing of methods for generating greater customer

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engagement and thereby in building lasting relationships with them so that they feel interested
in returning back to the web pages for carrying out future purchases and other transactions and
finally the Optimization stage that essentially focuses on the incorporation of too ls or Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) that would help in not only measuring the results or outcomes
along the different stages but also works in enhancing the performance of the firm.
The Five Stage AACRO Model has earned considerable amount of demand in the digital
marketplace such that it contributes in generating measured results for the different companies.
The above process rightly contributes in enhancing the digital marketing based operations in a
structured fashion thereby helping in the generation of results that are scalable in nature.
Moreover, the AACRO Model earns significance in that the same can be employed by other
companies and business agencies for designing of potential campaigns associated to digital
marketing coupled with an effective model for reporting. The AACRO Model gains usage
regards to companies in that it helps them in earning a reduction in the level of cost overheads
associated to resources while on the other hand contributes in the generation of measurable
results based on the use of relevant KPIs and also the measure of ROIs regarding the activities
initiated. Again, the five stage model gains significance in that it contributes in reducing
manpower hours, use of the resource base and chances of emergence of potential error s on a
large scale. The implementation of the five level model gains effectiveness in that the same is
carried out based along different steps regarding identification of effective strategies, planning of
different activities, carrying out the planned execution of the identified strategies and associated
activities and thereby in monitoring the progress and outcomes based on set targets and finally
in terms of suggesting needed improvements in such(AACRO, 2018).
The AACRO Model is found to be widely used by different industries either in a regular or
monthly fashion for carrying out quality brand building activities associated to the digital
platform. The model earns considerable demand in the industrial sector in that the same
encompasses a series of different steps coupled with different tools and also formulas which in
turn makes the system scientific in nature. Moreover, the usage of the AACRO Model ideally
contributes in carrying out the digital marketing functions in a systematic and structured fashion
such that the standards set by it ideally found applicability along different industries. The
automation of the different steps associated to the AACRO Model ideally helps the business
institutions in saving considerable amount of cost and time(AACRO, 2018).

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The different tactics involved along the different stages of the AACRO Model are reflected along
the following illustrations:
Figure 2.2: Tactics of AACRO Model
(AACRO, 2018)

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Figure 2.3: Tactics of AACRO Model
(AACRO, 2018)
Figure 2.4: Tactics of the AACRO Model
(AACRO, 2018)

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3. POEM
POEM stands as the acronym for paid, owned and earned media that earns association to
different types of media pertaining to the dimension of marketing communications. The POEM
Model earns significance in that the same contributes in carrying out strategic thinking regarding
the planning and development of marketing communication based mix associated to social
media platforms. Further, the POEM framework in use ideally helps the digital marketers and
also the business leaders understand and plan out the fashion regarding employment and
allocation media resources for generating quality results in the long run. POEM as a model
bears its origin during 2009 owing to the endeavour of Daniel Goodall based on writing a blog
post in Wordpress. The different types of media used under each of the three categories viz.
Paid, Owned and Earned are reflected as follows:
 Paid media is associated to different kinds of online advertisements posted along social
media platforms like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and likewise, Media buying activities
associated with the buying of space for submitting advertisements along online and
digital platforms and also activities associated to Email marketing. Such marketing
activities are identified as push marketing or outbound marketing in that these marketing
activities are forced to be presented before users. The Paid Media platforms are put to
use mainly for jumping over to start the use of owned media platforms(Burcher, 2012).
 Owned media encompasses the different types of media like blogs, social networking
profiles like Facebook and LinkedIn that are owned by users which also includes owned
websites. Likewise, the different mobile sites, generation of brochures and likewise other
collaterals also fall under the purview of owned media. The owned media activities are
constituted mainly for retention of earned media. The use of owned media encourages
the undertaking of different types of organic and other pull marketing based techniques
that are underlined as follows:
1. Application of an effective technique like Search Engine Optimization or SEO
ideally contributes in earning of high page rankings along the different search
engine result pages.
2. Use of Social Media Optimisation or SMO that encourages the use of social
media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and
LinkedIn for interacting with prospective and targeted customers and also in
building of effective social communities along the different networks. It also
involves activities like inviting and adding of friends, tagging, rendering of likes
and other emotions associated with the posts and other additional comments.

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3. Finally, the Content Marketing or CM platforms are incorporated for submission

of effective and high quality contents in a repeated fashion. Some popular
examples of such CM platforms are like MensXP and also ScoopWhoop.
 Earned media incorporates the generation of word-of-mouth messages that are
evaluated to be cost-free in nature and other types of online media employed by external
websites and other external bloggers. The platforms are used for generation of creative
and innovative contents such that the same helps in engaging users by both attracting
and retaining them for longer periods. The earned media practice s can be effectively
summarised in terms of carrying out activities associated to conversation, sharing of
documents and also in engaging users for viewing the contents rendered in owned
media. The publicising of owned media on social media platforms and a lso in carrying
out the user engagement practices ideally contributes in driving down of costs and also
in enhancing the effectiveness level(Seager, 2011).
The POEM Framework as elucidated above is reflected below in the following illustration:
Table 3.1: POEM Fram ew ork 1
(Seager, 2011)

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4. Inverted Pyramid in SEO

Inverted Pyramid as the phrase goes is identified as an effective writing style for news related
documents that focuses on documenting the conclusion at the very outset, on the top of the
pyramid which is followed by more specific details and information and then it percolates down
to reflect further background information associated with the issue. The writers of web contents
tend to follow the inverted pyramid style where they first focus on generating summarised
contents at the top of the pyramid and thereby generate further details and other background
information in a subsequent fashion either on the same page or are essentially linked to other
subsidiary pages. The inverted pyramid as a writing style earns demand in that it helps visitors
to the site gain a first-hand information in a detailed manner about the event(Campbell, 2017).
The bottom of the inverted pyramid essentially focuses on generating answers to specific
questions like ‘who is involved/affected?’, ‘what has/had happened?’, ‘when and where the
same has happened?’ and also ‘why the event has happened?’ and finally ‘how the event
happened?’. The middle part of the pyramid aims to address important or significant details
associated to the issue or event and finally the inverted top cone focuses on understanding and
evaluating the general or background information pertaining to the event(Wenkart, 2014).
The aspect of Inverted Pyramid earns significance regards to digital media in that the same
helps in effective retention of the user base or the reader of the online documents. In fact, the
use of the Inverted Pyramid contributes in helping the users or readers draw potential
information while drilling down the different paragraphs of the online content. In that, the use of
the inverted pyramid ideally ensures the protection of significant contents from being lost the
same is found to be increasingly used in cases of news reporting and also undertaken as a
standard procedure associated to press releases. The readers of contents delivered on online
platforms like that of digital media are all the more interested in accessing and reading the
contents in a faster and easier fashion compared to the accessing of traditional media platforms.
Working based on the use of inverted pyramid actively helps the readers in gaining access t o
quality information at the very starting which in turn helps in satiating one’s quest for knowledge
and thereby restrains the individual in switching over to other information providers or platforms.
Thus, the application of the inverted pyramid ideally contributes in reducing the switching costs
based on carrying out of operations on the digital platform(Wenkart, 2014).

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Figure 4.1: Inverted Pyram id
(Digital Guide , 2017)
The incorporation of the Inverted Pyramid gains needed significance especially in regards to
meeting the objectives of digital marketing. Herein, the webmaster is required to focus on
understanding the behavioural and reading needs of the targeted users and thereby in
designing of contents that ideally help in meeting their information needs and expectations.
Further, the application of the Inverted Pyramid also contributes in attracting and retaining the
users for a longer period in that they need to drill down the inverted tr iangle for arriving at the
background information. Likewise, the inverted pyramid model can also be applied associated to
the different paragraphs which would help the users in retrieving salient and relevant information
generated along the different paragraphs. Use of different types of headings based on the use
of the inverted pyramid model further helps in making the document catchy and attractive for
influencing the mind-set of the readers(Campbell, 2017). In the field of SEO, the use of Inverted
Pyramid ideally helps the contents for earning of higher page ranks associated to different
search engines like Google and Bing. Existence of poorly structured contents thus fails not only
to attract the readers but also in retaining such in that they readily switch over to such websites
that would help them in gaining of needed information. The longer the time the users tend to
stay with a website or any other online content the greater becomes the chances of the website
or SEO content pages of earning higher page ranks. Further, the search engines also help in

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the generation of an inverted pyramid based on effectively studying user behaviour in terms of
the links they intend to click associated to different topics or keywords, their length of stay and
time of quitting associated to different web pages. Information furnished on the above grounds
thus actively contributes in providing quality information regarding designing of the Inverted
Pyramid(Campbell, 2017).
The application of the Inverted Pyramid in development of SEO content also helps in the
generation and listing of potential keywords. The incorporation of relevant contents ideally
reflects the existence of relevant keywords along the main headin gs and also along at the
inception of the different texts. The use of relevant keywords along the content ideally
contributes in attracting the search engine crawlers for highlighting the sites that ideally matches
with the keywords generated by the users for carrying out the searches(Digital Guide , 2017).
5. Content Drilldown
The report associated to content drilldown based in Google Analytics ideally reflects the fashion
in which the attention of the visitors is ideally distributed and also in some cases wasted. It
further reflects on metrics that evaluate the level of viewer engagement based along a
navigational pathway ranging from a page or even a directory. It serves as a drilldown exercise
in that the viewer first hits the directory and thereby goes drilling down for unearthing further
information. The content drilldown report is mainly used for different purposes that are
highlighted as follows:
● It helps in the spotting of contents that are rarely read or viewed.
● It also serves in identifying contents that are not getting needed attention.
● Further, content drilldown also serves in identifying mistakes concerning labelling of sites
and even pertaining to navigation.
● It also serves in highlighting content for which the appeal has failed to have been
recognised in prior cases.
● Again, the practice of content drilldown also contributes in identifying contents that are
needed to be blocked from the purview of visitors and also web spiders(Boulanger,
2015).
The report associated to content drilldown ideally contributes in helping the webmasters
evaluate the fashion or user behaviour in terms of navigating or drilling down from the topmost
web pages or web directories to the downward pages on the concerned sites.

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The Content Drilldown Report effectively encompasses different elements outlined as follows:
 Pageviews: In terms of Pageviews the report reflects the frequency at which the web
pages have been visited or viewed by the users. Herein, a different list of Unique
Pageviews is also provided.
 Average time spent on the webpage: This accounts to be an effective measure in that
the same helps in effectively understanding the duration that the visitors have expended
on different pages. Thus, a comparison between the times spent by the users along the
different web pages associated with specific keywords contributes in understanding the
relevancy of the web pages in terms of contents. Existence of appealing and attractive
contents ideally contributes in both attracting and retaining visitors to the concerned
websites.
 Bounce Rate: The Bounce Rate determines the degree or the rate of bouncing of the
visitors or the viewers from the web pages owing to the absence of relevant contents.
Thus, the existence of a higher bounce rate itself reflects the absence of meaningful,
quality and relevant contents and thereby generates opportunities for development of the
same for attracting and retaining viewers.
 % Exits: The aspect of percentage exits closely determines the number of visitors that
quit the website along a specific period. The level of percentage exits account mainly
due to two different cases. In the first case, where the users are observed to have
reached the goal or have met the objective of consulting the website therein exiting the
website in a subsequent fashion is considered to be a positive outcome. However, in
cases where the users tend to quit a specific website from the funnel pages only without
having met the consultation goals the same potentially reflects on the existence of
navigation issues that need to be ideally resolved.
 $ Index: Finally, the Dollar Index effectively determines the value of the web page in
terms of estimating and evaluating its potential regarding driving the user base in
meeting their personalised goals associated to consulting of the web pages and also in
carrying out an e-commerce transaction. Herein, value is determined in terms of
achievement of the different goals or in terms of fulfilment of e -commerce
transactions(BPP Learning Media, 2009).

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The Content Drilldown is reflected in the following illustration:
Figure 5.1: Content Drilldow n
(BPP Learning Media, 2009)
6. LSI
LSI that serves as an acronym for ‘Latent Semantic Indexing’ is identified as a mathematical
process that emerged during the later period of the 1980s and serves as an effective method for
retrieval of information. A specific technique known as ‘singular value decomposition’ is used by
the method for scanning of unstructured data associated to different documents and thereby
helps in identifying the relationships between different types of concepts associated with the
data. The method is thus identified as that which focuses on finding latent or hidden
relationships between semantics or words for helping in the enhancement of understanding or
which is known as indexing. LSI also serves in helping in grasping the meaning of the language
used that is confined in its underlying structure. The use of this method also contributes in
finding the different types of hierarchical categories or sets that help in containing the diverse
terms and concepts. LSI was initially used on mainly small sets or categories of different static
documents.
Regarding the application of LSI in SEO it is inferred that the LSI helps in letting the search
engines identify and understand the different types of synonyms. Thus, it follows that if
considerable number of synonyms is used throughout any document it would thereby help the
search engine in understanding the content in an effective fashion. Understanding of the

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contents on the part of the search engine ideally helps in generating higher ranks to the sites
and the target queries(McCoy, 2016).
7. E3
The E3 Model of Content Marketing is identified as an effective formula that generates success
in carrying out the marketing of different contents. The Three E’s stands as the acronym for
three specific words like ‘Engage, Educate and Excite’ that is highlighted below:
Figure 7.1: E3 Model
(McCoy, 2016)
The E3 strategy is pursued by digital marketers for content development and also in managing
and marketing the same to targeted users. The hierarchy identified as ‘engage, educate and
excite’ ideally contributes in the development of unique and quality content that earn
significance owing to their originality and also relevancy to the keywords used by users for
searching of key information.

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7.1. Engage
The first challenge that digital marketers tend to face is associated with engaging the target
audience for reading of the contents generated on the digital platform. The availability of
different types of content spread over the digital marketplace bearing relation to a specific issue
or topic accounts for the growing challenge faced by digital marketers regarding attracting and
retaining of consumer attention. The digital marketers in a bid to engage the target customers or
audiences are required first in identifying the target audiences and thereby in formulating tactics
for effectively reaching or approaching them with the different contents. Herein, the content
manager is required to ideally decide on the generation of such contents that effectively
contribute in addressing the information needs of the customers or the people identified in the
target audience set. The digital marketer is also required to continually update and also monitor
the behavioural and reading patterns of target audiences with also changes in the structural
patterns of the target audiences such that the right type of content can be incorporated for
rightly engaging and involving the target audiences. Here, it is required to be ensured that the
content flagged over social networking and other digital platforms are authentic, valuable and
mainly focus on targeting of prospective customers(McCoy, 2016).
7.2. Educate
The second ‘E’ that comes after ‘Engaging’ is identified as ‘Educate’. Herein, the digital
marketers are required to understand that the targeted customers or audiences focus on the
gaining of quality information from the different sites. The content marketers are required to
focus on the development of educational and exciting content that would not only help the
customers in earning quality information but rather would also encourage them to r etain
connectivity with the concerned website and other digital platforms that serves as the
knowledge or information portal. Creation of a question and answer format in the form of a
page like ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ serves as an effective database that ideally helps in
generating quality and updated information to customers in a specific fashion (McCoy, 2016).
Further, the generation of different blog posts that bear effective relation to the industry and key
issues is also undertaken by the content marketers as ideal endeavours for educating the
customers. Again, different initiatives like the rendering of quality customer services with also
the incorporation of effective discounts and coupons from time to time coupled with taking every
opportunity in educating the customers about the brand’s philosophy, values and vision and
mission objectives are observed as effective tactics that help in making the brand more human
and accessible in nature. The above activities thus rightly help in making the company and

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product/service brand in developing and retaining effective relationships with the customers and
thereby in solidifying the brand’s presence in the minds of the target customers.
Some effective case studies of some brands that had taken like initiatives are presented as
follows:
7.2.1. Whole Foods
The company, Whole Foods Market Inc. based along both United States and United Kingdom
serves as an effective departmental store. It provides to its customers a whole range of product
offerings ranging from dried fruits, meat products, vegetables and fruits, chocolates, beer and
wine products, beverages, organic products and the like(McCoy, 2016).
The company is widely known for the different sets of tips and other sets of information that are
provided to its customers through the use of different social media platforms like Twitter.A
tweeted message issued by Whole Foods in terms of sharing tips for cooking of a whole fish is
reflected as follows:
Figure 7.2: Whole Foods
(McCoy, 2016)

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7.2.2. Mint.com
Mint.com created originally by Aaron Patzer serves as an online service portal in the category of
financial management that addresses the personal finances needs of it s US and Canadian
customers.
Mint.com serves its young customer groups based on the designing of an educational blog that
ideally helps the consumers in understanding the manner they ought to deal with pressing
financial challenges based along a range of intuitive ways. An appealing f eature is incorporated
for the website where the illustration shows a hipster sitting on a couch and surfing the web with
his dog overlooking the activity.
Figure 7.3: Mint.com
(McCoy, 2016)
7.3. Excite
Subsequent to the endeavour undertaken by the websites in informing the customers about the
product or service brand and also about potential offers and promotions rendered by the

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company from time to time the content marketers thereby focus on closing the same based on
exciting the target customers or audiences to make them respond in an eager fashion to the
contents delivered. Exciting the customers is observed as one of the key endeavours that can
be undertaken for helping in driving needed customer engagement associated to the content
delivered over the social media and digital platforms. Customer excitement can be brought
about on a wide scale in terms of encouraging customers earn ownership over the content
based on the generation of creative inputs and other suggestions. Likewise, the practice of
exciting customers to share their views and opinions associated to specific product and service
brands further contribute in enhancing the dependency and trust of the customers associated
with the concerned brand. A survey shows that around 64 percent of millennial customer groups
feel potentially interested in sharing their opinions and feedbacks associated to a specific
company, service or product brand. The above activity contributes in enhancing the trust o f
other customers on the contents or comments rendered by other users in regards to accessing
and using a specific product and service. It thereby helps in fuelling of customer loyalty and
confidence on the company and its diverse offerings along the virtu al marketplace(McCoy,
2016).
Case Studies of different companies are presented below to show the manner in which the
companies’ focus on exciting the customers for generating comments and feedback in regards
to their experience of accessing and using the branded products and services.
7.3.1. Case Study of Starbucks
About Starbucks
The Starbucks story began during 1971 when the company opened up its first coffee retailing
store based in Seattle. Currently, the company carries on its business in terms of contacting
with large number of customers spread along 76 international markets. The mission of
Starbucks is to focus on inspiring and also in nurturing the human spirit(Starbucks Stories and
News, 2014).
The White Cup Contest
The White Cup Contest held by Starbucks encouraged customers residing across the United
States and Canadian markets to focus on decorating the Starbucks cups with customised
designs and arts, take photographs of the same and thereby submit the same based on the
employment of social media platforms in terms of using Hashtags for the contest like
#WhiteCupContest. The excitement of the contest was that the design which would win the
attraction would be used as prints on limited editions of Starbucks’ plastic cups that are reusable
in nature. Within a span of three weeks’ time Starbucks received around 4000 entries for the

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same reflecting the interest of the people in being part of the contest (Starbucks Stories and
News, 2014).
Customer Excitement
The customer excitement generated by Starbucks’ White Cup Contest can be best observed
regards to Brita Lynn Thompson. Brita, a teenager is a student of a Community College based
in Pittsburgh and a connoisseur of Starbucks coffee and also interested in creating sketches
right from her school days. Brita was indeed speechless when she received an official email
from Starbucks stating that the design provided by her had won the contest. The director of
Global Social Media for Starbucks also reflected that considerable numbers of entries were
received from the customers that highlighted the employment of potential creativity and
innovation based on the designs generated. The winning design provided by Brita was identified
to be used on a reusable plastic cup during 2013(Starbucks Stories and News, 2014).
Figure 7.4: Starbucks
(Starbucks Stories and News, 2014)
7.3.2. Case Study of Burberry

About Burberry
Burberry Group Plc. founded during 1856 is based in the United Kingdom and acts as a holding
organisation that focuses on manufacturing, designing and thereby distributing clothing and
accessory items under the umbrella brand, Burberry. The business of Burberry is carried out

Digital Marketing
mainly along three different segments like retailing, wholesaling and also licensing. The
business segments of Burberry involved in carrying out of retailing and wholesaling operations
focuses on the selling of luxury merchandise through the use of brick-and-mortar outlets and
also through the use of e-commerce and digital commerce while the licensing segment is mainly
involved in the licensing of specific items like eyewear, fragrances, timepieces ad also children
wear of European children(CNN Business, 2019).
The ‘Art of the Trench’ Campaign
Burberry decided on trying its hands on designing of digital and social media campaigns after
having faced hard realities during 2009 where its revenue growth slumped by 3 percent from 18
to around 15 percent also with the potential shrinking of the operating margin level by around 15
percent. Burberry’s presence in the social media gained significance owing to the existence of
around 175 million users on its Facebook platform. The campaign termed as ‘Art of the Trench’
was launched by the company during 2009 under the leadership and guidance of CEO, Angela
Ahrendts and Chief Creative Officer, Christopher Bailey respectively. A website was created by
the team headed by Angela and Christopher that encouraged existing customers of the
company to take photographs of them wearing Trench Coats of Burberry brand and thereby
post the same on it. The campaign was created to help customers enjoy ‘15 minutes of fame’ in
terms of posting as models for the brand while letting other customers admire their dressing
style. The digital campaign of Burberry was a direct appeal to its youth customers in enjoying
wearing and also flaunting the brand. The campaign was created f or customers to post
photographs wearing Burberry Trench Coats while other customers admiring such wears to like,
comment and also share such posts along diverse social media platforms(Tobias, 2013).

Digital Marketing
Figure 7.5: Burberry
(Tobias, 2013)
Success of the Campaign

The success of the campaign can be effectively evaluated in terms of the increase of Facebook
fans for the Burberry brand over the 1 million mark and also the growth of sales on its e-
commerce platform by around 50 percent during 2009. Increase of sales on its e -commerce
platform mainly accounted for the increased flow of web traffic owing to the visual appeal
generated by the Facebook page and website dedicated for the campaign. Further, the website
also attracted around 7.5 million views from around 150 different countries around the globe
coupled with high conversion rates(Tobias, 2013).
7.3.3 Case Study of Rent the Runway
About Rent the Runway
Rent the Runway was formed during 2009 by two inspiring women, Jennifer Hyman and
Jennifer Fleiss and operates as an effective e-commerce site that encourages women for
renting designer apparel and other accessories. The website of the company contributes in
bringing about a sense of disrupted innovation in that the same encourages the renting of
clothing items compared to that of buying the same(Crunchbase, 2019).
‘Our Runway’ Campaign
‘Our Runway’ as a campaign gained ground based on the evaluation that customers that
focused on the wearing of rented dresses were highly interested in sharing the same over social
media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Rent the Runway Inc. focused on availing this

Digital Marketing
opportunity of channelizing the crowdsourcing of photographs rendered by customers into the

campaigning website such that the same contributes in both helping women find the right type
of wear that ideally fits their body types while also serves as an effective proof of the social
marketing concept. The customers that have rented apparels are thereby encouraged in
uploading their photographs along with relevant metrics like their body measurements and also
dress sizes with also various comments and feedback regarding the outfits worn. The feedback
and comments are also encouraged from other customers viewing the posts. Further, a tool viz.
‘Find Women Like Me’ is also incorporated with the campaign such that the same would help
other visitors to gain access to dresses that are worn and photographs posted by women that
have the same body types as they have. The above activity was observed to be an effective
marketing move in that the same helps women gain an effective view of women pertaining to
different age and size groups and also different ethnicities wearing dress types that matched
their taste(Drell, 2013).
Effectiveness of the Campaign
The campaign thus proved to be an effective marketing move in terms of increasing the
chances of renting of apparels by around 200 percent. The incorporation of the photographs
rendered by the existing customers potentially contributed in enhancing the level of brand
transparency and trust and also served as an effective tool for carrying out research activities by
customers before deciding on making of purchases or renting of products(Drell, 2013).

Digital Marketing
Figure 7.6: Runw ay
(Drell, 2013)
The submission of the above types of user generated content ideally helps in enhancing the
level of customer conversations associated to the product offerings generated over the online
marketplace.
7.4. Benefits of applying the E3 Model
The application of the E3 Model is identified to generate large number of benefits for marketing
the company and the product brand to the target audiences. The benefits are outlined as
follows:
7.4.1. Greater recognition of the Company and Product/Service Brand
The application of E3 regards to the carrying out of marketing strategies ideally contributes in
the development of unique contents that make the documents enjoyable to be read and

Digital Marketing
documented by the readers. Further, the generation of unique content also helps in enhancing
the visibility of the company and the product brand over a considerable number of social and
other digital platforms.
7.4.2. Increase in the level of Customer Loyalty
A survey report reflects that customers that ideally focus on making use of the different social
networking platforms for interacting with the companies and the brands and also in gaining of
quality information tend to remain loyal to such. The application of the E3 model in designing the
content strategy is held to not only enhance customer loyalty for the brand but also helps in
retaining and attracting the return of prior customers.
7.4.3. Driving Conversion Rates
The principal idea of publishing effective contents based on the application of the E3 Model for
content development ideally contributes in driving increased conversion rates of prospective
customers that tend to visit the brand websites. Gaining access to valuable and original
contents contribute in enhancing the interest of the customers in trying on samples and thereby
in procuring the product or service for their own use(McCoy, 2016).
7.4.4. Growth of Expertise Level
The incorporation of elements reflected in the E3 Model for content development ideally
contributes in speaking about the authority and expertise of the web pages and social
networking platforms for providing quality and contemporary information to the customers that
they can rely upon for taking of important decisions.
7.4.5. Increasing the Page Rank on Google
Again, the effective use of the E3 Model for content generation significantly contributes in
helping the websites earn higher page ranks on search engine platforms like Google. It also
contributes in indexing of contents and thereby in generating greater visibility of the web pages
to the concerned viewers.
7.4.6. Attracting considerable amount of web traffic
The posting of effective content formulated based on the application of the E3 Model along the
diverse digital and social networking platforms ideally helps in attracting considerable amount of
web traffic to the sites. Further, the posting of quality contents along the web pages and social
networking pages also causes the emergence of a chain reaction where the viewers to the
same would be encouraged to share the same along their timeline or in the timeline of their
friends, colleagues and relatives. The same would thereby help in attracting the flow of greater
web traffic to the sites(McCoy, 2016).

Digital Marketing
8. Story Triangle Theory in Content Writing

The Story Triangle Theory regards to Content Writing ideally focuses on discussing the ideal
rules that are required to be followed while designing an effective SEO Content. It especially
identifies three distinct rules associated to such that potentially contributes to the development
of key SEO articles that would help in the earning of higher page rankings for the websites. The
three distinct rules of Story Triangle are listed as follows:
 Crafting of an offer or online content with needed value that ideally reflects a unique
value in solving the problems faced by the customers. Herein, in the case of a business
content prepared on behalf of an organisation care must be taken to evaluate that the
content generated contributes in rendering needed value to the different stakeholders
encompassing the customers, clients, employees, managers, vendor firms, supplier
groups, business partners, the mass readers and also to the concerned authorities. The
contents are needed to be ideally produced in such a fashion as would contribute in the
generation of needed value based on providing relevant answers to queries, providing
effective solutions to potential problems faced by the stakeholders, helps in meeting
stated objectives and also to focus on creating or developing needed awareness about
the vision and mission of the company for the stakeholders and the public at large (Flynn,
2012).
 To focus on crafting and telling stories that the customer desires to hear so that they can
get influenced in procuring a product or service brand. It is understood here that the best
way of dealing with a customer in a confident manner is to focus on communicating the
advantages and benefits they can derive from using a particular product or service brand
in the form of an ideal story. It is also needed to be remembered by the content marketer
that facts help in telling or informing while stories help in selling. Images and stories
presented to a customer are identified to be processed in a faster an effective fashion
than that of hard core facts involving statistical and case based information. In fact,
presentation of stories before the customers makes them feel a sense of identification
with the same where they tend to project them as potential role players associated to the
stories. Facts on the contrary are identified by customers as basic concepts that fail to
make them perceive the reality the marketers require them to feel and thereby act based
on such. The stories are required to be presented in such a fashion as would help in
reflecting the truth and also bear effective solutions to emerging problems. Three
different types of stories can be essentially cooked and presented before the customers

Digital Marketing
like stories associated with similar situations, stories linked to the future and finally
testimonials. The stories are produced as follows:
1. In cases of stories presenting similar situations stories can be presented before
the customers that essentially reflect the experiences gained by the seller or
marketer on a personalised level. Customers are observed to be interested in
availing social proof for which they need to be presented with information
associated to experiences gained regarding procurement, usage and benefits
associated to the product or service. The stories generated on the above account
ideally contribute in making corresponding decisions.
2. Future based stories can also be presented before the customer where the
marketer intends to take the customer for a ride into the future for helping the
customers oversee and understand the future benefits and advantages that
essentially accrue in terms of using the product for a longer period.
3. Finally, in terms of testimonials effective audio-visual clips can be presented
before the customers that would help them validate experiences and emotions
associated with the product. It also works as an effective proof that ideally helps
in influencing the mind-set of the viewer in trying the relevant product or service.
The testimonials can be incorporated on the website such that they can be easily
and freely accessible by the customers(Tewart, 2008).
 Finally, the story triangle can also be employed by the marketers for reflecting on the
gain they ought to retrieve from the pain associated with the making of necessary
changes in their existing system. The pain can be financial in nature associated mainly
with the incurring of needed capital expenditure for the purchase of specific products and
solutions or also in the case of a business customer pain is associated to the need for
developing training programs in regards to the procurement of any new program or
software solution and thereby implementing the same in the day-to-day operations. Pain
can be incurred here in terms of expenditure based on time and money. Herein, the
customers need to be presented with an effective plan that would help them in charting
desired benefits which can be gained within given periods to help in outweighing the cost
incurred thereof. In other words, the customers are needed to understand the returns
they ought to receive based on the investments carried out for procuring the
solutions(Sykes, et al., 2012).

Digital Marketing
References
AACRO, 2018. AACRO model of digital marketing. [Online]
Available at: http://www.aacrodigitalmarketing.com/
[Accessed 28 July 2019].
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017. Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2018. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury
Publishing.
Boulanger, C., 2015. Drilling Down on Content Engagement w/ Google Analytics. [Online]
Available at: https://chrisboulanger.com/analytics-content-drilldown-report/
BPP Learning Media, 2009. Computer Wings: Web Analyser. United Kingdom: BPP Learning
Media.
Burcher, N., 2012. Paid, Owned, Earned: Maximising Marketing Returns in a Socially
Connected World. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
Campbell, J. T., 2017. Web Design: Introductory. New York : Cengage Learning .
Chaffey, D. & Smith, P., 2017. Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimizing and
Integrating Online Marketing. New York : Taylor and Francis.
CNN Business, 2019. Burberry Group PLC. [Online]
Available at: https://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=BURBY
Crunchbase, 2019. Rent the Runway. [Online]
Available at: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/rent-the-runway#section-related-hubs
Digital Guide , 2017. The inverted pyramid: how to optimize your writing style for online reader
behavior. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/websites/web-design/the-inverted-pyramid-
principle-how-it-works/
Drell, L., 2013. Lessons From 4 Killer UGC Campaigns. [Online]
Available at: https://mashable.com/2013/01/30/brand-marketing-user-generated-content/
Drell, L., 2013. User Generated Content: Lessons From 4 Killer Ad Campaigns. [Online]
Available at: https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-
insights/articles/lessons-from-4-killer-ugc-campaigns/

Digital Marketing
Duong, V., 2017. Baidu SEO: Challenges and Intricacies of Marketing in China. Sussex: John
Wiley & Sons.
Enge, E., Spencer, S. & Stricchiola, J., 2015. The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine
Optimization. Sebastopol : "O'Reilly Media, Inc.".
Flynn, N., 2012. The Social Media Handbook: Rules, Policies, and Best Practices to
Successfully Manage Your Organization's Social Media Presence, Posts, and Potential.
Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.
McCoy, J., 2016. How to Use the Three E’s in Your Content Marketing: Educate, Engage,
Excite. [Online]
Available at: https://expresswriters.com/three-es-of-content-marketing/
Seager, S., 2011. Paid, owned and earned media: a framework for marketers and business
leaders. [Online]
Available at: http://www.steveseager.com/paid-owned-and-earned-media-framework-for-
marketers-business-leaders/
Starbucks Stories and News, 2014. Starbucks Announces the Winner of its White Cup Contest.
[Online]
Available at: https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2014/starbucks-announces-the-winner-of-its-
white-cup-contest/
Sykes, M., Malik, A. N. & West, M. D., 2012. Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and
Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations. Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.
Tewart, M., 2008. How to Be a Sales Superstar: Break All the Rules and Succeed While Doing
It. Sussex: Wiley.
Tobias, K., 2013. Entrenched in the Digital World. [Online]
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initiative/story/191422.html
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Digital Marketing

Module Search Engine Optimization

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

1. Understanding Search Engine Optimization ........................................................... 5

1.1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ....................................................................... 5

1.2. Features of SEO ..................................................................................................... 5

1.3. Significance of SEO ................................................................................................ 6

2. The Five Stage AACRO Model used in Digital Marketing...................................... 7

4. Inverted Pyramid in SEO .......................................................................................... 13

5. Content Drilldown ...................................................................................................... 15

7.1. Engage ..................................................................................................................... 19

7.2.1. Whole Foods ........................................................................................................ 20

7.3. Excite ........................................................................................................................ 21

7.3.1. Case Study of Starbucks....................................................................................... 22

7.3.2. Case Study of Burberry ......................................................................................... 23

7.3.3 Case Study of Rent the Runway............................................................................. 25

7.4. Benefits of applying the E3 Model .......................................................................... 27

7.4.1. Greater recognition of the Company and Product/Service Brand ............................ 27

7.4.2. Increase in the level of Customer Loyalty .............................................................. 28

7.4.3. Driving Conversion Rates...................................................................................... 28

7.4.4. Growth of Expertise Level ..................................................................................... 28

7.4.5. Increasing the Page Rank on Google .................................................................... 28

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

7.4.6. Attracting considerable amount of web traffic......................................................... 28

8. Story Triangle Theory in Content Writing .............................................................. 29

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

1. Understanding Search Engine Optimization

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

2. The Five Stage AACRO Model used in Digital Marketing

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

Figure 2.3: Tactics of AACRO Model

Figure 2.4: Tactics of the AACRO Model

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

3. Finally, the Content Marketing or CM platforms are incorporated for submission

Table 3.1: POEM Fram ew ork 1

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

4. Inverted Pyramid in SEO

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

Figure 4.1: Inverted Pyram id

(Digital Guide , 2017)

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

The Content Drilldown is reflected in the following illustration:

Figure 5.1: Content Drilldow n

(BPP Learning Media, 2009)

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

Figure 7.1: E3 Model

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

Figure 7.2: Whole Foods

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

Figure 7.3: Mint.com

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I

Figure 7.4: Starbucks

(Starbucks Stories and News, 2014)

7.3.2. Case Study of Burberry

DM/M2SI/v1.0/280719 Search Engine Optimization| Session No.: I