S E O Best Practices For Dell Small Business Summit

Introduction to SEO
Jenny Schluter, Global Online
November 2009

Natural search is our fastest growing and #1 online traffic driver
Fostering an “SEO” culture can ensure that all those who create, maintain or influence online content will contribute
From Omniture
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The Importance of Search

50% of searchers are“Brand Advocates”sharing recommendations with friends and family versus 38% of non-searchers
50% of these write about their purchases online, 90% writing something positive
Source: comScore Digital Shelf Study (Survey), Feb 2007 – Apr 2007, Total U.S. Market
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Searchers engage with your brand

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What does SEO mean?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a phrase that is applied to many different areas of search engine marketing.
For our purpose, we will focus on optimizing Web pages so they are easily recognized to be highly ranked by the major search engines. This is referred to as Natural Search orOrganic Searchas opposed to the paid advertising placement called Paid Search
Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

The Sweet Spot: the SERP “Golden Triangle”
People tend to scan online content, not read it—especially search engine results.
Top rankings for your targeted keywords/phrases is crucial. This is because searchers:
Predominantly focus on the first 3 search results of the first page1
Rarely view the second page
Almost never browse past the third.
10 non-paid listings per page
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1 Over 40% of users will try a new search rather than go to the second page of search results (http://www.accuracast.com/search-daily-news/seo-7471/first-page-listings-on-google-even-more-important/).
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How people search
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The Power of Diverse Content
Web l News l Images l Video Content l Blogs l PDFs
Images
News
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The same principles apply to most internal website search engines although the indexing method is different.
In most markets, we focus on optimizing for Google as it has the most advanced algorithm.
1  To discover how a search engine “reads” a page, refer to the Tools section.
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How Search Engines Work

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Key SEO Elements to Optimize
The most important search elements that we can influence are:

Content
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Customer-facing Onsite Dell Content
Hidden HTML Source Code
Pulled into Results
Browser Title
URL
Meta Keywords
Page Title
Meta Description
Content
Multimedia & Image Filenames, Alt Tags
Anchor Text
Links
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Search Elements on Pages and in Source Code

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Common Best Practices for Search Elements

SERP
Results that grab the most attention:
Match the searched keywords
Are well written and easily skimmed
Include descriptions with compelling soft calls to action.
Listing (or Browser) Title
Meta Description
SERP
 160 characters displayed
HTML Source Code
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Titles & Descriptions are seen first

A Web page’s main content1 is obviously a key factor in search engine ranking algorithms.
When writing for the Web, it is important that the content is written for the site’s user first and foremost, with the search engine spiders as a secondary priority.
Try to write the content so that users and search engines can quickly and easily identify the main topic and keywords of the page.
Main Body Page Content
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Main Content
1 Excludes text in navigation, headers and footers.

Excludes text in navigation, headers and footers.
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Main Body Page Content Best Practices

1) Descriptive Filenames
Search engines use 3 factors to indirectly determine what an image is about because they cannot “see”
dell-inspiron-laptops.jpg
2) Descriptive Alt Attributes
3) Content Surrounding Images
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Images make a impact

USE THE RIGHT KEYWORDS
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Use tools to discover or validate local high volume search terms:
Determine popularity of keywords, even by region with Google’s Trendswww.google.com/trends
Example 2: Popularity of wi-fi, wifi, wireless in Australia (EN)
Discover keyword ideas and gauge popularity with Google Adwords Keyword Tool https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Example 1: Search volume for keywords related to wifiin Australia (EN)
See the Tools section for more details.
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Find Popular Terms

Link Building
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Links are “word of mouth” on the Internet.
A link is a “vote”, telling search engines that this is an important page.
These votes are known as “link juice” that flow from linked page to linked page.
Tracking the relationship of the Web’s interlinked pages is a key component of Google’s “secret sauce”.
This is scored as “PageRank” which values the quantity of inbound links to a site and their trustworthiness.
The Flow of “Link Juice”
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The Importance Links

Sites linking may pass on their link juice, boosting rankings.
Quality over quantity: a link from an “authoritative” trustworthy site may be worth a lot more than many links from lesser sites.
Passing the “Link Juice”
“PageRank” authority derives from a page’s:
Popularity
Subject matter
Update frequency
Types of Websites:
Educational Institutions & Organizations
Industry Topical
News
Ratings & Reviews
Partners
Social Media
Blogs
Other Company Domains
very authoritative
somewhat authoritative
Link Juice
local site
low influence
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Inbound Links Boost Ranking

Contextual links lead to supporting information.
Search engine algorithms take into account the text surrounding the links.
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Placement of Contextual Links

The Anchor Text (or link label) is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink like:
Hyperlinked text is regarded by search engines as more important than normal content.
It usually gives both the users and search engines relevant descriptive or contextual information about the content of the link's destination.
Example: Inbound Anchor Text Links for “Inspiron Laptops”
Search engine: “Must be a page about Inspiron Laptops”
Inspiron Laptops
Inspiron Laptops
Inspiron Laptops
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Link Building: Use Descriptive Anchor Text

Ensure search engines can access links and destination URLs otherwise provide an alternative navigation path such as basic HTML text-based links.
If the link opens in a pop-up, and you want the pop-up indexed, confirm that the content is recognized by a Web spider (e.g. avoid unreadable Javascript pop-ups that lack proper navigational elements like tool bars and back-buttons).
Example of inaccessible Links: Javascript masthead not visible to search engines
Top Javascript Masthead links not readable
Footer navigation is visible to search engines with good anchor text
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Link Building: Ensure Search Engines Can Crawl Links

Behind the Scenes
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Have the simple and local URLs

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Use redirects wisely
Link Juice
Link Juice

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Use page tags to your advantage
Meta Data included at top of page
SEO meta tags
Noindex
Nofollow
Use all H tags
H1 is #1!
H2, H3 also very important
Navigation
No script tagging for all Javascript navigation
Include detailed link names in no script
Avoid Javascript where possible

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No Follow Tags

Robots Meta Tags tell search engines which content they should NOT index.
noindex,nofollow
Page will not be indexed (noindex) and all links on page become not followed (nofollow).
Global Default Level:
<xsp:string ID="meta_robots">noindex,nofollow</xsp:string>
Page Level:
<meta:robot value="noindex,nofollow" />
noodp,noydir
Stops description and title tag overwrite by DMOZ (noodp); stops description and title tag overwrite by Yahoo Directory (noydir)
<meta:robot value="noodp, noydir" />
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Robots Meta Tags

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Flash & Ajax
Search Engines cannot easily recognize Flash & Ajax
These applications are difficult for the search engines to index. Pretend the site was built in 1993
How to ensure the content is recognized:
Balance the pages that have Flash/Ajax images with HTML content & links
Have an HTML version (with active links available at the time of page launch)
When possible, ensure Flash/Ajax has Anchor Text links and Alt Text
Ensure that the flash movies accept the new flash parameters

<xdb:image class="products:flash" name="xpsnb_m1730">
<xdb:imgloc>/images/global/siab/swf/index</xdb:imgloc>
<xdb:flashseotitle>XPS m1730</xdb:flashseotitle>
<xdb:flashseodescription>Customize your new <ahref="http://www.dell.com" >XPS m1730</a></xdb:flashseodescription>
<xdb:flashseodisplay>false</xdb:flashseodisplay>
<xdb:imgtype>swf</xdb:imgtype>
<xdb:altimg>global:products:xpsnb:flash:xpsnb_m1730_alternate</xdb:altimg>
<xdb:version>8</xdb:version>
<xdb:width>725</xdb:width>
<xdb:height>200</xdb:height>
<xdb:expandheight>380</xdb:expandheight>
<xdb:link />
<xdb:param0>basePath|images/global/products/flash/xpsnb_m1730/</xdb:param0>
</xdb:image>

This is an example on how to set alternate content for Flash pieces inside xdb (image reference) files.
Flashseotitle: a title written to an H2 tag.
Flashseodescription: any additional content about the flash file including links using < and > for writing html tags.
Flashseodisplay: allows you to view this content while writing it (true|false).
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Alternate Content for Flash Pieces

Backup: Tools, Cheatsheets & Checklist
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Key Search Elements
Browser/Page Title
URL
Meta Description
Content
Images/Multimedia
Internal Links & Anchor Text
External Inbound Links
Dell Content
Meta
Googlebot
External Inbound Links
Google SERP
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Natural Search Checklist
CONTENT:
Focused internal jargon-free, popular customer language
Sprinkle with 1-3 targeted keywords/phrases
Target 5% keyword density
Can emphasize keywords (bold, headers, link label anchor text)
Can include multimedia
LINKS:
Clear popular customer language
Hyperlink 1-2 keywords descriptive of linked page
Link to within Main Navigation/Purchase Path
Avoid excessively repeating the same link
IMAGES:
Descriptive and concise popular customer language in image filenames
Dash or underscore separators for keywords
Relevant to the surrounding content
If image is a link, must support linked page
IMAGE ALT TAGS:
Concise accurate description of images
If image is a link, descriptive keywords relevant to linked page
BROWSER & PAGE TITLES:
Headline for the page
Limit to 70 char.
1-3 targeted keywords/phrases
Clear, concise, popular customer language
Unique
Displayed as search engine clickable link
DESCRIPTION:
Describes content and benefits of page
Minimum 50 char.
1-3 targeted keywords/phrases within first 160 char.
Should be not exceed 200 char. for English, 300 for translated text
Clear, concise, popular customer language
Unique
Compelling
Can include soft call-to-action
URL NAME:
Include 1-3 targeted keywords/phrases
Unique
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tools.seobook.com/general/keyword-density
www.searchengineoptimization.jp/tools/keyword_density_analyzer.html
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Calculating Keyword Density

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Keyword Discovery: Gauging Popularity
Google Adwords Keyword Tool to Gauge Keyword PopularityExample 3: For UK English, determine exact match popularity for: electronics, peripherals, accessories using “exact” match type (minimizes searches for fashion accessories)
Beyond getting suggestions for more keywords, can gauge popularity by search volume.
Can filter by country and language (1).
Tip: Use “Exact” as Match Type (4):
Exact match:match the exact phrase.
Broad match:similar phrases and relevant variations.
Phrase match:the exact phrase exclusively.
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https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

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Keyword Discovery: Popularity by Time, Location & Language
Track multiple keyword usage volume through time by location and language.
Based upon “broad match” of terms (e.g. WiFi card, WiFi hotspots).
Regional and language popularity trending through timeExample 4: Popularity of wi-fi, wifi, wireless
Other search engines offer similar tools
China’s Baidu search volumeExample 5: Popularity of 笔记本电脑, 笔记本, PC
index.baidu.com
www.google.com/trends

See a page the way a search engine sees it: blind of content embedded in multimedia (images, Flash, Javascript, video) but able to read “Alt” tags describing content and multimedia filenames.
Text Version Read by Search Engines
Full Multimedia Version
www.seo-browser.com
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View How Search Engines See Pages: seo-browser.com

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Tool to Check Redirect Type
Check URLs here:http://www.seoconsultants.com/tools/headers.asp

http://www.seo-browser.com/
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View How Google Sees Pages: Cached Text
See a page the way a search engine sees it: blind of content embedded in multimedia (images, Flash, Javascript, video) but able to read “Alt” tags describing content and multimedia filenames.
Google SERP
Google Cached Version
Google Cached Version (Text-only)

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How to View Pages without Images Displayed
In Internet Explorer:
Menu = Tools  Internet Option
Deselect “Show pictures”

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How to View HTML Source Code
In Internet Explorer:
Menu = View  Source

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Search Engines SEO Commands Guide
Search engines utilize their own set of commands which can be of great assistance for better understanding a site’s SEO levels. Below is a summary of key search commands and search assistance features.
Note: Replace <term> and <complete URL > with search criteria, do not include the arrows < and >.

S E O Best Practices For Dell Small Business Summit

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