According to Webopedia, search engine optimization (SEO) is "a methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in search results page of a search engine (SERP)." This presentation explains the structure of Internet search and provides simple tips to improve how your website, or article, appears in search engines.

1. Search Engine Optimization
By: Mikhail Bell

2. Agenda
• Vocabulary and definitions
• Applications
• Resources

3. Vocabulary and Definitions

4. A Brief History
• Approaching 3.5 billion
Internet users
• SEO and social media
• ICANN and Top Level
Domains (TLDs)
o .Com (old)
o .Android (new)
o .College (new)
o .YouTube (new)

5. Internet Searches the World Over

6. Vocabulary
• SEO
• SERP
• Keywords
• Inbound traffic
• Backlinks
• Link authority

7. SEO
“Search engine optimization (SEO) is a methodology
of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase
the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a
high-ranking placement in search results page of a
search engine (SERP).”
Source: Webopedia

8. The Anatomy of SEO
• Relevance
o Images, video and text on the
site
o Are you in the search results?
o Are you positioned for close
but imperfect searches?
• Popularity
o By positioning (bidding) or
scarcity (few people using
term)
• Goal: increase ranking
for “specific keywords
and phrases”
Search
term
Crawlers
Indexed
pages
Search
results
Repeat

9. Factors (Google)
• Site and page quality
• Page activity
o Site traffic
o Frequency of publication
• User context (Pigeon –July 2014)
• Overall search trends and behavior
• Domain length and age
• Titles with keywords
• Duplicate content
• Top paragraph keyword mentions
• Exact Match Domain (EMD)

10. Factors (Google)

11. Applications

12. Writing for Websites
• Clear titles and definitions
• Link to credible, well-trafficked sources multiple
times
• Properly tag images and embedded video
• Write for the user first
• Include breaks in text
• Always use new copy for new pages
• Make it local

13. Examples
• Causes of death (Search result)
• Health Affairs (Search result)
• Mashable (Article breaks)
• Jim Croce (Video in search)
• Kathy Greenlee (Image tags)
• Jimmy John’s (Localized results)

14. Causes of Death

15. Health Affairs

16. Jim Croce

17. Where’s Asst. Sec.
Greenlee?

18. Jimmy John’s

19. Writing Effective Copy
Sample Titles 5 Points
• “How to…”
• “Why Do Physicians…?”
• “What [insert topic]
Means for [group]
1. Avoid punctuation
2. Title
3. Body
4. Images
5. Video

20. Paid vs. Organic Search

22. Paid vs. Organic Search
Stats
• 90% of users do not look
beyond the 3rd page
• 87% of search traffic is
organic
• Perception: 36%
believe top sites are
best brands
• Users change terms,
not search frustration

23. Paid vs. Organic Search
Paid
• Pay-per-click ads (SEM)
• Multivariate analysis
• A/B testing
• More control over clicks
through to website
• Google AdWords
• Google AdSense

24. Paid vs. Organic Search
Organic
• Inbound traffic
• Strong keywords
• Link authority
• 80-90% of all page
clicks

25. Resources

26. “ The art of living is more like
wrestling than dancing.”
Marcus Aurelius

27. Tips
1. Build your network before you need it
2. Listen to your community, use data to decide
3. Bring allies into your strategy by sharing regularly

28. Resources
• Search Engine Land
• Search Engine Watch
• Search Engine Journal
• Moz.com/blog

29. Questions?