Sustainable SEO Critical Thinking Required

Sustainable SEO
Critical Thinking in SEO
Higher Level Concepts:
Taking SEO to a New Level

Presentation Overview
 SEO Gone Horribly Wrong

 Higher Level SEO

 The Key to Critical Thinking

 Most Common SEO Issues SEOs Fall Short On

 Online Reputation Management

 Tools & Resources

Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss

SEO Gone Horribly Wrong


Higher Level SEO

The Common Understanding:

SEO is the process of helping to ensure a site
properly communicates that
“this content is the best match for this search”.


Higher Level SEO

The Common Understanding:

“Let Google Figure It Out”
“Google Can Now Read AJAX”
Google Now Encourages Responsive Design
“Page Sculpting Matters”
“Industry Tools Can Help Maximize SEO”


Higher Level SEO

The Reality:

Billions of Pages Out There
Horrific Code Issues Abound
Magic Bullet Methods Gone Wild
Out of Control Spam Automation
Google Struggles with Script Driven Sites


Higher Level SEO

The Reality:

Google was forced to take extreme measures
at combatting spam

Result:
Ever Increasingly More Algorithm Layers

Algorithms Do Not Cooperate With Each Other


Launching Redesign Before You Should


Redesign Launch Without Higher Level Input


Bad Architecture Left Unchecked


Bad Architecture Left Unchecked

Actual Pages: 2500 Indexed: 646,638


Bad Automation Left Unchecked


On-Site Unrestrained “Optimization”


Higher Level SEO
The Reality:


Higher Level SEO

So – What’s The Key To Higher Level SEO?


Higher Level SEO


More links?
More content?
More social?

Better links?
Better content?
Better social?


Higher Level SEO


Critical Thinking


Higher Level SEO


Higher Level SEO

Critical Thinking in SEO


Higher Level SEO

Search Engines First Task: Searcher Intent

What is the full question being asked by the searcher? e.g.:

“ERISA Attorney”
Looking for an attorney who specialize in ERISA?
Want to know what an ERISA attorney specializes in?
Want to know what it takes to become an ERISA attorney?


Higher Level SEO

Search Engines Next Task: Cross-Signal Validation
“Is this content the best match for this search?”

What is the primary topic for this page?

Is this page the best source of information on this topic?
Does it most closely answer the question asked ?
Is this page trustworthy?
Does the site offer a good user experience overall?


Higher Level SEO

Your Task:
Match Topical Focus To Your Ideal Searcher Mind Model

Send Consistent Topical Focus Signals

Send Consistent Quality Experience Signals

Avoid Crappy Shortcuts


Higher Level SEO

Most Common Issues Site Owners & Most SEOs Fail At:

Topical Focus
On-Site Signals
Off-Site Confirmation
Trust
On-Site Signals
Off-Site Confirmation


Higher Level SEO

Topical Focus
What is the primary focus of this page?

What is the primary focus of the section of the site this is on?

What is the primary focus of the site this content is found within?


Topical Dilution


Topical Focus: Consider Relevant Synonyms


Topical Focus: Think Like Your Market Thinks


Topical Focus: Rich Relevant Section Index Pages


Topical Focus: Tight Sectional Navigation


Topical Focus: Tight Sectional Topical Intent


Topical Focus: Deep Rich Organized Content


Topical Focus: High Quality All The Way Down


Topical Focus: Deep Rich Evergreen Content


Topical Focus: Deep Evergreen Win


Topical Focus: Rich Unique Local Content


Topical Focus: Signal Confusion

Robots.txt: Disallow: On-Site-Search/

On-Site-Search Page Level:
Meta Noindex, Follow


Topical Focus: Signal Confusion

Page Title: Keyword One | Keyword Two

URL: Keyword Three

H1: Keyword Four

Content: Keywords one, three, five, seven


Topical Focus: Off-Site Validation Matters


Topical Focus: Don’t Ignore Bing


Topical Focus: Off-Site False Signals


Topical Focus: Off-Site Consistency


Off-Site: Google+ Matters


Off-Site: LinkedIn Matters


Higher Level SEO
Trust
Was a visitor unhappy with the results they clicked to?

Were they confused when they got to the site?

Couldn’t find the information?

Info found wasn’t what they were looking for?

Were they overwhelmed with distractions?

Did they have to spend too much time on-site?

Higher Level SEO
Trust
What do others say about this site?

Its topical focus

Its trustworthiness

Its authority

Its reliability


Trust: Perceived User Experience

Errors Google Sees
e.g.: 404 – Not Found, 403 (Soft 404), 500


Trust: Don’t Forget User Behavior


Trust: It’s Not Just Main Page Quality


Trust: Review For Intermittent Problems


Trust: False Signals


Trust: Reputation Signals


Online Reputation
Reality Check

1 Page on a scam site can rank for your phrases or
brand because of site scale
• PissedConsumer.com 500,000 pages
• RipoffReport.com 1,100,000 pages
• Scam.com 3,400,000 pages
• Scambook.com 8,100,000 pages
• 800Notes.com 1,900,000 pages
• Yelp.com 11,600,000 pages


Online Reputation
Reality Check

Scam Sites allow unsubstantiated complaints

• Competitors & disgruntled employees can post
anything they want
• No proof of claim required
• No personal identification confirmation required
• Legal process can take two years to get court order to
remove false claims


Online Reputation
Never Fight Fire With Fire

• Don’t post fake reviews / comments
• Don’t create fake news sites
• Don’t create fake reviews sites

• $500,000 fine
• Permanent .gov site record
• Legacy SERPs from news coverage


Online Reputation
Saturate Content Across The Web

Main Site Company History Site
Corporate Site Community Outreach Site
Customer Support Site Giving Back Site
Complaints Resolution Site Twitter Corporate
Customer Testimonials Site Twitter Customer Satisfaction
Debunking Scam Stories Site Twitter Member Services
Member Services Site Twitter Consumer Advocacy
Consumer Advocacy Site Twitter Community Outreach
Product Return Policies Site Twitter Giving Back


Online Reputation
Saturate Content Across The Web
Facebook Corporate
Facebook Customer Satisfaction
Facebook Member Services
Facebook Consumer Advocacy
Facebook Community Outreach
Facebook Giving Back
YouTube Channel
YouTube Customer Satisfaction
Channel
YouTube Consumer Advocacy
Channel


Online Reputation
ORM Key Points

Add value with each new site & profile

Press releases for each new site

Press releases for each new social profile

Build Quality Links to each site & profile


Online Reputation
Trust + Uniqueness – Over-Optimization = ORM WIN

Don’t hide corporate ownership of any site

Vary Target Keyword Phrases across sites

Link Social Profiles only to the appropriate site


Online Reputation
ORM Attack Research Techniques

“Other Sites On This Server” lookup on suspicious “reviews” sites

Research ownership info of suspicious “reviews” sites

Research online presence of attack commenter usernames

Research cross-promotion of attack content by commenters


Limitations of SEO Tools

TBPR (inaccurate, non-timely shiny object)

DA/PA (not accurate – can’t know how Google treats links)

Link Reporting Tools (not comprehensive, no way to know which
no longer are even counted)

“All” vs. “Followed” Link Counts

Disavow Process – not a cure-all – can take months


Technical Quality Resources
Google Webmaster Tools
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

Bing Webmaster Center
http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster/

Speed Checks:
http://URIValet.com
http://WebPageTest.org

Code Validation Checks
http://validator.w3.org/
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/


Industry Tools & Resources

http://www.seomoz.org/google-algorithm-change

http://SEOmoz.org http://SEMRush.com
(Pro Q&A)

http://RavenTools.com/ http://AuthorityLabs.com

http://ahrefs.com http://OpenSiteExplorer.org

http://TheShortCutts.com


Search Industry Blogs & News
http://SearchEngineJournal.com

http://SearchEngineLand.com

http://MarketingLand.com

http://SearchNewsCentral.com

http://Inbound.org

http://SEOmoz.org/blog

http://SearchEngineWatch.com


Sustainable SEO Critical Thinking Required

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