Understanding & Using
Search Engine Optimization
Barrett Michael
bmichael@ifpeople.net
678 608 3408
www.ifpeople.net

What exactly is
search engine
optimization?

SEO means improving the
volume or quality of traffic
to a website from search
engine results.

When someone searches for you
or something relevant to your org...
...you appear in the results.

So what?

30% of web traffic delivered
by search engines.
80% of that traffic delivered
By Google.

SEO has three separate parts...
technical
content links

-b a lanced
e we ll
us t b
ree m lts.
All th t resu
for be s

Let's start with...
technical
content links

A Word on Flash
Flash sites look pretty...
...but text in Flash isn't
readable by searches.

A Word on Flash
Indexible content
is more important
than design.

Code: Overview
With SEO, code quality matters.
Clean, correct
code is indexed
faster by search
engines.

Code: Best Practices
Use a validator to check code.
http://validator.w3.org/

Code: Best Practices
Google reads pages from top to
bottom.
Keep important content near top.

Code: Best Practices
Excessive code makes crawling
your site difficult.
code
copy
code
Keep a low code to copy ratio.

Code: Best Practices
Reduce code by moving
javascript and CSS to external
files.
Multiple lines of code become
one line of code.

Descriptive Names: Overview
Give your pages names that
describe specific content.
page title
URL

Descriptive Names Overview
Names:
This associates your page with
relevant search engine queries.

Descriptive Names: URLs
Include descriptive words in
your URLs...
www.healthpartners.com/fight-for-
healthcare-reform
www.healthpartners.com/0001b274cdn

Descriptive Names URLs
Names:
Use hyphens, not underscores...
www.healthpartners.com/fight-for-
healthcare-reform
See as separate
words

Descriptive Names URLs
Names:
Avoid really long URLs...
www.healthpartners.com/fight-for-
healthcare-reform-sign-petition-get-
bill-through-congress-for-universal-
healthcare
Viewed as disingenuous
and “spammy”

Descriptive Names Page Titles
Names:
Give descriptive titles to each
unique page.

Metadata: Overview
Metadata is invisible to web
visitors.
It includes bits of
descriptive info
picked up by
search engines.

Metadata:
Meta Data Keywords
Meta keywords...
• Usually seen in
source code
• Still found by
search engines
• In Plone, called
“categories”
meta data in Plone

Sitemaps: Overview
A sitemap gives search engines
an overview of your content.
It makes relevant
results easier
to find.

Sitemaps: Big Sites
Big websites need...
full map of site

Sitemaps: Small Sites
Small websites need...
navigation bar

Sitemaps: Creation
Sitemap Generator
http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

Now, let's talk about...
technical
content links

Keywords: Overview
• People find websites based on keywords
• Including relevant keywords in copy can
improve your SEO

Keywords: Selection
Step 1:
Use Google Analytics to see what words
people search for before landing on your site.
search term
listings

Keywords: Selection
Step 2:
Brainstorm other related keywords
education advocacy universal healthcare
health advocacy local volunteer opportunities
employment help healthcare for all
middle school success live united
graduate high school uninsured programs
education support low-income family help

Keywords: Selection
Step 3:
Use a keyword tool to evaluate the search
volume of your keywords.
free paid
https://adwords.google.com/
www.wordtracker.com
select/KeywordToolExternal

Keywords: Selection
Step 4:
Take note of “search volume,” competition,
and relevant synonyms.

Keywords: Selection
Step 5:
Choose identifying keywords and include
them in web copy, page titles, metadata.
d
s ure s
nin ram
u g
pro
edu
c
sup ation
port
te d
liv e uni

Update Content: Overview
Search engines love new content.
events stories
news
For higher rankings, update
content regularly.

Update Content: How To
Easiest if you have a CMS.

Update Content: How To
Also easy if you have a blog
connected to your URL.

Finally, there's...
technical
content links

Links: Overview
Links are like academic references.
More links to and
from more
credible sources
= better SEO.

Links: Two Types
Links on your site Links on other sites
to other sites. to your site.

Links: Your Site
Make your links descriptive.
This connects your text to key
search terms.

Links: Your Site
Don't write, “click here.”
Get info about the 2009 Race for the
Cure in Indianapolis.
For info about the 2009 Race for the
Cure in Indianapolis, click here.

Links: Other Sites
Appear on other sites by...
...submitting to relevant directories.

Links: Other Sites
Appear on other sites by...
...leaving blog comments w/ links.

Links: Other Sites
As you develop online relationships,
ask clients and partners to link to
your site.

But how can I make
sure my SEO is continually
refined?

Monitoring: Overview
SEO is a process, not a one time
deal.
benchmark
evaluate SEO
results

Monitoring: Overview
Benchmark Questions:
What do I want out of SEO?
How many new hits do I want to
achieve?
How many of those hits should turn
into reputable leads?

Monitoring: Tools
Google Analytics
Observe what keywords are associated
with your site and increases in traffic.

Monitoring: Tools
Website Grader
Analyzes:
• Web traffic
• Social popularity
• Technical factors
Includes basic advice
on improving site.

Monitoring: Tools
SEO Toolbar
• Firefox toolbar
• Competitive research
• Keyword research
• Comparative linking
• Page rank

Questions?
Click to edit Master subtitle style