How Google Works: A Primer on SEO for Google

How Google Works A Primer on SEO for Google

About Search Mojo • Search engine marketing firm founded in 2005 – Search engine optimization (SEO) – Pay‐per‐click advertising management (PPC) – Post‐click marketing • Offices in Charlottesville, Va. and Denver, Colo. • Featured in the Washington Post, B2B Magazine, MarketingSherpa, Visibility Magazine and many blogs, including Marketing Pilgrim and Search Engine Journal • Speakers at PubCon and Search Engine Strategies • Clients include: MazdaUSA, National Geographic, American Heart Association, Clorox, Taco Bell, Georgetown University June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Google’s Technology Demystified

Google’s Informant: Googlebot • Finds its way through links on websites Website B Website A Website C Page 1 Page 2 Page 2a • Indexes information on web pages – Passes information back to the indexing servers June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

How the Google Algorithm Works • Complex mathematical equation • Used to rank websites around a search term in Google • Key factors include: – How often keyword appears in page content – Quantity and quality of links pointing to site – Age of the website or page • Result is a position in the search engine result page (SERP) June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Keywords: The Foundation of SEO • How often keyword appears in page content is important in algorithm and ranking • Keywords should be targeted to specific offering/content • Keyword tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/ KeywordToolExternal June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Best SEO Practices for Google

Website Content • Keyword should appear in: – Filename – Title tag – Meta keyword – Meta description – Heading tags (H1, H2, etc.) – Bold text – Link text – Overall content of the page June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Meta Description and Title Tags • Title tag appears as link in search engine ranking • Meta description appears as description in search engine ranking • Offers great opportunity to write compelling copy to improve click through • Ranked sites that show the searched keyword in the title and description have a higher click through rate than those that do not. (MarketingSherpa) June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Keyword Density • Number of times a keyword appears in overall written page content • Don’t overrun page with too many keywords – Content should remain readable – Avoid keyword “stuffing” • Good keyword density: 2‐4% • Keyword Density Tool: http://www.gorank.com/seotools June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Inbound Links • Inbound links are hyperlinks from one domain to another • Google views inbound links as a type of “vote” from website for another site • Link Popularity = the number of inbound links pointing to your website • Popularity Tool: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Types of Inbound Links • Three types of inbound links: – One‐way Paid Reciprocal Free, One‐Way • They link to you, but you Linking Linking Linking do not provide a link back. – Reciprocal • You exchange links with the third party – you have $ a link to them on your site and they have a link to you on theirs. – Paid • One‐way, but requires a fee. June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Anchor Text • Visible, clickable text in a hyperlink • The more often a keyword appears in anchor text of inbound links, the more likely it will rank well for that term in Google June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Case Study: Shea Hedges Group • Challenge: – PR firm specializing in working with high tech companies wanted to rank higher in Google organic rankings for terms like “high tech PR”. – Website was under major reconstruction, so content could not be edited at the time. • Solution: – While the content is under development, inbound links were built to the website with the anchor text focused on the target keywords, including “high tech PR”. • Result: – Within 30 days, the website ranked #8 for the term “high tech PR” – only through inbound link building efforts. June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Contact Information Janet Driscoll Miller Lead Search Strategist Search Mojo e: jmiller@search‐mojo.com o: 800‐939‐5938 x101 t: @janetdmiller, @searchmojo w: www.search‐mojo.com b: blog.search‐mojo.com June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

How Google Works: A Primer on SEO for Google

by Janet Driscoll Miller on Jun 08, 2009

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How Google Works: A Primer on SEO for Google — Presentation Transcript