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

Website Indexability
• Certain technologies can block Googlebot
from indexing
Website A
– Javascript
– Flash
– AJAX Page 1 Page 2
(all Flash)
Page 2a
June 8, 2009 www.search‐mojo.com Copyright 2009

Case Study: National Geographic
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

How Important Are Links?
• The most important ranking factor for 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