Search Engine Optimization & Marketing II – Best Practices For Long Term Success

BackgroundSince 1994, Visual Data Systems has been a leader in:Website DesignSoftware IntegrationSearch Engine Optimization & MarketingTechnology ConsultationEmail Marketing and more…

Housekeeping Please use the Go-To-Webinar Toolbar to ask questions – we cannot nor can any of the other participants hear you.We will be asking several polls during our Webinar – you will have 30 seconds to answer them on your screenPlease use your phone (access number provided on your invitation) or your computer speakers to listen.

Today’s Panelists Rebecca Lundregan is theOnline Marketing Services Manager for Visual Data SystemsMark Randle is aSeniorOnline Marketing Consultant for Visual Data Systems“Search Engine Optimization & Marketing II: Best Practices for Long Term Success”

Webinar AgendaImage OptimizationOptimized URL StructuresLink BuildingCompetitor ResearchQuick ToolsQ & A

PollEvaluate Search Optimization: Is your website regularly optimized for search engines?We’re doing an excellent job with thisWe’re doing a good job with thisWe’re doing an OK job with thisWe’re doing a fair/poor job with thisWe’re not doing this

IMAGE OPTIMIZATION

PollDo you compress your image file size before putting the image on your site?YesNoI don’t know

Image Optimization - CompressingImage file size should always be compressed, while maintaining as much image-quality as possibleWHY???People do not want to wait for web pages to load!

Image OptimizationWent from 156K to 9.059K which will take 4 seconds to download

Image Optimization Once you have compressed the file size of your images so you don’t have women pulling out their hair… You can then focus on the official SEO side of the images

Image OptimizationWhy care about image optimization?Images appear in the regular search resultsFree service/product promotionMore optimization opportunities than regular search aloneLess competitionDefine overall page theme

Image Results in regular search

Image Optimization – what NOT to dohttp://www.hiltonhead.com/HH.com_1.jpgWhat to Watch:A separate SE accessible image folder does not exist – NEVER put images in the root directoryNot using a descriptive filenameUsing underscores ( _ ) instead of hyphens (-)

Image Optimization – a better solutionhttp://www.hiltonhead.com/images/hilton-head-island.jpgWhat Changed?Separate SE accessible image folderUsed a descriptive filename - /hilton-head-island.jpgUsed hyphens instead of underscores

PollSearch Engines interpret hyphens as spaces.TrueFalse

Image Optimization – what NOT to dohttp://www.beautifulimagerybybetty.com/userfiles/876088dce6a6e4d444d137d802cb1db4cd33cd3d1234803165166224284.gifWhat to Watch:Saving a PHOTO as a GIFThe never ending filenameThe name of the folder

Image Optimization – a better solutionhttp://www.beautifulimagerybybetty.com/images/weddings/outdoor-wedding-ceremony.jpgWhat Changed?Saved the photo as a JPEG (jpg)Descriptive file nameDescriptive folder name

Image OptimizationWhat is an Alt Attribute???

Image OptimizationWhy worry about the Alt attribute? So you get this Instead of thisWhen an image doesn’t load for whatever reason

Image Optimization – Blog Example

Image Optimization – Blog ExampleTip: Control + F and search for “alt”<a href="http://www.site.com/images/edisto-island-marsh.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 390px; HEIGHT: 293px" alt="Edisto Island South Carolina Marsh View"src="http://www.site.com/images/edisto-island-marsh.jpg" border="0" /></a>

Image Optimization – Blog ExampleUsed an ALT attribute that complements the filename (edisto-island-marsh.jpg). Appears when the image isn’t loading for whatever reason. Instead of there being an ugly little X-ed box, it says “Edisto Island South Carolina Marsh View”.

Recap of Image OptimizationPlace the image between important heading titlesUse a descriptive filename. Instead of DSC20076.jpg make it edisto-island-marsh.jpgPlace the image well within the text – let ample text surround the imageUse an ALT attribute complementing the filename. Ex: ALT=“Edisto Island Marsh View”Use Jpegs and Gifs instead of PNG’s or larger files – edisto-island-marsh.jpg

Places to find FREE images online

www.EveryStockPhoto.com

www.PicFindr.com

www.yotophoto.com(currently under construction)

A Guide to Finding and Using Incredible Flickr Images – describing:Which Flickr images you are allowed to useTactics to quickly find best images.

Part IIFile Naming Best PracticeLink BuildingCompetitive Research Tools

File Naming StructureOne of the simplest methods to improve your search engine optimization Keywords in file names is a good thing. This affects file names, page names and blog posts.

Let’s assume we sell used golf balls. We sell three different brands of golf Balls:Titliest, Callaway and Maxfli.A common naming mistake would beto name the individual sales pages:www.usedgolfballs.com/golfballs1.htmwww.usedgolfballs.com/golfballs2.htmwww.usedgolfballs.com/golfballs3.htmThere is no keyword defined identifying text for the search engines about the brand of golf ball.Page Naming Example

Example Cont’dUsing keywords to name the pages will not only improve your potential to rank but it will also better describe the content of the pgs. For Example:www.usedgolfballs.com/titliest-used-golf-balls.htmwww.usedgolfballs.com/callaway-used-golf-balls.htmwww.usedgolfballs.com/maxfli-used-golf-balls.htmNote: Use hyphens to separate each word.

What is Link Building?To put it simply: a link is a vote.Every link pointing to your site from another website tells the search engines that the other site finds your resource valuableSo, the goal should be acquiring tons of links and you're done, right? Wrong!

Not All Votes Are Created Equal!The 4 basic factors that affect a link's value to your website are:Site StrengthRelevanceAnchor TextPosition

The strength of the site that is pointing to yours is a significant factor in the evaluation of links.Ex. Google PageRankSite StrengthGoogle PageRank

RelevanceThe relevance of a site linking to you is more important than a site's strength.The Winner!

Anchor TextAnchor TextThe actual text used to link to your site is extremely important.Be sure to include your keywords This is especially relevant for those of you from company names that are not keyword driven or area specific.Ex. Harrison & Sons Vacation Rentals

PositionThe position of a link on a page and the number of other links on that page impacts the value of a link. A link in the footer of a page is given less weight than a link near the topA link in the content of a page is given more weight than a link in a list of links. A link on a page with 50 other links is given less weight than a link on a page with only a few other links.

Reciprocal LinksGoogle classifies reciprocal linking in their “Link Schemes” portion of their Webmaster Guidelines.Examples of Link Schemes can include:Links intended to manipulate PageRankLinks to web spammers or bad neighborhoods on the webExcessive reciprocal links(“Link to me and I’ll link to you”)“Before making any single decision, you should ask yourself the question: Is this going to be beneficial for my page's visitors?” –Courtesy Google Webmaster Tools

Link Building

Local LinksCan range from local tourism sites to event sites to government sites to classifieds to blogs.There are typically a number of competitors on these sites.Consistently among the highest referrers month after month.

Local Links ContinuedTargeted Keyword PhraseThe best way to find quality local links is to do searches of your targeted keywords.Local Links

Regional LinksYou can find Regional Links the same way as local links, however, in this case you are searching your more general keywords. (State or Region

National LinksBenefits:Give your site a wider range of exposure then local and regional links.Open new windows to your businessThese sites often rank for key terms like “vacation rentals”Provide very strong inlinksDrawbacks:Though they may produce more referrals, they don’t provide ready-to-convert referrals like local and regional links.Ex. 10KVacationRentals.com

Niche LinksAppeal to a very qualified niche segments.Strong conversion rate.Other examples: Wedding Associations, Corporate Travel, and Youth Athletic Tournaments.Ex.PetFriendlyTravel.com

Social LinksSocial links have the greatest potential to go viral. Other popular examples:Digg.com and Reddit.comEx. Yahoo Answers

Poll: Are You Currently Doing Competitor Research?YesNoI’m not sure it’s research, but I look at their websites often.

Poll: How often are you monitoring your competitors online?Daily3-4 times a weekWeeklyMonthlyNever

Competitor Research ToolsPage and Inlink InfoYahoo Site Explorerwww.siteexplorer.search.yahoo.comLinkVendor.comPaid Search InfoKeywordSpy.com Spyfu.com

Yahoo Site Explorer

LinkVendor.com Anchor Text Analysis Tool

SpyFu.com

Keyword Spy

Questions&Answers

Future Webinars7/15/09: Social Media For Business – An Overview7/29/09: Social Media for Business – How To Use Twitter; LinkedIn; Facebook; Blogs and moreVisit: www.vdsys.com/presentations.htm

This Webinar will be posted on our website:www.VisualDataSystems.comAs soon as possible

Thank You!For More Information:Rebecca@VDSYS.comMarkR@VDSYS.comMarketing@VDSYS.com