Years ago getting that #1 rank was easy. But things have changed. Competition has increased. And anyone in the internet marketing field has learned the basics with most all of them saying "they do SEO." Even business owners are doing it. So now to get Google’s attention – and, more importantly, your customer's attention – you have to step it up. Here are some very simple tips to use to take ho-hum SEO techniques that everyone has used for years to the next level. Even beginners can do this. This deck is also posted at http://katandmouse.com/kat-s-meow-blog/seo/ho-hum-seo where you can see all the presenter notes as well.

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Take Your
Run-of-the-Mill,
Ho Hum SEO
to the Next Level

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Why
HO-HUM
doesn’t cut it
– anymore
Yawn. Tell me something I don’t know.

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What is “Ho-Hum” SEO
• Keyword inclusion (yawn)
• Meta tags (boring)
• H1 titles (give me a break)
• Reciprocal linking (who gives a d@!n)

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BORING
Keyword Inclusion
Targeting product and
service keywords without
regard to audience

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ANNOYING
Keyword Inclusion
KEYWORD STUFFING

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BETTER
Keyword Inclusion
Write to a “real” person,
with real problems

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BETTER
Keyword Inclusion
Begins with identifying your
offer along with Target Market
and their pain or desires.

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Example:
Vanilla.com
They sell:
1. High-quality, BETTER tasting vanilla
2. Eco-friendly
3. Fairly traded
4. BULK vanilla

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Challenge:
Quantity
Who’s willing to pay
buy in bulk?

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Challenge:
Price
Who’s willing to pay higher?
1. For larger quantity
2. For better flavor
3. To protect the environment
4. To help the farmer

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Bulk vanilla
extract
Socially conscious
Environmentally conscious
Quality conscious
Ice cream makers
Amateur
Pros - Bakers

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Bakers
I need LOTS of
vanilla that makes
my cookies taste
BETTER than
anyone else’s

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Keyword
Queries
I need lots of vanilla
that makes my cookies
taste better than
anyone else’sBulk
vanilla

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Keyword
Queries
I need lots of vanilla
that makes my cookies
taste better than
anyone else’s
“BEST”
vanilla
Bulk
vanilla

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Bakers
Same target
looking on the
other branch
I need some
new recipes

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Bakers
Same target
looking on the
other branch
Vanilla
bean
recipes
I need some
new recipes

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Bakers
Looking on
the other
branch
I need vanilla
paste recipes
Vanilla
bean
recipes
I need some
new recipes

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Environmentally
conscious
keywords
“eco-friendly vanilla”
“organic vanilla”
“sustainable vanilla”

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Socially
conscious –
I want fair
trade vanilla

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So what did
we do?

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Keyword research
– Google Adwords tool
– Google trends
– Uber Suggest
– Google related
–Ask

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Then build
pages for those
PEOPLE and
keywords.

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Bulk vanilla beans
Wholesale vanillaBulk vanilla beans
Wholesale vanilla

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Fair trade vanilla
Best vanilla
Is fair trade vanilla really fair?
What’s the best vanilla extract?

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TAKEAWAY:
Identify your target
market. Define
their personas. Add
keyword branches
to get found for
more traffic &
more sales!
I need new
windows
I need
cabinets

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Content worksheet
Google Drive Spreadsheet

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Metatags

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SEO is not just about
rank. It’s also about
getting clicks.
Great meta descriptions
help a lot – even if you
are not #1!

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This?
Ho-hum

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Or this?

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This?
Ho-hum

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Or this?

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Or this?

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Google
created all
these Ho-
hums.
Lori is the only
one on page
1, so who
cares, but…

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But when your competitor
is there, it does matter.
Note the value proposition. And the word Dublin
in the description caused Google to use the one
I created..

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Meta Description Tips
• Ask a question that shows empathy
and addresses pain point
• Make sure the question includes the
keyword
• Tell the reader they’ll find the
answer to what they’re looking for
• Make sure it includes the
keywords so Google doesn’t
make up its own!

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Meta Title
• Include keywords at the beginning
• Make it relevant to the keywords
you care about
• Try for “Hey look at me!”

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Schema Markup
Code

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Review markup

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Searchmetrics findings:
Only 0.27% of domains are
using Schema.
47% higher rankings on
average for those sites that
are using Schema markup.

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Schema Code
Examples
Anaheim pest control
Vanilla bean recipes
Samsung galaxy

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Review markup

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Recipe markup

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Schema Code Wordpress Plugins
WP-customer reviews
Local Search SEO Contact Page
Schema creator by Raven - reviews,
product, event, book
Recipes – Yumprint’s RecipeCard,
EasyRecipe

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No plugin? Use…
Micro Data Generator

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Now for what
everyone forgets.
It’s so simple.
Or is it?

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Internal Linking
Links to get visitors from one
place to another AND to tell
Google what your pages
are about!

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Just as backlinks coming from OUTSIDE
your website improve your RAP in Google,
so do internal links.
The more you have going
into a page, the higher it
will rank for those
keywords.

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A good internal linking strategy
begins with good site architecture
Picture credit: http://www.wordtracker.com/academy/internal-linking

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Anchor text makes it clearer to Google what
that page is about.
"Learn about our
glass beads - click
here.”
"Learn about our
glass beads"
Better…

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Internal linking tips
–Harness the power of silos to POWER
UP top level pages (such as bead silos on
previous slide)
–Identify most profitable landing
pages or those that need link
juice(example vanilla.com – bulk vanilla beans)
–Link ON keywords (yes, it’s still ok as
long as it’s within your site)

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And now the #1
most-forgotten on-
site SEO tactic…

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Don’t forget to
insert internal links
with EVERY NEW
page you create.

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Internal linking tips
Use the website worksheet to track
which pages get what links, on what
keywords, and coming from where.

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Overwhelmed?
Remember if you’re in a
crowd, being chased by a
bear, you only need to
be…

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…one step ahead of your competitor

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Web Design
SEO / Local SEO
Social Media Marketing
SEOcial
Mobile
PPC
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