Introduction to SEO

Introduction to SEO August 2011 NowSourcing, Inc.

SEO Defined
Wikipedia: “ Search engine optimization ( SEO ) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.
SEO = Search Engine Optimization

In Other Words…
SEO = Optimizing webpages, images, videos, locations, products, articles, etc. to make them show up higher on search engine results, without paying for it (unless you are hiring someone to do it for you).
SEO ≠ SEM
SEM = Search Engine Marketing
Paying for results to show up on page 1 results of search engines (advertisements)
These terms are sometimes confused

On-Site vs Off-Site Optimization
On-site Optimization – Anything that is optimized within the website itself
Meta Data (description, title)
Image titles and alt text
Keywords on site
Anchor text (text containing key words that links to website when clicked)
Site Map
URL Redirects
Webmaster Tools (tracks on site optimization)
Loading Speed
Off-site Optimization – Anything that is optimized on other websites to help your website’s search engine ranking
Links from other websites
Keywords off site
Anchor text
Google Analytics (helps determine what pages are ranking well and why, as well as where web traffic is coming in from)
Local SEO (Google Places, Bing Local, Yahoo Local, etc.)
Social Media (Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, etc.)

US Search Engine Market Share

Keywords
Words associated with the website or content you are optimizing that help to identify it
Goal: To have your content rank high when desired keywords are typed into search engine
Keywords can be combined into phrases, such as “Louisville go-cart track”

Choosing Keywords
Research
Use Keyword tools such as Google’s Adwords Keyword Tool
https://ad words .google.com/select/ KeywordTool External
Analyze competition
Type keywords into search engine while logged out of Google, Bing, Yahoo, Etc.
What are they doing right/wrong?
Amount of links on other sites
Anchor Text
How likely is it that you will rank higher than the competition in the future?

Where to use keywords
Anchor text (text containing link to your website or content)
Internal and external links
Meta Title and Description
Text within content on webpages
Internal and external
In title and alt tag on related images located on website

Keyword Tips
Investigate what keywords are working for other sites and how they are using them
Select a few different keywords and experiment with them to see which work best
When using keywords, make sure the content still makes sense and seems natural
It should not appear as if you intentionally included certain words as much as possible
Use Google’s keyword tool!
https:// adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Meta Description and Title
Domain and Pages
Helps Prevent Duplicate Content
May show up in search results
Meta Title
<meta name="title" content=“ (insert title here) ">
Meta Description
<meta name="description" content=“ (insert short description here) ">

Image Optimization
Relevant and descriptive titles
Good: thunder-over-louisville-fireworks.jpeg Bad: big-fireworks.jpeg, firework-show.jpeg, fireworks.jpeg, etc.
Use Alt text in HTML for short description
<img title=“Thunder Over Louisville Fireworks” src=“(URL)” alt=“2010 Thunder Over Louisville Firework Show Grand Finale”>
Use keywords wherever possible

Crawl Errors
“ Crawlers” to scan the internet and index all of the web pages
Google Webmaster Tools includes reports on crawl errors (when the page fails to be indexed) www.google.com / webmaster s/ tools
Use Webmaster Tools to determine the reason for crawl errors
Research how to fix the problem (in most cases, either the URL has changed and it needs a redirect to the new URL, or the page has been removed altogether [redirect to home page or similar page in this case])
How to redirect: http://www.webweaver.nu/html-tips/web-redirection.shtml

Link-Building
It is very important to get links on other websites to your website
Crawlers scan number of external links and this is a major influence on ranking
Ways to build links
Search for online directories that allow you to include your website and sign up
Guest post on blogs with link back to your site
Search for niche websites that suite your content and see if they offer a place to provide a link to your site
Social Media
Include in descriptions on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc.
Share links
Post on online forums
Most important way to build links is to have quality content on your website that people will find fulfilling and naturally want to share with others online
Use anchor text whenever possible

Local SEO
Optimizing location-based search results

Local SEO
Make sure all fields for providing details are filled out in order to get the place page to %100 completion
This enhances the search rankings
Use keywords wherever possible
Make sure there are no duplicate listings
Make sure location is claimed and verified
Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews!
Monitor your place page for new reviews and technical issues that may arise
Respond to negative reviews

SEO on Twitter
Aaron Wall @ aaronwall
Barry Schwartz @ rustybrick
Debra Mastaler @ debramastaler
Tim Nash @ tnash
Dan Thies @ danthies
Mike Blumenthal @ mblumenthal
Vanessa Fox @ vanessafox
Wiep Knoll @ wiep
Dave Harry @ theGypsy

Final Tips
Spend a lot of time on keyword research and investigating the competition
Sufficient results can take months in SEO, so it is important to be on the right track
Make sure webpage and link-building on external sites appears natural (not overly loaded with keywords to the point where it seems like spam)
Think outside of the box and experiment
Google and other search engine companies do not reveal exactly how it works, or the algorithm for ranking results
Avoid duplicate content! – meta data and webpages (webmaster tools will help report duplicate meta data)
Follow the following Twitter list and research other individuals who are influential about SEO.
http:// twitter.com/#!/ToddMillett/seo -influencers

Contact Todd Millett [email_address] 502.442.7914 NowSourcing.com @ ToddMillett linkedin.com/in/toddmillett

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Introduction to SEO

by NowSourcing, Inc. on Sep 07, 2011

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Introduction to SEO — Presentation Transcript