This presentation was originally presented as a LIVE webinar to members of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) in 2011. The presentations focus is on the basics of search engine optimization.

1. Rise to the Top
SEO Basics for Landscape Design
Professionals
Chris Heiler
landscape industry writer, speaker
& social media consultant
www.LandscapeLeadership.com

2. There has been more innovation the
last 3 years than in the previous 30

3. We also have more roles to play in our
businesses

4. How do we know what is most
important?

5. How much SEO expertise do you really
need to have?

6. We’re going to focus on what’s
practical and actionable
1. An overview of search engine optimization
basics
2. The top 7 SEO tasks and practices to focus on

7. The (very) basics of SEO
Website Design
Content Link Building

8. The top 7 SEO tasks and practices to
focus on
1. Updating your website regularly
2. Updating your domain name registration
3. Determining your most important geo-specific keyword
phrases
4. Claiming your business listing in the most important online
directories
5. Optimizing your website for speed
6. Link building within your website
7. Social networking and content creation

9. Task 1: Updating your website
regularly
KEY POINTS:
Update your website at least once each month.
The best way to keep your website fresh is by
blogging on a regular basis.

10. Task 1: Updating your website
regularly
What you can do right now:
Create a calendar listing the various updates you can
make to your website on an annual basis.
Check out Posterous.com—the easiest way to start
blogging—then write 5 blog posts in 5 days.

11. Task 2: Updating your domain name
registration
KEY POINT:
The search engines see websites as being more
credible the longer the domain name is registered for.

12. Task 2: Updating your domain name
registration
What you can do right now:
Renew your domain registration for at least two
years into the future. Use GoDaddy.com “WHOIS
Domain Check” to find details regarding your
domain registration.

13. Task 3: Determining your most important
geo-specific keyword phrases
KEY POINTS:
Include the phrases people are actually using to
search for your services.
Use geo-specific keyword phrases.

14. Task 3: Determining your most important
geo-specific keyword phrases
What you can do right now:
Use my keyword phrase spreadsheet as a general
guideline.
Use Google’s free keyword tool to analyze geo-
specific keywords that may work best for you.
(Google, “Google keyword tool” to find it)

15. Task 4: Claiming your business listing in
the most important online directories
KEY POINTS:
Take control of your business listing on directories
like Google Places.
Make sure company information is accurate and
filled out completely.

16. Task 4: Claiming your business listing in
the most important online directories
What you can do right now:
Visit Google.com/Places to claim your listing on Google
Places.
Complete your profile on APLD’s website.
Get your business listed on LandscapingNetwork.com

17. Task 5: Optimizing your website for
speed
KEY POINTS:
Search engines don’t want to send someone to a
website that takes forever to load—it makes them
look bad.

18. Task 5: Optimizing your website for
speed
What you can do right now:
Visit http://fpt.pingdom.com/ to test the load time of
your website.

19. Task 6: Link building within your
website
KEY POINTS:
You need to let the search engines easily crawl your
website—the deeper the better.

20. Task 6: Link building within your
website
What you can do right now:
Find and fix any broken links on your website
(Wordpress plug-in “Broken Link Checker” or
http://validator.w3.org/checklink.
For Wordpress users, install the plug-in “Google XML
Sitemaps” and another plug-in that will display “related
posts” after each blog post.

21. Task 7: Become active in the social
networks
KEY POINTS:
When you are active on a social network like
Facebook, the search engines see you as an
invested, engaged participant in a hugely popular
online community. This gives you credibility and
relevancy beyond just your website.

22. Task 7: Become active in the social
networks
What you can do right now:
Install social share plug-ins on your blog
Install Facebook and/or Twitter widget on your website
Add social buttons to your website
Share content across the social networks

23. How much SEO expertise do you really
need to have?

24. How I can help you:

25. Get in touch with me…
Chris.Heiler@landscapeleadership.com
(616) 953-0774 (voice or text)
Facebook.com/cjheiler
Twitter.com/chris_heiler