There are certain fundamentals that you must track in order to have effective SEO. Just as importantly knowing what to track will make you a better consumer of SEO services.

1. Intelligent Management Inc.
How To Get The Most From Your
Search Engine Optimization
November 16, 2011

2. What Most Small Business
Owners Tell Me
• “It’s all a great mystery. I think it’s just a big con.”
• “I spend thousands of dollars a month and have
nothing to show for it.”
• “How do I know that I’m actually getting value
from a Search Engine Optimization consultant?”
• “Why should I spend my money on SEO, when
most of my business is essentially word of mouth?”
• “Why is an SEO optimized website better than
traditional advertising? After all, can’t my ads drive
them to my site?”

3. My Response
• More than 60 percent of prospects validate
companies via the Internet
• If you don’t make the cut on Google think of all the
money you are leaving on the table. Because one
of your competitors – or more – is going to get it
• Even if you generally focus on a specific
geography, does that automatically mean that you
are going to ignore others?
• Avg. cost of a single print ad in Fairfield Magazine
is $2000. Avg. cost of a website is $2,500…

4. My Response
• The web gives you a permanent marketing
presence around which you can build multiple
marketing strategies
• The web allows you to tell your story the way you
want, how you want and when you want – you can
constantly upgrade and enhance content, virtually
for free
• But, there is no free lunch…

5. The Truth About Websites

6. The Internet Has More Than 500 Million Websites

7. The Truth About Websites
YOU

10. FIVE CRITICAL Rules For Effective SEO*
1. Keyword targeting
2. Use of keywords in "meta title" or
“title tag” (same thing)
3. Proper "meta description"
4. Links (interlinking & backlinking) to
your site/page
5. Contextual links to your site using a
keyword
*Provided by Michael Guerin of Best Web Presence

11. Specifics of Keyword Targeting
• Keyword targeting means starting with a short list of relevant
keywords for your site
• How many? It depends on the # of product/service offerings you
have, how many pages on your site, etc. A good rule of thumb is to
start small, say 10 or 20 to focus on
• Once you have your keywords you’ll need to include them on
EVERY page on your site.
• And you do that by including them:
– in the “meta” information
– in your copy
– in links ON your site
– in links TO your site

12. Example of Keyword Usage (as seen from
Google)…

13. What Makes A Good Keyword
• Balance search volume with specificity
• The more targeted the keyword to what you
do/sell/offer, the better the keyword, along as there is
enough volume to justify the effort
• Use this tip: when looking at the keyword phrase, do you
have a clear picture of what the person is looking for?
– If so, you’re on the right track
• Most people fail to get on page 1 of Google because they
choose keyword(s) that are so “broad based” that it would
take years to get visibility
• Start small: Target relevant “overlooked” keywords to kick
start your SEO efforts.
• Tip: Look at your UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP)

14. Google “Analytics” Is One Of The Best
Places To Go To Identify Keywords

15. How To Maximize Keyword Usage
On Your Site
• Keywords in your copy (bold
text, headings)
• Interlinking -- links on your web page that
link to other web pages on your site
• Using keywords as link text
• Footer links or links in the sidebar of your
site is a great way to highlight pages on
your site with the appropriate keyword

16. Keywords As Link Text

17. How To How To Get Backlinks & Why They
Are Important
• Write/distribute articles on article directories that
link back to you
• Advertise/pay for links on another website
– #1 "off-site" SEO factor
• Google places importance on inbound links
because incoming links = "worthy" site
• Links with keywords = association of your
site/page with the keyword: i.e. this page = this
keyword

18. Example of “off site” SEO Creating
Valuable Backlinks

19. Critical Components of “Backlinking”
• The more backlinks, the better your chances for getting
on Google’s page 1
• Most article directories can help you, as long as your
follow the rules:
– unique content only > 300 words
– only 2 links to a single URL/website
• Posting articles is one way to generate backlinks while
getting traffic to your site (as long as you use keywords)
• Beware of automated tools – they don’t work and will
most likely get your site blacklisted
• The key is to make sure that any backlink program uses
unique content posted on other websites as the method
to get you a ton of high quality backlinks

20. Conclusions
• SEO is a science, not black magic – it can be
documented, tracked and refined
• SEO also requires patience and time – short cuts almost
never work and can get you blacklisted…
• There are a LOT of really BAD SEO “experts” out
there, just as there are a lot of cons in just about every
form of marketing
• If you stick to the five basics we have discussed, you will
have a solid basis to compare different offerings and
equally important TRACK your effectiveness

21. Conclusions
Ask me if I
believe that
SEO can
work…