Learn how to optimize your content for search engines

1. Document Relevancy

2. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Quick Reminder
It’s the search engine’s job to show
users relevant content based on
what they’re searching for.
It’s our job to understand what our
customers are searching for, and
create relevant content for them.
Document Relevancy

3. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Pages vs. Domains
Document Relevancy
● Google ranks pages, not domains
● Use the document relevancy concept for pages
● Optimizing just your homepage generally doesn’t help
your deeper pages get ranked

4. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Keyword Research & Synonyms
Document Relevancy
● Use exact-match keywords to a point
● Don’t let it sound spammy
● Google understands synonyms - use them!
● Always read your copy out loud
● If it sounds terrible, rework it until it’s great

5. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Keyword Research & Synonyms
Document Relevancy
“Discount Nike Shoes” - 4,400 queries / month
sneakers, running shoes, footwear
http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/shoes

6. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Latent Semantic Indexing
Document Relevancy
Words that are thematically related to your keyword.
Empire State Building
Synonyms: building, tower, skyscraper, high-rise
LSI: NYC, Guinness Book of Records, Sightseeing

7. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
LSIGraph.com

8. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Title Tag & Meta Descriptions
Document Relevancy
● Title tags are the most important element!
● Mixed feedback on title tag length
● Keep CTR in mind
● Keep keyword closer to the front
● Should be unique for every page

9. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Title Tag & Meta Descriptions
Document Relevancy
● Meta descriptions should be about 160 characters
● Should use your main keyword because it gets bolded
● Does not impact rankings, but does impact CTR
● Google will sometimes create meta descriptions on its
own, based on your content

10. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Title Tag & Meta Descriptions
Document Relevancy

11. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
URLs
Document Relevancy
● Keyword in the URL is helpful - but changing URLs can
have severe consequences
● Page migrations are tricky… when in doubt, don’t do it
● Starting a new page? Yes, get the URL in there
● Generally, the closer to the root domain, the better

12. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
URLs
Document Relevancy

13. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
URLs
Document Relevancy

14. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Headers
Document Relevancy
● Used to logically lay out your web page
● Make sure not to have more than one H1 tag
● Lots of debate around the impact of H2, H3, H4 tags
● Meh - just get your keyword in the H1 and move on

15. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Headers
Document Relevancy

16. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Body Copy
Document Relevancy
● No “minimum” magic number, but my rule of thumb is
100 words per page, main keyword at least 2-3 times
● Broadly, the more text the better (without hurting UX)
● Get synonyms and LSI keywords in there
● Read it out-loud before publishing

17. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Body Copy
Document Relevancy

18. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Image ALT & Filename
Document Relevancy
● Search engines aren’t humans
● We help them “see” images by naming them correctly
● Also used for accessibility (visually-impaired users)
● Prone to over-optimization: watchout!

19. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Images & ALT Text
Document Relevancy

20. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Internal Links & Anchor Text
Document Relevancy
● Links from other pages on your site are important
● The anchor text used in those links are important
● Linking to other pages with the anchor text is important
● Location of the link is important

21. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Internal Linking & Anchor Text
Document Relevancy

22. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Link Neighborhoods
Document Relevancy
● Create a great resource for users by linking to content
that Google already trusts (read: is ranking well)
● Lets Google know who you are associated with
● Controversial: link to competitors are already ranking!

23. CLICKMINDED DIGITAL MARKETING
Freshness / Recency
Document Relevancy
● In 2011, Google announced that “fresh” content
would rank higher than stale content
● Updating old content that’s performed well in the
past can often give it a boost in results
● Remember: don’t change the URL!