This document discusses search engine optimization (SEO) strategies for websites. It explains that SEO makes sites more spider-friendly for search engines to index them. Key on-page optimization tactics mentioned include having an organized site structure and page hierarchy, using descriptive page titles and URLs, optimally placing keywords, and ensuring important information is in HTML for crawlers. The document also discusses the importance of backlinks, both for ranking and gaining links from relevant domains, and provides some methods for obtaining backlinks, such as editorials, outreach, and self-created links. It emphasizes keeping content unique, relevant and frequently updated while avoiding abusive SEO practices.

1. PAGE 1 OF GOOGLE
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

2. “For a generation of customers used
to doing their buying research via
search engine, a company’s brand is
not what the company says it is, but
what Google says it is.”
C H R I S A N D E R S ON , E D I T O R -I N - CHI EF O F W I R E D

3. HOW DOES SEARCH WORK?
• Three kinds of traffic:
– Direct
– Referral
– Search
• Sites indexed by spiders or robots
– Component of search engine that indexes web sites
automatically. A search engine’s crawler (also called a
spider or robot), copies web page source code into its
index database and follows links to other web pages.
(Source: Anvil Media glossary)
• SEO makes sites spider-friendly

4. HOW DO YOU SEO?
• Site map • Alt tags
• Page hierarchy • Keywords
• Page title • Content
• URLs • Text links
• Code • Back links
• Meta tags

5. THE ORGANIZED SITE
• Site map and page hierarchy
–Shallow
–Connected

6. WHAT’S IN A NAME
• Page title
–Watch out for length: (65-75
characters )
–Keep keywords close to the front.
–Should be descriptive, readable,
impactful
–Use titles to increase branding
awareness

7. EXAMPLE: PAGE TITLES
CREDIT: SEOMOZ.ORG

8. LINKS MATTER
• URLs
–Should be descriptive, relevant
–Shorter is better
–Keyword use is important
–Use hyphens to separate words
in URLs

9. EXAMPLE: GOOD LINKING PRACTICES
CREDIT: SEOMOZ.ORG

10. GOOD BONES
• Code
– Important info should be in HTML
• Meta tags
– Robots: noindex, nofollow, etc.
– Description: Snippet under search result
• Alt tags
– Descriptive and keyword-friendly

11. A FEW WORDS ON KEYWORDS
• Use words your customers use
• Use mix of keywords
• At least 2-3 times in body of page,
more if lots of text
• At least once in an alt tag
• Once in the URL

12. EXAMPLE: OPTIMAL KEYWORD PLACEMENT
CREDIT: SEOMOZ.ORG

13. THE MEAT OF THE THING
• Content should be:
–Unique
–Relevant
–Updated frequently
–Canonicalized

14. WHO YOU KNOW
• Back links
– Links from popular sites
– Links from topic community
– Links from trusted domains
– Anchor text of incoming links
– Fresh links
– Link neighborhood
– Social network shares

15. HOW TO GET BACKLINKS
• Editorial Links
– News articles
– Blog posts
• Outreach Links
– Blogroll link swaps
– Site directories
• Self-created Links
– Blog comments
– Forum signature

16. IN SUMMARY
• Many contributing factors
• Requires practice
• Stay organized
• Keep subject of site in mind
• Resource: 15-Minute SEO Checklist
http://www.webconfs.com/15-minute-seo.php
• Resource: Google Webmaster Guidelines
http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/ans
wer.py?hl=en&answer=35769
• Warning: Abusive SEO (spam) is dangerous.

17. THE GOLDEN RULE
Keep your site clean, organized and
simple. It should be easy to navigate
for both humans AND robots.