The document provides an overview of search engine optimization (SEO) presented by representatives from SankyNet, an SEO specialist firm. It discusses what SEO is, how search engines work, important on-site and off-site optimization techniques, differences between Google and Bing, current SEO news and trends, and tips for non-profits getting started with SEO. Key topics included keyword research, link building, content creation, technical elements like metadata and XML sitemaps, and the importance of ongoing optimization.

1. Google Got Binged!
and other SEO stories…
Harry Lynch
Chelsea Whitaker
Matt Ryan

2. On the Agenda
• Introductions
• What is SEO and why does it matter?
• How does SEO work?
• SEO in the News
• SEO and Social
• How Google and Yahoo/Bing differ
• How you can get started with SEO

3. Who are we?
Harry Lynch,
President, SankyNet
@HarryLynch
Chelsea Whitaker,
Strategist, SankyNet
@chelawhita
Matt Ryan,
Technical Director, SankyNet
@mrevd

4. Who is SankyNet?
• Team of 18 web specialists
• 14 years of online experience
• Email marketing
• Website design and development
• Comprehensive analytics reporting
• SEO Specialists, focusing on website visibility
Fun fact: When SankyNet started, AskJeeves was a
popular search engine! Times have changed!

5. So much has changed in SEO…

6. …And so much has stayed the same!

7. Why SEO Matters

8. Why SEO Matters
Source: Google.com

9. Why SEO Matters
• Connect the right people to your mission
• Higher visibility
• Find potential donors
• Boost credibility and authority

10. What is SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process
of improving the visibility of a website or a web
page in search engines via "natural" or
unpaid search results.
source: wikipedia.org

11. Search by Keyword
Keyword: What the person searches for
Paid ad targeted to keyword
Unpaid results that
match the keyword
Google and Bing remember your previous searches!
Each person and computer has slightly different
results based on past search history.

12. What SEO Is
• The Facts – Each day, millions of people search
for information. If your site is not well optimized,
people will not find you in search engine results
listings.
• “If you build it – they will come”

13. What SEO Really Is
• The Facts – each day, millions of people search for
information. If your site is not well optimized,
people will not find you in search engine results
listings.
• “If you build it – they will come”
SEO…
– Makes sure your website gets found by people using
search engines, by having it show up on the first page
of Google, Bing or Yahoo for the right search terms.

14. What happens without SEO?
Your site gets buried by more optimized content!

15. How Search Engines Work
• The Internet is a
network of websites,
pages, documents and
images
• Search engines look at
site periodically
– Automatic crawling
– Snapshot of current site
is indexed

16. How Search Engines Work
Each search engine has a unique
Ranking Algorithm to determine placement
It takes into account:
– URL of site and URL structure
– How site is coded
– How and when keywords appear on a site
– How many quality links to and from a site

17. SEO Audit
• Accessibility: Are pages accessible to both users and
search engine crawlers?
• Index-ability: How many pages are getting indexed by
search engine crawlers?
• On-site Ranking Factors: What techniques are you
already using on your site?
• Off-site Ranking Factors: How popular are you on the
web?
• Competitive Analysis: How do you stack up against the
competition?

18. On-Site SEO
• Develop descriptive metadata and body text with keywords.
• Create and update content containing keywords
• Improving architecture for site crawlability
• Add alt-tags to your images
• Have a modern CMS? Install modules to help!
• Content formatting with tags
• Create sitemap and footer with copyright and contact

19. Off-Site SEO
• Building a network of quality links
• Using social media for link-building
• Share content with others and link back and forth
• Submit your sitemap to search engines (Webmaster Tools)
• Submit your site to directories and galleries

20. How Search Engines Look at Links
• Each link is like a vote for the website.
• When two sites link to each other, that is like two
votes!
• Both Google and Bing use links to and from
websites to gauge the relevance of content,
more so than keywords or coding.

21. Cross-Linking: A Symbiotic Relationship
• Both pages are able to reach the audience that
needs them
• Both pages increase in Search Engine rank
Like a bee and a flower… both get the benefits of the connection!

22. Link-Building with Directories
• Directories exist to help build links!
• NEVER pay for links
• Use keywords in your submission
• Tweet @SankyNet for a list of directories to get
you started!

23. SEO and Social
- Social creates relevant links
- Social directories are constantly updated, and
therefore more relevant
- SEO and Social work together to drive traffic

24. SEO and Social
Bing Integrates with Facebook and Twitter

25. SEO and Social
Google+
• How the profile is crawled
– Does query term appears in the Introduction,
Employment, Education or Places you have lived?
– Links you share
– Names of Images
• Results on Google go social

26. Google+ - Search + Your World

27. SEO and Social
“Personal” Search on Google

28. SEO and Social – Technical Elements
• Technical, on-site social elements
– Twitter feed for updating content
– “Share This” buttons

29. Common SEO Mistakes
• Whole site is made of images, no text to crawl
• Image descriptions are blank
• Long metadata with too many keywords
• Forgetting that people SEE your page title
• Using Flash and not properly coding it
• Misuse of heading and title tags
• No sitemap, no footer
• Outdated and stale content

30. QUESTION BREAK!

31. Search Engines aren’t all the same…
Google vs Yahoo/Bing
– Technical differences in how they look at sites
Yahoo/Bing (owned by Microsoft) =
meta-tags
Google (and AOL) = quality links

32. Search Engine Market Share – June 2012
• Google’s share of the U.S. search engine market stood at
68.7% as of June – topping its record 66.7% in May. Google
commanded 65.5% of the U.S. search market a year ago.
• Bing grew its search market share to 15.6%, up from 14.4%
a year ago. While Yahoo fell to 13% in June from 15.9% last
year, the combined Bing-powered search share is now
28.6%!
• Ask is 3.0%, AOL is 1.5% - +0.1% month-to-month change

33. Search Engine Market Share

34. Search Engine Market Share

35. Search Engine Demographics
2010 study by Cowan & Co
• Yahoo appeals to 50+. As a home page, it is more “set-up” in advance for its
users and doesn’t push or require customization. People over 50 who were
“leading edge” Internet users 10-15 years ago set up a Yahoo email account
when Yahoo was THE dominant search engine and they still have and use that
account today.
• Seventy-nine percent of 22- to 25-year-olds use Google as their primary
search engine, compared to 63% of total respondents.
• Google usage is skewed toward younger demographics, high-income
households, users with college and graduate degrees, and mobile Internet
users.
• Bing’s highest penetration rate is in the 55-and-over demographic.

36. Google vs Bing – Survey

37. Marketing on Search Engines
SEM (paying for ads) on Google and Bing show
some demographic differences…
Bing –
Cheaper keywords + higher dollar gifts = higher ROI
Google –
More clicks + keyword variety = higher overall income

38. Free Tools to Find Differences
• Google Trends
www.google.com/trends
• Yahoo Buzz Log
http://buzzlog.yahoo.com
• Bing Keyword Research Tool (requires sign in)
http://www.bing.com/toolbox/keywords
• AOL Trends
http://search.aol.com/aol/trends

39. QUESTION BREAK!

40. SEO in the News
Bing-Powered Search Hits 30%

41. SEO in the News
Google Instant – Search getting political?

42. SEO in the News
• New Bing design accused of copying Google

43. SEO in the News
• Big brands, big investment... Big drama?
Google lures Bing to show algorithm

44. SEO in the News
Twitter fight between Microsoft’s Frank Shaw and
Google’s Matt Cutts…

45. Microsoft wants Google Meta-data
• Microsoft contends that Google will not make
metadata connected to YouTube video’s available
to its Bing search engine
• Google has refused to allow Microsoft’s new
Windows Phones to access this YouTube metadata
in the same way that Android phones and iPhones
do

46. How can a nonprofit get started in SEO?
• Think about your keywords
– Mission based
– What a donor would search for
– Or, to serve the constituents who need you
– Keep it simple! 3 groupings of 1-2 words
• Work Keywords into your site
– Mission statement on homepage?
– Tagline in footer?
– Alt-tags on images?

47. How can a nonprofit get started in SEO?
• Build obvious link partners
– Partner organizations? Local chapters? Bloggers?
– Send a nice email!
• Update content often
– News update – once a week?
– Cross-post from partners
• Content format
– Header tags
– Title tags

48. Next Steps for SEO
• Get technical
– Add in meta-data with short, keyword rich description
– Submit a sitemap (it’s free!)
– Submit site to Google and Bing Webmaster (its free!)
• Think about site architecture
– Do your URLs have keywords?
– Are your menu items using keywords?
– Is it time for an overhaul?

49. Staying Competitive in SEO
• Ongoing (Never-ending) process
– Keep adding content!
– Must build links consistently
– Don’t optimize and walk away
• Keep in touch with Search Engine changes
– Read Search Engine Watch blog

50. Looking to the Future of SEO
• Google will stay dominant
• HTML5 will change how new sites are coded
• Mobile will grow

51. QUESTIONS?

52. Harry Lynch, Chelsea Whitaker, Matt Ryan
THANK YOU!