Slides from a SEO presentation from 2017 here in Madison, WI covering the latest trends in SEO including Rank Brain, Google Penguin, AMP, and best practices for keyword research and on-site optimization. Please contact matt@madtownseo.com with questions. Thanks, Matt Nelson MadtownSEO.com

1. SEO - New Rules Of the Road
Matt Nelson
MadTownSEO.com
GrowMadison.com
wiscoteam@gmail.com

2. The Skills Today's Marketers Need
“...the most valued skill a marketer can bring to the
table is SEO…job titles including SEO averaged a
yearly salary of $102,000...Social Media Marketing
came in around $51,000 annually.”

3. Why Should You Have an SEO Plan?
● Cost Effective (for most industries)
● Creates Permanent Value
● Compounding Return on Investment
● SEO Generates Highly Qualified Leads
● Amplifies Other Marketing Efforts
● The #1 Most Effective Marketing Strategy

4. What’s Happening the SEO World Today?
● Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
● RankBrain
● Google Penguin
● Interstitial Mobile Popups Penalty

5. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
The Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project is an open source
initiative that lets publishers create mobile optimized content once
and have it load instantly everywhere.
● Rolled out in August for news stories.
● Rolling out this week for all mobile search.
● News, shopping, cooking, travel, e-commerce and entertainment.

6. RankBrain Machine Learning
“RankBrain has become
the third-most
important signal
contributing to the
result of a search query”

7. Google Penguin
Codename for Google’s anti-webspam algorithm that identifies and
penalizes sites using black hat backlinking strategies intended to
artificially increase their rankings.
● Penguin hasn’t been updated in 2 years.
● An update is expected soon.
Takeaway: Don’t buy links, earn them.

8. Interstitial Mobile Popups Penalty
Here are some popup techniques that google will begin to penalize
on Jan 10, 2017
● Showing a popup that covers the main content, either immediately after the user
navigates to a page from search results, or while they are looking through the page.
● Displaying a standalone interstitial that has to be dismissed before accessing the content.
● Using a layout where the above-the-fold portion of the page appears similar to a
standalone interstitial, but the original content has been inlined underneath the fold.

9. The Secret to Successful SEO
Create new and unique content, updated
on a regular basis, that is relevant to your
target market...
...and do it better than the competition.

10. Getting Started With SEO
● Figure out how competitive your market is by doing some googling.
● Services and/or product pages deserve the most attention.
● Consider hiring a copywriter, good content is the key.
● WordPress will currently outrank any other platform.
● Make sure you claim your business on Google.
● Writing for SEO is an art. Beautiful prose and keywords are a tough mix.

11. Keyword Research
● Common Sense
● Google Analytics
● Jetpack Dashboard
● Adwords Keyword Planner
● Competitors Meta Data
● moz.com/explorer
● Google Trends
Pro tip: Users search for problems, not solutions!

12. Off-Site Optimization & Link Building
● Careful here...links should be ‘natural’
● Google My Business
● Local directories/web listings
● Reviews on G+, Yelp, etc.
● Active Social Media profiles
● Press/Guest Blogging/Whitepapers
● Events and Speaking Engagements

13. On-Site Optimization
● One main keyword per page
● Use synonyms and variations.
● Name your image files before you upload them.
● Include keyword in URL, title, meta description, in an
image title/alt text, and early in the content.
● Provide outbound links for more relevant information.
● 300 words per page, or more than the competition.
● Use diverse content including images, video, audio, etc.

14. MadTown SEO Client Tech Stack
● Wordpress
● Woocommerce
● Yoast SEO
● Events Calendar Pro
● Google Analytics
● Canva.com
● Gmail/Drive

15. Advanced SEO Tools & Resources
SEO Tools
● Google Search Console
● Moz Keyword Planner
● WooRank
● Google Trends
● Adwords Keyword Planner
Learn More
● Search Engine Land
● Google Webmaster Hangouts
● Moz Whiteboard Friday
● Seroundtable.com
● Forbes

16. A SEO Manager walks into a bar...
...tavern, inn, pub, saloon, taphouse, lodge,
watering hole, cocktail lounge, joint, dive,
roadhouse, drinkery, grog shop, public house,
speakeasy, alehouse.

17. Grow Madison
Hands-On Experiential Workshops. Led
By Local Experts.
● WordPress Bootcamp
● SEO for Small Business
● FaceBook Like a Ninja
● Google Analytics 101
● Marketing Automation 101
● Private & Corporate Training