In a presentation to small business owners, Brandon Na emphasizes the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as a crucial marketing strategy, comparing it to historical gold rushes where early adopters benefited the most. He shares insights on effective SEO practices, including the significance of content, credibility, and link-building, while urging businesses to seize the current SEO opportunities or risk falling behind. The document details case studies illustrating successful SEO tactics and stresses that this marketing approach is unparalleled in its efficiency and effectiveness.

1. (The Real) SEO Gold RushBy Brandon NaCEO, Ethicus Group, brandon@ethicusgroup.comPrincipal, Seattle Organic SEO, brandon@seattleorganicseo.comPresented to Small business Owners on March 22, 2011 at the Community Capital Development, Seattle, WA, http://wbc.seattleccd.com/node/167

2. 1st tip: Always question the sourceIn H.S., I was taught this (primary, secondary, biases, etc.)Who is Brandon Na? (brandonna.com)SEO, CEO, & Social Entrepreneur

3. Was a “practicing entrepreneur” for 38 yrs (amazon, expedia, r.e., cdi [140 pplin/directs; 7000 students], RMS, rSolutions, semcommonsense, almostfreephone & various other websites)

4. Son of 2 serial entrepreneurs (still advise & will probably take over in a few years)

5. Used SEO to build 2 businesses into very profitable and succesful entities that decreased marketing $’s drastically

6. Sold house to Adrian Beltre, sold personal house to JJ PutzSahalee Country Club memberNever has there been a time in business history where one marketing strategy been so efficient, so effective and so powerful. If you don’t take advantage of this opportunity, you might as well fall by the waste side as many businesses have done in the Past 5 years. -(author tbd)

7. January 24, 1848 The California gold rush began when gold was discovered at Sutter’s MillAs the news of discovery spread, some 300,000 people came to California from the rest of the United States and abroad

8. These early gold seekers called “49ers” traveled to California bysailing ships, covered wagons acrossthe continent. Basically they did ANYTHING to get their gold. Sound familiar?

9. The Real Benefactor: Samuel BrannanSamuel Brannan was the first millionaire because of the California gold rush. Brannan established the first newspaper in San Francisco called the California Star and also established the first school in San Francisco. He was also credited with developing banks, railroads, and telegraph companies. Recent scholarship confirms that merchants made far more money than miners during the Gold Rush. Brannan was a prime example. Brannan opened the first supply stores in Sacramento, Coloma, and other spots in the gold fields. Just as the Gold Rush began, he purchased all the prospecting supplies available in San Francisco and re-sold them at a substantial profit.Basically, he got therefirst.

10. Many Gold Rushes have occurred sinceBlack Hills of S.D. and Wyoming (1874)

11. Mount Baker (1897) & Klondike (1896)

12. Peruvian Amazon (2009)

13. Dot Com Bubble (1995-2000)

14. Real Estate Bubble (2006 - ???)

15. Basically people want money that grows on trees; very few believe in the phrase, “in order to make money, you need to ‘earn it.’”(There have even been) Marketing Gold RushesEarly days of: Newspapers (1704)Magazines (1742) Billboards (1867)Telemarketing (1895)Radio (1906)Television (1935)(Direct) Mail Marketing (1954)Early days = Not fully provenCheaper prices & early adopters awarded

16. One of the most powerful, but…One of the most annoying! (est early 1990s)At the beginning of Internet MarketingIn the first stage for several & at worst, the 2nd.Email MarketingThe most efficient– Has 2 major periodsBefore Google, After Google (est 1999/2000)SEOThe most efficient– Has 2 major periodsBefore Google, After Google (est 1999/2000)PPCJust Started (2010)– Facebook, Twitter (still mostly noise)Important, but…Social MediaVERY earlyImportant, but…Mobile Marketing

17. What is SEO? Why do we care? Search Engine Optimization aka “Super Efficient Opportunities”

18. It’s a Google Dominated (Search) WorldUS Searches – Feb 201166.69% Google.com

19. 28.48% Bing Powered

20. 14.99% Search.Yahoo.com

21. 13.49% Bing.com*Experian Hitwise (Data based on 4 week rolling periods (ending Feb 26, 2011) from the Hitwise sample of 10 million U.S. InternetUsers. Figures are for Web Searches only.

22. Most Important SEO FactorsThere are 2 Big C’s to focus onContentOn-site/page OptimizationCredibilityLinks“The Internet is a an Economic Library”Content2ndpage3rdpageCredibility Chaos,: (Creativity, Cunning, Collaboration, Conditions [luck])2’s3’s#14’s20thpage

23. ContentMA = Media (website) AttributesDescribing your website to Google with website attributesURL (#3)Most Imp TagsTitle(#1, #2)H1 Headline Tags (#4)In/Ex-ternal link anchor textMuch more (imgs, meta)PA = Page AuthorityLinksPage RankDetermines importance on ‘netCredibilityWhat exactly is Content & Credibility?How are people successful in every day business?MA & PA do it the right way!SEO Factors Survey Results (2009)24% Trust/Authority of the Host Domain22% Link Popularity Of the Specific Page20% Anchor Text of Internal Links15% On-Page Keyword Usage7% Traffic and Click-Through Data6% Social Graph Metrics5% Registration and Hosting Datahttp://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors#ranking-factors

24. Keyword Research B4 Content & CredibilityDefining what you will target is key!

25. Real World Case Study #1Deviant Seattlehttp://deviantseattle.com

26. Typical First line checksTitle Tag

27. About Page

28. Scan the site (on the outside [visually] & inside [view source]Header tagsMeta tags (imp/not imp)Use Online Tools to determine important SEO factors

29. Look for the website online