SEO has evolved significantly over time from focusing solely on on-page context to also considering off-page authority and now personalization. Early SEO involved stuffing keywords and optimizing individual pages. Later, the focus shifted to creating high-quality, shareable content to attract links from other sites to build authority. Now, search results are highly personalized based on user history, social connections, and real-time information. To succeed at SEO today, companies must publish content across multiple channels, build large social followings, engage those followers, and empower all employees to participate in content sharing and marketing.

1. SEO:
Past, Present, Future
Kipp Bodnar Jeanne Hopkins
@kbodnar32 @JeanneHopkins

2. SEO Tips from Website Grader
Lessons from 2,732,332 websites

3. Timeline of SEO
Time Period Ranking Algorithm
Before 2000 • Context (web page content)
• Context
2000 to 2010 • Authority (links)
• Context
• Authority
2010 and Beyond • Personalization (social media and
personal info)

4. SEO Before 2000
Ranking Algorithm:
f(n): Context

5. Which Page Gets #1 Ranking?
Search: “business software”
vs.
Result: HubSpot.com = #1
HubSpot has stuffed all the metadata and text
fields with lots of keyword phrases, including
“business software”, “business”, etc.

6. On-Page SEO (Context)
• Page Title
• Clean URL
• Headers & Content
• Description

7. Keyword Selection
“Cosmetic Dentist”
vs
“Prosthodontist”

8. Attractive to Whom? (Context)
www.seo-browser.com

9. Pre-2000 SEO Tips
• Lots of pages
• Search spider friendly
• Keyword-rich content

10. SEO from 2000 to 2010
Ranking Algorithm:
f(n): Context + Authority

11. Which Page Gets #1 Ranking?
Search: “business software”
vs.
Result: Salesforce.com = #1
Salesforce.com has more links and authority
since it is a larger company and has been around
longer.

12. Authority is Determined by Links

13. Why Links are Votes to Google
• Recommendations from friends
1. “I know HubSpot”
2. “HubSpot is a marketing expert”
3. You trust the person saying this
• Links are online recommendations
1. A link: www.HubSpot.com
2. Anchor text: Internet Marketing
3. Link is from a trusted website

14. More + Better Content = Links

15. A Few Links Matter A Lot
Source: SEOMoz

16. Publish Everything
• Blog
• Podcast
• Videos
• Photos
• Presentations
• eBooks
• News Releases

17. Publish Everywhere

18. Link Worthy Content

19. Blogging Attracts More Links
Source: Data from over 1,500 small businesses - http://hub.tm/BlogROI

20. 2000 to 2010 SEO Tips
• Lots of pages
• Search spider friendly
• Keyword-rich content
• Link-worthy content
• Promote content to get links

21. SEO in 2010 and Beyond
Ranking Algorithm:
f(n): Context + Authority
+ Social / Personal

22. Which Page Gets #1 Ranking?
Search: “business software”
vs.
Result: It depends!
It depends on who you are and when you search.

23. What influences the results?
• Browser history of searcher
• Location of searcher
• Social graph of searcher
• Social authority of pages
• Up to the second news / trends

24. What Does SEO Rank Mean?
SEO rank is now
a meaningless metric.

25. What Does SEO Rank Mean?
At any one time you rank #1 or
#8 or #40 based on who is
searching, where they search,
and what is happening.

26. Where is Search Going?

27. Where is Search Going?

28. Major Trends in Search / Information
• Search fractionalization
• Personalization
• Content volume
• Social graph data
• Social discovery
• Real time content

29. Searches Per Second
Google: 34,000 / second
Yahoo: 3,200 /second
Bing: 927 / second
Source: http://searchengineland.com/by-the-numbers-twitter-vs-facebook-vs-google-buzz-36709

30. Top Search Engines

31. Words Per Search Growing
Source: http://blog.comscore.com/2010/06/facebook_search_engine.html

32. Posts Per Second
Facebook: 700 / second
Twitter: 600 / second
Google Buzz: 55 / second
Source: http://searchengineland.com/by-the-numbers-twitter-vs-facebook-vs-google-buzz-36709

33. 50 Million Tweets Per Day

34. NEW: Facebook = The Web

35. Coming to SEO: Likes = Links
= =

36. What should I do to prepare for
what’s next in SEO?

37. Build Your Reach to Build Authority
Reach Metric HubSpot Salesforce.com
Inbound Links 451,000 78,676
MozRank SEO Authority 1-10 6 6
LinkedIn Group Members 45,000 14,400
LinkedIn Company Followers 458 276
Facebook Fans 11,900 6,500
Twitter Followers 34,000 6,800
Google Buzz Followers 1,000 None
YouTube Views 300,000 400,000
Slideshare Views 375,000 3,000
Twitter Mentions Per Month 34,000 9,500

38. Evolution of the Database

39. Content Makes You Interesting

40. Blogging Drives Social Success
Source: Data from over 2,000 businesses - http://bit.ly/a6SrWh

41. Make Sharing Easy

42. Auto-Post New Content to Social & Email
New Blog Post: A CEO’s
Guide to Internet Marketing

43. Build Network - Keyword Search

44. Start Groups on Topics
Groups
Group & Page
Lists

45. Participate in Q&A
• Facebook
Discussions
• Yahoo!
Answers
• LinkedIn
Q&A and
Discussions

46. All Your Employees Are Marketers

47. Empower Employees by Sharing Info

48. SEO Tips for 2010 and Beyond
• Lots of pages
• Search spider friendly
• Keyword-rich content
• Link-worthy content
• Promote content to get links
• Publish more often
• Build a large social following
• Engage your social following

49. Suggested Next Steps
The Basics:
• Read the “Inbound Marketing” Book
• Grade your website:
www.WebsiteGrader.com
More Advanced:
• Tips for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn:
• www.HubSpot.com/marketing-hubs

50. Q&A