This document provides an overview of search engine optimization (SEO) basics, emphasizing its importance for improving website visibility in search engines like Google. It outlines various SEO tactics, including content creation, linking strategies, and metadata optimization, to enhance website rankings and user experience. The document also highlights key factors influencing Google's ranking algorithm and offers quick wins for immediate SEO improvements.

1. Search Engine Optimisation
“SEO Basics” Training
23 April 2013
Shanelle Newton Clapham
Parachute Digital

2. Search engine optimisation
(SEO) is the process of
improving your website and
content so that it is visible to
search engines.
Website SEO aims to make the
information & services that your
organisation provide deemed
most relevant (by the search
engine) to match the keywords
that their users are searching
for.

3. What is SEO?
SEO means Search Engine Optimisation,
which is optimising your website to make it easier for
search engines to find you.
•Good SEO = High rankings in Google search listings (pg. 1)
•SEO is about many small tactics, implemented in increments
over time to help your website rank better in search engine
results. These tactics include:
• Website content (engagement objects [images, maps, video,
infographics, ebooks] + words)
• Internal and external linking strategies (expertness)
• Information architecture and siloing (URLs and site navigation)
• Meta data + keywords (html)
• Site map (html and XML) and much more.

4. Optimising for Google
90% of all internet sessions start with a Search query
93% of all searches in Australia
are on Google (Nov 2012)
Google Global Market share Nov 2012
#10 on Google gets more traffic than #1 on Yahoo

5. Optimising for Google
There are [reportedly] over 200 variables in Google’s algorithm
which determine rankings, some of them are:
• Content
• language and uniqueness
• frequency of updating
• Duplicate content
• Keywords used and anchor text + alt text
• Domain age
• Where you servers are located
• URL structure
• Internal cross linking
• Outbound and Inbound linking
• Authority of domains being linked to
• XML and html site maps
• Robots.txt
• Page load time

6. Content is King!

7. What is ‘Content’?
In the digital world, everything
you can add to a webpage is
‘content’
•Written words
•Images
•Video
•Graphs and infographics
•Links.

8. Treat your Content like a Queen!
Content brings
•Search engines
•People/ Partners/ Prospects
•Credibility
•A good user experience
•Variety
•Inbound links
•Sharing
•Stickiness (repeat visitation).

9. How people search
There is no right way to search

10. Different strokes for different folks

11. Spelling & grammar
Micromachining, micro-machining, micro machining

12. Suggestive or Predictive search
Some people use abbreviations when they type, others only type in 3 letters.

13. The Consideration Cycle
From generic to specific
How many
How many
searches does aa
searches does
shopper make
shopper make
before deciding
before deciding
to buy?
to buy?

14. Browsing behaviour
The location of Google’s Sponsored links changes so people don’t ignore it

15. Browsing behaviour
Search Preview Universal Search

16. Can we make assumptions about a
user’s assumed knowledge?

17. SEO Fundamentals
The stuff you need to know and get right

18. SEO Fundamentals
What you can control

19. Target keywords for Parachute Digital
• Digital marketing consultant
• Online marketing consultant
• Internet marketing consultant
• Digital marketing consultant Sydney
• Online marketing consultant Sydney
Ideally every
Ideally every
• Internet marketing consultant Sydney
keyword
keyword
• Digital marketing strategy Parachute Digital
Parachute Digital
• Online marketing strategy wants to rank
wants to rank
• User experience website planning well for should
well for should
• Social Media strategy have its own
have its own
webpage.
webpage.
• Mobile marketing strategy
• Content marketing strategy
• Email marketing strategy
• Search engine optimisation strategy
• SEO strategy
• SEO optimisation strategy

20. Meta Data or Meta tags
• Page title – the title that shows in Google’s Search listing
• Description – the description that shows in Google’s
Search listing
• Keywords
• Meta tags must be specific to each page
• They must describe the page content and use the SEO
keywords
• They must match the page URL
• Any words that are hyperlinked through the page content,
should match the keywords (this is called anchor text).

21. Parachute Digital Meta data
example
http://parachutedigitalmarketing.com.au/blog/usability-2/planning-your-website-for-
the-best-possible-user-experience/

22. Ideal: Meta Data example
• Page title: Deforestation, illegal timber imports, logging - Say No to Bad
Wood
• Description: The wood you have in your home could be linked to
deforestation or logging in some of the world's most precious ecosystems.
Help us to ban illegal timber imports of bad wood into Australia.
• Keywords: ban illegal logging imports into Australia, ban illegal timber
imports into Australia, ban illegal forest products, Say no to bad wood,
ecosystem Papua New Guinea, deforestation Papua New Guinea, illegally
logged forest products, logging Papua New Guinea, illegal logging New
Guinea, illegal timber imports, illegal logging practices, illegal forest
products, illegal timber Australia, illegal logging Borneo, illegal logging
Indonesia, illegal logging Malaysia, , good wood Australia, tropical forest
timber, ecosystem Sumatra, deforestation Sumatra, ecosystem Borneo,
deforestation Borneo, illegal logging, logging Sumatra, logging Borneo,
logging Australia, bad wood, ecosystem, deforestation, logging, forests,
timber, wood, Australia.

23. Meta data template
• Page title
• 8-10 words: Literally what the page is about
• the most important words first (brand is the last thing)
• Description
• 12-24 words: this is what the user will read in the
Google search listings
• so it needs to be an accurate description of what is on
the page
• Keywords
• 24-48 keywords: this is what we think people will
be typing into a Google Search
• starting with the longest keywords (5+ words) down to
single word keywords

24. Heading tags <H1> to <H6>

25. Linking – Internal, External, Inbound
Linking is important because Google’s “spiders” crawl the
internet, moving from one link to another. So these links should
have relevant keywords in them
•Internal linking
•creating hyperlinks to move users around your own site
•External linking
•hyperlinks that direct users to websites outside of your domain
•Inbound links
•Google gives points to sites who have lots of links pointing to them
•Ideally, you want inbound links from authority or “expert”
websites (page rank 4 and above).

26. Anchor text
• The words you choose to hyperlink are called “anchor
text”.
• Google puts more emphasis on words that are linked or
bolded
• These anchor text words should match your keywords
wherever possible
• Therefore, your anchor text gives Google a quick
snapshot of your page content and the pages you’re
linking to.
Don’t hyperlink words like “Find out More” or “Click here for more
Don’t hyperlink words like “Find out More” or “Click here for more
information”.
information”.
We want to hyperlink our keywords such as “digital marketing strategy” or
We want to hyperlink our keywords such as “digital marketing strategy” or
“online marketing consultant sydney”
“online marketing consultant sydney”

27. Alt text or Alt tags
Alt text is a literal description of your images that search engines can read.
This should be different to the caption (but many websites use the same info).

28. On Page SEO Template

29. What you can do now
Quick Wins for your website’s SEO

30. Quick Wins for SEO
• Improve the page content by using identified keywords
within the text on the page
• Remove duplicate pages/ content across the network
• Add page specific meta tags to every webpage
• Increase internal and external linking, with anchor text
rich in keywords
• Add more images
• Add alt tags to all images
• Create transcripts for videos.

31. What else can I do to influence SEO?
• Write articles or Blogs
• On your website
• On other websites that will link back to you
• Participate in Social media, add social/ user generated
commentary to your website
• Create location markers – such as Google Places or GPS maps
• Build up your website quality score with Paid search
• Optimise your website for Mobile search.

32. Long term SEO Success
1. Continued publication of new content
2. Ongoing maintenance of SEO optimisation
3. Quality control and refinement of silos and linking strategy
1. Inbound linking This is really tough!
2. External linking
3. Internal linking
4. Maintenance of site maps to ensure all pages are indexed
1. Html
2. XML
5. Regular SEO reporting to measure success and then continue
to optimise for best results.

33. Thank You