The document outlines key elements of search engine optimization (SEO) essential for increasing visibility in search results, including site accessibility, content quality, keyword strategy, user design, and analytics. It emphasizes the importance of SEO in drawing traffic and converting visitors into customers, while detailing ten ingredients for a successful SEO strategy. Additionally, it highlights various tools and resources available for implementing and monitoring SEO practices.

1. Search Engine Optimization
March 13, 2012
Scott Mowery
Search & Online Marketing Manager
Cleveland Clinic
mowerys@ccf.org

2. My Background

4. 4 Functions of a Search Engine
• Crawling the Internet
• Building an index
• Calculating relevancy
and rankings
• Serving results

5. Search Engine Marketing
Increasing
visibility on
search engine
result pages
Organic Results
(SEO)
Paid Listings
(PPC)

6. US Search Engine Market Share
Over 18.2 billion
total searches
per month!
Source: ComScore.com totals for Dec. 2011

7. Why Consumers Use Search Engines
• “Digital Advice”
• Make informed decisions
• Find correct, complete info
• Reassurance and empowerment
• 24/7 access
Awareness
Loyalty
• Useful in all stages
of purchase cycle
Selection
Familiarity
Consideration

8. Why is SEO Important to Me?
• 70% of online health seekers start there
• > 3 of 4 CCF.org visits from SEM
• 85% of searches from outside Ohio
• It’s the key driver for our Internet funnel
Sources: Pew Internet Study, Google Analytics

9. Everybody is Part of the SEO Team
Marketing
Sales
IT
Copywriters
Media Relations
Designers
Analysts

10. The Joy of Cooking SEO
The Recipe Has 10 Ingredients…

11. Ingredient #1:
Make Your Site
Accessible to
Search Engines

12. Limitations of Search Engines

13. Descriptive HTML Text is Necessary
How much readable text is on this page?

14. See Your Site Like a Search Engine
• Disable browser cookies and Javascript
• Use the cached link on any Google result

15. Keep URLs Clean and Simple
http://www.joann.com/storage/scrapbook-storage/paper-organizers/

16. Shallow, Logical Site Architecture
Home Page:
Toys
Category Page:
Lego
Subcategory Page:
Star Wars Lego
Product Detail Page:
8092 Luke’s Landspeeder

17. Shallow, Logical Site Architecture
Largest share of links
Tend to earn few links
Tend to earn few links
A few pages may earn many links,
but most of them earn few

18. Many Points of Entry
= Spider Entry Point

19. Eliminate Duplicate Content
http://www.homedepot.com/Lightin http://www.homedepot.com/Lightin
g-Fans-Indoor-Lighting-Indoor- g-Fans-Indoor-Lighting-Indoor-
Ceiling-Lighting- Ceiling-Lighting-
Chandeliers/h_d1/N- Chandeliers/h_d1/N-
5yc1vZbvn3/h_d2/Navigation?catal 5yc1vZbvn3/h_d2/Navigation?catal
ogId=10053&langId=- ogId=10053&langId=-
1&storeId=10051 1&storeId=10051#/?c=1&Ns=P_RE
P_PRC_MODE|1

20. Duplicate Content Examples
• URL Parameters
• Printable Versions
• http://buymystuff.com/widgets
• http://buymystuff.com/print/widgets
• Session IDs
• http://buymystuff.com/widgets
• http://buymystuff.com/widgets?SESSID=12

21. Solution: Canonical Tag

22. Solution: URL Redirects
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/an-seos-guide-to-http-status-codes

23. Even Error Pages Can Help Users

24. Slow Site Speed Doesn’t
Win the Race (or Rankings)!

25. Ingredient #2:
Don’t Settle for
Good Content.
Make Your
Content Great!

26. Which Content Would You Like?
“Good” Content “Great” Content
• Satisfies user needs • Exceeds user
• Written by a human expectations
• Not copied from • Produced by
elsewhere outstanding writers
and designers
• 1-2 pages long
• May use video, audio
• Free of grammar,
and images to
spelling and
enhance copy
punctuation errors
• Provides unique
• Similar to other sites
insights and info
• “I have to share this”

27. Search Engine Land Periodic Table
http://searchengineland.com/seotable

28. Unbounce Marketing Guide
http://unbounce.com/noob-guide-to-online-marketing-infographic/

29. “Analytics According to Captain Kirk”
http://www.sitelogicmarketing.com/blog/02-analytics-according-to-captain-kirk

30. Oyster.com Hotel Reviews
15+ Page 300+
Review Photos
http://www.oyster.com/phoenix/hotels/the-boulders-resort-and-golden-door-spa/

31. Become a Content Hub
Sources Content Bank
• Company • Industry News/Data
• Customers • Unique Research
• News/Media • Timely Analysis
• Blogs • Product Information
• Social Media • Multimedia Content
• Vendors • Discussion/Interaction
• Government • Offers/Promotions
• Events • Humor/Human Interest
• Presentations/White
Papers/Infographics

32. Ingredient #3:
Boost User
Satisfaction with
Strong Design
and Usability

33. Poor Design = Lost Traffic
Avoid building link farms and pages littered with ads

34. Google Panda Update
http://searchengineland.com/google-panda-update-112805

35. First Question You Must Ask:
What do you want
your site to do?

36. Usability and Design Basics
• Design for people,
not search engines
• Understand your
user’s expectations
• Define user needs
• Leave a scent
• Read this book

37. Ingredient #4:
Develop a
Keyword Strategy
That Fits Your
User’s Needs

38. What’s the Ideal Keyword?
• High volume of monthly searches
• Low number of optimized competitors
• Provides strong conversion and value

39. The Long Tail of SEO
Lots of search
volume & competition;
Low conversion
Cancer
Limited search
volume & competition;
Prostate Cancer Higher conversion
Prostate Cancer Treatment
Chemotherapy Treatment
for Prostate Cancer

40. Keyword Research Basics
• Brainstorm keyword ideas for root terms
• What words are used by other sites?
• Use modifiers, descriptors, extensions
• Group into buckets of common themes
• Expand with keyword tools
• Throw out negative terms

41. Google Keyword Tool
http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

42. http://www.google.com/insights/search

43. Google Insights for Search
Get popularity by state, city, and new “breakout” terms

44. Try Testing Keywords in PPC

45. How Much is a Keyword Worth?
Epilepsy Epilepsy
Metrics Treatment Symptoms
Visits 400 1,000
Online Appointment Requests 80 20
Patients 40 2
Conversion Rate 10% 0.2%
Total Net Revenue ($10K per) $400K $20K
Revenue Per Visit $1,000 $20
Conversions trump visits and rankings

46. Ingredient #5:
Map Keywords
to Pages

47. Title Tags
• #1 on-page ranking
factor
• Unique for each page
• Starts with primary
keyword phrase
• 65 characters or less
(incl. spaces)

48. Think Like a Customer
Title Tag:
“Basketball – Men’s Footwear –
Dick’s Sporting Goods”

49. Think Like a Customer

50. Meta Description
• Engaging, accurate description of page
• Unique for each page
• Includes primary keyword phrase
• 250 characters or less (incl. spaces)
• Makes a difference on clickthrough rate

51. On-Page Content
• Sprinkle keyword
throughout body copy
and headlines
• Avoid keyword stuffing

52. Images
Include in alt-attributes and image file name

53. “Combo Approach” to Keywords
• Total Hip Replacement Surgery
• Total Hip Replacement
• Hip Replacement Surgery
• Hip Replacement
• Hip Surgery

54. Ingredient #6:
Develop a
SEO Toolbelt

55. Google Webmaster Tools
http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

56. Bing Webmaster Tools
http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster/

57. Google Places for Business
http://www.google.com/placesforbusiness

58. XML Sitemaps
http://xml-sitemaps.com

59. HTML Sitemaps
http://www.joann.com/sitemap

60. RSS Feeds – Feedburner.com
Set up and monitor feeds and subscribers

61. Ingredient #7:
Win the Popular
Vote with Links &
Social Media

62. The “American Idol” Effect
More links and shares = more votes of authority

63. What Makes a Good Link?

64. Don’t Pay for Links

65. Sharing Counts for SEO

66. Ingredient #8:
Make it Easy for
Others to Help You
Gain Traction

67. Develop Multiplatform Content
• Mobile
• Video
• Audio
• Blog
• Email
• Webinar
• Lead Generation

68. Spread it thru Inbound Marketing
Webinars Blogs RSS
Direct Traffic Interviews
SEO
Q&A Articles Comments
Email Research Video
Apps
White Papers
News/Media/PR Presentations
Social Media
Forums Infographics
Podcasts
Content Syndication Referral Links
Word of Mouth

69. There’s More to Search Than Google…

70. Ingredient #9:
Master Your
Analytics to
Gain Actionable
Insights

71. Install Google Analytics in <10 Minutes

72. Visits by Search Engine

73. Keywords Sending Traffic by Engine

74. # of Pages Getting Visits by Engine

75. www.opensiteexplorer.org

76. Track Keyword Rankings
http://www.brightedge.com

77. Most Important Metric: Conversions

78. Top Conversion Paths and Attribution
Find the Introducers, Influencers and Closers

79. Analytics Points of Emphasis
• Quantifiable outcomes
• Segment your data
• Fact-based decision making
• Actionable insights
• Competitive Intelligence

80. Ingredient #10:
Never Stop
Testing

81. You Can Build a Better Mousetrap

82. Internet Funnel
Digital Consumers
Attract: Visit Site from Google
Engage: Positive Site Experience
Convert: Lead Generation
Buy:
Customers/Patients

83. Discover | Test | Measure | Repeat
• Photos • Page Length
• Videos • Calls to Action
• Lead Generation • Promos/Offers
• Webinars • Email Newsletters
• Infographics • Blog
• Slideshows • Apps
• Testimonials • Checkout

84. A/B Testing Resources

85. And for Dessert…

86. Recommended Reading
• Search Engine Marketing Sites
- SEOmoz.org blog
- Search Engine Land
- Search Engine Guide
- Search Engine Roundtable
- SEOBook.com
- Google blogs
- Twitter: #sem, #seo, #ppc, #landingpages
• Web Analytics Sites
- Avinash Kaushik (Occam’s Razor)
- Web Analytics Demystified
- Twitter: #measure, #gaanalytics

87. Search Engine Optimization Books

88. Thank You!
Scott Mowery
mowerys@ccf.org
@scottmowery
http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottmowery