SEO involves optimizing a website to increase its visibility in search engine results. Key factors include choosing a relevant domain name and keywords, optimizing on-page elements like meta tags and content, and gaining quality backlinks. Practices to avoid are black hat techniques that manipulate search rankings in an unnatural way, like hidden text or link farms. With ongoing research and optimization, SEO can become an effective way to drive organic traffic from search engines over time.

1. The Basics of SEO

2. Review of Topics 1. What is SEO and why is it so important? 2. Internal Factors (your site) Domain Name Keyword Meta Tags Content 3. External Factors (the outside world) Links to your site Anchor text Social Media 4. Practices to Avoid

3. What is SEO and Why is it so Important? Search Engine Optimization An internet-based tool that searches an index of documents for a particular term, phrase or text specified by the user If you develop your SEO correctly, it can become your main source of visitors. Most people will not click past the first search page when looking for the information they want Cost-effective advertising SEO can become a clear and measurable ROI

4. Domain Name Short, unique, memorable Domain Extensions Country specific (.ca vs .com) – more is better Many search engines will take into account your domain extension, where your site is hosted, and consider the address information within your site Keyword if possible Helps people better understand your business focus Helps SEO Related domain names If you don’t take it, your competitors will Can help improve your rank

5. Keywords & Search Phrases Not specific to your business, but to your market You want to reach people who don’t know you already Find your niche: keywords specific to your specialty and location Keep in mind the competition Just like you have competition in the real world, you will be competing with keywords also

6. Meta Tags What are Meta Tags? They are a script of words or phrases that are used by search engines to find relevant websites Parameters: Title Tags – approx. 60 characters Description Tags – approx. 140 characters Keyword Tags – approx. 140 characters Separate by comma Less is more…

7. Content Search Engines Read Text The Higher the better Label your images with ‘alt txt’ vs just having image text Reflective of your keywords The matching game – words and phrases Less is better Concentrate your keywords in relevant content

8. The Outside World Links & Social Media Incoming links from relevant sites Anchor Text in links Social Media – same technique to help drive relevant traffic to your site Analytics & Alerts Monitor how visitors are finding your website What terms are working to get them to your site? What terms are not working? Revise

9. SEO Practices to Avoid Black Hat SEO Techniques intended to misrepresent a website by displaying different information to the search engine versus the userE.g. hidden text, redirects, etc. Link Farms Some websites offer link exchanges for the soul purpose of attempting to improve page rank. These sites may have thousands of links, often to unrelated sites Paid Links Links that are paid for can become questioned by search engines. Search engines prefer organic and natural links

10. Summary of Better Practices Research desirable keywords and search phrases ‘Clean’ and optimize your website’s HTML code Make sure your content copy appeals to both search engines and actual website visitors Study your competitors websites Implement a quality link building campaign – organic and natural Content – stay relevant, high density of keywords and search phrase Utilize descriptive meta tags Make sure that your text is HTML text and not image text Monitor your search engine rankings and more importantly your website traffic statistics SEO is Not a One Time Deal