MODULE 5 - SEARCH
ENGINE OPTIMISATION
GDAP PROJECT
Digital Marketing 1
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
Course Outline
• Search Engine Optimization Overview
• Keywords for SEO
• Review
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Objectives
After completing this course, you should be able to:
• Understand the term search engine optimization (SEO)
• Understand the term keyword.
• Create a list of keywords which can be used when optimizing content for a website,
social media platform.
• Understand the terms page title, URL, description tag, meta tag, headings and
alternative text and their importance for SEO
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Search Engine Optimization
• Users turn to search engines to ask questions,
find products and services, and search for videos
and images. Popular search engines include
Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
• When a User enters a term or phrase (search
query) in a search box on a search engine, the
search engine will search its databases for web
pages that best respond to the user’s search
query.
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Search Engine Optimization Cont’d
When the search engine finds web pages that it
considers to be the best match for the search
query, it returns a list of results. It is therefore
vital that search engines can easily find your
website and understand what it is about.
Search results are listed in a search engine
results page (SERP). The SERP usually
contains paid results (advertisements) and
unpaid (organic) results.
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What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Definition
• SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a digital
marketing strategy that involves the process of
improving a website's visibility in the organic (unpaid)
search engine results (SERPs).
• SEO It helps increase traffic from search engines,
where users are already demonstrating strong interest
in products or services.
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Example of SEO….
a. Advertisements typically appear at the top of a
SERP. Advertisers are charged when the user clicks
these results.
b. Organic results typically appear below the ads. The
organic results are ranked in order of relevance and
popularity with web pages at the top deemed the most
relevant and popular by the search engine. Website
owners do not pay when the user clicks these results.
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Cont’d…
How SEO Works
• Search engines rank websites using complex algorithms, which consider
numerous factors, known as "ranking factors.“
• These algorithms continuously change, and search engines do not disclose
them to prevent manipulation.
• Different search engines use different algorithms, resulting in varied search
results for the same query.
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Search Engine Optimization
Key Ranking Factors
There are two broad but consistently influential ranking factors across all search
engines:
Keywords: Relevant words and phrases in your website’s content and code that
match user queries.
Links: The quality and number of links from other websites and social media
pointing to your site.
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Understanding Keywords in SEO
Keywords are descriptive and information-rich
words or phrases used in web page content and
often the key items in a search query.
For example the keywords in the search ‘Is a
maxi dress considered office wear?’ are maxi
dress, office wear.
Keywords that are more than three words are
known as long tail keywords.
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How are keywords used to optimize
webpages for search?
Optimizing your webpages for search using keywords involves:
Identifying important keywords for your webpage.
• Start by researching and defining a list of keywords and phrases that relate to what
your website is about – your activities, services and products. Identify a range of
keywords, both specific and general.
• Consider which keywords are going to be most effective for your business goals.
For example, there might be a lot of search volume for “cheap dresses”, but if you
don’t do regular sales or discounts, you will be misleading any visitors to your site
who have landed there based on that search.
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Using Keywords for SEO
Where to Use Keywords for SEO:
• Headings: <h1>, <h2>, etc.
• Main Content
• URLs
• Page Titles
• Meta Descriptions
• Alternative Text for Images
Long Tail Keywords:
• Use more specific phrases like “maxi dress for weddings” or “maxi dress with sleeves” to
target niche audiences.
• Example: For a women’s clothing website, use “maxi dress” in the URL and content
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Using Keywords for SEO
You can optimize the content on [Link]/maxi-dress by including
some of these long tail keywords in the text at the top of page, and later in
the product. descriptions.
You can further optimize the webpage by including the keyword “maxi
dress” in the heading at the top of the page.
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Review Activity
• Briefly explain the importance of keywords in SEO and how they help search
engines understand content.
• Discuss short-tail vs. long-tail keywords and their relevance.
• As a Group of 4, create an annotated list of their chosen keywords, including
search volume, competition level, and why they selected each one.
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