Search Engine Optimization 101 with Duane Forrester
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This document discusses Duane Forrester and his role at Bing Webmaster Tools where he speaks at events, runs forums and blogs, and provides guidance on new webmaster tools. It also mentions his background in search engine optimization (SEO) from working at MSN and consulting for companies like Disney, GAP, and Walmart. The document then provides tips on using paid ads (PPC), improving organic search rankings through SEO, and different areas of the search results pages like organic, paid ads, and shopping results.
Search Engine Optimization 101 with Duane Forrester
- 2. @duaneforrester what does duane do at bing Bing Webmaster Tools Speaks at shows, runs forums and blog, provides guidance on new WM tools www.bing.com/toolbox/webmasters Does he have a clue? 14+ years as an inhouse SEO; ran seo at MSN; has helped Disney, GAP, Walmart + http://www.linkedin.com/in/dforrester And this helps me how? Blogging since 2001; owns 150 domains; makes money online http://twitter.com/DuaneForrester
- 3. Man’s History of Marketing Throwing rocks Smoke signals Mercantile shops Mail order catalogues Billboards Radio Television Social Email SEO Trading goods PPC Image credit: www.conducthq.com
- 4. Orange • Paid ads – you pay per click for traffic • Auction-based system • Higher bid; higher placement Green • Organic results • SEO works here • Trusted results • Clicks are free Red • Shopping results • Combination of organically sourced and paid inclusion results • Not as wide a net as organic, but more focused than paid ads M o r e O r g a n i c
- 6. •Increase relevancy •Increase exposure •Increase visits •Increase page views •Increase revenue •Better UX •Low cost •Investment in future •Users starting here
- 7. 1. SEO isn’t an overnight success story or a one-time effort. Like wealth-building, investing in SEO takes time and continued effort to earn full benefits. 2. Research targeted keywords, create a targeted list per page, and use them in multiple places (in key meta tags, folder & file names, etc.). 3. The <title> tag is one of the most important tags for SEO – put most valuable keywords at start, write unique titles for each page. 4. Add page-relevant, descriptive alt text to content images with copyrights at the end – search bots can’t “see” image contents like humans. 5. Write one keyword-rich <h1> tag per page to serve as the page’s headline. 6. Write compelling <meta> descriptions for SERP snippets – this is what converts SERP impressions. 7. Every page should offer crawlable text for bots to create more keyword relevance. 8. Submit a validated Sitemap.xml file to search engines via their webmaster tools. 9. Canonicalize your URLs to eliminate duplicate content and diluted page rank in the index. 10. Never put content to be crawled inside images, JavaScript, Silverlight, or Flash – bots can’t read it. 11. Don’t expect to get high rank for a newly-published page. Search engine “trust” takes time to build. 12. Use social media to build a community that supports and amplifies your content/products.
- 8. • Build social followers & fans organically • Wall posts/tweets with links are perceived as more credible and useful • Get the basics of SEO covered, then focus on content • Its worth repeating: unique, compelling content still works
- 9. • The engines really respond to unique, useful content • Your visitors respond to this as well • It’s a wise investment of your time • Don’t take shortcuts – limit syndicated content image credit: http://mashable.com/2011/01/10/social-content-strategy/
- 10. • The Internet is B.I.G. Slice and dice to find your niche. • Plenty of niche areas to explore/exploit – start your fight where you can dominate • Choose your voice wisely; don’t be afraid to express an informed opinion • Watch what users respond to, then amplify along those lines
- 11. • Know exactly what users are searching for • Data can help you uncover new niches or refine your focus • Helps keep you focused on creating compelling content • Got writers block? Check your keyword research for inspiration
- 12. • Start with your Home page, categories, products, etc… • Then…when you have numbers… • Every area of your site has a value - $, PV, Emails, etc. • Determine what the value is • Sort your site by value to see what really matters • Organize work around high-value areas first
- 13. • SEO is not just content • SEO can be affected by technical elements • You need both • Content can win, but technical SEO helps • Clean domain • Clean, keyword rich URLs • Page Load times • Layout of pages – content v. ads • Tech hiding elements – javascript nav.
- 14. • Crawlability – Xml sitemaps – Navigational structure – Rich media cautions – Graceful degradation – URL structure – Robots.txt • Site Structure – Internal Links – URL structure and keyword usage – Clean URLs – no extraneous parameters (sessions, tracking, etc.) – HTML & XML sitemaps – Content hierarchy – Rel-canonical usage to manage duplication issues – Rich media – don’t bury links in Javascript/flash /silverlight/AJAX – Responsive design for managing mobile & web • On-Page – Head copy • Titles – unique, relevant, 60 characters or so long • Descriptions – unique, relevant, grammatically correct, 160 or fewer characters – Body Copy • H1, H2 and other H tag usage • ALT tag importance & usage • Keyword usage within the content/text • Anchor text – using target keywords to support other internal pages • Content – Build based on keyword research – Down-level experience enhances discoverability – Keep out of rich media and images – Produce new content frequently – Make it unique – don’t reuse content from other sources – Content management – using 301s to reclaim value from retiring content/pages – Rel canonical to help engines understand which page should be indexed and have value attributed to it – 404 error page management to help cleanse old pages from search engine indexes • Links – Plan for incoming & outgoing link generation – Internal & external link management – Content selection – planning where to link to – Link promotion via social spaces – direct traffic & seo value – Managing anchor text properly – URL structure can help insert keywords where they are needed • Social – Be an authority – Build your community – Interact often – Share useful content – Be consistent and useful – Grow facebook, twitter, pinterest, etc.
- 15. • Skip m. domains • m. domains produce unwanted duplication • Responsive design is your friend • HTML5 can help
- 16. Authority Building Short List Know the topic inside out Engage your community Share useful content freely Be consistent and useful Market your strengths Be a go-to resource Learn to spot trends in data
- 18. Where does SEO fit in? Content Social User Experience Link Building SEO
- 19. Search – you’re trying to solve… When optimizing your site for search, you invest in these major areas QUALITY TRUST POPULARITY TIMELINESS Content Links Appearance Authority Usefulness Resource Traffic Repeat Visits Links Current Fresh Relevant
- 20. A Changing Web of Your Objects Schema.org can help Mark up your content
- 21. • Signal of topical authority • Real-time – engines want fresh content, fast • Integrated social signals influence click actions of searchers • Social signals remain only a few of thousands of signals for organic ranking How users click on your results can impact rankings and when we show cues like your Facebook friends with results, click rates can be impacted.
- 22. • Different sources must be handled differently • Organic traffic is building trust • Paid traffic is ready to open their wallets • Email traffic is ready to buy…now • Ensure your conversion path is short and sweet • Off the shelf carts can usually be tweaked to gain improvements in conversions.
- 27. Core Strategies Op. Strategies Tactics Plan … or #FAIL
- 28. Oh, and here’s a streamlining trick for ya! Trusted RSS feeds Copy & Paste AUTOMATED AUTOMATED MANUAL
- 29. www.bing.com/webmaster www.hootsuite.com tapbots.com/software/tweetbot/ www.echofon.com/ statigr.am/ inst.me/ www.curalate.com/ www.evernote.com www.ifttt.com http://elastic.io/about.html https://zapier.com/ www.trackur.com www.sprinklr.com/ www.visibletechnologies.com/ www.socialmention.com mehdoh.com/
- 30. 6 seconds to start a relationship http://socialmediatoday.com/julie-blakley/ 1516266/7-brands-getting-creative- vine
- 31. 18 Social Media Management Tools Alexa.com Board Reader Sysomos Facebook Insights Follower Wonk Google Insights How Sociable Ice Rocket trends Buffer • Klout • Peerindex • Kred • Mention Map • Social Mention • Statigram • Twitter Counter • Tweetreach • Visual.ly
Editor's Notes
- #32: Refer to this article for more details on each item in the list: http://prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10711.aspx The list on that page is older – I’ve removed dead links and added a couple new ones to this current list.