SEO Basics Seminar Deck
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The document discusses the complexities of SEO, emphasizing that no single strategy guarantees success. It outlines various on-page and off-page factors affecting Google rankings, including content quality, keyword usage, site structure, and backlinks. The future of SEO suggests a shift towards social sharing and compelling content over traditional link building.
SEO Basics Seminar Deck
- 1. BlueZooWebsites.com Twitter.com/ccondray 6/22/2012
- 2. This presentation might already be obsolete!
- 3. No SEO Silver Bullet 4
- 4. Many Signals Considered By Google Depending on who and when you ask, Google monitors between 200 and 10,000 signals Each signal has a different importance 5
- 5. Search Engine Market Share Google All Other 6
- 6. Basic Unit is the Keyword Search engines prioritize based on keywords Google Hot Searches 7
- 7. Major Effects On Your Site’s Google Rank On Page Factors Off Page Factors 8
- 8. A Brief History of SEO 1st Generation Google Algorithm: Links Unethical marketers or Black Hat SEO marketers would create sites with nothing but links to hack the system. 9
- 9. A Brief History of SEO 2nd Generation Algorithm: Links + Content Black Hat SEOs practiced “keyword stuffing” and hid invisible keywords to improve ranking. 10
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- 11. On Page Factors – Content Content is king! Google is designed to get good content to searchers Does your site make it easy for search engines to find your content? 12
- 12. On Page Factors – Content Research keywords Google AdWords Keyword Tool Keywords in main content “Keyword density” concerns are overrated and too complicated Include keywords in a natural manner 13
- 13. Content In Keywords – Missing Opportunity This site is about keyword. It is a very interesting topic. Here is fact 1 about it. Second, is fact 2 about it. Finally, there is fact 3 about it. 14
- 14. Content In Keywords – Overuse Example This site is about keyword. Keyword is a very interesting topic. Here is fact 1 about keyword. Second, is fact 2 about keyword. Finally, there is fact 3 about keyword. Can be potentially penalized for “keyword stuffing.” 15
- 15. Content In Keywords – Good Example This site is about keyword. It is a very interesting topic. Here is fact 1 about it. Second, is fact 2 about keyword. Finally, there is fact 3 about it. Multiple uses but still “natural” 16
- 16. On Page Factors – Avoid Thin Content Posts should be longer than 100 words to avoid “thin” penalty 17
- 17. On Page Factors – Engagement How engaging is the content? Tracking occurs though Google Analytics and Google and Bing toolbars Number of pages Time on site Bounce rate 18
- 18. On Page Factors – Updates Consistent updates When was the last time you site was updated? Weekly updates a good rule of thumb Blogs are good format for this 19
- 19. On Page Factors – Freshness If there is a sudden spike in searches for a particular term, Google, will look for fresh content to serve around that term You might get lucky and have the fresh content that Google is looking for a little while 20
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- 21. Title On Page Factors – Visible Header Main Content 22
- 22. On Page Factors – Visible Title Most important factor considered Header Breaks pages up into logical sections for the search engines 23
- 23. On Page Factors – Under The Hood Meta tags: Description 160 characters is a standard length Shows up as site description in Google results 24
- 24. Aside: Search Engine Results From the Title tag (68 characters) From the Meta description- maybe (~170 characters) Search term is bolded 25
- 25. Google Meta Description Guidelines Have a different description for each page Include clearly tagged facts in the description not in the title Programmatically generate descriptions (but not “spammy”) Use quality descriptions that represent what’s on the page 26
- 26. On Page Factors – Under The Hood HTML Meta tags: Keywords Surprisingly, the keywords meta tag is not important anymore 27
- 27. On Page Factors – Site Structure Indexability Does all the content have a public link? Site maps are good to make sure everything is visible 28
- 28. On Page Factors – Site Speed Load speed How fast does your site come up? 29
- 29. On Page Factors – Keywords in URLs Keywords in URLs Use this format: http://mystore.com/hats/fedora- brown Not this format: http://mystore.com/product_number=1234 30
- 30. Other On Page Factors Age of site Know that you want a site? Get the domain and put something there until you’re ready to build. Research first if possible 31
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- 32. Off Site Factors - Links Quality Links from respectable (e.g. CNN.com) sites are best. Google has been aggressively targeting “link farms” 33
- 33. Anchor Text This is the anchor text. Put your keywords here. 34
- 34. Off Site Factors - Links Quantity Linkbaiting – content designed to go viral Be careful with automated link building software 35
- 35. Good Sources of Backlinks Social Media Social Bookmarking Forum posts Comments Internet directories 36
- 36. Off Site Factors - Social Reputation Twitter site with lots of follows vs. few followers Spam accounts are easy to spot 37
- 37. Off Site Factors - Social Sharing Participation in social media is a must to be noticed by search engines. Google +1 Everything! 38
- 38. Other Offsite Factors Google Plus Pages Backlinks to your backlinks Continuous backlink building 39
- 39. Off Site Factors - Trust Authority Combination of factors. Why is CNN.com authoritative but JoeBlowsWebsite.com not? Site history Have you changed format, posting frequency, topics? 40
- 40. Off Site Factors - Personalization Country US Football vs. UK Football Location Have you registered your Google Place? 41
- 41. Off Site Factors - Personalization Search History Have you +1ed a site recently? It will show up higher in search results Social Connections Who are your friends on social media networks? 42
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- 43. Search Engine Spam Penalties Thin content Random sentences with prime keywords in it Keyword Stuffing Including keywords dozens of times in main content 44
- 44. Search Engine Spam Penalties Hidden text White text on a white background Cloaking Showing a different site to people and search engines Link spam 45
- 45. Link Spam Off-topic or trivial comments “Wow, fantastic blog layout! on forums and sites with the How lengthy have you ever URL filled out. been blogging for? you make running a blog look easy. The total glance of your website is magnificent, as neatly as the content!” 46
- 46. Blocking Personal blocking From individuals Trust blocking Based on the actions of many people 47
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- 48. The Future of SEO Links will be less emphasized and social sharing will become more important. Compelling content is always in style. 49
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- 50. SEO Walkthrough High Traffic Google Keyword Tool shows monthly searches Low Competition Estimate by number of Google Search results 51
- 51. SEO Walkthrough Find keyword interest and alternate keywords: Google AdWords Keyword Tool Find current rank: Google search on keywords 52
- 52. Other Information You Might Have Web logs Google Analytics Google Webmaster Tools 53
- 53. Estimate Engagement Bounce rate Time on site Social likes 54
- 54. On Site Factors Checklist Keywords in: Keywords in meta tags: Main content Description Title Keywords Headers URL 55
- 55. On Site Factors Checklist Length of content Frequency of new content Indexability Sitemap Social sharing buttons 56
- 56. On Site Factors Checklist Engagement Number of pages Time on site Bounce rate 57
- 57. On Site Factors - Speed Speed Testing Tools Pingdom Browser Plugins PageSpeed Yslow 58
- 58. Links In your social media profiles Authoritative Sites Chamber websites, newspapers, local blogs, TV and radio station sites, etc. Google Page with your address? Yelp YP.com Bing 59
- 59. Off Site Factors Backlink Information Majestic SEO Google Webmaster Tools 60
- 60. SEO Competition Do the previous steps for the top ranking site in the keywords your trying to optimize for 61
- 62. BlueZooWebsites.com Twitter.com/ccondray 6/22/2012