SEO & WordPressThe Best of Both

WorldsPresented by: Casie Gillette - Boston WP Meetup – June 28, 2010

casieg@gmail.com @casieg cgillette@grasshopper.com

SEO Manager at Grasshopper Group

UNIVERSAL MYTHS

• It’s easy!

• It’s magic!

• It’s cheap!

• 100% Guaranteed

LET’S GET GOING!• Site Architecture

• Keywords & Meta Tags

• Content

• Links & Link Building

• WordPress Plugins

• Other Resources

• URLs• Cross-Linking• Sitemaps• Other Best Practices

SITE ARCHITECTURE

Do’s• Use Keywords• Keep it Short• Use Hyphens

Don'ts• Session IDs• Duplicate URLs• Case Sensitive

SITE ARCHITECTURE: URLS

SITE ARCHITECTURE: URLS

How

• Use Keywords

• Page Topic

• Tell the User

• Don’t Overdo It

Where

• Existing Pages

• Sitemaps/FAQs

• Blog Posts

• Footer

SITE ARCHITECTURE: CROSS-LINKS

Good Not Great

SITE ARCHITECTURE: CROSS-LINKS

• Make it easy for EVERYONE

• Text Based

• Logical Order

• Keep it Simple

• Add to Footer• http://www.apple.com/sitemap/

SITE ARCHITECTURE: SITEMAPS

• Help Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider

• XML Sitemaps are designed for search engines.

• Easy to Create, Easy to Submit• http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/xml-sitemap-feed/

• Webmaster Tools• http://www.google.com/webmasters/• http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/ • http://www.bing.com/webmaster

SITE ARCHITECTURE: XML SITEMAPS

• Keep Navigation Simple

• Flash

• Images vs. Text

• Limit Redirects

• Use a Robots

• 404

SITE ARCHITECTURE: BEST PRACTICES

• Keyword Research • Tools• Choosing Keywords• Writing Meta Tags

KEYWORDS: RESEARCH & SELECTION

• #1 - Start a List

• Describe

• Industry

• Competitors

• PPC

apple laptopapple laptop dealsapple laptopsapple mac bookapple mac book proapple mac booksapple macbookapple macbook proapple macbooksapple note bookapple note booksapple notebookapple notebooksmacbook dealsblack macbook

black macbookscheap apple laptopcheap apple laptopscheap macbookcheap macbooksmac bookmac book laptopsmac booksmacbookmacbook dealmacbook dealsmacbook laptopmacbook promacbooks

KEYWORDS: RESEARCH

• #2 – Check The Search Volume

• Free Tools:

• Google Keyword Tool

• Wordtracker Free Keyword Tool

• Keyword Discovery Free Tool

• Google Trends

• SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool

KEYWORDS: RESEARCH

• #3 – Choose Your Keywords

• Search Volume

• Be Relevant

• CEO Right≠

KEYWORDS: SELECTION

Things to Know

1. Title tags ARE important

2. Meta Descriptions ARE important

3. Meta Keywords are….NOT?

META TAGS: TITLES & DESCRIPTIONS

META TAGS: TITLES & DESCRIPTIONS

Meta Description

• <170 characters

• Call to Action

• Easy to Read

Title tags

• < 65 characters

• 1-3 Keywords

• Brand Name

META TAGS: WRITING TIPS

• Utilizing Keywords

• Users vs. Search Engines

• Types of Content

CONTENT: WRITING FOR SEARCH

Where

• H1 Tags

• Current Content

• New Content

• Internal Links

How

• Product/Service Features

• News Stories

• FAQ

• Articles

• Blog Posts

CONTENT: WRITING FOR SEARCH

• Backlinks & Rankings

• Getting Links

LINKS & LINK BUILDING

• Directories• Partners• Paid• Forums

• Articles• Social Media• Blogs• News

LINKS: WHERE TO GET THEM

• All in One SEO Pack

• URL Configuration

• Great List of SEO Plugins• http://mashable.com/2009/03/20/wordpress-seo-plugins/

SEO & WORDPRESS: BEST FRIENDS

• Sites• http://www.seomoz.com • http://searchengineland.com• http://www.searchengineguide.com

• Checklists• http://www.webconfs.com/15-minute-seo.php

• http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-beginners-checklist-for-small-business-seo

• http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/ultimate-seo-checklist

SEO RESOURCES

Casie Gillettecgillette@grasshopper.com

@casieg

QUESTIONS?Thoughts – Comments – Ideas – Thanks!