What is SEO?

• Acronym: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Goal: Rank Organically For Specific Keywords

• Job: Optimize Site To Send Proper Signals to major search engines

• Challenge: Google uses over 200 signals to determine rankings

SEO vs. SEM

• Organic (earned/free) vs. Paid (pay per click or pay per impressions)

• Both target keywords• SEO = Inbound Marketing/Earned

media

SEO vs. SEM

• Paid (SEM) is a great supplement to organic– Users more likely to click when brand

shows up in paid and organic• Downside to SEM: Price per click can get

very costly!• SEM price driven by competition

Why SEO?

• Over 20 billion searches a month (US)

• Web Visible/Nielson Study:– 82% used the Internet to find local

businesses– 80% researched product/service on the

Internet before buying

How Search Engines Work

• Index (collects, parses)• Crawl (links are the

roadways) that spiders crawl

• Store (lots of datacenters)

• Serve Relevant Results (SERPs)

How Search Engines Rank• Over 200 factors– Basically by popularity– Content + Links!– Ranking Factors (SEOmoz)

• Relevance + Importance– On Page (content on the site)– Off Page (links + social)

How Search Engines Rank• On Page– Relevance: What is this page about?– How Spiders See Your Site– HTML Elements

How Search Engines RankOff Page• Links– Authority of Links– Diversity of Links– Anchor Text– Follow/No Follow

• Social Signals– Shares (by influencers)

How Users Search

1. Experience Need (often through friends/social media)

2. Enter in query in Google3. Browse for the best match4. Click on result5. Scan for solution6. Narrow query if inadequate answer is found

What Should You Do?

Discovery/Strategy Process

1. Define Personas1. Identify Who Needs Your Product/Service2. Research Where They Hang Out Online3. What Do They Share?

2. Perform Keyword Research1. First Broad (2-3 words in query) 2. Narrow (focus on long tail)

Keyword ResearchTools– Google Adwords – Google Insights– Google Trends– Trellian Search Term Suggestion Tool– Wordtracker– Soolve (instant search suggestion tool) – Ubersuggest

Keyword Research

Keyword Research

On Page (Foundation)• Create accessible site for users and

search engines (HTML)• Optimize on page for targeted keywords– Juxseo

• Setup Analytics with Conversion Tracking• Target Less Competitive Keywords Initially

Build Relationships (Links)

• Make friends – In Person– Social media

• Find link opportunities– Guest posts– Interesting content– Key Research– Data– Tools

Local SEO

• Claim and Cleanup Local Citations– Accurate data – Correct category selection– Complete listings– Connect social (use location in Twitter bio)– Use competition to find listings– Forums with address

Local SEO

Tools for finding and managing citations• GetListed.org• Yext.com• Whitespark.ca

Build Content Around Needs

• What issues does your audience face?• Back to keyword research• Track trends in your industry by

following blogs and grouping in RSS– I use Feedly + Flipboard

• Analytics will tell you everything

Build Better Content

• Be aggregators/curators• Repurpose good information• Always link back to source and

mention• Build content that your audience

shares – Use Hipstafeed to check trending

articles

Build Smarter Content

• Target keywords with low competition • Build a content strategy to reach customers

experiencing a need• Get “buy-in” from thought leaders

before you create the content• Draw out influencers with content

specifically for them

Monitor, Track and LearnClose attention to analytics

Monitor, Track and Learn– How are people finding you?–Which ones are converting?– How can you provide content for more

people like that?

Your Sites

Permanent Baggage Content

– Time lapse of making an item– Simple Handmade How To’s (think

friendship bracelet)– Handmade blog – featuring guest artist

(friends/links)– Infographic of handmade jewelry in US

history

More Resources

• Beginner’s Guide to SEO• Advanced Search Operators (for research)• Open Site Explorer (analyzing links)• Hubspot (learn inbound marketing)• Hustle With Data• Google Webmaster• Schema

Questions?

@jonhainstock • @benbartlingtailwindcreative.com