DOTNETNUKE SEO… a spotlight series webinar

Nik KalyaniDNN Corp.

Feature Expert: Tom KraakSeablick Consulting

Twitter: #dnn

Technology entrepreneur for over 15 years Co-founder of DotNetNuke Corp. Microsoft MVP since 2004 Blog: techbubble.net Twitter: @techbubble

ABOUTpresenters

nik KALYANI

Working on the Web in various roles since 2000 Founded DNN-focused Seablick Consulting in 2005 Co-host of DNNVoice PodCast Co-founder of CT DNN user group Blog: seablick.com/blog Twitter: @tkraak

tom KRAAK

Concepts: Search Engine 101

Insights: DotNetNuke SEO

Answers: Audience Questions

AGENDA

CONCEPTS: SEO

Search engines are the #1 driver of website traffic for most industries

The #1 goal of SE’s is to try to provide the best results based on limited information (1-4 keywords)o Better search results = happier searcherso Happier searchers = more search/repeat usageo More search usage = more inventoryo More inventory = more opportunity to sell advertising

SEARCH ENGINE 101concepts

INDEX

Web Page Content

Crawl Site +Sitemap.xml

SEARCH ENGINE WORKFLOWconcepts

WebPage

Link

Search bots (a.k.a. spiders or crawlers) follow links and return information to for the search engine index(www.robotstxt.org lists 298 bots)

News(hourly)

Fresh(recent)

Local Content(standard update)

Foundation Database(standard update)

Cached PagesIn Database

Update &RefreshSchedule

WebPage

Link WebPage

Link WebPage

Link WebPage

Link WebPage

Business RulesAlgorithm

Ancillary Data Sources

Spiders can:o Read meta tags, title tags and HTML content.o Read URL’s (some read past a ? variable, some don’t).o Read some dynamic content.o Follow links throughout the site if built into page.o Look for STRONG uses of keywords.o Look for CONTEXTo Look for block of related text, pages with single themes, etc.

Spiders can only return what they can read and find Our job is to help them find the right information in the right

format

SPIDERS, BOTS & CRAWLERSconcepts

WHAT IS SERP?concepts

Organic Results

PaidResults

PaidResults

SERP = Search Engine Results Page

Eye-tracking data shows top 1-3 items on a SERP get most users’ attention

Page Rank is very IMPORTANT

Users seldom look past Page One of results

IMPORTANCE OF SERP RANKINGconcepts

RANKINGconcepts

RANKING

Relevance(Document

Analysis)

Popularity(Link

Analysis)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.

-- Wikipedia

WHAT IS SEO?concepts

On-page = Content and structure of site

Off-page = Relationship of site with other sites

ON-PAGE VS. OFF-PAGEconcepts

Using SEO best-practices you can ensure that your website’s rank on SERP for relevant keywords is high

GET FOUND!

WHY SEO?concepts

INSIGHTS: DOTNETNUKE SEO

Follow web standards for skin developmento Separate content from presentation with CSSo Use CSS for page layout

Semantic containers – H2, H3 for module titles Write valid (X)HTML and CSS SE-friendly menus to increase “crawlability”

o Emit plain HTML links vs. JavaScript-driven links

SKINS & NAVIGATIONinsights

PAGE SETTINGSinsights

Make your brand stand out Incorporate keywords Be aware of character limits Target searcher intent Repeat in headline

PAGE TITLESinsights

Describe page content honestly Be aware of character limits Write ad-like copy Incorporate keywords and phrases Don’t always write meta descriptions

PAGE DESCRIPTIONSinsights

Watch for proper internal linking and URLs Check for standards-compliant HTML and CSS Avoid JavaScript/Ajax/Flash for content delivery Press for control over HTML meta tags No Black Hat, no Gray Hat

MODULESinsights

Use keywords and phrases in header tags Place important content in HTML text

o DNN5 RelocationWidget moves content higher Write semantically meaningful markup Know limits of WYSIWYG editors Pay attention to links and avoid LinkClick.aspx Watch for duplicate content

OPTIMIZE PAGE CONTENTinsights

Describe your content Keep it short Rewrite dynamic URLs to appear static Separate with hyphens Cut down on duplicate (home) pages

FRIENDLY URLSinsights

Use dotnetnuke.com/robots.txt as base Block printer-friendly, landing, and

“throw-away” pages Disallow “Privacy Statement” and “Terms of Use” Choose between site and page level exclusion

o Site: robots.txto Page: <meta name="ROBOTS“ content="NOINDEX">

Point to XML sitemap

ROBOTS EXCLUSION PROTOCOLinsights

SITE SETTINGSinsights

Recognize limitations of DNN’s sitemap.aspx Use third-party tools or modules/providers

to generate sitemap file Submit to all major search engines

XML SITEMAPinsights

Attract editorial, one-way incoming links with link-worthy content

Approach associations and business partners for link opportunities

Take advantage of social networks Submit to quality, industry-specific (paid)

directories

OFF-PAGE SEO TIPSinsights

ANSWERS: AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

google.com/support/webmasters/ help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/search/webmaster/ webmaster.live.com seomoz.org seobook.com searchengineland.com seablick.com/blog/seo

RESOURCESinsights

Blog: techbubble.net

Twitter: @techbubble

nik KALYANI Blog:

seablick.com/blog Twitter:

@tkraak

tom KRAAK