Getting Google to Love You
description
Transcript of Getting Google to Love You
Ge#ng Google to Love You Presented by Brooke Peterson
Why Google?
I might be a li,le biased, because…
Chrome Browser
Google Apps Gmail
Google calendar Google Maps Google Translate Android Phone
Why Google?
But don’t just take my word for it.
• Google is the dominant search engine worldwide, with a market share of between 65‐72 % of the market (depending on what stats you read). Google indexes billions of web pages, so that users can search for the informaOon they desire, through the use of keywords and operators.
• More importantly, what percentage of your site is it?
Google Search Engine Op1miza1on
Very important also:
• Google AdWords • Google AnalyOcs
What is SEO?
• Search Engine Op1miza1on is part of an overall website markeOng strategy. Also referred to as Search Engine MarkeOng (SEM), the focus is on improving the quality and quanOty of traffic to your site.
Let’s hear it from the experts…
Here is the link to see it on YouTube
hZp://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=BNHR6IQJGZs&vq=medium
Why is this Important?
• Data shows that 80% of internet users click on the first 3 lisOngs in Google
• Google lisOngs are perceived to be non‐biased • SEO gives beZer ROI than any other markeOng medium
• There are no bidding wars or click fraud in SEO • SEO helps in creaOng an online brand
The Steps to Doing SEO In‐House Because you really can…
This has to be part of your marke1ng & communica1ons plan
• Keyword Research • CompeOtor Analysis • Your Visitors & Your Site • On‐Page OpOmizaOon
• Off‐Page OpOmizaOon
Keywords
Do the Research
• Think about what key users are going to type and then make sure those key words are on the page.
• Survey you consOtuents. • Look at your own data (Google AnalyOcs) • Use online tools available, many of which are free. Google,
Yahoo Search word markeOng, Microson Ad Center. All you need to do is sign up for a free adverOsing account with them, sign in and use their keyword tools.
CompeOtor Analysis
Who are your compeOtors, how do they rank and what are their keywords.
• Find all related websites (list of compeOtors)
• Find out how important these websites are • Find how many sites link to them (link popularity)
• Find the number of indexed pages SEO Book WordTracker SEO Chat SpyFu
Your Visitors & Your Site
• Traffic Sources
• Keywords • Searched & Not Searched
• Exclude School Name
• Popular Pages
• Any surprises? Do these match your goals?
• Examine popular pages landing content
• Time spent on pages
• Bounce Rate
On‐Page OpOmizaOon
What Google want you to do to to help them to index your site correctly.
• Meta Tags
• Header Tags
• Content
• URLS • Images
• HTML Site Map
• Check for Errors
What does your site look like?
Meta Titles
Meta (HTML) Titles are one of the first aZributes search engines see.
As this is normally the first thing a user sees on the search results (a header) then it is very important.
Meta Tags & DescripOon Tags
• Meta or Keyword Tags: are not very important to Google anymore.
• DescripOon Tags: Used in the snippet on the search results page
– Do not influence rankings – Help visitors decide if they will click into your site – Think of it as the 30 second elevator speech
Pages
Do not forget about each page as well. When you create a new page it will automaOcally generate this informaOon, but you can change it as needed.
You can also turn off indexing of pages.
Header Tags
The next aZribute search engines look at are your Header Tags. Having a H1 and H2 on your page will help tell the search engine what the page is about.
H1 H2
Content Good Content is the best SEO – Seth Godin
• Use Keywords
– In the page Otle – Headings – Sub‐headings – Body Copy – Text Links
• Keep sentences short
• One idea per paragraph
• Use Inverted Paragraph style (state the point first)
• 300‐400 words per page
• Use highlight, bold, italic, as well as negaOve space.
Content ‐ Links
Links found within your website content.
• Ensures that your website gets properly indexed and that all pages are found by search engines
• Builds the relevancy of a page to a keyword phrase
– Do Download ISB’s Viewbook – Don’t Click here
• Increases the page rank of an internal page
• Do not forget about anchors, make the name relevant as well.
• Linking to files: watch the file naming & structure.
Content ‐ Folder
Use meaningful names – not just for site management & efficiency, but search engines DO see the names of your files & path to those files
www.finalsite.com/uploaded/img12345.jpg
www.finalsite.com/uploaded/giving/make_a_gift.jpg
URLs
Correct URLS are important. Keep them short and have them relate to you pages content. • Page Titles are important
– Influence Rankings – Provide Labels for Browsers – Drive IniOal Clicks
Images
Search engines will only know what your images are about if you tell them.
Adding Alt Tags and a description to each image will help them to index your images properly.
HTML Site Map
CreaOng a XML site map is important for search engine spiders.
Submit your site map to Google for quicker and accurate indexing
Check for Errors
Google allows for you to check your site using the free Google webmaster tools which allow you to check crawling stats, link stats, and errors on your website.
Off‐Page OpOmizaOon
Now that you have opOmized your site to be indexed by Google, you need to. The more people that link to you the higher your rank will be.
• Develop a Link Campaign
• Online Directories
• Google Places
• ArOcles
• Press Release, Blogs and RSS
Developing a link Campaign
The more people that link to you the higher you will go. A link Campaign need to be a big part of your SEO Strategy.
Types of Links Include:
• One‐way links: a link to your site with out a link back
• Two‐way links: when both sites link to each other
• Three‐way linking: when site A links to site B and site B is asked to link to a different site C
Online Directories
Get listed and linked form as many directories which you can. Including:
• Big Engine directories (Google Places, Yahoo Business, etc) • OrganisaOon and associaOon directories
• Online directories
• Local directories
• Online Yellow pages
Google Places
Do not forget to list your school in Google Places. This will both increase the rankings and provide addiOonal instant informaOon to users
ArOcles, Blogs & RSS
If you write arOcles on a topic related to your school, such as internaOonal educaOon in Europe, other people may want to read them. By ge#ng these out, with links back to you school, you are increasing your ranking.
• Make sure you include your keywords in your Otle and if possible link those word to your site. Also include a link to your site in the footer.
• Distribute the arOcles on the web with links back to your site. Engines allow you to submit content for free.
• Do the same with online press releases, Blogs and RSS Feeds.
Common MisconcepOons
Paying Google: most common misconception. Google will never accept payment to add a site to index, update it more often or improve its ranking, Google crawls websites for free and they pick up sites quickly. You just need to make sure that Google can find out about you website and that you have set up the information correctly.
Google Advertising: Does not have an impact on your search ranking. It is totally separate for Google Search results.
You can pay to get better rankings: Be Careful!
What Not to Do
As much as Google wants to love you, you do not want to make them angry.
• Google does not take kindly to several techniques used by many webmasters and SEO experts. These techniques can and will get a site banned from Google or at the very least result in a Page Rank (PR) penalty.
What Not to Do Some of the most common and dangerous of these techniques are:
• Submitting multiple URLs for the same site • Cloaking • Doorway pages • Hidden text • Hidden links • Link farms • Spamming • Selling PR • Multiple identical sites • Multiple domains • Excessive links
Remember, the best way to attain a high placement in the Google listings is to stay on Google's "good side".
Google tells you what it wants Google wants to help you. The Free webmaster tools will help you to get the most out of your school’s SEO strategy.
Therefore…
It is not so hard to make Google love you.
QuesOons? [email protected]