Search Engine Optimizing Your Website · 2008-10-23 · Search Engine Optimizing Your Website From...
Transcript of Search Engine Optimizing Your Website · 2008-10-23 · Search Engine Optimizing Your Website From...
Search Engine Optimizing Your Website
From Soup to Nuts
Mark Kaufman – CBS InteractiveStephan Spencer - Netconcepts
October 22, 2008
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Today’s agenda
• What is SEO?
• How Search Engines work
• Seven Steps to Higher Rankings
1. Get your site indexed
2. Identify your target keywords
3. Optimize your pages
4. Build links and PageRank
5. Encourage click-through
6. Track the right metrics
7. Avoid these mistakes
2
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 3
What is SEO?
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
What is SEO?
• Higher rankings – more search traffic
• SEO can target different kinds of searches: web, image, news, blogs, local search, etc.
4
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results for targeted keywords.
-Wikipedia
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
What is SEO?
5
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
What is SEO?
• Google – 71%
• Yahoo! – 18%
• MSN/Live Search – 5%
• Ask – 3%
Data from Hitwise (4 wks ending Sept. 5th, 2008)
6
Search engine market share:
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
What is SEO?
• Develop great content and a site that has value to users
• Follow SEO best practices
• Encourage other sites to link to you
• Be diligent!
7
How to achieve good rankings:
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 8
How Search Engines Work
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
How search engines work
• Search engine spiders (a.k.a. ”bots”) crawl the internet, following links and indexing content
• Based on quantity and importance of links pointing to a page, Google’s PageRank is determined
• Ultimately, PageRank is simply a metric representing the importance of any page to the search engine.
• MSN and Yahoo! have similar models for their algorithms
9
Modern search engines are based on links.
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
How search engines work
• Use the Google toolbar to see PageRank for any page
– http://toolbar.google.com
• Scores range from 0-10 on a logarithmic scale
• There’s a delay in what Google surfaces in the toolbar and what they use in their search results algorithms
10
So, what’s my PageRank?
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
How search engines work
11
External links are important, but internal links,
content and code are also crucial to SEO.
These are controlled entirely by you!
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 12
Seven Steps to Higher Rankings
Step 1: Get Your Site Indexed
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Get your site indexed
• Site maps are good “spider food”
• Ideally, link to all “leaf-level” pages. Definitely link to key pages.
• Use SEO-friendly navigation
Good example: http://spiderbites.nytimes.com/
13
DO create an html site map with text links
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Get your site indexed
• Industry standards at: www.sitemaps.org
• Assists indexation of site
• Google has vertical search specific sitemaps: e.g. news, video
14
DO create an xml sitemap to submit to search engines
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Get your site indexed
• Minimize the number of slashes in the URLs
http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-8gb-at/4505-6452_7-32309245.html
better than:
http://reviews.cnet.com/mobile-connectivity/personal-communication/cell-phones-and-accessories/smartphones/apple-iphone-8gb-at/4505-6452_7-32309245.html
• Find the sweet spot for usability and SEO
15
DO ensure your site has a flat directory structure
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Get your site indexed
http://www.domainname.com/directory/filename.html?param=123&id=456&var=somevalue
• Search engines are leery of dynamically generated pages
• Google recommends at most 3 parameters
– “I'd keep it to 1-2 parameters if possible” – Matt Cutts, Google
– “It helps to keep the parameters short and the number of them few.”– Google Guidelines
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/guest-post-vanessa-fox-on-organic-site-review-session/
http://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
16
AVOID URLs that include numerous parameters in a query string
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Get your site indexed
• “Rewrite” URLs or recode to embed variables in the directory path rather than the query string– http://www.nextag.com/Samsung-Plasma-LCD--a-Screen+Size-_-40%22+-+50%22--
zz500021zSamsungzB10z5---html
• Redirect bots to a more bot friendly URLUser version:
http://www.amazon.com/Camera-Photo-Film-Canon-Sony/b/ref=sa_menu_p4?ie=UTF8&node=502394&pf_rd_p=328655101&pf_rd_s=left-nav-1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=507846&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=14BHXQF2P94EPHYSE55G
Google version:
http://www.amazon.com/Camera-Photo-Film-Canon-Sony/b?ie=UTF8&node=502394
17
AVOID URLs that include numerous parameters
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Get your site indexed
• Don’t redirect users when they hit your site’s home page
• Don’t redirect users when they enter your site from a search engine
• When necessary employ 301 (permanent) redirects to pass on PageRank to the new destination page
18
AVOID unnecessary redirects
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Get your site indexed
• (Most) search engines can’t fill out forms
• If you do use a dropdown, make sure there is an alternative, spider-friendly means of navigating to those pages
– You can use JavaScript <noscript> tag for alternate code
– See dropdown forms in CNET.com footer for example code
19
AVOID dropdown forms for navigation
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Get your site indexed
• Search engines spiders have limited ability to execute Flash or JavaScript to access links
• If you do use JavaScript or Flash navigation, make sure there isan alternative spider-friendly means of navigating to those pages
20
AVOID using JavaScript or Flash for primary navigation
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 21
Step 2: Identify your target keywords
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
• Relevant to your business
• Popular with searchers
• Obtainable– based on your PageRank, # and strength of competitors
– Consider two or three word phrases rather than individual words
22
Target the right keywords (a.k.a. search terms)
Keywords should be:
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
• Provide data on search volume of keywords
• Provide keyword suggestions
• Can provide data on search traffic to sites/industries
• Can provide metrics on search engine market share
23
Keyword research tools:
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
• Pros
– Free!
– Provides keyword suggestions
– Allows “broad” or “exact” matches to terms
– Allows comparisons of multiple search terms
• Cons
– No date filters
– Can’t save keyword portfolios
– Keyword suggestions sometimes weak
– Data limited to Google searches/AdWords
24
Google AdWords Keyword Toolhttps://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
• Pros
– Free!
– Gives data on related terms – top and rising search terms
– Filters by date and location
• Cons
– Limits term comparisons to 5 terms at once
– Doesn’t provide comprehensive term suggestions
– Can’t save keyword portfolios
– Data limited to Google searches/AdWords
25
Google Insights for Trendshttp://google.com/insights/search/#
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
• Pros
– Data from over 180 search engines
– Provides keyword suggestions
– Can create and save keyword portfolios
– Lots of bells and whistles
• Cons
– Not free
– Data is from preceding 12 months – hard to gauge rising terms
– Suggestions are sometimes too broad
26
Keyword Discoveryhttp://www.keyworddiscovery.com/
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
27
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
• Pros
– Can modify date ranges to identify fast rising terms
– Data from many ISPs and panel
– Can create and save keyword portfolios with huge number of terms
– Competitor gap analysis tool
– Can break out Paid vs. Organic
• Cons
– Expensive
– Suggestion tool is limited -- all suggestions contain substring of term
28
Hitwisehttp://www.hitwise.com/
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
29
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
30
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
31
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
• Track search engine rankings for user inputted search terms
• Eliminates ambiguity of seasonal search traffic
32
Keyword ranking tools:
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Keywords and keyword tools
• Caphyon – Advanced Web Ranking:
– http://www.advancedwebranking.com/
• CleverStat – Accurate Monitor for Search Engines
– http://www.cleverstat.com/en/search-engines.htm
• Covario – Organic Search Insight
– http://www.covario.com/products_organic_search_insight.shtml
• Firefox Rank Checker extension:
– http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker/
• Link Assistant – Rank Checker
– http://www.link-assistant.com/rank-tracker/
33
Some Keyword ranking tools:
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 34
Step 3: Optimize Your Pages
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Optimize your pages
• The page title is the most important element on the page
• Text at the beginning of the tag is given more weight
• Place your brand name at the end of the tag, not the beginning
Use: <title>Canon Digital cameras – CNET Reviews</title>
Not: <title>CNET Reviews – Canon Digital cameras</title>
35
DO create unique page titles for each page that lead
with your targeted keywords
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Optimize your pages
• H1 tags are more important than the rest of body copy
• Should align with your title tag keywords
• H1 content doesn’t have to be visually prominent if it conflicts with design – use CSS to style appropriately
Example code:
<h1 class="v1" style="font-weight:bold;”>Apple
iPhone</h1>
36
DO use H1 html heading tags for content title with important keywords
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Optimize your pages
• Particularly important for Google
• Separate terms with hyphens, not underscores
http://news.cnet.com/blackberry-bold-debut/
better than
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9940313-7.html
37
DO create file and directory names that include
targeted keywords
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Optimize your pages
• Incorporate at 200 to 250 words in a paragraph to provide search engines with the theme of the page
• Particularly effective on Yahoo! -- seen a 60% increase in Yahoo search referrals
Example: http://www.download.com/Antivirus-Software/3150-2239_4-0.html
38
DO ensure body copy is sufficiently long and keyword-rich
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Optimize your pages
• Eliminate extraneous HTML
• Use external files for JavaScript and CSS when possible
39
DO keep your code clean and succinct
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Optimize your pages
• Page titles and section headings should be text (and should often using heading tags)
• Avoid embedding page content in Flash files
40
DON’T use Flash or images as a substitute for text
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Optimize your pages
• Don’t put the same keyword everywhere, such as every image alt tag
• Don’t put keywords in places that aren’t rendered on the page
41
DON’T stuff keywords
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 42
Step 4: Build Links and PageRank
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Build links and PageRank
• Has implications to site architecture
• Home pages are generally the highest ranked pages of a site
• Leverage site linking to pass PageRank to other important pages
• Flatter hierarchies can more easily pass PageRank
43
PageRank cascades through a site
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Build links and PageRank
• Passes PageRank to key pages
• Association of text link to the destination page
• Use text rather than graphical navigation buttons. Or, at least, include alternate text link navigation somewhere else on the page.
44
DO ensure your home pages link (with text) to your most important pages
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Build links and PageRank
• All major search engines associate the anchor text with the pagebeing linked to
• Keep link text succinct and focused on one keyword or key phrase
45
DO ensure internal links use good keywords in the
anchor text
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Build links and PageRank
http://www.google.com/search?q=click+here
46
DON’T use “Click here” or other non-specific text in links
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Build links and PageRank
• Duplicate content can dilute PageRank
• Be wary of content syndication
– When syndicating content, insist on attribution links back to the source page
• Realize dynamic sites often inadvertently create duplicate content
– Limit crawling of duplicate pages where possible (i.e. use no-follows, or pull-down forms for sorting)
47
AVOID duplicate content (when possible)
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Build links and PageRank
• Use 301 redirects to enforce a single, canonical domain name
– www.example.com
– example.com
• Canonicalization is the process of using and enforcing the best URL when there are several choices
• Multiple domain names create duplicate content for every page on the site!
48
DON’T allow multiple versions of your domain name
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 49
Step 5: Encourage Click-through
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Encourage click-through
• Top 3 results: 79% of clicks
• Top 5 results: 88% of clicks
Source: http://www.seoresearcher.com/distribution-of-clicks-on-googles-serps-and-eye-tracking-analysis.htm
50
DO, obviously, strive for top of page 1 rankings
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Encourage click-through
• Should include your target keywords
• Should be unique
• Should include your brand name at the end if you have a known, trusted brand
51
DO create targeted title tags
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Encourage click-through
• Should be keyword rich
• Should be a compelling, grammatically correct sentence
• Should be unique
• Should include your brand name if you have a known, trusted brand
52
DO create effective meta descriptions
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 53
Step 6: Track the right metrics
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Track the right metrics
• Search engine referrals
– # of pages where referring page is Google, Yahoo, MSN/Live, Ask
• Rankings on major engines
– For important keywords
Other metrics to look at
• Pages indexed per search engine
– Use site:www.yourdomain.com as the search term on the search engine
• PageRank of home pages
54
Most important metrics
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 55
Step 7: Avoid these mistakes
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Avoid these mistakes
• 200 status code means the page is “OK” and these pages can be indexed by search engines
• Use a 404 status code – file not found
56
DON’T return a 200 status code on your custom error pages
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Avoid these mistakes
• This is seen as “cloaking”, a bait-and-switch, and is often used maliciously to trick search engines and improve rankings
• Some limited acceptable uses
57
DON’T provide different content to search engines
and humans
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved.
Avoid these mistakes
• Hidden or extremely small text
• Keyword stuffing
• Key fields targeted to obviously irrelevant keywords
• Automated submitting, resubmitting, deep submitting
• Competitor names in meta tags
58
DON’T employ any of these spam techniques
© 2008 CBS Interactive and Netconcepts. All rights reserved. 59
Thank you!Q & A