SEO Optimization: Why You Should Care About Pandas and Penguins

Adam ProehlManaging Director

NordicClick Interactive Twitter: @DR_MyCommerce

#MyCommSEO

• Adam Proehl

• More than just zoo animals

• Google, Pandas, & Penguins

Agenda

Brief History

Pandas & Penguins – More than zoo animals

Things you should be doing

Traps to Avoid

Tools You can Use

Search Circa 2001

• No Local

• No Images

• No Video

• No Shopping

• No News

• Just “Ten Blue Links”

Now

Search Engines:

Understanding User Intent

Two Things…search engines are trying to figure out:

• What is the user REALLY looking for?

• The site content is compelling enough to care about.

BG (Before Google)

1998

1999

2000

2001

Google: Major Change History

First Paid AdvertisingLaunch

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2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Google: Major Change History

Supplimental Update

False Alarm

NoFollowAllegraBourbonXML SitemapsPersonalized SearchGilliganGoogle Local / MapsJaggerBig Daddy

AustinBrandyIPO

BostonCassandraDominicEsmeraldaFritzSupplemental Index

Florida

1st Documented Update(No Name Given)

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Overstock.com PenaltyAttribution UpdatePanda / FarmerThe +1 ButtonPanda 2.0Panda 2.1Schema.orgPanda 2.2Google +Panda 2.3Panda 2.4 (Global)Expanded SiteLinksPagination Elements516 Algo UpdatesPanda 2.5Panda “Flux”Query EncryptionFreshness Update10 Pack of UpdatesPanda 3.1December 10 Pack

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Google: Major Change History

Buffy

Universal Search

Google SuggestDewey

Real TimeCaffeine“Rel-Canonical Tag”Vince

Search + Your WorldJanuary 30 Pack

Social SignalsNegative ReviewsInstant PreviewsGoogle InstantBrand UpdateCaffeine (Rollout)MayDayGoogle Places

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Jan 30 PackFeb 17 & 40 packMarch 50 PackMore Panda PenguinVeniceAds above the foldDCMA PenaltyMore PenguinAug/Sep 65 PackExact Match Domain

Let’s visit…

Photo Credit: Northwest Florida Zoo (Larry the Lion)#MyCommSEO

DefinitionsTerm Definition

“Index” What the search engines see and take note of for displaying results

“Crawl” Search engines look all around the web for pages to index. This is called a “crawl”. Some people use other terms like “spidering”, but it’s essentially the same thing.

“Bot” The “bot” is basically what “crawls” the web looking for your site content.

Panda

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Panda

AboutFirst Update

Named a Google engineer

Major change to the way Google looks at sites

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Panda

What it tries to do:

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Panda

Black Eyes:

Image Credit: wisestartupblog.com

PandaSome Top No No’s:

Duplicate Content

CMS driven duplicate URL’s

Same meta data on multiple pages

Too much un-original content

Crawl errors

Image credit: The logo! factor#MyCommSEO

The Penguin

Image Credit: Attach M3dia#MyCommSEO

Penguin

What it tries to do:

Notice any recurring themes here?

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PenguinSome Top No No’s:

Keyword Stuffing

Link Farms

Hidden Content

Copied Content

Image credit: The logo! factor

Penguin

Black Eyes:

Image Credit: webpronews.com

Ignorance = Not Bliss

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Fix It Plan

• Simple

• Bit more complex

• Consult with a pro

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Simple Steps

What you can do

What you should too

Some tools

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Simple StepsWebmaster Tools

-Google’s view of your site

-Discover link & query traffic

-Talk to Google about your site

www.google.com/webmastertools

Simple StepsWooRank

Free (sort of)

www.woorank.com

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Simple StepsKeyword Research

Free

https://adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool

Or just Google “Adwords estimator” or “adwords suggest tool”

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Simple StepsKeyword Research Tool

Soovle

Free

www.soovle.com

Simple StepsKeyword Research Tool

Ubersuggest

Free

http://ubersuggest.org/

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Simple StepsKeyword Research Tool

Wordle

Free

www.wordle.net

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Ask yourself:

How do your customers think?

Simple Steps

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Establish a Clear Site Hierarchy:

Simple Steps

Home

Solution A

Solution B

Solution C

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Keep Links to a Reasonable Number

Thumb Rule: 1 every 2-3 paragraphs

Simple Steps

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Images

Great, but….

Text = Good for:

Simple Steps

NamesContentLinks

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Add important stuff in text next to the image

“Mindset”

Search Engines LOVE market educators

Simple Steps

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Little More Complex

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Page Speed: No one likes a slow loading site

Code.google.com/speed

Little More Complex

Robots.txt

Root Directory

Little More Complex

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Little More ComplexAsk Yourself:

Does this really benefit my users?

Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?

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Avoid

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AvoidSneaky Redirects

Image Credit: blueglass.com

• Text view (what you show search engines) =

• Java View (what you show actual site visitors) =

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AvoidStuffing Keywords

Ask yourself:

What grade would my grammar teacher give me?

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AvoidHow to think about search engines:

Like parents: They hate being fooled or deceived…

A Vegas Cab Driver: Seen everything

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When to Consult a Pro

Some things you just shouldn’t attempt

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Consult a Pro

Disavow Tool:

Bad Link Fixer

Use with caution

Try other methods first

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Consult a Pro

Been Hacked?

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Consult a Pro

Using a CMS Platform

Not all are created equal for SEO

Plugins, Modules, Add Ons, etc.

Image Credit: danielbronstein.com#MyCommSEO

Consult a ProContent Assessment

“Content is King”

Overused phrase, but for good reason

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Consult a ProContent Tool: WeWe Monitor

http://www.futurenowinc.com/wewe.htm

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Consult a ProContent Tool: Keyword Density

http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword-density/

• Old school metric, but still useful

• Too much & too little is bad

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Consult a ProBFF = Big Fat Footer

Just because it works for Zappos…

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Consult a Pro

Author Tag: Declare authorship of content

Written by <a rel=”author” href=”../authors/Adam Proehl”>Adam Proehl</a>.

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Key Takeaways

Ask hard questions about the quality of your content

Think about the value to the users

Search engines need to think your content is valuable

Remember it’s a machine algorithm making the call

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To Do Today:

Get setup on Webmaster tools if you aren’t already (www.google.com/webmastertools)

Go to Woorank.com & run numbers for your site

Try one of the keyword suggestion tools Soovle (www.soovle.com)Ubersuggest (www.ubersuggest.org)

Tools CoveredTool Link

Webmaster Tools www.google.com/webmastertools

WooRank www.woorank.com

Google Adwords Estimator (just google “adwords estimator”)

Soovle www.soovle.com

Ubersuggest www.ubersuggest.org

Wordle www.wordle.net

Page Speed Code.google.com/speed

We We Monitor www.futurenowinc.com/wewe.htm

Keyword Density tools.seobook.com/general/keyword-density

Thank You

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