Jenn Mathews (SEOGoddess)

Search Engine Optimization

Who am I?

Twitter.com/SEOGoddess

Facebook.com/theSEOGoddess

SEOGoddess.me

What We Will Be Covering:

• What is SEO?• How people use Search Engines• Keyword Research• Keyword Placement• Checklist –

• Internal SEO Checklist• External SEO

• SEO & Social Media• What not to do• Panda & Penguin

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What is SEO?

Rankings

linking

website

keywords

How Search Engines WorkUser searches with key word

Database of information about web pages

collected by robots, crawlers, and spiders

User Interface

Results

Search Engine

World Wide WebWeb robots,

crawlers, and spiders

Keywords

User types in key wordSearch Engine

Computers

As the user is researching they will type more specific words and phrases to find exactly what they are looking for.

Search

Keywords

User types in key word

User types in 2 word phrase

Search EngineLaptop Computers

As the user is researching they will type more specific words and phrases to find exactly what they are looking for.

Search

Keywords

User types in key word

User types in 2 word phrase

User types “long tail” key term

Search Engine750GB Laptop Computer

As the user is researching they will type more specific words and phrases to find exactly what they are looking for.

Search

The Results

The Results

The Results

What We SeeWe see styles, fancy fonts, images,

interactivity, and general user experience.

What a Search Engine SeesWe see styles, fancy fonts, images,

interactivity, and general user experience.Search engines see letters (symbols), words

(symbols grouped together parted by spaces), punctuation, and limited html tags like <a href=“link”> and <img src=“picture” alt=“text for image”>

What Users Look At

User stays within the first couple of results then scans the rest of the page briefly

Robert Stevens – February 25, 2013

Keyword Research

WordtrackerGoogle Keyword Tool

wordtracker.com/find-the-best-keywords

adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool

How to Select the Right Keywords

Type in your general word or phraseAdd your websiteChoose advanced optionsClick “search”

Your Suggested Key Terms

Selecting Terms◦ Choose the terms

that are closest to your target.

Competition◦ Number of

websites that show up for the term

Monthly Searches◦ Number of times

that term is searched in a month

◦ Local – number of times a local search is performed

Bucket Terms

Categorize your terms based on search volume and estimated revenue

Terms Hierarchy

Blanket Terms◦Select few broad

terms that represent the whole website

Categorical Terms◦2-3 word phrases

describing each section of the website (directory or microsite)

Specific Terms (or longtail)

◦4-5 word phrases for specific pages (or files)

Blanket Terms

Categorical Terms

Longtail Terms

Blanket TermsThe 2-3 broad words you chose that “describes” your

entire website

1. Homepage Title and within every title of every page within the website.

2. Within the Meta Description of the Homepage, and on every page of the entire website (somehow)

3. Within the body of the homepage (preferably within a 200-300 word description of your business, website, product, etc that if for the user to quickly understand what your website is about)

4. Within the body of every page of the entire website at least once – preferable once at the beginning of the content on each individual page, and again towards the bottom. (Do not just place the terms in commas, with periods, or standalone in the same spot on every page. They MUST be within the content and naturally flow with the rest of the copy)

5. Within Image alt tags (in a way that still describes the image if possible, if not possible don’t do it)

Categorical TermsThe 2-3 word phrases (terms) that describes a

section of the website.

1. Within the Title of the main page and the supporting pages in that section.

2. Within the Meta Description of the main page and the supporting pages in that section.

3. Within the body content of the main page and the supporting pages in that section. (preferably at least once and up to 3 times – beginning, middle, and end of the unique content.)

Longtail Terms4-5 word phrases that an individual page is

about.

1. Within the Title of the individual page.2. Within the Meta Description of the individual.3. Within the body content of the individual page.4. In the URL of the file5. In the heading of the file6. Within the anchor text of the link pointing to the page (either

internally or externally)

In general, the page should be focused on these terms

Server Folders and Files

ServerFolder

Index.html

robots.txt

Index.html

file.html

Folder

Index.html

Folder

Index.html

Hierarchy + Keyword Buckets

DomainBucket 1

Index.html

robots.txt

Index.html

Sub 1.html

Bucket 2

Index.html

Bucket 3

Index.html

Blanket Terms

Hierarchy + Keyword Buckets

DomainBucket 1

Index.html

robots.txt

Index.html

Sub 1.html

Bucket 2

Index.html

Bucket 3

Index.html

Blanket TermsCategorical Terms

Hierarchy + Keyword Buckets

DomainBucket 1

Index.html

robots.txt

Index.html

Sub 1.html

Bucket 2

Index.html

Bucket 3

Index.html

Longtail Terms

Simple Right?

Keyword Placement◦Title◦Description◦Body content◦URL (domain, directory, filename)

Keyword DensitiesInternal LinkingExternal LinksAge (Domain/files)

Keyword Placement◦Title◦Description◦Body content◦URL (domain, directory, filename)

Keyword DensitiesInternal LinkingExternal LinksAge (Domain/files)

KeywordsKeyword in URLKeyword in Domain nameKeywords - HeaderKeyword in Title tagKeyword in Description meta tagKeyword in Keyword metatagKeywords - BodyKeyword density in body textIndividual keyword densityKeyword in H1, H2 and H3Keyword font sizeKeyword proximity (for 2+ keywords)Keyword phrase orderKeyword prominence (how early in page/tag)Keywords - OtherKeyword in alt textKeyword in links to site pages (anchor text)NAVIGATION - INTERNAL LINKSTo internal pages- keywords?All Internal links valid?Efficient - tree-like structureIntra-site linkingNAVIGATION - OUTGOING LINKSTo external pages- keywords?Outgoing link Anchor TextLink stability over timeAll External links valid?Less than 100 links out totalLinking to AuthorityOTHER ON-Page FactorsDomain Name ExtensionTop Level Domain - TLDFile SizeHyphens in URLFreshness of PagesFreshness - Amount of Content ChangeFreshness of LinksFrequency of UpdatesPage ThemingKeyword stemmingApplied SemanticsLSIURL lengthOTHER ON-SITE FactorsSite Size - Google likes big sitesSite AgeAge of page vs. age of siteNEGATIVEON-Page SEO FactorsText presented in graphics form onlyNo ACTUAL body text on the pageAffiliate site?Over optimization penalty (OOP)Link to a bad neighborhoodRedirect thru refresh metatagsVile language - ethnic slurPoison wordsExcessive cross-linkingStealing images/ text blocks from another domainKeyword stuffing thresholdKeyword dilutionPage edit - can reduce consistencyFrequency of Content ChangeFreshness of Anchor TextDynamic PagesExcessive JavascriptFlash page - NOTUse of FramesRobot exclusion "no index" tagSingle pixel linksInvisible textGateway, doorway pageDuplicate content HTML code violationsPOSITIVEOFF-Page SEO FactorsINCOMING LINKS :Page RankTotal incoming links ("backlinks")Incoming links from high-ranking pagesAcceleration of link popularityFOR EACH INCOMING LINK :Page rank of the referring pageAnchor text ofinbound link to youAge of linkFrequency of change of anchor textPopularity of referring page# of outgoing links on referrer pagePosition of link on referrer pageKeyword density on referring pageHTML title of referrer pageLink from "Expert" site?Referrer page - Same themeReferrer page - Different themeImage map link?Javascript link?DIRECTORIES :Site listed in DMOZ Directory?Site listed in Yahoo Directory?Site listed in LookSmart Directory?Site listed in inktomi?Site listed in other directories (About, BOTW, etc.)Expert site? (Hilltop or Condensed Hilltop)Site Age - Old shows stability Site Age - Very New BoostSite Directory - Tree StructureSite Map and more site mapSite SizeSite ThemingPAGE METRICS - USER BEHAVIOR:Page trafficPage Selection Rate - CTRTime spent on pageDid user Bookmark page?Bookmark add/ removal frequencyHow they left, where they wentSITE METRICS - USER BEHAVIOR :Site TrafficReferrerKeywordTime spent on domainDOMAIN OWNER BEHAVIOR :Domain Registration TimeAre associated sites legitimate?NEGATIVEOFF-Page SEO FactorsTraffic BuyingTemporal Link AnalysisChange of MeaningsZero links to youLink-buyingPrior Site RankingCloakingLinks from bad neighborhoods,affiliatesPenalties - resulting fromDomain Hijacking(work with Google to fix)Penalty - Google TOS violationServer Reliability - S/B >99.9%Pages being dropped from large sitesRank Manipulation byCompetitor Attack

Algorithms

Not Really

Checklist – Internal SEO Keywords

Keywords in <title> tagKeywords in URLKeyword density in document textKeywords in anchor textKeywords in <alt> tagsKeywords in metatags

Metatags<Description> metatag<Keywords> metatag

Links - InternalAnchor text has key term(s) in links

(unless it’s a “click here” or “more” link)Content Around-the-anchor text is relevant

ContentUnique contentFrequency of content changeAge of documentFile sizePoor coding and designDuplicating Content = NOInvisible text = NO

Domains & URLsURLs and filenamesSitemapWebsite sizeWebsite/Domain ageFile Location on SiteDomains versus subdomainsHyphens in URLsURL length

Otherrobots.txtRedirects (301)

Social ActionsGoogle +1Facebook 'Like' or 'Recommend"Facebook commentsTwitter "tweet"OGP - Open Graph Protocol

Checklist – External SEO

Links - ExternalQuality of source of inbound linksLinks from similar sitesLinks from .edu and .gov sitesAge of inbound linksLinks from directories = noLinks from Social MediaLinks on pages that include social actions

Social ActionsWebsite sharedPages shared+1 in search results (Google)Shared links 'Like'd (Bing and Facebook Graph)

SEO and Social Media

Internal◦Sharing◦Commenting◦OGP◦Embedding

External◦Profiles/Pages◦Content◦Social Actions◦Commenting

+

=

Socially Internal for SEO

Share Buttons◦Facebook◦Twitter◦Linkedin◦Google+◦StumbleUpon

http://www.stumbleupon.com/badges/

http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/

http://twitter.com/about/resources/tweetbutton

https://developer.linkedin.com/plugins/share-button

http://www.google.com/intl/en/webmasters/+1/button/index.html

Socially Internal for SEO

Commenting◦CMS

Gadgets plugins modules add-ons

◦Facebook◦External Add-ons http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/comments/

Open Graph Protocol◦Basics

og:title og:url og:image og:description og:site_name

◦Location◦Contact Info◦Video◦Audio◦Product

OGP.me<head> <title>website/page title</title> <meta property="og:title" content=“Title of Website/Page" /> <meta property="og:url" content=“http://website.com/page.html" /> <meta property="og:image" content="http://iwebsite.com/images/pic.jpg" /><meta property="og:tdescription" content=“The description of the website or page." /> ... </head>

Socially Internal for SEO

Socially Internal for SEO

Embedding◦Twitter◦Facebook◦Linkedin◦YouTube Videos◦Slideshare

http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/activity/

http://twitter.com/about/resources/widgets

https://developer.linkedin.com/plugins

Activity Feed

http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/recommendations/

Recommendations

Widgets

Plugins

Socially External for SEOProfiles/Pages

Use social networking websites to establish a solid presence in the search results.

Knowem.com

Socially External for SEO

Content◦Sharable Content◦Guest Blog posts◦Profile Content◦Tweets/Updates

Socially External for SEO

Social Actions◦Share◦Tweet◦Check in

Socially External for SEO

Commenting◦Blogs◦Articles◦Products◦Updates

I like your ……

Don’t

Hidden textHidden linksKeyword stuffingArtificial trafficCloaking scriptsDoorway pagesDuplicate contentBuying linksLink exchangesFramesTitle stackingSpam blogs with comments

Panda

Released February 2011Push down rank of “lower quality sites” or “thin sites”

More information:◦ More Guidance on Building High Quality Sites – Google◦ Testing Google’s Panda Algorithm - CNet

Panda – What to avoid

Content Farming◦Low quality content◦Outdated content

Spammy Links◦Commenting links◦Profile links

Over Advertising

Penguin

Launched April 2012Decrease rank of sites that violate Webmaster Guidelines

More Information:◦ Webmaster Guidelines – Google

Automatically generated contentParticipating in link schemesCloakingScraped contentLoading pages with irrelevant keywords

Penguin – What to Avoid

Thank You!

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