introduction to search engine mechanics: a look under the hood

SearchEngineOp.miza.on:DrivingMoreTraffictoYou

June2010

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1 SEO=

SearchEngineOp.miza.on

WhatisSEO?

Improvingawebsitesoit’smoreeasilyfoundinsearchengineresults

FrontEndvsBackEnd

Traffic=ExposureBePerSearchRankings=MoreTraffic

Exposure=Support

WhyisSEOImportant?

•  92%ofsearchersdon’tgopastthefirstthreepagesofsearchresults

•  68%don’tgopastthefirstpage

Source:JupiterMedia+iProspect:“SearchEngineBehaviors”

68%

Example:“SavetheWhales”•  27,000searches•  1.2millionwebpages

•  About1.1970millionpageswillnevergetseen

Recap:Introduc.ontoSEO•  SEO=ImprovingawebsiteforbePersearchengineresults

•  Op.mizingasiteforsearchinvolvesboththefrontandbackends

•  YoubenefitfromSEOwithmorewebsitetraffic&morecausesupporters

•  Mostsearchersonlygotothefirstthreepagesofresults;SEOiskeytogettotopofsearchresults

SEO:ReadyforaTuneup?•  Keywords•  Links• Metadata

Keywords1

SwitchHats

Selec.ngHomePageKeywords•  Startbroadandhonein

•  Use“bigpicture”words

Conduc.ngKeywordResearch

ComparingSynonyms

• AlaskaCoal=5,400• AlaskanCoal=880• CoalinAlaska=320

hPp://bit.ly/GoogleAdWordsTool

TestYourKeywords

Keywords:NotJustforHomepages

KeywordsforJumpPages

• Morespecific

• “Longtail”

•  Example:“Coal”vs.“AlaskaCoalHealthRisks”

UseKeywordsinBodyCopy

UseaKeywordDensityTooltoVerify

hPp://www.seochat.com/seo‐tools/keyword‐density/

TipsforOp.mizingHeadings&Tabs

TipsforOp.mizingLinks

Instead:hyperlinkedtextshouldbe:REGISTERFORALASKASUMMERCAMPS

GreatPageContent

 Fresh Op.mized

 Unique

•  Thinklikeasearcher,notamarketer

•  Experimentwithkeywordsforbothyourhomepageandjumppagesusingtoolstostudysearchvolume&compe..on

•  Shortkeywordsvs.“longtail”keywords•  Prominentlyweaverelevantkeywordsintobodycopy

•  Op.mizeheadings,tabsandhyperlinktext

Recap:Keywords

Links2

BuildLinks

•  Inbound•  Outbound•  Internal

InboundLinks

258,000InboundLinks152InboundLinks 581InboundLinks

0InboundLinks258,000vs733

Cul.vateBigLinks

BuildRela.onshipsCul.vateinboundlinksfromyourexis.ngnetworksfirst

InboundLinkResearchTool

BuildingOutboundLinksTop3Ideas:

1.  Alistofrecommendedbloggers

2.  Alistoflinkstohelpfulresources

3.  Linktoacredible,well‐traffickedwebsite

CrossPromo.ng

Recap:Links•  3typesoflinks:inbound,outbound&internal•  Successwithlinkbuildingdependsonrela.onships•  Thinkqualityoverquan.ty•  Useinboundlinktoolstotakeanassessment

•  Cross‐promotefromyoursocialnetworkslikeFacebook

MetaData

FrontandBackEnd

MetaTitle

MetaDescrip.on

WhatitLooksLikeinSearchResults

Meta.tle Metadescrip.on

WithoutMetaData

Recap:MetaData•  Tellsasearchenginewhatyoursiteisabout•  It’sthe.tleanddescrip.onsearchersseewhentheyfindyouinasearchenginelikeGoogle

•  Ifyoudon’thavemetadataasearchenginewillguesswhatitthinksthebestmatchis

•  Youmayneedtoworkwithyourwebdeveloper

Evalua.on

MeasuringyourSuccess

CaseStudy:ZeroWasteAmerica

CaseStudy:ZeroWasteAmerica

Recap:Evalua.on

• UseatoollikeHubspot’sWebsiteGradertogetabaselineofyourSEO:hPp://www.websitegrader.com

•  Takestockofwhat’sworkingANDwhat’snot

•  Re‐evaluatetodetermineprogress

TakeHomes•  Keyworddevelopment&genera.ngfreshcontent

•  Keepitsimple&consistent

•  Evaluateandupdate

LearnMore

WorthExploring!• BuildingStrategicAlliances‐July• SocialMedia200‐August

• Framing&Messaging–September

• MediaRela.ons‐October

• StoryPitching101‐November

• BloggerRela.ons‐December

Published by Resource Media 325 Pacific Avenue San Francisco, CA 94111 415-397-5000

Brendan McLaughlin Project Manager Resource Media brendan@resource-media.org 206-374-7795 ext. 108

Gaelen O’Connell Digital Media Manager Resource Media gaelen@resource-media.org 415-397-5000 x303

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