optimizing your practice for online visibility
DESCRIPTION
An overview of search, SEO and social media for getting found - how to optimize and engage for online visibility. Presentation was delivered to SAC-CAMFT, an organization of marriage and family therapists.TRANSCRIPT
Optimize Your Practice for Online VisibilitySAC-CAMFT
Dana Lookadoo . @YoYoSEO . YoYoSEO.com
November 19, 2010
Introduction Online visibility means people can find you
online when they search. People use various forms of “search” to look for
marriage & family therapy help. You’ll learn basics about optimizing your website
and social profiles to be “visible” and be found. Poll:
Who has a website? Social profiles?
Google Profile? LinkedIn? Twitter? Facebook?
Outcomes Understand people go to “search” to find
information that meets their needs and questions.
Understand search as a business process that may redefine your marketing efforts (and possibly your “messaging”).
Engage online, when possible, given confidentiality and licensing requirements.
Know the basics of website optimization. Know how and where to set up social profiles
& list your business in directory listings.
Agenda Defining Search How To Get Found In
Search Social Media Overview Defining Online Visibility Social Profiles Marketing Channels Exercises
Website Content Worksheet Online Visibility Worksheet Review: Social Profile
Information
Defining Search
What is Search?
Local Results & Google Places
Google, Bing & Yahoo! Search Results
What is Search? Search Engines
Google Yahoo! Bing
Links Other Websites Directory Listings Social Profiles
Word-of-Mouth Marketing In-person, Email, Phone Referrals Reviews, LinkedIn Recommendations,
Facebook “Likes”
What is Search? Search Engines
Google Yahoo! Bing
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Directories
Search is anywhere there are search bars
where people can look for information.
Search Bars Search Social Conversations
http://search.twitter.com/
http://socialmention.com/
http://topysy.com/
Search Bars LinkedIn Search http://www.linkedin.com/
Why show up in search on LinkedIn? LinkedIn Profiles
& Eventsalso show up in Search Resultssuch as Google.
Facebook Search – Marriage Family Therapy
Twitter Search – Marriage Family Therapy
Twitter Search – Marriage Family Counseling
Twitter Search – Marriage Family Therapist
LinkedIn Search – Marriage Family Therapist
Citysearch – Marriage Family Therapist
Best of the Web – Marriage Family Therapist
Yahoo! Search – Marriage Family Therapist
Reviews Rank
Bing Search – Marriage Family Therapist
Local results above organic, 1st below paid
Search Results
Pages of “results” displayed by search engines, when a person searches, are called…
SERPS:Search Engine Results Pages
Search Results Snippets
Each listing in the search results is called a…
3 non-paid (organic) snippets:
Snippet
SERPs – Universal Results
SERPs, especially in Google, are a mixture of snippets from website pages that rank in addition to Local, News, Video, Images, and more. “Mixed SERPs” are known as:
Universal Resultsor
Blended Results
Google SERPSs – Marriage Family Therapist
PaidOrganicNewsPlaces
ISP Location
Google Suggest – Marriage…
# of results for “marriage”
Google “suggests” phrases based off how people search.
Google Suggest– Marriage F…
# of results for “marriage f*”
Google Suggest – Marriage Family C…
How To Get Found In Search
SEO, Search Snippets & Website Optimization
Defining Keywords to Get Found
Type & Number of Results
Local Directories
Keyword Research
How to Get Found – Organic & Social Search Put target keyword phrases into your content,
conversations, and digital assets: Website (body copy, page titles, file names, meta
tags) Social Profiles Directory Listings Images (file names, ALT tags, captions) Video (titles, description, file names, etc.)
Get reviews in search and directory listings Social signals can rank above well-optimized
websites. Use keyword phrased in textual links within your
website & incoming links to site.
SEO Defined SEO is an acronym for Search Engine
Optimization. The “art and science” of SEO involves:
Understanding your target audience (searcher persona); Researching terms your audience “speak” - keywords they
search for and use in conversation; Researching your market and your competition; Knowing the search results space - number and type
(organic, local, news, video); Planning website structure, design, code, and copy that’s
“attractive” to people and “accessible” to search spiders; Creating content that captures attention, meets audience
needs - content people want to talk about, share and link to;
Optimizing titles, tags, text and links.
On-Page SEO Optimizing content
both on & off your website: Digital Assets:
Body content (text) & assets (images, videos, PDFs)
Internal Links: Navigation, text linked to other site pages in your site (anchor text)
Titles, Tags, URLs: (HTML code, meta tags, page names)
Structure & Accessibility:Spiders & Speech Readers
External Links (not shown):Links from other websites
Title: Primary Keyword Phrase – Key Message for Page
LOGO (916) 555-1212 . About . Contact tagline: Marriage & Family Therapy serving Sacramento Area
Sidebar
Call to Action
Download Tips for a Healthy Marriage PDF (## K)
Subscribe to Newsletter
Link to Map
Footer: Links to key pagesCity & maybe County location, (916) 555-1212
NAV Menu Licensed Therapist . Marriage & Family Resources . Location
<h1>Headline – Primary Message
Provide key message to primarytarget audience above the fold in text. Summarize using yourprimary keywords - what you want them to understand about your practice. Link to a page aboutmarriage and family therapy in Sacramento, California.
Write including at least one more instance of keyword modifiers or related words. Answer primary audience questions and needs.
This copy is critical and will be used by various properties & search engines, often as your practice description.
Image w keyword-rich –file-name.jpg
ALT tag
Caption
http://domain-name.com/marriage-therapy.html
How HTML Elements & Keywords Show in Snippets Results for “licensed marriage family therapist
sacramento”
Title of each page is MOST IMPORTANT to have keywords. Meta Description convinces searcher this is THE result they
want to “click through” because page is relevant to their search. URL: Page name or hierarchy displays. Keywords increase CTR
(click through rate).
Title TagMeta
DescriptionURL:
Domain Name +
Page Name
Website Optimization: On-Page SEOTitle Tag:
Tells search engines page is about
“Home.”
<h1> Headline
Website Optimization: On-Page SEOTitle Tag:
Tells search engines page is about
“Serviced Provided.”
URL
<h1> Headline
Body copy:1st
paragraph is most
important to have targeted
keywords.
Bold & italicize
words send signals .
3 paragraphs start out with “I” – doesn’t tell
visitor what they’ll get. “I” is not their search
term.
HTML Code Shows in Search Snippet
<html> <head>
<title>Home</title> <meta name="description" content="Introduction to Kari Lloyd-Fisher, MFT ">
<meta name="keywords" content=" Sacramento, Kari Fisher, Carrie Fisher, Carrie Lloyd-Fisher, Loyd-Fisher, Kari Lloyd-Fisher, Counseling, Therapy, MFT, Marriage and Family Therapist, Therapist, couples, individuals, family, families, adults, teens, children, kids, adolescents. ">
HOME PAGE: http://www.fishertherapy.com/index.html
<html> <head>
<title>Services Provided</title> <meta name="description" content="marriage and family therapy for couples,individuals, families, children and teens, adolescents">
<meta name="keywords" content="therapy, counseling, couples, individuals, families, family, children, kids, teens, adolescents, treatment">
SERVICES PAGE: http://www.fishertherapy.com/services.html
keywords tag
not used for
ranking –
don’t stuff
Microformats –hCard (Advanced On-Page SEO) hCard is a type of HTML markup that sends “signals” about people,
companies, and locations. Tells search engines which blocks of code represent your contact information.
Where to use? Use hCard to “mark up” your “About” and “Contact” pages.
Resources: http://microformats.org/wiki/hcard http://microformats.org/code/hcard/creator
Example: http://transitionsmft.org/contact.php <p class="vcard"><span class="fn">Sean Slevin</span> can be reached
directly at: <span class="ns_me no_print"><br/><a class="org url" href="http://transitionsmft.org">Transitions Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling</a><br/><span class="adr"><span class="street-address">250 East Market Street, Suite D</span><br/><span class="locality">Harrisonburg</span>, <span class="region">Virginia</span> <span class="postal-code">22801</span> </span><br/></span><b class="tel">(540) 908-2792</b>.<br/>Download <a href="http://transitionsmft.org/vcard-sean-slevin.vcf" title="This is a vCard file that can be imported into your address book application.">Sean's contact information</a>
gray = HTML codered = microformatorange = body text
Defining Keywords to Get Found Know the number of search results and who
ranks for target phrase. THEY are your competition! Are there a few thousand or a few million results?
What modifiers can you add to your target search terms to narrow competition and results? “marriage family therapist folsom ca” “christian marriage family therapist” “marriage counselor yolo county”
Know types of content SERPs show for your terms, i.e. News results? Local listings? Video? Images?
“Marriage Family Therapist Folsom CA”
Placesis
nowabov
eOrganic
Reviews
“Marriage Family Therapist” w/o City Modifier
PaidOrganicNewsPlaces
Google Places: Place Page Ranks w/o Website
Website Down!!
Google Place page
ranks #1because of 11 reviews.
Local Directories Google Places – puts your business in Google Maps
http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter Help Guide: http://www.google.com/support/places/?hl=en&rd=1
Yahoo! Local http://local.yahoo.com
Bing Local http://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx
Best of the Web (Directory) http://local.botw.org
Citysearch (Directory) http://citysearch.com
GetListed.org (Service to list across directories) http://getlisted.org
Therapist Locator (Niche Directory) www.therapistlocator.net
GetListed.org – How Is Your Business Listed?
Research Keywords People Search & Say Google Suggest results
Phrases that appear as you search in www.google.com
Google AdWords Keyword Tool https://adwords.google.com/
WordTracker Free Keyword Tool https://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
WordStream Free Keyword Tool http://www.wordstream.com/keywords/
Listen to clients, making notes of words they use!
Google AdWords Keyword Tool
WordStream Keyword Tool
Website Content Worksheet – Exercise
Tips & best practices for applying keywords, writing copy and optimizing key aspects of your website pages. Use one
worksheet for every page of website.
Social Media Overview
Social Media Properties
Engagement Opportunities
Search & Social Web
Search & Social Footprint
Online Visibility Venn Diagram
Social Media Properties Social Media is engaging
on sites that enable discussions, sharing & voting.
• Sharing (Facebook, Twitter)
• Networking (LinkedIn)• Bookmarking (Delicious)• Video (YouTube, Vimeo)• Images (Flickr)• Reviews (Yelp)• Forums (Yahoo!
Answers)• Music (BLIP.fm)• Blogging (WordPress,
Blogger)• News (StumbleUpon,
Digg)
Social Media Engagement Opportunities Blogging (Blogger,
WordPress) Personal Journal,
Interests, Hobbies Marketing & Promotion Thought Leadership
Forums & Discussion Boards
Birds-of-a-Feather Sharing Meet others with same
interests Answer questions,
demonstrate expertise Branding
MicroBlogging Connect with other
therapists Connect with local
businesses Offer promotions Share relationship tips Become a thought leader Share local news,
becoming part of community
Provide feedback Establish your brand Visibility Friendships
The Search & Social Web Social media
“signals” are growing in importance to search engines.
Most social media profiles rank well in search engines.
Social profiles can lead visitors back to your site.
Social “presence” helps you be found!
Image credit: Garret Pierson
Search & Social Footprint Search: Your website’s search footprint
increases by developing quality content and getting incoming links to your pages.
Social Media: Your social footprint increases your exposure in the SERPs and other forms of search. Friends on Twitter Fans on Facebook Connections in LinkedIn Reviews in directory listings
Search & Social Footprint People exposed to you, your practice and your
website content will, if they like it, share it on Twitter, write a review on LinkedIn, bookmark it on Delicious, vote on it (thumbs up) in StumbleUpon.
The key to building visibility through your search and social footprint is to offer something of value:
QUALITY CONTENT Combining “search & social” means more results
about you are indexed in search. You get more incoming links, more traffic, and more social media conversations & votes - resulting in higher visibility.
Online Visibility
Social Profiles
Optimizing Your Profiles
Google Profile
Securing Profiles
Getting Started Checklist & Worksheet
Optimizing Your Profiles How do you want to be
found? Your profile name will show up in search results.
Aim for a consistent user name across networks. Decide alternate user name if primary is not available.
Use a photo as your avatar, a cropped headshot is best. A graphic can work for business.
Create large & small versions, 300x300 & 80x80 pixels. Most sites will scaled down larger file, but some require smaller image. Avatar must be square!
Personal User Name
PersonalAvatar Photo
lookadoobut I also use…danalookadoopixelbella
BusinessUser Name
BusinessAvatar
Graphic
YoYoSEO
Optimizing Your Profiles – Twitter Your bio & website
URL help friends and followers know something about you. Bio text influences how you get listed in search engines. Create a bio, approx.
160 characters in length. Use keyword-rich descriptions to summarize your strengths, career, interests.
Link to your site, blog or your LinkedIn profile.
Personal Bio
Business Bio
Google Profile Your Google profile allows you to be found on Google while
increasing visibility for your name & your practice. www.google.com/profiles
Details you can add to your profile: A short bio Links to your practice website, LinkedIn profile, Twitter profile Places you've lived Where you've worked Where you grew up Schools you've attended Photos from Flickr & Picasa
TIPS: The more information you add, the easier it will be for people to
find you. (And the more Google will know about you…) Set your full name to show publicly.
Edit Google Profile
Secure Social Profiles - options Go to each social
media website to see if your user name is available.
Only secure a few sites and leave others up to chance.
Use KnowEm to check availability of your user name or vanity URL on 400 Social Media websites. Secure all for profiles for$99 or $249.http://knowem.com
Getting Started Checklist First Name & Last Name – Most sites require both. User Name – 6-15 characters. Consider alternate User Name? Avatar – Square headshot photo or logo preferred over picture of
pet. Bio – Use words (keywords) for how you want to be found and show
up in search results. Put most important phrases at front of bio.
Website URL – Link to site/blog. Format: http://websitename.com Website Name – Some sites will ask for name - linked anchor text. Password – 6-10 characters, secure, memorable with at least 2 #s. Birthday, Gender – Many ask for info. Are companies male/female? Address – Some ask for mailing address. Do not display publicly. Twitter Backgrounds - http://www.tweetbacks.com/ &
http://twitterbackgroundsgallery.com/ Vanity URL – Customize your profile URL on LinkedIn & Facebook.
Online Visibility Worksheet – Exercise
Social Profile Information Create and
optimize bio. Keyword-
rich <= 160
char
Online Visibility Worksheet – ChecklistSocial Profiles & Directories Checklist Review select
social networks, email services & directories.
Determine priority for your practice.
Google profile is essential to claim business listing in Google Places.
Marketing Channels
Overview of Marketing Channels for Online Visibility
Integrated Marketing
Marketing Channels for Getting Found Website development and optimization (on-
site SEO) Sharing and building links to your website
and/or online profiles (off-site SEO) Local SEO (NEW: Google Places) Pay-Per-Click Advertising Social Media Engagement Video Marketing Niche Directory Listings Ask for Reviews (when appropriate)
Integrated Marketing Business Cards, Post Card Mailers, Phone Book
Ads Include your online profiles on all materials:
Website address, your domain URL Twitter profile LinkedIn personal or company page Facebook URL
Summary Search is more than Google. Know your audience and your target search
terms. Optimize your website code and content. Claim your business listing in Google Places. List your practice in local and niche directories. Social media signals are growing stronger. Increase your search & social footprint.
(Presence builds presence!) Optimize your website content. Optimize your social profiles. Get listed in directories. Engage in online conversations.
It’s Word-of-Mouth SEO!
Formula for Being Found in Search
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Links, Listings & Reviews
+ Social MediaOnline Visibility
Dana Lookadoo Dana Lookadoo, SEO Consultant
Yo! Yo! SEOWord-of-Mouth SEO . Optimize your online [email protected] . 831.901.5225http://yoyoseo.com . http://twitter.com/YoYoSEO
Personal Profiles & Blog http://twitter.com/lookadoo
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lookadoo
http://www.danalookadoo.com