retechto meetup - march 1, 2010 - search engine optimization
DESCRIPTION
Gregory Lam's presentation on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) from the March 1, 2010 Real Estate Technology Toronto Meetup (RETechTO). Event founded and hosted by George O'Neill www.GeorgeONeill.caTRANSCRIPT
Sasquatch, SEO ExpertsANDOTHER Mythical Creatures
GREGORY LAM
DRIVINGWEB TRAFFIC
I’m Gregory Lam. I help create user experiences
and technical solutions with digital media, online
content management systems, mobile applications, and social networking.
Source: Woolley’s Steakhouse, MN
Search
Engine
Optimization
Search Engine Market Share
Google57%
Yahoo!18%
Microsoft10%
Other15%
Source: Zscalar Labs, State of the Web - Q4 2009
What Searchbots look for*
25%
22%
20%
15%
7%6% 5%
Trustworthiness of your Domain
# of Links to you
Link Text
On-Page Keywords
Web host data
Traffic + CTR
Social Media
*Educated guesses from SEO folks (Source: SEOMoz)
What Searchbots look for*
67%
33% What others say about you
What you say about yourself
“The holy grail of search is to understand what the user wants. Then you are not matching words; you are actually trying to match meaning.”
- Amit Singhal, Google Fellow“How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web”, Wired Magazine 23 Feb 2010
1. Who links to you
2. How many link to you
3. What do those links say about you
Who links to you
• Encourage links from popular + authoritative sites
• Discourage links from spammers + non-relevant sites
How many link to you
• Blog! Take photos! Shoot video
• Have an opinion
• Ask for referrals
What do those links say about you
“Suzie is a great real estate agent in Toronto.”
vs.
“Suzie is a great real estate agent in Toronto.”
Why SEO doesn’t matter
• Word of mouth
• Social media
• You still need to close the deal
Having an online presence is important as having a credit rating.
Build it out.
GREGORY’S RULES
Be true to your brand.
Have a very specific goal when executing any online strategy.
GREGORY’S RULES
The Internet is a tool, not an anathema
The Internet is just one piece of your marketing strategy, not a magic bullet.
GREGORY’S RULES
What Searchbots look for*
67%
33% What others say about you
What you say about yourself
www.linkedin.com/in/gregorylam
@gregorylam