SEO BASICS

INTRODUCTION TO

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION

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This entire document is Copyright © 2012 Aftershock Solutions Pty Ltd

CONGRATULATIONS!

IT’S A WEBSITE…

What is the purpose of your website?

• Imparting Information

• A Blog Comment

• Getting a ‘Like’ or new ‘Friend’?

• After Leads/Enquiries?

• After Bookings?

• After Sales?

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HOW WILL YOU GET TRAFFIC

TO YOUR WEBSITE?

• Business Card with Web Address

• Printed Material with Web Address

• Newspaper, Magazine, Radio or TV Ad with Web Address

• Yellow Pages Ad with Web Address

• Car or Business Signage with Web Address

• Business Networking

• Social Media

• Web Directory (eg… Wotif, Accomline, Tourism Site etc…)

• Internet Search Engines (like: Google, Yahoo! & Bing)

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CURRENT SEARCHES

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0 50 100 150 200

2009

2010

2011

2012

Monthly Australian Searches

62 million

88 million

180 million

118 million

CURRENT SEARCHES

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0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%

Others

Yahoo

Bing

Google

Search Engine Usage (AU – Sept 2013)

1.21%

5.17%

92.91%

0.71%

HOW DO I GET ON THE

FIRST PAGE?

• PAID: Pay Per Click (eg… Google AdWords)

• ORGANIC: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

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PAY PER CLICK (PPC)

• Usually but not limited to paying an amount per click received.

• Price is determined by the competition for that word.

• Can be great for getting a new website onto the front page, before it is ‘crawled’ by a search engine.

• Regardless it can be expensive.

• Click Cost for ‘Kiama Accommodation’

• $5 bid per click

• $20 daily budget

• Avg position about 2.78

• Approx clicks = 6.44 per day

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WHAT’S THE

DIFFERENCE?

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WHAT IS SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is:

The process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ search results for targeted keywords.

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Source: Wikipedia

WHY IMPORTANT?

Generally, the earlier a site is presented in ‘organic’ search results or the higher it ranks, the more visits that site will receive.

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WHY ORGANIC?

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Click Thru Rates on First Page Search Results:

Source: Search Engine Watch

PAID

ORGANIC

25%

75%

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Before you do ANYTHING you need to work out whatkeywords or key-phrases you will be targeting.

• How realistic & relevant is the query?

• What physical area (if any) will you be targeting?

• Will target customers search it?

• Is there enough volume for that query?

• Is it already too competitive?

• Who is the competition: big brands, booking sites?

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WHY DO I NEED TO DO

SEO?

Search engines are smart, but they still need help.

The major engines are always working towards improving their technology to crawl the web more deeply and return better results to users.

However, there is a limit to how search engines can operate. Whereas the right SEO can net you thousands of visitors and attention, the wrong moves can hide or bury your site deep in the search results where visibility is minimal.

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TRAFFIC ESTIMATOR

Google Search: “Google Keyword Planner”

https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home

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TRAFFIC ESTIMATOR

Google Average Searches per Month:

• Kiama Accommodation 5,400

• Accommodation Kiama 1,300

• Accommodation in Kiama 480

• Kiama Motels 320

• Accommodation Kiama NSW 140

• Motels Kiama 90

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FIRST THINGS FIRST

A draftsman in Kiama wants to optimise his site:

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Kiama House Plans

Sydney House Plans

House Plans

BUT TAKE NOTE:

Please understand that Search Engine Optimisation is:

• NOT an overnight fix.

• Usually it takes between 1 and 3 months to see a return.

• Can have long tail benefits, but ranks can also drop overnight.

• Is an ongoing process (eg Competition, Staleness, Changes in Algorithms).

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HOW TO RANK

ORGANICALLY

Two main factors affect organic rankings:

1) On-page Optimisation

2) Off-page Optimisation

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ON-PAGE

OPTIMISATION

Simply put, these are elements of YOUR web page which when evaluated together calculate a ranking for a particular search term or phrase.

You or your web designer should be able to make changes to these website elements to (hopefully) boost web ranking results.

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WEB PAGE ELEMENTS

Some elements are seen by humans, others only seen by search engine ‘crawlers’ or ‘robots’ all combine to produce a rating for your website for a particular search term.

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SIDENOTE: CHECKING

YOUR SOURCE CODE

In the Toolbar Locate “View Source”

Right Click on the Webpage’s Background -> “View Source”

• In Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome = [CTRL] + U

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MAIN ELEMENTS

• Title

• Description

• Heading <H> Tags

• Image ALT Tags

• Descriptive Page URLs

• Content

• Freshness

Our test example will focus on “Newcastle Accommodation”

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TITLE TAG IN A

BROWSER

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TITLE TAG IN A

SEARCH ENGINE

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META DESCRIPTION

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Code:

Search Engine Result:

USAGE OF META

DESCRIPTION TAG

• If you don’t have one a search engine will use the first text it can find…

• Needs to be a balance between utilising key search terms with making it compelling to click on…

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<H> HEADING TAGS

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<H> HEADING TAGS

USAGE

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• Should not just say “Welcome to Our Website”

• One <H1> tag per page

• One (Two Max) <H2> tags per page

• Any number of <H3> per page (less important)

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IMAGE <ALT> TAGS

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Code:

DESCRIPTIVE DOMAIN

NAMES

Can a descriptive (or targeted) domain name give me a boost in search engine results?

A: No, no longer.

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DESCRIPTIVE PAGE

URLS

Once on your website ALL page urls (addresses) should be descriptive – and where possible infuse your keywords…

Poor (Useless):

• http://toddsplumbing.com.au/subpage.php?=145

Better:

• http://toddsplumbing.com.au/hot-water-systems.php

Best:

• http://toddsplumbing.com.au/plumbing-services/hot-water-systems.php

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USE_UNDERSCORE OR

USE-HYPHEN?

Short answer - Use a hyphen.

An underscore is considered a word joiner, so having the url: red_sneakers is read as redsneakers to Google – not so effective…

A hyphen is a word seperator.

Best:

• http://toddsplumbing.com.au/plumbing-services/hot-water-systems.php

Don’t go home and break your site trying to convert 3, 5, 50 pages across, but Google has confirmed there is a minor search benefit.

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CONTENT IS KING

Content refers primarily to the text you use.

It also generally refers to images and other multimedia that might be used).

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Google’s goal is to match each search query with the best, unique content.

IS IT A

COMPETITIVE TERM?

If there is a lot of competition for a keyword, then Google may place more emphasis on the freshness of your page.

A blog can help with this.

(See examples)

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CONTENT TIPS

� Bring more to the front page.

� Aim for around 200-300 words on the main page.

� Make it readable, don’t just throw in huge blocks of text.

� Make it interesting to read.

� Infuse your keywords and phrases.

� A blog with the last two entries also appearing on the main page (with links to more) is an excellent way of feeding fresh, varied and relevant content to search engines.

� Alternatives are a ‘What’s On’ Calendar, Latest Events, Latest Specials, Latest News…

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BLACK HAT SEO

Refers to websites that ‘SPAM’ their site with chosen Keywords. These are progressively found by Search Engines and either demoted or banned entirely.

Example is a website’s footer that has something like:

Kiama Accommodation, Accommodation Kiama, Acomodation Kiama, Accomodation Kiama, Kiama Motel, Kiama B&B, Kiama Apartments, Stay in Kiama, Accommodation in Kiama, etc..

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ARE MANY MORE FACTORS

TO GOOD SEO…

• Page Load Speed

• W3C Code Validation

• Google Tools Setup

• Robots.txt Creation

• RSS Feeds

• Bolding Text

• Bulletpoint Lists

• Internal Links

• Duplicate Content

• Keyword Density

• Checking for Broken Links

• Age of Domain Name…

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CASE STUDY

Google: “Newcastle Accommodation”

• Monthly Searches: 4,400

• Competition: High

• Check:

1st (1) Wotif

11th (2) Noah’s On The Beach

44th (5) The Burwood Inn

97th (10) Cardiff Motor Inn

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GOING OVERBOARD.

Latest Google algorithm focused on good content and on finding and penalising keyword spammers and those who have ‘over-optimised’ their websites.

Since 2012 the focus is on FRESH, ENGAGING CONTENT.

Algorithm updates in the last month are further focusing on interpreting what the user is searching for and providing relevant content that answers their query or string of queries.

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GOING OVERBOARD.

Sometimes changes you make will send you backward down the rankings…

It happens.

Keep a record of changes you make to the website –especially if structurally based so that you can go back and try a different tack (or lesser number of changes).

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OFF-PAGE ELEMENTS

A little trickier to manage, as these refer to items OUTSIDE of your web page over which you may have little to no control.

However you can positively influence these factors.

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OFF-PAGE ELEMENTS

They include:

• Backlinks to your website (from other Websites)

• Links from Social Media (ie Twitter, Facebook, YouTube…)

These provide search engines with an ‘impression’ of how popular or important you are.

BUT Don’t go and buy links to your site…

Tricks:

• Guest Blogging, Expert Comments on Forums

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IMPORTANT SEARCH

ENGINES:

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VARIABLES

AFFECTING RESULTS

Can include things like:

• User’s Browsing History

• User’s Location

• Variations to Terms

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YOU’RE #1,

CONGRATS…

It’s great to be first or in first place for your chosen keyword(s), but what’s the user experience like once they get to your site?

• You typically have 4 seconds to engage a user.

• Is it appropriate to the expectations of YOUR target market?

• On average a website receives about 1.8 pages visited a visit. That’s only just a second page on your site.

• Are Your Contact Details Clear (Suggest in Header)?

• Does your site have effective Calls To Action?

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DO IT NOW!

If you haven’t already:

Setup Google Analytics for your Website.

http://www.google.com.au/analytics/

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DO IT NOW!

If you have setup Analytics:

Access Them & Learn HOW to Read the Reports.

Look at the Keywords People Use to Find You.

Setup Goal Tracking to Record when Key Events Happen.

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QUESTIONS TO ASK:

• What will you do to optimise my website for search engines?

• How soon do you think I will appear on search engines?

• How might you speed it up?

• Have they asked for your targeted keywords?

• Personal Comment: Be wary of anyone who can promise you’ll be Number 1 for sure…

• Personal Comment: Be wary of monthly ‘open-ended’ plans for SEO.

• Do, Do DO! Check references, what websites are they currently doing work on? Where are they ranking?

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MAIN THOUGHT TO

TAKE-AWAY…

The recent Search Engine algorithm changes by Google have put more power in your hands:

1. Create Compelling, Targeted Content

2. Keep it Fresh

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THANK

YOU.

INTRODUCTION TO

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION

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