seo for startups – columbia startup lab workshop - adlift
DESCRIPTION
SEO For Startups – Columbia Startup Lab Workshop. This was a the workshop conducted at Columbia Startup Lab by AdLift - Prashant Puri in July 2014, New York.TRANSCRIPT
AdLift – Delivering Search ROI
SEO For Startups – Columbia Startup LabJuly 2014
Presented by:Prashant Puri AdLift.com@puriprashant
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@puriprashant
Prashant Puri
Founder of AdLift
In love with SEO since 2004
’05SEAS Columbia
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@puriprashant
AdLift: Driving SEO ROI
48%
10K
# of Keywords Optimized
# of Keywords Ranking in top 10
We analyze 1M pages/month
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@puriprashant
AdLift Is An Advisor to Leading Industry Events and Search Journals
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@puriprashant
Online Marketing Services that Drive Market Share
PILLAR 1
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Data Mining & Keyword Research
• Content Strategy• Technical SEO and Platform
Architecture• Content Marketing
PILLAR 2
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)/PPC
• Competitor Research• Ad Budget Optimization• Predictive Modeling• A/B Multivariate Testing
AdLift’s Pillars of
Expertise
Tracking & Measuring Performance
Strategy & Planning
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@puriprashant
Agenda
• SEO Fundamentals• Why SEO?• Natural Search vs. Paid Search• Click-Through Rates• SEO Ranking Factors• On-Page Optimization• Technical Optimization• Content Marketing• Reporting• Summary
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Why SEO ?
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@puriprashant
Natural Search vs. Paid Search
Natural Search Results = ~70% of traffic
Paid Search Results = ~30% of traffic
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@puriprashant
Higher Rankings = More Traffic
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #100%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
36.4%
12.5%
9.5%7.9%
6.1%4.1% 3.8% 3.5% 3.0% 2.2%
Page 1 - Natural Search Click Through Rates - AVERAGE
Moving from position #10 to #1 can result in a 1,500%+ increase in traffic * Data Source: 2011 Optify Study
+60% of users click on the Top 3 results
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Longer Term Investment = Higher ROI
AdLift Internal Data
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@puriprashant
SEO Fundamentals
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@puriprashant
SEO in 2007 – Limited Factors
Site Accessibility
Keyword Research Links
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@puriprashant
SEO in 2014 – Increased Areas of Optimization
Site Accessibility
Schema.org
Sitemaps
Keyword Research
On Page Content
Authoriship
Link Baiting
Quality of Links
Social Authority
Mobile SEO
Local SEO
App Store Optimization
Technical On-Page Content Content Marketing Devices
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@puriprashant
SEO – On Page Content
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@puriprashant
On Page SEO – Anatomy of a Search Listing
Title Tag
Page URLMeta Description
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@puriprashant
Keyword Research
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•Use a keyword research tool like Google Adwords Keyword Planner to identify search volume potential for strategic terms: •https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home•The key is to include keywords people are using to search for your products in the content you are creating
Country Selector
Language Selector
Keywords
Search Volume, Importance of a Keyword
Other Keyword Ideas
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@puriprashant
Keyword Targeting: UberSuggest
Google Keyword Planner UberSuggest – Google Suggest in One Place
Research
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@puriprashant
Keyword Targeting: GrepWords (Paid)
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@puriprashant
Include keywords in your pages!
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1. Title tag2. Description tag3. Header tag(s)4. Body copy5. Image ALT text6. Link anchor text
As Content Creators, you can help ensure strategic keywords appear in these KEY SEO COMPONENTS of a page:
VERY IMPORTANT !
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@puriprashant
Body Copy
Quick Snapshot:
1. Pages should have ~100 words of INDEXABLE copy – this does not include links
2. The SEO keywords targeted for the page should appear 2-3 times each in the copy
3. Primary goal is to make the text READABLE for users – no keyword stuffing or “forcing”
4. If it’s hard to “work in” the SEO keywords, the page might not be appropriate for those terms
• Keywords Targeted on Body: diapers, eco-friendly diapers, natural diapers
• Keywords rankings on Google: diapers #4 , eco-friendly diapers #6 - , natural diapers - #1
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Link anchor text
Quick Snapshot:
1. Link anchor text helps communicate the keyword focus for the DESTINATION page
2. The primary targeted keyword for the destination page should be included in the link anchor text
3. This is CRITICALLY important for SEO – it helps reinforce the keyword focus for the destination page
4. Links like click here and learn more provide NO SEO value
5. Links must ALWAYS point to the same version of the URL
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Technical SEO
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Crawlability / Link Architecture
Home Page
Tablets
Kindle iPad Tablet
eBooks
Comics Teen Fiction
Drama Essays Horror
Accessories
iPad Tablet NOOK Kindle
Apps
Games Children
Ideal Architecture Makes Content Access Easy and Simple(for both users and bots)
Home
Topics
Category
Sub-Category
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Understanding Flow of Page Rank (Link Equity)
A
B
E
C
F
G
PageRank 8
PR (8*.85)/16.8 each
PR (((8*.85)/1)*.85)/22.89 each
PR (((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2)*.85)/21.22 each
PR (((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2)*.85)/2)*.85)/20.52 each
D
Lower Number of Clicks to the Deepest Level Results in Higher Indexation Rate – Better Long Tail
H
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Common Pitfall - Duplicate Content
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Duplicate Content - Issues
1. Overall PageRank Gets Diluted
A
B
E
C
F
G
PageRank 8
PR (8*.85)/16.8 each
PR (((8*.85)/1)*.85)/22.89 each
PR (((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2)*.85)/21.22 each
D
PR (((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2)*.85)/2)*.85)/30.34 each
GH
2. Neither Pages Might Not Rank
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@puriprashant
Duplicate Content – Solutions: Canonical Tags
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@puriprashant
Duplicate Content – Solutions: 301 Redirects
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@puriprashant
When Should I Use a Canonical vs. 301 Redirect
• If you don’t need the duplicate page – use a 301 redirect• In instances when both pages are required (example: marketing, A/B
Testing) – use a canonical page.
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Difference Between 301 & 302 Redirects
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@puriprashant
When Should I Use a 301 redirect vs. 302 Redirect
• If the page that you’re redirecting is coming back use a 302, otherwise use a 301 redirect
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SEO Friendly URLs
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@puriprashant
http://www.abc.com/p/xyz/color/1100437663
Dynamic URLs don’t perform as well as static and engines recommend against
more than two parameters
Deeper Folder Structure & Keywords Missing
Search UN-Friendly URLs
Remove numeric characters
http://www.abc.com/s/?aud=tra&dref=9%2C1753%2C2945&sort=SA&store=eBOOK&view=grid
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http://www.abc.com/tablets/nook-color
Single domain Shallow folder structurewith relevant words
Keywords in page name,separated by hyphen
Search Friendly URLs
http://www.abc.com/ebooks/fiction/mystery
Shallow folder structurewith relevant words
Keywords in page name
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Sitemaps
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Semantic Sitemaps: Taxonomy Based Sitemaps
• Deeper understanding of how Google crawls your site
• Analyze which section of the site is being better indexed as compared to other sections of the website.
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@puriprashant
Semantic Sitemaps Help Determine Categories that Need More Attention
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@puriprashant
Google Webmaster Tool
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@puriprashant
Google Webmaster Tools – Checklist
1. Add Sites to Google Webmaster Tool. 2. Submit Sitemaps3. Monitor and Improve
Live Review of the GWT
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@puriprashant
Content Marketing
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@puriprashant
Content Marketing – A 3 Pronged Approach
Research: Identifying
Target Keywords
Strategy: Content
Marketing Strategy
Mitigating Risk
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@puriprashant
Keyword Targeting: What are MY Customers Looking For & How Do I Begin ?
Google Keyword Planner
Research
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@puriprashant
Creates Search Queries + Pings Twitter for Relevant Conversations: Content Runner
Research
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Low Hanging Fruit – Targeting Keywords Not Ranking in the top 10: SearchMetrics
Research
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Strategy 1: Competitor Analysis - Topically Relevant Sites
Drill down and Analyze sites with high Social Engagement
Strategy
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@puriprashant
Keyword Targeted Content: Google Alert Strategy
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Strategy 2: Influencer Outreach – Leveraging Social Media
Topically Relevant sites
Strategy
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Strategy 3: Image Attribution: Google Image Search
Strategy
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Mitigating Risk
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The Panda & Penguin We Once Knew… Mitigating Risk
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…Have Evolved
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Understanding Your Current Link Distribution: Moz
Sample Size: 0-10k URLs
Further Analysis Required
Mitigating Risk
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Poor Link Distribution Attributed to Low Quality Link Acquisition
Mitigating Risk
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Result: Annihilation of SEO Traffic
70% Drop in SEO visibility
Mitigating Risk
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Understanding Your Current Anchor Text Distribution: aHrefs
KWs “ceiling fans” & “pendant lights” drive more links than
longer tail anchor text
“ceiling fans”
“Longer tail”
“pendant lights”
Mitigating Risk
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@puriprashant
Understanding Your Current Landing Page Distribution: aHrefs
Out of ~150k pages – top 7 pages drive 51% of the links
Mitigating Risk
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@puriprashant
Deciding with Data
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Reporting – Measuring ROI
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Dealing with “not provided”
Keyword level data decreased by 80% since Google Encryption
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Rank Tracking – Tracking a Broader Set of Keywords
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Landing Page Analysis – Tracking SEO Traffic for Core Landing Pages
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Must-Do SEO Checklist
• Know Your Audience• Leverage Google Keyword Planner & UberSuggest to Dive deep in to
Keyword research
• Install Google Webmaster Tool • Know your data – Make sure Google’s crawling your pages• Submit Sitemaps
• Install Google Analytics• Its Free !
• Create Unique Title Tags/Desc for each page based on keyword research
• Look out for Duplicate Content Issues
• Kick-Start Content Marketing
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Live Site Audits !