top to bottom: seo for small businesses
DESCRIPTION
Whether you're a seasoned SEO veteran looking to brush up on some basics or a business owner who just got their first site up yesterday, we'll go over all the main points that you need to hit to get more traffic to your site from Google. We'll be going over: Local Business Listings On Site SEO Basic Competitive Research Social Media Originally given on October 2013 at a Seattle SEO Network meetup.TRANSCRIPT
Top to Bottom: SEO for Small Businesses George Freitag | @number1george | #SSNmeetup
This deck is originally from a
Seattle SEO Network Meetup
Visit SeattleSEONetwork.org to learn about more.
Here’s the links: portent.co/seo-biz
(That’s right, no ‘m’)
4 Who am I?
(picture by @flashmurphy)
ALSO:
Small Business Investor
SMALL BUSINESSES
• Limited Budget
• Have other stuff to do
• Have basic control of your site
WHAT WE’LL COVER
• Technical Stuff
• Local Stuff
• Competitive Stuff
INTERMISSION • Interesting Stuff
LET’S START
SEOs
Small Business Owners
CHALLENGES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
10 YOUR NEW BUSINESS
11
YOU THE INTERNET
12
CHALLENGES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
Things BIG Businesses have:
• Giant budgets
• Big teams working on their sites
• Devoted teams and/or consultants
• Lots of locations
• Head start
• Large followings
CHALLENGES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
Things BIG Businesses don’t have:
YOU!
Disclaimer: This is the cheesiest moment of the presentation.
ADVANTAGES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
ADVANTAGES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
Things SMALL businesses can do:
• Do what they want
• Keep track of their locations
• See what others are doing
• Be interesting
THAT’S GREAT BUT WHAT ABOUT THE
SEO?
WHERE’S THE SEO
It relates to what the search engine is trying to do.
WHERE’S THE SEO I need…
WHERE’S THE SEO I need…
to know when how tall Alec Baldwin
is.
WHERE’S THE SEO I need…
a secure cloud
hosting solution for my app.
WHERE’S THE SEO I need…
a new dress.
WHERE’S THE SEO I need…
to eat a gyro in the next 10 minutes.
SEARCH ENGINES
Search Engines Answer Questions. Technical SEO:
• Showing off your answers
Strategic SEO
• Finding questions
25
SEARCH ENGINES
Do some searches
SEARCH ENGINES
Figure out the types of answers you get. See what seems useful to do.
Get a sense of what’s going on in your market.
SEARCH ENGINES
You need to have something worth clicking on. If you don’t, then there’s little SEO can do for you.
Seriously.
The SEO.
FINE.
On-Site SEO FACTORS
ON-SITE SEO
Have x number of keywords in title tags Have x number of internal links Use these scripts
Mention all keywords x number of times
ON-SITE SEO IS THINGS THAT YOU CAN CONTROL
SIMPLEST OVERVIEW ON TECHNICAL SEO EVER:
TECHINICAL SEO
MAKE YOUR NAVIGATION WORK LIKE THIS:
TECHNICAL SEO
… A PAGE THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS
TECHNICAL SEO
Homepage:
All other pages:
… AND A SERP THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS:
BREAKING DOWN ON PAGE SEO
ON-PAGE SEO
Title tags • Direct SEO impact
• Under 70ish characters
• Unique for every page
• Put the most relevant terms first, then your brand name
• EXCEPT the homepage
Meta Description • No SEO impact
• Under 155ish characters
• Sales copy to convince people to click
• Relevant keywords show up in bold.
ON-PAGE SEO
Content • Use One H1 tag
• Don’t worry about the other H tags
• Use blank sheet of paper test
• People read in chunks (so do search engines, really) so write for that.
ON-PAGE SEO
Don’t do this; use text
Hey look at this totally relevant content!!!
SIMPLEST OVERVIEW ON TECHNICAL SEO EVER PART 2:
ON-SITE SEO
OR… HOW TO AVOID DOING THIS:
Useful Content
ON-SITE SEO
You need to be able to get to every page by doing this
Product Page
Category Page (click!)
Homepage (click!)
ON-SITE SEO
But in a way that demonstrate relationships.
46 Google tries to use actual human factors to determine importance.
Important
Less Important
Not Important
The LEAST Important
AVOID BIG TECHNICAL PROBLEMS BY REMEMBERING TWO THINGS:
TEST 1) DIFFERENT CONTENT = DIFFERENT URL
ON-SITE SEO
Hidden Content
Header
Nav
igat
ion
Content Content
www.bestsiteever.biz/page2.html
New Content!
ON-SITE SEO
Google won’t ever see new content if it doesn’t results in a new URL.
ON-SITE SEO
How do I know if I’m doing this? • Look at your URLs when you add content
• If you’re delivering content through filters
• If you’re delivering content with Flash
• If you’re worried, copy a chunk of text and do a search for in “quotations” in Google.
TEST 2: SAME CONTENT = SAME URL
ON-SITE SEO
A PAGE
A PAGE IS SHARED:
ON-SITE SEO
A PAGE A PAGE A PAGE
BUT EVERYTHING POINTS TO DIFFERENT PAGES
A PAGE
ON-SITE SEO
INSTEAD OF ONE
http://www.yoursite.com http://yoursite.com http://www.yoursite.com/Default.aspx http://www.yoursite.com/default.aspx http://www.yoursite.com/default.aspx?mobile=yes https://www.yoursite.com/ https://www.yoursite.com/Default.aspx?campain1 https://yoursite.com/default.aspx?mobile=yes&campaign&1 http://yoursite.com/default.aspx?top_nav http://yoursite.com/Home?top_nav https://yoursite.com/Default.aspx?mobile=yes&top_nav http://yoursite.com/Home?top_nav
ON-SITE SEO
MOST COMMON CAUSE:
ON-SITE SEO
How do I know if I’m doing this? • Copy a chunk of text and do a search for in “quotations” in Google. See if more than one result comes up
• Make sure it’s the same page, not just a quote or “category” page.
ON-SITE SEO
How do I avoid these? • Talk to your designer/dev
• Don’t use parameters to track behavior on a site
• Don’t use microsites. Seriously. Don’t. Ever.
ON-SITE SEO
How do I avoid these?
• Small sites are usually ok
• Wordpress is pretty good at this – If you use WordPress download Yoast SEO Plugin
• If you got these problems, you’ll need a developer
• If you have a new site, bring these concerns up at the beginning
LOCAL SEO FACTORS
LOCAL
Local is complicated
• Different places show different results
• Different factors for different markets
• Constantly changing
• Influenced by location
62
TRADITIONAL LOCAL RESULT
TRADITIONAL LOCAL RESULT
TRADITIONAL LOCAL RESULT
CAROUSEL LOCAL RESULT
CAROUSEL LOCAL RESULT
CAROUSEL LOCAL RESULT
WHERE IS GOOGLE GETTING ALL THIS FROM?
LOCAL
(Yes, it still exists)
LOCAL
Not + Local
?
LOCAL
HERE’S GOOGLE+ LOCAL PAGE
LOCAL
YOU CAN STILL GET TO GOOGLE PLACES
LOCAL
HAVE YOU TRIED TO GET TO GOOGLE+ LOCAL LATELY?
You’re Optimizing
for this
LOCAL
LOCAL
Make sure everything is filled out • You can’t be in the carousel without a picture
• If you’re competitor has something in their Knowledge Graph box that you don’t, you need to add it to yours.
• Don’t use microsites. Seriously. Don’t. Ever.
ANYWHERE ELSE?
LOCAL
(Used with permission from @davidmihm; getlisted.com.)
LOCAL
Local Data Providers • Neustar / Localeze
• Infogroup
• Yext
• Factual
LOCAL
USE THIS TO FIND ALL THE MAJOR DIRECTORIES:
LOCAL
getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-city.html
THEN MANUALLY UPDATE SECONDARY DIRECTORIES:
LOCAL
Now what do I do with all these directories? N.A.P. (Name Address Phone)
Example – This is Portent’s NAP:
Portent, Inc. 502 2nd Ave. Suite 1700 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 575-3740 http://www.portent.com
SECRET WEAPON
Map Maker
MAP MAKER
How to get approved in Map Maker • It’s like Wikipedia – you have to use it a lot
• Approve lots of changes
• Be polite (“please and thank you”)
• Use preferred categories
• Follow directions
• If you have to, you can try asking for help in the forum.
LEARNING FROM YOUR COMPETITORS
86
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Identify what types of results show up:
Informational
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Google uses user data to determine what results it displays
Tips
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
If it shows results of a certain kind, that’s what people are looking for
Sales
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Find opportunities to write something useful
Other?
LEARNING FROM COMPETITORS
Search tricks • site: Search within a site. (You can do this in chrome by just entering a site then hitting “space”)
• inurl: Search for a word in a URL.
• intitle: Search word within a page title.
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Use site:search to see how many pages they have about you
site:yourcompetitor.com “wireless routers”
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
See how many pages have a phrase in the title
site:yourcompetitor.com intitle:“wireless routers”
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
See how many blog entries they have
site:yourcompetitor.com inurl:blog “wireless routers”
FREE COMPETITIVE TOOLS
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
There are a few tools, though
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Google Keyword Planner • You need to sign up for AdWords (it’s free)
• Use it to find related terms you might not have thought of
• Find the most popular term people are searching
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Ubersuggest • No sign up
• Pulls terms from Google’s autosuggest
• Good for exploring topics with lower search volume
• You’ll still want to cross reference this with Keyword Planner
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
SEM Rush • Cadillac of competitive research tools
• Limited to 10 queries a day (on free version)
• Use it to see what terms competitor ranks for
• Use it for most popular variations of a keyword
WHAT NOT TO DO WITH THIS DATA
LEARNING FROM COMPETITORS
What not to do: • Create a hundred pages with the most popular term
• Copy your competitor’s pages word for word
• Try to exact match every term that shows up
LEARNING FROM COMPETITORS
What you SHOULD do: • Try to use the most popular variation of the term when writing
• Get some ideas on new pieces of content
LEARNING FROM COMPETITORS
Idea comes first – Google understands related words
INTERMISSION
LEVERAGING YOUR UNIQUENESS
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
I got a site I got local I know what competitors are doing
NOW WHAT?
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
NOW YOU JUST BE INTERESTING
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Why did you start your business?
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Chances are, it’s because some part of it is interesting to you.
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Talk about that.
LEVERAGING CHARISMA OTHER PEOPLE WILL FIND IT INTERESTING TOO
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Find your community
SOCIAL NETWORKS
You don’t have to do them all…
… except one.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
+
BUT NO ONE’S ON IT!!!
2 REASONS
WHY GOOGLE+
You need this to happen when you post.
WHY GOOGLE+
And you need to do everything you can to make this happen.
Popular search
My Google+ Post
(logged in as my boss)
WHY GOOGLE+
1. Set up Google+ page for all contributors of your blog.
2. Set up a business page for your business 3. Setup a local listing if you have an address 4. Yes, you have to do all three.
“HAVING SAID I DON’T WANT TO OVERSIMPLY LET ME OVERSIMPLY BY SAYING THE FOLLOWING.” - Me, just now.
OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS
Broad, awful generalizations: • Facebook: Friends and relatives
• Instagram: Young people
• Foursquare: Brick and mortar businesses
• Pinterest: Artsy people
• Linkedin: Business people
• Tumblr: Internet people
• Reddit: Really, really Internet people. (also mean people)
• The more niche, the better.
OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS
What about Twitter?? Use Twitter if…
… you want to use Twitter.
Lots of people will tell you that
you need to use it.
But as a small business you need to prioritize.
WHAT’S THE POINT OF ALL THIS?
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
You’re showing off you.
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
You have interests – write about your interests
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
See what works.
LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Analytics
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
We used to be able to look at the words people used to get to your site.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
We used to be able to look at the words people used to get to your site.
(not provided)
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Use landing pages
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Look at referrals
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
But this only works if you have the technical stuff taken care of. And you are making content that people are finding.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
(that’s why I mentioned all that stuff first.)
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Webmaster Tools
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I FIND WHAT WORKS?
YOU DO MORE!
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
Talk about whatever interests you
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING I need…
a new dress.
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
Go beyond the terms you were originally going for.
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING I need…
to look nice for my friend’s wedding.
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
You can be as fun as you like.
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING I need…
to look better than
Carol at my friend’s wedding
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
Or as niche as you want.
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING I need…
to match my date’s Star Wars
costume for my friend’s wedding
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
There are companies paying big money
just to pretend to be as in to what you do as you are.
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
1) Build on a good foundation 2) Establish yourself locally 3) Know what your competitors are doing
4) BE INTERESTING
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
Just remember to start here.
ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
… even though that’s actually here.
Here’s the links: portent.co/seo-biz
Thank You!
Links: portent.co/seo-biz Me: @number1george Meetup: @SeattleSEOnet Hashtag: #SSNmeetup