SEO for Beginners: Simple Steps for Nonprofits and Libraries

With George Weiner, Whole Whale

November 29, 2016

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved2

Using ReadyTalk

• Chat to ask questions

• All lines are muted

• If you lose your Internet connection, reconnect using the link emailed to you.

• If you lose your phone connection, re-dial

the phone number and re-join.

• ReadyTalk support: 800-843-9166

Your audio will play through your computer’s speakers. Hear an echo? You may be logged in twice and will need to close one instance of ReadyTalk.

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved3

You Are Being Recorded…

• You can find upcoming and past webinars on the TechSoup website: www.techsoup.org/community/events-webinars

• You can also view recorded webinars and videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/TechSoupVideo

• You will receive an email with this presentation, recording, and links within a few days.

• Tweet us @TechSoup or using hashtags: #tswebinars

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved4

Presenters

Becky WiegandWebinar Program Manager

TechSoup

George WeinerFounder and CEO

Whole Whale

Assisting with chat: Julie Leary, Whole Whale and Susan Hope Bard, TechSoup

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved5

Objectives

1. Understand basic principles of search engine optimization

2. Learn some best practices for keyword research and use

3. Get basics on link-building to increase your site traffic

4. Gain insight on what matters on-page an off-page for SEO

6

About TechSoup

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved7

The Need Is Global – And So Are We• TechSoup’s mission is to build a dynamic bridge that enables civil society organizations and social

change agents around the world to gain effective access to the resources they need to design and implement solutions for a more equitable planet.

Countries Served TechSoup Partner Location NetSquared Local Group

Where are you on the map?

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved8

www.TechSoup.Global

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved9

Our Impact

Together, we build a stronger, more resilient civil society.

$5.4Bin technology products and grants employed

by NGOs for the greater good

35languages used to provide education

and support

100+corporate and

foundation partners connected with the

causes and communities they

care about

6.2Mannual visits to our websites

600,000newsletter

subscribers empowered with

actionable knowledge

79%of NGOs have improved organizational efficiency with TechSoup Global's

resource offering*

*Source: survey conducted among TechSoup members in 2013

 

SEO for Beginners: Simple Steps for Nonprofits & Libraries

Contents●Part 1: How it works●Part 2: The SEO Process

o Keywordso Contento Links

Poll TimeWhat are you looking to take away the most?

●Where to start with SEO●Choosing keywords●Understanding what content to create●How to build links●Other

Part 1: How it works

What is SEO?Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – the practice of improving and promoting a website in order to increase the number of visitors the site receives from search engines.

Basically, it’s about ranking higher in the search engine results for keywords related to your site.

Ads

Results

What Google Search is doing●Organizing the world’s information●Helping you find what you’re looking for●Monetizing (& taking over the world)

Narrow AIFast, Accessible, Relevant Results

My Brief and Selective History● Human (Dawn of time - 1994)● Crawling Spiders/bots (1994)● Google PageRank (1998)

○ Spammers mess with links○ Google responds

● Social starts to factor in (2009)○ Spammers create content farms

● Speed + Device begin to factor into search● Google responds (Panda 2011) to focus on quality content

○ Spammers build link farms● Google responds (Penguin 2012)● Knowledge Graph (2012)

○ Spam links… ● Hummingbird (2013)

Don’t Mess With Google

If history has taught us anything…

Smarter Search

Smarter Mobile Search1 Trillion daily searches, 50% mobile/tablet.

Searches by maternity and new parents - Think With Google

PageRank

Links are Votes

Two buckets of SEO

● Content + Keywords● Site Structure

○ HTML tags (H1,H2, Alt,title)

○ Speed○ Mobile responsive○ Video + Image tagging

● Links!● <a href=”#”>Anchor

text</a>● Domain authority● Social reputation

On-Page Off-Page

And 200+ other factors!

Ranking

Part 2: The Process

SEO Process

SEO Process

SEO Process: Keywords

SEO Process: Keywords

Research Tools

Goal: How does your audience talk about the topic?

Tools● Search Auto-Complete● Google.com/trends● Google Ad Planner

o Similarweb.com o Keyword ideas

● Google Search Console● MOZ.com/content● Thinkwithgoogle.com/

marketers-almanac/● Youtube.com/trending

Curse of Knowledge

Keyword Volume - Google.com/Trends

Keyword Volume Ad Planner

Google AdWords Grants!

●$10k per month for Google AdWords●Eligible 501c(3) Google.com/nonprofits●Use or lose●Playing with the house’s money!

Google AdWords Grant Course

Code: WEBINAR (50% off)WholeWhale.com/University

●Short vs Long-tail●Relevance●Phrasing

Keyword Research

Understand the searches that touch your term and the volume of interest.

Auto-Complete for Long-tail

Understand the searches that touch your term and the volume of interest.

Auto-Complete Ideas

YouTube.com

Phrasing

Keyword Research

Understand the way people drill down on searches

Long tails

Google Search Console

Competition: Ispionage.com

SEO Process: Content

SEO Process

● Fills a perennial need● Answers a unique question● Serves as a timeless

reference● References other authorities● Seasonally effected/relevant● The page of a book you’d

dogear● Designed to hook users from

search

Evergreen Content

List ExampleHighly shared & indexed by Google, lead to increased traffic, that lead to +3k users to other pages.

The Content FunnelCapture Engage Convert

Content marketing: create content that captures organic traffic, drives referrals and social shares to reach new audiences

Create content that helps people learn about your programs and helps them picture themselves as part of the solution

Design conversion pages that drive users to take meaningful actions like signing up for programs

Capture, Engage, Convert

Convert

● Build Calls-To-Action● Consider Pop-ups● A/B test

SEO Growth 2012-2016

0 poets

340,000

poets

Funnel to Goal

MOZ.com/content/search

Copywriting

Goals: People judge an article by its title first.

Tools● Hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator● Headlines.sharethrough.com ● Think With Google Almanac

Hubspot

headlines.Sharethrough

headlines.Sharethrough

Titles that hookTitles and Meta descriptions are why people click.

Spectrums vs Selling out

Be Mary Poppins - not Idiocracy

Poll TimeI believe that increasing organic traffic through SEO would help my organization:

●A lot! ●Somewhat●A little●Not at all

SEO Process: Link Building

SEO Process

Link Building Process●Discovery

o Choose the contento Choose the target

Blogs, Communities Competition - ispionage.com + Similarweb.com Resource lists Social Influencers Partnerships

●Outreach●Execute on your list + Learn

Link Building Outreach● 1:1 Outreach●Broadcast new content

o Social, PR, Email blast ●Pay to play

o Paid social/search ads around target content o (Google AdWords Grants!)

Shareability

Execute●Build a spreadsheet with keyword, content and

targets to build links●Track progress

Analyze - Google Search● Analyze who is linking●Build the partnership●Look for similar sites

Poll TimeI am most excited about getting to work on:

●Playing with the cool website tools●Doing our keyword research●Writing some awesome content●Rewatching this… I have a lot to do

WW Resources● WholeWhale.com/University (code: webinar)●Wholewhale.com/seo

69

Questions?

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved70

Learn and Share!

• Chat in one thing that you learned in today’s webinar or will try to implement.

• Will you share this information with your colleagues and within your network?

• Please complete the post-event survey that will pop up once the webinar ends!

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved71

https://techsoup.course.tc/catalog

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved72

Upcoming Webinars and Events

• 12/8: PS 103: Adobe Photoshop Tools and Filters for Nonprofits and Libraries

• 12/14: Libraries Supporting Social Good: Tools and Tips for Outreach to Nonprofits

• 12/20: Use It, Don't Lose It! Technology Donations Before Calendar-Year End

Explore our webinar archives for more!

. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved73

ReadyTalk offers dedicated product demos for TechSoup organizations 4 times per week.

For more information: www.techsoup.org/readytalk

Please complete the post-event survey that will pop up once you close this window.

Thank You to Our Webinar Sponsor!