Search Engine Optimization

By: Mikhail Bell

Agenda• Vocabulary and definitions

• Applications

• Resources

Vocabulary and Definitions

A Brief History• Approaching 3.5 billion

Internet users

• SEO and social media

• ICANN and Top Level

Domains (TLDs)o .Com (old)

o .Android (new)

o .College (new)

o .YouTube (new)

Internet Searches the World Over

Vocabulary

• SEO

• SERP

• Keywords

• Inbound traffic

• Backlinks

• Link authority

SEO“Search engine optimization (SEO) is a methodology

of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase

the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a

high-ranking placement in search results page of a

search engine (SERP).”

Source: Webopedia

The Anatomy of SEO• Relevance

o Images, video and text on the

site

o Are you in the search results?

o Are you positioned for close

but imperfect searches?

• Popularityo By positioning (bidding) or

scarcity (few people using

term)

• Goal: increase ranking

for “specific keywords

and phrases”

Search term

CrawlersIndexed

pagesSearch results

Repeat

Factors (Google)• Site and page quality

• Page activityo Site traffic

o Frequency of publication

• User context (Pigeon –July 2014)

• Overall search trends and behavior

• Domain length and age

• Titles with keywords

• Duplicate content

• Top paragraph keyword mentions

• Exact Match Domain (EMD)

Factors (Google)

Applications

Writing for Websites• Clear titles and definitions

• Link to credible, well-trafficked sources multiple

times

• Properly tag images and embedded video

• Write for the user first

• Include breaks in text

• Always use new copy for new pages

• Make it local

Examples• Causes of death (Search result)

• Health Affairs (Search result)

• Mashable (Article breaks)

• Jim Croce (Video in search)

• Kathy Greenlee (Image tags)

• Jimmy John’s (Localized results)

Causes of Death

Health Affairs

Jim Croce

Where’s Asst. Sec. Greenlee?

Jimmy John’s

Writing Effective CopySample Titles 5 Points

• “How to…”

• “Why Do Physicians…?”

• “What [insert topic]

Means for [group]

1. Avoid punctuation

2. Title

3. Body

4. Images

5. Video

Paid vs. Organic Search

Paid vs. Organic SearchStats

• 90% of users do not look

beyond the 3rd page

• 87% of search traffic is

organic

• Perception: 36%

believe top sites are

best brands

• Users change terms,

not search frustration

Paid vs. Organic SearchPaid

• Pay-per-click ads (SEM)

• Multivariate analysis

• A/B testing

• More control over clicks

through to website

• Google AdWords

• Google AdSense

Paid vs. Organic SearchOrganic

• Inbound traffic

• Strong keywords

• Link authority

• 80-90% of all page

clicks

Resources

“ The art of living is more like

wrestling than dancing.”

Marcus Aurelius

Tips1. Build your network before you need it

2. Listen to your community, use data to decide

3. Bring allies into your strategy by sharing regularly

Resources• Search Engine Land

• Search Engine Watch

• Search Engine Journal

• Moz.com/blog

Questions?