“Optimizing Your Practice For Online Visibility” - a class taught by Dana Lookadoo to the Sacramento Valley Chapter California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (SVC-CAMFT) at the University of Phoenix in November 2010. Presentation covers local SEO and social media considerations for small businesses.

1. Optimize Your Practice for Online Visibility
SAC-CAMFT
Dana Lookadoo . @YoYoSEO . YoYoSEO.com
November 19, 2010

2. Introduction
 Online visibility means people can find you online
when they search.
 People use various forms of “search” to look for marriage
& family therapy help.
 You’ll learn basics about optimizing your website and
social profiles to be “visible” and be found.
 Poll:
 Who has a website?
 Social profiles?
 Google Profile?
 LinkedIn?
 Twitter?
 Facebook?

3. Outcomes
 Understand people go to “search” to find information
that meets their needs and questions.
 Understand search as a business process that
may redefine your marketing efforts (and possibly
your “messaging”).
 Engage online, when possible, given confidentiality
and licensing requirements.
 Know the basics of website optimization.
 Know how and where to set up social profiles & list
your business in directory listings.

4. Agenda
 Defining Search
 How To Get Found In Search
 Social Media Overview
 Defining Online Visibility
 Social Profiles
 Marketing Channels
 Exercises
 Website Content Worksheet
 Online Visibility Worksheet
 Review: Social Profile Information

5. Defining Search
What is Search?
Local Results & Google Places
Google, Bing & Yahoo! Search Results

6. What is Search?
 Search Engines
 Google
 Yahoo!
 Bing
 Links
 Other Websites
 Directory Listings
 Social Profiles
 Word-of-Mouth Marketing
 In-person, Email, Phone Referrals
 Reviews, LinkedIn Recommendations, Facebook
“Likes”

7. What is Search?
 Search Engines
 Google
 Yahoo!
 Bing
 Facebook
 Twitter
 LinkedIn
 Directories
Search is anywhere there are search bars
where people can look for information.

8. Search Bars
 Facebook Search
http://www.facebook.com/srch.php/

9. Search Bars
 Search Social Conversations
http://search.twitter.com/
http://socialmention.com/
http://topysy.com/

10. Search Bars
 LinkedIn Search http://www.linkedin.com/
 Why show up in search on
LinkedIn? LinkedIn Profiles
& Events
also show up in
Search Results
such as Google.

11. Facebook Search – Marriage Family Therapy

12. Twitter Search – Marriage Family Therapy

13. Twitter Search – Marriage Family Counseling

14. Twitter Search – Marriage Family Therapist

15. LinkedIn Search – Marriage Family Therapist

16. Citysearch – Marriage Family Therapist

17. Best of the Web – Marriage Family Therapist

18. Yahoo! Search – Marriage Family Therapist
Reviews
Rank

19. Bing Search – Marriage Family Therapist
Local results above
organic, 1st below paid

20. Search Results
Pages of “results” displayed by search engines,
when a person searches, are called…

21. Search Results Snippets
Each listing in the search results is called a…
3 non-paid (organic) snippets:

22. SERPs – Universal Results
SERPs, especially in Google, are a mixture of
snippets from website pages that rank in addition
to Local, News, Video, Images, and more.
“Mixed SERPs” are known as:

23. Google SERPSs – Marriage Family Therapist
ISP Location
Paid
Organic
News
Places

24. Google Suggest – Marriage…
Google “suggests” phrases based off how people
search.
# of results
for “marriage”

25. Google Suggest– Marriage F…
# of results
for “marriage f*”

26. Google Suggest – Marriage Family C…

27. How To Get Found In Search
SEO, Search Snippets & Website Optimization
Defining Keywords to Get Found
Type & Number of Results
Local Directories
Keyword Research

28. How to Get Found – Organic & Social Search
 Put target keyword phrases into your content,
conversations, and digital assets:
 Website (body copy, page titles, file names, meta
tags)
 Social Profiles
 Directory Listings
 Images (file names, ALT tags, captions)
 Video (titles, description, file names, etc.)
 Get reviews in search and directory listings
 Social signals can rank above well-optimized
websites.
 Use keyword phrased in textual links within
your website & incoming links to site.

29. SEO Defined
 SEO is an acronym for Search Engine
Optimization.
 The “art and science” of SEO involves:
 Understanding your target audience (searcher persona);
 Researching terms your audience “speak” - keywords
they search for and use in conversation;
 Researching your market and your competition;
 Knowing the search results space - number and type
(organic, local, news, video);
 Planning website structure, design, code, and copy
that’s “attractive” to people and “accessible” to search
spiders;
 Creating content that captures attention, meets audience
needs - content people want to talk about, share and
link to;
 Optimizing titles, tags, text and links.

30. On-Page SEO
 Optimizing content Title: Primary Keyword Phrase – Key Message for Page
both on & off your http://domain-name.com/marriage-therapy.html
website: LOGO (916) 555-1212 . About . Contact
tagline: Marriage & Family Therapy serving Sacramento Area
 Digital Assets: NAV Menu
Licensed Therapist . Marriage & Family Resources . Location
Body content (text) &
<h1>Headline – Primary Message
assets (images, videos,
PDFs) Provide key message to primary Image w Sidebar
target audience above the fold keyword-rich
 Internal Links: in text. Summarize using your
primary keywords - what you
–file-name.jpg Call to
Action
Navigation, text linked to want them to understand about ALT tag
other site pages in your your practice. Link to a page about
marriage and family therapy
Caption Download
site (anchor text) in Sacramento, California.
Tips for a
Healthy
Marriage
 Titles, Tags, URLs: Write including at least one more instance of PDF (## K)
keyword modifiers or related words. Answer
(HTML code, meta tags, primary audience questions and needs. Subscribe to
page names) Newsletter
This copy is critical and will be used by various
 Structure & properties & search engines, often as your practice Link to Map
description.
Accessibility:
Spiders & Speech Footer: Links to key pages
City & maybe County location, (916) 555-1212
Readers
 External Links (not

31. How HTML Elements & Keywords Show in Snippets
 Results for “licensed marriage family therapist
sacramento”
Title Tag
Meta
Description
URL:
Domain Name
+ Page Name
 Title of each page is MOST IMPORTANT to have keywords.
 Meta Description convinces searcher this is THE result they
want to “click through” because page is relevant to their search.
 URL: Page name or hierarchy displays. Keywords increase
CTR (click through rate).

32. Website Optimization: On-Page SEO
Title Tag:
Tells search
engines
page is
about
“Home.”
<h1>
Headline

33. Website Optimization: On-Page SEO
Title Tag:
Tells search URL
engines
page is
about
“Serviced
Provided.”
<h1> Body copy:
Headline 1st paragraph
is most
important to
have targeted
keywords.
Bold &
italicize
words send
signals .
3 paragraphs start out with “I”
– doesn’t tell visitor what
they’ll get.
“I” is not their search term.

34. HTML Code Shows in Search Snippet
HOME PAGE: http://www.fishertherapy.com/index.html
<html>
<head>
<title>Home</title>
<meta name="description" content="Introduction to Kari Lloyd-Fisher, MFT ">
keyword <meta name="keywords" content=" Sacramento, Kari Fisher, Carrie Fisher, Carrie
s tag not
used for Lloyd-Fisher, Loyd-Fisher, Kari Lloyd-Fisher, Counseling, Therapy, MFT, Marriage and
ranking Family Therapist, Therapist, couples, individuals, family, families, adults, teens, children,
– don’t kids, adolescents. ">
stuff
SERVICES PAGE: http://www.fishertherapy.com/services.html
<html>
<head>
<title>Services Provided</title>
<meta name="description" content="marriage and family therapy for couples,
individuals, families, children and teens, adolescents">
<meta name="keywords" content="therapy, counseling, couples,
individuals, families, family, children, kids, teens, adolescents, treatment">

35. Microformats –hCard (Advanced On-Page SEO)
 hCard is a type of HTML markup that sends “signals” about people,
companies, and locations.
 Tells search engines which blocks of code represent your contact
information.
 Where to use?
 Use hCard to “mark up” your “About” and “Contact” pages.
 Resources:
 http://microformats.org/wiki/hcard
 http://microformats.org/code/hcard/creator
 Example: http://transitionsmft.org/contact.php
 <p class="vcard"><span class="fn">Sean Slevin</span> can be reached
directly at: <span class="ns_me no_print"><br/>
<a class="org url" href="http://transitionsmft.org">Transitions Marriage
and Family Therapy and Counseling</a><br/><span class="adr">
<span class="street-address">250 East Market Street, Suite
D</span><br/>
<span class="locality">Harrisonburg</span>, <span
class="region">Virginia</span> <span class="postal-
code">22801</span> </span><br/></span><b class="tel">(540) 908-
2792</b>.<br/>
Download <a href="http://transitionsmft.org/vcard-sean-slevin.vcf"
title="This is a vCard file that can be imported into your address book

36. Defining Keywords to Get Found
 Know the number of search results and who
ranks for target phrase. THEY are your
competition!
 Are there a few thousand or a few million results?
 What modifiers can you add to your target
search terms to narrow competition and
results?
 “marriage family therapist folsom ca”
 “christian marriage family therapist”
 “marriage counselor yolo county”
 Know types of content SERPs show for your
terms,

37. “Marriage Family Therapist Folsom CA”
Review
s
Places
is now
above
Organi
c

38. “Marriage Family Therapist” w/o City Modifier
Paid
Organic
News
Places

39. Google Places: Place Page Ranks w/o Website
Website Down!!
Google Place
page
ranks #1
because of
11 reviews.

40. Local Directories
 Google Places – puts your business in Google Maps
 http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter
 Help Guide: http://www.google.com/support/places/?hl=en&rd=1
 Yahoo! Local
 http://local.yahoo.com
 Bing Local
 http://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx
 Best of the Web (Directory)
 http://local.botw.org
 Citysearch (Directory)
 http://citysearch.com
 GetListed.org (Service to list across directories)
 http://getlisted.org
 Therapist Locator (Niche Directory)
 www.therapistlocator.net

41. GetListed.org – How Is Your Business Listed?

42. Research Keywords People Search & Say
 Google Suggest results
 Phrases that appear as you search in
www.google.com
 Google AdWords Keyword Tool
 https://adwords.google.com/
 WordTracker Free Keyword Tool
 https://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
 WordStream Free Keyword Tool
 http://www.wordstream.com/keywords/
 Listen to clients, making notes of words they use!

43. Google AdWords Keyword Tool

44. WordStream Keyword Tool

45. Website Content Worksheet – Exercise
 Tips & best
practices for
applying
keywords,
writing copy and
optimizing key
aspects of your
website pages.
 Use one
worksheet for
every page of
website.

46. Social Media Overview
Social Media Properties
Engagement Opportunities
Search & Social Web
Search & Social Footprint
Online Visibility Venn Diagram

47. Social Media Properties
 Social Media is engaging on
sites that enable
discussions, sharing &
voting.
• Sharing (Facebook, Twitter)
• Networking (LinkedIn)
• Bookmarking (Delicious)
• Video (YouTube, Vimeo)
• Images (Flickr)
• Reviews (Yelp)
• Forums (Yahoo! Answers)
• Music (BLIP.fm)
• Blogging (WordPress,
Blogger)
• News (StumbleUpon, Digg)

48. Social Media Engagement Opportunities
 Blogging (Blogger,  MicroBlogging
WordPress)  Connect with other
 Personal Journal, Interests, therapists
Hobbies  Connect with local
 Marketing & Promotion businesses
 Thought Leadership  Offer promotions
 Forums & Discussion  Share relationship tips
Boards  Become a thought leader
 Share local news, becoming
 Birds-of-a-Feather Sharing
part of community
 Meet others with same
 Provide feedback
interests
 Establish your brand
 Answer questions,
demonstrate expertise  Visibility
 Branding  Friendships

49. The Search & Social Web
 Social media
“signals” are
growing in
importance to
search engines.
 Most social media
profiles rank well
in search engines.
 Social profiles can
lead visitors back to
your site.
 Social “presence” Image credit: Garret Pierson
helps you be found!

50. Search & Social Footprint
 Search: Your website’s search footprint
increases by developing quality content and
getting incoming links to your pages.
 Social Media: Your social footprint increases
your exposure in the SERPs and other forms of
search.
 Friends on Twitter
 Fans on Facebook
 Connections in LinkedIn
 Reviews in directory listings

51. Search & Social Footprint
 People exposed to you, your practice and your
website content will, if they like it, share it on
Twitter, write a review on LinkedIn, bookmark it
on Delicious, vote on it (thumbs up) in
StumbleUpon.
 The key to building visibility through your search
and social footprint is to offer something of
value:
QUALITY CONTENT
 Combining “search & social” means more
results about you are indexed in search. You get
more incoming links, more traffic, and more
social media conversations & votes - resulting
in higher visibility.

52. Online Visibility

53. Social Profiles
Optimizing Your Profiles
Google Profile
Securing Profiles
Getting Started Checklist & Worksheet

54. Optimizing Your Profiles
 How do you want to be
found? Your profile name
will show up in search
results.
 Aim for a consistent user lookadoo YoYoSEO
name across networks. but I also use…
Decide alternate user danalookadoo
name if primary is not pixelbella
available.
 Use a photo as your
avatar, a cropped
headshot is best. A graphic
can work for business.
 Create large & small
versions, 300x300 & 80x80
pixels. Most sites will
scaled down larger file, but
some require smaller
image. Avatar must be
square!

55. Optimizing Your Profiles – Twitter
 Your bio & website URL
help friends and
followers know
something about you.
Bio text influences how
you get listed in search
engines.
 Create a bio, approx.
160 characters in length.
Use keyword-rich
descriptions to
summarize your
strengths, career,
interests.
 Link to your site, blog or
your LinkedIn profile.

56. Google Profile http://www.google.com/profiles/lookadoo#

57. Google Profile
 Your Google profile allows you to be found on Google while
increasing visibility for your name & your practice.
 www.google.com/profiles
 Details you can add to your profile:
 A short bio
 Links to your practice website, LinkedIn profile, Twitter profile
 Places you've lived
 Where you've worked
 Where you grew up
 Schools you've attended
 Photos from Flickr & Picasa
 TIPS:
 The more information you add, the easier it will be for people to
find you. (And the more Google will know about you…)
 Set your full name to show publicly.

58. Edit Google Profile

59. Secure Social Profiles - options
 Go to each social media
website to see if your user
name is available.
 Only secure a few sites
and leave others up to
chance.
 Use KnowEm to check
availability of your user
name or vanity URL on
400 Social Media
websites. Secure all for
profiles for
$99 or $249.
http://knowem.com

60. Getting Started Checklist
 First Name & Last Name – Most sites require both.
 User Name – 6-15 characters. Consider alternate User Name?
 Avatar – Square headshot photo or logo preferred over picture of
pet.
 Bio – Use words (keywords) for how you want to be found and show
up in search results. Put most important phrases at front of bio.
 Website URL – Link to site/blog. Format: http://websitename.com
 Website Name – Some sites will ask for name - linked anchor text.
 Password – 6-10 characters, secure, memorable with at least 2 #s.
 Birthday, Gender – Many ask for info. Are companies male/female?
 Address – Some ask for mailing address. Do not display publicly.
 Twitter Backgrounds - http://www.tweetbacks.com/ &
http://twitterbackgroundsgallery.com/
 Vanity URL – Customize your profile URL on LinkedIn & Facebook.

61. Online Visibility Worksheet – Exercise
Social Profile
Information
 Create and
optimize bio.
 Keyword-
rich
 <= 160 char

62. Online Visibility Worksheet – Checklist
Social Profiles &
Directories
Checklist
 Review select
social networks,
email services &
directories.
 Determine
priority for your
practice.
 Google profile
is essential to
claim business
listing in
Google Places.

63. Marketing Channels
Overview of Marketing Channels for Online Visibility
Integrated Marketing

64. Marketing Channels for Getting Found
 Website development and optimization (on-site
SEO)
 Sharing and building links to your website and/or
online profiles (off-site SEO)
 Local SEO (NEW: Google Places)
 Pay-Per-Click Advertising
 Social Media Engagement
 Video Marketing
 Niche Directory Listings
 Ask for Reviews (when appropriate)

65. Integrated Marketing
 Business Cards, Post Card Mailers, Phone Book Ads
 Include your online profiles on all materials:
 Website address, your domain URL
 Twitter profile
 LinkedIn personal or company page
 Facebook URL

66. Summary
 Search is more than Google.
 Know your audience and your target search terms.
 Optimize your website code and content.
 Claim your business listing in Google Places.
 List your practice in local and niche directories.
 Social media signals are growing stronger.
 Increase your search & social footprint.
(Presence builds presence!)
 Optimize your website content.
 Optimize your social profiles.
 Get listed in directories.
 Engage in online conversations.
 It’s Word-of-Mouth SEO!

67. Formula for Being Found in Search

68. Dana Lookadoo
 Dana Lookadoo, SEO Consultant
Yo! Yo! SEO
Word-of-Mouth SEO . Optimize your online conversation
dana@yoyoseo.com . 831.901.5225
http://yoyoseo.com . http://twitter.com/YoYoSEO
 Personal Profiles & Blog
 http://twitter.com/lookadoo
 http://www.linkedin.com/in/lookadoo
 http://www.danalookadoo.com