Find the video here: http://www.buuteeq.com/blog/seo-piercing-the-veil SEO has been a confusing, cloudy and sometimes scary topic for many innkeepers. It raises a number of questions. Exactly how much should I worry about SEO? What parts of SEO are important, and what others are just 'fluff'? How much should I be paying for ongoing SEO work? This webinar is the first in a series that aims to pierce through the veil of SEO and get down to brass tacks--what's important, what isn't and exactly how much you should worry about it. This webinar by buuteeq aired on Thursday, April 26th at 10:00 AM. http://www.buuteeq.com

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2. Don’t Get Hoodwinked
FUD – Fear, Uncertainty and
Doubt
SEO doesn‟t have to be a scary
topic. Let‟s pierce through the veil of
misinformation that agencies use to
intimidate clients.
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3. Over Optimization
Google is now penalizing
websites that are ‘over
optimized’ for SEO
Many of the SEO strategies agencies
tell innkeepers to use will hurt their
websites instead of help, thanks to
Google‟s new penalty on over-
optimized websites. Further reading:
• How to Avoid Over Optimization for
Your Property – buuteeq
• Changes to Make to Avoid a Penalty
- SEOmoz
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4. SEO is NOT About Constant Tweaks
90% of SEO is about backlinks.
Investing undue time and energy into
SEO wastes time and
money, because 90% of effective
SEO is all about backlinks. On-page
and infrastructural tweaks can only
help you so much.
info buuteeq

5. What you can actually do:
There are only a few things
you can actually do to make
any meaningful positive effect
to your SEO:
• Choose a well-built content
management system.
• Create amazing web content.
• Gain backlinks.
ALL else is wasted time and
money. Don’t fall into the SEO
trap!
info buuteeq

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buuteeq

7. Find a Good CMS or DMS
A well-built CMS will be SEO
optimized out-of-the-box.
Why buy a boat and then pay more
for buoyancy? Why buy a website
and pay more for it to be discovered?
Legitimate developers build websites
optimized for search, and don‟t
charge you more for „ongoing‟ SEO.
Most structural SEO needs are the
same for all websites. Yours does
not have ‘special’ SEO needs.
info buuteeq

8. What to look for in a CMS or DMS
• Information Architecture
• Correct Markup
• Multi-language support
• Multi-channel Support
• Stable IT
info buuteeq

9. Information Architecture
Good information architecture
organizes information in a
logical way that robots—
and, more
importantly, people—naturally
expect to consume it.
Find a CMS or DMS that organizes
pages with a “pretty permalink”
structure that is easy to read. Make
sure your website navigation places
the information your guests want to
find right where they expect to find it.
info buuteeq

10. Correct Markup
Your CMS must use correct
markup. This includes:
• Meta tags
• Header tags
• Appropriate styles
• Etc.
info buuteeq

11. Multi Language Content
Providing your content in
multiple languages gives your
property a better chance at
ranking well in other markets.
Choose the languages that best fit
your property and provide
translations for those visitors.
info buuteeq

12. Multi Channel Support
Search engines look at
indicators such as mobile and
social support when deciding
how to rank your website.
A CMS or DMS that supports
other marketing channels such
as mobile and social will help you
better manage your online
marketing.
info buuteeq

13. Stable IT
Many small agencies use
unstable hosting options. Find
a solution that uses a stable
hosting technology.
For example, Amazon Web
Services—the solution buuteeq
and Netflix use—is stable, helps
websites load faster all over the
world and encourages a better
bounce rate.
info buuteeq

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buuteeq

15. Google Rewards Amazing Content
Fill your website with well-
written articles people will
actually read.
You know your guests better than
any SEO agency. Write dozens of
articles about local attractions, local
partners, annual events, hiking trails
and so on. The more you write, and
the better its quality, the more likely
Google will be to reward you with
better rankings.
info buuteeq

16. Include Multimedia
More and more, Google is
giving preference to web
pages that include images and
video.
Give guests a better browsing
experience by including beautiful
images about your topic and, if you
can, video you produced yourself.
Upload the videos to YouTube and
embedd them on your website.
info buuteeq

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buuteeq

18. NEVER pay for backlinks
While backlinks are incredibly
important, paying for backlinks
invites trouble.
Paid backlinks are lower
quality, don‟t help much and can
trigger a warning from Google, that
can, in some instances, remove
your website from Google
completely. Instead, gain backlinks
with honest, hard work. Here are
some ideas:
info buuteeq

19. Guest Blog
Blogs are always in search of
fresh content. Find travel blogs
and local blogs and offer to
write for them.
Send an email to the blog owner with
a brief introduction and your blog
post idea. Many times, bloggers will
welcome new content and publish
your blog article, within which you
can include a link to your website.
info buuteeq

20. Make Partnerships
Find local businesses and
create partnerships.
Find local tour groups, hiking
guides, restaurants and so on. Offer
them a link to their website in
exchange for a link to yours.
info buuteeq

21. Be creative!
Creativity is the heart of
successful Internet marketing.
Instead of wasting time and energy
spreading out your keyword density
and other SEO techniques with
questionable actual results, spend
your valuable time coming up with
creative ideas to market your
property.
info buuteeq

22. @buuteeq
buuteeq.com/blog
brandon@buuteeq.com
lisa@buuteeq.com
All images in this
presentation were
either created and
owned by buuteeq or
are in the public
domain and used with The Digital Marketing System for Your Property
COPYRIGHT 2012, BUUTEEQ INC.
permission from www.buuteeq.com
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