This document provides tips on search engine optimization (SEO). It discusses focusing SEO efforts on major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. It highlights the importance of relevant and reputable content, authoritative backlinks, and targeting keywords. The document also debunks SEO myths and emphasizes writing naturally, creating original content, and using semantic markup and metadata to better describe pages to search engines.

1. SEO and You
How to embrace your inner search
engine

2. Focus your efforts
Search Queries
Google
Yahoo
Microsoft
Ask.com
AOL

3. Practice what you preach Phil
Search Term Ranking
Paula Deen #1 of 1,130,000
Lady and Sons #10 of 918,000
Savannah Restaurants#2 in local 3,760,000

4. Harsh Truths
• 92% of searchers do not go beyond the first
page
• Good ranking takes time
• Purchasing links can only end in tears
• Flash sucks for SEO
• So do pdfs

5. SEO Myths
• Keyword stuffing
• Link Exchanges
• Cloaking pages
• We know the algorithm
• You must update frequently
• You must submit

6. The Algorithm

7. How does Google rank pages?
You want to be relevant and reputable
Who you link to counts so beware of link
exchanges
Ask yourself, ‘what do I want to say?’
Start small to get big, becoming authoritative in
a niche is much easier than becoming
authoritative in a broad field.

8. Work on your rep
• Be a valuable resource
• Create original content
• Make Lists (yes, the internet loves lists more
than I love donuts)
• Be controversial
• Feed me (feedburner.com) helps with
information overload.

9. Keywords
• Think to yourself, what would someone
searching for my product type into a search
engine? Then write content that includes
those terms. By the way, you don’t need to
guess, you can use the adwords keyword tool
for free. Don’t forget to add the ALT tag to all
of your images, remember there is an image
search on google too.

10. Keywords
• Don’t over do it, keyword stuffing is bad and
no one talks that way.
• Oh, so that leads me to – Write like you speak.
If you read it aloud and it doesn’t sound right
it probably isn’t

11. The Big Secrets
What business is google in?
Don’t surprise the searcher
Give the people what they want
Google currently places higher rank on video content.
If you ask people things they will tell you
Google has free tools to help:
Google.com/webmasters
Google.com/sktool
So does Microsoft: http://www.bing.com/webmaster

12. It’s just semantics
• Semantic markup plus good content is SEO++
• Say what you mean with microformats
• Your markup should describe your content for
the search engines but again, don’t over do it.
• Meet the <address> tag and it’s friends, you’ll
be glad you did.
• URL structure is important, don’t know what
?z=123530!a7b means? Neither do the search
engines.

13. Meta Marketing
• Meta tags are the twitter of the SEO
world, 150 characters to define yourself
• The most important tag – The <title> should
be unique for every page.

14. Off site SEO
• Join Twitter
– Dell did and increased their sales by 3 million
dollars (Dr. Evil voice)
– Search twitter for relevant tweets and engage in
the conversation
Facebook and Myspace
If you aren’t talking about your product, who is?