The document provides an outline for an SEO bootcamp covering onsite and offsite optimization tactics. It begins with an introduction to SEO and why it's important. The bootcamp then covers keyword research, on-page optimization including title tags, meta descriptions and images. Offsite optimization discussed includes content marketing, link building and social media. Technical tactics like audits and using Google Webmaster Tools are also covered. The document provides examples and screenshots to illustrate techniques.

1. SEO BOOTCAMP:
Lift Your Rankings!
19.05.2016

2. Put Your Website in Position
to Rank in the Natural Search Results!
2016 SEO FIELD-GUIDE HANDBOOK

3. OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S BOOTCAMP
Theory & Drill Exercises
• SEO Landscape
• What Is SEO? Why Does It Matter?
• SEO Dynamics & Background Context
• Practice with Go-To-Market Strategies
• Onsite Tactics
• SEO Audit & Technical Enhancements
• Keyword Research
• On-Page Optimization: Meta Data & Content
• Offsite Tactics
• Corresponding SEM Ad Campaign
• Content Marketing & Link Building
• Social Marketing
• Local Directories & Review Sites
• Data Analysis & Continual Enhancement

4. WHO PUT YOU IN CHARGE?
SEO Credentials for the Squad Leader
15 Years of Hard-Core SEO Tactical Work
Nikki Johnson
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/nikkijohnsonhqo
> VP of Copywriting - Hotel / Travel Marketing Agency
• TIG Global – Washington, DC
> Founder / CEO / President - My Own Three Companies
• HQO SEO, LLC – Washington, DC
• SEO / copywritingconsultancy for small andmedium-sizebusinesses
• Plugin Group – Washington, DC
• White-labelmarketingservices /partnership with ad agencies
• Galileo Tech Media – New York, NY
• Data-drivenmarketingfor Fortune 500 brands and enterprise companies
> Marketing Director - Multilingual, International Firm
• Binary.com – Kuala Lumpur / Cyberjaya, Malaysia

5. A FEW WORDS FROM OUR SPONSOR
Special Thanks to Binary.com for Hosting This SEO Bootcamp!
KILLER OFFICE SPACE, RIGHT?
Now Hiring Like Gangbusters!
> Careers Page:
• https://www.binary.com/careers?l=EN
> Open Positions:
• https://www.binary.com/open-positions?l=EN
> To Apply:
• hr@binary.com

6. A QUICK CASE STUDY:
Search for “White Label Marketing Agency”
• PluginGroup.com appears in the top spot /
on the first page?
• This is the second company I started, woohoo!
• Delivered qualified new leads each week, for
free!
• Sample of finding the SEO sweet spot!
• Search volume for the targeted keywords was:
• High enough to deliver steady, relevant traffic to
our website
• Low enough to still be “winnable,” from a
realistic perspective
• So the process does work!
• This workshop will walk you through a basic
framework
• So you can start wrapping your head around
getting SEO to work for you

7. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
(SEO)
Definition:
Process of
Improving a
Website’s
Visibility
in the Natural
Search Results

8. WHY DOES SEO MATTER?
Do The Math:
• 93% of online visits begin with a
search engine
• Search Engine Journal
• 64% of website visitors come from
organic search
• Conductor
• 50% of consumers who conducted a
local search on their smartphone
visited a store within a day
• Search Engine Land
• 18% of local mobile searches
lead to a sale within a day
• Search Engine Land

9. WHY DOES SEO WORK SO WELL?
It’s All About Creating Win-Win Scenarios
• Ultimately, it’s a
matter of connecting:
• Search engine customers actively
looking for certain things
• Suppliers who can fulfill those
specified needs
• Everybody wins!
• Businessescan thus connectwith
receptive customers,all for “free”

10. THEN WHY IS SEO SO DIFFICULT?
The Bottom Line: It’s Super-Competitive
• Everybody wants to rank!
• Millions of websites,
all vying for attention
• Can’t all appear on the first
page
• Need to be smart and
realistic in approach

11. WHAT ELSE MAKES SEO CHALLENGING?
Involves Such a Broad Array of Specialties
• Left-Brain Skills
• Keyword Research
• Back-End Programming
• Data Analysis
• Right-Brain Skills
• Design / UX
• Copywriting
• Social Media
• Takes a Small Army
to Execute AllAspects Really Well

12. ANYTHING ELSE THAT MAKES SEO TOUGH?
Further Complications
• Add the Dimension of Time!
• Constant evolution
• Undergoes continuous tweaking, for the purposes of:
• Continual quality enhancement of search results
• Preventing “gaming of the system” by spam artists
• Throw in Increasing Personalization of Results!
• Search results are now customized to each user,
depending on his/her:
• Location
• Personal search / site-visitation history
• Social connections
• Etc.
• No two users see exactly the same search results

13. GAH! SEO SOUNDS LIKE SHEER MADNESS!
Where Do You Even Start?
• Just Breathe
• No Need to Lose Your Head
• Take It Nice and Easy
• Prioritization of Efforts
• “HQO Ripple Effect”:
• Start with a Certain Set of Activities
• Increasingly Expand Over Time,
to Rank for:
• More Competitive Keywords
• Additional Phrases

14. ONE HELPFUL CONSIDERATION
Some Basic Factors Will Always Signal Strong Relevance
EXAMPLE: If a given page is relevant to a particular
keyword, it probably:
• Appears in certain places on the page
• Title?
• Heading?
• Paragraph text?
• Images / multimedia?
• Is repeated a few times in the midst of the page
• Amid the rich description
• Is surrounded by synonyms and related words
• Used in the process of describing the given keyword topic
• “Semantic search”

15. REACHINGACROSS SEARCH ENGINES
Many Common Factors to All Search Engines
• Each search engine has its own unique
formula for determining rankings
• Google dominates the field by far,
in terms of market share
• However, there are common factors to the
basic characteristics that tend to signal
relevance across the board
• Similar to keyword usage on the previous page
• Stay focused on these constants first and
foremost, to keep things manageable
• Cover the basics first
• Then move on to the elements that involve:
• Greater complexity
• Increased frequency
Google: 65.4%
Bing: 15.8%
Yahoo!: 8.3%
Baidu: 8.3%
Ask: 0.2%
Others: 1.9%
GLOBAL SHARE OF USERS:
Netmarketshare.com – Jan 2016

16. ANOTHER HELPFUL SEO FRAMEWORK
Consider the Primary Objective of the Search Engines
• Search Engine Objective:
• Provide solid, highly relevant
content to satisfy users actively
searching for info related to
particular keywords
• Therefore, Your Objective
Should Be:
• Demonstrating to the search
engines that you have solid
content with genuine relevance to
actively searched keywords

17. APPLYING REALISM
The Most Critical Element to SEO Success in 2016
• The Key Question:
• Realistically, how likely am I to appear on the first page for this keyword?
• How does my site stack up against all of the other websites that could be considered relevant to
this term?
• Do I legitimately belong on the first page for this keyword, based on the full range of info
available to users related to this phrase?
• This Humble Approach Helps You Stay Focused on:
• Geographically based terms
• Hyperlocal
• Niche terms, geared toward particular:
• Customer segments / audiences
• Certain types of products / services
• Specific attributes / modifiers
• Other characteristics that help to:
• Limit the competition
• Increase likelihood of conversion,
through targeted focus

18. EVOLUTION OF THE SEO WORLD
Today, SEO Best Practices Are Digital Marketing Best Practices
Past:
• When I started 15 years ago, the “Venn Diagrams” for SEO and
overall marketing practices were not nearly as well-aligned
• Many SEO practices existed solely to appeal to the search engines
• Such tactics left much to be desired for human users
• Keyword stuffing
• Useless directories and a whole cottage industry of “link farms”
• Mountains of pages with weak, mostly duplicated content,
exclusively designed for the purpose of ranking
• Etc.
• Google and the other major search engines have been stamping out
these malpractices with a vengeance, with each successive update
Present:
• Search engines have become increasingly more sophisticated
• Getting closer and closer to being able to assess web content
just as a human would

19. GREY SCALE OF SEO
Full Spectrum of SEO Tactics
• White-Hat SEO
• Entirely pure and well-intentioned best
practices
• The best route for long-term success
• Black-Hat SEO
• Dark and sinister tactics
• Tend to work only for a short time, until
they are discovered and rooted out
• Grey-Hat SEO
• The shady ground in the middle of these
two extremes

20. SEO MECHANICS
Exactly How Are Rankings Determined?
• Algorithm
• Complex mathematical equation that incorporates
hundreds of different factors
• Indexing
• Believe it or not, Google does not actually
search the Web itself whenever a user inputs a
set of keywords
• Instead, Google maintains its own copy of
the Web, which it can navigate a lot more
quickly to process queries
• This copy is known as the “Google Index”
• In order for Google to include your site in its ranked
results, it must be “crawled” and included in its
index

21. ANATOMY OF A SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS PAGE
Dissecting the “SERPs”
• Organic Results
• Ten “natural” search listings per page
• Paid Results
• Sponsored listings, fueled by AdWords
• Local Results
• Tied to the map
• Knowledge Graph
• Google’s data warehouse about people,
places, animals, events, history, and topics
• Compiled from authoritative sites such as:
• Wikipedia
• CIA World Factbook
• Freebase
PAID
RESULTS
LOCAL
RESULTS
ORGANIC
RESULTS

22. SOME OF GOOGLE’S MAJOR UPDATES
A Veritable Zoo of Evolutionary Changes to Its Algorithm
• Panda
• Low-quality content cleanup
• Penguin
• Linking malpractice crackdown
• Hummingbird
• Semantic search updates
• Pigeon
• Local search updates

23. RANKBRAIN
The Latest Mind-Blowing Enhancement to Google’s Algorithm
• Launched at the end of October 2015
• Now all the rage in the SEO world!
• Machine-learning artificial
intelligence system
• Processes huge volume of queries
• Uses AI mechanisms to provide
increasingly better answers

24. RANKING FACTORS
Basic Dichotomy: Onsite and Offsite
• Onsite SEO Factors
• Enhancements made to the website itself
• Offsite SEO Factors
• Best practices applied to the way the site
engages with the rest of the World Web Web
• Proverbial Metaphor in Effect Here
• Analogous to a tree falling in the forest with no
one to hear it
• Not just about adjusting the website itself, in its
isolated state
• Half of SEO also deals with its interactions with
the larger ecosystem
• Need to treat both as equally important
to make an impact

25. ONSITE RANKING FACTORS
• Keyword Research
• Short-tail / long-tail phrases with:
• Relevance to your offering
• Active search demand
• Google AdWords Keyword Planner
• Possibly paired with an SEM campaign
• On-Page Optimization
• Title Tag
• Meta Description
• Header Tags
• Descriptive Text
• Alt / Image Tags, as Appropriate
• TechnicalFactors
• XML Sitemap
• Robots.txt
• Google Webmaster Tools & Analytics Setup
• Canonicalization / Redirects
• Schema & Markup

26. OFFSITE RANKING FACTORS
• Content Marketing & Link Building
• Creation of “Shareworthy” Content
• Focus on Content Promotion through
High-Quality, Trusted, Authoritative
Sources
• Engaging Prospects with Interesting
Content
• Social Media
• Interacting with target audiences as real
people
• Measures of active engagement and
“likeability”
• Local Directories & Review Sites
• Play a particularly important role in the
Local Search section

27. Field Practice with
Go-To-Market SEO Strategies
ONSITE TACTICS

28. SEO AUDIT
Technical Tactic #1
• Use a few different audit tools
to examine your site
• Open Site Explorer & Moz Tools
• https://moz.com/tools
• SEM Rush
• https://www.semrush.com/features/
site-audit/
• Screaming Frog
• http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/
seo-spider/
• Look at a few competitors
• Grab some benchmarks from:
• Local competitors
• Industry competitors

29. WEBMASTER TOOLS FOR GOOGLE, BING, ETC.
Technical Tactic #2
• These tools enable you to:
• Identify any issues that may adversely affect
search performance for your website
• Optimize all aspects of your site from a
technical perspective
• Excellent tutorial guides:
• Search Engine Watch –
Google Webmaster Tools: An Overview:
• https://searchenginewatch.com/
sew/how-to/2191991/google-webmaster-tools-
an-overview
• Search Engine Watch –
Bing Webmaster Tools: An Overview:
• https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-
to/2195777/bing-webmaster-tools-an-overview

30. ANALYTICS TOOLS FOR GOOGLE, BING, ETC.
Technical Tactic #3
• Google Analytics enables you to:
• Start tracking all aspects of performance for the website
• Examine what works, and continue to evolve your SEO
efforts over time
• Excellent tutorial guide:
• ClickZ – An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Setting Up
Google Analytics for Your Website:
• https://www.clickz.com/2016/01/20/an-absolute-beginners-
guide-to-setting-up-google-analytics-for-your-website
• Note that for Bing:
• Analytics are incorporated into:
• Bing Webmaster Tools
• BingAds (for paid search ads)

31. SOME OF THE TECHNICAL TACTICS
• XML Sitemap
• A special file that lists all URLs for a site, enabling Google and
other search engines to crawl it more intelligently
• Robots.txt
• A file that instructs the search engines which pages not to index
• Canonicalization
• Redirects set up to show the search engines that the www and
non-www version of your site are the same, preventing duplicate
content issues
• Schema & Markup
• Special labels that can be added to particular types of
information, enabling the search engines to pick up and use these
details in various applications
Addressed During this Phase

32. BUILD A CHART OF POTENTIAL KEYWORDS
• Use Google AdWords Keyword Planner
to research demand
• Put together a chart of various keywords
with active demand related to what you offer
• Focus particularly on search phrases
that incorporate:
• Geographic areas
• City (e.g., “”kuala lumpur”)
• Neighborhood (e.g., “bukit bintang”)
• Best approach for first starting out
• Once dominated, go broader
• Niche phrases
• “Best” / “Top”
• Focus on a certain type of customer
• Specific types of products / services
• Particular modifiers (“affordable,” “effective,” etc.)
Keyword Tactic #1

33. SAMPLE KEYWORD RESEARCH
A Few Sample Screenshots from Google AdWords
You can explore
demand for specific
keywords under the
“Keyword ideas” tab
Google will also
suggest additional
possibilities …
some more relevant
than others

34. ASSIGN SPECIFIC KEYWORDS TO EACH PAGE
• Map keywords with active
demand to each page of
your website
• Determine one or two
primary themes to
keywords chosen for full
site
• Identify specific keywords
for each page
• One main keyword per
page
• “Long-tail” variations
thereof
• Identify additional pages
that need to be created
Keyword Tactic #2

35. TITLE TAGS
• Title Tag
• The most influential factor
signaling relevant keywords for the
page
• 55 characters or less
Meta Data Tactic #1

36. META DESCRIPTIONS
• Meta Description
• Call to action to visit the page,
incorporating keywords
• 155 characters or less
Meta Data Tactic #2

37. ALT TAGS FOR IMAGES
• Alt / Image Tags
• Brief description of subject matter for photos
• Incorporate keywords only if appropriate
• Five words or less
Meta Data Tactic #3
Alt Tag 1:
Pet store in Bukit Bintang
Alt Tag 2:
An adorable selection of cats
Alt Tag 3:
Two dogs at our store

38. ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
• Incorporate keywords into
your page text naturally
• Do not force keywords
• “Keyword stuffing”
• Try to add them in a
perfectly conversational way
• Aim for at least 300 words
per page
• Websites / pages with too
little text content are
penalized by “Google
Panda”
Content Development Tactic #1

39. DEVELOP CONTENT IN DIFFERENT FORMATS
• Identify themes to keywords
that can be covered with
content
• Blog posts
• Ebooks
• Videos
• Infographics
• Etc.
• Create an editorial calendar
• Map out development and
distribution of content for keyword
groups
Content Development Tactic #2

40. Field Practice with
Go-To-Market SEO Strategies
OFFSITE TACTICS

41. DEVELOP A PAID SEARCH CAMPAIGN
• Set up ad campaigns
• Map keywords to most
appropriate landing pages
• Launch campaign, and
closely monitor results
• Tweak as necessary, for
optimal results

42. EVOLVE BOTH CAMPAIGNS IN TANDEM
SEO v. SEM: The Yin & Yang of Search Marketing
• SEO
• Search Engine Optimization
• Positioning a website to rank in
the natural search results
• “Free” but placement is not
guaranteed
• SEM / PPC / Paid Search
• Search Engine Marketing /
Pay-Per-Click Marketing
• Positioning a website to appear in
the paid results / sponsored ads
section
• Paid but placement is guaranteed
SEO
SEM

43. LINK BUILDING TACTICS
• Search for places to promote
content to be created
• Check which sites are ranking
well for keywords you plan to
target
• Look for article directories,
relevant forums, social-media
groups, etc.
• Determine key influencers in
your industry
• Make friends / powerful alliances
with these folks
• Figure out cool ways to
collaborate, for benefit all

44. SEARCH FOR RELATED RESOURCES
AND POTENTIAL PARTNERS

45. LOOK FOR RELATED BLOGS
Ask About “Guest Blogging”

46. SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS
• Build social-media campaigns
around content to be created
• Look for all sorts of different
ways to find others with related
interests
• Gather positive signals of
engagementwith the content
• Look for local authorities with
whom you can collaborate
Interact with Real People!

47. BE A SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
• Look for opportunities to
share your content with
people who can benefit from it
• Don’t push it
• All must be approached naturally
• Look for local “influencers” in
your industry
• Who talks the most about your
industry in the area?
• Who do your customers rely on for
advice and entertainment?

48. SEARCH FOR RELEVANT SOCIAL GROUPS
• Look for related groups on
Facebook,LinkedIn,and other
social sites that relate to:
• Your industry
• Your target audience
• Your geographic area

49. CHECKLIST FOR LOCAL SEO
• Many Local SEO factors overlap with
the traditional SEO factors
• However, some factors are given
particular emphasis in this section
• A great Local SEO tutorial guide:
• Moz Local SEO Checklist
• https://moz.com/blog/local-seo-checklist
Local SEO Tactic #1

50. OPTIMIZE YOUR BUSINESS LISTINGS
Local SEO Tactic #2
• Optimize your local business
listing for your website in
Google’s local directory
• Be sure to complete all fields as
fully as you can
• Be consistent about name,
address, and phone number
EVERYWHERE!
• Otherwise, Google may not
recognize the listings as
belonging to the same business
• “Name, Address, and Phone
Number” are often referred to as
“NAP” in Local SEO guides

51. DIRECTORY & REVIEW TACTICS
• Submit your site to all major
local directories
• International
• By area
• By industry
• Set up profiles on major review
sites for your industry
• Encourage customers and
partners to post reviews
Local SEO Tactic #3

52. SAMPLE LOCAL DIRECTORIES

53. Go-To-Market SEO Strategies
CONTINUAL TESTING & ENHANCEMENT

54. DATA SCIENCE TACTICS
• Establish a regular schedule of
reporting
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Determine key metrics
• Traffic by source
• Revenue / conversion rate
• Keywords delivering traffic
• Customer demographics
• Identify takeaways from each
campaign
• Continue to evolve all efforts
• Based on your findings

55. SOLID SEO RESOURCES TO EXPLORE
Deeper-Dive Sites
• Guides
• Moz
• Beginner’s Guide to SEO
• https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
• Google
• Search Engine Optimization Guide
• http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.
google.com/en//webmasters/docs/search-
engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf
• Blogs
• Use an RSS reader to track news from:
• Search Engine Land
• Search Engine Journal
• Search Engine Watch
• SEO Book
• Marketing Land

56. HANDFUL OF SEO EXPERTS
Just a Few Kings of Content in this Realm
• Matt Cutts
• Former Head of Web Spam for Google
• John Mueller
• Webmaster Trends Analyst for Google
• Rand Fishkin
• Founder, Former CEO, and “Wizard” of Moz
• Danny Sullivan
• Co-Founder of Search Engine Land
• Neil Patel
• Founder of CrazyEgg, Kiss Metrics, QuickSprout
• Josh Bachynski
• Self-Made SEO Consultant & Documentarian

57. SEO BOOTCAMP SIGN-OFF
What Have We Learned Here Today?
• Before getting bogged down
in the details, take a step back
• Cover the basic low-hanging fruit first
• Then move onto the tougher stuff
• Use a realistic approach
• To start, focus on keywords that are:
• Geographically based
• Niche-centered
• Then expand your focus to incorporate:
• More competitive keywords
• Additional phrases
• Above all, relax, knowing that:
• Following “white-hat” SEO best practices
helps you do better marketing as a whole
• Questions?

58. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOU
From Your Friends at Kuala Lumpur Marketing Meetup
• Join Us for Lots More Free Workshops!
• Many More Marketing / IT Subjects:
• Check the Calendar:
• http://www.meetup.com/
Kuala-Lumpur-Marketing-Meetup/
• Follow Us!
• Facebook:
• https://www.facebook.com/
Kuala-Lumpur-Marketing-Meetup-203684033319402/
• LinkedIn:
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/7591769
• Peatix:
• http://kuala-lumpur-marketing-meetup.peatix.com/

60. Thanks for Attending
Today’s SEO Bootcamp!
See You Again Soon! Bring Some Friends!