1. Search Engine Optimization
Presented by:
Hugh Garrett

2. SEO Definition
• Search engine optimization (SEO) – the process of affecting the visibility
of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural” or un-paid
(organic) search results.

3. Why is SEO Important?
• 75% of users never scroll past the first page of
search results
• SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate; outbound leads
(direct mail or print) have a 1.7% close rate
• Search beats social media by 300% when it comes to
driving traffic to websites

4. How Google Ranks Websites
• Google’s goal = answering a searcher’s question
• Googlebot “crawls” website searching for 200+
ranking factors
• More ranking factors = higher keyword rankings

5. Measuring Website Traffic
• Install Google Analytics
– http://www.google.com/analytics/learn

6. Measuring Traffic From SEO
• Select “Traffic Sources” from dropdown menu
• Select “Organic”

7. Three Prominent Types of SEO
On-Site
Off-Site
Local

8. On-Site SEO

9. On-Site Ranking Factors

10. Keyword Research
• 2- 3 keywords per page
– Choose based on page relevance
– Use Excel to “map” keywords to pages
• Mix short and long-tail keywords
– Short: “Digital cameras”
– Long: “Canon power shot digital camera”

11. Keyword Research Tools
• Google AdWords Tool
• SEM Rush

12. Meta Information
• Page Title

13. How Meta Information Appears in Google
Page Title
Meta
Description

14. Best Practices for Meta Information
• Page Titles
– Keyword #1 | Keyword #2 | Your Brand Name
– 70 characters max (shoot for 65)
– DO NOT use same titles on multiple pages
– Make each page title unique to the page content
• Meta Description
– Include keywords
– Describe what the page is about (increases CTR)
– 145 – 155 characters
– Unique description for every page

15. On-Page Content

16. Page Content
• 400 – 500 words per page
– Strategically use keywords throughout copy
– Unique copy for each page of the site
– Write for users, not search engines
– DO NOT STUFF KEYWORDS

17. Internal Linking
• Internal linking – links that lead from one page
of a site to another using “anchor text”

18. SEO for Images
• Google can’t see pictures, but it uses image titles and
“alt-text” to determine photo content
– Alt-Text: alternative source of information for web crawlers

19. Benefits of Blogging
• Google LOVES fresh content
• Blogs = more pages indexed
• More pages indexed = more traffic
• More traffic = more leads
• More leads = more business!

20. Blogging Ideas
• Company news
– Announce a new client/division
– Interview a new hire
• Industry news
• How-to guides
• Top 10 lists
• Photos around the office

21. Off-Site SEO

22. External Links
• Google views links to your site from other
sites as votes of confidence and authority
• More quality links to your site = more traffic
• Examples of low-quality links:
– Directory websites
– Sites with no social interaction
– PAID LINKS
– Sites with exact match/commercial anchor text

23. Building Quality Backlinks
• Share blogs/pages via social media
• Press releases
– Only write press releases when you have news
– Distribute to journalists/reporters in your niche

24. The Slide Your Competitors Don’t Want You to See
Competitor ranking higher than you for a specific search term?
Here’s how to find out where they’re getting their links:

25. Google Authorship
Get Started
http://goo.gl/FjssC

26. LOCAL SEO

27. Ever Wonder How This Happens?

28. Getting Started with Local SEO
• “Claim” local citations (especially Google+
Local)
• Use same NAP for every listing (name,
address, phone number)

29. Improving Local SEO
• Add photos and videos
• Encourage your customers to leave reviews on
your Google+ Local page
– Don’t post fake reviews
– Don’t remove negative reviews (respond to them)
– Don’t post negative reviews about competitors

30. Tools for Getting Started with Local SEO
• GetListed.org
• Yext.com

31. Resources

32. SEO Resources
• Keyword Research
– www.SEMRush.com
– https://Adwords.Google.com
• SEO Knowledge
– http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo
• SEO News
– www.SearchEngineLand.com
– www.SearchEngineJournal.com

33. SEO Resources
• Competitor Research
– www.OpenSiteExplorer.org
• SEO Tools
– http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
– http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html
• Local SEO
– www.GetListed.org
– www.Yext.com