SEO For Startups – Columbia Startup Lab Workshop.
This was a the workshop conducted at Columbia Startup Lab by AdLift - Prashant Puri in July 2014, New York.
9. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 9
@puriprashant
Higher Rankings = More Traffic
36.4%
12.5%
9.5%
7.9%
6.1%
4.1% 3.8% 3.5% 3.0%
2.2%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10
Page 1 - Natural Search Click Through Rates - AVERAGE
Moving from position #10 to #1 can result in a 1,500%+ increase in traffic
* Data Source: 2011 Optify Study
+60% of users click on
the Top 3 results
10. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 10
@puriprashant
Longer Term Investment = Higher ROI
AdLift Internal Data
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ar-14
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SEO CPC
SEO CPC
13. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 13
@puriprashant
SEO in 2014 – Increased Areas of Optimization
Site
Accessibility
Schema.org
Sitemaps
Keyword
Research
On Page
Content
Authoriship
Link Baiting
Quality of
Links
Social
Authority
Mobile SEO
Local SEO
App Store
Optimization
Technical On-Page Content Content Marketing Devices
16. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 16
@puriprashant
Keyword Research
16
•Use a keyword research tool like Google Adwords Keyword Planner to identify search
volume potential for strategic terms:
•https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home
•The key is to include keywords people are using to search for your products in the content
you are creating
Country Selector
Language Selector
Keywords
Search Volume,
Importance of a
Keyword
Other Keyword Ideas
19. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 19
@puriprashant
Include keywords in your pages!
19
1. Title tag
2. Description tag
3. Header tag(s)
4. Body copy
5. Image ALT text
6. Link anchor text
As Content Creators, you can help ensure strategic keywords appear in these
KEY SEO COMPONENTS of a page:
VERY
IMPORTANT !
20. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 20
@puriprashant
Body Copy
Quick Snapshot:
1. Pages should have ~100
words of INDEXABLE copy –
this does not include links
2. The SEO keywords targeted
for the page should appear
2-3 times each in the copy
1. Primary goal is to make the
text READABLE for users –
no keyword stuffing or
“forcing”
2. If it’s hard to “work in” the
SEO keywords, the page
might not be appropriate for
those terms
• Keywords Targeted on Body: diapers, eco-
friendly diapers, natural diapers
• Keywords rankings on Google: diapers #4 ,
eco-friendly diapers #6 - , natural diapers - #1
21. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 21
@puriprashant
Link anchor text
Quick Snapshot:
1. Link anchor text helps communicate
the keyword focus for the
DESTINATION page
2. The primary targeted keyword for the
destination page should be included in
the link anchor text
3. This is CRITICALLY important for SEO
– it helps reinforce the keyword focus
for the destination page
4. Links like click here and learn more
provide NO SEO value
5. Links must ALWAYS point to the same
version of the URL
23. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 23
@puriprashant
Crawlability / Link Architecture
Home Page
Tablets
Kindle iPad Tablet
eBooks
Comics Teen Fiction
Drama Essays Horror
Accessories
iPad Tablet NOOK Kindle
Apps
Games Children
Ideal Architecture Makes Content Access Easy and Simple
(for both users and bots)
Home
Topics
Category
Sub-
Category
24. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 24
@puriprashant
Understanding Flow of Page Rank (Link Equity)
A
B
E
C
F
G
PageRank 8
PR (8*.85)/1
6.8 each
PR (((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2
2.89 each
PR
(((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2)*.8
5)/2
1.22 each
PR
(((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2)*.8
5)/2)*.85)/2
0.52 each
D
Lower Number of Clicks to the Deepest Level Results in Higher
Indexation Rate – Better Long Tail
H
26. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 26
@puriprashant
Duplicate Content - Issues
1. Overall PageRank Gets Diluted
A
B
E
C
F
G
PageRank 8
PR (8*.85)/1
6.8 each
PR (((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2
2.89 each
PR
(((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2)*.8
5)/2
1.22 each
D
PR
(((8*.85)/1)*.85)/2)*.8
5)/2)*.85)/3
0.34 each
GH
2. Neither Pages Might Not Rank
29. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 29
@puriprashant
When Should I Use a Canonical vs. 301 Redirect
• If you don’t need the duplicate page – use a 301 redirect
• In instances when both pages are required (example: marketing, A/B
Testing) – use a canonical page.
31. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 31
@puriprashant
When Should I Use a 301 redirect vs. 302 Redirect
• If the page that you’re redirecting is coming back use a 302, otherwise use
a 301 redirect
33. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 33
@puriprashant
http://www.abc.com/p/xyz/color/1100437663
Dynamic URLs don’t perform as well as
static and engines recommend against
more than two parameters
Deeper Folder Structure & Keywords Missing
Search UN-Friendly URLs
Remove numeric characters
http://www.abc.com/s/?aud=tra&dref=9%2C1753%2C2945&sort=SA&store=eBOOK&view=grid
36. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 36
@puriprashant
Semantic Sitemaps: Taxonomy Based Sitemaps
• Deeper understanding of how Google crawls
your site
• Analyze which section of the site is being
better indexed as compared to other sections
of the website.
39. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 39
@puriprashant
Google Webmaster Tools – Checklist
1. Add Sites to Google Webmaster Tool.
2. Submit Sitemaps
3. Monitor and Improve
Live Review of the GWT
62. ADLIFT CONFIDENTIAL 62
@puriprashant
Must-Do SEO Checklist
• Know Your Audience
• Leverage Google Keyword Planner & UberSuggest to Dive deep in to
Keyword research
• Install Google Webmaster Tool
• Know your data – Make sure Google’s crawling your pages
• Submit Sitemaps
• Install Google Analytics
• Its Free !
• Create Unique Title Tags/Desc for each page based on keyword research
• Look out for Duplicate Content Issues
• Kick-Start Content Marketing