Whether you're a seasoned SEO veteran looking to brush up on some basics or a business owner who just got their first site up yesterday, we'll go over all the main points that you need to hit to get more traffic to your site from Google. We'll be going over: Local Business Listings On Site SEO Basic Competitive Research Social Media Originally given on October 2013 at a Seattle SEO Network meetup.

1. Top to Bottom:
SEO for Small
Businesses
George Freitag | @number1george | #SSNmeetup

2. This deck is originally from a
Seattle SEO Network
Meetup
Visit SeattleSEONetwork.org to
learn about more.

3. Here’s the links:
portent.co/seo-biz
(That’s right, no ‘m’)

4. 4Who am I?
(picture by @flashmurphy)

5. ALSO:
Small Business Investor

6. SMALL BUSINESSES
• Limited Budget
• Have other stuff to do
• Have basic control of your site

7. WHAT WE’LL COVER
• Technical Stuff
• Local Stuff
• Competitive Stuff
INTERMISSION
• Interesting Stuff

8. LET’S START
SEOs
Small Business
Owners

9. CHALLENGES
OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER

10. 10
YOUR NEW BUSINESS

11. 11
YOU
THE
INTERNET

12. 12

13. CHALLENGES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
Things BIG Businesses have:
• Giant budgets
• Big teams working on their sites
• Devoted teams and/or consultants
• Lots of locations
• Head start
• Large followings

14. CHALLENGES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
Things BIG Businesses don’t have:
YOU!
Disclaimer: This is the cheesiest moment of the presentation.

15. ADVANTAGES
OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER

16. ADVANTAGES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
Things SMALL businesses can do:
• Do what they want
• Keep track of their locations
• See what others are doing
• Be interesting

17. THAT’S GREAT
BUT WHAT
ABOUT THE
SEO?

18. WHERE’S THE SEO
It relates to what the search engine is trying to do.

19. WHERE’S THE SEO
I need…

20. WHERE’S THE SEO
I need…
to know when how
tall Alec Baldwin
is.

21. WHERE’S THE SEO
I need…
a secure cloud
hosting solution for
my app.

22. WHERE’S THE SEO
I need…
a new dress.

23. WHERE’S THE SEO
I need…
to eat a gyro in the
next 10 minutes.

24. SEARCH ENGINES
Search Engines Answer Questions.
Technical SEO:
• Showing off your answers
Strategic SEO
• Finding questions

25. 25

26. SEARCH ENGINES
Do some searches

27. SEARCH ENGINES
Figure out the types of answers you get.
See what seems useful to do.
Get a sense of what’s going on in your market.

28. SEARCH ENGINES
You need to have something worth clicking on.
If you don’t, then there’s little SEO can do for you.

29. Seriously.
The SEO.

30. FINE.

31. On-Site
SEO FACTORS

32. ON-SITE SEO
Have x number of keywords in title tags
Have x number of internal links
Use these scripts
Mention all keywords x number of times

33. ON-SITE SEO IS
THINGS THAT YOU CAN CONTROL

34. SIMPLEST OVERVIEW ON
TECHNICAL SEO
EVER:

35. TECHINICAL SEO
MAKE YOUR NAVIGATION WORK LIKE THIS:

36. TECHNICAL SEO
… A PAGE THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS

37. TECHNICAL SEO
Homepage:
All other pages:
… AND A SERP THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS:

38. BREAKING DOWN
ON PAGE SEO

39. ON-PAGE SEO
Title tags
• Direct SEO impact
• Under 70ish characters
• Unique for every page
• Put the most relevant terms first, then your brand name
• EXCEPT the homepage
Meta Description
• No SEO impact
• Under 155ish characters
• Sales copy to convince people to click
• Relevant keywords show up in bold.

40. ON-PAGE SEO
Content
• Use One H1 tag
• Don’t worry about the other H tags
• Use blank sheet of paper test
• People read in chunks (so do search engines, really) so write
for that.

41. ON-PAGE SEO
Don’t do this; use text
Hey look at this
totally relevant
content!!!

42. SIMPLEST OVERVIEW ON
TECHNICAL SEO
EVER PART 2:

43. ON-SITE SEO
OR…
HOW TO AVOID DOING THIS:
Useful Content

44. ON-SITE SEO
You need to be able to get to every page by doing this
Product Page
Category Page
(click!)
Homepage
(click!)

45. ON-SITE SEO
But in a way that demonstrate relationships.

46. 46Google tries to use
actual human factors to
determine importance.
Important
Less
Important
Not
Important
The LEAST
Important

47. AVOID BIG TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
BY REMEMBERING TWO THINGS:

48. TEST 1)
DIFFERENT CONTENT =
DIFFERENT URL

49. ON-SITE SEO
Hidden Content
Header
Navigation
Content Content
www.bestsiteever.biz/page2.html
New
Content!

50. ON-SITE SEO
Google won’t ever see new content if it doesn’t results
in a new URL.

51. ON-SITE SEO
How do I know if I’m doing this?
• Look at your URLs when you add content
• If you’re delivering content through filters
• If you’re delivering content with Flash
• If you’re worried, copy a chunk of text and do a search for in
“quotations” in Google.

52. TEST 2:
SAME CONTENT =
SAME URL

53. ON-SITE SEO
A PAGE
A PAGE IS SHARED:

54. ON-SITE SEO
A PAGE A PAGE A PAGE
BUT EVERYTHING POINTS TO DIFFERENT PAGES

55. A PAGE
ON-SITE SEO
INSTEAD OF ONE

56.
http://www.yoursite.com
http://yoursite.com
http://www.yoursite.com/Default.aspx
http://www.yoursite.com/default.aspx
http://www.yoursite.com/default.aspx?mobile=y
https://www.yoursite.com/
https://www.yoursite.com/Default.aspx?campain
https://yoursite.com/default.aspx?mobile=yes&
http://yoursite.com/default.aspx?top_nav
ON-SITE SEO
MOST COMMON CAUSE:

57. ON-SITE SEO
How do I know if I’m doing this?
• Copy a chunk of text and do a search for in “quotations” in
Google. See if more than one result comes up
• Make sure it’s the same page, not just a quote or “category”
page.

58. ON-SITE SEO
How do I avoid these?
• Talk to your designer/dev
• Don’t use parameters to track behavior on a site
• Don’t use microsites. Seriously. Don’t. Ever.

59. ON-SITE SEO
How do I avoid these?
• Small sites are usually ok
• Wordpress is pretty good at this
– If you use WordPress download Yoast SEO Plugin
• If you got these problems, you’ll need a developer
• If you have a new site, bring these concerns up at the
beginning

60. LOCAL
SEO FACTORS

61. LOCAL
Local is complicated
• Different places show different results
• Different factors for different markets
• Constantly changing
• Influenced by location

62. 62

63. TRADITIONAL LOCAL RESULT

64. TRADITIONAL LOCAL RESULT

65. TRADITIONAL LOCAL RESULT

66. CAROUSEL LOCAL RESULT

67. CAROUSEL LOCAL RESULT

68. CAROUSEL LOCAL RESULT

69. WHERE IS GOOGLE
GETTING ALL THIS FROM?

70. LOCAL
(Yes, it still exists)

71. LOCAL
Not
+ Local
?

72. LOCAL
HERE’S GOOGLE+ LOCAL PAGE

73. LOCAL
YOU CAN STILL GET TO GOOGLE PLACES

74. LOCAL
HAVE YOU TRIED TO GET TO GOOGLE+ LOCAL LATELY?
You’re Optimizing
for this

75. LOCAL

76. LOCAL
Make sure everything is filled out
• You can’t be in the carousel without a picture
• If you’re competitor has something in their Knowledge Graph
box that you don’t, you need to add it to yours.
• Don’t use microsites. Seriously. Don’t. Ever.

77. ANYWHERE ELSE?

78. LOCAL
(Used with permission from @davidmihm; getlisted.com.)

79. LOCAL
Local Data Providers
• Neustar / Localeze
• Infogroup
• Yext
• Factual

80. LOCAL
USE THIS TO FIND ALL THE MAJOR DIRECTORIES:

81. LOCAL
getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-city.html
THEN MANUALLY UPDATE SECONDARY DIRECTORIES:

82. LOCAL
Now what do I do with all these directories?
N.A.P.
(Name Address Phone)
Example – This is Portent’s NAP:
Portent, Inc.
502 2nd Ave.
Suite 1700
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 575-3740
http://www.portent.com

83. SECRET WEAPON
Map Maker

84. MAP MAKER
How to get approved in Map Maker
• It’s like Wikipedia – you have to use it a lot
• Approve lots of changes
• Be polite (“please and thank you”)
• Use preferred categories
• Follow directions
• If you have to, you can try asking for help in the forum.

85. LEARNING
FROM YOUR COMPETITORS

86. 86

87. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Identify what types of results show up:
Informational

88. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Google uses user data to determine what results it
displays
Tips

89. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
If it shows results of a certain kind, that’s what people
are looking for
Sales

90. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Find opportunities to write something useful
Other?

91. LEARNING FROM COMPETITORS
Search tricks
• site: Search within a site. (You can do this in chrome by just
entering a site then hitting “space”)
• inurl: Search for a word in a URL.
• intitle: Search word within a page title.

92. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Use site:search to see how many pages they have about
you
site:yourcompetitor.com “wireless routers”

93. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
See how many pages have a phrase in the title
site:yourcompetitor.com intitle:“wireless routers”

94. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
See how many blog entries they have
site:yourcompetitor.com inurl:blog “wireless routers”

95. FREE COMPETITIVE TOOLS

96. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
There are a few tools, though

97. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION

98. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Google Keyword Planner
• You need to sign up for AdWords (it’s free)
• Use it to find related terms you might not have thought of
• Find the most popular term people are searching

99. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION

100. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
Ubersuggest
• No sign up
• Pulls terms from Google’s autosuggest
• Good for exploring topics with lower search volume
• You’ll still want to cross reference this with Keyword Planner

101. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION

102. LEARNING FROM COMPETITION
SEM Rush
• Cadillac of competitive research tools
• Limited to 10 queries a day (on free version)
• Use it to see what terms competitor ranks for
• Use it for most popular variations of a keyword

103. WHAT NOT TO DO WITH THIS DATA

104. LEARNING FROM COMPETITORS
What not to do:
• Create a hundred pages with the most popular term
• Copy your competitor’s pages word for word
• Try to exact match every term that shows up

105. LEARNING FROM COMPETITORS
What you SHOULD do:
• Try to use the most popular variation of the term when
writing
• Get some ideas on new pieces of content

106. LEARNING FROM COMPETITORS
Idea comes first – Google understands related words

107. INTERMISSION

108. LEVERAGING
YOUR UNIQUENESS

109. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
I got a site
I got local
I know what competitors are doing

110. NOW WHAT?

111. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
NOW YOU JUST
BE INTERESTING

112. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Why did you start your business?

113. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Chances are, it’s because some part of it is interesting to
you.

114. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Talk about that.

115. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
OTHER PEOPLE WILL FIND IT
INTERESTING
TOO

116. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Find your community

117. SOCIAL NETWORKS
You don’t have to do them all…
… except one.

118. SOCIAL NETWORKS
+

119. BUT NO ONE’S ON IT!!!

120. 2 REASONS

121. WHY GOOGLE+
You need this to happen when you post.

122. WHY GOOGLE+
And you need to
do everything you
can to make this
happen.
Popular
search
My Google+
Post
(logged in as
my boss)

123. WHY GOOGLE+
1. Set up Google+ page for all contributors of your
blog.
2. Set up a business page for your business
3. Setup a local listing if you have an address
4. Yes, you have to do all three.

124. “HAVING SAID I DON’T WANT TO
OVERSIMPLY
LET ME OVERSIMPLY BY SAYING
THE FOLLOWING.”
- Me, just now.

125. OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS
Broad, awful generalizations:
• Facebook: Friends and relatives
• Instagram: Young people
• Foursquare: Brick and mortar businesses
• Pinterest: Artsy people
• Linkedin: Business people
• Tumblr: Internet people
• Reddit: Really, really Internet people. (also mean people)
• The more niche, the better.

126. OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS
What about Twitter??
Use Twitter if…
… you want to use Twitter.
Lots of people will tell you that
you need to use it.
But as a small business you need to prioritize.

127. WHAT’S THE POINT OF ALL THIS?

128. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
You’re showing off you.

129. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
You have interests – write about your interests

130. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
See what works.

131. LEVERAGING CHARISMA
Analytics

132. GOOGLE ANALYTICS
We used to be able to look at the words people used to
get to your site.

133. GOOGLE ANALYTICS
We used to be able to look at the words people used to
get to your site.
(not provided)

134. GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Use landing pages

135. GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Look at referrals

136. GOOGLE ANALYTICS
But this only works if you have the technical stuff taken
care of.
And you are making content that people are finding.

137. GOOGLE ANALYTICS
(that’s why I mentioned all that stuff first.)

138. GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Webmaster Tools

139. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I FIND
WHAT WORKS?

140. YOU DO MORE!

141. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
Talk about whatever interests you

142. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
I need…
a new dress.

143. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
Go beyond the terms you were originally going for.

144. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
I need…
to look nice for my
friend’s wedding.

145. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
You can be as fun as you like.

146. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
I need…
to look better than
Carol at my
friend’s wedding

147. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
Or as niche as you want.

148. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
I need…
to match my date’s
Star Wars
costume for my
friend’s wedding

149. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
There are companies paying big money
just to pretend to be as in to what you do as you are.

150. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
1) Build on a good foundation
2) Establish yourself locally
3) Know what your competitors are doing
4) BE INTERESTING

151. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
Just remember to start here.

152. ONCE YOU FIND SOMETHING
… even though that’s actually here.

153. Here’s the links:
portent.co/seo-biz

154. Thank You!
Links: portent.co/seo-biz
Me: @number1george
Meetup: @SeattleSEOnet
Hashtag: #SSNmeetup