Search Engine Marketing Science Writers Conference 2009

3  13.8 billion Searches in September  88% of Internet Users use Search 2  You’ve got great information to share Why SEO? 1 Source: Information Week October 15, 2009www.informationweek.com 1 Source: Interactive Marketing, Inc.

4  SEO raises your sites rankings and visibility in the “organic” or “natural” search listing for increased qualified visitors to your site What is SEO?

5  60.5% click on organic results 1  60% click on one of the first 3 results 1 Google Eye Tracking Test 1 Source: Eye Tools

6  Google 64.9% 1  Yahoo 18.8%  Microsoft Bing 9.3%  Ask Network 3.9%  AOL 3% Search Engine Usage 1 Source: Information Week October 15, 2009www.informationweek.com

8  Content / Keywords  Internal Linking  External Linking Core Steps to Improved Visibility

9  Category and Index to online information  Keywords are how others want to find your information Keywords

10  Title tags centered around 1 important keyword phrase  Keyword in 1st sentence - more weight given to first 25 words on page  2-3 instances of your primary keyword phase per 100 words  Keywords in the “anchor text” – the text within your hyperlinks  Keywords in the “ALT Tags” – the phrases used to describe your images  Keyword at the very beginning and end of your web page text Content / Keywords

11  Use keywords in your navigation links  Use keywords in your text links  Add a site map to your website with links to all your web pages  Use keywords in your URLs like this…  Each of your web pages can link to the most important web pages Internal Links

12  Most search engines use what other websites say about a particular web page by analyzing the in-coming links that point to it.  Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed “PageRank” which relies on referrals as the best way to assess value of a pages content. "PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages 'important.'" External Links to Your Site

13 1. Keyword Focused Anchor Text from External links 1. Science Writer Conference Science Writer Conference 2. External Link Popularity 1. Industry associations, experts, etc vs smaller organizations 3. Diversity of Link Sources 4. Keyword use Anywhere in the Title Tag 5. Trustworthiness of Domain Top 5 Ranking Factors Source: SEOMOZ

14 1. Cloaking with Malicious / Manipulative Intent 1. Showing different content to search engines than to general site visitors 2. Link Acquisition from Known Link Brokers / Sellers 1. Sites such as link to you, etc. 3. Links from the Page to Web Spam Sites / Pages 4. Cloaking by User Agent 1. Showing different content to search engines than to general site visitors 5. Frequent Server Downtime and Site Inaccessibility Top 5 Detracting Factors Source: SEOMOZ

15 1. The quality or "relevance" of the website or web page that links to your web page; 2. The "anchor text" or actual link text in or around the in-bound link that points to your web page; 3. The total volume (number) of in-coming links to your web page. Google External Links Analysis

17  Set goals  Identify most important keywords  Identify most important search engines  Identify topic experts  Audit yourself  Create a link building strategy Creating a Plan

18  Search rank of particular search keywords  Keywords you want associated with your site  Key visitor audiences / topics / landing pages  Increase site conversion by x%  Increase the number of site visitors within particular audiences Set Goals

19  Internal review  Keywords you want associated with your information  What differentiates you from others  What are your core competencies  What keywords are people using to find you today?  Review your web analytics report  What keywords lead to your competition when they should go to you? Identify Your Keywords

20  Review your audience demographics  Geographic location  Occupation  Segments education professionals vs consumer vs scientists  Review your web analytics for what your current visitors use to fine you  Keyword research tools Your Primary Search Engines

21  What are the most popular sites on your general topic?  Keep topic general as well as specific  Identify top blog sites speaking to your topic of interest Identify Leading Topic Sites

22  Inventory your content  Create a list of your content assets  Review for duplicate content and consolidate or differentiate  Review your navigation  Create a list of content fixes  Visit your top search engines and search on your topics  Review your web analytics  What % of traffic comes from search engines?  What search engines drive the most traffic?  What keywords are used?  What keywords are missing? Audit Yourself

23  Review your content assets  Consider developing 101 or “Top 10” resource content to make your site an authority  Submit articles / whitepapers to industry news sites; keep key words in mind when submitting topic, title, and link  Bring attention to press releases to industry news sites, keep keywords in mind  Refer to sites you want referring to you Link Building Strategy

25  Establish metrics that matter  Search engine rank for specific phrases  Website visitors Specific pages Specific engagements Specific search terms  Create a dashboard document that allows summary information to be shared  Review each month and share take-aways  Further investigate unexpected or extreme changes Establish Metrics and Benchmarks

26  Keep content fresh and updated  Ensure links on your site are still valid  Continue to reach out and develop new referral links  Develop a new content checklist:  Identify Page Title with desired keywords  Title contains desired keywords  Use keywords within the first 25 words of the article  When distributing links to referring sites ask for a link that contains keywords in the link title  Target sites for referral that are experts on your key word topic Maintain Momentum

27 Donna Wilkins President, Charity Dynamics Contact