S EARCH E NGINE O PTIMIZATION : M EASURING A UDIENCES

O VERVIEW Define SEO Why it’s important Focus on Content vs. Technical components Cover the basics Measuring audiences digitally

What is SEO?

SEO Search engine optimization is a method to make a website more accessible to consumers and search engines. It allows users to find relevant content based on search engine rankings.

A LGORITHMS Search engines use formulas to parse through web pages to find relevant information Example: Google uses Hummingbird (2013) “Conversational searches” “Precise and fast” Allows users to ask questions to find answers How do search engines know how to find my website?

I NDEXING Search engine indexing is the process of gathering classifying, and storing information in a search engine index Search engine crawlers (Spiders) index websites. Internet Bots

Why is SEO important?

SEO IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE … It increases activity on your site It increases awareness of your messages It helps with branding It helps with competition It drives sells Products Advertising revenue

S EO IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE It’s an indictor of strong content

Let’s start with the basics!

T ITLE T AG A title tag is a description of a page’s topic Title tags should be an accurate reflection of the contents of a page Title tags should be unique A title tag’s description is shown in search results Use meta tags Describes the page in a little more detail

T ITLE T AG

URLS AND F ILE N AMES Create simple URLS and file names Descriptive Concise Include words instead of numbers Don’t use subdirectories Directory in a directory Directory= system that stores computer files

E ASY N AVIGATION Create a site with clear, easy navigation Archives are clean Menus are easy to find and understand Information and materials are easy to find Logic to the documents and content on the page Pages follow a chain of command

S TRONG C ONTENT Audiences are interested in good content! Strong content is Easy to understand Distinct Tone Fresh point-of-view Each page is different Different from competitors Edited Relevant to audiences Persuasive

S TRONG C ONTENT Updated regularly Organized Uses keywords consistently Avoids jargon “Scented Candle” vs. “Fragranced Candle” vs. “Meadow Showers Candle” Use relevant headings (headings tags)

S TRONG C ONTENT Anchor text is the text in a hyperlink Internal or External Anchor text should be clear and descriptive

S TRONG C ONTENT Caption your images Clear, concise filenames for your images File extensions (jpeg, gif, bmp)

B OTTOM L INE Having strong content makes it easier for keywords and phrases to be searched Strong content makes it easier for Google’s algorithms to rank relevant results

F OSTER COMMUNITY Use social media to maximize your message and attract audiences to your site Information can be shared Linked back Use external links to create mutual promotion Blogrolls Sourcing/Crediting Partner sites Fostering online community is cost efficient way to promote your messages

T OOLS FOR ANALYTICS Facebook Insights Twitter Analytics

T OOLS FOR A NALYTICS Goes beyond traffic Demographic information Very detailed Who is using your site and when New Visitors, Returning Visitors Average time spent on site Leads Bounce rates This information should inform the way you manage content on your site.