Introduction to SEO Steve Adolph Worthington Industries, Inc. February 22, 2005

Websites – A Marketing Tool Can be a powerful communication tool along with traditional print & broadcast media Used to promote or sell products & services, or to inform target audiences Sites are only beneficial if the audience is aware of it or can easily find it –About 50% of browsers use search engines, the other half type in the URL directly

Marketing Approach “Organic” search engine listings Free listings provided by Google, Yahoo!, MSN Utilize “spider” or “crawler” to index page content Search directory listings Doesn’t use crawlers. Humans categorize and index your site URL and a short description Yahoo! is fee-based, Open Directory Project is free Paid listings - $$$ Called “pay-per-click” campaigns Buy your way to the top of the search results page Unlike organic, results are guaranteed

Marketing Approach Recommendation is to follow a diversified approach by using a combination of all three areas for the best results. This is known as Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search Engine Introduction No guarantees with search engines Best practices and guidelines will help There are no specific details since they could be exploited The process of analyzing and making changes to a website to improve search rankings is called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO.

Search Engine Introduction Consider search engines design BEFORE building site. But remember, a website is intended for HUMAN audiences, not search engines.

Organic Best Practices Research & select keywords/phrases –What people type into engines –One study shows 56% of searchers use 2-3 word keyword phrases Keyword research tools: Log analyzer software (e.g. WebTrends) WordTracker.com ($) Overture.com (free) Google AdWords (free with account) Place keywords prominently in page copy, titles, description tags.

Organic Best Practices Design a user-friendly site that is searchable Use with caution: Javascript, flash, DHTML, frames, cookies, session IDs, more than 3 URL parameters Always have 2 forms of navigation: user and search engine Avoid excessive URL depth: more than 3 to 4 levels Tailor search terms and web pages for your audience Site should have: Home, FAQ/Help, About Us, Contact Us, Site Map, Links/Resources, Products/Services (when appropriate) Each page needs a unique, focused title relevant to the content and incorporates keywords. Don’t use company name. Get links to your site on other RELEVANT sites.

Organic Best Practices Do NOT spam the search engines or you could be banned! Keyword stacking or stuffing, unrelated keywords Hidden text and links, tiny text (under 10pt) Duplicating pages and sites (same content, different URLs) Doorway/Gateway/Ghost pages – overly optimized, well- ranked pages that redirect to “real” site. Page redirects (with Refresh Meta tag) “Link farms” used to increase link popularity scores

Directory Listings Intro Before search engines, Yahoo! search directory was the only game in town A “directory” differs from an “engine” in that it doesn’t index web pages or content. Human editors review submitted site & put it in a category/subcategory structure Only the URL and short description is recorded Yahoo! is $300/year, Open Directory Project is free (ODP feeds Google).

Directory Best Practices Choose a very specific category and subcategory in the directory Locate your competitors in the directory Register with “second tier” directories. They offer specialty or niche listings.

Paid Advertising Intro With pay-per-click (PPC), you pay each time someone clicks on your ads Two major (& most expensive) players are Overture (owned by Yahoo!) and Google AdWords Smaller players are FindWhat, Espotting Start an account w/credit card, create word ad, bid on ad keywords in auction Lots of ads? Mgmt tools available

PPC Best Practices Calculate what a “click” is worth to your company before PPC campaign Be aware: about 20% of browsers don’t trust ads and won’t click on them Review & follow PPC guidelines –Do not use superlatives (such as greatest, largest, best, etc.), all capital letters, or exclamation points. –Do not put contact information such as phone numbers or addresses in the ad. –Make sure the ad matches the site content.

Sample Site Analysis

Page AreaDescription / Recommendation Page Title All page titles are “Aegis Metal Framing.” Each page should have a unique, focused title relevant to the content and should incorporate specific keywords. Make the title read like a newspaper headline. Don’t target your company name. Section A These navigation buttons are graphics and will not be read by the crawlers. Include a second, text navigation system at the bottom of the page for the crawlers. Section B This is the only text on the home page that the crawler can read. Unfortunately it is a 9 point font. Some search engines consider very small fonts (below 10 point) to be spam and will ignore it. The font should be increased to 10 or 11 point. Section C This is the site navigation menu. All items are graphics (rather than text) and are ignored by the crawlers. Include a second, text navigation system at the bottom of the page for the crawlers. Section D This company contact information is important, but it isn’t indexed since it is a graphic. This should be changed to plain text.

Resources Search engine syntax and extras –“site: Shows what the engine has in the index for the site. –“define:your_word”. Searches web for definitions. –Built-in calculator. Type in your calculation on the search bar and press Enter. (e.g. 7*25+33) –Package tracker. Enter your package tracking number (FedEx, UPS, USPS) for a status. –Stock price check. Enter stock symbol. –Street maps. Type in US address w/ city or zip. –For a list of Google operators see:

Resources Search engine guidelines –Google: –Yahoo!: –MSN: uidelinesforOptimizingSite.htm uidelinesforOptimizingSite.htm Open Directory Project – Search Engine Watch – tips, articles, news –