Fueling the SEO Engine Alyson Harrold & Massimo Paolini UC Berkeley Extension February 28, 2015

Who We Are Agency, media, corporate marketing background Online Marketing Agency o Collaboration of Technical & Creative o SEO o WordPress experts o Online marketing audits o Google Certified in PPC o Content marketing o Analytics

Today's Takeaways 1. SEO Terminology 2. Buying Cycles & Keywords 3. Real-World Practices Keyword Research Free Tools Hiring SEO Practitioner SEO Writing Template (Bonus if time)

It’s a SECRET

JARGON

SEO Definition

Keyword Misnomer Actually a search phrase or string “red patent leather shoes” “Thai restaurant Palo Alto”

Indexed A web page, image, or other piece of content that a search engine has added to it’s database

SERP Search Engine Results Page Serves up possible answers to a search phrase, question, and now… search intent Google tests the SERP format often

Organic SEO Fuel is Content Quality Quantity Recency Relevancy Excludes anything Paid Changes ALL the time

Two audiences Human The most important Pays the bills More complex Spots fakes Pays the bills Machine Constantly changing Very predictable Very important

CYCLE

SEO Cycle

Search Engine Spiders & Bots

Blindly Harvest Content

Index Content at HQ

Search Engine Results Page

Title & Meta Description Mini Ad Psychology Behind It Caution against defaults

#1 Goal of Search Engines Deliver positive experience for the Human Searcher Most current content Most relevant content Fast & responsive sites On Topic – clear & focused message Authority Other quality sites linking = votes of confidence

KEYWORDS

Keywords “An effective Web marketing plan requires an understanding of the ways your buyers speak and the real words and phrases they use. This is not only important for building a positive online relationship with your buyers, but also for planning effective search engine marketing strategies.” David Meerman Scott Author, The New Rules of Marketing & PR

EXERCISE 1

Keyword Brainstorm Exercise Groups of 3 Three Roles: Timekeeper Note Taker Receiver GOAL: Brainstorm keywords in 5 minutes each (Quantity!)

The Buying Cycle

More About Keywords Research Website Architecture Optimized Content

Keywords & Buying Cycle } Informational } Phases } Looking For Benefits } Comparing Features } $$$

The Buying Cycle

EXERCISE 2

Long Tail Keyword Exercise Return to Groups of 3 Use Your Keyword List Assign Keywords to Buying Stage: Problem / Need Identified Research Benefits Features (Risk Alleviation) Buying Decision GOAL Assign each keyword from list

Keywords & Buying Cycle } Informational } Phases } Looking For Benefits } Comparing Features } $$$

Blog Analytics WordPress Website Architecture Content Marketing SEO

Elements of Keyword Research Similar Sites Customer Search Behaviors Trend Analysis Map Keywords to Buying Stage

Brainstorm Colleagues Friends Vendors Customers

AdWords Keyword Planner

Repeat for every keyword you have

Google.com/Trends Holiday Season Index of 83

Google Insights for Search Can Drill Down to State & Metro Area Levels More suggestions

... and in Perfect World Analyze by benefit (# searches) Benefit-to-Opposition Ratio Sort by Topic Map to Buying Cycle (Sales Funnel) Create Website Architecture

Keywords & Buying Cycle } Informational } Phases } Looking For Benefits } Comparing Features } $$$

Keyword list and site Take the list, your site’s architecture and create the columns we talked about. ONE keyword per page.

Real World SEO Typical to have a website built without SEO structure Do Research Anyway (abbreviated) Be Realistic About Competition Use Keywords in Content

OPTIMIZATION

A Word About Optimized Content Optimized Content = Purposeful Use of Keywords No Stuffing Natural – human first, bot second

Optimization Rule of Thumb A word once on a page is… A word twice on a page is… A word three times on a page is… A Word on a Page A Mention A Keyword

Another Word About Optimization Optimize each web page & blog post ONE keyword per page / post Use keyword research No Default Meta data Internal links to support SEO architecture

INSPIRATION

Inspiration Tools Flickr & Other Image Repositories Rockzi Feedly News360 HootSuite Monitoring TED 3 Min Videos Mind Mapping YouTube

DISCIPLINE

Sustainable Writing Tips Get clear on how you’ll add value Regularly troll for ideas Organize ideas for easy retrieval Establish a consistent publishing schedule Create an editorial calendar Train your brain Just Do It

Not Just for Websites

Other SEO Elements Site Speed Google My Business (evolving from Places) Reviews Social Media Low Bounce Rates

Free o Google AdWords Keyword Planner o Google Insight for Search (Trends) o Google Analytics o Webmaster Tools o WordPress SEO by Yoast Paid o SEO Ranking Tool (SEOmoz)SEOmoz o Majestic SEO o Content Optimization Tool (Scribe)Scribe Tools We Use

White Hat vs. Grey Hat SEO

Interview Questions Who owns data White Hat or Grey Hat techniques Is any work outsourced (if so, where) What’s the content strategy (who does what) What’s included (training, status meetings, etc) Benchmarks & measurements

SEO Cycle

Bonus: SEO Writing Template Focus Keyword before Writing Title Tag (aka SEO Title) Meta Description Limited characters, keywords upfront Mini ad that sets up expectation URL Relevant to title Include keyword

Bonus: SEO Writing Template Page Title (H1) First Paragraph Keyword near beginning Summary Subheading Quality Content Brand Voice Scan-able Visual Appeal

Writing Assignment Choose 1 Keyword Write a Headline (H1 Title – characters) Create: One paragraph with keyword in the first sentence (preferably at the beginning) or An outline for 3 paragraphs Write meta description with keyword at the beginning (156 characters)