Fueling the SEO Engine Alyson Harrold UC Berkeley Extension May 4, 2013

Who I Am Agency, media, corporate marketing background Online Marketing Agency o Collaboration of Technical & Creative o SEO o WordPress Websites o Online marketing audits o PPC o Content marketing o Etc, etc, etc....

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

It’s a SECRET

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, query, keyword

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

Billions of Searches Keywords Indexed Content SERP Web Visits Conversions 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

The Buying Cycle

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

More About Keywords Research Website Architecture Optimized Content

Buying Cycle & Keywords Problem or Need General High Level Educational Research More Specific Product Long Tail Risk Alleviation Reviews Comparisons Buying Decision Make It Easy Call to Action

Blog Analytics WordPress Website Architecture Content Marketing SEO

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

Keyword Research Brainstorm list Ask friends & family to brainstorm some more Sort keywords by topic Dump list into Keyword Tool Get more suggestions from Google

Google AdWords Keyword Tool

... and more Research Rinse & repeat ‘til nothing new emerges Export to massage data Sort by topic Identify up-trending / dying keywords Look for localization info Massage data some more

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

Buying Cycle & Keywords Problem or Need General High Level Educational Research More Specific Product Long Tail Risk Alleviation Reviews Comparisons Buying Decision Make It Easy Call to Action

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

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 Use keyword research No Default Meta data Internal links to support SEO architecture

SEO Tactics: Blogging Commit to a schedule Establish system to troll for inspiration Create editorial calendar

Establish criteria for guest posts: o Writing quality o Topic relevance o Brand voice Assign or Agree on appropriate keyword Authorship (links author to Google+ with search) Collaborative Blogging

Not Just for Websites

Other SEO Elements Site Speed Google Authorship Links Author and Google+ and Search Google Places Reviews Social Media Low Bounce Rates

Free o Google AdWords Keyword Tool o Google Insight for Search (Trends) o Google Analytics o Webmaster Tools o WordPress SEO by Joost Paid o SEO Ranking Tool (SEOmoz)SEOmoz 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

Billions of Searches Keywords Indexed Content SERP Web Visits Conversions 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 Header (H1 Title) First Paragraph Keyword near beginning Summary Quality Content Brand Voice Scan-able Visual Appeal