Flavours of SEO

Flavors of SEOFlavors of SEO

www.reference.be

@ndegeyndt

Li: Nikolaas De Geyndt

Agenda

1. The SEO Pyramid

2. Which ranking factors matter

3. SEO trends

4. SEO Migration

5. New sites & SEO

6. Social Media & SEO

7. International SEO

8. Local SEO

9. Video & Image SEO

10. Keyword Research (finally done right)

11. Optimizing your website / writing content

What matters in SEO

1. The SEO Pyramid

2. Which ranking factors matter

3. SEO trends

SEO Pyramid

Accessible Content

Keyword Universe &Content Optimization

Marketing

Social

SEO Fundamentals: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/whiteboard-friday-the-seo-fundamentals-pyramid

Whi

ch R

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Links represent 42% of rankings

Kw

repr

esen

t 36%

or r

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Social represent 7% of rankings

Search volume for brands

Internal links, # chars HTML & document

CTR from Google to page for a KW

Domain length

SEO Trends

www.goedkope-vakantiehuisje-ardennen-durbuy.be

Use related keywords

SEO Trendssays

SEO Trends

Read up at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Panda

SEO Trends

1. Check this out

Use rich snippets: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=99170

Flavours of SEO

1. SEO Migration

2. New sites & SEO

3. Social Media & SEO

4. International SEO

5. Local SEO

6. Video & Image SEO

Migrating from Old to New Site

Successful migration of your website with minimal impact on your existing search

engine rankings and traffic.

Migrating from Old to New Site

Old websiteOld website

www.yourdomain.com/oldurl1www.yourdomain.com/oldurl2…

New websiteNew website

www.yourdomain.com/newurl-1www.yourdomain.com/newurl-2…

Old indexed URL’s

SWITCH

after switch

Will be replaced by New URL’s

SEO migration is necessary when:

•URLs change• Change of domain name

• Change of CMS

• Chang of URL structure

• URL-rewriting for Search Engine Friendly URL’s

Migrating from Old to New Site

Read more about the Migration of your websitehttp://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=83105

New Sites & SEO

1. Domain 1. .com VS country .tld

2. New domain, subdomain or folder?

3. Register in advance 1. Register variations

2. Country domains

3. No hyphens

4. No numbers

5. The shorter the better

New Sites & SEO

2. Content– No under construction– Don’t steal content– Use HTML Sitemap– Provide good interlinking

3. Build links already – Corporate Website, Partners, Directories

New Sites & SEO

4. On-go live– You + agency: send out press release with

perfect links in it – Push XML Sitemap to Google

• Bonus reading for webmasters with 10.000+ pages: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/multiple-xml-sitemaps-increased-indexation-and-traffic

About XML Sitemaps: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&&answer=156184

Social Media & SEO

Remember this?

Read the interview with Google & Bing: http://searchengineland.com/what-social-signals-do-google-bing-really-count-55389

Social Media & SEO

• Diversity of Sources– 50 tweets from 1 account vs 50 unique acc.

• Timing– tweets/shares indicate value and interest (rather

than just sharing what's new).

• Surrounding Content– the message(s) accompanying the link

• Engagement Level – the quantity of clicks, retweets, likes, etc

Social Media & SEO

Secure your1. Google+ (for companies)

2. LinkedIn & Facebook (for companies)

3. Twitter handles

Social Media & SEO

Google+

Social Media & SEO

Google+

Social Media & SEO

Encourage social interactions (smartly)

I added these buttonsbecause everyone

else’s doing it

Social Media & SEO

Encourage social interactions (smartly)

LOVE ME! (please)

Social Media & SEO

Encourage social interactions (smartly)

Scrolling to the bottomScrolling to the bottom

Get the code @ http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/10-charts-about-sex/

International SEO

1. Geotargeting - What Google SaysccTLDseg: site.com, site.be

Subdomains with gTLDseg: de.site.com, fr.site.com, etc.

Subdirectories with gTLDseg: site.com/de/, site.com/fr/, etc.

URL parameterseg: site.com?loc=de, ?country=france, etc.

pros (+)

•clear geotargeting•server location is irrelevant•easy separation of sites

pros (+)

•easy to set up•can use Webmaster Tools geotargeting•allows different server locations •easy separation of sites

pros (+)

•easy to set up•can use Webmaster Tools geotargeting•low maintenance (same host)

pros (+)

(not recommended)

cons (-)

•expensive (+ availability)•more infrastructure

cons (-)

•users might not recognize geotargeting from the URL alone (is "de" the language or country?)

cons (-)

•users might not recognize geotargeting from the URL alone •single server location•separation of sites harder

cons (-)

•segmentation based on the URL is difficult•users might not recognize geotargeting from the URL alone•No geotargeting in Webmaster Tools

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2010/03/working-with-multi-regional-websites.html

International SEO

1. Geotargeting– Google is not everywhere #1

• Russia & China

– Offer choice to change country/language

International SEO

1. Geotargeting– IF you have the budget = use local domain

• Google likes it “more”, higher CTR & CR & AOS• But Infrastructure cost & Linkbuilding efforts

– IF strapped for budget = use folders• Transfer link juice between folders

Still doubting? Absolutely read: http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/folders-vs-subdomains-vs-cctld-in-international-seo-an-overview

International SEO

1. en-US , en-GB , en-CA, …– Q: Is it OK to have the same content for

different countries but in the same language? – A:

• No problem as long as the content is for different users in different countries.

• Each country has a unique URL• You tell Google (by using local domain or using

GWT)

Local & SEO

Check out the Local Ranking Factorshttp://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

Local & SEO

N.A.P. :1.Name2.Address3.Phone number

Be consistent!

Local & SEO

• Verify your Google Places– Include Location in your “Plaatsnaam”– Use categories, pictures & Google-reviews

– Add 10 or more listings at once:• https://www.google.com/support/places/bin/answ

er.py?hl=en&answer=178024&topic=1656882

Local & SEO

• Post your NAP whereever you can– Goudengids (urls are followed!)– LinkedIn, Facebook Business Pages– Foursquare– www.yalwa.be– www.kmo-insider.biz , www.injebuurt.be ,

www.hotfrog.be , www.sayso.be – voeg bedrijf toe site:.be , bedrijf toevoegen

site:.be

Local & SEO

• Read more about Local SEO– http://www.davidmihm.com/ (David Mihm)– http://blumenthals.com/blog/ (Mike

Blumenthals)– http://www.localseoguide.com/ (Andrew

Shotland)

Local & SEO

Video & Image SEO

1. Image1. IMHO: not really worth the effort today

2. Accessibility

3. Future-proof!

Video & Image SEO

2. Video – Ranking Factors– Remember: Youtube = Google owned– Relevance

• Title & description of the video

– User engagement factors• Number of Likes & pageviews• Total Channel Views

– Authority• Number of years since joining YouTube • Total number of subscribers

Video & Image SEO

2. Video - Tactics1. Video Sitemap:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=80472

2. Transcriptions: http://www.speechpad.com/

If you have a none commercial video, upload it as well to www.vimeo.com (non-commercial & High Quality)

Video & Image SEO

2. Video SEO Read-up:1. http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/10/video-seo-top-

google-search/

2. http://searchenginewatch.com/3636282

3. http://www.reelseo.com/how-video-sitemaps/

4. http://www.seomoz.org/blog/seo-for-video-content

5. http://www.seomoz.org/blog/video-seo-basics-whiteboard-friday-11080

SEO Methodologies

1. Keyword Research (finally done right)

2. Optimizing your website / writing content

Keyword Research

1. Keyword Research (finally done right)

Let’s build a keyword universe

Keyword Universe : PreparationStep 1: Research Keywords

Step 2: Define Clusters

Step 3: Gap Analysis

Step 4: Determining Keywords to target

Step 5: Map Keywords to a Webpage

Keyword Universe : PreparationStep 1: Research Keywords Use your brain and

xMind (free mindmapping software) “Lotus Blossom Brainstorm Technique”

Step 1: Research Keywords Google AdWords Tool

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal use [exact] or “phrase” matching type

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 1: Research Keywordshttp://ubersuggest.org/ (Google Suggest)

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 1: Research Keywords Google search – (Inter)national competition Extract keywords http://www.seomoz.org/term-

extractor

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 2: Define Clusters Paste all keywords in Adwords Tool & export to Excel Cluster keywords Remove “Competition” & “Local Monthly Search

Volumes”

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 3: GAP Analysis Install this Firefox plugin:

http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker/

Max 30 keywords per run Check rankings

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 3: GAP Analysis Get & Paste results in other Excel sheet

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 3: GAP Analysis Get & Paste results in other Excel sheet

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 3: GAP Analysis Get & Paste results in other Excel sheet

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 3: GAP Analysis Vlookup: =VLOOKUP(A2;'rankings2011-11-07'!

$B$1:$D$200;2;FALSE)

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 3: GAP Analysis Pivot

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 3: GAP Analysis• Paid Tools

• SEOmoz.org• WebCEO

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 4: Determining Keywords to targetDetermine relevancy of a keyword :

Sort by search volume

Keyword Universe : Preparation

Step 5: Map Keywords to a Webpage

Ideal World: One keyword = one page

But: One cluster = one long page (that’s OK)

For keywords that can not be mapped to a relevant webpage, consider writing new content.

Keyword Universe : Preparation

• “Keyword universe”

1. 1000’s of KWs

2. Create Clusters

3. Find Gaps

4. Focus

5. Map & Create

•Getting focus

•Select & Map Keywords

Use keywords for1.On-Page Optimization

2.Content (Copywriting)

Content & On-page

Now let’s write

You know your clusters General & Synonyms Applications Types of products Other clusters

You know your focus in your cluster, Based on Search Volume Rankings User intent

Start writing …

Our preparation is done

…

Content Ideas Look at content of #1 competitors

Content & On-page

Content Ideas www.google.com/blogsearch

Content & On-page

Content IdeasGoogle News (look for “keyword” + in archives)Social: http://twitter.com/#!/search-home

Fora: intitle:zoekwoord site:.com inurl:forum intitle:"steel fibres" site:.com inurl:forum

Content & On-page

Content Ideas Out of experience search engines love on 1 page

Product Definitions Product Advantages Product Characteristics Product Comparisons Product Images & Multimedia

Wow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforced_concrete

Content & On-page

Unique content (Added value? Never copy from other site)

Relevant & Focused content (one topic)

Sufficient content (at least 300 words)

Never outsmart Google Do not over-optimize (keyword-stuffing, long titles, etc.)

No “tricks” (invisible text, cloaking, etc.)

Can bring down whole domain …

Content & On-page

1. Meta Title2. Internal Anchor Text3. URL4. H15. Text6. Images7. Meta Description8. Video

On-page optimizations

On-page optimizations

Page title (or meta title) is one of the most important elements within SEO:

1.Limit to 70 characters (use =LEN() in Excel)2.Main keyword/keyphrase up front3.It is the first thing that your prospects see when looking for your company!

Do not:1.Use brand name in front 2.Use same title for all page3.“Untitled”

So where is this Page Title in my web page?

Top of your web browser

• <h1>Name of the page</h1>• Can be the same as meta title

1. Limit to 155 characters (use =LEN() in Excel)2. Main keyword/keyphrase up front and at the end3. Call to Action: this should be your sales copy!

Obsolete !

Use descriptive anchor-text for links. Click Here or Read moreUse text instead of imagesDon’t use Javascript links

Clean URL

•Most important : keyword occurs in URL•No strange characters•Use hyphens instead of spaces (%20)

• OK: http://www.ardennes-etape.be/vakantiehuizen-ardennen/Spa/Maison-de-maitre-Sauna-Jaccuzi-104712-02/

• Usage of Keyword + synonyms• First paragraph• Second paragraph in Bold

• Use unique body text for each web page• At least 300 words• Do not underline words unless they are links• The most important question is: would you read it?

• Universal Search or in Image Search• Optimizing the images on your website

• Filename• Alt-tag• Surrounding text (context)

<img src="/~/media/Images/ProductImages/Consumer goods/Picture-Picture-medical-appmedical-app.ashx" alt="Picture medical applicationPicture medical application" width="213" height="109">

File nameAlt tag

1 2

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