Motarme managers-guide-to-seo-part2-v3

• 1. A Managers Guide to Search Engine Optimization Part 2 How to do it.

2. 2 Search Engine Optimization is the process you use to appear higher in the search engine results pages for searches relevant to your business It is based on first understanding how people search for terms related to your business - keyword analysis You then use that understanding to update your website, interact with social media and seek links so you can push your business higher up on the search results Website settings Website settings LinksLinks Social mediaSocial media ContentContent Keyword AnalysisKeyword Analysis 3. Keyword Analysis 1. What are you selling? 2. Use keyword tools 3. Identify best keywords to target Website settings 4. Website Sitemap and URL structure 5. Settings per page Content 6. Optimize your page text and other content Links 8. Set up internal links, seek external links Social Media 9. Use social media to boost SEO Index 7. Index your website with the search engines 4. 4 Keyword AnalysisKeyword Analysis 5. Keyword Analysis We want to identify search terms used by people looking for your kinds of services or products The first step is to list the products and services you provide If there are variations, then list those too. Take note of terms commonly associated with a particular product Output = table of product and services terms We want to identify search terms used by people looking for your kinds of services or products The first step is to list the products and services you provide If there are variations, then list those too. Take note of terms commonly associated with a particular product Output = table of product and services terms Our Products and Services 1. Spanners 2. Drills Electric drills Cordless drills Hammer drills 3. Hammers Claw hammer Lump hammer 1. What are you selling?1. What are you selling? 6. For each product and service identified, spend some time thinking of synonyms customers might use look at a thesaurus to help generate ideas Review your existing website and take note of all names used List all your brand terms Look at your website analytics to see what search terms visitors have been using to get to your site Review competitor websites. Use the browser view source option to look at source code on competitor web pages to see which terms they are targeting with their headers, page titles etc. Output = expanded list of potential search terms For each product and service identified, spend some time thinking of synonyms customers might use look at a thesaurus to help generate ideas Review your existing website and take note of all names used List all your brand terms Look at your website analytics to see what search terms visitors have been using to get to your site Review competitor websites. Use the browser view source option to look at source code on competitor web pages to see which terms they are targeting with their headers, page titles etc. Output = expanded list of potential search terms 1. What are you selling?1. What are you selling? Keyword Analysis 7. There are a range of keyword tools, including Google keyword tool, Bing keyword tool, Wordtracker , KeywordDiscovery We suggest starting with Google Keyword tool Enter your list of product related terms to the tool and ask Google to generate further suggestions Google returns a list of related keywords, and includes the global and local search volume for those keywords i.e. how many people have searched for those terms in the past month both locally and globally Google also indicates how competitive the term is i.e. how hard it will be to get to the top for that term. Download the results from Google into an Excel spreadsheet There are a range of keyword tools, including Google keyword tool, Bing keyword tool, Wordtracker , KeywordDiscovery We suggest starting with Google Keyword tool Enter your list of product related terms to the tool and ask Google to generate further suggestions Google returns a list of related keywords, and includes the global and local search volume for those keywords i.e. how many people have searched for those terms in the past month both locally and globally Google also indicates how competitive the term is i.e. how hard it will be to get to the top for that term. Download the results from Google into an Excel spreadsheet 2. Use Keyword Tools2. Use Keyword Tools Keyword Analysis 8. 8 Source: SEOMoz.org The most popular keywords account for 18.5 % of search traffic They are the most competitive terms it is usually hard to get a new web page onto the top of page 1 for these terms However, over 70% of searches are for less common terms these are the long tail keyword phrases Usually these terms are 3 words or longer and are more specific e.g. 1996 green 3 series bmw rather than bmw Targeting these long tail keywords is a good way to get more traffic to your site The most popular keywords account for 18.5 % of search traffic They are the most competitive terms it is usually hard to get a new web page onto the top of page 1 for these terms However, over 70% of searches are for less common terms these are the long tail keyword phrases Usually these terms are 3 words or longer and are more specific e.g. 1996 green 3 series bmw rather than bmw Targeting these long tail keywords is a good way to get more traffic to your site 3. Pick the keyword phrases you want to target including Long Tail3. Pick the keyword phrases you want to target including Long Tail Keyword Analysis 9. Take the spreadsheet you downloaded from the Google keyword tool Sort the list by global search volume, then by competition Now look at business relevance - take the terms with the highest volume and lowest competition. Mark them as high, medium or low depending on how relevant they are to your business Pick the top keywords from this list to target high volume, relevant to your business and not too competitive Output: a spreadsheet with list of candidate search terms to target with your website Take the spreadsheet you downloaded from the Google keyword tool Sort the list by global search volume, then by competition Now look at business relevance - take the terms with the highest volume and lowest competition. Mark them as high, medium or low depending on how relevant they are to your business Pick the top keywords from this list to target high volume, relevant to your business and not too competitive Output: a spreadsheet with list of candidate search terms to target with your website Keyword Analysis 3. Pick the keyword phrases you want to target3. Pick the keyword phrases you want to target 10. You can optimize for about 3 phases per page And you need to have pages for the keyword phrases you are trying to target So plan out the site structure based on the phrases you want to be found for E.g. if you are targeting 30 keyword phrases, you will need at least 10 pages You can optimize for about 3 phases per page And you need to have pages for the keyword phrases you are trying to target So plan out the site structure based on the phrases you want to be found for E.g. if you are targeting 30 keyword phrases, you will need at least 10 pages Keyword Analysis 3. Pick the keyword phrases you want to target3. Pick the keyword phrases you want to target 11. 11 Website SettingsWebsite Settings 12. DohertyWhiteWebsite Settings Search engines like you to structure your site so that humans find it easy to navigate to the information they need To help you achieve that, map out the structure of your site Remember both your products and services structure plus your target keywords you should be able to combine both in your sitemap The map lets you figure out a natural flow of information for someone looking for a product or service Once you are happy with the sitemap, create a URL for each page that is easy for humans to read e.g. www.mysite.com/product-category/product-option1 Search engines like you to structure your site so that humans find it easy to navigate to the information they need To help you achieve that, map out the structure of your site Remember both your products and services structure plus your target keywords you should be able to combine both in your sitemap The map lets you figure out a natural flow of information for someone looking for a product or service Once you are happy with the sitemap, create a URL for each page that is easy for humans to read e.g. www.mysite.com/product-category/product-option1 4. Website sitemap & URL structure4. Website sitemap & URL structure ServicesAbout Us Products Contact Home 13. 87%Description of service/products Which Industries You Serve Success stories / case studies Professional website design and presentation About us / biographies Client list Online resources/content (white papers etc.) News items Podcasts or audio content Top 10 Website Elements rated Important/Extremely ImportantTop 10 Website Elements rated Important/Extremely Important 87% Video or online presentations 78% 73% 69% 64% 64% 60% 57% 47% 40% Source: How clients buy 2009 Benchmark Report, RainTodaySource: How clients buy 2009 Benchmark Report, RainToday Website Settings 14. Website Settings Once you have the site map complete you begin specifying settings on each page There are 5 settings: URL URL for each page should include the primary target keyword phrase, separate words with dashes e.g. mysite.com/product-type-one Page title primary target keyword phrase should appear first, keep under 70 characters Meta description about 120 characters, incorporate primary and one secondary keyword Header h1 tag and header H2 tag H1 should include the primary keyword phrase. H2 headings should incorporate secondary keywords. Meta tags these are NOT used by Google or Bing, so you dont have to set them we recommend setting them just in case another search engine uses them. Create a spreadsheet with all these settings pre-defined, then apply them to the site. Once you have the site map complete you begin specifying settings on each page There are 5 settings: URL URL for each page should include the primary target keyword phrase, separate words with dashes e.g. mysite.com/product-type-one Page title primary target keyword phrase should appear first, keep under 70 characters Meta description about 120 characters, incorporate primary and one secondary keyword Header h1 tag and header H2 tag H1 should include the primary keyword phrase. H2 headings should incorporate secondary keywords. Meta tags these are NOT used by Google or Bing, so you dont have to set them we recommend setting them just in case another search engine uses them. Create a spreadsheet with all these settings pre-defined, then apply them to the site. 5. Settings per page5. Settings per page 15. 15 Content for SEOContent for SEO 16. 1. Search engines look to match up a users search queries with the keyword phrases on your web pages. If the search phrases do not appear on the page, chances are good that your page will not achieve significant ranking for that search phrase 2. The search phrase users may choose to use when looking for something are infinite in variety, but certain phrases will be used much more frequently than others. 3. Using the more popular phrases you wish to target on a web page in the content for that page is essential to SEO success for that page. 4. The title tag is the most important element on the page. Next up is the first header (h1) and then the main body of content. 5. Tools exist that allow you to research and determine what the most interesting phrases are you identified them in the keyword analysis step. 1. Search engines look to match up a users search queries with the keyword phrases on your web pages. If the search phrases do not appear on the page, chances are good that your page will not achieve significant ranking for that search phrase 2. The search phrase users may choose to use when looking for something are infinite in variety, but certain phrases will be used much more frequently than others. 3. Using the more popular phrases you wish to target on a web page in the content for that page is essential to SEO success for that page. 4. The title tag is the most important element on the page. Next up is the first header (h1) and then the main body of content. 5. Tools exist that allow you to research and determine what the most interesting phrases are you identified them in the keyword analysis step. 16 Optimizing Content 6. Some Basic Points6. Some Basic Points Source: The Art of SEO, by Enge, Spencer, Fishkin and Stricchiola 17. For each page, use your primary keyword phrases naturally in the text Dont over-do it - too many occurrences that look unnatural is know as keyword stuffing and may negatively affect the pages performance 2 to 10 times in a page, depending on the page size, is sufficient Bold or underline your primary keywords, if it looks natural Mention the secondary keywords under the relevant H2 sub-headings Use other closely related phrases too search engines are smart enough to understand context and some of the semantics and will recognise if the overall text reinforces the topic of the primary keyword phrase. Your key criteria should be to create pages that make sense and provide good quality information to a normal human visitor. If they think the page is relevant and interesting, so will the search engines. Dont try to craft the perfect text document text is important, but keyword usage in the text is a relatively small factor in search engine optimization, easily outweighed by links. For each page, use your primary keyword phrases naturally in the text Dont over-do it - too many occurrences that look unnatural is know as keyword stuffing and may negatively affect the pages performance 2 to 10 times in a page, depending on the page size, is sufficient Bold or underline your primary keywords, if it looks natural Mention the secondary keywords under the relevant H2 sub-headings Use other closely related phrases too search engines are smart enough to understand context and some of the semantics and will recognise if the overall text reinforces the topic of the primary keyword phrase. Your key criteria should be to create pages that make sense and provide good quality information to a normal human visitor. If they think the page is relevant and interesting, so will the search engines. Dont try to craft the perfect text document text is important, but keyword usage in the text is a relatively small factor in search engine optimization, easily outweighed by links. 17 Optimizing Content 6. Optimizing the text on your page6. Optimizing the text on your page 18. Images - Make sure all images on your pages have their Alt attributes set to a keyword relevant name and also try to use keywords in the name of the actual graphics embedded in your page. Avoid duplication if two pages are very similar then the search engines will not be sure which ones to show for the same query, diluting both of the pages page ranking. Where you must have similar pages e.g. Multiple landing pages sowing the same texts but linked to different channels such as PPC ads or email campaigns then use a file called robots.txt to tell the search engines to ignore these duplicate pages. Gated content if you have great content in documents hosted on your site but it requires registration to access it then it wont be counted by the search engines when deciding whether your pages are relevant to a search query. One way around this is to make half of any document freely available and the second half must be registered for Images - Make sure all images on your pages have their Alt attributes set to a keyword relevant name and also try to use keywords in the name of the actual graphics embedded in your page. Avoid duplication if two pages are very similar then the search engines will not be sure which ones to show for the same query, diluting both of the pages page ranking. Where you must have similar pages e.g. Multiple landing pages sowing the same texts but linked to different channels such as PPC ads or email campaigns then use a file called robots.txt to tell the search engines to ignore these duplicate pages. Gated content if you have great content in documents hosted on your site but it requires registration to access it then it wont be counted by the search engines when deciding whether your pages are relevant to a search query. One way around this is to make half of any document freely available and the second half must be registered for 18 Optimizing Content 6. Other content optimization6. Other content optimization 19. 19 Index the siteIndex the site 20. In this step you create a special format file, called a Sitemap (with a capital S) This is an XML-format file that describes the layout of your site in a standard way that the search engines can read. They add this information to their own data they obtain from regularly crawling the web. There are tools such as XML-sitemaps.com that help you generate the xml sitemap. This sitemap should be located at http://www.mysite.com/sitemap.xml Once you have created your sitemap you need to submit it to the various search engines Google, Bing, Yahoo and others you think are relevant You should submit your sitemap when you create a new site, when you make significant changes to an existing one, and then periodically over time to make sure the search engines are aware of all the pages of content on your site. Google Webmaster Tools provides a range of tools for submitting your sitemap and indexing your content. In this step you create a special format file, called a Sitemap (with a capital S) This is an XML-format file that describes the layout of your site in a standard way that the search engines can read. They add this information to their own data they obtain from regularly crawling the web. There are tools such as XML-sitemaps.com that help you generate the xml sitemap. This sitemap should be located at http://www.mysite.com/sitemap.xml Once you have created your sitemap you need to submit it to the various search engines Google, Bing, Yahoo and others you think are relevant You should submit your sitemap when you create a new site, when you make significant changes to an existing one, and then periodically over time to make sure the search engines are aware of all the pages of content on your site. Google Webmaster Tools provides a range of tools for submitting your sitemap and indexing your content. 20 Optimizing Content 7. Index the site7. Index the site 21. 21 LinksLinks 22. There are three types of links Internal links between pages on your site Links from other sites to you Links from you to other sites Your first step should be to ensure you have logical, consistent internal linking Initially, check that there is good linkage from your home page to internal pages Make sure every internal page is accessible from a link, or menu navigation, or both As you drill down the site tree-chart, linkage should be tighter within particular branches to reinforce their optimization for key phrases There are three types of links Internal links between pages on your site Links from other sites to you Links from you to other sites Your first step should be to ensure you have logical, consistent internal linking Initially, check that there is good linkage from your home page to internal pages Make sure every internal page is accessible from a link, or menu navigation, or both As you drill down the site tree-chart, linkage should be tighter within particular branches to reinforce their optimization for key phrases 22 Links 8. Links Internal linkage8. Links Internal linkage 23. First obtain links from all trade associations, customers, partners Have them link via anchor text i.e. a link from a targeted keword phrase rather than your company name or unrelated phrases. Have them link into your internal pages as well as your home page. E.g if you have a page for hammers, try to get a link from the hammer page of the DIY tools association website using the word hammer provider that links to your hammer page. Next, start a link building campaign i.e. get links from other good sites Links will be based on the quality of your content if you have good content, people will want to link to it. Record and set targets for link acquisition Use automated tools to help with your link building Analyze competitors links to generate ideas for your own link building campaign Dont try to build too many links too quickly Build links from reputable sites with good authority Good resource: QuickSprout - http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-seo/ First obtain links from all trade associations, customers, partners Have them link via anchor text i.e. a link from a targeted keword phrase rather than your company name or unrelated phrases. Have them link into your internal pages as well as your home page. E.g if you have a page for hammers, try to get a link from the hammer page of the DIY tools association website using the word hammer provider that links to your hammer page. Next, start a link building campaign i.e. get links from other good sites Links will be based on the quality of your content if you have good content, people will want to link to it. Record and set targets for link acquisition Use automated tools to help with your link building Analyze competitors links to generate ideas for your own link building campaign Dont try to build too many links too quickly Build links from reputable sites with good authority Good resource: QuickSprout - http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-seo/ 23 Links 8. Links External linkage8. Links External linkage 24. 24 Social MediaSocial Media 25. Social media is becoming a stronger factor in determining search results The search engines monitor your profile on social media They monitor if you and your company are active on particular networks and how this impacts on search They monitor how often your content is reposted on networks, how many followers you or your company have etc. You should set out a strategy for using social media to integrate with your SEO efforts For example all social media posts should include your primary keywords By default posts should include links back to your site Your social media profiles should also include site links and contact information Pay particular attention to Google+ and its impact on search Social media is becoming a stronger factor in determining search results The search engines monitor your profile on social media They monitor if you and your company are active on particular networks and how this impacts on search They monitor how often your content is reposted on networks, how many followers you or your company have etc. You should set out a strategy for using social media to integrate with your SEO efforts For example all social media posts should include your primary keywords By default posts should include links back to your site Your social media profiles should also include site links and contact information Pay particular attention to Google+ and its impact on search 25 Social Media 9. Social Media9. Social Media 26. Signals that Google uses to decide which page to show for a query 1. Keyword use in title tag 2. Anchor text in inbound link 3. Global link authority of site 4. Age of site 5. Link popularity within the sites internal structure 6. Topical relevance of inbound links 7. Link popularity of site in topical community 8. Keyword use in body text 9. Global link popularity of sites that link to the site Overall, it looks at relevance and popularity. The list below is from an SeoMoz.org poll of SEO companies 9 most important factors 27. 27 Good resources Links Quick Sprout Advanced SEO guide - http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-seo/ Google Keyword Tool https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal Google guide to SEO http://goo.gl/opukk Bruce Clay www.bruceclay.com SeoMOZ www.seomoz.org Wordtracker - http://www.wordtracker.com/ PRChecker checking page rank - http://www.prchecker.info/ MajesticSEO www.majesticseo.com SeoBook www.seobook.com SearchEngineLand www.searchengineland.com Neil Patels blog QuickSprout (www.quicksprout.com) has pretty good info on search traffic Here are some suggested resources (we plan to add to this list) Books The Art of SEO, Eric Enge et Al Search Engine Optimization for Dummies, Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza 28. 28 About Motarme 29. Motarme is an easy-to-use enterprise Marketing Automation system. Motarme is specifically designed to help business-to-business (B2B) companies in the technology, software and industrial sectors generate sales leads online. In addition to our web-based Marketing Automation product we provide consulting, web marketing and lead generation services. Our customers include Siemens, Mergon, SF Engineering and mid-size and early stage technology companies. Web: www.Motarme.com. 30. Clients We have seen for ourselves how a solid strategy has helped to drive traffic to our site and generate sales leads. We have seen for ourselves how a solid strategy has helped to drive traffic to our site and generate sales leads. Caolan Bushell Business Development Manager Mergon Group Barry Rooney Chief Operations Officer Siemens ITSS The system delivered real, measurable results in a short timeframe sales and contacts from our target audience at Tier 1 companies. The system delivered real, measurable results in a short timeframe sales and contacts from our target audience at Tier 1 companies. Joe Lynch General Manager IMEC Technologies Generating leads online is now a central part of our sales strategy. Generating leads online is now a central part of our sales strategy. About Motarme 31. Thank You Automated Marketing That Drives Sales [email protected] @michaelgwhite www.motarme.com