SEO Crash Course: SEO Driving School

@PolePositionMkg #SearchRankCC

SEARCH RANKING CRASH COURSE

@PolePositionMkg #SearchRankCC

SEO DRIVING SCHOOL

SEO BASICS YOU NEED TO GET STARTED

Before SEO After SEO

SEO B

ASIC

S: INTR

OD

UC

TION

Indexed Pages

Rankings

Visitors

Sales

SEO B

ASIC

S: INTR

OD

UC

TION

Poor SEO brings your site to a standstill

Balance the pull between search engines and visitors

SEO B

ASIC

S: INTR

OD

UC

TION

SEO B

ASIC

S: INTR

OD

UC

TION

The “Pinocchio Effect”

Stra

tegy

No Magic Formulas

Kn

ow

led

ge

Understand Algorithms

Imp

lem

enta

tio

n

Quality & Common Sense

Search engines just want to be “real” -- like us.

Don’t Make Me THINK, Dammit!

SEO B

ASIC

S: INTR

OD

UC

TION

200+ Ranking Signals

50-200 Algorithms

Signal Variance

Location

Personal- ization

Social shares

SEO B

ASIC

S: INTR

OD

UC

TION

How algorithms work

SEO B

ASIC

S: INTR

OD

UC

TION

Pick relevant keywords

“Produce” compelling content

Optimize your tags

Implement strong architecture and usability

Get noticed with links

5 steps to organic ranking success

@PolePositionMkg #SearchRankCC

Part I: Code, Tags and Other SEO Essentials

SEO DRIVING SCHOOL

Influences Rankings

Bookmark & Browser

Label

Persuades the Click

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS TITLE tag

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

How to craft a TITLE tag?

Lead with keyword

Be compelling

65-70 character limit

<title> Website Marketing | SEO and Web Marketing Strategy Company</title>

Same Title on Every Page

Leading with Business Name

Long List of Keywords

Lack of Keywords / Description

X SEO

BA

SICS: SEO

ESSEN

TIALS

Common TITLE tag mistakes

Front: Recognizable Brands

Rear: Build Recognition

Non: No Brand Concern

Business Name | Movie Posters, Collectibles and Memorabilia

Movie Posters, Collectibles and Memorabilia| Business Name

Movie Posters | The Dark Knight One (1) Sheet

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

Should you use branded TITLES?

How your TITLE tag makes an impact SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

Not always required

Helps increase click-thru rate

No real ranking impact

Used as snippet in search results

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS Meta DESCRIPTION tag

150 character summary

Use keywords

early & often

Unique for each page

Compelling statement

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS How to craft a meta DESCRIPTION tag

<meta name=“description” content =“Website marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) services by Pole Position Marketing. SEO, PPC, analytics, content, link consulting, and more.”>

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS How your meta DESCRIPTION makes an impact

Commas?

Spaces?

Length?

Phrases?

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS Meta KEYWORD tag

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS How your meta KEYWORD tag makes an impact

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

HEADING tags

Improves Scannability

Search Relevance

Contextual Hierarchy

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS HEADING tag hierarchy <h1>One H1 per page.</h1>

<h2>Use outline format.</h2>

<h3>Keep content organized</h3>

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS Proper HEADING tag usage

H1

H1

Hx

H2 H2 H2

H1

H2

• Additional keyword signal. Make sure you use it right!

• Generally not an issue with smart phones, but for those who pay for downloads…

• Browsers for the visually impaired will read the descriptions of images

• Yes, some people still surf with images off. Image navigation disappears.

Text only browsers

Accessible browsers

Search Engines

Mobile browsers

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS Image ALT attributes

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

When you don’t use ALT attributes…

301 redirect old pages

Correct Page

Old page

Deleted Product

Relocated Info

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

Keep it Short

Use Keywords

site.com/chanel/perfume/alure.html

site.com/brands/product.php

Make URLs search friendly SEO

BA

SICS: SEO

ESSEN

TIALS

<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.site.com"/>

CANONICAL tag

Band Aid

Solution

Search Signal

Points to best page

Passes link juice

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS Custom 404-redirect page

Problematic coding issues

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

Site maps

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS

Broken links SEO

BA

SICS: SEO

ESSEN

TIALS

Look for Natural Links

Integrate Keywords

Increase Engagement

SEO B

ASIC

S: SEO E

SSENTIA

LS Internal linking

@PolePositionMkg #SearchRankCC

Part II: Dealing with Duplicate Duplicate Content

SEO DRIVING SCHOOL

Don’t use boilerplate product descriptions

Write unique content for all pages

SEO B

ASIC

S: DU

PLIC

ATE C

ON

TENT

Unique content sets you apart

A B

G H

A B

G H

C D

I J

C D

I J

E F

K L

E F

K L

= spidered

= not spidered

SEO B

ASIC

S: DU

PLIC

ATE C

ON

TENT

Duplicate content slows search engine spidering

A

A B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

K

L

O

P

M Q

J N

Duplicate content splits link juice

Both internal and external links

SEO B

ASIC

S: DU

PLIC

ATE C

ON

TENT

A B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

N

O

P

M Q

Proper link juice flow SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

Secure / non-secure duplication SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

Products Shopping cart

Checkout

How it happens… SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

Products

Products Shopping cart

Checkout

SEO B

ASIC

S: DU

PLIC

ATE C

ON

TENT

The solution…

No

Search

Engines

1 Product 2 URLs

Bread crumb / categorization duplication SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

www.thehomedepot.com/building-materials/electrical/books/123book www.thehomedepot.com/doors-windows/doors/books/123book

The solution… SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

www.thehomedepot.com/building-materials/electrical/books/123book

Only one URL, regardless of path or category!

Session ID duplication SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

Session 2 Session 1

Session 4 Session 5

Session 3

Session 6

The problem… SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

Session 2 Session 1

Session 4 Session 5

Session 3

Session 6

Home

The solution… SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

Don’t.

Use.

Session IDs!!!! (Just sayin’)

www.site.com

site.com

www.site.com

www.site.com/

www.site.com

www.site.com/index.html

Redundant URL duplication SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

The solution… SEO

BA

SICS: D

UP

LICA

TE CO

NTEN

T

Canonical tag

Server-Side directs

@PolePositionMkg #SearchRankCC

Part III: How to Optimize Your Site in 90 Days

SEO DRIVING SCHOOL

Core Terms Are…

Core Terms Are Not…

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

Bag Sports bag School supplies Kids ski clothing Cost segmentation Battery Motorcycle battery Battery chargers Flowmeters Snowmobile clothing

Week

1 Core term research

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

Search volume •How often?

•Low volume = low results

Target Audience •Better conversions

•Better targeted = lower volume

Profit Margin •Better conversions

•Higher markup

•More demand

Meet Demand •Avoid driving

traffic where expected demand cannot be met

Week

2 Core term prioritization

Buy Blue Widgets

California Widgets

How to Use Widgets

Red Widget Review

Discount Widgets

Custom Widget Design

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

Week

3 Tag core terms to content

Title Tags

Week

4

1

H1 Tag 2

Meta Descriptions 3

Intro Paragraph 4

5-10 min per page Global tag optimization

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

Link & Navigation Structure

Document & Page Structure

URL & Site Structure

Week

5 Site structure (architecture)

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

6

Week

6

Yahoo

Business.com

BOTW

DMOZ

GoGuides

RubberStamped

JoeAnt Regional

Niche

Global Submit to directories

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

beauty supply

beauty supplies

discount beauty supply

natural beauty

supplies

beauty supply store

6

Week

7 Research key words

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

Shop

Buy Info

Research

• Looking for general information • Don’t know what they really want • Optimize on higher-level category pages and articles

• Have narrowed down to product type • Comparing features • Optimize on category

and comparison pages

• Have specific product in mind • Looking for trustworthy place to buy • Optimize on specific product pages

• Looking for education • How-To and other informational queries • Optimize on blogs and article pages

6

Week

8 Keyword segmentation

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

Priority 1 Pages

Content

Keyword Usage

Calls to Action

Titles

Headings

Link Building

Code

Description Tags

Code Bloat

Page Speed

Internal Linking

6

Week

9 Strategic optimization

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

Navigation

Scannability

Conversion Optimization

Shopping Cart

Calls to Action

6

Week

10 Correct usability issues

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

6

Week

11 Build links

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

The Pole Position Marketing Library

http://www.polepositionmarketing.com/library

6

Week

12 Keep making it better

SEO B

ASIC

S: 90

-DA

Y SEO P

LAN

@PolePositionMkg #SearchRankCC

Wrap up

SEO DRIVING SCHOOL

56% of online purchases happen down the road Todays Searcher is Tomorrows buyer

• As high as 77% for entertainment, 69% for home & garden

• 63% of searches result in OFFLINE purchases

• 88% for toys, 93% for video games, 65% for apparel

Buyers perform up to 10 times more searches Buyers are Searching

• 80% feel search is helpful for gift shopping

• 70% say it helped them make a purchase decision

• 60% say they will search the next time they buy

25% of searchers purchase “related” items Searchers are Buying

Source: ComScore Networks

Searchers are buying SEO

BA

SICS: C

ON

CLU

SION

Thank You! Next Up Keyword Tune-up

Find, organize and use keywords for effective inbound marketing