SEO - The What, Why, and How

SEO

Search Engine Optimization

The What, Why, and How

Contents

• What is SEO?• Why Search Matters• How Search Engines Work• SEO Process• SEO Metrics• Q&A

What is SEO?

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization, or, SEO, is the active practice of optimizing a web site by improving

technical, structural, on-page, and off-page elements to increase the traffic the site receives from search

engines.

What is SEO?

• Search Engine Optimization is the process of strategic placement of targeted keywords in an effort to maximize search engine ranking placement (SERP).

• The purpose of SEO is to ensure a Web site is properly indexed by the search engines.

• SEO is an evolutionary process of continual updates in an effort to achieve maximum result placement.

• Search Engines are the second most popular Internet activity, and quickly gaining ground on the number one activity, e-mail.

• Consumers trust Search Engines, seeing them as fair, unbiased providers of information beyond all other research tools.

Why Does Search Matter?

Why Does Search Matter?

• Traffic

• Visibility

• Trust

Why Search Matters: Traffic

• Unless you have brand recognition or a large budget, search is the most cost effective medium to drive traffic to a website

• Some of our clients see between 60% and 70% of their total traffic come from search

• Others are much lower, with only 5%

Why Search Matters: Visibility

• Top 3 listings on search engine results pgs account for approximately 63% of all clicks

• First place result gets 4 times the amount of traffic of the second

• Everybody wants to be #1



Why Search Matters: Trust

• People trust search engines

• They believe search results show relevant, factual information

• 80% use search engines to gather information on a product or service prior to purchasing online

• 78% use search engines to compare prices online

• 76% use search engines to gather information on a product or service prior to purchasing in-store

Source: MediaPost, 2010

How Search Engines Work


• Search engines use “spiders” (aka. Robots, Bots, Crawlers), which are basically automated Web surfers.

• Spiders systematically browse the Web, indexing the contents on each page they visit.

• Spiders follow hyperlinks in their pursuit of information.


• Content must create thematic relevancy, which not only relies on a comprehensive site architecture but also robust, well-written content.

• Spiders store a copy of everything they find in the Search Engine Index, or database of web content.

• Search Engines query the index and apply a unique, complex algorithm to deliver the most relevant results to each user query.


• Content – On-Page assets like copy, images & video

• Site Architecture – Domain, Hosting, URL, Navigation, Page Hierarchy, Design, Usability

• Links – Internal & External

Three Pillars of SEO

How Search Engines WorkThree Pillars of SEO


• Copy is relevant to searchers intent

• Accurate title tags, H1 tags, and META descriptions

• Images are search-friendly, following proper naming conventions and utilizing ALT attributes

• Flash and other non-readable media formats like audio and video are transcribed

Three Pillars of SEO: Content

How Search Engines WorkH1 Tags

H1 tag

How Search Engines WorkTitle Tag

Title tag


• Navigation is properly labeled and easy to use

• Hierarchy is flat, meaning there aren’t 8 levels of directories present

• URLs are easy to understand, contain keywords when appropriate, and are consistent

Three Pillars of SEO: Site Architecture


• Search engines view a link as a “vote of confidence”

• The higher quantity (and quality) number of links a page relevant to the query has, the more likely it will rank

• Industry sentiment puts the importance of links in relation to all SEO ranking elements at 60%

Three Pillars of SEO: Links

Our SEO Process

Fullhouse SEO Process

• SEO Audit & Recommendations

• Keyword Research

• Content Reorganization

• Keyword Mapping

• Implementation & Link Building

• Reporting & Analysis

Fullhouse SEO Process

Always starts with an audit

Our SEO Process

• Starting with an audit allows us to know what we need to spend extra time on

• Keyword research is client & industry specific

• Reorganize content for maximum search visibility

• Map keywords to new and existing pages

• Implement recommendations & build links

• Report on metrics that matter

Metrics That Matter

Metrics That Matter

• Quantitative metrics like number of unique visitors, percentage of traffic coming from search, and % of return visitors are useless without a way to measure behavior

• Qualitative metrics like bounce rate, time on site, and average pageviews per visitor provide a better overall picture of web traffic performance

• We can easily dismiss a traffic source that only drives 10% of total visits, but if that same source also produces 70% of all conversions then we need to pay attention

Metrics That Matter

• Visits by non-paid keywords, filtered for branded, trademarked, and copyrighted terms show us how visible a page is in search engines

• Visits, time spend on page, and bounce rate segmented by entry pages gives us a better understanding of how qualified our search visitors are

• Number of conversions or goal completions give us a good look at how likely search traffic is willing to convert

Metrics That Matter

Boring…

Metrics That Matter

That’s what I’m talking about!

Metrics That Matter

Bottom Line

Make sure your metrics have meaning!

Questions?

Thank You!

SEO - The What, Why, and How

Self Improvement