Given at the CIM East Digital Bootcamp to over 50 delegates as an introduction to SEO. This walks serves to look at the concepts behind getting Google to love your site and how you can help SEO become a part of your everyday business processes. Activities covered include link building, analytics, webmaster tools, online pr and outreach.
2. Ian Miller, Search Director at Crafted Media
Team of 15 across all search disciplines
Responsible for increasing visitors, & converting them
Wide range of clients across B2B & B2C industries
5. The UK internet economy is worth £100 billion.
Over 1 billion searches per day on Google alone
Google has over 91% market share in UK
Organic search results have around 3 times more clicks
than paid (AdWords)
Google has $43 billion in cash
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7.
8. “To organise the world’s
information and make it
universally accessible and
useful”
Google’s mission statement
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18. Improves the technical foundation of a site
Increases the authority and presence of a site against its
peers
Ensures the content is in line with the desired searcher’s
intent
Helps shape user experience for maximum response
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20. It follows things blindly, good or bad
If you feed it what it wants, it likes you
If you try and lie to it, it will probably find out
If you’re nicer to it, it prefers you to others
Popularity breeds popularity
The more information you give it, the more it looks for
Sometimes, it throws a tantrum
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22. What does a site look like to a search engine?
Can a search engine find all your pages?
Is there duplication e.g. non-www & www?
Can it see the content e.g. Flash?
Is authority being passed through the site properly?
How do you treat errors?
30. Highly visible
Influential in their sector
Mentioned outside of an anchor text link
Referenced against their peers
3rd party citations
Have brand advocates
31. Number and quality of links
Anchor text distribution
Brand mentions
Social media activity
PR coverage
Citations
Resource hubs
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33. Leverage all your contacts and ask:
o Suppliers
o Organisations
o Partners
o Charity work
o Customers
o Staff
34. Create your own links:
◦ Resource lists
◦ Niche directories
◦ Event listings
◦ Contact blogs/news sites in your sector
◦ Give away products for review and competitions
◦ Videos
◦ Screencasts and webinars
◦ Awards, ego-bait
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36. Install SEOmoz toolbar
Create master contact list
Contact someone on that list every day
Find common issues, work to fix them
Business process often at odds with SEO, integrate
39. What data do you own?
Scale is interesting – “World’s biggest…”
Effective PR is about the reader, not the source
Find communities and engage before you need them
Get a link!
◦ “brandname –site:brandname.com”
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42. Have a hub that people can point back to
◦ http://www.newsroom.hsbc.co.uk/
Social has many benefits, but for SEO it’s links and mentions
Use social to find contacts
◦ Followerwonk
◦ Simply Measured
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45. Ensure all company content is online
◦ Brochures
◦ Case studies
◦ News & PR
◦ Help files & FAQ’s
◦ Call centre notes
◦ Tacit knowledge
Create non-commercial content
Interlink, give people something else to see
Use this content as a basis for outreach
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47. Small surprises are best, do the unnecessary
Ask for feedback, push them to other review sites
Customer reviews on products or services
Keep in contact, be interested in them away from a
transaction
Consider if they have a website, ask for a link
Promote them, they’ll promote you
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49. Site structure is paramount
o If you want to rank for a keyword, what page justifies it?
Avoid “This is a...” use “This widgetomatic is a…”
Keywords come first – optimise page titles & H1s
Use words that are relevant to your searcher, not just your
industry
Good copy naturally includes keywords; avoid any “density”
metrics
Google keyword tool
Google Insights
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53. Consider wider goals than a sale, create a funnel
Make calls to action clear and obvious
Remove barriers for them
◦ Avoid unnecessary fields on contact forms
◦ Remember their details
◦ Follow up automatically
Prove it all in Analytics
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55. SEO is the long game
Expect incremental success
Embed it as part of the business process
Quick wins are often shallow
Prove results against additional value created, not always
final objectives
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57. 1. Be critical of your own site. Get registered with tools
2. Produce a content plan (and stick to it)
3. Create master contact list
4. Ensure SEO is considered as part of business process
5. Learn advanced search queries
6. Understand your competitors
7. Mobilise your customers
8. Make friends with the sales department
9. Define success and measure against it