My slides delivered at a Guardian masterclass February 2014. in London UK. It contains * What is SEO? * How does SEO work? * The evolution of search * The 3 big areas of search * 5 practical things you can do today.

1. for
by Adrian Land, Managing Partner, SESOME.

2. 1 hour to talk
about SEO

3. Why can I talk about SEO?
I have been doing SEO before it was called SEO. Starting off in the late 90’s, and
survived the dot-com bubble before driving ROI from natural search and other
channels for competitive companies in challenging verticals.
In Oct 2013, found my own agency SESOME.co.uk
Previous Roles Held
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Head of Inbound Marketing at My Destination.com
Head of SEO, for Thomas Cook Group
Global Director of SEO for Hotels.com
Head of Search for HomeAway Group Europe
Recent Speaking
He recently presented at a retail conference eTail Europe about the
evolution of SEO. To view http://bit.ly/etail-inbound
To find me:
@adrianland | adrianland.co.uk | sesome.co.uk

4. Itinerary
What is SEO, and why is it important?
How does SEO work?
The evolution of search
Recent changes to the search-scape
3 big areas of SEO
Platform
Reputation
Content
5 practical things you can do today
Questions and wrap up

5. Who has a website? Do you do any SEO?

6. What is SEO?
“The process of improving the volume and/or quality of traffic to a web
site or a web page via ‘natural’ or unpaid practices”
Personalised SERPs based on your search history, your open graph, your social media
interactions, thematically related search, ‘suggest’/’instant’, and now your other Google
products & services you use

7. >200 to >500 ranking factors*
* Depends on who is guessing

8. Why does that matter?
If you run a quality website
With unique, quality text
That has a following, is social and referred to
That is frequently updated
That has the information that users want
You should win
If you don’t, you won’t!

9. Why is it important?
• 65% of sessions online start with a search*
• Search is getting very specific
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Types: Websites, Images, Maps, Shopping, Blogs, Video, Places, Discussions, Academic, Patents etc.
Frequency: By hour, day, specific date, years
• Location: Given and implied
• Search isn’t just Google anymore. What about YouTube, Facebook etc.
• 3 types of keywords
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Brand / Navigational
Transactional
Informational
Keywords imply users intent and needs!
* Made that up – couldn’t find a reliable stat – but it is a lot!

10. How does SEO work?
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12. In a room like this

13. Evolution of search
But the mission of the engines is still to give the best, most relevant
results to their users And, our objectives are still the same
What has changed in Google?

14. Panda, Penguins and Hummingbirds
On site
Rewarded quality
content, code,
speed, engagement
Off site
Penalised ‘poor’
link profiles
Rewrite of the algo
NLP and sentiment.
Rewarded answers
and knowledge

15. Web/Link spam – was penalised

16. Using the whole search term…
OLD SEO: How do I rank for this keyword?
NEW SEO: How do I answer my users questions?
… and not just keywords
Plus, other clues to understand your query to
provide you the answer

17. It doesn’t have to like pulling teeth!

18. SEO is like a cake!
Match your big idea,
to a demand
Then make it happen:
• Platform / CMS
• Content
• Onsite optimisation
• Reputation building

19. Platform

20. How to choose the right platform? (and for SEO)
• Easy to setup / install /
easy to maintain
• Easy to configure &
customise
• Multi platform
ready/responsive design
• Plugins to aid speed
• Easy to use day-in-day-out!

21. Reputation

22. Link building is using the “wisdom of crowds”

23. Earning peoples attention, as opposed to borrowing/buying it
Brands and Innovators have an
unique advantage:
• High quality creative
• Quality & focused content
• Cutting edge
products/services
• Big data
• A brand that resonates and
is worthy of being talked
about

24. The evolution of link building
When a technique is overused and abused it
gets down weighted in the signals it gives
Over used and called out:
• Reciprocal link exchanges
• Buying old domains
• Easy directories
• Article submissions, content spinning
• Bought links
• Blogroll & footer links
• Bulk social bookmarking
• Guest blogging [for SEO-only approach]
• Blog commenting

25. Content

26. Strong content
• Make your content great
• Make it relevant and
engaging
• Quality – “panda questions”
• Gentle keyword usage
• Make it shareable
Types of Content
Tell a story, Interviews, Rants, Infographics, music, Case-study/research, What ifs,
Predictions, Stupid and Funny, Contests, Deals, News, Comparisons, Reviews, How to's,
Polls and surveys, Resource centres & Lists - digests

27. The “Panda” questions from Google
We, and the bots, want quality content – real content, not automated,
not duplicate nor “thin” content. Here are some questions from Google
to think about when planning your content. Our content team use this too
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Would you trust the information presented in this article?
Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in
nature?
Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with
slightly different keyword variations?
Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content
by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or
original analysis?
Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in
search results?

28. Continued…
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How much quality control is done on content?
Does the article describe both sides of a story?
Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread
across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention
or care?
Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the
main content?
Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

29. So, how are we doing?

30. 5 SEO things you can do today
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Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools
GA dashboards
Keyword Research
Content
Use that content to build relationships & links

31. Google.com/webmasters
• Verify your site & log in daily/weekly
• If you have any problems you will get a
message
• Health
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Check crawl errors, and fix
Crawl stats and improve
Fetch as Googlebot to test indexation of specific pages
• Traffic
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Search queries – what terms and their rank and CTR
Links to your site – see the latest inbound links
• Optimisation
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Sitemaps – check your indexation status for key pages

32. 5 SEO things you can do today
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Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools
Analytics & Insight using GA dashboards
Keyword Research
Content
Use that content to build relationships & links

33. Google.com/analytics
• Setup filters to show you different sections of your
site
• Set up multiple dashboards
• Automate their delivery by format and to whom
• Measure against objectives
• By entry pages, by referrer and keyword

34. 5 SEO things you can do today
1. Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools
2. GA dashboards
3. Keyword Research
4. Content
5. Use that content to build relationships &
links

35. Keyword research
• It is a science mixed with experience and common
sense – think LIKE a recipe where you customise to
taste
• 2 free tools
• Google insights
• Google keyword planner

36. Google Trends
http://www.google.com/trends/
Use to find trends over time.
Shows keywords, topics by
location
Can use for spelling e.g. Mallorca
or Majorca, Holiday versus
Vacation
Default is Worldwide
Can refine
Can focus by geography

37. Google keyword planning tool

38. 5 SEO things you can do today
1.
2.
3.
4.
Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools
GA dashboards
Keyword Research
Content
5. Use that content to build relationships &
links

39. Content calendar, for users and Pandas!

40. 5 SEO things you can do today
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2.
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5.
Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools
GA dashboards
Keyword Research
Content
Use that content to build relationships & links

41. Relationships and Link building
• Link building is still
important
• Links should be for Users
and SE’s alike
• Find sites and
communities and reach
out
Find sites
– known to you, through social, or adv
Google searches
Log their details
– Contact details OR twitter (private list)
OR Email
Identify and reach out as a local expert
– Understand their offering BEFORE you
contact
– Tweet them – you want to engage NOT
pitch
– Be honest
– Build a rapport and relationship with
them first
Then… and be discreet
– Share their posts
– Offer to write some original and
compelling content for them
– Offer information or education (if
appropriate)
– Tweet your content or imagery – keep it
personal
– Ask if you can meet up

42. A couple of quick & simple resources

43. Resources to get you going
2 resources for you to get going:
SEOMoz’s
SEO starter guide
http://mz.cm/115lSbT
Google’s
SEO starter guide
http://bit.ly/11CBhC1

44. Questions

45. Thank you
Adrian Land
Managing Partner
adrian@sesome.co.uk
@adrianland

46. for
In conjunction with
1st February 2014 by Adrian Land