PubCon Austin 2018: Back to Our Technical Roots How do we align our technical SEO efforts with Google's goal of providing the best user experience?

1. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Back to Our Roots
With Technical SEO
STEPH A N IE WA LLA C E
Senior Director, SEO
Nebo

2. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
The Virtuous
Cycle of
SEO

3. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
SEOs started as
“Webmasters”.

4. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
But, there were
problems…

5. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
And frustrated
users.

6. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Google had to
evolve.

7. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
The role of an
SEO changed.

8. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
“SEO is Dead!”

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Enough said.

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Content is king!

11. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
They are wrong.

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Technical SEO
is paramount.

13. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Establish a
Baseline of
Technical
Skills

14. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Programming…
Is not the only way to be
technical.

15. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
You need to know
how things work

16. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Don’t be this guy
You need to know
how things work

17. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Do You Know How To:
ü Read HTML & Understand the Basics
ü Pull Data via APIs into Excel
ü Use Google Tag Manager
ü Effectively Use Crawl Tools
ü Evaluate Indexation

18. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Do You Know How To:
ü Read HTML & Understand the Basics
ü Pull Data via APIs into Excel
ü Use Google Tag Manager
ü Effectively Use Crawl Tools
ü Evaluate Indexation

19. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Do You Know How To:
ü Read HTML & Understand the Basics
ü Pull Data via APIs into Excel
ü Use Google Tag Manager
ü Effectively Use Crawl Tools
ü Evaluate Indexation

20. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Do You Know How To:
ü Read HTML & Understand the Basics
ü Pull Data via APIs into Excel
ü Use Google Tag Manager
ü Effectively Use Crawl Tools
ü Evaluate Indexation

21. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Do You Know How To:
ü Read HTML & Understand the Basics
ü Pull Data via APIs into Excel
ü Use Google Tag Manager
ü Effectively Use Crawl Tools
ü Evaluate Indexation

22. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Think:
What would
Google do?

23. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Provide a better user
experience.
Google wants to…

24. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
“Organize the world’s information
and make it universally accessible
and useful.”
Google’s Mission

25. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Consider SERP features.
So marketers need to…

26. Schema

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Schema annotates elements on a page making
them easier for search engines to understand. Schema

28. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Schema improves the way your pages are
displayed in search results with rich snippets. Schema

29. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Use Google’s Structured Data Markup
Helper to generate code. Schema

30. Content
Structure

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Featured snippets drive more total clicks,
increase brand awareness and provide more
SERP real estate.
Content Structure

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Dynamic ‘People Also Ask’ boxes are related
to featured snippets and can be used to
identify additional Direct Answer opportunities.
Content Structure

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Ensure your content not only provides the
best answer, but also matches the format of
the existing snippet for the target query.
Content Structure

34. Voice
Search

35. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Anticipate direct questions. Virtual Assistants
will often cite the source of a direct answer by
saying, “According to…”.
Voice Search

36. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Virtual Assistants respond to user needs, not
user searches. Leverage FAQ pages to
address natural, long-tail queries.
Voice Search

37. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Think mobile first.
So marketers need to…

38. Responsive
Design

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Google recommends responsive design
where content and markup is equivalent
across mobile and desktop.
Responsive Design

40. Accelerated
Mobile Pages
AMP

41. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Regular Page
www
Pubcon.com
Hosted AMP
Pubcon.com
AMP
Cached AMP
Pubcon.com
gstatic
How Accelerated Mobile Pages work.
AMP

42. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Pros:
• Increased traffic through
higher visibility
• Improved UX
• Higher CTR & engagement
metrics
• Up to 80% higher ad visibility
rates
AMP

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Cons:
• Can be very difficult to
implement
• Offers limited functionality
compared to the main site
AMP

44. Progressive
Web Apps
PWAs

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1
3
2

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Progressive Web Apps are user
experiences that have the reach
of the web.
They are reliable, fast, &
engaging.
Connectivity independent to
ensure PWAs work with low
quality or no connection.
PWAs

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Prioritize site speed.
So marketers need to…

48. PageSpeed
Insights

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Get actionable, detailed information on
what’s slowing your site down & how to
improve it.
PageSpeed Insights

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Using all of the data available,
prioritize implementation based on
overall impact.
PageSpeed Insights

51. Log File
Analyzer

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Your log files contain the only data that is
100% accurate in terms of how search
engines are crawling your site.
Log File Analyzer

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Upload your log files to uncover how
search engines are crawling & parsing
your site.
Log File Analyzer

54. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Verify search engine bots, identify crawled
URLs and analyze bot data & behavior. Log File Analyzer

55. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Always Think:
What would
Google do?

56. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Don’t be this guy
Remember.

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Push your tools.

58. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Be prepared to
execute it yourself.

59. @SWallaceSEO | #pubcon
Thank You!
Stephanie
Wallace
Senior Director of SEO
Nebo
@SWallaceSEO | #pubcon