1. SEO Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Presented by Nate Dame
Founder/President, SEOperks

2. Agenda
• Panda and Penguin updates
• Link building - what works today & forever
• Google’s new Disavow Tool
• Social Media & Content Marketing
• Next steps

3. Overview: The Panda Updates

4. Panda Update Explained

5. Penguin Update
Watch the SEOperks blog for more about Penguin.

6. Today’s SEO Landscape
Panda: Focus on user experience.
Penguin: Don’t break the rules.

7. Pitfall #1: Questionable Link Building

8. Real Links

9. Link Building the Right Way
• Do meaningful stuff
• Build authentic relationships (new and old)
• PR (both ways)

10. How Links are Earned
No Yes

11. BREAKING NEWS: Disavow Tool

12. Pitfall #2: Thin Content

13. Answer, Please?!?

14. Impact of a Content Buildout

15. Deep Content Example

16. Deep Content Example

17. Content: Where to Start
Create Content That:
• Addresses your industry’s pain points.
• Informs your niche’s “buyer” keywords.
• Focuses on real people.
Stalk your competitors for ideas, too.
Next:
• Link bait campaigns.
• Broader Content Marketing.

18. Pitfall #3: On-site Manipulation

19. Pitfall #4: Rely on Social Media for the
Wrong Things
Link Building
(42% total)
Social Media
(7% total)
Source: SEOmoz’s Search Ranking Factors
http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors

20. Use Social Media to Earn Links!
More fun: http://www.bitrebels.com/social/how-social-media-is-making-us-awkward-
infographic/

21. From http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/social-media-is-making-
us-awkward--some-graphs/2012/06/26/gJQAL0ZT4V_blog.html

22. From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/social-media-is-making-
us-awkward--some-graphs/2012/06/26/gJQAL0ZT4V_blog.html

23. Don’t Forget Google+

24. Pitfall #5: Ignore Content Marketing

25. Content Marketing at it’s Best

26. Pitfall #6: Cheap SEO

27. Pitfall #7: Stop Learning

28. So What Now?

29. Identify SEO Goals
Where are we going?
• Who is your target customer?
• What “buyer” keyword are they using?
• What “research” keywords are they using?
• What are the steps in our sales funnel?
• What are the steps we can measure on our
website (lead form, Add to Cart button, etc.)?
• What reporting methods are we using?

30. On-site SEO (technical)
Do search engines see my site?
• Is your site accessible to search engines?
• Is your site easy for search engines to navigate?
• Is your site performance an issue?
• Duplicate content: Do search engines don’t see
your site “doubled”? (surprisingly common)
• Etc.

31. Content Strategy Foundations
Content is the foundation.
• Do you have helpful, resourceful and
informative content on your website for your
target keywords?
• Is your content user focused?
• Is your content strategy fresh - frequently
updated?
• Do you have an active social media presence?

32. User Experience
Does my site convert?
• Is your site structure and layout designed with real
people in mind first, search engines second?
• Does your site have a modern, uncluttered design?
• Does your site have a trustworthy look and layout?
• Does your site generate leads and sales?
• Have I identified and addressed the drop points in my
conversion funnel?

33. Content Marketing Strategy
Does my content strategy pull my marketing, sales and
SEO together for maximum return?
• Have you identified your industries pain points?
• Have you developed deep content to address those
pain points?
• Is your content strategy coordinated with your sales
and marketing funnel to increase leads and close sales?
• Does your content strategy have the potential to go
viral?
• Is your content received favorably and spread
throughout relevant social networks?

34. Link Building
Is my site earning links?
• Have you established realistic link building goals?
• Have you identified your target partners?
• Do you monitor your target link partner’s websites for
linking opportunities?
• Have you setup Google Alerts to identify new linking
opportunities?
• Do you have an outreach strategy integrated with your
editorial calendar to maximize new link opportunities?
• Is your outreach team equipped with the research, tracking
and reporting tools they need?

35. Questions to ask your SEO company.
• What is your approach to link building?
Listen for words that you want to hear such as “natural link
development,” “content strategy / content marketing,” and above
all “relational link building.”
• How does SEO fit in the bigger picture of online marketing?
SEO is inseparable from practically every aspect of online marketing
and is even impacted by offline marketing. Be concerned if they say
that SEO can work effectively as a siloed approach, or if they don’t
need any coordination with you to be effective.
• Can you promise me #1 rankings for my priority keywords?
This is a trick question. You want to hear “no” because no SEO
company can guarantee those results.

36. Questions?
Like us! www.facebook.com/seoperks
Nate Dame (@seonate)
Founder / President
nate@seoperks.com
(312) 870-0056
Peter Ryan
Director of Sales
peter.ryan@seoperks.com
(262) 894-6360