1 REAL SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION WHAT THE SEO SALESMEN WON’T TELL YOU
2 INTRODUCTIONS A BIT ABOUT MIKENext slide is google trends – Great tool to see the popularity of a search term over a prolonged period of time and also show the predicted level of future searches. Let’s look first a the popularity of the search term mobile DJ
3 GOALS FOR TODAY GOAL 1 - ENABLE YOU TO WORK KNOWLEDGEABLY ON YOUR OWN SEO - EITHER BY YOURSELF, OR WITH 3 IN 1, OR WITH YOUR TRUSTED WEB DESIGNER GOAL 2 - LEARN ENOUGH ABOUT SEO IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS TO AVOID GETTING CONNED BY ANY COLD CALLS FROM SEO GUYS
4 AGENDA FOR TODAY LOOK AT THE ANATOMY OF A COUPLE OF GOOGLE RESULTS PAGES FOR A GENERAL SEARCH AND LOCAL SEARCH DISCUSS GOOGLE MAPS AND “GOOGLE MY BUSINESS” ? WHAT ARE “ADWORDS” OR “PAY PER CLICK” ? WHO SHOULD CONSIDER PAYING TO BE FOUND ON GOOGLE AND WHY GOOGLE AD GRANTS – WHAT IS THAT ? A THOROUGH , VERY IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION ABOUT KEYWORD RESEARCH AND THE SEO PROCESS ITSELF
5 UK SEARCH ENGINES - MARKET SHAREGOOGLE HAS THE LION’S SHARE OF THE UK SEARCH ENGINE MARKET – WE ARE GOING TO TAKE THAT AS READ, FOR TIME’S SAKE… ANY SEO STEPS TAKEN TO IMPROVE YOUR STATUS WITH GOOGLE WILL ALSO HELP YOUR POSITIONS ON YAHOO AND BING. IN THE UK, APPROX 95% OF ALL GOOGLE’S ORGANIC TRAFFIC COMES FROM CLICKS ON PAGE 1 – PUTTING IT ANOTHER WAY – LESS THAN 5% BOTHER TO LOOK AT PAGE 2 … Here is a slide that sums it up well … [ CLICK ]
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7 AND IT GETS WORSE … of that 95%, THE TOP 3 POSITIONS GET 60% OF ALL GOOGLE ORGANIC TRAFFIC - POSITIONS 6-10 GET LESS THAN 5% BUT DON’T DESPAIR - AS YOU WILL SEE NEXT ….. THAT 5% IS STILL A HELL OF A LOT OF ORGANIC TRAFFIC !!! LETS LOOK AT THE TRAFFIC FOR ONE OF MY SITES … IT’S A “B and b” LET’S HAVE A LOOK AT ONE OF MY WEBSITES
8 THE fir trees B & b IN BOVINGDON IN HERTS designed AND optimised by mikeI AM SHOWING YOU THIS, NOT BECAUSE IT IS A PRATICULARLY FANTASTIC SITE, IN FACT IT IS STARTING TO LOOK A LITTLE OLD FASHIONED … THE REASON I AM SHOWING YOU IS THAT BY USING THE TECHNIQUES THAT WE WILL DISCUSS TODAY, IT HAS BEEN IN THE BOTTOM HALF OF PAGE 1 OR AT THE TOP OF PAGE 2 OF GOOGLE FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS. USUALLY IT IS ON PAGE ONE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN POSITION 6 AND 10 LETS HAVE A LOOK [ CLICK ]
9 THE fir trees B & b IN BOVINGDON IN HERTS designed AND optimised by mikeI CHECKED LAST NIGHT AND IT WAS NUMBER 8 ON PAGE 1 SO HOW MANY VISITORS WOULD THAT SORT OF POSITION GENERATE ? YOU COULD USE GOOGLE ANALYTICS TO FIND OUT. I PREFER A SIMPLER FREE TOOL CALLED STATCOUNTER LETS HAVE A LOOK
10 THE fir trees B & b IN BOVINGDON IN HERTS designed AND optimised by mikeIN A BAD WEEK WE ARE LOOKING AT 160 PAGE VIEWS IN A GOOD WEEK IT IS NEARLY 600. THEY ARE DOING SO WELL THAT THEY HAVE BUILT AN EXTENSION WITH 3 EXTRA ROOMS AND THEY ARE STILL FULL NEARLY EVERY NIGHT. THEY ARE IN THE BOTTOM HALF OF PAGE ONE, WHICH GETS ONLY 5% OF GOOGLE’S ORGANIC TRAFFIC IMAGING HOW MUCH TRAFFIC BEING IN THE TOP 3 WOULD GENERATE.
11 ORGANIC TRAFFIC What IS organic TRAFFICORGANIC TRAFFIC What IS organic TRAFFIC ? LET’S GO ON LINE NOW AND LOOK AT A GENERAL SEARCH RESULTS PAGE FOR “HOLIDAYS IN TENERIFE”… AFTER THAT, A LOOK AT a LOCAL SEARCH for “jewellers in barking.”
12 ORGANIC SEARCHES HOLIDAYS IN TENERIFE JEWWELLERS IN BARKING AFTER THAT WE WILL LOOK AT GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
13 FOR A FREE MAP ENTRY USE “GOOGLE MY BUSINESS” COMPLETE EVERY SINGLE SECTION IN FULL AND START ENCOURAGING GOOD REVIEWS
14 Adwords – pros, cons, usesADWORDS IS ANOTHER WORD FOR “PAY PER CLICK” GOOD FOR HIGH VALUE / HIGH PROFIT ITEMS INSTANT, MEASURABLE RESULTS GOOD FOR TIME CRITICAL EVENTS LIKE A SALE SET A BUDGET – TARGET YOUR IDEAL CLIENT BY THEIR DEMOGRAPHICS SWITCH THEM ON & OFF ONLY OPTION IN HIGHLY COMPETITIVE BUSINESS SECTORS THEY CAN BE HIDEOUSLY EXPENSIVE – GET SOME TUITION BEFORE YOU START TAKE UP GOOGLE’S FREE STARTER OFFERS AND INVESTIGATE THE FANTASTIC DEALS AVAILABLE FOR CHARITIES WHAT PERCENTAGE ACTUALLY CLICK ON THE PAID ADVERTS ……… ?
15 How many people click google adsHow many people click google ads ? 40% of people WILL CLICK ONE OF THE 3 “PAID FOR” ADVERTS HOWEVER … 60% of searchers will ignore them completely and Click the top organic search result WHICH COST YOU NOTHING !
16 Established so far … YOU ONLY NEED TO TARGET GOOGLEAIM FOR PAGE ONE AND THE HIGHER UP, THE BETTER IF YOU ARE NOT ON GOOGLE MAPS, USE GOOGLE MY BUSINESS TO APPLY NOW BEFORE YOU START YOUR SEO CAMPAIGN. CONSIDER USING ADWORDS ONLY FOR VERY SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES AND GET SOME TUITION BEFORE YOU START TAKE UP GOOGLE’S FREE ADWORDS OFFERS AND IF YOU ARE A CHARITY, ACT RIGHT NOW TO GET FREE ADWORDS BEFORE GOOGLE CHANGES ITS MIND.
17 SHOULD I BOOK AN SEO GUY ? – NO – NOT YET!SEO GUYS COLD CALL AND PROMISE YOU THE EARTH. THEY ASK YOU TO CHOOSE WHAT PHRASE YOU WANT TO BE ON PAGE 1 FOR THEY STEER YOU TOWARDS AN EASY PHRASE THAT NOBODY IS SEARCHING FOR AND WON’T SAY HOW MANY MONTHLY SEARCHES THERE ARE FOR IT OR HOW MANY COMPETITORS ALSO TARGET THAT PHRASE. THEY TELL HUGE LIES AND EMPLOY SCARE TACTICS JUST TO GET YOUR MONEY. YOU PAY THEM A LARGE INTIAL FEE AND A RECURRING MONTHY SUBSCRIPTION – USUALLY YOU ARE TIED IN FOR A YEAR 3 MONTHS LATER YOU ARE SOMEWHERE ON PAGE 1 BUT HAVE NO MORE VISITORS. THEIR SOLUTION – SPEND MORE MONEY TO GET RANKED HIGHER MY SUGGESTION – LEARN SOME SEO - DO THE KEYWORD RESEARCH YOURSELF
18 Keyword RESEARCH – WHAT’S THAT ?FIRST THINGS FIRST - IT IS VITAL THAT YOU REALISE THAT SEO WORKS ON A PER PAGE BASIS - NOT PER SITE YOU CAN (AND SHOULD) OPTIMISE FOR AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT KEYWORD PHRASE ON EACH OF YOUR TARGETED WEB PAGES. YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A PHRASE NOT A WORD MOST PEOPLE START SEARCHING USING 3 OR 4 WORDS USUALLY THIS INCLUDES A PRODUCT OR SERVICE AND GENERAL LOCATION LIKE “LONDON” OR “HACKNEY” AND ADD A QUALIFYING WORD LIKE “BEST” OR “CHEAPEST”.
19 Keywords CONTINUED TODAY, GOOGLE IS FAR BETTER AT UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING PEOPLE’S NEEDS. SEARCH IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY “CONVERSATIONAL”. GOOGLE CALLS IT “CONTEXTUAL” OR SEMANTIC. ON MOBILE DEVICES YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO TYPE .JUST SAY TO GOOGLE “FIND ME A BED AND BREAKFAST IN BOVINGDON !!!” INVESTIGATE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE USING A COMMAND OR A QUESTION TO FIND WHAT THEY REQUIRE LETS LOOK AT ANSWERTHEPUBLIC and QUORA AFTER THAT WE WILL DISCUSS SOME KEYWORD STRATEGIES.
20 SEMANTIC SEARCH ANSWER THE PUBLIC QUORA
21 Keyword RESEARCH STRATEGY – stage 1YOU NEED A TRIED AND TESTED KEYWORD RESEARCH METHOD THAT WORKS - HERE IT IS … LOOOK AT THE PAGE YOU WANT TO OPTIMISE – TAKE 15 MINS TO WRITE DOWN ALL THE KEY PHRASES THAT YOU THINK PEOPLE MIGHT USE TO FIND IT – REPEAT THIS EXERCISE YOURSELF 7 DAYS LATER – DON’T LOOK AT YOUR INITIAL LIST. THEN ASK A FRIEND, A CO-WORKER AND A CUSTOMER TO ALSO SPEND 15 MINUTES ON THIS EXERCISE - DON’T GUIDE THEM OR SHARE THE LISTS YOU WILL BE AMAZED HOW DIFFERENT EVERYONE’S LIST IS - THEY ARE ALL ARE EQUALLY VALID.
22 Keyword RESEARCH STRATEGY – stage 2COLLECT EVERYONE’S LISTS OPEN A SPREADSHEET AND COPY ALL THE SUGGESTIONS INTO COLUMN ONE DELETE ANY DUPLICATES AND EXPAND THE LIST FURTHER AS MORE AND MORE SUGGESTIONS OCCUR TO YOU. YOU WILL NOW HAVE QUITE A LONG LIST THAT YOU HAVE COMPILED MANUALLY BUT HAVE NO IDEA HOW GOOD IT IS YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A NICHE KEYPHRASE AND BELIEVE ME, THESE ARE NOT EASY TO FIND BUT CAN BE A GOLDMINE WHEN YOU DO THE NEXT STEP IS TO START USING SOME SIMPLE FREE TOOLS TO HELP YOU REFINE IT AND EXPAND IT EVEN MORE
23 Keyword RESEARCH STRATEGY – STAGE 3 use some Free keyword research toolsGOOGLE AUTO SUGGEST https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
24 Free suggestion tool no 1 – GOOGLE AUTO SUGGEST – 100% UP TO DATE !
25 Free suggestion tool NO 2 www.google.co.uk/AdWordsYOU HAVE TO GIVE GOOGLE YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER TO USE THE TOOL YOU DON’T PAY ANYTHING THOUGH UNLESS YOU RUN AN ADWORDS CAMPAIGN. ADVANTAGE – YOU CAN GET AN IDEA OF THE NUMBER OF MONTHLY SEARCHES AND THE AMOUNT OF COMPETITION.
26 Keywords RESEARCH STRATEGY – STAGE 4 THE FINAL stageBY NOW YOU WILL HAVE COLLECTED AN ABSOLUTELY HUGE LIST OF POSSIBLE KEYWORDS YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A NICHE KEYPHRASES THAT WILL BE A GOLDMINE WHEN YOU FIND THEM THE FINAL PART IN MY SUGGESTED STRATEGY IS TO GET A 7 DAY FREE TRIAL TO WORDTRACKER – AN INDUSTRY STANDARD KEYWORD TOOLS TO SEE WHICH OF YOUR MANY PHRASES IS BEST CANCEL YOUR FREE TRIAL OR YOU WILL GET CHARGED
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28 WORDTRACKER - 7 DAY FREE TRIAL
29 1st STEP – ADD yours and EVERYONE else's SUGGESTIONS to the box in the middle
30 2nd STEP – USE the related keywords tool on the left FOR EVEN MORE INSPIRATION
31 3RD STEP – ADJUST THE SETTINGS ON THE RIGHT AND HIT SEARCH
32 Wordtracker – the initial results
33 Wordtracker – finding keyword niches
34 Keywords - What Next ? YOU NOW KNOW WHICH PHRASES ATTRACT A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF MONTHLY SEARCHES AND WHICH ONES WILL BE HOPELESS . PHRASES THAT HAVE A LOT OF COMPETITION CAN ALSO BE RULED OUT. GO THROUGH THE FIRST 4 OR 5 PAGES OF RESULTS YES, THAT IS AROUND 1250 KEYWORDS AND TICK ONES FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION. EXPORT THEM BACK TO AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET.
35 Keywords – DECIDE WHICH WORDS TO USE / REJECT
36 Wordtracker – REMEMBER !!!BE PATIENT. IT IS FRUSTRATING SPENDING A COUPLE OF WEEKS DOING KEYWORD RESEARCH BUT A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME SPENDING MONTHS OPTIMISING YOUR SITE FOR A PHRASE THAT TURNS OUT TO BE THE WRONG ONE. IF YOUR PRODUCT IS SEASONAL OR YOUR MARKET IS NOT THE UK, USE THE DROPDOWN MENU IN WORDTRACKER TO CHANGE THE DEFAULTS . FINALLY, BEFORE YOU INVEST A LOT OF TIME AND EXPENSE ON ANY PROJECT, SEARCH TO MAKE SURE THERE IS A STEADY OR INCREASING DEMAND IN YOUR TERRITORY FOR WHATEVER IT IS YOU ARE TRYING TO BRING TO MARKET.
37 Keywords - AM I DONE ? TIP – IF WORDTRACKER SUGGESTS A PHRASE RELATED TO YOUR BUSINESS WITH A LOT OF SEARCHES BUT YOU HAVE NOT HEARD OF IT – DON’T USE IT. IT PROBABLY MEANS SOMETHING ELSE IN ANOTHER INDUSTRY. IN OUR EXAMPLE “CANNIBAL CUPCAKES” IS A GLAMOUR MODEL AND “MOSHI CUPCAKES” IS A VIDEO GAME RUTHLESSLY GO THROUGH YOUR HUGE LIST, LINE BY LINE AND DELETE 90% - 95% OF YOUR KEYWORDS. YOU WILL PROBABLY NOW HAVE AROUND 20 – 30 LEFT THAT IS PERFECT FOR MOST SMALL BUSINESSES.
38 Keywords - YOU ARE ALMOST THERE !START A NEW EXCEL SPREADSHEET – LABEL COLUMN 1 “GENERAL” AND THEN ENTER THE NAMES OF EACH AND EVERY PAGE OF YOUR WEBSITE AS OTHER COLUMN HEADINGS. PUT YOUR FINAL LIST OF 20 OR S0 KEY PHRASES INTO COLUMN ONE, THEN, ONE AT A TIME, DRAG EACH OF YOUR KEYPHRASES INTO THE APPROPRIATE PAGE COLUMN. PUT YOUR BEST ONE FOR EACH PAGE AT THE VERY TOP OF THE COLUMN . LISTED BELOW THAT WILL THE SECONDARY PHRASE FOR THAT PAGE. MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO DUPLICATED WORDS IN YOUR TOP 2 KEY PHRASES
39 Keywords - YOU ARE ALMOST THERE !HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS PROCESS IT IS TAKEN FROM A MAGICIAN’S WEBSITE HE IS STRUGGLING TO GET THE PHRASES DOWN TO A MANAGEABLE NUMBER AND HAS DECIDED TO ADD SEVERAL MORE PAGES TO HIS WEBSITE DON’T FORGET ! YOU CAN AND SHOULD PICK DIFFERENT KEYWORDS FOR EACH PAGE YOU CAN OPTIMISE AS MANY PAGES AS YOU LIKE
40 Keywords – example of spreadsheet
41 SUMMARY TO DATE. HAVING ESTABLISHED THE MAIN AND SECONDARY KEYWORDS FOR EACH PAGE OF YOUR SITE, YOU CAN NOW START THE S.E.O. PROCESS IN EARNEST HURRAY !!! BEGIN WITH THE PAGES CONTAINING THE PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES, WHICH MAKE YOU THE MOST MONEY. YOU WILL HAVE MORE IMMEDIATE SUCCESS THAN IF YOU PICK YOUR HOME PAGE. WE WILL NEXT LOOK AT HOW LONG THE SEO PROCESS WILL REALISTICALLY TAKE …
42 how long does it take TO WORK ?THERE ARE MANY SEO FACTORS TO CONSIDER –YOU NEED TIME TO LEARN AND ASSIMILATE THE NECESSARY INFORMATION I CAN ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE YOU THAT 95% OF YOUR COMPETIORS ARE ABSOLUTELY CLUELESS ABOUT SEO. JUST BY ATTENDING THIS WORKSHOP, YOU HAVE A HUGE ADVANTAGE OVER THEM AT THIS POINT. DON’T WASTE THE OPPORTUNITY. THE NUMBER ONE S.E.O. FACTOR IS SIMPLY TO MAKE A START ON IT. SUCCESSFUL S.E.O. GUYS ARE THOSE WHO TAKE THE TROUBLE TO DO WHAT THE UNSUCCESSFUL ONES COULDN’T BE BOTHERED DOING.
43 YES, OK BUT how long Does IT TAKE ?TIME TAKEN VARIES ENORMOUSLY …. IF YOU ARE IN A REALLY COMPETITIVE MARKET SUCH AS TRAVEL , PAYDAY LOANS, INSURANCE, CONSTRUCTION, DATING, PLUMBING, IT IS GOING TO TAKE QUITE A WHILE . FOR THE AVERAGE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESS AND SOLE TRADER IF YOU DO EVERYTHING WE COVER TODAY, YOU WILL START TO SEE RESULTS WITHIN 4-6 WEEKS . THE COST WILL BE MINIMAL. IT WILL BE EVEN QUICKER, IF YOU ARE VERY ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOU ALREADY HAVE A SITE UP AND RUNNING WITH SOME PEOPLE LINKING TO IT. BEFORE YOU EVEN START., CHECK WHERE YOU RANK NOW FOR YOUR MAIN KEY PHRASE S. KEEP A NOTE OF YOUR IMPROVED RANKING EACH WEEK.
44 WHAT IS THE GOOGLE SANDBOX ?GOOGLE WANTS TO DELIVER THE BEST POSSIBLE SEARCH RESULTS AND GUARD AGAINST DODGY NEW SITES SO, DESIGN AND PUBLISH YOUR SITE YOU FOLLOW ALL MY HINTS AND TIPS AND YOUR BRAND NEW WEBSITE JUMPS FROM NOWHERE TO SOMEWHERE ON PAGES 2 or 3 NEXT WEEK HAS DROPPED TO PAGE 26 DON’T PANIC - THIS IS WHAT MOST OFTEN HAPPENS. KEEP CALM : CARRY ON OPTIMISING AND YOUR NEW SITE WILL GRADUALLY RISE AGAIN.
45 CRUCIAL GOOGLE FACTORSTHERE ARE ONLY “ESSENTIAL” FACTORS THERE ARE “VERY IMPORTANT” FACTORS THERE ARE “IMPORTANT” FACTORS THERE ARE ALSO “MODERATELY IMPORTANT” ONES PLUS “SLIGHTLY IMPORTANT” ONES “PARETO’S PRICIPLE “ OR THE 80/20 RULE APPLIES - SO, FOR TIME REASONS TODAY I WILL ONLY COVER THE TOP INFLUENCING FACTORS. I WILL SEND YOU THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AND YOU CAN VIEW THE REST AT YOUR LEISURE
46 Essential factor no 1 – YOUR page title
47 ESSENTIAL FACTOR NO 2 – BACKLINKSTHE NUMBER & QUALITY OF BACKLINKS POINTING TO YOUR SITE THIS IS A REALLY DIFFICULT SEO REQUIREMENT AND TOUGH TO “FIDDLE”, SO GOOGLE USES IT AS A STRONG SIGNAL THAT YOU HAVE A GREAT SITE LINKS SHOULD BE MAINLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY FROM SIMILAR SITES IN YOUR INDUSTRY, THE MORE AUTHORITATIVE THEY ARE THE BETTER. NEVER BUY LINKS OR ENTER ANY LINK EXCHANGE SCHEMES CONSIDER … LOCAL “ENTERPRISE CENTRES”, “CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE”, “INDUSTRY DIRECTORIES “, LOCAL AND NATIONAL BUSINESS DIRECTORIES, REVIEW SITES ETC GO FOR QUALITY NOT QUANTITY.
48 ESSENTIAL FACTOR NO 2 – BACKLINK IDEASYOU.USE TO DISCOVER THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF ALL THE EXISTING LINKS TO YOUR SITE. ENTER YOUR COMPETITOR’S SITES IN OPEN LINK PROFILER AND SEE WHO LINKS TO THEM ASK IF THOSE COMPANIES OR DIRECTORIES WILL LINK TO YOU. TRY FRIENDS’ SITES, EMPLOYEES, YOUR CUSTOMERS, YOUR SUPPLIERS, CLUBS TO WHICH YOU BELONG AND ANYONE YOU DO BUSINESS WITH. MAKE COMMENTS IN BLOGS AND FORUMS, ADDING YOUR PAGE URL BUT DO NOT OVERDO THAT STRATEGY OR YOU WILL GET BANNED. LINK TO YOUR SITE FROM ALL YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES. YOU CAN HAVE 3 LINKS FROM LINKEDIN ON YOUR PROFILE PAGE.
49 Find existing links for free on ww.openlinkrofiler.org
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53 ESSENTIAL FACTOR NO 3 – ANCHOR TEXTON SITES THAT LINK TO YOURS, THE PHRASE, WHICH ,WHEN CLICKED LEADS TO YOUR SITE, IS CALLED THE ANCHOR TEXT. THEY USED ALWAYS BE IN BLUE AND UNDERLINED BUT THAT STYLE IS LESS USED NOWADAYS. THIS ANCHOR TEXT SHOULD MOSTLY BUT NOT ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS CONTAIN YOUR KEY PHRASES. LINKING PATTERNS SHOULD LOOK “NATURAL” TO GOOGLE. SO DON’T OVERDO PERFECT LINKS WITH SPOT ON ANCHOR TEXT THAT MEANS YOU SOMETIMES LINK WITH THE WORDS “CLICK HERE” SOMETIMES WITH “MORE INFO” OR YOUR COMPANY NAME OR JUST YOUR WEB ADDRESS.
54 ESSENTIAL SEO FACTOR NO 4 - KEYWORDSUSE YOUR KEYWORDS IN YOUR PAGE NARRATIVE WE SPENT A LONG TIME DECIDING ON OUR KEYWORDS – THIS IS ANOTHER PLACE YOU NEED TO PUT THEM. TO BE FOUND FOR A CERTAIN KEY PHRASE, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ACTUALLY USE THAT PHRASE IN YOUR PAGE NARRATIVE. MORE IMPORTANTLY - ANY KEY WORDS OR PHRASES THAT YOU DO USE IN YOUR “PAGE TITLE” OR “META DESCRIPTION” MUST ALSO BE INCLUDED IN THAT PAGE’S NARRATIVE. PLEASE NOTE –YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO LIST YOUR META KEYWORDS IN THE CODE IN YOUR WEBSITE. BUT YOU COULD CHECK YOUR COMPETITORS SITES TO SEE IF THEY DO AND STEAL THEIR IDEAS.
55 ESSENTIAL SEO FACTOR NO 5 – NO OF WORDSTHE NO OF WORDS ON THE PAGES YOU ARE TRYING TO OPTIMISE. GOOGLE PUTS GREAT STORE BY THE WORDS IT FINDS ON YOUR WEB PAGES – IT IS FAR LESS CONCERNED WITH IMAGES, VIDEOS, COLOURS, FONTS ETC IT WILL COUNT THE NUMBER OF WORDS ON YOUR WEB PAGE AND COMPARE THAT TOTAL WITH THE NUMBER OF WORDS ON YOUR COMPETITORS SITES. IF THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF WORDS ON EACH PAGE OF THEIR SITE, YOU WON’T GET ANYWHERE IF THERE ARE ONLY A COUPLE OF DOZEN ON YOURS. MY GUIDELINES WOULD BE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM NO OF WORDS PER PAGE WORDS KEYWORD DENSITY – MAX WOULD BE 5% - THAT MEANS ONLY 15 OF YOUR 300 CAN BE YOUR MAIN CHOSEN KEYWORDS
56 VERY IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 1 - AGEWE HAVE ALREADY DISCUSSED HOW GOOGLE “PROTECTS” ITS INDEX BY PUTTING NEW SITES IN A “SANDBOX”. EVEN WHEN A SITE ENTERS THE GOOGLE CHART IT IS RARE TO FIND A BRAND NEW ONE AT THE TOP. OF THE CHARTS. UNFORTUNATELY, FOR MOST PEOPLE, THE AGE OF THE SITE IS ONE FACTOR THAT THEY CANNOT CONTROL - IT IS, WHAT IT IS !
57 VERY IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 2USE OF KEYWORDS IN LARGE HEADLINE TEXT IN THE SAME WAY THAT NEWSPAPERS PUT IMPORTANT INFO IN THE HEADLINES, GOOGLE WILL VIEW YOUR LARGE HEADERS AS EVIDENCE OF WHAT YOUR SITE IS ACTUALLY ABOUT. IF YOU WANT TO BE FOUND FOR CERTAIN KEYWORDS – PUT THEM IN YOUR LARGEST HEADINGS. DON’T PUT “WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE” LIKE THESE 917 MILLION SITES DID.
58 VERY IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 2
59 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 1– DOMAIN NAMEKEYWORDS IN YOUR DOMAIN NAME IT MAKES SENSE (BOTH TO GOOGLE AND TO YOUR CUSTOMERS) THAT YOUR DOMAIN NAME SHOULD INCLUDE THE PHRASE FOR WHICH YOU WANT TO BE FOUND. SO IF YOU ARE “SMITH AND SON LTD” AND YOU ARE A LOCKSMITH IN ISLINGTON, IT IS FAR ,FAR BETTER TO PICK THE DOMAIN THAN ONLY A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, INCLUDING YOUR KEYWORDS IN THE DOMAIN NAME WAS ENOUGH TO GET YOU TO No 1. THAT IS NO LONGER TRUE BUT IT IS STILL WORTH DOING FOR REASONS WHICH ARE PROBABLY NOW MORE OBVIOUS TO YOU THAN BEFORE.
60 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 2 – PAGE NAMEUSING KEYWORDS IN YOUR PAGE NAME WE HAVE JUST SEEN WHY YOU COULD “SAY WHAT YOU DO” AND “SAY WHERE YOU DO IT” IN YOUR DOMAIN NAME. YOU CAN EXTEND THIS IDEA FURTHER AND USE YOUR BEST KEYWORDS IN YOUR PAGE NAMES
61 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 3 – SOCIAL MEDIAMENTIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA. THIS SEO FACTOR IS QUICKLY GROWING IN IMPORTANCE - THE MORE MENTIONS / LIKES ETC THAT YOU GET THE BETTER. USE SOCIAL MEDIA LOGO BUTTONS IN LOTS OF PLACES ON YOUR SITE TO MAKE IT REALLY EASY TO SHARE CONTENT FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ARE THE OBVIOUS ONES TO GO FOR BUT DON’T FORGET GOOGLE PLUS INSTAGRAM AND SNAPCHAT AND PINTEREST.
62 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 3 – SOCIAL MEDIAMAKE SURE YOU LINK YOUR SITE TO YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND VICE-VERSA - HAVE A CONTINUITY OF DESIGN.MAKE YOUR CONTENT FRESH AND INTERESTING AND EASY FOR PEOPLE TO SHARE. GRADUALLY IMPROVE ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR SITE TO DELIVER A ”PHENOMINAL USER EXPERIENCE” TO YOUR VISITORS. WRITE CONTENT FOR THEM, NOT FOR GOOGLE ! USE THE SKYSCRAPER TECHNIQUE LIKE WIKIPEDIA – USE BUZZ SUMO TO FIND WHAT IS CURRENTLY POPULAR IN YOUR FIELD AND BLOG ABOUT IT. MAKE YOUR SITE A “HUB OF USEFUL INFO” WITH THE BEST ALL ROUND INFO ON YOUR TOPIC - NOT ALL ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE SELLING.
63 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 4 – SPEEDMOBILE BROWSING IS QUICKLY OVERTAKING SURFING ON THE PC. HOW FAST YOUR HOSTING SERVER RUNS IS BECOMING FAR MORE IMPORTANT . THIS IS NOT BEYOND YOUR CONTROL . DO NOT TO USE THE FREE HOSTING THAT CAME WITH THE BASIC WEBSITE DESIGN PROGRAM YOU GOT FOR £1.49. PAY A FEW POUNDS PER YEAR TO HOST YOUR SITE WITH A REPUTABLE FIRM.
64 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 4 – SPEEDTHE SECOND THING YOU CAN DO IS THIS YOU, OR YOUR WEBMASTER, CAN DOWNLOAD A GREAT FREE PROGRAM CALLED SCREAMING FROG . HERE YOU CAN CHECK FOR A RANGE OF FACTORS THAT SERIOUSLY SLOW DOWN LOADING SPEEDS … “BROKEN LINKS” AND FLASH INTROS “EXCESSIVELY LARGE IMAGE FILES” “HUGE INTERNAL JAVASCRIPT AND CSS FILES” SCREAMING FROG WILL TELL YOU IN SECONDS HOW LONG EACH PAGE ON YOUR SITE TAKES TO LOAD..
65 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 4–SPEED- SCREAMING FROG
66 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 4 – SPEEDCREATE A FAST-LOADING, MOBILE VERSION OF YOUR SITE , HAVE GOOD NAVIGATION AND CLEAR TEXT THAT YOU CAN READ WITHOUT RESIZING , SQUINTING AND SCROLLING. IF YOUR MOBILE SITE IS RUBBISH AND LOADS SLOWLY, PEOPLE WILL LEAVE, EVEN IF YOU ARE NO 1 IN GOOGLE. WHAT A WASTE OF EFFORT THAT WOULD BE !!!
67 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 4 – SPEEDAND FINALLY ON THE SUBJECT OF SPEED - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE WEB MONITORING PROGRAM AT IF YOU ARE USING A FREE WEB HOST, YOUR SITE QUITE OFTEN BE TOTALLY OFF-LINE, NOT JUST LOADING SLOWLY. YOU WILL BE BLISSFULLY IGNORANT OF THAT FACT UNTIL A CUSTOMER RINGS AND TELLS YOU. YOU COULD BE LOSING BUSINESS FOR DAYS ON END. THIS SITE WILL YOU THE SECOND THEY DETECT A PROBLEM.
68 IMPORTANT FACTOR NO 5 – MOBILE FRIENDLYON EXACTLY TUESDAY 21ST APRIL 2016, MOBILE-FRIENDLINESS STARTED TO COUNT AS A RANKING FACTOR IN GOOGLE’S SEARCH ALGORITHM. NON-MOBILE FRIENDLY SITES ARE CONSISTANTLY RANKED LOWER IN MOBILE SEARCH RESULTS GOOGLE IS AGAIN CHANGING THE RULES RE MOBILE FRIENDLINESS – AN ANNOUNCEMENT IS COMING ANY TIME RE WHAT IT INCLUDES.
69 MOBILE FRIENDLY – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW(A) THE BEST WAY TO BE MOBILE-FRIENDLY IS TO HAVE A RESPONSIVE SITE. THAT IS ONE WHOSE CONTENT IS DESIGNED TO MORPH TO FIT THE DEVICE ON WHICH IT IS BEING VIEWED. (B) YOU CAN CHECK WITH THE TOOLS ON https://varvy.com/mobile/ (C) https://varvy.com HAS A WEALTH OF OTHER GREAT TOOLS AND ADVICE RE SEO
70 IMPORTANT FACTOR NO 6 – DWELL TIME“DWELL TIME” IS THE VERY LATEST “IMPORTANT” FACTOR FOR SEO. SO MAKE YOUR SITE “UNIQUELY VALUABLE” TO VISITORS OR THEY WON’T STAY VERY LONG. MAKE SURE THAT YOU ADD STICKY CONTENT LIKE SHORT VIDEOS TO IMPORTANT PAGES REMEMBER TO WRITE YOUR NARRATIVE IN ”Wii FM” – WHICH STANDS FOR “What’s In It For Me ?” AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, REMOVE THE WORDS “I” AND “WE” FROM YOUR NARRATIVE – REPLACE WITH “YOU” AND “YOUR”. CONCENTRATE ON YOUR CUSTOMER’S PROBLEMS AND SAY HOW YOU WOULD SOLVE THEM – THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THEMSELVES, NOT YOUR FIRM’S HISTORY, PERSONNEL AND ACHIEVEMENTS !!!
71 IMPORTANT FACTOR NO 6 – DWELL TIMESTILL NOT SURE WHAT TO INCLUDE ? ANSWER … LOOK AT YOUR COMPETITORS’ SITES - ESPECIALLY THEIR “FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS”. GET INSPIRATION FROM SITES IN OTHER ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES, NOT THAT GUY DOWN THE ROAD HAVE YOU GOT A FAQ ON YOUR SITE? FAQ PAGES ARE GREAT PAGES TO OPTIMISE AS THEY CONTAIN A TON OF HIGHLY RELEVANT TEXT AND KEYWORDS. DOES YOUR SITE ADEQUATELY ADDRESS THE QUESTIONS COVERED BY YOUR COMPETITION? COULD YOU DO BETTER? SKYSCRAPER … .
72 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 7 – SUB HEADINGSPUT YOUR KEYWORDS IN SUB-HEADINGS LARGE HEADINGS RATE AS A VERY IMPORTANT S.E.O. FACTOR. SMALLER SUB-HEADINGS
TO
ALSO NEED TO BE ADDRESSED BUT THEY ONLY RANK AS “IMPORTANT” AS FAR AS GOOGLE IS CONCERNED.
73 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 8 - IMAGES“ALT TEXT” IS THE DESCRIPTION YOU ALLOCATE TO AN IMAGE THAT ENABLES SCREEN READERS TO TELL BLIND PEOPLE WHAT THE PICTURE IS ABOUT. SOME KEY WORDS IN THIS “ALT TEXT” AND IT WILL MARGINALLY HELP YOU TO BE FOUND. DON’T OVERDO IT !!! FOR EXAMPLE YOUR ALT EXT JSAY “CHEAP EMERGENCY LOCKSMITH OPENING SAFE IN ISLINGTON LONDON” IN A SIMILAR VEIN, RENAME ALL PICS ON A WEBSITE TO MAKE THE NAME DESCRIPTIVE – E.G.CALL THE IMAGE “EMERGENCY-LOCKSMITH- SAFES-ISLINGTON.JPG “ AND NOT “DAVEINBARCLAYSBANK4.jpg” REMEMBER ALSO TO CORRECTLY #TAG THE IMAGE IN ITS PROPERTIES
74 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 8 - IMAGES
75 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 9– DOMAIN EXTENTIONGO FOR WHAT IS CALLED A “TOP LEVEL DOMAIN” THIS IS OFTEN SIMPLY CALLED A “T.L.D.” IN THIS COUNTRY THAT IS DOT CO DOT UK or DOT COM. THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON HOW GOOGLE VIEWS ALL THE NEW DOMAIN EXTENSIONS, LIKE DOT LONDON, DOT GURU, DOT SERVICES ETC. FOR SEO PURPOSES, JUST STICK TO WHAT WE KNOW WORKS FOR SURE.
76 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR NO 10 – BOLD TEXTENBOLDENING OR ITALICISING KEYWORDS WILL VERY MARGINALLY HELP YOU GET FOUND FOR THEM. DO NOT OVERDO IT FOR EVERY 100 WORDS OF NARRATIVE, NEVER ENBOLDEN OR ITALICISE MORE THAN 5 WORDS IF THEY ARE KEYWORDS. YOUR WEBMASTER WILL NEED TO USE THE NEWER AND HTML TAGS FOR THIS NOT
77 IMPORTANT SEO FACTOR no 11 – VISITORSGOOGLE RECORDS THE NUMBER OF VISITORS TO YOUR SITE. THE MORE YOU GET, AND THE LONGER THEY DWELL ON YOUR SITE, THE MORE YOU WILL BE PUSHED UP THE RANKINGS. QUOTE YOUR DOMAIN NAME IN ALL YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS.BE ESPECIALLY ACTIVE ON GOOGLE PLUS . BUT DON’T FORGET FACEBOOK. TWITTER AND PINTEREST. USE STATCOUNTER.COM OR GOOGLE WEBMASTER TOOLS TO TRACK YOUR VISITORS TO EACH PAGE OF YOUR SITE. MONITOR RESULTS REGULARLY TO TRACK YOUR IMPROVEMENTS.
78 RE-CAP / SUMMARY WE HAVE NOW COVERED ALL THE MAIN SEO FACTORS THAT WILL GREATLY IMPROVE YOUR GOOGLE RANKINGS. CONCENTRATE ON THESE, PARTICULARLY YOUR PAGE TITLE AND GETTING QUALITY LINKS TO YOUR SITE. THE 2 FACTORS WHICH FOLLOW … META DESCRIPTIONS AND SITE STRUCTURE SHOULD ALSO BE LOOKED. THEY ARE EASY TO DO AND WILL HELP YOUR VISITORS – THEY WON’T HAVE A HUGELY BENIFICIAL EFFECT ON YOUR SEARCH ENGINE RANKING POSITIONS …
79 Moderately important SEO FACTORSTHERE ARE ACTUALLY 6 “MODERATELY IMPORTANT” SEO FACTORS, BUT APPLYING PERATO’S PRINCIPLE, ONLY 2 ARE ACTUALLY WORTH WORRYING ABOUT. THESE ARE META DESCRIPTIONS 2. HOW MANY CLICKS DOES IT TAKE TO REACH IMPORTANT INFO ON YOUR SITE.
80 Moderately important SEO FACTOR NO 1 META DESCRIPTIONTHE “META DESCRIPTON” IS A SHORTISH SENTENCE, IDEALLY BETWEEN 150 AND 160 CHARACTERS THAT APPEARS UNDER YOUR WEBSITE NAME IN THE GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS – SEE NEXT SLIDE. IT MUST HAVE PERFECT GRAMMAR, MAKE IT INFORMATIVE, INCLUDE BOTH A “CALL TO ACTION” AND OF COURSE YOUR MAIN KEY PHRASE AND YOUR LOCATION. THIS DESCRIPTION IS YOUR MAIN “SHOP WINDOW” – MAKE IT AS ATTRACTIVE AS POSSIBLE.
81 Moderately important SEO FACTOR NO 1 META DESCRIPTION
82 Moderately important SEO FACTOR NO 1 META DESCRIPTION
83 Moderately important SEO FACTOR NO 2IMPORTANT PAGES NEED TO GO AT THE TOP OF THE TREE OR PAGE HIERARCHY. FOR EFFECTIVE S.E.O., TRY TO DESIGN YOUR SITE STRUCTURE SO IT IS FLAT, NOT DEEP.
84 SLIGHTLY important SEO FACTORS IN 2017READABILITY CORRECT CODING USING YOUR KEYWORDS IN THE FIRST SENTENCE
85 SLIGHTLY important SEO FACTOR NO 1 - READABILITYUNLESS A SITE IS OF A VERY TECHNICAL NATURE , OR TARGETS ANOTHER GEOGRAPHICAL REGION IT SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN CLEAR, CONCISE, UNCOMPLICATED, CORRECT ENGLISH. GOOGLE USES THE FLESCH – KINCAID READABILITY TEST. HINT – IF YOUR SITE FAILS THIS READABILITY TEST, RE-WRITE THE NARRATIVE WITH SHORTER WORDS . USE LESS THAN 4 SYLLABLES PER WORD, SHORTER SENTENCES AND PERFECT PUNCTUATION, ESPECIALLY CAPITALISATION AVOID ALL SLANG, TEXT-SPEAK AND THE PASSIVE VOICE.
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87 SLIGHTLY important SEO FACTOR NO 2 - CODINGBOTH THE HTML , THAT’S THE “HYPER TEXT MARK UP LANGUAGE” AND THE CSS I.E. THE “CASCADING STYLE SHEETS” SHOULD BE PERFECTLY CODED BY YOUR WEB DESIGNER. IN S.E.O TERMS. FRANKLY, THIS BARELY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. MY ADVICE AS A WEB DESIGNER IS “GET IT RIGHT”. HOWEVER. MY ADVICE AS AN SEO GUY IS – IF IT LOOKS OK AND WORKS OK AND YOU LIKE IT THEN IGNORE THE CODING ERRORS. DON’T WASTE TIME CHECKING IT AND ARGUING WITH THE WEB DESIGNER – INSTEAD, GO FIND SOME GREAT SITES WITH WEBMASTERS THAT ARE WILLING TO LINK TO YOU.
88 SLIGHTLY important SEO FACTOR NO 3 – 1st sentenceUSING YOUR “KEYWORDS IN THE FIRST SENTENCE” AGAIN THIS IS ONLY “SLIGHTLY IMPORTANT” – MOST OF THE TIME, WHAT IS RECOGNISED BY GOOGLE AS YOUR “FIRST SENTENCE” WOULD PROBABLY BE A MENU ITEM, RATHER THAN WHAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD CALL A PROPER FIRST SENTENCE. BUT IF YOU CAN INCLUDE KEY WORDS IN THE FIRST LINE OF YOUR NARRATIVE, IT WILL USUALLY GIVE YOU A MARGINAL SEO ADVANTAGE. UNFORTUNATELY, ONLY AN EXPENSIVE S.E.O. PROGRAM OR A PROFESSIONAL SEO GUY COULD TELL YOU WHAT GOOGLE REGARDS AS A FIRST SENTENCE. - SO DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT UNDULY.
89 SPECIAL OFFER TO ATTENDEESMEET MIKE LOCALLY FOR ¾ HOUR FOR A FREE NO OBLIGATION DISCUSSION RE THE SEO FOR YOUR OWN SITE.