Search Engine Optimization for Beginners
1 like861 views
This document provides an overview of search engine optimization (SEO) for beginners. It explains how search engines work through crawling websites, indexing content, searching for relevant information, and ranking results. Key factors for SEO success are discussed, including website architecture, on-page optimization, backlinks, and social media. The document promotes using SEO and inbound marketing strategies to attract organic traffic by creating and sharing valuable content.
More Related Content
Similar to Search Engine Optimization for Beginners (20)
Search Engine Optimization for Beginners
- 1. A Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization Josh Braaten
- 2. Who is Josh Braaten? Online Marketing Manager, Blogger & Founder Raised in the Great Rasmussen College BigPictureWeb.com State of Minnesota 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 2
- 3. SEO is Misunderstood • “SEO is black magic and/or witch craft.” • “SEO is a fraud. Everyone knows you just buy Google ads and you’ll rank higher.” • “Just take the rel canonical tag and point the page to the permanent URI on your root domain.” • “Get hundreds of links and rank #1 in a week!!!” 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 3
- 4. The Truth About SEO • Some aspects are technical, but it’s mostly common sense and/or intuitive • SEO isn’t evil, but it can be used that way • Mastering SEO takes time, resources, and excellent content on your website • Marketing investment, not advertising 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 4
- 5. Objectives • Learn how search engines operate • Identify the key factors involved in SEO • The difference between good and evil SEO • A mental framework for using SEO and inbound marketing 5 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential.
- 6. How Search Engines Work • Crawling • Indexing • Search • Relevancy • Search Results Crawl Index Search Relevance Results 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 6
- 7. Search Engines - Crawling • Spiders visit websites and “crawl” content they find • Spiders note new links found and crawl them too • Spiders report all content back to the index Crawl Index Search Relevance Results 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 7
- 8. Search Engines - Indexing • The Index is a mirrored copy of the entire web • Spiders work hard to keep the index fresh • Low quality & duplicate content don’t make it into the index. Crawl Index Search Relevance Results 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 8
- 9. Search Engines – Relevancy • How relevant is each page for a given search query? • Links, anchor text, site speed, keyword prominence & users drive algorithm • 200+ factors, 600+ tweaks to the main algorithm in 2009 Crawl Index Search Relevance Results 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 9
- 10. Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) • SERPs consist of query, retrieval, rankings & results • #1 result: ~18% of clicks • #2 result: ~10% of clicks • #3 results: ~7% of clicks • <1% on page two Crawl Index Search Relevance Results Source: http://bit.ly/ql10f1 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 10
- 11. How Search Engines Work • Crawling • Indexing • Search • Relevancy • Search Results Crawl Index Search Relevance Results 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 11
- 12. What’s Important in SEO? • Architecture • On-Page • Links • Social Media 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 12
- 13. SEO Architecture • Organized, “flat” site • Human-friendly URLs • Pages that spiders can read (i.e., not flash, iframes) • Build on your own domain 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 13
- 14. On-Page Keyword Research • Google AdWords Keyword Tool standard • Cast a wide net • Use the right words • Balance volume and competition • Keyword mapping 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 14
- 15. On-Page SEO Guidelines • Each page should target 1 or 2 keyword phrases • Small pages (<400 words): use keyword(s) 2-3x • Large pages (>400 words): use keyword(s) 4-6x • Page Titles should not exceed 65 characters • Keywords should be used first and last 100 words • Images, videos, and audio should be optimized, too • Keyword synonyms, partials and deviations are good 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 15
- 16. On-Page SEO Visualized Source: http://mz.cm/rorHV7 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 16
- 17. Links: Google’s Currency • Links are the cornerstone of the Google algorithm • A link from one site to another is a vote in the eyes of Google • Not all links are created equal 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 17
- 18. Links are Like Flight Patterns 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 18
- 19. Links: Google’s Currency • Authority: Is the linking page/site authoritative? (e.g., Wall Street Journal) • Relevant: Is the linking page/site relevant? (e.g., Regional/Industry sites) • Trust: .gov/.edu sites 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 19
- 20. Social Media and SEO • Social media increases reach of content • Search engines index much of social media • Social media also has relevance and authority • Soon: Likes and Links 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 20
- 21. What’s Important in SEO? • Architecture • On-Page • Links • Social Media 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 21
- 22. SEO Rankings Factors for 2011 2009 2011 Links decreased in importance by ~50% but still remain most important signal. On-page factors still very important as well. 2011 introduced more factors than ever before. 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 22
- 23. Good and Bad SEO • Excellent Content • Manipulated Links • Earned Links • “Spammy” Content • Earned Social Media • Purchased links is a gray area 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 23
- 24. SEO through Inbound Marketing Inbound Marketing: Earning new customers by gaining attention, trust and permission before the sale through the creation and sharing of engaging, entertaining and/or educational content. Graphic Source: SEOmoz - http://bit.ly/gM7OGb 24 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential.
- 25. The Principles of Inbound Marketing 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 25
- 26. The Principles of Inbound Marketing Identify – Find your online audience Listen – Understand how you can help Create – Publish what you know Share – Share content to solve problems Measure – Fine tune your progress 26 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential.
- 27. Identify Your Audience • Who is your ideal customer? • Search for resources, influencers and communities where your customers gather 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 27
- 28. Listen to Your Audience • Be quiet and listen • Understand what your customers need 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 28
- 29. Create Content Your Audience Loves • Publish to educate, engage and entertain • Publish content to build inbound equity 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 29
- 30. Share Content with Your Audience • Solving problems through sharing • Building relationships through solving problems 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 30
- 31. Measure Your Efforts • Online media is measurable • Identify and work towards goals 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 31
- 32. Inbound Marketing in Action Search social networks and the web for your audience and their needs Monitor social conversations to determine content needs of your audience Create optimized text, images, audio and video to solve problems Share content with audience & influencers via blog and social networks Measure impact of social media and blog content on business goals 32 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential.
- 33. Inbound Marketing Visualized Your Blog Your Website 8/16/2011 33
- 34. The Relative Costs of Marketing Source: Hubspot – http://bit.ly/fxzOLd 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 34
- 35. Small Business Boosted by Inbound “Social media helped consultant Deborah Dolan, owner of Senior Life Transitions, more than double her business last year. The key was using social media to establish herself as a credible resource -- a social authority -- on aging issues, through a blog, a new Advocate on Aging podcast and other social and search marketing efforts.” Source: Star Tribune - http://bit.ly/dR09bP 35
- 36. Additional Resources Rasmussen.edu/student-life/online-community/ Facebook.com/RasmussenOcala BigPictureWeb.com @JLBraaten 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 36
- 37. Internet Marketing Education 8/16/2011 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2010. Proprietary and Confidential. 37
- 38. Small Businesses: The Time is Now 8/16/2011 38