SEO According to Google

An On-Page Optimization Presentation

By Rachel Halfhill

Lead Copywriter at CDI

• Overview

• Keywords

• Page Titles

• URLs

• Descriptions

• Heading Tags

• Anchor Text

• Alt Text

• Resources and Conclusions

Agenda

2

1. Covers each topic

2. Provides examples

3. And follows up with Google's BKMs

Goal: By the end of this presentation, you should know the on-page elements, and Google's recommendations for optimization.

Disclaimer: These are based on Google's guidelines and recommendations, not Intel policies for search engine optimization.

• Important On-Page Elements

• Unique page titles accurately announce content.

• Readable URLs and file names denote structure.

• Descriptions explain or summarize page content.

• Heading tags break up page content into digestible chunks.

• Anchor text and alt text describe images and links for visitors and search bots.

Optimize for the Visitor

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Google provides some guidance on what it thinks is most important for search engine optimization (SEO), to encourage the best user experience.

Google actively punishes SEO tactics that are intended to deceive search engines or visitors. Google can reduce relevance or ban a site or entire domains from appearing in search results.

Tactics include:

• Automatically generated content

• Cloaking

• Hidden text or links

• Scraped content

• Loading pages with irrelevant keywords (keyword spamming)

Avoid Deceptive Tactics

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To help explain on-page optimization, I'm using an example called "My Dog Is Best Dog" at www.mydogisbestdog.com (not a real link).

• Page content is focused towards entertainment.

• My target audience? Dog lovers.

• My specific webpage for the following examples:

• An article on how my dog dances for treats.

Example Website

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Google does not use keyword metadata fields. Instead, the search bots look for a consistent theme and pull keywords from your content. Having a single keyword in mind for the metadata helps focus your writing, and can prevent you from forcing too many topics into one page.

• Make use of the Keyword Tool from Google Adwords

• The Keyword Tool provides • Search Volume

• Competition Level (Paid Searches)

• Keyword Variations

• Use a good mix throughout your content, but pick one to optimize metadata.

Find the Right Keywords

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Which search terms will visitors use to find a web page?

Example: Create a Keyword

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• Start by listing any combinations, variations, etc. to describe the page.

• Best dancing dog, my dog dances, watch dog dancing, dog dances for

treats, how to train your dog to dance, dancing dog

• Use a Google Adwords to find what is most likely to be searched for.

• Narrow down further to what best fits the content.

• Select the most appropriate and searched terms.

• “Dog dances for treats”

• Bad Examples: Using all the keywords! Using keywords with millions of

hits but little relevance, such as “dog” or “dance”.

Page/SEO Titles are the

quickest way to tell search

engines and users what the

page is about.

• Each page should have a

unique title.

• Search results display page

titles, and Google highlights

parts that match a query.

• Include a keyword that you

expect people to use when

searching for your content.

Unique, Accurate Page Titles

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Paid

Searches

Keyword

highlighted!

Even when it's

not exact!

Related

suggestions

What should I call my new product page?

Example: Create a Page Title

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Good SEO Title: My Dog Dances for Treats

• This title may attract visitors searching for “dog dances” or “dances for treats” as well.

• It tells searchers what the page is about, and helps them decide if your page is what they are looking for.

Bad SEO Title: My Dog or My Awesome Dog is the Best Dog in the World

• The first option is too vague, and it doesn't say anything about the product.

• The second is too generic for the pages while repeating some words while

being vague about what the page is about.

Google’s Best Practices: Page Titles

Relevant

• Do: Choose a title that

effectively and

accurately

communicates the topic

of the page's content.

• Don't: Choose a title

that has no relation to

the content on the

page.

• Don't: Use default or

vague titles: "Untitled"

or "New Page 1."

Unique

• Do: Create unique titles

for each page. It helps

Google know how the

page is distinct from

others on your site.

• Don't: Use a single title

for each page or for a

large group of pages.

Short

• Do: Create short AND

informative titles.

Google does have a

character limit (66) and

will truncate the title

after this.

• Don't: Use extremely

lengthy titles that are

unhelpful to users.

• Don't: Stuff unneeded

keywords into titles.

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Simple, descriptive categories and file names keep your site

organized and improve search engine crawling.

• Descriptive URLs are more user-friendly and make it easier

to remember and link to your content.

Understandable URLs

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…\pix\DCS00097%date

=7%8%2015%small

…\pictures\mydog\d

og-dances-for-treats

Q: Which would you open?

What makes a good URL?

Example: Create a Page URL

Good:

www.mydogisbestdog.com/why/dog-dances-for-treats

Nodes inform about the site structure

Includes the same keywords from the page title

Bad:

www.mydogisbestdog.com/dog/best/why/dance/1

Too many nodes that don't help organize site structure

Does not use keywords in filename

Google’s Best Practices: URLs

Relevant

• Do: Create URLs with

words relevant to the

page content and a

friendly structure.

• Don't: Use lengthy URLs

with unnecessary

parameters and session

IDs.

• Don't: Create generic

page names like

"page1.html".

• Don't: Use excessive

keywords in the URL.

Organized

• Do: Create a directory

structure that organizes

content well, preferably

with an indication of the

type of content found at

that URL.

• Don't: Have deep

nesting of subdirectories

like

"…/dir1/dir2/dir3/dir4/

dir5/dir6/page.html".

• Don't: Create directory

names that have no

relation to the content

in them.

One URL to One Page

• Do: Create only one

version of a URL to

reach a document. Use

301 redirects or

canonical URLs to clean

up content accessible

through multiple URLs.

• Don't: Have pages from

subdomains and root

directory access the

same content.

• Don't: Use odd

capitalization of URLs.

Keep it lower case and

users will remember

them better.

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• Google displays either the relevant portion of your page that matches a search or your description, with search words highlighted.

• Google's Content Analysis and Sitemap Tool (Webmaster Tools) can help summarize a page.

• Learn how to improve search snippets with meta descriptions from the Google Blogs.

Descriptions Written for Searchers

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Good descriptions summarize what the page is about and

convince searchers to view your page.

What makes a good description?

Example: Create a Description

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5

Good

SEO Description: Because my dog dances for treats, he’s one of the best dogs ever:

see why with this collection of photos and a video of him performing the trick.

Includes the keyword, explains why it’s on the site, and what you can

find on the page.

Bad

SEO Description: Watch this dog dance for treats, this dancing dog is the best dog who will do anything for treats.

Repetitive, repeats the wrong keywords. Imagine it paired with a bad title!

Fails to say anything else about the page.

Google’s Best Practices: Descriptions

Relevant

• Do: Write an informative, interesting

description to help users evaluate

your page in a search result.

• Don't: Write descriptions that have no

relation to the page content.

• Don't: Use generic descriptions like

"This is a web page" or "Page about

baseball cards."

• Don't: Fill descriptions with only

keywords.

• Don't: Copy and paste the entire page

content into the description.

Unique

• Do: Write unique descriptions for each

page in your site. Your site may have

several pages relevant to a search,

and users will want to know the

difference between them.

• Don't: Use a single description across

every page or large groups of pages on

your site.

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• Heading tags separate blocks of text into

different topics.

• Users can quickly find the content they are

looking for on a page.

• H1 may be used for determining relevancy

of a page.

Add Structure with Heading Tags

Use the h1 and other headers to present the page structure to

visitors and search bots.

For when re-using the title isn't enough…

Example: Create a Heading

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Good

H1: Reason 3: dances for treats

H2: This dog will do anything for treats

Includes related keywords

Introduces page content and themes

Bad

H1: Best dog ever, this dog is the best, dancing dog

Keyword stuffing

Fails to set up the page content it introduces.

Google’s Best Practices: Heading Tags

Sort and Define

• Do: Pull out main points and sub

points of the content and decide

where to use the heading tags

appropriately, like an outline.

• Don't: Place text in heading tags that

doesn't define the page structure.

• Don't: Use heading tags where

formatting tags are more appropriate.

• Don't: Erratically move from one

heading tag size to another.

Make Sense

• Do: Use headings only where it makes

sense. Too many make it harder for

the user to scan content and find new

topics.

• Don't: Use excessive heading tags.

• Don't: Put all the text into a heading

tag.

• Don't: Use heading tags for style, they

should be used for structure.

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Tip: If you have too many heading tags and topics, create a new page to

break up the different topics.

• Descriptive text is better than a long

filename string.

• Using a keyword in the anchor text can

help build relevancy.

• Having a long stream of keywords looks

spammy, so keep anchor text relevant

and helpful.

Relevant Anchor Text

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Anchor text should tell users and search engines what the

page is linking to, and links to your page should do the same.

How would you link to a page?

Example: Write Anchor Text

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Good

Anchor Text: "Find out why my dog is the best."

Anchor Text: "Learn more about how to train your dog to dance."

Anchor Text: “This dog expert has some great advice on training with treats."

Bad

Anchor Text: "Find out more."

Google’s Best Practices: Anchor Text

Informative

• Do: Write anchor text that provides a

basic idea of what the linked page is

about.

• Don't: Write generic anchor text like

"page," "article," or "click here."

• Don't: Use off-topic or irrelevant text.

• Don't: Use the URL as the anchor text

unless you are promoting or

referencing a web site's address, i.e.,

"www.intel.com".

Short

• Do: Keep anchor text short but

descriptive, usually a few words or a

short phrase.

• Don't: Write a lengthy sentence or

short paragraph of text for the anchor

text.

Visible • Do: Make anchor text distinguishable

from regular text, so users won't miss

the links or accidentally click on

them.

• Don't: Use CSS or text styling that

makes links look like regular text.

Quality

• Do: Write good anchor text for

internal links as well. It will help

Google and users navigate your site

better.

• Don't: Use excessively keyword-filled

or lengthy anchor text just for search

engines.

• Don't: Create unnecessary links that

don't help with your site’s navigation.

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• Optimizing image filenames and "Alt"

text improves image searching and can

add to a page's relevance.

• "Alt" text appears when an image

can't, such as for:

– Javascript issues or image loading issues

– Screen readers that describe images for

the disabled

Image "Alt" Text

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Example: Man worries

about sick computer

because its images

won't load.

Search engines use "Alt" text to determine if images are

relevant to a topic. Google Crawler can't read the text in

images, including links, and relies on "Alt" attributes to read

the text.

Google’s Best Practices: "Alt" Text

Descriptive

• Do: Create short but descriptive "alt"

text for images.

• Don't: Use generic file names like

"image1.jpg," "pic.gif," "1.jpg."

• Don't: Write extremely lengthy file

names.

• Don't: Stuff keywords into "alt" text or

copy and paste entire sentences.

Link Properly

• Do: Fill out "alt" text for images when

you use them as a link. It helps

Google.

• Don't: Write excessively long "alt" text

that could be considered spammy.

• Don't: Use only image links for site

navigation. The Google crawler can't

read the text in images.

Google Resources

Google's How Search Works – Explains how Google updates search algorithms, search steps,

"spam" page identification, why sites are removed from search results, and how to get a

reconsideration.

Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide – Explains in great detail how Google uses

keywords to validate content.

Google's Webmaster Tools – Includes Webmaster FAQ, Guidelines, Site Health check, and more

help for Webmasters looking to improve web crawling and ranking of their site.

Google Analytics – Get insight into how users reach your site, find the most popular content,

and measure the impact of optimizations.

Google Website Optimizer – Run experiments to find what changes produce the best visitor

conversion rates.

Google's Content Analysis and Sitemap Tool – Can help summarize what a page is about.

Google Blog: Improve Snippets with Meta Description – Blog entry on how to improve snippets.

Google Blog: Google Does Not Use the Keywords Meta Tag in Web Ranking - Explains why

Google stopped using the keyword meta tag.

Or watch Google's Search Friendly Development video!

Conclusions

Key Points

• SEO should support the searcher.

• Don't spam, mislead, or engage in other dishonest tactics.

• Short, meaningful, and clear titles and descriptions speak for themselves.

• Anticipate the needs of visitors to your site, and better visibility in searches will follow!

Questions? Ideas?

• Are there any topics you want to know more about?