The mystical world of SEOWhy you should forget about everything you’ve been told about SEO
Presented by Andrew Allfrey Luciid Online Marketing
27th September 2012
Topics for Today
• SEO - Legend and Myth
• Do it Right ... First Things First
• What Google Wants ... and Doesn’t Want
• On Page & Off Page Factors
• Conducting An SEO Audit
• Launching A New Site?
• Case Studies & Questions
“Either write something worth reading or
do something worth writing about”
Benjamin Franklin
SEO Legend & Myth
The 3 Key Elements
First Things First
• SEO is an integral part of any web design project
• Google Loves Speedy Websites. Go for the best possible spec.
• Google is your friend !! ... Create a Google A/C and sign up for Webmaster Tools and Analytics.
• Make your life easier … use a Search Friendly CMS such as Drupal, Joomla or Wordpress
What Google Wants
• A site it can read and understand
• Unique original content that’ll be interesting to visitors
• A fresh site that is regularly updated
• A “responsive” site that everyone can access from anywhere
• Links from industry relevant, reputable websites
What Google Doesn’t Want
• Websites it can’t read
• Sites that have loads of pages with little content
• Sites that have lots of duplicate content
• Over optimised sites
• Selling links
• Links in from dodgy websites
On Page Factors
• Site Structure (User & Search Friendly URL’s)
• Content (Avoid Duplicate Content)
• Page Titles (Unique, Relevant - Very Important)
• Meta Descriptions (Doesn’t effect Ranking per-se but can improve CTR)
• Headings and Page Structure
• Internal Linking - (Link to the most important pages in your site)
Off Page Factors
• Links from Reputable Sites
• Social Media & SEO - Google+
• Directories – Don’t Bother
The SEO Audit
• Google Analytics & Webmaster Tools – (Indexability, Duplicate Content etc. HTML recommendations)
• Gap Analysis? (Where do you currently rank compared to where you want to rank? What should be the focus?)
• Get To Know Your Visitors (Personas, Search Habits?)
• Carry Out Keyword Research
• Sense Check your Site Structure & Content
• How are you measuring success?
Launching A New Site
• SEO should be one of the first steps in any new site redesign
• Carry Out Keyword & Competitor Research
• Is this the optimum site structure?
• Content Strategy
• SEO Style Guide
• Site Migration Plan
What Makes My Site Different?
Resources• Mat Cutts Videos on YouTube• Google’s “Beginners Guide to SEO”• Google Webmaster’s & Analytics Blog• Search Engine Watch• Search Engine Land• Smart Insights & eConsultancy
Any Questions?