Building Archives Websites That Google Will Love

Jeanne Kramer-Smythhttp://www.SpellboundBlog.com

SAA2010 Washington, DCAugust 14, 2010

Wikimedia Commons: Spider Monkey’s use of the prehensile tail

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Wikimedia Commons: Home Sweet Home Project Gutenberg

World War II or World War 2?

Keyword research can show you how people actually search – official vs popular version.Google Insight into Search:

world war 2

world war ii

Site Organization

Site Organization

Flickr Commons: Candy Box from Yeshiva University Museum

Page Construction

• Unique page title, less than 65 characters• Clear primary keyword target phrase• One URL per page• Unique meta description, less than 164

characters• Content rich text• Images have alt text

Analytics

• Where did they come from?

• When and why do they leave?

• Where am I on a Google SERP?

Analytics

• Where did they come from?Traffic Sources & Keywords

• When and why do they leave?Bounce Rates & Exit Pages

• Where am I on a Google SERP?Google Webmaster Tools

Next Steps for YOU!

• Look at sites that rank higher than you do• Check out your Analytics• Bake SEO into your web site design discussions• Follow some SEO blogs (RSS is your friend!)

– SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog– SEO Book– Search Engine Land– Google Webmaster Central

Questions?

Jeanne Kramer-Smythhttp://www.spellboundblog.com

@spellboundblog