How to Create and Organize Content for SEO

Page 1Confidential Material

Please do not reproduce or distribute without the permission of WordStream Inc.

HOW TO ORGANIZE & CREATE CONTENT FOR SEO

April 21, 2010Ken LyonsSenior Online Acquisition Marketing Manager



Agenda

Learn how search engines (i.e. Google) decide whether or not to send you traffic

Learn how to structure your site so you’re more likely to drive lots of relevant traffic

Learn how to structure your content to attract precisely the right type of traffic for each page on your Website

Learn how to find all of these great keywords that you need to be targeting via site structure and on-page content



What Google Likes

If someone looks for “venture capital” Google wants to find a page that:– Is about “venture capital” – The page

needs to strategically mention the key phrase “venture capital” on the page

– Is a popular definition of “venture capital” - Other trusted pages link to this page as a good definition for venture capital



Which Site Deserves More Credit from Search Engines?

Your Page

Your Competitors’

Page

A

C

D

E

B

F

Linking Pages…

Who They Link To…

More & Better Links = More Trust by Google

Lots of high quality links, even links from your own site, tell Google that a page is important.



How Relevant is a Page for the Targeted Keywords?

Author web content that is...

Specifically themed around narrow subjectsIncludes long-tail keyword variations in the page copyOrganize content with relevant intelligent information architecture!



How to Structure Your Site

Identify a portfolio of keywords to target

Match the importance of a page within your site with the competitiveness and popularity of a keyword you target

Create a “pyramid” of keyword targeting



Pyramid of Keyword Targeting

Home Page: Competitive, High Traffic

Keyword TargetHigh Level Pages:

Mid-Level Competition & Traffic Keyword

Targets

Lots of Pages: Low Competition & Traffic

Keyword Targets



Inverse Pyramid: Where Your Link Juice Lives

Home Page (Lots of Link Equity)

2nd Level Page (Less Link

Equity)

Deeper Pages

(Relatively Little Link

Equity)



Real World Examples of Keyword Targets

Very Competitive Keyword - Venture Capital

Mid-Competition Keywords – - Raising Venture Capital, Venture Capital Blog, etc.

Low Competition Keywords – building a venture capital pitch deck, venture capital seed round, etc.

Home Page (1 Page)

Top Level Pages (~5 pages)

Lower Level Pages (Multiple Topical Pages)



How to Target these Keywords Page-By-Page

How do we target keywords on a page? Select 5-10 closely related keywords, and use them within the page’s:

1. Page Titles2. Description Meta Tag3. URL structure4. Site Navigation5. Anchor Text6. Heading Tags7. Image Alt Attributions

These elements are all from Google’s own SEO starter guide: http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf



#1 - Optimizing Title Tags

Title tags (#1 above) tell the main focus of your page – be sure to include your target keyword. Read more here: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2009/08/05/seo-title-tag-formulas

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2009/08/05/seo-title-tag-formulas



#2 - Optimizing Meta Description

Meta Descriptions (#2 above) serve as your “search engine results page (SERP) advertisement” – use the space to sell your page to searchers, and speak directly to their interest/search query. Resource: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2009/11/19/meta-description-mutiny

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2009/11/19/meta-description-mutiny

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2009/11/19/meta-description-mutiny



#3 – URL Structure

URLs (#3 above) and file names – try to keep clean URLs and file names with keywords .



#4 – Site Navigation or Information Architecture (“IA”)

See earlier slides – create a Google-friendly site structure

Use keyword-rich text in linking through your information architecture (bread crumbs, navigation menus, etc.)



#5 – Anchor Text

Anchor Text – The text that is linked to bring the visitor to a new page. The bolded portion here is anchor text: <a href=“http://www.venturefundingsite.com”>venture capital</a>.



#6 – Heading Tags

Heading Tags – “Headlines” within your body copy. Represented by h1, h2, h3, etc. “tags” and manifested as below:



#7 – Alt Attributes

Alt Attributes – These provide text that serves as an alternative to an image, so that certain browsers and screen readers – as well as Google – can tell something about an image from a text description.



Keyword Research – Finding the Keywords to Put on the Pages

So how do you determine which keywords to target on all of these pages and through this Google-friendly site structure?

Leverage Keyword Tools:– Search Based Keyword Tool: (http://www.google.com/sktool)– Google Trends: (http://www.google.com/trends) – Alexa Search Analytics (http://www.alexa.com/)– Compete.com – Keyword Spy (http://www.keywordspy.com/)– SEM Rush (http://www.semrush.com/)– SpyFu (http://spyfu.com/)– WordStream (http://www.wordstream.com/)– Many More…

http://www.google.com/sktool

http://www.google.com/trends

http://www.alexa.com/

http://www.keywordspy.com/

http://www.semrush.com/

http://spyfu.com/

http://www.wordstream.com/



Keyword Research – Finding the Keywords to Put on the Pages

WordStream for SEO offers dynamic information architecture tools and integrated content authoring tools so that you can create site structures and content that Google will love.



Learn More – Site Structure & Content Optimization for SEO

Thanks for Joining Us! Here are some resources you may be interested in:

SEO Best Practices White Paper: http://www.wordstream.com/seo-white-paper

WordStream for SEO Free Trial: https://www.wordstream.com/seo-free-trial

http://www.wordstream.com/seo-white-paper

http://www.wordstream.com/seo-white-paper

https://www.wordstream.com/seo-free-trial

https://www.wordstream.com/seo-free-trial

Technology

How to Create and Organize Content for SEO