SEO 101

Basic high-level intro to SEO for people and businesses not familiar with the concept, or just getting started in the web space.

1. SEO 101 THE 411 ON WYNTK (what you need to know)
2. What is SEO?
3. SEO is NOT Magic
4. “Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's ‘natural,’ or un-paid search results.” – Wikipedia
5. 3 Building Blocks of SEO CONTENT CONSTRUCTION COMMUNITY
6. Construction How is your site built?
7. CONSTRUCTION Web Best Practices: Building your site so search engines (and your visitors) can easily read it and figure out what it is about
8. CONSTRUCTION • Loads quickly • Descriptive page titles and URLs • HTML text (not images or Flash) • Includes an XML sitemap • SEO-friendly site platform
9. Content What is your message?
10. CONTENT Content is the most important part of your website, and the most important part of modern SEO But often, people spend the least amount of time on this
11. CONTENT • Relevant • Use of keywords • Frequent updates • Not redundant • Good user experience
12. Content & Your Brand What are you saying, and to whom are you saying it?
13. CONTENT & YOUR BRAND Know your audience. Who is visiting? Who do you WANT to visit? Know yourself. What are your goals? Online sales, new readers, building awareness, store visits?
14. CONTENT & YOUR BRAND • Your location • Your demographics • Your competition • Your unique value • RESEARCH!
15. Keywords How will people find you?
16. KEYWORDS Keywords are the search terms that people use to find information online General, specific, locations, questions, etc.
17. KEYWORDS • Suited to your business • Commonly used for similar content • Can be customized per page • Realistically localized • Used frequently (but not excessively) in your content
18. Community Who is talking about you?
19. COMMUNITY Just like building a strong network in real life, referrals are everything
20. COMMUNITY • Links from outside sources • Guest contributions to other sites • Social media presence • Industry-specific site presence • Real-world referrals
21. COMMUNITY Google Local/Google Places for Business
22. Personalized Search How does the individual user experience affect search results?
23. PERSONALIZED SEARCH Search results are affected by… • Your Geographic Location • Your Social Networks • Your Past Activity • Your Friends’ Activity No two people will have the same search results anymore
24. TOOLS & RESOURCES • Check your website load speed tools.pingdomcom/fpt • SEO insight and other sweet business tips SEOMoz.org/blog • The SEO Content Beginner’s Guide http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/01/17/seo- content-beginners-guide • Google SEO Starter Guide (PDF) http://bit.ly/d29DIe
25. Questions? Michelle Schulp michelle@marktimemedia.com