5 Steps to Higher Google Rankings

@TravisLowSEO @Webmarketing123 #wm123

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SEO Fundamentals: 5 Steps to Higher Google Rankings

Mike Turner Senior SEO Strategist

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Travis Low General Manager


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Webinar Agenda

1 Understand How Google Ranks Websites Search results are generated algorithmically for each query, in real time

2 Keyword Selection Best Practices SEO tips for keyword mapping and page optimization

3 Benchmark Your Current Rankings You can’t track what you’re not measuring

4 Integrate Keywords into Your Website Including Metadata. You’ll also be seeking backlinks with keywords as anchor text

5 Remove Obstacles to Appearing in Search Results Implement Webmaster Tools and Google+ to take advantage of these free tools


There are 4 billion searches on Google every day.

@TravisLowSEO @Webmarketing123 #wm123 Source : Jupiter Research, 2010

If you aren’t on the 1st page, you are invisible to most searchers

Can Your Customers Find You?

@TravisLowSEO @Webmarketing123 #wm123 Official Google Blog

2/3 of the clicks go to the top 3 results

Can Your Customers Find You?


Step 1: Understand how

Google ranks websites


What We See

Allow Google To Recognize Your Keywords 1


What We See

What Google Sees

Allow Google To Recognize Your Keywords 1


Search bots identify your sites theme and relevance to queries Search Spiders Determine Your Visibility

Home Page

Category Level Page

Product Level Page1

Product Level Page2

Data Center

1


Crawling:

•  Discovering new and updated pages on the web

Search bots follow links to get from page to page How Do Search Spiders Crawl the Web?

1


Crawling:


Indexing:

•  Compiling data from crawls into data centers

1



Crawling:


Indexing:

•  Compiling data from crawls into data centers

Serving Results:

•  Based on relevancy •  Over 200 factors considered •  Content, keywords, links


1


Is Company.com’s website relevant to the searcher’s query?

Does the site have Authority? Does it have Quality Content?

How many other sites link back to Company.com?

Are there HTML errors or violations of Webmaster Guidelines?

1 How Does Google Determine Rankings?


How Does Google Determine Rankings? 1


Webinar Agenda







Step 2: Keyword Research


Optimize Your Keyword Selection 2


Select a mix of both “head match” and “long tail” keywords Optimize Your Keyword Selection

2



2



2


Investigate Google Insights to compare long-term trends: www.google.com/insights/search

Match Your Business to Current Trends

2


Investigate Google Insights to compare long-term trends: www.google.com/insights/search


2


Investigate Google Insights to compare long-term trends: www.thinkwithgoogle.com


2


•  Start with what’s working

•  Expand on your keywords: brainstorm and test variations for search volume & relevance

•  Have a mix of both head and “long-tail” terms

•  Hint: Don’t focus just on search volume

•  Google your proposed search terms to see if the sites ranking on page 1 are relevant to what your business offers

•  Look at search trends for your proposed keywords

Review: Choose the Right Keywords Keyword selection determines the course of your campaign

2


Webinar Agenda







Step 3: Benchmark your current rankings


“100” means not showing up on the first 10 pages of search results, each of which displays 10 websites

3


3


3


3


And in relation to your competitors


3


Webinar Agenda







Step 4: Integrate Keywords

into your website


Develop a “mapping” document that targets 3-5 keywords per page Map Targeted Keywords Page By Page

4


Develop Content Silos Consider your site’s thematic structure

•  Thematically Group Pages Around Keywords

•  Link Pages Within The Same Groups To Further Strengthen Theme of Website

•  Search Engine Spiders Can

See a Theme Across Your Site That Makes Sense

Mobile

Enterprise

SMB

Other Relevant Internal Pages

Mobile SMB Enterprise

4


•  Search engines learn what your site is about by reading your content

Weave Your Keywords Into Your Website 4


•  Search engines learn what your site is about by reading your content

•  Optimal site content will sound natural to readers but also include mentions of targeted keywords

Weave Your Keywords Into Your Website 4


Do: •  Since the most recent algorithm updates, this is no longer optional!

•  Write for your reader, not the writer!

•  Establish a natural, engaging tone of voice

•  Pay attention to grammar & errors (Google sees these as a sign of web-spam)

Develop naturally written, “non-spammy” content Write For Your Clients

4


Do: •  Since the most recent algorithm updates, this is no longer optional!

•  Write for your reader, not the writer!

•  Establish a natural, engaging tone of voice

•  Pay attention to grammar & errors (Google sees these as a sign of web-spam)

Don’t •  Try to trick search engines with manipulative tactics

•  Use Flash much (it frustrates folks on mobile devices!)

•  Don’t overuse your keywords: Read it out loud for a reality check

Develop naturally sounding, “non-spammy” content Write For Humans, not Search Robots

4


Integrate Keywords into the part of your website only Google

sees


The Key Elements:

Meta Content 4

1. URL

2. Page Title

3. Description


Facebook Groups: B2B Lead Gen

Keywords in the First or Second Position of the Page Title Have the Greatest Impact!

Include descriptive keywords and phrases in page titles Meta Content

4


Webinar Agenda







Step 5: Remove Obstacles

to Showing Up in Search Results


Step 1: Configure your Webmaster Tools 5


Step 1: Configure your Webmaster Tools

Check your Messages for “Unnatural Link Notices”

5



Check the status of your metadata

5



Create and Submit a Site Map

5


Have Storefronts? Use Google Places


Set up Google+ Use the Button Add a G+ Badge

Customize your +1 button and +snippet •  http://www.google.com/webmasters/+1/

button/

5


Filter out “branded” traffic

Measure the effectiveness of your SEO efforts Watch Your Organic Search Traffic


On-Page Changes

Link Building

Tracking Spider Crawls

Monitoring Visitor Analytic Data

Measuring Improvement in Rankings, Site

Engagement, and Lead Flow

On a monthly basis, on and off-page optimizations need to work in tandem to drive continued success. Rely on analytics to guide decision making.

Keep Up


•  Improving Your Google Ranking is Attainable: It takes painstaking, detailed work to optimize a website. Fortunately, your competitors may not have done it, either. Get ahead of them.

•  It’s all about the Keywords: Executing SEO correctly requires not just a brainstorming session but an ongoing commitment. Optimizing for a set of keywords requires relevant content, website structure and inbound links (we’ll talk about that in another webinar).

•  Write for Humans: The same factors that make a website compelling to the user now earn ranking power with Google.

Key Takeaways


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