SEO: Search Engine Op/miza/onIs that just wri/ng spammy stuff or
code for the search bots?
Monique SherreAmonique@boxcarmarke/ng.com
SEO Facts & Myths
Tell me what you’ve heard…
SEO Facts & Myths
So this SEO copywriter walks into a bar, grill, pub, public house, Irish bar, bartender, drinks, beer,
wine, liquor
Don’t be that guy
Things You Should Know About Search
(and therefore SEO)
SEO is CDO
“Content Discovery Op/miza/on” Jesse McDougall of Catalyst Webworks, TOC
Social Cues External Cues On-‐page Cues
Computers Are Dumb
The Seman/c Web
The Seman/c Web describes the rela/onships between things (like A is a part of B and Y is a member of Z)
————— Search EnginesPre-‐2008
How Search Works
Search Bots Try to Mimic HumansSocial Cues• Stars• Reviews• Image, Video• Social sharing
+1’dShared byTweets
• Site is crawlable• No duplicate content
Origina/ng source?
• Incoming links# of linksAnchor textQuality/type:
CommentText linkYouTubeBlogrollAd
• Page load speed• Bounce
External Cues• Keywords• Title tag• Meta descrip/on• Heading tags• 1st 200 words• Bold• Anchor text• Image filename• Internal links
On-‐Page Cues
French paren/ng book
French paren/ng book
Social Cues
French paren/ng book
Social CuesExternal Cues
French paren/ng book
Social CuesExternal Cues
On-‐Page Cues
What does the bot know?
On-‐Page Cues
On-‐Page Cues
The cues are missing
“coverimage” 9780143182573H.jpg”265 x 400alt="Image of EVERYTHING WAS GOOD-‐BYE">
“authorphoto”2000000469L.jpg
SEO is about Content DiscoverySocial Cues• Rich snippets
StarsReviewsAuthorshipImage, video
• Social sharing+1’dShared byTweets
• Site is crawlable• No duplicate content
Origina/ng source?
• Incoming links# of linksAnchor textQuality/type:
CommentText linkYouTubeBlogrollAd
• Page load speed• Bounce
External Cues• Keywords• Title tag• Meta descrip/on• Heading tags• 1st 200 words• Bold• Anchor text• Image filename• Internal links
On-‐Page Cues
SEO Factors within Your ControlMarke)ng
• Incoming links– # links– Quality/type– Anchor text
• Image filename• Social sharing
– +1’d– Shared by– Tweets
• Site is crawlable• Page load speed• Title tag• Meta descrip/on• Heading tag: H1, H2• Rich snippet code
– Stars– Reviews– Authorship– Image, video
Technical• Body copy
– 1st 200 words
• Duplicate content– Who gets what
• Keywords• Bold• Anchor text• Image cap/ons• Bounce• Internal links
Editorial
Roles are shiting
• What is a marke/ng func/on?• What is a IT func/on?• Where do these func/ons fall?– Website design– Website maintenance– Video, audio, ebook, app produc/on– Asset management– ONIX file genera/on, distribu/on– SEO– Domains, email, server setup
Google vs. Amazon
Two Discovery Channels
Different Algorithm. Same Factors.
Google Ranking Factors• Social Cues
– Reviews & Ra/ngs– Sharing
• External Cues– Endorsements (links)
• On-‐Page Cues– Keywords in Copy– Links to related content
Amazon Ranking Factors• Social Cues
– Reviews & Ra/ngs– Sharing (Lists)
• External Cues– Endorsements (Co-‐op,
Affiliate)
• On-‐Page Cues– Keywords in Copy– Links to related content
Prisoner of Tehran
Your Publisher-‐Supplied Copy Does Not Appear
Social Cues get the )tle into the recommenda)on engine (Amazon results)On-‐Page Cues get the book page into search results on Google
1. 13 customer reviews. Like2. Share your own customer images.3. Frequently bought together4. Customers who bought this item also bought5. Average customer review6. Bestseller Rank7. Descrip/ons from Reviews8. Tags customers associate with this product9. What other items Customers Buy Ater Viewing this Item10. Customer Reviews (2 columns!)11. Listmania12. Look for similar items by category / subject13. Con/nue shopping: Customers who bought items in your recent history also
bought
Why does Amazon win vs. the Publisher site?
Because …
Why does Amazon win? Goodreads?Raincoast.com 627 wordsAmazon.ca 2,943 wordsGoodreads 3,457 words
Amazon. Focus keywords:Beau/ful Mystery (13), Louise Penny (14)Gamache (25), murder (8), mystery (33), Suspense (6), Fic/on (8), detec/ve (9)
Raincoast. Beau/ful Mystery (2), Louise Penny (3)Gamache (4), murder (2), mystery (3), Suspense (0), Fic/on (2), detec/ve (0)
Goodreads. Beau/ful Mystery (14), Louise penny (20)Gamache (37), murder (15), mystery (32), Suspense (1), Fic/on (1), detec/ve (1)
Without Social Cues …
The On-‐Page Cues Are Cri/cal.
Search bots will try to figure out the “theme” of a page’s content within the first 200 words.
If you only write 200 word descrip/ons, you beAer choose the right words.
The Right Words Are What I Mean By Keyword Phrases
Keyword Phrases
• Keyword phrases are the words people type into a search engine in order to find things on the web.
French paren/ng book
French paren/ng bookKeyword Phrases appear in SERPs in bold.
What are the keyword phrases?• Headline: Universal Orlando Resort Celebrates The One-‐Year
Anniversary of The Wizarding World of Harry PoAer
• Summary: Universal Orlando Resort creates special moment for guests celebra/ng in Hogsmeade and extends the virtual celebra/on to the all-‐new "Share Your Story" Facebook tab that allows guests to share their favorite memories from this spectacularly themed entertainment environment.
• Body: ORLANDO, Fla. (June 18, 2011) -‐ Today, Universal Orlando Resort celebrated the one-‐year anniversary of the most spectacularly themed entertainment environment -‐ The Wizarding World of Harry PoAer. In live celebra/ons, and virtual celebra/ons through the resort’s “Share Your Story” Facebook tab, guests were invited to share the wonder, excitement and adventures of the Harry PoAer books and films come to life.
Body Copy — 1st 200 characters
“most ambi/ous and heartbreaking work”605 results for blogs in Canada
If it’s good, people repeat it.
The 5 WhysReasons Why You Should Write SEO Copy
1. Because you want people to find your stuff when they don’t even know they are looking for it. (In the real world, you make sure the book is in stock.)
2. Because the copy needs to be a good salesperson. (The online sales funnel goes like this: you like it, buy it, review it, recommend it, find more like it.)
3. Because you want to teach fans how to best pitch their friends. (1,000 songs in your pocket.)
4. Because you don’t want to disappoint people who are looking for it:
• Bookseller doing price check. Producer scou/ng for author interview. Fan who wants to pre-‐order. Reviewer who wants an image. Person who wants to recommend. Author. Agent. Just checking.
5. Because you want to stack the deck.
Because you want to sell books.
SEO Copywri/ng Resources
• Geek: SEOmoz.org & SEOBook.com• Marketer: Underwire: Full Support for Non-‐Techies• Writer: Copyblogger.com
Test: November 30
• In-‐class test. Bring pen(s), calculator, brain.• Week 4 (Sept 28): How to write a persona• Week 5 (Oct 5): How to write a good email subject line, a good
tweet, good press release headline, good pitch leAer• Week 6 (Oct 12) & Week 11 (Nov 16): Familiarity with online
tools and how they could be used• Week 7 (Oct 27): Grid view of a marke/ng plan• Week 7 (Oct 27): Calculate ecommerce conversion, CTR, CPC,
know the terms “revenue” and “expenses”• Week 12 (Nov 23): How to pick out keywords
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