Maximizing Online Visibility
Brad Smith July 2013
2
Overview
• Quick Bio
• SEO Strategy Basics
• Increasing Business Visibility Online (Local SEO)
• Maximizing Online Sales (E-Commerce SEO)
• Free SEO Tools & References
3
Quick Bio
• Director of Product Management @ ARI– BA in New Media Development
– MBA with Marketing & E-business emphasis
• Life-long power sports enthusiast
• Part-Time Aaron Rodgers look-a-like
• Connect with me via http://www.bardsmith.com
4
SEO Strategy Basics
Key Terms“SE” Search Engine
“Spider” & “bot” Search Engine indexing robot
“SERP” Search Engine Results Page
“CTR” Click Through Rate (percentage of clicks/exposure)
“Inbound Links” External links to site pages
“Anchor Text” Text anchor display of a link
“PageRank” Google page quality score
5
SEO Strategy Basics
Current Search Market Shares
Source: karmasnack.com
6
SEO Strategy Basics
Ensure your site is crawlable
FLASH ALL GRAPHICS RICH HTML
Online Visibility
Social
Product SEO
Local Search
Align online marketing strategy with business strategy
Brick & Mortar Local SEO
Pure E-Tailer Product SEO
Bricks & Clicks Local & Product SEO
7
Local Search
8
Local SEO
Local Search Intro• Critical focus for Brick & Mortar businesses• Tight geographic relevance• Increasing representation in SERPs• Increasingly including social/reputation elements• Core to capitalizing on Mobile search trends
9
Local SEO
Optimizing Online Representation for Local SearchClaim Google Places/Google+, Bing Places pages
Enrich Google+ Business PageBusiness Images, VideosHoursLocationContact Information
EventsVideosBusiness Categories
Only 37% of businesses have claimed local search listings- MDG Advertising
10
Local SEO
Key Places to Establish Business Profiles
11
E-Commerce SEO
12
E-Commerce SEO
E-Commerce Search Engine Optimization Process
Self-Assessmen
t
Keyword Research
Execution
13
E-Commerce SEO
Self-AssessmentHow
Sample Searches
What to researchCurrent rankings and presentationKeyword traffic trends Inbound Links
Self-Assessm
ent
Keyword Research
Execution
14
SEO Strategy Basics
Sample Research
15
E-Commerce SEO
Keyword ResearchHow
Competitive Keyword ReviewGoogle TrendsGoogle AdWords Keyword Planner
What to researchCurrent Keyword Traffic / CTRKeyword Search Volumes & TrendsKeywords Targeted by Competitors
Self-Assessme
nt
Keyword Research
Execution
16
SEO Strategy Basics
Sample Keyword Research
17
E-Commerce SEO
SEO ExecutionHow
Core SEO ElementsAdvanced SEO Elements
Self-Assessme
nt
Keyword Research
Execution
18
E-Commerce SEO Domain Name
Domain Age
URL Structure
Canonical & Redirects
Structural Elements
Inbound Links
Inbound Anchor Text
Social Signal/Mentions
Off-Page Elements
Page Titles
Page Descriptions
Heading Tags
Page/Product Content
Accessibility Tags
On-Page Elements
Core SEO Elements
Page Title
Page Description
19
E-Commerce SEO
Best Practice Keyword & Content Flow Inbound Link • “GoPro Hero3 Camera"
URL • Camerashop.com/GoPro/Hero3.htm
Page Title • GoPro Hero3 Camera | Black | HD
Page Description• Go pro with the new smaller, lighter HERO3 with
built in Wi-Fi…
Page Heading • GoPro Hero3 Camera – Black
Product Info• Photos w/Alt Tag “GoPro Hero3 Camera”• Rich Description referring to “GoPro” and “Hero3 Camera”• Customer reviews content marked up as Rich Snippets
20
E-Commerce SEO
SEO Execution GuidelinesDO DON’T
Create rich, differentiated product content with natural keyword references.
Artificially “stuff” a desired keyword into content repeatedly.
Work with partners and associations to build up in-bound links from industry authorities.
Purchase in-bound links or take part in generic “link circles”.
Regularly review site analytics & reports to check results of efforts; adjust accordingly.
Set minimum search engine optimization in place and move on (set & forget).
Establish and nurture profiles and a social presence to increase visibility of your site and products.
Try to fool the search engines by adding hidden content or presenting other content to Spiders only (“cloaking”).
21
E-Commerce SEO
Advanced SEO ElementsHow
Rich Snippets / MicrodataGoogle Shopping Product FeedsPage Load Speed
Rich Snippet (Review, Author)
Rich Snippet (Rating, Price, Availability)
22
SEO Tools
SEO ToolsTool Use URL
SEO Quake Browser plugin to review key on-page SEO stats http://www.seoquake.com/
SEM Rush Keyword and link analysis tool for competitive and self-analysis
http://www.semrush.com
Google AdWords Planner
Keyword search volume and competition analysis tool https://adwords.google.com/
Google Trends Keyword trend analysis tool http://www.google.com/trends/
Google Analytics Free website analytics http://www.google.com/analytics/
Google Webmaster Tools
Website index and Google search trends analysis tool http://www.google.com/webmasters/
Lynx Web Browser Text-based web browser – useful for viewing site content as seen by a spider
http://lynx.isc.org/
23
SEO References
Additional SEO Reading & References
• Search Engine Land SEO Guidehttp://searchengineland.com/guide/seo
• Web Developer SEO Cheat Sheethttp://s3.amazonaws.com/static.seomoz.org/user_files/SEO_Web_Developer_Cheat_Sheet.pdf
• SEOMoz Blog http://moz.com/blog
Recommended
