Top 14 SEO Myths... Busted!

SEO WITH GOOGLE CAFFIENE

Top 14 SEO MythsBusted!Janet Driscoll MillerTad Miller

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com

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Todays presentersJanet Driscoll MillerPresident and CEO,Marketing MojoFollow on Twitter: @janetdmiller

Tad Miller,Vice President of Accounts,Marketing MojoFollow on Twitter: @jstatad

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comInsert Scotts Info here.2

About MARKETING mojoSearch engine marketing firm founded in 2005Search engine optimization (SEO)Pay-per-click advertising management (PPC)Social media advertisingOnline reputation managementHeadquartered in Charlottesville, VAOffice in Charleston, SCFeatured in the Washington Post, B2B Magazine, MarketingSherpa, Visibility Magazine and many blogsSpeakers at SMX Advanced, MarketingProfs, PubCon and more


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Our clients


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1. Meta tags Keywords help improve rankings.

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comTad5

SEO is Easy Just put all the keywords you want to rank for in the Meta Tag Keywords

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comWhat Are Meta Tag Keywords?The tag provides metadata about the HTML document.Example:

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comDoes Google Care?

NOPE!

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com2. Search engines dont follow nofollow links.

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comJanet9

2. Search engines dont follow nofollow links.Passing PageRankSpiders Following a LinkTreats the link like a vote of popularity on a subject (subject may partially be defined by anchor text)Spiders/search bots use links like a highway to find new content and index it

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com2. Search engines dont follow nofollow links.GoogleIn general, we don't follow them. This means that Google does not transfer PageRank or anchor text across these links. Binghttp://searchengineland.com/infographic-nofollow-tag-172157

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com3. Being a google adwords advertiser helps your organic rankings.


Conspiracy Theory AlertYou want to be #1 on Google? All you have to do is spend a lot of money advertising on Google

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comMath Problems dont do FavorsNatural search results are derived from an Algorithmic math formula factoring in at least 200 different factors about websitesnone of which includes advertising spend


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4. Quantity of inbound links is more important than quality of inbound links.


4. Quantity over quality


4. Quantity over qualityPenguin focused on linkspamAny links intended to manipulatePageRankor a site's ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of GooglesWebmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site.


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4. Quantity over quality

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com5. Exact match domains rank higher.


The Exact Match Domain ThingSEO is easy. If you want to rank #1 for Crossover Vehicles, just buy the domain: www.crossovervehicles.com and Voila!

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comThis Actually Kind of Worked for a WhileThen Google rolled out the Exact Match Domain Update

You no longer can get strong rankings solely based on your domain name. You have to fulfill the other ranking requirements too.

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com6. Anchor text is dead.


8. Anchor text is Dead.Maybe not dead, just not as important as before.Googles guidelines re: link schemesLinks with optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites.Google: If you are publishing a press release or an article on your site and distribute it through a wire or through an article site, you must make sure to nofollow the links if those links are optimized anchor text.Pubcon 2013, Matt Cutts: Press releases are considered paid linksGoogle just doesnt count themPress release anchor-text linking isnt necessarily helping you today

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com8. Anchor text is Dead.Messages from Google are cryptic.

Make press release links nofollow and avoid anchor text optimization.

We dont follow those links anyways because they are paid links.

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com8. Anchor text is Dead.

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com7. Links in press releases are bad.


They are Bad! No theyre Not! Im confused.

PubCon Oct 2013 - During Q&A, Cutts discussed links from press release sites. He said Google identified the sites that were press release syndication sites and simply discounted them. He does stress that press release links werent penalized, because press release sites do have value for press and marketing reasons, but those links wont pass PageRank.Google has identified a lot of the top Press Release sites and ignores the links but doesnt penalize those who are using them.Late July 2013

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@searchmojo #mojowebinarSEARCH-MOJO.COM

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comThe Reality checkThere are MILLIONS of press releases with links in them that have existed for years on MILLIONS of different sites

They arent going to require anyone to find every instance of these and find the locations of every reprint so that you can request the nofollow attribute on the link

Most press release distributors dont even have an option to make links nofollow

The real burden is on the PR distribution service to make links nofollow on a going forward basis

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@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comDont Expect Punishment, but dont expect to benefit much longerExpect a Google Power Play vs. Press Release Distributors.Likely use of User Generated Spam Penalties that remove offending pages from the Google IndexGoogle will force nofollow on the Press Release distributorsReal benefit is in the distribution, not on the distributor siteAgain, these are most likely going forward changes. Not retro-active punishmentsGoogle has identified a lot of the top Press Release sites and ignores the links but doesnt penalize those who are using them.

Mostly

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@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com8. Guest blogging is bad.


8. Guest blogging is bad.A true guest blogger is usually someone who is an expert on the subject matter and doesnt drop a heavy amount of keywords in their anchor text.

Guest blogging seems like its the fad of the month, said Cutts, but he says it is best done in moderation. It shouldnt be your full-time job.

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com9. Social signals are key to seo


The Social Signal is the Key to SEOFacebook Shares are the biggest ranking factorFacebook Likes are a ranking factorSocial media follower counts can get you to the topGoogle +1s are ranking factor

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comYou Can Buy Your way to the top

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comCorrelation Studies Say So

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comCorrelation Causation

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comSorry to be a Downer, butGoogle does not use Facebook share data in fact Facebook blocks access to that data

Google does not use Google +1 votes as a ranking factor:(Im) Just trying to decide the politest way to debunk the idea that more Google +1s lead to higher Google web rankings.

Matt Says

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comBut Hold On. Links Are the Real Social SignalLinks on Facebook Fan or Company pages still count a littleAlso open Personal Facebook pages with no privacy settings

Links on Social Channels without the nofollow attribute countSometimes third-party aggregator sites strip off the nofollow

Dont expect a lot from these kind of links. They dont scale into much.

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comGoogle Personalization and Google+The default setting for Google signed-in users is Search Plus Your World

These results are heavily personalized on search history, location and the connections and content associated in Google Plus with +1 votes and G+ shares

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comPersonalized vs. Non-Personalized

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com10. Authorrank is here today.


10. Authorrank is here today.AuthorRank vs. AuthorityAuthority = measure of importance on a subjectAuthorRank = type of algorithm adjustment

Current: PageRank

PR 8PR 3PR 6Coming: PageRank + AuthorRank

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PR 8AR 10

PR 3PR 6

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com10. Authorrank is here today.Only 3.5% of Fortune 100 have adopted authorshipGoogle is unable to use Authorship as a ranking signal if important authors arent participating. AJ Kohn

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com11. XML Sitemaps help your rankings.


Dont Make them wait

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@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comGrease the ChuteSite maps are more about giving search engines an efficient, clutter free path to look at your web pagesBenefits:Deeper IndexingMore Frequent IndexingDont assume your site is easy to crawlSite Maps are not likely to improve rankings unless they allow a page to be found that search engines havent seen before

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@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com12. Schema is a ranking factor.


12. Schema is a ranking factor.What is schema (aka structured markup)?Added information in your HTMLHelps search engines understand the type of content (think context)Marking up your data for rich snippets won't affect your page's ranking in search results, and Google doesnt guarantee to use your markup.

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com13. The hummingbird algorithm update is a game-changer.


Googles New Algorithm is called Hummingbirdnew engine built on both existing and new parts, organized in a way to especially serve the search demands of today

Affects 90% of all searches

The search demands of today are mobile style conversational searchesWhat is the best place to eat hamburgers in CharlottesvilleWhen does Big Head Todd and the Monsters play Charlottesville

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@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comIts such a big dealBut no one noticedGoogle Announced the Algorithm update on September 26, but it was actually rolled out on August 20

We cant tell that a single ranking from our clients was impacted at all

So much press, so much discussion, so much supposition

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@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comHummingbird is more about the Query than the resultGoogle needed a better way to understand the conversational queriesSiri-like voice queries that are longerBetter understanding of natural language & synonymsImproved Query ProcessingIt doesnt really change what you should do

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@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.com14. Seo is dead.


14. SEO is dead.Inbound linksPress releasesSpammy sitesGreater emphasis on contentAuthorshipGreater emphasis on socialGoogle+SEO has become more holistic

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comContactJanet Driscoll MillerTwitter: @janetdmillerGoogle+: +Janet Driscoll Miller

Tad MillerTwitter: @jstatadGoogle+: +Tad Miller

@marketingmojo | #mojowebinar | marketing-mojo.comKari55

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