SEO for On the Boards Kaitlin McMichael

SEO Strategist, Portent. Inc

January 29, 2015

About Portent We are a leading integrated internet marketing agency set in Seattle, serving world-wide clients We are 30+ strong Founded in 1996 (pre-Google) We rally around the definition of “Portent”: the forecast of something big on the horizon Admittedly, we are total nerds

With 19 years in the industry, you can trust our expertise.

Greetings from the #smithtower

5 Years of SEO & Marketing

Experience in-house & agency

Specialize in International SEO

Really into Salsa Dancing

Kaitlin McMichael @kakefin

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Disallow: /css/

Disallow: /js/

Disallow: /img/

Beware

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http://www.rei.com/

http://www.rei.com/index.html

http://www.rei.com/default.aspx

http://www.rei.com/home

http://www.ontheboards.org/blog?page=228&p=742 http://www.ontheboards.org/blog?page=228

These two URLs have the same content.

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All pagination links on the blog should not have “p” parameters in the URLs. The “p” parameter has no apparent use and should be removed. Alternatively, all paginated pages can be “noindexed” by adding the noindex meta robots page tag to those pagination pages.

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http://www.ontheboards.org/blog?page=166&attachment_id=290 http://www.ontheboards.org/blog?page=166 These show the same content.

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All attachment_IDs should not have new URLs created. This can be solved within their CMS. Also, they should 301 redirect the attachment_ID URLs to the main URLs. Alternatively, these pages can be “noindexed” by adding the noindex meta robots page tag to each attachement_ID page.

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http://www.ontheboards.org/calendar http://www.ontheboards.org/calendar/2015-01?mini=calendar%2F2015-01 These show the same content.

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In this case, the parameter mini=calendar does not need to create separate URLs. Change the internal links within the mini calendar and the settings within the CMS so that these URLs are no longer generated. Alternatively, all mini=calendar pages can be “noindexed” by adding the noindex meta robots page tag to those pages.

All URLs with a trailing slash should be 301 redirected to the page without the trailing slash. All internal links should point to the version without the trailing slash. 301 Redirect http://www.ontheboards.org/blog/2009/12/02/whim-whim to http://www.ontheboards.org/blog/2009/12/02/whim-whim/

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There are over 30 different versions of the home page. All the parameters at the end do not change the content of the home page. In this case, the best solution is to add a canonical tag to the home page’s header code, like this: <link rel=“canonical” href=”http://www.ontheboards.org” />

Use the Google PageSpeed Tool to figure out how the site can load faster:

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

Look at:

• Title Tags

• Meta Descriptions

• Headings

Are there any:

• Duplicates

• Missing Fields

• Using the same

keywords

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Current Title Tag: Home | On the Boards

Do they want to rank for the keyword “Home”?????

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Better Title Tag:

Seattle Theatre, Music & Dance - On the Boards

Pro Tip: Use the Portent SERP Preview Tool to test out title tags: http://www.portent.com/serp-preview-tool

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Meta descriptions do not directly influence rankings, but a good meta description can dramatically increase click-through rate.

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H1 – There can be only one

H2 – Multiple, Related to H1

H3 – Multiple, Related to H2

<h1>Cars</h1>

<h2>American Cars</h2>

<h3>Ford</h3>

<h3>Chevrolet</h3>

<h2>Japanese Cars</h2>

<h3>Toyota</h3>

<h3>Honda</h3>

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Image alt tags are always a good idea.

This could be:

<img src=“/logo.jpg” alt=“On the Boards Logo” >

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None of the title tags include “Seattle theatre” or “Seattle Theater.” There should be a page dedicated to this keyword. Ditto for “Seattle Dance” (or “Dance Performances in Seattle,” etc) and “Seattle Music” (or “music shows in Seattle”). These should be main category pages linked from the main navigation.

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Each blog post should be include clear call to actions to purchase a ticket, find out more information, share the post, read another post, or complete some other action. Never allow “dead ends”!

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just your competitors

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Look for: sharp increases in backlinks

Look for: sharp increases in backlinks

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OntheBoards appears to have a healthy backlink profile and does not have to worry about over-optimized anchor text. But they do need more domain authority. To achieve that, they need to get more quality links from trusted sites. Quality over quantity!

Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Omniture

Rank Checking Tools: Moz, AWR

Webmaster Tools: Google & Bing

Link review sites: AHREFs, Majestic, Moz

Web Crawlers: Screaming Frog

SERP Preview Tool:

http://www.portent.com/serp-preview-tool

Prepared by

Kaitlin McMichael SEO Strategist

@kakefin

YOU