Developer’s Role in Search Engine Optimization …From an SEO Perspective

Presented by Cary Baskin CBaskin@TMDMalvern.com

484-318-8160 www.TMDMalvern.com

Architecture

Local Search

Organic Search

Why SEO Matters

SEO Collaboration

SEO Specialist Role

Page Rank & DA

Website Team

Presentation Goals

Why SEO Matters: It’s Effective

SEO leads are

10x more

effective than

leads from

direct mail &

print

advertising

Source: SEJ

SEO enables Ideal Customer Targeting

Why SEO Matters: Page 1

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

100.00%

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5

% Google Traffic 91.5%

4.8%

Source: Chitika Insights Report 2013

90% never search beyond page 1 of a SERP

Organic Results

7 to 14 / page

1st Organic Position = 30% 2nd Organic Position = 15% 3rd Organic Position = 7.5% Top 5 Organic = 67% of Clicks

Why SEO Matters: Position on SERP

Organic Clicks

Why SEO is so Challenging

Source: Google

• Google’s algorithms use >200 unique signals

• Google algorithm changes “Every Day”

Website Development Team *

Site Owner • Branding

• Call-To-Action

• Google’s E-A-T

– Subject Matter Expertise

– Authority of Author

– Trust

Designer • Impression & Tone • User Experience • Accessibility • Color & Font • Brand Image

Developer • Database Management • Builds pages • Site Architecture &

Performance • Site Viability • Site Flexibility • Site Accessibility

SEO Specialist • Keyword Analysis • Competitive

Analysis • Site Visibility • Domain Authority

Development • Architecture

Auditing Content Creator • Meta Description Copy

• H1 / H2 & Alt Tag Copy

• On-page Content

*Roles and responsibilities will vary from organization to organization. These are meant as general guidelines only.

SEO Specialist Role / Responsibilities

• Ensures your website can be found and understood by search engines as well as your target audience Provide / implement meta data and schema (if used) Keyword analysis

• Incent meaningful, measurable website visits & conversions

• Architecture Advise on, review, and recommend site domain name, theme,

plugins, hosting environment, structure and layout Provide and/or approve file and folder names Configure, select agreed-upon plug-ins

(SEO, schema, redirects) Insights Courtesy: B-Seen On Top

SEO Role / Responsibilities

•Organic and Local SEO Research / recommend keywords and content strategies

Optimize content for specific keyword phrases Includes: Copy, title tags, meta descriptions, file names, file locations in the site structure, H1s, H2-6s, image sizes, alt tags, links, categories and tags & schema

Ensure analytics installed and configured properly

Link and citation building

Insights Courtesy: B-Seen On Top

SEO Role / Responsibilities

• PageRank Analysis & Optimization PageRank is Google’s patent-protected ranking algorithm

• Page Rank is influenced by all aspects of a website

• Domain Authority (DA) a proprietary Moz metric Predicts ranking potential

The calculation is influenced by aspects of a websites performance

DA does NOT influence Google rankings

SEOs, designers, developers, & content writers have no direct control over these 3rd party algorithms

Insights Courtesy: B-Seen On Top

Both strongly emphasize website architecture, content & links

Developer Role - Site Architecture & Performance Indexing Attribute

Load Time & Mobile Responsive

Title Tag (Keywords unique on each page, geo feature for local)

H1 Header (Keywords unique on each page, geo feature for local)

Photo Sizing and Photo Alt Tags written for accessibility

HTML Sitemap & XML Sitemap

Schema

Linking Anchor Text to Content Pages (never use JavaScript for links)

Keyword Unique to each Page

Efficient Page Structure / Folder Management

No Follow Tags / No Index Tags / Canonicals / No 404 Errors

301 Permanent Redirects (from old page to new page)

Developer Role - Organic Search

Content & Quality Links are Critical Ranking Factors

Ranking Factor

Quality / Authority & Diversity of Inbound Links

Domain Authority

Topical (Product/Service) Keyword Relevance of Domain Content

Mobile Friendly / Responsive Site

Geographic (City) Keyword Relevance of Content

Product/Service Keyword in Anchor Text of Links

Click Thru Rate (CTR) from Search Results

Volume of Quality Content on Entire Site

Location & GMB Attributes

Developer Role - Local Search Ranking Factors

Search Attribute

Proximity to Search (with geo attribute in Title Tag & H1) (Nov 2019)

Physical Address in City of Search (with on-page copy and Footer copy)

Product/Service Keyword & Location in GMB Title

Quantity, Quality (Authority) of Inbound Links to Domain

Quantity, Quality (Authority) of Inbound Links to GMB Landing Page Title

GMB Primary Category Matches a Broad Category (e.g., Primary = Restaurant, Search = Pizza)

Consistency of Citations in the Primary Data Sources

Domain Authority of Website (from an architecture perspective)

Completeness of GMB Listing

Proximity & Keyword are Critical Ranking Factors

Developer Role - Page Rank & Domain Authority

Search Attribute

Fast Load Times

Original Content

Authoritative Content

Mobile Responsive (Mobile First Index)

Quality Inbound Links

NAP & Category Management

http vs. https

Meta Description:

Not a ranking factor, but influences Click-thru-Rate which is a ranking factor

Load Time & Responsive are Critical Ranking Factors

Developer Opportunities for SEO Collaboration

• Poor redirection plugin choice - Doesn’t capture missed redirects

- Doesn’t handle upper-lower case or trailing slashes

- Disappointed visitors, lower rankings, traffic and conversions

•No, too few, or chained redirects - SEO equity bleeds away, rankings lower

- Prospective site visitors go elsewhere

•Redirects that all point to the Home page - Google treats these as page-not-found (404) errors

because the content is not the same or similar enough

Insights Courtesy: B-Seen On Top

Developer Opportunities for SEO Collaboration

• Title tags with “extras” like the site name appended to the end of every single one

- Dilutes the impact of keywords

- Lowers your ranking potential

•Unenticing meta descriptions - Few clicks through to the site

- Lower traffic and conversions

•No schema - Missed opportunity

Insights Courtesy: B-Seen On Top

Developer Opportunities for SEO Collaboration

• Followed outbound links on the Home page – Bleeds SEO equity from the most powerful page on the site

• Conflicting, overlapping and undifferentiated categories & tags – Search engines and visitors have a hard time understanding your focus and finding what they came looking for

– Lowers rankings, traffic and conversions

• Poor theme / plug-in choice – Slow website, plug-in conflicts

– Missed development deadlines

– Added maintenance expense

Insights Courtesy: B-Seen On Top

Developer Opportunities for SEO Collaboration

• Google Analytics – Code not installed or installed incorrectly

– Gaps, omissions and double counting in website performance metrics misleading management

– Leads to poor decision making

– Lose the ability to react and pivot quickly

• SEO plug-in not configured properly – Lower rankings, traffic & conversions

A flat (vs. pyramid-shaped) site structure & huge menus: • Google doesn’t know which content is most important - Rankings lower

- Visitors have a hard time navigating the site

- Management has a limited ability to evaluate website performance

Insights Courtesy: B-Seen On Top

Ho

me

Services

Venues (301)

Venus/ (all one page)

About Us

Blog

Careers

Contact

About PSC (404)

Proposals

Vendors

Corporate

Wedding Wedding Guide

Service Details

Reception Styles

Dining Styles

Seating Served

Buffet Entre Suggestions

Food Stations

Hors D’Oeuvres

Appetizers / Soups / Salads

Vegetables & Starches

Desserts

Service Details

Special Occasions (301)

Special Occasions/

Sample Menus

Breakfast / Brunch

Menus to Go

Seated / Served

Cocktail Reception

Buffet

Food Station

Testimonials and Reviews

Wedding Testimonials

Social

Corporate Thank You

Photo Galleries

Cira-Green

Events

Corporate Cocktail Party

Corporate Parties

Downtown Philadelphia Corporate Party

Misc Events

Open House Tasting

Food

Open House Tastings

Tablescapes

Venues

Appleford

Brandywine Manor

Duportail

Highpoint

Hilltop House

Merion Tribute House

National Jewish Heritage Museum

Washington Historic Yellow Springs

Category (12 categories)

Corporate

(301)

Tag (72)

2013 (MM/DD)

2015

2016

2017

2019

PRE-SEO SITE STRUCTURE There are 32 folders Sitting in the root domain – too many. Right now every one of those folders receives 1/32nd of the site’s SEO equity. Best practice is to have between 5 and 9, depending on the size of the site.

Ho

me

About Us

About Us

Testimonials & Reviews

Preferred Vendors

Merryweatherfilms

Journeysoftheheart

Ilonkafloraldecorator

picturesbytodd

Privacy Policy

Careers

Services

Weddings

Corporate

Special Occasions

Dining Styles & Sample Menus (link to blog posts)

Tastings

Locations Served

Service Details

Venues

Hilltop House

Appleford

Brandywine

Duportail

Merion tribute House

The Saturday Club

Washington at Historic Yellow Springs

Vue on 50

Others

Blog

Main Blog Page

Individual Posts (Including menus)

Contact (folder only)

Contact Us Form

Request a Proposal (currently on corporate page)

Thank You

MORE OPTIMAL SITE STRUCTURE

5 folders in the root domain Every folder receives 1/5th of the site’s SEO Equity No page is more than 3 clicks away

Thank You – Questions?