Semantic SEO: 5 Ways to Future-Proof Your SEO and Search Rankings

Semantic SEO5 Ways to Future-Proof Your Rankings

Andy CrestodinaStrategic Director | @crestodina

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QUICK REVIEWWhich keywords are helpful?

Which links are helpful?

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Rank

Authority Relevance

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Rank

Links Keywords

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Rank

Offsite On-Page

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blog post

guest post

research

post on another site

keyphrase

keyphrase

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blog post

guest post

research

post on another site

keyphrase

keyphrase

Which of these links and keywords affect your rankings?

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We’ve been working on an intelligent model... that understands real-world entities and their relationships to one another:

things, not strings.

Amit SinghalGoogle

@crestodina 1Target the topic, not the keyphrase

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Semantic connections to “footer design”website copyright copyright textwebsite footer examplesheader and footerwebsite footer definitionat the bottom of the pagedesigning a website footerfat footerguidelinesstandardsbest practices

usabilitycontentideas inspirationlinks SEOsitemapsocial medianavigationpurpose of responsivetemplate

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@crestodina@crestodina

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Rankings climb for “website footer design”

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What was the search volume?

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And finally, the traffic...

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ACTION: Indicate the relevance

1. Use the target phrase in the title, header and body text

2. Find and use the words and phrases that are semantically connected to the phrase you’re targeting

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@crestodina 2Questions and Answer Boxes

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1. Write content that answers questions

2. Use sentences that include complete questions and complete answers

3. Write detailed posts that rank high in the first place!

How to Rank #0

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@crestodina 3User Interaction Signals

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User Interaction Signals ...and “RankBrain”

1. Click through rate from search results pages

2. Bounce Rate

3. Time on page

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Evidence that these are ranking factors

source: How Google Works: A Ranking Engineer’s Perspective, Paul Haar (slide 30)

mailto:http://www.slideshare.net/SearchMarketingExpo/how-google-works-a-ranking-engineers-perspective-by-paul-haahr

mailto:http://www.slideshare.net/SearchMarketingExpo/how-google-works-a-ranking-engineers-perspective-by-paul-haahr

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Time on page correlation

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The Short Click vs. The Long Click

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ACTION: Keep your visitors on your page

1. Format for Scanners2. Add Multiple Images3. Add Video4. Internal Linking5. Go Deep!

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Avoid long, blockyparagraphs

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Your “readers” are scanners

source: How Little to Users Read? NN Group

Users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit. 20% is more likely.

http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-little-do-users-read/

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Add multiple images

source: 2016 Blogger Survey

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https://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/blogger-trends/

@crestodina 4Build a Network of Content Creators

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Links are authority

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more links = more authority

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links from authoritative websites = much more authority

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Everything in marketing isbased on relationships.

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lead

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lead

traffic

conversions

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lead

traffic

conversions

search

email

social

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lead

traffic

conversions

search

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lead

traffic

conversions

rank

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lead

traffic

conversions

rank

content

links

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lead

traffic

conversions

rank

content

links

content

relationships

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There are two kinds of people on the internet

Creators

Contributors and “lurkers”

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Who makes content?• Journalists• Authors• Podcasters• Academic Researchers• Event Producers

And of course...• Bloggers and blog editors

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There are two types of social media

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1. Weekly Outreach Calls2. Coffee, Lunch, Beer3. Mastermind Groups4. Office Hours5. Slack Boards6. Attend Events

Ways to Build Your Network

source: 5 Ways to Produce Better Web Content, Orbit Media

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http://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/email-interviews/

Mastermind Groups

1. Monthly one-hour call, Skype or Hangout2. Bring a guest each month3. Miss it twice and you’re kicked out!

Start a mastermind group

1. What are you doing that we can promote?2. What are you writing that we can collaborate on?3. What are you doing to be more productive?4. Do I know anyone that you want to meet?

Content marketing mastermind agenda

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Get Out There!...events are the best shortcut

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Sit in the front row Ask a question during Q & A Thank them in person after the session Have them sign a book Ask if you can email them to get a

contributor quote later...

Tips for attending events

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1. Quote and Mention2. Contributor Quote3. Roundup Posts4. Deep Dive Interview5. Invite to Guest Post

5 Ways to Collaborate

source: 5 Ways to Produce Better Web Content, Orbit Media

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http://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/email-interviews/

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Search + SocialOne post, optimized for both


Content designedto attract visitors


Optimized for Search


Optimized for Social

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How many people are waitingfor your article to go live?Make sure it’s not zero.

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Social actions, search outcomes

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WHERE to publish

YOUR SITE

OTHER SITES

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WHO does the writing

CREATED BY YOU

CO-CREATED WITH INFLUENCERS

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Blogging vs. Guest Blogging

Content = 2Links = 0Friends = 0


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(better links + real connections)

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Nice blog, but… This is what great content marketing looks like.

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If you’re not making friends, you’re doing it wrong.

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@crestodina 5What Does “Quality” Mean to Google?

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Google’s Search Quality Guidelines

source: Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

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3 Ways to Meet Google’s Guidelines


1. Content is “Front and Center”

2. EAT: Expert, Authoritative, Trustworthy

3. “Highly Meets” vs. “Fails to Meet”

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Content is Front and Center


“Is the content is at the top of the page?”

Put information high on the page, so visitors can read without scrolling.

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E-A-T the Results


"Can you trust the source of this content?”

• Expertise• Authoritativeness• Trustworthiness

Prove that you’re an expert, or "borrow" authority by citing sources and other experts.

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Highly Meets vs. Fails to Meet


“Does the content succeed at meeting the goals of the visitor?”

Provide comprehensive answers, truly meeting visitors’ needs.

Create long, in-depth content that covers every angle of your topic.

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Answer all the related questions

source: answerthepublic.com

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Andy CrestodinaStrategic Director | @crestodina

THANK YOU!

Semantic SEO: 5 Ways to Future-Proof Your SEO and Search Rankings

Marketing

Transcript of Semantic SEO: 5 Ways to Future-Proof Your SEO and Search Rankings