SEO Mythbusters: Sorting through the Fact and the Fiction

AshleyMar+nExecu+veDirector,UniversityMarke+ngandCrea+veServices

DivisionofCommunica+onsandMarke+ngKansasStateUniversity

Feb.22,2018

What exactly is SEO? “SEO is the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic, as well as exposure to your brand, through non-paid (also known as "organic") search engine results.”

- Moz.com

What exactly is SEO?

•  What types of degrees?

•  Who is searching?

•  When are they searching?

•  How are they searching? –  What words? –  What questions?

–  Mobile vs. desktop?

•  Why? –  Career advancement? –  Required certifications?

•  Where?

The how and the why of SEO •  How do search engines work?

–  Crawling and indexing

•  Why does SEO matter? –  The majority of online traffic is driven by search engines. –  Organic (non-paid) search results:

•  Take up the most real estate on search engine results pages (SERPs)

•  Receive significantly more clicks than paid advertisements (credibility factor)

-Moz.com

SEO basic principles •  Make pages primarily for users, not search

engines.

•  Think about what makes your websites unique, valuable or engaging.

•  Don’t deceive your users.

•  Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. –  Black-Hat SEO versus White-Hat SEO

GoogleWebmasterGuidelines-Moz.com

SEO mythology

Myth #1 Research isn’t necessary.

Myth #2 Focusing on SEO alone with drive all the leads you need.

Myth #3 All you need is an optimized website.

Myth #4 Load the content with keywords.

Myth #5 There is a penalty for duplicate content.

Myth #6 Paid search affects organic search results.

Myth #7 Higher rankings mean more revenue (aka more students).

Myth #8 The more backlinks you have, the better.

Myth #9 Meta descriptions are a ranking factor.

Myth #10 It’s all about content.

Myth #11 You must rank #1.

Myth #12 SEO is set and forget.

Myth #13

SEO in 2018 requires:

•  Attracting long links

•  Speeding up your website

•  Ensuring you have a PR machine working for you

•  Making sure My Google Business is current

•  Paying attention to your metadata

Resources are required!

SEO is free traffic.

So…what can you do? •  Audit your website (H1 tags, meta

descriptions, content) and look for areas ripe for improvement –  Make sure your content is NOT buried in

images!

•  Audit keywords used by your users (server logs, Google Keyword tool, etc.)

•  Review your competitors’ sites for insights

•  Consider your inbound links (social media, blogs, PR efforts, etc.)

•  Work with your Web/IT support team(s) to ensure mobile optimization, accessibility compliance, and optimum page load times

Resources

•  Moz •  Moz SEO

Beginners Guide

•  Search Engine Journal

•  Google •  Search Engine

Land

•  Forbes article

Questions?

Today’s most important takeaway: Moz Beginners Guide to SEO