SEODIY: Intro to Search Engine

Optimization for Bloggers

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About Us

Alex is a:

• SEO professional w/ 6 years experience

• Worked with United Airlines, Vodafone and now Wayfair

• Find him at @sonofadiplomat

Austin is a:

• SEO Analyst w/ 3 years of experience

• Blogs at Tea & Stories

• Find him at @austinjbay

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Agenda

What is SEO?

How Does Google Rank Pages?

SEO Myths

How to Optimize Your Site

SECRETS

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SEO Myths

Myth: SEO Is Dead

First died in 1997

Most recently died in March 2015 (according to Entrepreneur)

What is SEO? (and why do we care?)

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Search Results Page

Unpaid (Organic) Results

Paid Results

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

What is it? 1.(n) the process of increasing unpaid

rankings in organic search to drive relevant “free” traffic to the site.

1.(n) a state of being filled with awesomeness

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Why should you care?

1. New traffic New Readers, Ad Revenue

2. Trust & Authority Brand Partnerships

3. Internet Stardom

SEO will pave the road to INTERNET STARDOM #SEODIY #HeartHome

How Does Google Rank Pages?

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How Does Google Rank Pages?

Relevance

Inbound Links

Reader Engagement

Zone of Awesome: 1st page ranking!!!

Relevance

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Relevance

Is the content on the page

relevant to the search?

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Is this relevant for “homemade laundry detergent”?

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Is this relevant for “homemade laundry detergent”?

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Relevance – This page is relevant

What is it? Measurement of how your content relates to a users search.

SEO Relevance Myths

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Myth: Placing special character code around your text helps to improve your topicality in search results.

Don’t spend time optimizing:

Meta Keywords H1 H2 H3

Alt Text Bolding Italics

Relevance Myths

Text that glows won’t help you grow, but more text on page is all the rage #SEODIY #HeartHome

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Relevance Myths

Myth: Each post has to have a specific number of keywords in order to compete in search.

Inbound Links a.k.a. Site Authority

Relevant Content

Inbound Links

Reader Engagement

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Inbound Links

Is the person creating this content trustworthy, or authoritative?

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Inbound Links

Links are important because they signal to Google that people trust your content.

Does it matter where they point? • Anywhere on your site

• Links to a specific page

What kind of links are valuable? • Different Sites

• Authoritative Sites

• Sites Relevant to Your Content

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The Rich Get Richer

SEO Link Myths

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Link Myths

Myth: Social Media Links/Likes/Share Improve Organic Rankings

Social media links, likes, and shares won’t help your rankings in search #SEODIY #HeartHome

Reader Engagement

Relevance

Inbound Links

Reader Engagement

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Engagement

Do visitors enjoy their experience on your site?

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Create a Website for Users

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Create a Website for Users

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Create a Website for Users

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Create a Website for Users

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Create a Website for Users

Your readers love your content, not your popups. #UserMetrics #SEODIY #HeartHome

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Engagement

What are they? • Strong visuals

• Strong content

• Few distractions (ads, pop-ups)

• Site Reliability

• Clear Navigation

How are they measured? • Length of time on page

• Bounce rate

• Clicking to another page on site

*You can look up this data for your site using Google Analytics.

What to Optimize Stick with us!

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Three Post Types

No SEO

• Personal Stories

• Funny Pictures

• Outfit of the Day

Basic SEO

• Recipes

• DIYs

• Reviews

• Gift Guides

• How To’s

Strategic SEO

Word Count: Any Word Count: Any-500

Word Count: 500-1,500

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Wordpress Plug-ins! We recommend:

All-in-One SEO Pack

Wordpress SEO by Yoast

Blogger

Set Description and URL in Post Settings

How to Optimize Title, URL and Description

SEO Title

URL

Meta Description

How To Do Strategic SEO

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There are 6 steps involved in making SEO Supercharged posts

Steps to Write & Publish Content for Strategic SEO

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Identify Topics

Steps to Write & Publish Content for Strategic SEO

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2. Do Keyword Research

Steps to Write & Publish Content for Strategic SEO

Aim for search volume in the 50 – 1,000 range Link

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3. Evaluate Competition

Steps to Write & Publish Content for Strategic SEO

What’s good about this content? What’s missing? What could be improved?

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4. Write Your Article

Steps to Write & Publish Content for Strategic SEO

Aim for a word count of at least 1,500 words It needs to be the best on the Internet.

I promise to write a 1,500 word post for SEO. #SEOChallenge #SEODIY #HeartHome

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5. Optimize Title, URL and Description

Wordpress Plug-ins! We recommend:

All-in-One SEO Pack

Wordpress SEO by Yoast

Blogger

Set Description and URL in Post Settings

Steps to Write & Publish Content for Strategic SEO

SEO Title

URL

Meta Description

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6. Amplify Your Content

Steps to Write & Publish Content for Strategic SEO

You have relevance, now you need links Tell other bloggers, niche bloggers and local news sites.

Secret Tips

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Our Secret Tip

Watch out for Link bloat

Try to reduce the number of links that appear on all pages.

1) Tag Clouds 2) Recent Posts 3) Secondary

Navigation 4) Archive should

be a dropdown (not links)