The State of SEO: Google algorithm updates and best practices
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THE STATE OF SEO Liz Day 3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800 Denver, CO 80210 Sales: 866-360-8210
description
58 percent of leisure and 64 percent of business travelers begin with search engines (Kenshoo) and if your website isn’t even showing up in Google's search results you might as well still be paying for an advertisement in the Yellow Pages. Google continues to change how it ranks websites like yours and if you’re not staying up-to-date with these algorithm changes, such as Panda or Penguin, your website could be penalized without you even knowing it! Liz Day covers the current state of search engine optimization (SEO), our recommended best practices as a result of Google’s algorithm updates, and how a strong organic presence can help maximize your online revenue.
Transcript of The State of SEO: Google algorithm updates and best practices
THE STATE OF SEO
Liz Day
3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
SUMMARY
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3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
• About me• Google updates • Panda • Penguin • Hummingbird
• Best practices
ABOUT ME
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3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
• Liz Day • Digital Marketing Account Manager at RezStream• California born, Illinois raised and Colorado
transplant • Dog enthusiast, not yet owner• Oldest of 5 kids
ABOUT REZSTREAM
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• RezStream has been providing solutions to the hospitality industry since the company was founded in 2005.
• Located in Denver, Colorado • 21 employees • Majority of our clients are independently owned properties. • RezStream’s hospitality solutions include:
• Reservation Software • Online Booking Engine • Website Design Services • Digital Marketing Services • Other services include GDS, Photography & Videography
3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
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3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
GOOGLE UPDATES
GOOGLE UPDATES
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3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving and promoting a website in order to increase the site’s organic exposure in the search engines.
GOOGLE UPDATES
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3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
GOOGLE UPDATES
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3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
How does Google and the other search engines determine my search results?
Search engines like Google craft mathematical equations – algorithms – to determine quality website pages from poor quality website pages. From there, Google ranks the quality pages based on the algorithm.
GOOGLE UPDATES
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Each year, Google updates its search algorithm around
500-600 times.
GOOGLE UPDATES
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Why does Google and the other search engines make algorithm updates?
To provide users with high quality, relevant information.
GOOGLE UPDATES
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Panda updates are generally focused around the content on your website. The algorithm determines quality content, internal linking and any signs of content spam.
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PANDA UPDATE (Initially launched in February 2011)
GOOGLE UPDATES
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PENGUIN UPDATE (Initially launched in April 2012)
Penguin algorithm updates have been solely focused on unnatural inbound links to your website from third party sites. Google has made it very clear they want sites to have natural quality links versus a large quantity of links that are irrelevant to the websites’ industry.
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GOOGLE UPDATES
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It was named “Hummingbird” because it is “precise and fast”. Google pushed this update to better understand their searchers meaning behind each search query, i.e. location.
3801 E Florida Ave. Suite 800Denver, CO 80210Sales: 866-360-8210
HUMMINGBIRD UPDATE (Initially launched in August 2013)
GOOGLE UPDATES
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HUMMINGBIRD UPDATE (Inititally launched in August 2013)
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BEST PRACTICES
LINKING| BEST PRACTICES
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• Don’t go out and build links for the sake of building links If you get the wrong links, Google will penalize you.
• Ensure all links are relevant, i.e. TripAdvisor Links provide relevancy clues that are tremendously valuable for search engines.
• Create a compelling reason for other sites to link to yours The safest and most proven way to build quality, inbound links for your website or blog is to create useful or entertaining content.
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TITLE TAG| BEST PRACTICES
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“If your webpage was a store on the side of a busy highway, the title tag's job would be to capture
attention and get people in the door.” -Moz
TITLE TAG| BEST PRACTICES
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A great title tag can result in more clicks and more traffic to your site, while a poorly crafted title can cause people to skip over your site and visit one of your competitors. • Keep title tags relevant to the page • Keep title tags unique to each page • Avoid keyword stuffing • And …
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TITLE TAG| BEST PRACTICES
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• Keep title tags to 55 characters or less to display full title tag
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Google's search engine results page redesign increased the font size of title tags.
CONTENT| BEST PRACTICES
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Content can be either visual, auditory, or written. It includes everything from blog posts, articles, website pages, social media posts, infographics, photos and video.
• Review your Google Analytics to identify poor quality pages on your website and revise to reflect high quality content.
• Does this content help my users? If not, remove it from your site.• How can you make your customers lives easier by solving a common
problem they face? • Review your social media analytics to discover new opportunities.• Create an editorial calendar. • Hire a professional to write your website’s content.
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CONTENT| BEST PRACTICES
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• Make sure each page answers a question to prevent getting penalized for the page(s) being “too thin” or of “low-quality.”
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CONTENT| BEST PRACTICES
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SCHEMA| BEST PRACTICES
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Schema is a type of micro data that makes it easier for search engines to parse and interpret the information on your web pages more effectively so they can serve relevant results to users based on search queries, i.e. people, food recipes, events and reviews.
Benefits of Schema include: • It’s FREE • Eye catching results • Potential increase in clicks via search results • Offer quality results to searchers
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“Pages with Schema.org integration rank better by an average of four positions compared to pages without Schema.org markup.” -Searchmetrics
SCHEMA| BEST PRACTICES
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You can promote a variety of information utilizing Schema including:• Packages and specials • Contact information, i.e. Phone Number, Email Address • Reviews • Upcoming event• Logo• Interaction amount, i.e. 20 “likes”, 5 comments, 200 downloads • And more …
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SCHEMA| BEST PRACTICES
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Schema can be added to any page on your website. RezStream recommends working with your site developer to get various types of Schema added.
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“Less than 1 percent of websites have implemented Schema.org markup.” -Searchmetrics
GOOGLE+| BEST PRACTICES
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Google offers marketers the opportunity to interact with visitors through many more touch points, including YouTube and directly in search results. This means that for visitors who engage with you through Google+, the potential traffic channels multiply.
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“The number of people who interact socially with any Google products on a monthly basis now reportedly exceeds 500 million.” -USA Today
GOOGLE+| BEST PRACTICES
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• Include a “Tagline”, an engaging “Introduction”, offer all “Contact Info”, link “Website” and take advantage of the “Links” section.
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MOBILE| BEST PRACTICES
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A responsive website allows visitors to access all pages and information about the property. Offering an accessible website for every user on every device is a must!
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“US mobile travel sales to increase 60% in 2014.” -eMarketer
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Google offers best practices when it comes to mobile-friendly websites. Make sure to follow to prevent your site from being penalized.
“67% of the time when we're using a PC we're also using another device.” -Google
MOBILE| BEST PRACTICES
CONCLUSION
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• Be aware of Google’s search engine updates to maximize exposure• Relevant linking and natural acquisition through content • Revise title tags to reflect 55 characters or less• Develop and promote engaging content for your customers• Implement schema on website to beef up your site’s search engine
results • Claim, verify, optimize and manage your property’s Google+ page• Ensure your site is mobile-friendly
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CONNECT
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Website: www.RezStream.com Email: [email protected]
Social Media:– www.Facebook.com/RezStream– www.Twitter.com/RezStream– www.Plus.Google.com/+Rezstream– www.RezStream.com/Blog
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