What does SEO Mean | Understanding the Basics to SEo

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What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Understanding What SEO means for your business Copyright 2014 Kevin Wiles.

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What does Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Mean? The basics to SEO & How to implement them on your website.

Transcript of What does SEO Mean | Understanding the Basics to SEo

Page 1: What does SEO Mean | Understanding the Basics to SEo

What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Understanding What SEO means for your business

Copyright 2014 Kevin Wiles.

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Copyright 2014 Kevin Wiles.

About Kevin Wiles

Kevin Wiles is an experienced digital marketing consultant with over 5 years experience.

Kevin has an aim for 2014 to help as many people learn about SEO & how to implement the basic fundamentals within your own website.

@kevwiles

/u/0/+KevinWiles

/kevinjwiles/

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Copyright 2014 Kevin Wiles.

The Meaning of SEO

What does SEO Stand for?

SEO is an acronym meaning “Search Engine Optimisation” this refers to the process taken to optimise and make changes to your website to increase visibility within Google.

There are various ways you can target SEO including Images, Videos, Local Search etc.

Google & Bing both have specific algorithms they follow to determine how to position your website for given key terms.

Google wants website owners to create quality sites which are easy to use and contain high quality information about specific problems and solutions.

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So how does SEO work?

SEO is broken down into a few key areas

● On Page SEO● Off Page SEO● Social Media

While we know that On Page & Off page still have impacts on Google algorithm we can only guess that Social Media has an impact on web sites.

We are going to focus on pure on site issues and understanding what they mean for your website.

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Website Fundamentals

The main fundamentals to websites

Copyright 2014 Kevin Wiles.

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URL Structure

URL structure’s can play an important page in your SEO campaign.

When we refer to a URL we mean the address you type or click to land on a specific website or webpage for example.

www.example.co.uk

It is important to note the better URL structure your websites have the easier it will be for Google & the user to find your page.

Some Content Management Systems have a specific Structure which could restrict your URL optimisations

http://www.example.com/index.php?id_sezione=360&sid=3a5ebc944f41daa6f849f730f1

The above shows a really poor URL for a page because it contains various parameters & query strings were possible you should use descriptive URLS like the below.

http://www.example.com/about/cat-care

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On Page SEO

The Basics to On Page SEO

Copyright 2014 Kevin Wiles.

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On Page SEO

A quick overview of On Page SEO & what it involves

● Page Tiles● Meta Descriptions● Heading Tags● Internal Linking● Speed● Content● Usability

There are of course a lot more factors which can be taken into consideration for on page SEO but for the basis of not completing blinding you with SEO jargon we’re stick to the basics.

All of the below are on page SEO optimisations which are made within the code of your page.

● Meta Descriptions● Page Titles

We also have to take note that speed is also a more in depth factor and will require some technical knowledge.

All aspects highlighted in Red are key on page

optimisations to make to give your website the best

chance of appearing for key terms.

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Page Titles

What is a Page Title?

The title tag is part of your page header and informs people what your page is about. Think of a title tag like a newspaper article heading it has to be catchy yet information to entice the user to read on.

As a rule of thumb title tags should always be about your page and nearly always should always contain your chosen keyword for that given page. The key here is to write the title tag so the user rather than search engines can understand it.

The title tag is used like the below and usually can be implemented in various ways depending on your CMS system and how this has being configured. Once the title has being created in your CMS it will always be displayed like the below.

<title>Keyword Phrase | Website or Brand Name</title>

Try and ensure you are consistent with all your page titles throughout your website.

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Page Title Example

Page Title Tips

The below shows some simple things to remember when creating your perfectly optimised title:

● Title length – Your title length should be no longer than 70 characters this includes all punctuation

● Keyword Location – Ideally you want to have all keywords at the beginning of your title tag again making sure it makes sense to the user

● Keep it Simple – Make sure your title is simple and easy to digest, ideally you want to leave out any connecting words which would make it read like a sentence

● Separation – If you want to break out your title then I would advise to use pipes for example Target Keyword | Target Keyword | Brand Name

● Brand – Although you're looking to promote a specific keyword per page it is always a good idea to include your brand name. I would always advise adding your brand name at the end of your title tag like the above example

● Duplication – Each title within your website needs to be unique having duplicate title’s can cause issues with Google & Duplicate content

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Meta Descriptions

What are Meta Descriptions

The Meta description tag is an important on page SEO factor. If created correctly, it can help increase Click Through Rates from the

SERP’s. You have 160 characters to quickly and accurately describe your product or service and inform a user about your page.

Just like your Title tag you should make sure your Meta description is descriptive and makes good use of your keywords and brand name.

Remember to make your meta tag the optimum length for the best benefit from the Serps.

The Meta Description is also displayed within the heading of a page a lot like the title tag and uses the below.

<meta name=”description” content=”This would be your descriptive tag”>

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Meta Descriptions

Meta Description Checklist

● Descriptive Description - Your Meta Description should

be well written with the user in mind and not only describe a

page but it should also focus on your key terms for the

page again making good use of keywords.

● Length – Although you're not restricted when it comes to

Meta Description length Google will only display 160

characters before it crops the information so with this in

mind it is a good idea to ensure all title tags are between

150 – 160 characters.

● Duplicates – Just like the title tag it is not a good idea to have duplicate description tags throughout your site as this can confuse

Google & the user about what the focus keyword is.

● Writing for the User – There is no need to spam the meta description tag as it will not help your cause within Google as they do

not take the meta description into account as a ranking factor.

Try and make sure all your meta tags are all unique for each page

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Heading Tags

Understanding what the H tags mean for your website.

H Tags are an important aspect of a page and show users quickly what the page is about. These tags are based within the code but can be seen on the page. When starting a new page you should look to add in a H1 & H2 tag which uses a keyword but is also useful to the user and informs them about the page.

Example - http://www.kevinwiles.co.uk/about

This not only tells the user quickly what the page is about but also tells Google what keyword is important for the page which in this case is (My Name & Location)

This should work the same as you go down the page adding in <h2> &<h3> tags with other relevant keywords throughout the page.

Remembering not to spam the page and only add these tags in where it makes sense.

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Internal Linking

What is internal linking?

Internal linking is where you make links within the content of your page to more inner pages of your website.

The below shows my about page which have internal links to other pages which all have information about me and my services.

Remember your internal links should be useful to the reader and not just keywords for search engines.

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Speed

Finding out how fast your website is!

● Page Tiles● Meta Descriptions● Heading Tags● Internal Linking● Speed● Content● Usability

There are of course a lot more factors which can be taken into consideration for on page SEO but for the basis of not completing blinding you with SEO jargon we’re stick to the basics.

All of the below are on page SEO optimisations which are made within the code of your page.

● Meta Descriptions● Page Titles

We also have to take note that speed is also a more in depth factor and will require some technical knowledge.

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Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to read through this presentation.

If you need any help please feel free to contact me on any social media service below.

Twitter: @kevinwilesGoogle+: +KevinWiles/posts

LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/kevinjwiles/