seo training

An Introduction to SEO

Fran SwaineDigital Marketing Consultant

Contents• How do search engines work• What is SEO?• What will it achieve?• SEO Techniques (on page optimisation, off page optimisation,

social SEO)• Keyword Research• Writing Optimised Copy• Page Titles, URLs and Meta Tags• Links and Link Building• Social SEO• Resources

How the search engines work

What is SEO?

• SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation

• Process of optimising on page and off page factors to rank well for specific terms in the search engine

• Google use over 200 signals for ranking a site!

What will it achieve?

• Better rankings for relevant terms• Strong web presence • Well known brand• Increased traffic• More engaged website visitors

SEO Techniques

• On page optimisation– Things you can do on your website e.g. keyword

research, good quality content, title tags, meta tags, anchor text

• Off page optimisation– Link building, directory submissions, press releases,

guest posting, video submissions, RSS feeds,

• Social SEO– Social network engagement, social bookmarking sites

Keywords

• Keywords – how are you being found by Google and your customers?

• How do you want to be found by your customers?

Why put time into identifying keywords?

• Your site will be well optimised because your site content will be relevant to a users search.

• More click-throughs when your listings are displaying at the engine because your keywords will be highly relevant to your site content.

• More conversions once your visitors enter your site because your keywords will be attracting a more targeted audience.

Keyword Research

How do I identify keywords?• Google Analytics• Google Adwords Keyword Tool• Google Instant Search • Customers, newsletters, marketing materials,

competitors

Keywords should be specific to a page, product or service – not a whole website!

Keyword Research

Consider:

• Search popularity• Competitiveness • Relevance

Writing Optimised Copy

Key words/phrases in:• Domain name• Titles• Headings• First paragraphs• Anchor text• Filenames/alt tags

Always write copy targeted at your customers – not the search engines!

What else can I optimise?

Page Titles• Displayed in some browsers• The first line of text displayed in the search engine

URLs• Include keywords and use categories if possible!

Meta Tags

• Title• Description• Might be displayed in the search engine

Links

• A “vote” for your site

• Quality, highly relevant links– E.g. fashion blogs/magazines linking to a

retail site

• Authority sites carry more weight e.g. gov.uk, ac.uk

Existing Links

• Who is linking to you?http://www.opensiteexplorer.org

• Does the link work?

• Ask for descriptive anchor text rather than brand

• Link to a specific, relevant page rather than home

Link Building

Requesting Links• Who is linking to your competitors?• Clients? Customers? Bloggers?• A followed link rather than nofollow

Remember:• Could you “credit” us with a link?• Links substantiate their work!

If you’ve been mentioned in an article/website – ask for a link!

Social SEO

Google are giving more weight to social signals! Make sure:• Content can be shared and engages users• To include shareable buttons• You write regular content targeted at your market• Engage with social platforms and social bookmarking sites (digg, reddit,

stumbleupon)• Different platforms have different uses e.g. twitter = sharing, facebook =

comments, thoughts, opinions

Social• Identify which platforms your target audience are

using. Focus on these key social platforms.

• Build a relationship with audience

• Provide useful or interesting links or snippets of information

• Gain a good reputation

• Promote brand

• Start the conversation – get involved

• Be leaders in communication

Resources

• http://www.seomoz.org/blog• http://searchengineland.com• http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog• http://www.brightonseo.com/ - next one in September

2012

Contact

• Fran Swaine• Email: franswaine@gmail.com• Phone: 07743 861 303• Web: www.franswaine.com• Twitter: @franswaine• Skype: @fran_swaine