what is seo? how does it work? what do i need to know and what 5 things should i do today?

by Adrian Land, Managing Partner, SESOME.

for

1 hour to talk about SEO

Why can I talk about SEO?

I have been doing SEO before it was called SEO. Starting off in the late 90’s, and survived the dot-com bubble before driving ROI from natural search and other channels for competitive companies in challenging verticals.In Oct 2013, found my own agency SESOME.co.uk

He recently presented at a retail conference eTail Europe about the evolution of SEO. To view http://bit.ly/etail-inbound

• Head of Inbound Marketing at My Destination.com• Head of SEO, for Thomas Cook Group• Global Director of SEO for Hotels.com• Head of Search for HomeAway Group Europe

Previous Roles Held

Recent Speaking

@adrianland | adrianland.co.uk | sesome.co.ukTo find me:

Itinerary

What is SEO, and why is it important?How does SEO work?The evolution of searchRecent changes to the search-scape3 big areas of SEO

PlatformReputationContent

5 practical things you can do todayQuestions and wrap up

Who has a website? Do you do any SEO?

What is SEO?

“The process of improving the volume and/or quality of traffic to a web site or a web page via ‘natural’ or unpaid practices”

Personalised SERPs based on your search history, your open graph, your social media interactions, thematically related search, ‘suggest’/’instant’, and now your other Google

products & services you use

>200 to >500 ranking factors*

* Depends on who is guessing

If you run a quality websiteWith unique, quality text

That has a following, is social and referred toThat is frequently updated

That has the information that users wantYou should win

If you don’t, you won’t!

Why does that matter?

• 65% of sessions online start with a search*

• Search is getting very specific• Types: Websites, Images, Maps, Shopping, Blogs, Video, Places, Discussions, Academic, Patents etc.• Frequency: By hour, day, specific date, years• Location: Given and implied

• Search isn’t just Google anymore. What about YouTube, Facebook etc.

• 3 types of keywords• Brand / Navigational• Transactional• Informational

Keywords imply users intent and needs!

Why is it important?

* Made that up – couldn’t find a reliable stat – but it is a lot!

How does SEO work?

1.2.

3.

In a room like this

Evolution of search

But the mission of the engines is still to give the best, most relevant results to their users And, our objectives are still the same

What has changed in Google?

Panda, Penguins and Hummingbirds

On site Rewarded quality content, code, speed, engagement

Off site Penalised ‘poor’ link profiles

Rewrite of the algoNLP and sentiment. Rewarded answers and knowledge

Web/Link spam – was penalised

Using the whole search term…

… and not just keywordsPlus, other clues to understand your query to provide you the answer

OLD SEO: How do I rank for this keyword?

NEW SEO: How do I answer my users questions?

It doesn’t have to like pulling teeth!

SEO is like a cake!

Match your big idea, to a demand

Then make it happen:• Platform / CMS• Content• Onsite optimisation• Reputation building

Platform

How to choose the right platform? (and for SEO)

• Easy to setup / install / easy to maintain

• Easy to configure & customise

• Multi platform ready/responsive design

• Plugins to aid speed• Easy to use day-in-day-out!

Reputation

Link building is using the “wisdom of crowds”

Earning peoples attention, as opposed to borrowing/buying it

Brands and Innovators have an unique advantage:

• High quality creative• Quality & focused content• Cutting edge

products/services• Big data• A brand that resonates and

is worthy of being talked about

The evolution of link building

Over used and called out:• Reciprocal link exchanges• Buying old domains• Easy directories• Article submissions, content spinning• Bought links• Blogroll & footer links• Bulk social bookmarking• Guest blogging [for SEO-only approach]• Blog commenting

When a technique is overused and abused it gets down weighted in the signals it gives

Content

Strong content

• Make your content great• Make it relevant and

engaging• Quality – “panda questions”• Gentle keyword usage• Make it shareable

Types of ContentTell a story, Interviews, Rants, Infographics, music, Case-study/research, What ifs, Predictions, Stupid and Funny, Contests, Deals, News, Comparisons, Reviews, How to's, Polls and surveys, Resource centres & Lists - digests

The “Panda” questions from GoogleWe, and the bots, want quality content – real content, not automated, not duplicate nor “thin” content. Here are some questions from Google to think about when planning your content. Our content team use this too

• Would you trust the information presented in this article?• Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in

nature?• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with

slightly different keyword variations?• Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?• Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?• Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content

by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?• Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or

original analysis?• Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in

search results?

Continued…

• How much quality control is done on content?• Does the article describe both sides of a story?• Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a

large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?• Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?• For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?• Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?• Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?• Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?• Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?• Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main

content?• Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?• Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?• Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?• Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

So, how are we doing?

1. Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools2. GA dashboards3. Keyword Research4. Content5. Use that content to build relationships & links

5 SEO things you can do today

• Verify your site & log in daily/weekly• If you have any problems you will get a

message• Health

• Check crawl errors, and fix• Crawl stats and improve• Fetch as Googlebot to test indexation of specific pages

• Traffic• Search queries – what terms and their rank and CTR• Links to your site – see the latest inbound links

• Optimisation• Sitemaps – check your indexation status for key pages

Google.com/webmasters

1. Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools2. Analytics & Insight using GA dashboards3. Keyword Research4. Content5. Use that content to build relationships & links

5 SEO things you can do today

• Setup filters to show you different sections of your site

• Set up multiple dashboards• Automate their delivery by format and to whom• Measure against objectives• By entry pages, by referrer and keyword

Google.com/analytics

1. Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools2. GA dashboards3. Keyword Research

4. Content5. Use that content to build relationships &

links

5 SEO things you can do today

• It is a science mixed with experience and common sense – think LIKE a recipe where you customise to taste

• 2 free tools• Google insights• Google keyword planner

Keyword research

Google Trends

http://www.google.com/trends/

Use to find trends over time. Shows keywords, topics by location

Can use for spelling e.g. Mallorca or Majorca, Holiday versus Vacation

Default is Worldwide

Can refine

Can focus by geography

Google keyword planning tool

1. Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools2. GA dashboards3. Keyword Research4. Content

5. Use that content to build relationships & links

5 SEO things you can do today

Content calendar, for users and Pandas!

1. Use Google’s own Webmaster Tools2. GA dashboards3. Keyword Research4. Content5. Use that content to build relationships & links

5 SEO things you can do today

• Link building is still important

• Links should be for Users and SE’s alike

• Find sites and communities and reach out

Relationships and Link building

Find sites– known to you, through social, or adv Google

searches

Log their details– Contact details OR twitter (private list) OR

Email

Identify and reach out as a local expert – Understand their offering BEFORE you

contact – Tweet them – you want to engage NOT pitch – Be honest – Build a rapport and relationship with them

first

Then… and be discreet– Share their posts – Offer to write some original and compelling

content for them – Offer information or education (if

appropriate) – Tweet your content or imagery – keep it

personal – Ask if you can meet up

A couple of quick & simple resources

Resources to get you going

2 resources for you to get going:

SEOMoz’sSEO starter guide

SEOMoz

Google’sSEO starter guide

Google's

http://bit.ly/11CBhC1http://mz.cm/115lSbT

Questions

Thank you

Adrian LandManaging Partner

adrian@sesome.co.uk@adrianland

1st February 2014 by Adrian Land

for

In conjunction with