Post on 14-Sep-2014
description
FireBootCampIntroduction to SEO
PRESENTER: CRAIG BAILEY7 MARCH 2014
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Learn&Apply
xen.com.au
An overview of the basics of SEO, plus tools every web developer should be using.
Quick presentations on the key SEO itemsAiming for the 80% (from the 80/20)
Introduction to SEO
A look at link building, social and other channels for improving your traffic.
Advanced SEO
07MAR
??MAR
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TheBlokePresentingCraig Bailey
• Database developer• Web developer• Microsoft MVP 2007-2009
XEN Systems
o Digital Agencyo Online strategyo SEO and SEMo Socialo Analytics Training
Developer background
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Today’s GoalsIntroduction to SEOOverview of how Google and Bing rank sites
Recommended Tools Tools you should use
The Importance of ContentWhy writing good quality content helps your rankings
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Your Outcomeso Understand the basics of SEO
o Set up Google account (if you don’t already have one)
o Set up Google Analytics
o Set up Google Webmaster Tools
o Set up Bing Webmaster Tools
o Understand the value of good content
o Understand keywords and start thinking about your ‘customer’
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What is SEO?Search engine optimisation… ie optimising your site so that Google will rank it higher
Maximise the number of keywords the site can rank for in GoogleIncrease traffic to the site
Matching the site to the right kind of visitors
Actively monitoring the site for improvements, threats, issues, gains, opportunities
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Why Build A Web Site?
Traffic comes from a variety of sources including:
• Organic (Google, Bing)• Paid (AdWords, Facebook,
LinkedIn)• Social (Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest)
• Referral (other sites)• Direct• Email campaigns
Drive Traffic
Conversions can include:• New leads• New customers• Pageviews (engagement)• Awareness (branding)• Registrations
Although there are exceptions, most web sites have a financial component to them.
They are commisioned with the aim of making money for the company.
If a client has paid a premium for a web site, they are usually expecting a premium return.
Convert Customers Make Money
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MarketingMarketing
Offline
Online
Paid
Direct
Social
SEO (Organic is ‘Free’)
On-Page Off-Page
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Google Algorithmo Uses hundreds of inputs/factors (for fun read this Moz blog post)
o Constantly changing
o Personalised (eg results are different depending on location and device)
o On-page items: Page Titles
o Off-page items: Good quality links
o High quality content is important
o Being a big brand is a big help!
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SEO ChecklistItem System Required Priority
01 Page Titles Code or CMS Yes
02 Page META descriptions Code or CMS Yes
03 Headings - H1, H2, H3 Content Yes
04 Configure Google Analytics Google Analytics & Code Yes
05 Check robots.txt Server Yes
06 Configure Google Webmaster Tools Google Webmaster Tools Yes
07 XML Sitemap Code or CMS Optional
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On-page Items
Include most valueable keywords at the start
Avoid using terms like ‘Home’ in the page Title
Include brand terms
Aim to make this a ‘Call to action’ statement.
This is your chance to make people click on a search result.
Page items
Page Title META Description1 2
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Opportunity
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robots.txt
Block everything
User-agent: *Disallow: /
Block specifically
User-agent: *Disallow: /login.aspx
Used to block Googlebot
Staging Go Live1 2
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XML Sitemap
• Guides Google to important content• Include important content• Exclude admin sections, Site Layout
folders, protected membership areas• Set to recreate regularly
‘Guides’ Google
Google Webmaster Tools
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Toolso Google Analytics
o Google Webmaster Tools
o Google AdWords
o Keyword Tools
o Other Tools
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Google Analyticso Track visitor sources, behaviour, conversions
o http://www.google.com.au/analytics/
o You need to have a Google account – set up a Gmail account if easiest
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Google Webmaster Toolso Check Site issues, XML sitemaps, robots.txt
o https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/
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Google Webmaster Tools
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Take a look at GWT
Google Webmaster Tools
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Bing Webmaster Toolso Check Site issues, XML sitemaps
o http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster
o Use your Live ID (Microsoft Account)
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Take a look at BWT
Google Webmaster Tools
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Other Toolso Google Places for Business
o Bing Places for Business
o Should I set up a Google+ account?
o Search operators: site:firebootcamp.com
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Keyword Toolso Uber Suggest (good, but tends to break a lot - http://ubersuggest.org/)
o Term Explorer (has a limited free option - http://termexplorer.com/Public/)
o Google Keyword Tool (requires an AdWords account)
o Bing Webmaster Tools Keyword research (good, but limited to Bing search volumes)
o SEObook Keyword Tool (free registration - http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/)
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Other Stuffo Links
o Redirects
o META robot tags
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LinksLinks are huge indicator to Google as to what a page is about and what it should rank for
‘Click here’ example
Click here
Links are the currency of the web
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Redirects301s redirect old URLs (that probably no longer exist) to the new site URLs. Eg:From: mysite.com/about.php To: mysite.com/about/They can be added:1. individually in IIS, OR 2. in bulk using IIS rewritemap.config files.
Why Redirects are important
Using IIS for implementing redirects
301 Redirects are super important!
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RedirectsHere’s the organic traffic graph for a site that went live and didn’t implement 301s.
Why Redirects are important
301 Redirects are super important!
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META tagsSet the Site Layout folder to:• PrivateSet the Site Layout Meta Tags to:• noarchive (ticked)• noindex (ticked)• nofollow (usually leave this unticked)
Noindex = Google won’t include it in the Google search results
Noarchive = Google won’t keep a cache copy of the page
Meta Robot tags help keep pages out of Google’s index
Nofollow = Google won’t follow links on the page
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Questionso Can I buy links? (Don’t!)
o What should I start with? (Brand terms)
o Do social signals help rankings? (Yes, but minor)
o Is blog commenting OK? (Yes, depending on quality)
o Do meta keywords help? (No)
o What are redirects? And are they important? (Yes)
o Can I track conversions in Google Analytics? (Yes)
o What about using JavaScript libraries? (Can be problematic, use ?_escaped_fragment_=, see this)
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QuickSummaryo Most sites are ultimately focussed on increasing their financial return
o SEO is the process of optimising a site to improve its Google rankings
o Page titles are important
o Good content is important
o Links are important
o Use Google Analytics to measure what is working
o Use Google Webmaster Tools to monitor site issues and queries
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ContactInformation
xen.com.au
XEN Systems is a digital agency based in Sydney, Australia.We focus on the 4 S’s of digital: Strategy, SEO, SEM and Social, with an integrated approach to help your company reach and engage its target customers.
XEN SystemsPO Box 527Chatswood NSW 2057
Tel : 02 8006 4428Mobile: 0413 489 388Email: craig@xen.com.au
Helpdesk helpdesk@xen.com.au
@XENsystems
Facebook.com/XENSystems
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Thank You