SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
(Organic/natural search) the process of getting traffic from free, organic, editorial or natural search results on search engines.
Crawling
(The discovery stage of search engines) Search engines send out web crawlers (spiders/robots) to find new pages and periodically check the content on pages for updates
Indexing
(The filling stage of search engines) When a search engine decides whether or not it will use the content it has crawled If a crawled web page is deemed worthy, it will be added to the Search engine's "index" Index is used at the final ranking stage "Indexed" - means it's filed and stored in a database where it can later be retrieved
Ranking
(The retrieval stage of search engines) Most important stage Can only happen after crawling & indexing are complete More than 200 ranking signals, all fit under 3 pillars
Features of technical optimization
- Activities - Ranking factors - Technical help - Time investment - Tools
Importance of URLs
- Builds trust and authority for your page - Lightweight SEO signals - Attracts click-throughs - Search engines index and retrieve pages based on it
**What to ask when Technical SEO fails
- Does Google Search Console report URL errors? - Are my key landing pages indexed?
What to ask when Off-Page SEO fails
- Does my site lack domain authority? - Do my key landing pages lack page authority? - Does my site lack backlinks?
How to optimize main copy
- Don't keyword stuff; manage keyword density - Include keywords you want to rank for - Include keywords in a natural way - Length should meet the user's expectations - Should be long enough so SEs understand the topic - Make sure hyperlinks are relevant & reputable - Optimize images
Best practices for picking a topic during keyword research
- Focus on one topic at a time - Think of topics closely aligned to your objectives/industry - Have a web page in mind - Think of customer needs - Avoid being too generic - Avoid trying to research the whole website at once
What to ask when On-Page SEO fails
- Have I followed best practices in optimizing keywords into key landing pages? - Have I avoided keyword stuffing?
How to optimize URLs
- Include main keyword or a close variation - Keep it short and concise (70 characters) - Make sure you get them right the 1st time - Use dashes instead of underscores - Use lowercase characters
How to optimize meta description tags
- Keep it short and concise - Be careful with keywords - Be descriptive and engaging - Include USPs - Include only P1 keywords - they'll be bolded
Similarities between Organic & Paid search
- Keyword research needed for both - Landing pages (SEO should be on website, paid search can be on website or a separate page) - Traffic
What to set SEO objectives for / what to measure
- Keywords (how well you're doing/keyword ranking) - Traffic - Market share - Brand/product awareness
How to use metrics to measure success
- Need keyword rankings for a definitive, targeted list of keywords - Monitor organic traffic in Google Analytics on a monthly basis and referral traffic yearly - Monitor total number of monthly conversions (sign ups, downloads, contact forms, etc.) - Links: number of external links; want it to increase over time
Meta Description tags
- Short snippet of description text below the URL in SERPs - Only visible in the SERPs and the source code - Important for On-page Optimization, but not a direct ranking factor
**Technical SEO ranking factors
- Site speed - Mobile friendliness - HTTPS
Importance of setting SEO objectives
- They encourage buy-in from stakeholders - Helps formulate your SEO strategy - They ensure objectives are met
Elements of a Classic SERP
- Title Tag - URL - Meta description tag - Rich snippets (e.g. star rating) - Site links
How to optimize title tags
- Work in keywords - Use the space provided - Be descriptive and engaging - Use sentence separators "|" and "-" - Include your brand in the title text
SEO Action Plan
1. Check if URLs have been indexed 2. Check if URLs pass Google Mobile-Friendly Test 3. Check if URL passes 2-second page load test on Pingdom 4. Review site & URL errors in Google Search Console 5. Create an on-page optimization planner 6. Do a backlink audit (off-page optimization & competitor research)
Crawlability optimization in 5 steps
1. Minimize site errors 2. Use redirects wisely 3. Submit an up-to-date XML sitemap 4. Minimize duplicate content 5. Check for indexed pages
Steps to successful keyword research
1. Pick a topic 2. Brainstorm keywords 3. Review keyword value 4. Prioritize keywords
3 pillars of SEO
1. Technical optimization 2. On-page optimization 3. Off-page optimization
These three types of backlinks will add to your website's reputation
1. Topical backlinks 2. High authority 3. Authentic backlinks
How many header tags on a page?
6 H1 through H6
At which stages of the buyer's journey do navigational queries happen?
ALL stages.
If a business is a large publisher, what should SEO objectives be set around?
Ad revenue, e.g. increasing organic page views
What SEO tools are more suitable for experienced users?
Ahrefs and Majestic SEO
Ways to improve site speed
Aim for 2 sec. or less Make image files smaller Compress text & files Minimize # of requests made Upgrade web hosting
Open Site Explorer / Link Explorer
Allows you to research where a website got its backlinks from. This may be a competitor or another site.
Improving technical SEO efforts
Ask, have key landing pages been indexed? Are there any URL errors?
Incoming hyperlinks from one page to another website
Backlinks
If a business is informational, what should SEO objectives be set around?
Brand awareness and site traffic
Types of SERPs
Classic Universal Extended
Search Engine algorithms
Computer programs that look for clues to give the searcher the exact results they are looking for. Search engines rely on them to find web pages and decide which ones to rank for any given keyword.
A web page might not be indexed if...
Content is considered duplicate Content is Low-value or Spammy Couldn't be crawled Page or domain lacked inbound links
Often considered the most important SEO success metric
Conversion and sales
Three steps to how search engines work
Crawling Indexing Ranking
Traffic sources
Direct traffic Referral traffic Organic traffic
At which stages of the buyer's journey do informational queries happen?
Earlier stages (awareness, interest, consideration)
Query
Essentially means a keyword - it is what you're querying in a search engine. Queries and keywords are used interchangeably in SEO
Differences between Organic & Paid search
For Organic/SEO: Results take time, traffic is free, ROI is harder to measure but better over time, 70-80% of searchers click on results For Paid/PPC: Instant results, traffic is paid, ROI is easy to measure, 20-30% of searchers click on results
Benefits of keyword research
Gets the right kind of visitor to your site Identifies keywords with high search volume so you can hang on to them and get rid of the ones that don't. Helps you identify content gaps on your website Targets keywords that are within your reach
Checks your entire site for search-engine friendliness
Google Search Console
Google Hummingbird
Google's main search algorithm; responsible for deciding how to order and rank search engine results
Key Elements for Post-Click On-Page Optimization
Headings Main Body Copy Images
The process of discovering the keywords used by potential customers to find your products and picking the most relevant keywords that are within your reach and that have a good search volume.
Keyword Research
Signals search engines use to rank web pages
Keyword presence in title tag Loading speed of web page & mobile friendliness Website reputation
What SEO metric does this SMART objective measure? "Move 40% of our top 10 keywords onto the first page of Google within eight months."
Keyword ranking
Types of SEO metrics
Keyword rankings Organic traffic Conversion and sales Referral traffic Link building KPIs
Informational queries
Keyword searches used when the searcher is looking for information. - make up the largest proportion of keywords happen at the earlier stages (awareness, interest, consideration) of the buying cycle - they are harder to convert into sales Examples: How to do keyword research Keyword research guide Navigational vs informational keywords
Transactional queries
Keyword searches where the searcher is showing signs that they are ready to purchase something. - Happen at the last stage (conversion, retention) of the buying cycle - Are easier to convert; tend to be more competitive as they are targeted on sales pages Examples: Keyword research tool Best keyword suggestion tool Keyword analysis software
The most common SEO objectives involve...
Keywords, traffic and conversions or sales.
Extended SERP
Knowledge Graph, Direct Answers, Related question box, App packs (results related to mobile apps), Twitter Cards
At which stages of the buyer's journey do transactional queries happen?
Last stage (conversion, retention)
If a business is non-e-commerce, what should SEO objectives be set around?
Lead generation
Tools you can use to analyze both your backlinks and your competitors' backlinks
Link Explorer Majestic SEO Ahrefs
part of the Moz SEO toolset that is used specifically for link analysis
LinkExplorer
Social signals
Links within social media, tend not to pass reputation or PageRank
How to measure the brand
Measure: - Lead generation - Backlinks - E-commerce - Ads revenue
Tools for measuring PageRank
Moz Ahrefs
Three types of keywords
Navigational, informational, transactional
Classic SERP
Normal search results
The most influental part of SEO ranking
Off-page optimization
Which SEO metrics are good high-level ways of reviewing SEO progress and can best be measured using Google Analytics?
Organic Traffic Conversion & sales
What SEO metric does this SMART objective measure? "Improve our year-on-year organic traffic by 20% in Q3 and 25% in Q4."
Organic website traffic
How does Moz measure PageRank?
Page Authority: a page ranking score ranging from 1 to 100 that predicts how well a specific page will rank on SERPs Domain Authority: a search engine ranking score ranging from 1 to 100 that predicts how well a website will rank on SERPs
Categories of on-page optimization
Pre-click Post-click
Loose rule for keyword placement in a 500 word main copy
Primary keywords 2-3 times Secondary 1-2 times Tertiary 0-1 times
Two important thinks to keep in mind for hyperlinks
Relevance & Reputation
Free SEO tools used to scan the HTML of a page and identify important on-page elements
SEOptimer SEO SiteCheckup MoxBar
If a business is transactional, what should SEO objectives be set around?
Sales and lead generation
SSL
Secure socket layers
Differences between short tail & long tail keywords
Short tail: Accounts for 30% of all search traffic Higher search volume; high competition Harder to rank & convert Easier to research Long tail: 70% of all search traffic Less volume, low competition Easier to rank and convert Harder to research
PageRank
Sub-algorithm by Google, ranks websites in SERPs - Calculates how much reputation is passed through backlinks - Used as a way of measuring the importance of web pages
RankBrain
Sub-algorithm of Google Hummingbird and an AI system. Processes search results to provide more relevant results for users.
Anchor text
Text within backlinks, some relevance from this text is passed
Technical optimization
The process of completing activities on your site that are designed to improve SEO but are not related to content. It often happens behind the scenes.
Off-page optimization
The process of enhancing your site's search engine rankings through activities outside of the site. This is largely driven by backlinks, which help to build the site's reputation.
On-page optimization
The process of ensuring your site content is relevant and provides a great user experience. It includes targeting the right keywords within your content and can be done through a CMS. Includes making images, headings, main body copy, meta description tags & title tags
Authentic backlinks
These are backlinks that are earned on merit. Search engines don't like to be tricked and any sites building phony links will receive a search engine penalty.
Topical backlinks
These are backlinks that are relevant to your industry & are likely to bring in relevant referral traffic.
High authority
These are backlinks that are reputable and trustworthy.
After body copy, this is the most important element to get right in on-page optimization
Title tags
Pingdom
Tool that helps diagnose any issues with slow loading web pages
Which type of backlinks will be most likely to bring in relevant referral traffic?
Topical
Short-tail keywords
Typically one or two words, less specific Ex: Skiing Ski Holidays Snowboards
Long-tail keywords
Typically three or more words, more specific Ex: Best time to go to Whistler Self-drive ski holidays France
How does Ahrefs measure PageRank?
URL Rating: measures the strength of a target URL's backlink profile and the likelihood that the URL will rank high in Google. It is measured on a logarithmic scale from 1 to 100, with the latter being the strongest. Domain Rating: shows the strength of a given website's overall backlink profile. It is measured on a logarithmic scale from 1 to 100, with the latter being the strongest.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator
Universal SERP
Videos, Images, Maps (Local Listings), News, Videos, Shopping
What SEO metric does this SMART objective measure? "Build 12 relevant backlinks from recognized industry websites within 12 months."
Website reputation
Google PageSpeed Insights
allows you to add in a URL and it will give you a score from Google to say how well optimized your web pages for speed
Test My Site - Think With Google
goes more in depth for checking speed on mobile
An HTML tag that indicates a heading on a website
h1 tag
Navigational queries
keyword searches for a specific website or web page. Form a smaller proportion of all keywords Are often brand-related Tend to happen at ALL stages of the buyer's journey Ex: brand name, website URL, name of person associated with brand (INIT)
Post-click on-page optimization
what is visible after clicking on your listing Includes main copy, headings, hyperlinks, images
Pre-click on-page optimization
what is visible to the user before they click on a result on the SER page Includes title tag, URL, meta description Goal: encourage people to click on your listing