Advanced, sustainable SEO now requires critical thinking more than ever. Without it, all you end up with is horror stories. With it, Google penalties can be a thing of the past.
2. Presentation Overview
SEO Gone Horribly Wrong
Higher Level SEO
The Key to Critical Thinking
Most Common SEO Issues SEOs Fall Short On
Online Reputation Management
Tools & Resources
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
3. SEO Gone Horribly Wrong
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
4. SEO Gone Horribly Wrong
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
5. SEO Gone Horribly Wrong
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
6. Higher Level SEO
The Common Understanding:
SEO is the process of helping to ensure a site
properly communicates that
“this content is the best match for this search”.
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
7. Higher Level SEO
The Common Understanding:
“Let Google Figure It Out”
“Google Can Now Read AJAX”
Google Now Encourages Responsive Design
“Page Sculpting Matters”
“Industry Tools Can Help Maximize SEO”
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
8. Higher Level SEO
The Reality:
Billions of Pages Out There
Horrific Code Issues Abound
Magic Bullet Methods Gone Wild
Out of Control Spam Automation
Google Struggles with Script Driven Sites
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
9. Higher Level SEO
The Reality:
Google was forced to take extreme measures
at combatting spam
Result:
Ever Increasingly More Algorithm Layers
Algorithms Do Not Cooperate With Each Other
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
18. Higher Level SEO
The Reality:
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
19. Higher Level SEO
So – What’s The Key To Higher Level SEO?
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
20. Higher Level SEO
So – What’s The Key To Higher Level SEO?
More links?
More content?
More social?
Better links?
Better content?
Better social?
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
21. Higher Level SEO
So – What’s The Key To Higher Level SEO?
Critical Thinking
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
23. Higher Level SEO
Critical Thinking in SEO
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
24. Higher Level SEO
Search Engines First Task: Searcher Intent
What is the full question being asked by the searcher? e.g.:
“ERISA Attorney”
Looking for an attorney who specialize in ERISA?
Want to know what an ERISA attorney specializes in?
Want to know what it takes to become an ERISA attorney?
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
25. Higher Level SEO
Search Engines Next Task: Cross-Signal Validation
“Is this content the best match for this search?”
What is the primary topic for this page?
Is this page the best source of information on this topic?
Does it most closely answer the question asked ?
Is this page trustworthy?
Does the site offer a good user experience overall?
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
26. Higher Level SEO
Your Task:
Match Topical Focus To Your Ideal Searcher Mind Model
Send Consistent Topical Focus Signals
Send Consistent Quality Experience Signals
Avoid Crappy Shortcuts
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
27. Higher Level SEO
Most Common Issues Site Owners & Most SEOs Fail At:
Topical Focus
On-Site Signals
Off-Site Confirmation
Trust
On-Site Signals
Off-Site Confirmation
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
28. Higher Level SEO
Topical Focus
What is the primary focus of this page?
What is the primary focus of the section of the site this is on?
What is the primary focus of the site this content is found within?
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
39. Topical Focus: Deep Rich Organized Content
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40. Topical Focus: High Quality All The Way Down
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41. Topical Focus: Deep Rich Evergreen Content
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42. Topical Focus: Deep Evergreen Win
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43. Topical Focus: Rich Unique Local Content
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
44. Topical Focus: Signal Confusion
Robots.txt: Disallow: On-Site-Search/
On-Site-Search Page Level:
Meta Noindex, Follow
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
45. Topical Focus: Signal Confusion
Page Title: Keyword One | Keyword Two
URL: Keyword Three
H1: Keyword Four
Content: Keywords one, three, five, seven
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
56. Higher Level SEO
Trust
Was a visitor unhappy with the results they clicked to?
Were they confused when they got to the site?
Couldn’t find the information?
Info found wasn’t what they were looking for?
Were they overwhelmed with distractions?
Did they have to spend too much time on-site?
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
57. Higher Level SEO
Trust
What do others say about this site?
Its topical focus
Its trustworthiness
Its authority
Its reliability
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
58. Trust: Perceived User Experience
Errors Google Sees
e.g.: 404 – Not Found, 403 (Soft 404), 500
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59. Trust: Don’t Forget User Behavior
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60. Trust: It’s Not Just Main Page Quality
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61. Trust: Review For Intermittent Problems
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67. Online Reputation
Reality Check
1 Page on a scam site can rank for your phrases or
brand because of site scale
• PissedConsumer.com 500,000 pages
• RipoffReport.com 1,100,000 pages
• Scam.com 3,400,000 pages
• Scambook.com 8,100,000 pages
• 800Notes.com 1,900,000 pages
• Yelp.com 11,600,000 pages
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
68. Online Reputation
Reality Check
Scam Sites allow unsubstantiated complaints
• Competitors & disgruntled employees can post
anything they want
• No proof of claim required
• No personal identification confirmation required
• Legal process can take two years to get court order to
remove false claims
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
69. Online Reputation
Never Fight Fire With Fire
• Don’t post fake reviews / comments
• Don’t create fake news sites
• Don’t create fake reviews sites
• $500,000 fine
• Permanent .gov site record
• Legacy SERPs from news coverage
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
70. Online Reputation
Saturate Content Across The Web
Main Site Company History Site
Corporate Site Community Outreach Site
Customer Support Site Giving Back Site
Complaints Resolution Site Twitter Corporate
Customer Testimonials Site Twitter Customer Satisfaction
Debunking Scam Stories Site Twitter Member Services
Member Services Site Twitter Consumer Advocacy
Consumer Advocacy Site Twitter Community Outreach
Product Return Policies Site Twitter Giving Back
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
71. Online Reputation
Saturate Content Across The Web
Facebook Corporate
Facebook Customer Satisfaction
Facebook Member Services
Facebook Consumer Advocacy
Facebook Community Outreach
Facebook Giving Back
YouTube Channel
YouTube Customer Satisfaction
Channel
YouTube Consumer Advocacy
Channel
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
72. Online Reputation
ORM Key Points
Add value with each new site & profile
Press releases for each new site
Press releases for each new social profile
Build Quality Links to each site & profile
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
73. Online Reputation
Trust + Uniqueness – Over-Optimization = ORM WIN
Don’t hide corporate ownership of any site
Vary Target Keyword Phrases across sites
Link Social Profiles only to the appropriate site
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
74. Online Reputation
ORM Attack Research Techniques
“Other Sites On This Server” lookup on suspicious “reviews” sites
Research ownership info of suspicious “reviews” sites
Research online presence of attack commenter usernames
Research cross-promotion of attack content by commenters
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
75. Limitations of SEO Tools
TBPR (inaccurate, non-timely shiny object)
DA/PA (not accurate – can’t know how Google treats links)
Link Reporting Tools (not comprehensive, no way to know which
no longer are even counted)
“All” vs. “Followed” Link Counts
Disavow Process – not a cure-all – can take months
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
76. Technical Quality Resources
Google Webmaster Tools
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/
Bing Webmaster Center
http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster/
Speed Checks:
http://URIValet.com
http://WebPageTest.org
Code Validation Checks
http://validator.w3.org/
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
77. Industry Tools & Resources
http://www.seomoz.org/google-algorithm-change
http://SEOmoz.org http://SEMRush.com
(Pro Q&A)
http://RavenTools.com/ http://AuthorityLabs.com
http://ahrefs.com http://OpenSiteExplorer.org
http://TheShortCutts.com
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss
78. Search Industry Blogs & News
http://SearchEngineJournal.com
http://SearchEngineLand.com
http://MarketingLand.com
http://SearchNewsCentral.com
http://Inbound.org
http://SEOmoz.org/blog
http://SearchEngineWatch.com
Sustainable SEO AlanBleiweiss.com @AlanBleiweiss