This slide show explains the basic principals of SEO and why it essential for your website.

1. Prepared by: Trish Saemann
trish@GoBeyondSEO.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

2. It is not enough to just have a website anymore!
Your site doesn’t do much for you sitting at
the bottom of your business card.
Your Site Needs To:
 Gain Exposure
 Engage Customers and Prospects
 Generate Leads
 Market Your Business!
Your site can’t do any of those things if web searchers don’t find it!
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

3. Did you know?
Only a small minority of Charlotte's local businesses
effectively use the Internet to attract new customers!
• 44% of Charlotte small businesses have websites
• 7% advertise online
• 13% take advantage of free listings on search engines
The Result: Many local businesses aren't appearing as high as they can for
local searches, negatively impacting the ability to attract new customers
*source: carolinanewswire.com
"Nine out of 10 consumers today turn to the Internet when looking for a local business,
there is a direct correlation between 'online visibility' and profits"
*source: AmIVisible.org
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

4. Has indexed over 25 billion web pages and receives over
400 million search queries a day.
And that is just Google! Yahoo, Bing and others have indexed billions more and receive billions of searches a day.
 89% of clicks on web pages listed in Google
happen on the first page of results
 56% of those clicks go to the first page listed
So, how do you get those clicks?
How do you move your website from the obscurity
of the 5th or 500th page of listings and grab a
top listing on the first page of results?
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

5.  Each Search Engine has their own algorithm for indexing sites
 No one knows the exact algorithm but…
 Through a process of best practices you can climb the rankings.
The best practices change but their purpose always remains the same:
Establish Relevance!
If you show the search engines that your site is relevant
to the keyword term being searched it will climb the rankings to #1.
Essentially, you need to let the SE’s know which keywords
are relevant to your site.
Let’s look at an example…
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

6. Example: Charlotte CPA
Three Step Process To Success:
1. Keyword Research - Find the Correct Keyword Phrases
2. On-Page Optimization - Get Your Site to Tell Google What it is About
3. Off-Page Optimization - Get Other Sites to Tell Google What is About
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

7. Step 1 : Find the Right Keywords
You Need Keywords That Will Show the Greatest ROI
These Keywords will exhibit 2 traits:
1. Traffic – They are being searched for on Google
2. Commercial Intent – They infer that the searcher
is looking to purchase a product or service
In Our Example:
Charlotte CPA, Charlotte Accountant, Charlotte Tax Services, Charlotte CPA Firm
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

8. People are using Google the way they used to use the Yellow Pages
They don’t go to the book anymore; they type
“Charlotte CPA” into their computers, laptops, iPads and
even cell phones.
Having a top listing in Google is like being on the front
cover of the Yellow Pages.
But Google listings aren’t alphabetical. They are listed by relevance.
Are you letting Google know how relevant you are?
You let them know through the process of SEO
Now…Step 2
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

9. Step 2: On-Site Optimization
Simple changes to your website will optimize the way
it establishes your relevance for your chosen keywords.
These easy changes will increase your site’s rank in
Google and other Search Engines.
There are 5 Main Components to Change:
1. Title Tags
2. Header Tags
3. Meta-Descriptions
4. URLs
5. Content
You need to put your keywords into each of these 5 components.
Let’s look at them 1 by 1…
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

10. Title Tags
Site Ranks #32 in Google
Title Tag:
Powderly CPA - Charlotte,
North Carolina
Recommended Title Tag:
Charlotte CPA | Charlotte Accountant | Powderly PLLC
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

11. Header Tags
 Current Header Tag:
Firm Philosophy
Recommended Header Tags:
Charlotte CPA Accounting Services, Charlotte CPA Firm Philosophy
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

12. Meta-Description Should be “spider friendly” and Sell the Click!
Recommended Meta-Description:
Charlotte CPA Firm specializing in tax preparation. If you need accounting services in
Charlotte, NC DO NOT settle for less. Powderly CPA is Charlotte’s premier Tax Services
CPA Firm. Click through for more information.
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

13. URL - Google ranks web pages not sites. This site could have a page like this:
http://www.powderlycpa.com/charlottecpa
The above URL would have an advantage ranking for the term “Charlotte CPA.”
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

14. Content The on-page content should accomplish 2 objectives:
1. Be Keyword rich for the SE spiders
2. Market the business for the real, human visitors
Remember, it’s about your customer – not you!
What problems do they have that you can solve?
What drove them to search for your services?
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

15. Step 3 – Off-Page Search Engine Optimization
Now that you have picked the right keywords
and adjusted your site to show Google your
relevance, you need to get down to the real
business of SEO:
Off-Page Optimization or Link Building
While Google likes it when your site lets them know what
you are about. Google REALLY LIKES IT when other sites let
them know what you are about.
This makes sense! An independent recommendation for
your site should carry more weight than your own recommendation.
Links are like votes for your site! The more votes…the higher you go!
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

16. How do you get links?
1. Linkbait
2. Social Bookmarking
3. Article Marketing
4. Directories
5. Blogs / Forums
6. Social Media
Building Backlinks is the most labor intensive part of SEO and the most crucial.
Without proper links your site will not rank.
Proper links will increase your ranking
for keywords because they will contain the proper
Anchor Text.
What is anchor text?...
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

17. The key to link building is having the correct
Anchor Text. That is the blue text in the link.
The Anchor Text in your links should be the keywords you wish to rank for
Not the words, “click here” – unless you wish to rank for the term, “click here”.
Adobe Reader
ranks #1 for The KW
“Click Here”
Even though those
words NEVER appear
on its website. The Power of
Anchor Text
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

18. How NOT to build links….
Registering for a directory like this and using LinkedIn
is good because you will get links, but…
You are not maximizing the potential of that
Link because there is NO Anchor Text
As soon as you can, change the anchor text
in your LinkedIn profile. This simple step will
help your SEO efforts.
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

19. How to CORRECTLY Build Links…
These Links Have Proper Keyword Rich Anchor Text
They Will Provide Maximum SEO Benefits!
This Site isn’t on Page 3 of Google…..
It is Ranked #2 for Charlotte CPA and Accountant Charlotte!!
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

20. Summary
 Most Local Businesses DO NOT
Effectively use the internet
 This Causes Loss of Revenue
 Search Engines Look for Relevance
 You Can Establish Your Relevance by:
1. Finding the Right Keywords
2. On-Page Optimization
3. Link Building with Proper Anchor Text
Questions You Need to Answer Before Moving Forward
• Will a top Google Ranking benefit my business?
• What would my potential customers look for online?
• How much is a new customer worth to me? – Establish your ROI
• Are my competitors ranking yet? – Big First Mover Advantage
• Do I want to do SEO myself or outsource it?
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting

21. TAKE AWAY ACTION PLAN
1. Find Relevant Keywords
2. On-Page Optimization
3. Off-Page Optimization
i.e. – Link Building
4. Rank in Search Engines
trish@gobeyondseo.com ©GoBeyond SEO Marketing and Consulting