This document outlines the agenda for a digital marketing summit. It includes sections on SEO fundamentals, staying ahead of Google updates, fixing website foundations, performing competitor analysis, keyword research, and attracting links. The presentation focuses on optimizing websites for search engines by focusing on factors within a website owner's control, such as content quality, structure, and performance, in order to rank higher in search results.

1. 1
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

2. 2
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
ABOUT ME
President & Founder of Market MindShift
Marketing Professor
Digital Marketing Trainer
Published Author
PhD Student

3. 3
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
WORKBOOKDOWNLOAD:
minneapolis.digitalsummit.com/agenda/workbooks

4. 4
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
TODAY’S AGENDA
SEO Fundamentals
Google Updates
Fix the Foundation
Competitor Reconnaissance
Deeper & Better Keyword Research
Website Structure
Attract Links Like a Publicist
Put It All Together

5. 5
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

6. 6
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
W H AT W E FA C E I N
SEO TODAY

7. 7
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

8. 8
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

9. 9
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
S E O
FUNDAMENTALS
SEO is a significant responsibility—
there are best practices and guidelines
White Hat SEO, Black Hat SEO…Gray
Hat SEO!
9
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

10. 10
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

11. 11
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
F O C U S O N
WHAT YOU CAN
CONTROL
o Once you think you have it figured out,
the algorithm changes again
Google makes 500-600
algorithm changes a year
No one knows all the algorithm variables

12. 12
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
F O C U S O N
WHAT YOU CAN
CONTROL
Competitors are constantly changing
They want to push you down in search results

13. 13
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
F O C U S O N
WHAT YOU CAN
CONTROL
Your website is the only thing you can control
Don’t be stupid with your website
o Performance
o CMS
o Mobile Friendly
o Optimization

14. 14
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
o E-A-T
o YMYL
o Mobile
o Reputation
Quality website
F O C U S O N
WHAT YOU CAN
CONTROL

15. 15
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
F O C U S O N
WHAT YOU CAN
CONTROL
Download: http://bit.ly/2umUlf1

16. 16
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
o Main content quality and amount
o Person/company responsible for website
o Website reputation
Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness (E-A-T)
F O C U S O N
WHAT YOU CAN
CONTROL

17. 17
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
o Fake news sites
o Clickbait
o Science claims
o News articles can be judged on YMYL
o News sites are held to higher standard
2017 Version
F O C U S O N
WHAT YOU CAN
CONTROL
Great summary: http://bit.ly/googleraters2017

18. 18
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
o Must cite sources, when applicable
o Avoid distracting/disruptive/misleading ads
o Keyword stuffing redefined:
o Previously: Argentina is a country. People
live in Argentina. Argentina has borders.
o Now: Argentina is a country. People live
there. Argentina has borders.
2017 Version
F O C U S O N
WHAT YOU CAN
CONTROL

19. 19
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
SEO PROCESS
Source: http://www.seobook.com/images/seo-flowchart.gif

20. 20
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
S TAY A H E A D O F
GOOGLE UPDATES

21. 21
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
W h a t y o u s h o u l d k n o w :
RANKBRAIN
Machine-learning artificial intelligence system
One of the factors in the ranking algorithm
Make it easy for Google to understand what’s on your pages

22. 22
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
M o b i l e - f r i e n d l y f a c t o r
MOBILE FRIENDLY
Became part of the ranking algorithm in 2015
Now, Google has moved to a ”mobile-first” mentality
Mobile platforms: m.dot, responsive design, dynamic serving

23. 23
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
AMP
Open source project to help publishers load content faster
Competes with Facebook Instant Articles
Pre-renders content and limits JavaScript usage
Caches content
A c c e l e r a t e d M o b i l e P a g e s

24. 24
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
AMP
Per Google, 70 percent of typical mobile pages take seven to
10 seconds for visual page content to load.
AMP pages load in under one second.
A c c e l e r a t e d M o b i l e P a g e s

25. 25
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Source: https://www.ampproject.org/case-studies/washingtonpost/

26. 26
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Source: https://moz.com/google-algorithm-change

27. 27
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
FRED UPDATE

28. 28
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

29. 29
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Source: https://barracuda.digital/panguin-seo-tool/

30. 30
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
WORKBOOKDOWNLOAD:
minneapolis.digitalsummit.com/agenda/workbooks

31. 31
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
F I X T H E
FOUNDATION

32. 32
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

33. 33
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

34. 34
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
IMPORTANCE OF A SOLID
FOUNDATION
Search engine spiders can’t crawl your website
Your pages aren’t indexed
You have a penalty
N o t h i n g e l s e m a t t e r s , i f :

35. 35
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
COMMON ERRORS THAT
REALLY SCREW YOU UP
A v o i d e r r o r s , s u c h a s :
Slow page load time
Duplicate content
Broken links

36. 36
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
404 errors
Redirects other than 301s
Too many URL parameters
COMMON ERRORS THAT
REALLY SCREW YOU UP
A v o i d e r r o r s , s u c h a s :

37. 37
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Duplicate or missing title tags
Duplicate or missing meta description tags
Cluttered code
COMMON ERRORS THAT
REALLY SCREW YOU UP
A v o i d e r r o r s , s u c h a s :

38. 38
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Mobile unfriendly
Large image files
Wrong mobile implementation
MOBILE ERRORS THAT
REALLY SCREW YOU UP
A v o i d e r r o r s , s u c h a s :

39. 39
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Faulty redirects
Not using tags correctly (rel=“alternate” and rel=“canonical”)
CSS doesn’t include rules
MOBILE ERRORS THAT
REALLY SCREW YOU UP
A v o i d e r r o r s , s u c h a s :

40. 40
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
40
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

41. 41
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

42. 42
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

43. 43
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
P E R F O R M I N - D E P T H
COMPETITOR RECONNAISSANCE

44. 44
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
K N O W W H AT Y O U R
COMPETITORS
ARE DOING
Check backlinks
Keyword rankings
Pages indexed
Domain age
Page speed

45. 45
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
K N O W W H AT Y O U R
COMPETITORS
ARE DOING
Paid ads
Keyword targets
Type of content
Social media

46. 46
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
o Title tag
o Meta description
o Body text
o Keyword density
o Intent
Review the top 5-10 pages ranked for your keywords
T H E G O A L I S T O B E
BETTER THAN
COMPETITORS

47. 47
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
I D E N T I F Y T H E
PERSONAS FOR SEO

48. 48
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
SEARCH ENGINES WANT
TO UNDERSTAND USERS
Words they use
Questions and concerns
Websites they frequent
K n o w y o u r t a r g e t e d v i s i t o r s :

49. 49
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
U N C O V E R
A GOLDMINE OF
INFORMATION
o Customer service
o Salespeople
Your company is a treasure of information
Talk to those on the frontlines

50. 50
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
U N C O V E R
A GOLDMINE OF
INFORMATION
o Questions asked
o Words used
What to investigate

51. 51
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
GATHER &
USE CUSTOMER DATA
Send out a survey or questionnaire
Large sample
Great for demographic data
Q u a n t i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h

52. 52
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
GATHER &
USE CUSTOMER DATA
Q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h
Interview existing clients/customers
Focus on words used, motivations, thoughts, etc.

53. 53
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
P E R S O N A
DEFINITIONS
Use persona definitions
from marketing
Don’t have them? No problem!
We’ll figure it out together.
53
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

54. 54
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

55. 55
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

56. 56
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

57. 57
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

58. 58
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
PERSONA
BUILDING

59. 59
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
D E E P E R A N D B E T T E R
KEYWORD RESEARCH

60. 60
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
60
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
BRAINSTORM
FIRST
Think about every possible term
someone could search for
Refer back to your research
within your company!

61. 61
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

62. 62
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
62
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
ADD OTHER
WORDS
Include synonyms
What are common words associated
with that keyword?

63. 63
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
63
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
EXPAND
THE LIST
Use tools to expand your list
Keywords Everywhere (keywordseverywhere.com)
Answer the Public (answerthepublic.com)

64. 64
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
COFFEE
BEANS

65. 65
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

66. 66
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

67. 67
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
67
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

68. 68
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

69. 69
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
F A I R T R A D E C O F F E E

70. 70
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

71. 71
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
YES…
It’s Still About the Long Tail
of keyword searches are long tail
70 percent

72. 72
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
S i d e n o t e o n …
FEATURED SNIPPETS
Identify a frequently asked question
Answer it simply and directly
Provide additional value

73. 73
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
73
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
I D E N T I F Y
USER INTENT
01
It’s not just about one word, it’s about the
topic and what people expect to find
02
Topical density means more
than keyword density

74. 74
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
74
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
I D E N T I F Y
USER INTENT
03 Know the meaning behind words
04 Use clarification words

75. 75
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

76. 76
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

77. 77
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

78. 78
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
O R G A N I Z E T H E
WEBSITE STRUCTURE

79. 79
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
B U I L D
CONTENT THEMES
Think of your website like a book filled with chapters
Each category represents a chapter
Fill the chapter with relevant information

80. 80
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

81. 81
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

82. 82
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

83. 83
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

84. 84
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

85. 85
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
o Know your keywords
o Crawl your website
o Select your landing page
o Organize your pages
o Decide on physical or virtual structure
Follow the steps:
B U I L D
CONTENT THEMES

86. ON PAGE STRUCTURE
Head Body

87. 87
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
O N PA G E
OPTIMIZATION
Take every opportunity to optimize
Follow natural behavior
Don’t overdo it

88. 88
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
< h e a d > < / h e a d >
TITLE
Appears first in the <head> section
Every page needs one
Must be unique for every page
Should be between 62-70 characters

89. 89
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
< h e a d > < / h e a d >
META DESCRIPTION
Appears second in the <head> section
Every page needs one
Must be unique for every page
Should be compelling

90. 90
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
< b o d y > < / b o d y >
HEADINGS
Appears in the <body> section
Should be in order <h1><h2><h3>…
Only one <h1> per page
Keep them short

91. 91
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

92. 92
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
< b o d y > < / b o d y >
ANCHOR TEXT
Phrase used to link to a page
Clickable text that describes the linked page
Passes PageRank points
Should be concise
<a href="https://www.amazonservices.com/sell-on-amazon.htm">Sell on Amazon</a>

93. 93
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
< b o d y > < / b o d y >
IMAGE ALT ATTRIBUTES
Used to describe images
Adheres to disability laws
Should be descriptive
Don’t keyword stuff!
<img width="760" height="400" src="https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/02/AmazonAlexaSEO-760x400.png" class="attachment-
large_post_thumb single-featured-image wp-post-image" alt="The Complete Guide to
Amazon Alexa SEO" data-jpibfi-indexer="0">

94. 94
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
< b o d y > < / b o d y >
PERFORMANCE
Externalize CSS and JavaScript (if it makes sense)
Combine CSS files and combine JavaScript files
Defer JavaScript loading
No excessive comments and whitespace

95. 95
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
M A K E S U R E T O U S E
SCHEMA MARKUP
Helps search engines understand content meaning
Improves search rankings
Leads to rich snippets (sometimes)
Schema.org

96. 96
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Source: https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool

97. 97
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
A C T L I K E A P U B L I C I S T T O
ATTRACT LINKS

98. 98
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
BEFORE REACHING OUT
TO WEBSITES
D o y o u r h o m e w o r k :
How trustworthy is the website?
Is it relevant to your site?
Does it appear to be a quality website (demonstrates E-A-T)?

99. 99
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
PROVIDE EXPERT
CONTENT
Use Google News or general Google search
Locate name of the editor or site owner
Offer to write a unique article (not published anywhere else)
L o c a t e r e l e v a n t , h i g h q u a l i t y w e b s i t e s :

100. 100
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
DEVELOP A LINK
ATTRACTOR
B e u n i q u e a n d i n t e r e s t i n g :
In-depth article
Research study
Tool
Video
Content
Coupon
Infographic

101. 101
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

102. 102
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Facebook ads
Conferences
Articles
Press Releases
PROMOTE THE LINK
ATTRACTOR
P u b l i c i z e y o u r c r e a t i o n :

103. 103
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
Controversial topic
Make something mundane funny
Provide an “insider’s” perspective
BE SLIGHTLY EDGY OR
CONTROVERSIAL
M a k e s o m e w a v e s

104. 104
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

105. 105
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

106. 106
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

107. 107
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

108. 108
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m

109. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
T h e S E O S t r a t e g i c P l a n
H E R E s t a r t n o w

110. 110
m a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o mm a r k e t m i n d s h i f t . c o m
STAY IN TOUCH!
mindy@marketmindshift.com
(480) 750-2252
@mindyweinstein