Babson College and Connelly Partners present an overview of SEO and how content creators can make an impact.

1. GOOGLE IT
THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

2. VANESSA THEOHARIS `10
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,
INTEGRATED CONTENT STRATEGY
BABSON COLLEGE
DAN HURLEY
SENIOR MANAGER,
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
CONNELLY PARTNERS

3. AN ANECDOTE FOR CONTEXT...

5. Riley (a.k.a the guy who knows how to
use the can opener)

7. WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Search has fundamentally changed our daily ritual;
becoming a second-nature behavior that didn’t exist
15 years ago...

8. WE USE SEARCH FOR...
Finding Information...

9. WE USE SEARCH FOR...
Shopping...

10. WE USE SEARCH FOR...
Getting around...

11. WE USE SEARCH FOR...
Checking the weather...

12. WE USE SEARCH FOR...
Booking travel...

13. GOOGLE: EVOLUTION OF THE
MOTHERSHIP

14. GOOGLE HAS COME A LONG WAY...
Google originated as a Stanford University research
project by Sergei Brin and Larry Page in 1998.

15. WILDLY SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTS...
Gmail

16. WILDLY SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTS...
Google Maps

17. WILDLY SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTS...
Google Analytics

18. WILDLY SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTS...
Android O.S.

19. A FEW CLUNKERS...
Google Buzz (2010-2011)

20. A FEW CLUNKERS...
Google+ (2011 - Currently on life support)

21. A FEW CLUNKERS...
Google Glass (2013 - 2015)

22. WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Google has shown us time and again that they’re not
sitting still, and are not hesitant to enter or invent new
markets...

23. WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Google’s flagship search product is also ever-
evolving...

24. UNDERSTANDING GOOGLE SEARCH

25. NOT THE FIRST TO MARKET!

26. EARLY SEO: THE WILD WEST...
Unsophisticated natural language processing
algorithms:
The best search engines are search engines that
please that search engine’s users. Other search
engines cannot compete with our search engine’s
processing power.

27. EARLY SEO: THE WILD WEST...
Unsophisticated natural language processing
algorithms:
Have you considered online casinos for gaming?
Online casinos offer casino players the ability to use
an online casino wherever they have internet access.
Our online casino offers a complimentary $20 casino
credit for new online casino members.

28. GOOGLE NOT THE FIRST TO MARKET...
...but elevated search engine’s reliability beyond
keyword stuffing:

29. AND KEPT IMPROVING...
Florida Update (2003) : Nullified antiquated SEO
tactics from core algorithm (keyword stuffing, cloaking,
hidden text, etc).

30. AND MONETIZED ...
Google AdWords Established Between 2000-2005
(IPO August 2004)

31. AND KEPT IMPROVING...
Google Caffeine (2009) : Radically increased the
crawling and indexing power

32. AND KEPT IMPROVING...
Google Panda (2011) : Dramatically downgraded sites
producing low quality/thin content

33. AND KEPT IMPROVING...
Google Penguin (2012) : Algorithmic downgrade of
sites engaged in backlink spamming

34. AND KEPT IMPROVING...
Google Knowledge Graph (2012) : Google exhibited a
more comprehensive of web entities and their
properties

35. AND KEPT IMPROVING...
Google Hummingbird (2013) : Synchronized
integration between knowledge graph and core
ranking algorithm

36. MARKET DOMINATION...
Search Engine Market Share

37. AND MONETIZED...
Google AdWords Revenue 2001-2015

38. GOOGLING BABSON

39. GOOGLING BABSON
BABSON-BRANDED TERMS
babson college
babson
babson university
babson mba
babson executive conference center
babson college ranking
babson college tuition
NON-BRANDED TERMS
gmat sample questions
san francisco
gvv
international business environment
gmat practice test
industry specific interview questions
hazing statistics
64%
48%
Google Search is the No. 1
source of traffic to
www.babson.edu and
blogs.babson.edu.

40. WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO YOU?

41. WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Google has evolved from an algorithm that identified
patterns between keywords and pages to one that
connects human questions and motivations to content
and experiences...

42. WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Their business model requires them to focus on the
integrity of the search experience for those people
who will never click on ads...

43. WHY DOES IT MATTER?
And therefore...

44. WHAT CAN WE DO AS CONTENT
CREATORS TO FEED THE
MOTHERSHIP?

45. WHAT CAN WE DO?
If you want a piece of content to rank well organically,
always invest in quality over quantity.

46. WHAT CAN WE DO?
Consider all the questions that would lead people to
your content...Then consider the keywords that they
might use to ask those questions.

47. LEARN TO LOVE METADATA!
Google uses signals from coding elements called
metadata to index and rank content against search
queries. Title Tag (Blue text)
Meta Description (Gray text)

48. LEARN TO LOVE METADATA!
Use the title tag to include keywords you want to rank
well for (limit 55 characters total).
Title Tag (Blue text)

49. LEARN TO LOVE METADATA!
Use the meta description to enter a compelling
description that would entice a user to click through.
Don’t be concerned with keywords here! (150
character limit)
Meta Description (Gray text)

50. LEARN TO LOVE METADATA!
Use the primary heading field of your page to include
keywords in your article/page title.
This is the H1 header element on the page

51. WRITING FOR GOOGLE...
Avoid keyword stuffing! Use a natural distribution of
important keywords and their synonyms.

52. WRITING FOR GOOGLE...
Avoid keyword stuffing! Use a natural distribution of
important keywords/phrasings and their synonyms.
‘homebrewing’
“Making your own beer can be a fun way to understand the production
process for the ales and lagers you love. Homebrewing requires
patience and some small upfront equipment costs, but quickly begins to
pay dividends when stocking up for a party with friends sends begins
with your homemade pilsner and IPA, rather than a trip to the store”

53. WRITING FOR GOOGLE...
Consider Co-occurring Phrases! What are the phrases
that would naturally co-exist in other documents about the
keyword you want to rank for?
‘wine making’
‘Channeling your inner vintner requires a working knowledge of grape
flavor profiles, the patience to get past a couple batches that resemble
more vinegar than viognier, and a little luck. You should invest in a good
hydrometer to understand the fermentation period, as well as familiarize
yourself with the many yeast strains available.’

54. WRITING FOR GOOGLE...
Structure your page in a way that’s easy for Google and
Hummingbird to understand.

55. WRITING FOR GOOGLE...
Consider what keywords tell us about searchers and
speak to those questions and motivations...
‘babson college’ ‘where is babson’ ‘roger babson’ ‘best mba program’
‘babson mba ranking’ ‘babson tuition’ ‘babson undergrad admission’
‘how to apply to babson’ ‘babson library hours’’

56. HOW YOU CAN MAKE AN IMPACT

57. HOW YOU CAN MAKE AN IMPACT
Test searches.
Talk to your audiences about their search behavior.
Audit your webpages.
Consider SEO when creating blog content.

58. GOOGLE IT
THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)