2. Let’s See What’s on the SEO Menu Today:
I. Why Search Matters So Much
II. Making an SEO-Friendly Site
III. Quick Setup Guide for Bloggers
IV. Choosing Keywords & Optimizing Your Pages
V. Link Building Dos & Don’ts
VI. 10 Actionable Tips for Your Blog
VII. Answers to Frequent Questions
3. The Growth of Search
Number of Searches/Day on Google
3 Billion Searches/Day
(announced Aug. 2012)
4. SEO vs. Paid Search Ads
75%+ of all clicks go to organic
results, not paid ads.
5. SEO vs. Paid Search Ads
More than 50% of search
queries have no paid ads at all.
6. Great SEO Builds On Itself
Done right, consistent, quality posts + solid
SEO lead to a natural growth in referrals
8. Using Wordpress? You’re 80% There!
“(Wordpress) is a fantastic piece of software, it makes your site easily
crawlable by search engines, solves some 80-90% of mechanics of
SEO and is the first big step anyone can take towards creating a
popular online business.”
Via: http://www.howtomakemyblog.com/seo/googles-matt-cutts-wordpress-the-best-blogging-platform-for-seo/
9. Wordpress Users: Read This Guide!
http://yoast.com/articles/wordpress-seo/ - I also recommend Joost’s plugin “Wordpress SEO”
10. Other SEO-Friendly Platforms Include:
http://drupal.org/, http://joomla.com and http://www.squarespace.com are all good choices if Wordpress isn’t a match.
11. Less Ideal Platforms for SEO
I wouldn’t recommend these platforms as a first choice for SEO-friendly blogging, though some (like
TypePad and Expression Engine) can be customized with enough elbow grease.
19. Step 1: Go to Google AdWords
http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal is nice & free!
20. Step 2: Use “Exact Match”
Don’t Use This “Broad” as Numbers are Way Off
Use “Exact” - These are Much Better
http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal is nice & free!
27. A Few More General Keyword Rules
A) Don’t target more than 2 pgs on your site to a given keyword
B) Never use a keyword in a post more than what feels natural
C) Not every post needs to be keyword targeted
D) Choose keyword subjects that you have expertise in. Don’t
try to force a keyword+post combination that won’t be quality.
E) The better the post, the better your chances for ranking.
SEO is less about the perfect formula and more about people
loving & sharing your work.
38. What Elements Matter in a Link?
URL Rel=“Nofollow”
(a tag that indicates search
(the link target)
engines shouldn’t trust/count
this link)
<p><a href=http://www.seomoz.org rel=“nofollow”>
SEOmoz’s Website </a> is a good resource for those
seeking to learn more about search engine
optimization.</p>
Surrounding Text
Anchor text
(may provide context on
(tells the engine what
the link’s relevance)
this link is about)
39. Tactics to Earn Great Links
• Beginner’s Guide: Chapter 7 – Growing Links & Popularity
• Link Building Blog Posts on SEOmoz
• Webinar on Link Building Strategies
• 101 Ways to Build Links from SEOBook
• Link Building Presentations on Slideshare
• The Science of Retweets from Dan Zarrella
• The Noob Guide to Link Building from Mike King
• 1000s of Link Building Tactics from the SEOmoz Blog
41. #1: Be Willing to Fail for a Long Time
Where Geraldine Started Her Blog
42. #1: Be Willing to Fail for a Long Time
Where people usually give up.
43. #1: Be Willing to Fail for a Long Time
2.5 years in, she finally reaches 1000s of daily visits
44. “The only thing that I see that is distinctly
different about me is that I’m not afraid to
DIE on a treadmill. You might have more
talent than me, you might be smarter than
me, but if we get on a treadmill together,
there are two things: 1- You’re getting off
first OR 2- I’m gonna DIE. It’s really that
simple”
- Will Smith
55. What Was Google’s “Panda” Update? Do I
Need to Worry About That?
Check out http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-googles-panda-update-changed-seo-best-practices-forever-
whiteboard-friday for more on how Panda imapcted SEO and http://www.seomoz.org/blog/beat-google-panda for
tips on how to beat it.