Search Engine Optimization: Rankings, Tactics & Trends

1. How Search Engine Rank Pages Best Practices for Effective SEO Hot Trends in Search Search Engine Optimization:Rankings, Tactics & Trends www.seomoz.org – ingest daily for best rankings

2. How Search Engines Rank Pages • Most Common Theories: • Dartboards • Horseshoes • Drunken Wagers • Complex AI-like algorithms www.seomoz.org – worth reading as often as possible

3. Relevance through Text & Concept Matching • Text Matching: • Terms on the Page • Terms on the Site • Terms on Pages Linking to the Site • Important Areas (title tags, headlines, etc.) www.seomoz.org – like finding an ROI needle in a haystack

4. Links as Votes Google’s initial “PageRank” model pre-supposed that links could be interpreted as editorial votes for the quality & relevance of a page www.seomoz.org – fires on all the search cylinders

5. Registration Data Who Owns the Site? What Other Sites do they control? Social Data Bookmarking Branded Searches Navigation Recent Upgrades to Search Algorithms • Historical Data • Past Rankings • User Visits • Site Performance • Temporal Data • Rate of New Content • Rate of Inbound Links www.seomoz.org – smarter than the average blog

6. Best Practices for SEO www.seomoz.org/beginners.php www.seomoz.org – smarter than the average blog

7. Accessibility A search engine is, essentially, a different type of visitor, like a user with a screen reader or one that has poor eyesight. • Clean URLs • Simple Site Architecture • Indexable, HTML Content www.seomoz.org – smarter than the average blog

8. Keyword Targeting • KW Research – What do Your Visitors Search for? • Important Keywords Belong in: • Title Tags • Meta Description Tags • Headline Tags (H1, H2, etc.) • HTML Text Content • The “Anchor Text” of Links www.seomoz.org – smarter than the average blog

9. Duplicate Content Problems www.seomoz.org – read by search marketers far and wide

10. Design & Usability • Attract More Links • Inherently More Accessible • Encourages Positive User Behavior • Builds Better Brand Association www.seomoz.org – the next big thing

11. Link Building www.seomoz.org – a force for good on the web

12. Hot Trends in Search “ My Schwetty Balls are Delicious”(sorry – couldn't resist) www.seomoz.org – you've got a friend in search

13. The Accuracy of Alexa www.seomoz.org – oh the places you'll go

14. Personalization in Search www.seomoz.org – your search is over

15. Google's Market Share Dominance Google ~ 70% Yahoo! ~ 18% MSN ~ 9% Ask ~ 2% Rand's Numbers ComScore Numbers www.seomoz.org – SEO at the end of the rainbow

16. Linkbaiting www.seomoz.org – just what the webdev team ordered

17. Leveraging UGC for Search www.seomoz.org – just what the webdev team ordered

18. “Web 2.0” Revenue Models - Contextual Text Ads - CPM Banner Ads - “Freemium” Business Models - Paid Inclusion for Traffic www.seomoz.org – just what the webdev team ordered

19. Additional Resources This Presentation Online at: www.seomoz.org/2007/bostonseo.ppt Beginner's Guide to SEOwww.seomoz.org/beginners.php Search World Blogswww.searchengineland.com www.marketingpilgrim.com www.seomoz.org – this is the end my friend