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December 3, 2008

Search Engine Optimization. Hello!. December 3, 2008. Megan McDermott Communications & Public Affairs Lauren Harrison Housing & Residences. Outline. Part I: SEO Basics How search engines work UW search tools Defining and implementing keywords The importance of links

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December 3, 2008

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  1. Search Engine Optimization Hello! December 3, 2008 Megan McDermottCommunications & Public Affairs Lauren HarrisonHousing & Residences

  2. Outline Part I: SEO Basics How search engines work UW search tools Defining and implementing keywords The importance of links Part II: Technical Details Changing URLs Blocking search engines Using SEO tools Examples

  3. How search engines work “Bots” follow links around the web Index URLs Revisit URLs periodically Google uses over 100 factors to rank pages Most important: Titles Headers Links

  4. Search at UW • Two engines: • “Old” search: Google • “New” search: Google results with Yahoo backup + people search, manual keyword index • Various other tools (IST, library, math)‏

  5. This is not good! I’ll do the best I can … Why are the results like this? • Results are straight from Google/Yahoo • UW websites are often poorly optimized • Poor use of keywords • Poor linking practices • Old pages left on servers • Old URL’s not redirected or redirected incorrectly

  6. What is this page about? Defining Keywords • If someone was searching for your page, which words would they use? • Which words do you want to rank highly for? • Which words should you rank highest for? • Create a list of keywords that best represent your website – think about different variables of your keywords

  7. Writing good headlines • Always use your <h> tags • Ensure your keywords are included in the headline • Be clear and specific • Different from journalistic style – short and sweet, not wordy and creative • Headings should compliment your <title> tags

  8. Writing good title tags • HTML <title> goes in the <head> section • Displayed in search results • Be specific without being wordy (max. 65 characters)‏ • Avoid giving more than one page the same title • Use the keyword first, followed by the department, then University of Waterloo • Example: Grad Housing – Housing and Residences | University of Waterloo • In Contribute: Format > Page Properties

  9. Keywords in page text • Keywords should appear in the page text • If your page is about Grad Housing then the term grad housing needs to be used in you text some where. • Less important keywords and variations of your keywords should be used in the text • Always write for people first, it needs to sound natural. If you think you have over-used your keywords in your text, then you probably have! • Don’t try to hide keywords

  10. Meta tags • Have become less important in search rankings • Meta descriptions are shown in search results • It is better to have no meta description than a description that doesn't describe that page • Example: Keyword | Department – A brief description of what your page is about. (max. 150 characters)‏

  11. Images Use the ALT attribute (useful in identifying what the image is about, but also helpful to the visually impaired)‏ Be descriptive. Use your keywords. Do not leave it blank! Example: alt= “6 students sitting in front of REV” Keep your keywords in mind while naming your images. Good image name: rev-double-room.jpg Bad image name: DSC00_003.jpg This is not only good SEO practice, but good web building practice in general

  12. Friendly URLs • When naming your folders and pages try to use your keywords • Never leave spaces or special characters in your file names • To separate our words use a hyphen – • Do not use an underscore _ • GOOD: housing.uwaterloo.ca/grad-housing/grad-application.html • BAD: housing.uwaterloo.ca/grad_housing/grad_application.html • BAD: housing.uwaterloo.ca/gradhousing/grad application.html

  13. Internal links • Links inside the site (e.g. navigation menus, in-text links)‏ • All pages should be linked from somewhere • Doesn't have to be on the navigation menu • More important pages should be linked to more often or from more important pages • If a page is easy for a search engine to find it's easy for people to find too • Anchor text (words displayed for the link) is important for ranking

  14. Inbound links • These are links pointing to your site from other sites • Important for discovery and ranking • Each link is a “vote” • Where to get inbound links?

  15. Part IITechnical details

  16. Where did that page go? What to do when URLs change • Remember: search engines index URLs • Don't change urls; try to plan ahead • Redevelop new content at the same URLs • Check for file not found errors and redirect using .htaccess • 301 Redirect means the file has been moved permanently • Be careful: bad code can bring down your site • Contact other sites linking to you

  17. Using .htaccess • Linux/Apache servers only • A simple text file • Turn on hidden files in your file manager • Redirect folder: • Redirect single file: • More information: • http://www.webweaver.nu/html-tips/web-redirection.shtml • Redirect 301 /folder http://yoursite.uwaterloo.ca/newfolder • Redirect 301 /folder/file.html http://yoursite.uwaterloo.ca/newfolder/file.html

  18. Blocking search engines • Search engines will index any URLs they know about • Including old URLs • Old pages should be removed from the website or marked as historical • Redirect URLs to the appropriate page • Search engines shouldn't find anything that isn't linked, BUT: • Once they know about a URL they will index it until you tell them not to

  19. Blocking search engines with meta tags The meta noindex tag tells search engines not to include that page in results Goes in <head> Useful if you want page to be available but not included in search results • <meta name="robots" content="noindex">

  20. Blocking search engines with robots.txt • Disallow in robots.txt • Block all robots from the entire site: • Block all robots from a particular folder: • More information: http://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html • User-agent: * • Disallow: / • User-agent: * • Disallow: /folder/

  21. Blocking search engines If there's something you really don't want search engines to index it shouldn't be on the website at all.

  22. Removing pages from the search results Google takes time to discover that pages have been deleted If page has moved, use .htaccess to redirect to the new URL If page is removed completely, either: Wait Block with meta noindex and/or robots.txt Submit a removal request using Google Webmaster Tools

  23. Using Search Tools • Which pages are indexed? • Which sites link to me? • Google site:http://yoursite.uwaterloo.ca • Yahoo linkdomain:http://yoursite.uwaterloo.ca

  24. This is some of what I know about your site Using Search Tools • Google Webmaster Tools www.google.com/webmasters/tools/ • Sign up with Google account • Follow instructions to verify your site • Tools available: • File not found (404) errors • Search terms used • Crawl stats • Duplicate title tags & meta descriptions • Remove URLs • + more

  25. Template adjustments • Optional: make page title <h1> and site title <h2> or lower on all but the home page; ensure CSS is updated to match

  26. Examples Bad: Graduate Scholarships & Financial Aid Admissions Undergraduate Calendar Course descriptions Application process ELPE Promissory note Good: Exam schedule Distance education + Many more!

  27. Popular search terms at UW schedule of classes bookstore watcard exam schedule quest important dates map library housing campus map http://web.uwaterloo.ca/search/results.php

  28. Additional Resources • Google Webmaster Guidelines: www.google.com/support/webmasters/ • Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide:www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf • SEOmoz Beginner's Guide to SEO:www.seomoz.org/article/beginners-guide-to-search-engine-optimization • SEOmoz Google Ranking Factors:www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors

  29. Advanced Resources • Google Webmaster bloggooglewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/ • SEOmoz blog www.seomoz.org/blog • SEO Bookwww.seobook.com/ • Webmaster World forumwww.webmasterworld.com/

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