Website Optimization

1. Website Optimization Dan Stratford and Dan Smink Snowsports Industries America Webinar Wednesdays March 5, 2014

2. It’s Nice To Meet You! Dan Smink Partner Dan Stratford Partner

4. Today’s Agenda • Make Google Love You • Create a Site Structure Google Will Love • Keep Google Happy • Optimize Your Web Pages • Prevent Digital Decay • Ongoing Optimization Plan

5. Website Goals • Make content useful for visitors and search engines • Improve conversions • Increase search ranking • Optimize on-page SEO • Build site structure for target keywords • Help drive off-page SEO

6. Make Google Love You Site Structure Is Crucial To Your Website’s Success

7. Why Site Structure Is Crucial • Indexing • Help search engines find all your pages • Link Power • Help distribute link benefit from sites linking to you • Usability • Help users find what they want quickly

8. Site Structure • Structure should reflect targeted Keyword List • Make website navigable for visitors and search engines • Three levels of Pages • Home Page • Category Pages • Content Pages • Create links between pages (for humans)

9. Real Site Example

10. Keyword Research and Site Structure Target “head” keywords to your home page and category pages, and long tail keywords to your Product pages and Blog Pages

11. Keyword Research and Site Structure Local Note: “Racing Skis” page may be www.domain.com/racing-skis-denver, but do not change navigation to “Racing Skis Denver”

12. Keyword Research and Site Structure Links 36 18 18 6 6 6 6 6 6

13. Keyword Research and Site Structure Links 36 12 12 4 4 4 16 4 4

14. Usability • Simplicity • Relevancy • Flat structure • Layout • Load time

15. Optimize for Mobile NOT! • Use Mobile Redirects • Simplify site structure • Make pages easy to load • Avoid Flash, Java, Popups • Utilize white space • Reduce text entry

16. Optimize for Mobile Much Better! • Use Mobile Redirects • Simplify site structure • Make pages easy to load • Avoid Flash, Java, Popups • Utilize white space • Reduce text entry

17. Site Structure Recap • Research keywords before deciding on site structure • Use keyword research to determine words to target on home page, category pages, product pages, and blog pages • Create a flat link structure • Make sure your site’s most important pages get lots of “link juice”

18. Keep Google Happy How to Optimize Your Web Pages

19. Key Elements of On Page Website Optimization • URL Structure • Title tag • Meta description and keywords tag • Header tags - H1, H2, H3 • Images and Alt Text • Diverse Keywords • Relevancy • Links that are reputable

20. URL Structure • Use keywords in URL • Keep structure simple • Domain/category/product

21. Title Tag Title Tags • Make title compelling • Focus on primary keyword • Keyword relevant to content • Limit – 70 characters • Unique title for each page • Use “|” or “-” to separate terms

22. Meta Description and Meta Keywords Meta Descriptions • Should make sense to reader • Should reinforce title tag • Place primary keyword near beginning • Don’t stuff keywords • Limit characters to 140 • Include brand and CTA • Google doesn’t look at meta keywords, so don’t worry about them, (but if you do, make them relevant to the page and don’t stuff)

23. Key Elements of On Page Website Optimization • Home Page • Domain Name • Keyword rich is ok, but not everything • Does not need to be keyword rich • Has been penalized in the past • Can still be an advantage, but not necessary-BRANDING may be more important • Takes a lot more than just keyword rich domain name • Title tag • 2-4 Most Important Short Tail Keywords • 70 Characters • Example:On Sale Snowboard Shop, Snowboarding Gear - The House • Meta description and keywords tag • 3-6 Most Important Short Tail Keywords • More descriptive • Call to action • Example: • Snowboard Shop carries the top snowboard gear including snowboards, boots, bindings, goggles, clothing and more. Our on sale snowboard gear you'll find ..

24. Key Elements of On Page Website Optimization Home Page Content • 500-700+ Words • Written to your buyer persona (s) • Messaging Platform • Engage • Solution • Reinforcement • Value • Hypertext link via search terms naturally in the content of the page

25. Key Elements of On Page Website Optimization Category & Sub- Category Content • 300-500 + Words (could be more than home page) • Informative product service information • Calls to action (CTAs)

26. Key Elements of On Page Website Optimization • Categories & Sub-Categories • URL • Dashed Keywords • Example:http://mountainhightree.com/tree-service-denver • Title tag • 1-2 Most Important Short Tail Keywords • 70 Characters • Example:Denver Tree Service – Trimming – Pruning – Tree Care - Colorado • Meta description and keywords tag • 3-6 Most Important Short Tail Keywords • More descriptive • Call to action • Example:Denver Tree Service Company specializing in tree care, tree trimming, pruning & pest control – Call Mountain High - xxx-xxx-xxxx for a free estimate.

27. Header Tags • H1, H2, H3, etc. • In HTML code as <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, up to <h6> • Only have one H1 tag per page • Make H1 hook your reader • Use target keywords in your header tags whenever you can H1 H2 H3

28. Images and Alt Text • File names and alt tags • <imgsrc=“keyword-name.jpg” alt=“keyword description”/> • Always use keywords in alt text and file names • Informs search engine what the picture is

29. Page Content • Diversity • Use primary and secondary keywords in text • Make content readable, interesting • Regularly add new content • Relevancy • Visitors will leave quickly if the content isn’t relevant • Search engines pay attention to bounce rate • Reputable Links • Good content necessary to gain links from reputable sites

30. Site Optimization Recap • Use target keywords to guide on page optimization • Remember the pillars of on page SEO – URL, Title, Headings, Meta-description, Content, Alt Text, Links

31. Prevent Digital Decay An Ongoing Onsite Optimization Plan

32. Why is SEO Ongoing • Digital marketing is always changing • Search Engine Algorithms • Competitors • Your Company • Keyword markets • Need to keep content fresh and natural • Analyze results • Adapt

33. Review Analytics • Keyword Rank • Website Traffic • Visitor Sources • Most popular pages and blog posts • Bounce rates • Pay Per Click • Link Growth • Competitor Performance • Help you determine “how much” • Also great for off-site efforts needed • Discover trends

34. Update Plan • Research new keywords • Select keywords to target with future content • Update editorial calendar • New blog posts • New web pages • Update offsite linking plans • Update Pay Per Click plan

35. Execute • Make changes • Track results • Repeat

36. Ongoing Optimization Recap • Have a plan – but don’t be afraid to adjust or react! • Build good content • Analyze results • Make adjustments

37. Next Step… • Develop off-site SEO strategy • Linking • Social media • Good on-site can lead to off-site results • In competitive market you may never succeed without an aggressive and sensible off-site strategy

38. Questions?

39. Next Webinar Blogging For Small Business Wednesday, April 2nd @ 2pm EST Content creation is a key element in helping to rank a website, and in digital marketing companies want to educate their market, as well as position themselves as thought leaders to the target market.  The best way to meet these goals is through blogging consistently, and this session will help attendees understand how to use their target keywords to develop optimized blog posts.

40. Contact Information C1 Partners 3773 Cherry Creek North Drive Suite 575 Denver, CO 80209 P: (303)501-1821 E: info@c1-partners.com W: www.c1-partners.com T: @c1partners