Mastering SEO Evolution: Thriving with Pandas, Penguins, and Pigeons

1. SEO pandas, Penguins, and pigeons Search Engine Optimization: Communicating well with search engines and with human beings. • SEO hasn’t died, but it has changed. You need to change your approach.

2. About Us • Haden Interactive builds, optimizes, and manages WordPress websites for large and small organizations on four continents. www.HADENINTERACTIVE.com Haden Interactive Address: 1337 E. Ash, Fayetteville, AR Phone: 479.966.9761 Email: info@hadeninteractive.com 02

3. Our Team Many of us are here at WordCamp and we want to meet you. John Doe 06

4. Service List • Web design • Web content • WordPress websites • SEO analysis and strategy • Website optimization • Blogging • Link building • Social media management • Email marketing • PPC • SEO/SEM includes a lot of different activities, including on-page optimization of content and code, strategy based on analytics, and off-page actions like link-building, guest posting, and integrating social media and advertising. Search Engine Optimization 04

5. Why SEO ? Be found by people looking for your goods and services. Reach customers at the Zero Moment of Truth. SEO has the highest ROI of any marketing tactic. 05

6. The Settings on the SEO Time Machine

7. What Has Changed Google’s algorithm changes have changed the rules… for the better. • Panda • Penguin • Pigeon … oh yeah, and Hummingbird 10

8. How Search Engines Work • Google crawls and indexes sites. Each page is ranked by its topic and its value. • When people search, Google looks at what it has already indexed. • It offers the best match, according to the algorithm and the decisions it has already made about the pages it has already indexed. 15

9. Why does the algorithm change? Technology improves – Google works constantly to improve the search engine. When people try to game the system, Google reacts, to keep the search engine working well. Just like taxes, the search engine algorithms are also used to influence behavior.

10. What the heck is an algorithm? An algorithm is a set of rules for making a decision, like adding or long division. A heuristic is a quick, informal decision based on experience. Heuristics are a more human form of decision making.

11. An Algorithm If it is going to rain, then carry an umbrella. If it is not going to rain, then do not carry an umbrella. Computers are good at algorithms.

12. A Heuristic Lots of information based on experience, not all of it clearly measurable. Not based on rules. Much better for deciding whether to run away from a bear.

13. Computers Are Good with Algorithms DoINeedanUmbrella.com has an Algorithm • Google works on its algorithm constantly. • Google is trying to make its decisions as human-like as possible. • Your website will be most successful if you work with Google, not against. • That’s SEO. 11

14. We’re Not Talking about Snake Oil SEO: communicating with search engines. • Different people see different things. • Rankings are based on both on-page and off-page factors. • Rankings are now only part of what determines what people see on the SERPs. • You can’t tell your rank by Googling. • So you can’t install a plugin and be finished. 11

15. Panda Panda is all about site quality. • Panda cracked down on “thin content” – poor quality pages. • The goal was to offer high-quality sites to searchers. • Content farms were all but wiped out and their value eliminated. • Panda is now part of the main algorithm, and it can still affect your website. 11

16. Panda

17. Panda Surprise 09

18. Penguin • Penguin hit shady linkbuilding. • Poor quality pages with lots of links • Unnatural links • Links from link farms • Three-way link swaps and other sneaky tricks • Keyword stuffing

19. Penguin Penalties If you have to ask, don’t do it. Google tried doing without links, but they’re still one of the best signs of a quality website. • No paid or traded links • No link directories, just local and industry directories • No comment spam • No low quality articles for links

20. Social Media, Networking, and Natural Links Honest linkbuilding is still good. • Integrate social media and SEO. • Don’t forget Google+. • Link to others. • Write content worth linking to. • Watch Google Webmaster Tools to see problems coming. 14

21. Pigeon • Pigeon’s goal was to improve local search. • Stronger local emphasis • Pinpoints searcher’s location better • Therefore, fewer local results per query make the map • Local directories win out • Uses hundreds of factors • Google+ is probably important.

22. Before Pigeon

23. After Pigeon

24. The Carousel The carousel hasn’t changed. It gives lower-ranking businesses a chance to be seen.

25. What Does This Mean for SEO? If you’re following advice from 2005 (other than having a great website), you’re doing it wrong. • Don’t obsess over rankings – have the best company and the best website you can and watch the competition. • Don’t act like a machine. If your methods can be done by machine, they’re not working, or won’t work in the future. • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Not because there’s anything wrong with the basket. 18

26. SEO Ecosystem Analysis SEO isn’t something you do once. • Media Links Ongoing SEO efforts gain results. • Average year over year growth for unmanaged websites: -0.17% • Average year over year growth for managed websites: +51.6% Content Update 19

27. Thank you for your Attention ! www.hadeninteractive.com