seo in 2011: what’s working, what’s not & where to focus

SEO In 2011: What’s Working, What’s Not

May 16, 2011

Max Thomas - Thunder SEO

• Online Marketing Agency

• Focus on SEO, SMM & Related Campaigns

• Based in San Diego, CA

• Clients: Local Businesses, Medical Industry, Apartments, Corporate Law Firms, Business-to-Business

What Was That?

PANDA/FARMER UPDATE

USA – February 2011

UK – April 2011

Ongoing updates throughout 2010

What Happened?

BIG SITES (and small sites too)

Rankings Dropped

Source: http://www.sistrix.com/blog/985-google-farmer-update-quest-for-quality.html

94% 90%

84%93%

What Does This Mean?

100’s of Factors - Boil It Down

Website

LinksRelevant

SitesActive URLs

Content Topical Engaging

Link Building Reality Check

Quantity

BUT

Linking Root Domains

My Site

My Competitor

Link Options?

Buy Links

Directories

Article Sites

Blog Comments

Link Wheels

PR Sites

Link Exchanges

Link Farms

Google Crack Down on Paid Link Schemes

(That NYTimes alerts them to.)

Matt Cutts Re: Panda (SMX West 11) – “We may

crawl less if you have poor quality.”

Link Options?

Links

Relevant

Engaging

Scale User

Focused

How?

CONTENT• Engaging

• Attracts Users

• People Want To Link To

• Spreads The Word

• Integral to Business

Tip #1Whenever possible…

Make Link Building Part Of How You Do Business

Vendor Badge

Business-Vendor Relationship

Crest CapitalEquipment

Leasing

Vendors

CustomersProvides Leasing

Vendors

Vendors

Sell Equipment

Lease Equipment

Vendor Badge

Vendor

Website

Leasing

App (Helps

Vendor)

Anchor

Text Link –

Biz Name &

Target K

W

Vendor Badge

Does It Work?

!!!!

Tip #2Whenever possible…

Create Community As Part Of Content Strategy

Guest Blogging Program

Company – Community Relationship

Pat Moore Foundation

Rehab Facility

PatientsHow To Help All Via A Web

Community & Expand Online

Presence

Addicts

Recovery

Guest Blogging Program

1

Announce “Official” Guest

Blogging Program On

Website

2

Outreach To “Maven” Bloggers

3

Feature Their Unique Posts On Website –

They Sign Their Own Names

5

Ask Blogger To Promote Their

Post On Website On

Their Own Blog

4

Create “Featured

Guest Blogger” Badge

Announce Program

www.PatMooreFoundation.com

Feature Guest Blog Posts

www.PatMooreFoundation.com

Spread The Word

Badges On Guest Blogger Websites

Guest Blogging Program

Does It Work?

• Blog comments (legit) have tripled

• New users commenting

• Two of top 10 referring sites (30 days)

• Qualified leads increased ~20%

• Inbound Links? Too soon to tell.

Tip #3Don’t Put All Your Eggs In Google’s Basket

• Diversify traffic channels

• Even if you follow all of Google’s guidelines, you’re still dependent on Google and it’s algorithm changes

• Think big picture

Search Focus vs. Diversified Traffic

Expensive Web Presence But Safer Strategy?

Great Community Website But Riskier?

Tip #4Experiment (Black Hat vs. White Hat)

• Constantly experiment and track…track…track

• Link Building – Larger site’s link profile, less impact from risky links

• Site Structure – Tread carefully; watch WebMaster Central and Webmaster Tools alerts closely

Tip #5Have Fun!!!

Remember:

GREAT CONTENT ROCKS!!!!

Thank You!

Max Thomasmax@thunderseo.com

@thundermax

Facebook.com/thunderseo

For more details, visit

ThunderSEO.com…SEO 2011: What’s Working, What’s Not & Where To Focus