small business / local seo 2013 - central ma business expo

@dan_shure

SEO In 2013

2013 Central MA Business ExpoDan Shure

@dan_shure

I’m Dan.

www.evolvingseo.com

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What Is SEO?

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Showing Up Here

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Traffic

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Transactions

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Why Does SEO Matter?

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Organic Search Is Growing

Slide source: http://www.slideshare.net/randfish/the-power-of-inbound-marketing

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You Could Be Missing Out On Business

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Or Worse, You Could Be Unintentionally Turning Away Traffic

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Or Worse, You Could Be Unintentionally Turning Away Traffic

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Or Worse, You Could Be Unintentionally Turning Away Traffic

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Or Worse, You Could Be Unintentionally Turning Away Traffic

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Or Worse, You Could Be Unintentionally Turning Away Traffic

https://twitter.com/dan_shure/status/293929126694375424 (Note: this looks to have since been resolved)

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9 Parts

1. Anatomy Of Google2. Types Of Searches3. Myths4. Why Sites Rank5. Basic On Site SEO6. Local SEO7. Mobile SEO8. Content9. Social Media

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Part One – Anatomy Of Google

Live Demo

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Anatomy: 85 Examples

http://www.slideshare.net/crumplezone/beyond-10-blue-links-the-future-of-ranking

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Part Two - Types Of Searches

Live Demo

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5 Myths

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Myth 1 – Use The Keyword Meta Tag

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Myth 2 – Stuff In As Many Keywords As Possible

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Myth 3 – SEO Is a “Trick”

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Myth 4 – Buying PPC Ads Helps Organic Rankings

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Myth 5 – Publish As Much Content On As Many Pages As Possible.

Annoyingly Often.

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Mistakes Hiring SEOs

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Don’t Believe “Guarantees”

No no no no!!!

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Don’t Go With The Cheapest Option

Further reading: http://searchengineland.com/the-hidden-cost-of-cheap-seo-social-labor-131585 http://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-theres-no-such-thing-as-cheap-seo-or-link-building/45932/

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Mostly Avoid “SEOs” Who Cold Call/Email You First

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Get Educated FIRST

• Moz.org• Google Webmaster Guidelines• Google Help Videos• Local SEO Learning Center – GetL

isted• Clarity – Talk To An SEO (Paid)• Google Webmaster Help Forum

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Part Four – Why Sites Rank

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Content

• http://moz.com/blog/visual-guide-to-keyword-targeting-onpage-optimization

• http://moz.com/blog/how-to-rank

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Back Links

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“User Metrics”

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“User Metrics”

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Social Media

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Moz SEO Ranking Study

• http://moz.com/search-ranking-factors (just came out today!)

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Part Five – Basic On Site SEO

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Choosing A Platform

• WordPress

• Static HTML

• Other “CMS” (Drupal, Joomla)

• Don’t – “Hosted” (Yellowpages etc)

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Set Up Analytics & Webmaster Tools

• www.google.com/analytics/

• www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

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Title Tags

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Title Tags

<title>Webpage Title Goes Here</title>

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Title Tags

Bad

“Best SEO, Search Engine Optimization, Web Site Ranking Company, SEO Services Worcester, Boston, The Planet”

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Title Tags

Good

“Search Engine Optimization Services In Worcester, MA – Evolving SEO”

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Title Tags

Local SEO Tip

• Include the city, state in your title tag

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Title Tags

• Google Webmaster Title / Description Resource

• https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35624?hl=en

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Web Crawler – Screaming Frog SEO Spider

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Authorship

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Part Six – Local SEO

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Source: http://moz.com/blog/2013-local-search-ecosystems

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NAP – Name, Address, Phone Number

Consistency is Key.

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NAP – Name, Address, Phone Number

Eliminate duplicates.

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Claim Your Google Places Page

• https://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness/

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NAP - Your Website

• Present in footer

• Clear contact / directions page

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Google Places Categories VERY Important

• Select as many as possible

• Use Google’s suggested categories

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Google Places Categories VERY Important

http://blumenthals.com/?Google_LBC_Categories - Blumenthal’s Google Places Category Tool

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Data Aggregators

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Data Aggregators

• http://www.infogroup.com/• http://www.expressupdate.com/search • http://www.databyacxiom.com/presence-managem

ent.html

• http://www.neustarlocaleze.biz/directory/index.aspx

• http://www.factual.com/

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Yelp

https://biz.yelp.com/

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Tools

• https://getlisted.org/

• https://www.whitespark.ca/local-citation-finder/ (paid)

• https://www.whitespark.ca/citation-building-submission-service (paid)

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Claim GPS Listings

• http://here.com/primeplaces/

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Reviews

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Reviews

• Check In Once a Week (or so)

• RESPOND!!

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Reviews

• Link to review profiles from website

• “Encourage” reviews from happy customers

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Part Seven – Mobile SEO

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Your Site HAS To Look Good And Work On Mobile

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Responsive Design

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Check PageSpeed

http://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

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Part Eight - Content

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Define Your Audience

People who are most like to buy my [product/service]….

…are likely also interested in___________________.

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Use Ubersuggest.org

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Use Ubersuggest.org

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Use Ubersuggest.org

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Blogs Are About Conversation

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Teach

Teach & Share – Watch The Classic Video By Jason Friedhttp://youtu.be/Ks2saa38Id4

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Tell A Story

http://www.evolvingseo.com/2013/05/19/moving-to-worcester-ma/

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Curate

Curate – Internet Marketing Conference Listhttp://keyphraseology.com/internet-marketing-seo-conferences/

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Blogs Work, But Can’t Suck

Consistency Is More Important Than Frequency

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Blogs Work, But Can’t Suck

Write as if Google Doesn’t Exist(ie: get traffic from elsewhere)

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No Excuses.

Speechpad

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Part Eight – Social Media

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Register Your Profiles (Even If You Don’t Use Them)

www.knowem.com

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For SEO, Social Is About Showing Engagement

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For SEO, Social Is About Showing Engagement

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No excuses here, either.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-case-study-victory-auto/

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No excuses here, either.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-case-study-victory-auto/

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Link To/From Website

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Link To/From Website

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To Conclude

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SEO Takes Work

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SEO Can Make The Web A Better Place

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Not A Zero Sum Game

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Worcester / Central MA has a LOT to gain as a whole.

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Thanks!

Q&A

@dan_shureevolvingseo.com