e seller e book ( raghu )

The eSellerMedia.com SEO crash course

of 19

SEO crash course

Go to www.esellermedia.com for more eseller ebooks

Contents

SEO in numbers.......................................................................................................................................3

Comparing spend on Google Adwords to SEO ....................................................................................4

Why do we need SEO? ................................................................................................................................5

How good is your SEO? ..............................................................................................................................6

Key ingredients to SEO – Blogging ...........................................................................................................7

Key ingredients to SEO – Keywords .........................................................................................................9

Key ingredients to SEO – Link Building ..................................................................................................10

Key ingredients to SEO – Content Marketing .......................................................................................11

Key ingredients to SEO – Black Hat ........................................................................................................12

Why should you follow a Panda? .......................................................................................................13

Going beyond Google? .............................................................................................................................14

What do SEO agencies do? ......................................................................................................................15

Find a great agency .....................................................................................................................................17

A quick word on Flash ................................................................................................................................18

SEO wrap-up – 10 Factors when Optimising .......................................................................................19

.........................................................................................................................

http://esellermedia.com/

of 19

SEO crash course


1SEO innumbers

• 2 – Search is the second biggest online activity after email

• 82.6% – percentage of web users use search to find things

• £514m – estimated value of UK search industry

• 60% – proportion of people who click on top 3 Google results

• 7 in 10 – clicked links are organic listings

• 4:5 – ratio of searchers who rarely or never click on paid listings

• 1 in 3 – b2b marketers spend more on SEO than any other marketing tool

........................................................................................................................


of 19

SEO crash course


2 ............................................................................................

Google Adwords Example Costs

On average the term ‘silk scarves for women’ gets 1300 monthly searches

in the UK and at the time of writing to be number one on Adwords for

that term would cost £2.30.

It would be expected that the click through rate (CTR) for this would be

around 3% for a well written advert. Therefore in one year, using Adwords

you would receive approximately 468 visits at a cost of £1076.

Organic Google Listing Value

For the same term to be #1 on Google’s natural listing you would get a

CTR of approximately 32% providing approximately 4990 visits/year.

To get this many visits on Adwords it would cost over £11,000. Even the

number 3 slot in the natural listings would provide around 1000 visits a

year, worth £2300 in ad spend.

Source: Noovo Creative

Comparingspend on Google Adwords to SEO


of 19

SEO crash course


Most of your customers come to you via a search engine and so appearing high in their rankings is a business necessity

.................................................................................................................

Search engines send out their spiders to crawl the web, find out

what’s new, who is linking to what and where the action is.

These little critters send back their data and inform

organisations such as Google, Yahoo and Bing what the web

looks like.

When a user types in their search terms, the data gathered from

the spiders is rapidly searched and the most relevant appears at

the top of the results.

For most users, the first page of search results is the only one

they ever see. Results which appear on pages 2, 3 and onwards

receive a mere fraction of the traffic gained by those on the first

page.

By Andy Atalla, founder and director of atom42

3Why do weneed SEO?


of 19

SEO crash course


If your site is visited every day then this is, in most cases, an

excellent result. However, if it is just once a week, this is still

a good result for many companies.

Perform a site audit

You need to ensure your site is easy for the search engines

to understand and that your code is up to scratch.

Use relevant keywords

Spend a little time working out which words or phrases are

used by your potential customers. Ensure these terms are

used on their relevant pages and in the right places – page

titles are the most important.

Create engaging content

Gaining links is seen as a recommendation by search

engines. By creating interesting and exciting content there

is more chance that people will post links on social media

sites, their own blogs and websites.

Use social media

Social media can generate traffic, links and buzz in general.

It also helps you to find out what people think of you.

By Andy Atalla, founder and director of atom42

Type your company name into a search engine. It should be fairly high up on the first page. If not, you have a problem.

The next step is to find out when

you were last visited by a search

engine spider, you can find out by

clicking ‘cached’, which is found

close to the search listing. The

busiest sites are visited very often,

and have good SEO rankings.

..............................................................................................................4How good is your SEO?


of 19

SEO crash course


5Key ingredients to SEO - Blogging

One key method to bolster your online marketing is simply through blogging,

something that we do on a daily basis. Writing a blog can be done by pretty

much anyone with a computer; writing a good blog which shares advice and

demonstrates industry knowledge is a skill.

By publishing industry-related blog posts, business owners can communicate

expertise and personal style, while building and maintaining relationships with

potential customers.

In addition to promoting discussion with your clients and driving traffic to your

site, blogging can also help bring fresh content and new links.

Kelvin Newman, Director of Strategy at SiteVisibility

.....................................................................................


of 19

SEO crash course


From a brand perspective if you get the content right this can help grow a

community and provide a personality for your organisation, which is very

powerful.

In terms of organic search blogging allows you to wax lyrical about

subjects within your business experience or related experience which helps

broaden the range of terms which can help drive visitors to your site.

Remember to include links in your blog posts, either to external sources,

reports or news stories that you might reference and also to your own

content, white papers and previous blog posts on your site where it makes

sense to do so.

Linking to other documents on the web where it is natural and logical to

do so, adds value to users and also helps search engines discover and

understand more about the nature of your pages and those that you link to.

Linking to external sources shows that you’re a good “web citizen” though

of course you may want to limit this to within your blog content and not on

your corporate information pages.

Nichola Stott from theMediaFlow

5Key ingredients to SEO - Blogging cont/... .....................................................................................


of 19

SEO crash course


..............................................................................6 Key ingredientsto SEO - Keywords

Focus on what your site actually offers, or visitors will just bounce straight back out of your site

How can you improve your website’s SEO with keywords?

Here are our tips:

For ecommerce websites, your keywords should be focused

on your product: what is it that you sell? What keywords will

your customers search for in order to find you?

The process of choosing your keywords is more than just

thinking about what customers will search for.

We suggest:

1. Create a list of potential keywords (relevant words, but

not too common terms either).

2. Enter the proposed keywords into keyword research

tools (such as Google Adwords Keyword Tool), to

determine how strong they are.

3. Research your keyword list again, creating two lists: one

of broad keywords (ie “clothing”, “toys”, etc) and targeted

keywords (ie “blouses”, “jeans”, “toddler toys”,

“transformers” etc).

4. Include them on your page – make sure it reads naturally,

but try to include 3-4 related keywords per page (analyse

your keyword density by entering a page here).


https://adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool

http://www.internetmarketingninjas.com/seo-tools/keyword-density/

of 19

SEO crash course


7 Key ingredientsto SEO - Link Building ...........................................................................................

In the past that had led to some people deliberately

trying to manipulate links to a page thus artificially

inflating the signals that tell a search engine a page is

useful or important. Whilst occasionally some of these

low-rent tactics may still work it is inadvisable to base

your link strategy on engineered tactics.

In 2012 Google in particular introduced a number of

algorithm changes designed to identify and demote

pages that use manipulated, ‘spammy’ link tactics.

Instead focus on creating original, interesting content

that speaks to your audience, and marketing that

content using social media, PR and marketing

strategies that will help you earn natural good-quality

links and remember - make your content easy-to-

share with social buttons or embed codes for graphics

files.


Amongst many other factors, search engines use links to a page to help understand and evaluate how and where that page should rank.


of 19

SEO crash course


Think of the Sunday papers that give away a free CD

with purchase, or tabloids that use TV to advertise a

shocking exclusive.

Content itself can be a product and products need

to be marketed so that they are in front of your target

audience, and so that they tell the right story at the

right stage of a consumer purchase-journey.

Having great, original and compelling content is only

the first stage; marketing that content through organic

search, social media and online PR is essential for your

online visibility.


8 Key ingredientsto SEO - Content Marketing ......................................................................................

Even the most established and oldest media continue to market their content.


of 19

SEO crash course


‘White hat’ refers to proper optimization that is allowed

by most search engines – this ebook is full of white

hat examples. Some Black hat examples are:

1. Link pyramids: Creating other websites to provide

backlinks to a main site.

2. Keyword stuffing: Very, very small text stuffed

with keywords

3. Invisible text: writing that is the same font colour

as the background to hide it

4. Doorway pages: Designed to attract search

engines, but redirect users to a new website

5. Stolen content: duplicated content from other

websites (known as “scraping”)

These are just a handful of examples. There are many

more, including more complex techniques involving

proxy servers and IP addresses, that are used to trick

search engines.

9 Key ingredientsto SEO - Black Hat ...........................................................................

When you optimize your website, it’s important to play by the rules. ‘Black hat’ SEO techniques are frowned upon by Google and it has taken action to lessen their impact.


of 19

SEO crash course


..........................................................................................

The main lesson? Avoid poor-quality content.

Poor-quality content lowers your site’s ranking

through Google Panda. Even if your site has a lot of

unique, relevant, original content, the poor-quality

stuff can still damage your site.

The Google Webmaster Central blog offers some

insight into what you need to be careful with:

• Duplicate, overlapping or redundant articles on the

same or similar topics

• Mass-produced content by a large number of

creators, or spread across a network of sites

• Short, unsubstantial articles that lack helpful

specifics

• Are the pages produced with great care and

attention to detail?

• Does this article have spelling, stylistic or factual

errors?

Should your ecommerce website be affected by a

Google Panda update, you should improve your site,

remove low-quality content, improve your SEO (white

hat only!) and ask Google to reinstate your ranking.

Removing unwanted or damaged items will hugely

benefit your online sales.

Google Panda is Google’s search algorithm, acting as a content quality filter for its search engine rankings.

But why does it matter for ecommerce

websites?

The Google Panda algorithm was first

rolled out by Google in February 2011,

aiming to promote high-quality content

sites through lowering the rankings of

low-quality content sites.

Since then, the search engine has

released other Panda updates, which

have affected a number of websites.

For ecommerce entrepreneurs, Google

Panda offers lessons on what to do and

not do on your website.

10Why should you follow a Panda?


http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/

of 19

SEO crash course


.....................................................................................................

1. Local results: both search engines offer local

results for users. So consider focusing your content

and optimisation on keywords related to location.

2. PageRank and links count a lot: good back-

links to your website and internal links will both

help improve your traffic, but it will improve your

website navigation and help you rank higher on

both Google and Bing.

3. Pay-per-click exists on Bing too: using the

same model as Google AdWords, Bing offers an

adCentre which helps you achieve click throughs

and improves your SEO.

4. Keywords: all search engines depend on

strong keywords. So try to make sure that your

domain name includes a keyword that is directly

related to what your ecommerce business offers.

It is therefore possible to rank on several search

engines at the same time, which should be

reflected in your SEO strategy.

Going beyond Google?

In the Western World, you’d be forgiven for thinking Google is the only search engine. But others do exist like Microsoft’s Bing.

As of November 2012, Google

accounted for more than 91 per cent of

UK search engine use. Bing accounted

for just 4.73 per cent, followed by Yahoo!

with 2.27 per cent.

There are quite a few similarities between

Google and Bing in terms of SEO. What

are some of the key similarities you can

use in your SEO strategy?

11


of 19

SEO crash course


.........................................................................

What do SEO agencies do?12Just as in any other industry, there are good and bad SEO

agencies. The main sign of a good SEO agency is that it only

engages in white hat SEO techniques.

The truth is that SEO can be done in house: it isn’t a dark art

that requires insider knowledge of Google, but it does require

dedication and a long-term strategy.

Where an agency can help is in their expertise and talent. Many

growing ecommerce sites simply don’t have the time to dedicate

themselves to proper SEO development

There are certain things that you can do before hiring an agency:

• Keywords: ensure that you have a list of keywords for your

site, and use these (where relevant) over and over on your site.

• Copy: keep your website copy tight and fresh. Ensure you

update your ecommerce site as often as possible with blogs,

new products, new pages and categories and testimonials.

Is it worth paying for an SEO agency to boost your ecommerce website’s rankings online?


of 19

SEO crash course


SEO agencies are best placed for the next phase of improving

your SEO, where it becomes important to build up the number of

back links to your website.

Back links are vital as they give your website credibility. The more

back links you have from strong sources (such as news outlets,

academia and reputable/popular websites), the more “Google

juice” your site will receive.

There are two techniques for this. First, the organic way, where

your site and its content sells itself – the copy you write and the

products you have on your website are so good that others will

link back to you.

You can achieve this through a good SEO / PR strategy, in which

journalists link to your website in online articles, or through a

good social media strategy, where the more you share through

Twitter and Facebook, the more people will link back to you.

The second main technique is encouraging many sites to link to

you independently. Again, unique content is important for this,

which you can help provide in advance.

.........................................................................

What do SEO agencies do?cont/...12

There are no magic bullets for SEO, however if you decide to hire an agency and want to see drastic results, budget for the agency to work for you for six months to a year.


of 19

SEO crash course


Also consider:

• How does their website look?

• Does it come high up in search rankings?

• Do they provide case studies of successful

campaigns?

• What professional affiliations do they have?

• Are they accredited in some way?

• What other marketing services do they offer?

• Do they use Black Hat practices?

• Can they provide references?

Cross out the ones that don’t respond to your initial

query within 24 hours – these are either unreliable or just

too busy for the customer service you need.

Ideally, you will find a company that has worked on a

business similar to yours in both what you sell and your

business’ size. An SEO agency that has worked in your

industry will be able to offer a better proposition because

of previous knowledge.

Throughout the process, remember that SEO is one of

the most effective ways of marketing and promoting

your business and generating new sales. It isn’t always

easy to find the perfect fit, but once you do, it can help

your business grow like lightening.

...................................................................

Find agreat agency13

So start your search by asking

colleagues, contacting site owners

of sites you visit, and looking at

popular SEO forums to find good

recommendations. You can also find

good recommendations and advice

on choosing an agency with the

InternetRetailing Procurement Guide

here.

Reliable SEO agencies have a strong reputation and industry presence.


http://internetretailing.net/procurement-guide/

of 19

SEO crash course


14A quick word on Flash .....................................................................................

Adobe Flash is a brilliant product that lets web developers create

dynamic video and lively animations on websites. But Google can’t

easily see content that is constructed in Flash, so it should be used

sparingly.

While it may make your site visually appealing, generally it is not a

good idea to build your site with Flash as it will work against you

in search engine rankings. (The same goes for Javascript – search

engines aren’t able to read it very well. So use it sparingly!).

Google can’t easily see content that is constructed in Flash.


of 19

SEO crash course


1. Identify your audience

2. Create relevant content

3. Find the best keywords

4. Optimise your article’s title

5. Optimise your headings & subheadings

6. Use title & alt attributes

7. Create static & XML site maps

8. Don’t use flash

9. Avoid link farms

10. Establish your business on social media channels

By Ben Austin CEO of SEO Positive

www.seo-positive.co.uk

15 ...........................................................................

SEOwrap-up10 Factorswhen Optimising


http://www.seo-positive.co.uk

of 19

SEO crash course


.....................................................................................

Everything you need to know about selling on Pinterest

Pinterest is the latest social media phenomenon to take the web by storm.

CLICK FOR FREE ACCESS

Selling Online in 30 days

The ultimate guide to getting your ecommerce business set up quickly – no staff, no tax, no network, just sales.


How to make your customers love youA clear set of guidelines for giving customers the best possible experience when they visit and buy from your ecommerce website. These tips will earn you glowing reviews, peer-to-peer referrals and most importantly repeat custom


Everything you need to know about selling on Facebook

All businesses should have a presence on Facebook, but moving from a brand awareness exercise to selling your company’s goods or services is the next logical step.


Expert Online Marketing

A detailed set of guides covering the main aspects of marketing online; from email to social media via Google analytics.


SEO crash course

Your must-read introduction to the essential principles of search engine optimisation and how these can be applied to give your ecommerce business a genuine boost.


FREE OFFERSfrom eSellermedia.com

Successful sellingonline in 30 days

Created by and brought to you courtesy of

We hope you enjoyed your visit to Top Drawer recently. As a thank you for your support, we would like to offer you this FREE e-booklet, which gives you comprehensive and easy to understand, advice on getting your business online. Many of you have expressed an interest in ecommerce and, most recently, over 37% have indicated that you have an online presence. At Top Drawer, we are dedicated to providing you with the right product and right business advice to help you maximise your business potential both on and offline. We hope that you find the enclosed information useful, and look forward to seeing you at our next Top Drawer event in September, 15-17th 2013.

..............................................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................................................


http://esellermedia.com/download/everything-you-need-to-know-about-selling-on-pinterest/

http://esellermedia.com/download/ebook-successful-selling-online-in-30-days/

http://http://esellermedia.com/download/ebook-how-to-make-your-customers-love-you/

http://esellermedia.com/download/everything-you-need-to-know-about-selling-on-facebook/

http://esellermedia.com/download/ebook-expert-online-marketing/

http://esellermedia.com/download/ebook-seo-crash-course/

e seller e book ( raghu )

Education