How to Take SEO into the Future

Saturday 10th September

David Naylor

About MeOwner of Bronco, with Becky

Leading search marketing agency

Been in SEO for 13 – 14 years

Regular speaker at leading search conferences

2

What is SEO 2.0?Is it just a buzz word or a defined technique?

SEO is constantly evolving, need to stay ahead and follow latest Google signals

Main goal is to still strive for AUTHORITY

Need to futureproof rankings3

What’s changed?Universal search and personalisation

The rise of the social networks

Google stepping into social (Wave & Buzz predate Google+)

Recent Google updates - Panda

4

What hasn’t changed?

Google wanting you to build sites for USERS

and not for search engines

5

What was Panda?

Sites that got hit:

Had weak content pagesHad links from sites that got hitWere over affiliatedWere poor for the user

6

What did Panda look like?

Data: SearchMetrics

7

What is still important?ON PAGE:

Good title tags, headings, unique content

Good site structure in coding & speed

Good on page linkage

8

On pageTo be worthy for Visitors & Google, not just Google

More about long tail search traffic, than all focused on main terms

Add some conversion tracking too & optimise for visitors

9

Off PageRanking algorithm still heavily weighted to links

Link landscapes and link profiling changing

Plenty of keyword ranking penalties being handed out for overcooking

10

Link Landscapes

11

Off PageNeed to mix up your links to match industry profiles – source and extend link types that are missing from profile

Branded links, keyword anchor, domain anchor, phrase + keyword anchor and plenty of “other” anchors.

12

A bit on links – key factsA quick to find link is often not the one you want

Link building is very hard to do right – Quality vs Quantity

(Use SearchMetrics to see if a potential link partner has been hit!)

13

Be smart with dataRankings are a moving target – need to develop new ideas to keep authority

Data overload – need to know how to use effectively, be analytical

Find new keywords, untapped traffic streams, good conversion points

14

SEO 2.0, SEO for the futureTake a more holistic approach, use many different techniques

Build up brand and dominate 1st page real estate

Build strong community & interact with users

15

Ways to improve presenceGoogle News & RSS – quality, interesting, worthy, unique content

Google Shopping – long tail results

Google Adwords – build brand awareness (doesn’t help rankings)

16

Ways to improve presenceBlog – adds extra content & personality, include share buttons

Videos & Images – Youtube channel, good content for visitors

Reviews – Adds UGC and helps build brand profile

17

Ways to improve presenceTwitter / Facebook – social media presence . Needs regular tweets & updates, and interaction

Stumbleupon / LinkedIn / Digg / Reddit – plenty of sites to build social profiles

18

Ways to improve presenceVoucher Codes / Groupon – offer a reason for people to visit & recommend

Affiliate Scheme – run a good program so affiliates work for you

(Keep an eye on who’s promoting you)

19

Google +1Google +1 is a ranking factor (what %?)

Signal of relevance, a vote of trust by users

Google can spot trends, enhance quality scores, detect interactions, deliver more tailored results

20

Social media activityDo you need social media activity to rank better?

RT’s and Likes are signals – harder for Google with Facebook

Nofollowed links on Twitter are followed if the right criteria is met !

21

If I was building a site…Part 1Good brandable domain with equity

Build a clean site, aim for Authority, but include user interaction points

Good structure, well SEO’d, unique content

No monetisation initially

22

Part 2Extensive keyword research

Get into Google News – with “follow the sun” writers

Set up triggers for topical articles to be written and published quickly

23

Part 2Mix up with relevant social accounts

Look for News aggregator partners

Bring in brand only link building

Run with this until around 20,000 visitors per day

24

Part 3Continue to engage using social media

Start to monetise the news articles – Ajax inserts

Heavier PR link push into the main site

25

Part 4Once authority has been built, push for the big traffic terms with on page and off page SEO

Build more authority through link building and gain higher ranking for big terms while still pushing out great content.

26

So….Top survival tipsKeep learning from Google

Use traditional SEO wellCreate good worthy contentEngage with social media & maintainFind the footprint that suits your sectorWork hard

27

And finally….

What does the future hold?

28

29

30

31

Any Questions?David Naylor

Twitter: @davenaylor

Email: dave@bronco.co.uk

www.davidnaylor.co.uk www.bronco.co.uk

32