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IMPROVE YOUR SEOFORT COLLINS WORDPRESS MEETUP

JULY 26, 2016 | AMBER HINDS

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Today it's not about “get the traffic” -- it's about

“get the targeted and relevant traffic.” Adam Audette, Chief Knowledge Officer, RKG

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What We’ll Talk About

How People Find YouWhat Search Engine Optimization IsKeywords & Writing Great ContentOn-Page SEOOff-Site SEO

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How do people find you?

1.Direct2.Referral3.Social Media4.Search Engine

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Search Engine Optimization:

The art of creating quality content with key words and phrases that are easily recognized by search engines so that your website will rank high in organic search results.

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Search Engine Optimization:

Small modifications made incrementally over time.Ongoing activity for the life of your website.

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Content is king.Bill Gates, 1996

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Keywords Come First

Before you can start writing content, you need to know what you’re targeting.

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Keywords Come First

Before you can start writing content, you need to know what you’re targeting.

Brainstorm - Research - Plan - Evaluate

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Keyword BrainstormingEach piece of content should have one focus. Think about:

Product or services that you offer

Business values

Related topics for your target customers

Location

Singular & plural

Synonyms

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DivorceAttorne

y

LegalSeparatio

nDivorce

Post Decree

Modification

Alternative

Family Law

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DivorceAttorne

y

LegalSeparatio

nDivorce

Post Decree

Modification

Alternative

Family Law

Spousal Support

Child Support

Custody

Relocation

Changes for

cause

Mediation

Collaborative Law

Unbundled Legal Services

Why

Types

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DivorceAttorne

y

LegalSeparatio

nDivorce

Post Decree

Modification

Alternative

Family Law

Spousal Support

Child Support

Custody

Relocation

Changes for

cause

Mediation

Collaborative Law

Unbundled Legal Services

Why

Types •Why•State law•How calculated•How long have to pay•Who pays whom•What can it be spent on

•Why•State law•How determined•Distance•Age of children

•Impact on child support•Impact on visitation•What to think about first•State law•Law in other states

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DivorceAttorne

y

LegalSeparatio

nDivorce

Post Decree

Modification

Alternative

Family Law

Spousal Support

Child Support

Custody

Relocation

Changes for

cause

Mediation

Collaborative Law

Unbundled Legal Services

Why

Types •Why•State law•How calculated•How long have to pay•Who pays whom•What can it be spent on

•Why•State law•How determined•Distance•Age of children

•Impact on child support•Impact on visitation•What to think about first•State law•Law in other states

Cases:Traditional Marriage

Common Law Marriage

Civil UnionsSame-Sex Marriage

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Keyword Research ToolsGoogle Adwords Keyword Planner

https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner

Google Search Suggesthttps://www.google.com/

Google Trendshttps://www.google.com/trends/

Moz Keyword Explorerhttps://moz.com/products/pro/keyword-explorer

SpyFuhttp://www.spyfu.com/

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70% of Global Searches

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Choose Your FocusStart with more obtainable terms (lower

search volume)Target “long-tail keywords” - 5-7 word

phrasesHow easy is it to craft a title & first

sentence with exact phrase?Have you targeted it already?

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Don’t go too broad!

Keyword Monthly Searches Google Results Use it?vegetables 135,000 235,000,000 No

frozen vegetables 3600 7,310,000 No

frozen kale 720 638,000 maybe

healthiest frozen vegetables

90 215,000 yes

are frozen vegetables better than canned

70 829,000 maybe

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Get WordyLength matters! Longer content gets more social shares and more links from other websites.

Moz: 1800-3000 words get the most links

Buffer: 2500 words or longer get most social shares

SerpIQ: 2000-2450 words on first page on Google; less content=lower ranking

QuickSprout: > 1,500 words = 68.1% more tweets & 22.6% more Facebook likes

UpWorthy: No correlation between length & traffic - the visual difference?

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Make It Readable

Use headers to breakup textParagraphs not more than 55

characters wide or 4-5 lines longAdd images or graphics

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Content that is truly exceptional, unique, and useful can earn

tremendous awareness through social media, and that social

amplification often leads to great links, which leads to great

rankings.Rand Fishkin, Moz CEO

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On-Page SEO

Optimization you do on your website on a page-by-page basis.

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On-Page SEO

Optimization you do on your website on a page-by-page basis.

Page Title - URL - Meta tags Headers (H1, H2) - Keyword Inclusion - Links - Images

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Before You Start WritingMobile-optimized websiteQuality web design & no security issuesSSL CertificateWebsite load timeSetup Google Analytics & Google Search

Console (Webmaster Tools)

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Page Title

Typically this becomes the H1 header on your page

Include keyword/phrase, at beginning if possible

Kissmetrics: Ideal headline = 6 words

Don’t force it! Go for interesting and relevant, not keyword-stuffed

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URL

Include keyword/phrase

Dashes separate words

Keep it short

Don’t be afraid to edit WordPress’ suggested permalink

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Meta Tags

Meta TitleInclude keyword/phrase at beginning

55 character (2014) // 60 character (2016, Moz)

Readable & compelling

Search engines may rewrite this

Meta DescriptionUse keyword/phrase intelligently

150-160 characters

Avoid duplication

Not used by Google for ranking

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HeadersH1

Typically set by theme using the post/page title

Limit to 1 per page

H2

Use to break up content & increase readability

Can help SEO, but not a major factor

Include keyword/phrase & variations

H3, H4, H5, etc. can improve readability, but use them in order!

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Keyword Inclusion

Just write good content.Create unique content - Copyscape Premium

Create relevant & interesting content

Don’t “keyword stuff”Keyword Density - becoming a thing of the pastPlacement of keywords more important than frequencyInclude variations of keyword/phraseSearchMetrics: keyword 8-10 times, average of 1285 words

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LinksUse descriptive keywords in anchor text (I.e. “click here” = bad)

Internal links: help establish site structure and spread ranking awesomeness

External links: make your content more relevant

Search engines have a crawl limit of ~150 links per page

Don’t overuse links

Search engines won’t see:Links in submission required forms

Links in un-parsable JavaScript

Links pointing to pages blocked by robots.txt

Links in iframes (if not implemented well)

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Images

Change the image file name before you upload

Use Alt tags that include keyword, but describe the image

Use properly sized-images

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Negative Ranking FactorsTotal number of unnatural links to

page/subdomainDuplicate contentContent is thin/low qualityAmount of over-optimized anchor text to

pagePoor searcher satisfaction (high bounce

rate)

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Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO simply tells Google what others think about your site.

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Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO simply tells Google what others think about your site.

Do you write good, high quality content that people want to read?

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People only cite, reference and share content they like.

Even in a brick-and-mortar business, if your product is helpful and affordable, you’ll get a lot of word of mouth referrals from your

current customers.Neil Patel

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Off-Page Ranking FactorsNumber of linking domains

Number of linking pages

PageRank of linking pages

Link relevancy

Authority of linking domains

Links from homepage

Diversity of link types

Contextual links

Link anchor

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Before You Start Link Building

1.Adjust site structure as necessary2.Optimize all pages3.Create an off-site marketing

strategy

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Ideas for Getting Off-Site LinksSocial media profiles & sharing

Commenting on blogs/in forums

Local & relevant directory listings

Professional associations

Guest blogging/article submission

Press releases/news articles

Review websites

Sponsorships

Conference/event speaking

Podcast interviews/participation

Quote/feature others & tag them in social shares about your post

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Play It SafeDon’t participate in link exchanges

Web Devs - don’t use footer links!

Focus on links to your website that are associated with quality content

Don’t republish the same content on multiple sites

Anything automated or “too good to be true” probably is

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Play It SafeDon’t participate in link exchanges

Web Devs - don’t use footer links!

Focus on links to your website that are associated with quality content

Don’t republish the same content on multiple sites

Anything automated or “too good to be true” probably is

Just write good content.

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Create Shareable Content

Think outside the paragraph box:Infographics

Videos

Slides

Downloadable/editable templates

Licence free photos or graphics

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WordPress SEO Plugins

WP Beginner Comparison

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WordPress SEO Plugins

All In 1 SEO Pack● Single settings page (long)● Free/pro versions● Enable/disable on custom post

types● Site verification boxes● Box for meta tag entry &

preview

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WordPress SEO Plugins

WordPress SEO - Yoast● Multiple tabbed settings pages● Free with add-ons● Site verification boxes● Social media defaults● Sitemap creation● Box for meta tag entry & preview● Scoring

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Questions?