WTF is SEOAnd how do I do it

fin.

OK, so there’s more to it

300-500 web pages created per minute

Over 2 trillion searches per year (Google alone)

200+ (likely thousands) of ranking factors

Main ranking factors:

Valuable Content

You understand what your audience is searching for, and you’ve built content that answers their questions or provides education.

You’ve formatted and used content appropriately, including in your meta information.

2

Technical Setup

Google can find and index your website.Your website is not harmful to the user.Your website is not hopelessly broken. 1

Rankbrain

Uses AI to predict the best search results, based on what the AI knows about the connection between links, content, and your behavior.

4

Links

Your content is linked to from trustworthy websites. Your information is accurate

across the web.

3

Technical Setup

Google can find and index your website.Your website is not harmful to the user.Your website is not hopelessly broken.

1

● Can Google find my site to begin with? ● Can Google effectively crawl my site?● When Google crawls my site, does the site work?

○ Content lives at only one URL○ Links work○ Things don’t redirect too much

● Is the site mobile-friendly?● Is the site secured?● Is the site slow or fast to load?● Is there a bunch of excess worthless content that’s getting

indexed?

Technical Setup

Google Webmaster Tools

Similar to Google Analytics, but to gauge how healthy Google thinks your site is.Alerts the owner if:● There is a page error (like a 404

error)● Anything isn’t mobile friendly● Hacking occurs● Site isn’t indexed well

Our basic website audits

● Start with a crawl (goes through all pages for on-site errors)

● Speed test● Mobile friendly test● SSL test (Secure Socket Layer)● Google site search

(“site:daytamarketing.com”)

Valuable Content

You understand what your audience is searching for, and you’ve built content that answers their questions or provides education.

You’ve formatted and used content appropriately, including in your meta information.

2

DAYTA Loop it!

AWARENESS RESEARCH COMPARISON CHOICE

“How much should I save for retirement?”

“How a roth IRA works”

“Best financial advisor near me”

“Directions to Charles Schwab”

Potential keyphrases:

“Retirement savings”“How to save for retirement”“Retirement planning”“How much should you save for retirement?”

Potential keyphrases:

“Roth vs. simple IRA”“Roth IRA explained”“Why Roth IRA”“Roth IRA information”

“Financial advisors in Wayzata, MN”

More of a GMB play at this point.

Not much SEO here besides making sure you show up appropriately.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE!

AWARENESS RESEARCH COMPARISON CHOICE

“How to prevent acne”

“Chemical exfoliants BHA”

“CosRX vs. Paula’s Choice BHA”

“Paula’s Choice coupons”

Potential keyphrases:

“Acne prevention”“Acne medication”“Cystic acne prevention”“How to prevent acne”“How to cure acne”

Potential keyphrases:

“What is a BHA vs an AHA”“How do chemical exfoliants work”“Why use chemical exfoliants”“Chemical vs. mechanical exfoliants”

Potential keyphrases:

“Paula’s Choice BHA review”“BHA products compared”“Best BHA exfoliants”

Potential keyphrases:

“x% off Paula’s Choice”“Paula’s Choice Coupons & Codes”“Paula’s Choice Promo Code”

AWARENESS

“How to prevent acne”

Potential keyphrases:

“Acne prevention”“Acne medication”“Cystic acne prevention”“How to prevent acne”“How to cure acne”

RESEARCH

“Chemical exfoliants BHA”

Potential keyphrases:

“What is a BHA vs an AHA”“How do chemical exfoliants work”“Why use chemical exfoliants”“Chemical vs. mechanical exfoliants”

COMPARISON

“CosRX vs. Paula’s Choice BHA”

Potential keyphrases:

“Paula’s Choice BHA review”“BHA products compared”“Best BHA exfoliants”

��

CHOICE

“Paula’s Choice coupons”

Potential keyphrases:

“x% off Paula’s Choice”“Paula’s Choice Coupons & Codes”“Paula’s Choice Promo Code”

DAYTA Loop Use the DAYTA Loop to determine what your audience will be looking for at each stage.

Prioritize Determine which stages are most critical and realistic to create content for.

Brainstorm Brainstorm many different keywords/keyphrases around that stage’s questions/needs/problems.

EvaluatePlug your brainstormed list into Google’s Keyword Tool or similar. Figure out which keywords are smart to pursue (search volume vs. competition).

Write Content

Write content that incorporates your new keyphrase/keywords list (multiple per piece of content) and answers your audience’s needs.

How do you “optimize” content for Google?

Write like a college textbook

● Headers○ H1 - one per page○ H2s, h3s, h4s - hierarchical

order● Bold/italic text● Image alt text, image names● Metas

○ Titles○ Description

● And then your actual content.

Don’t forget to E-A-T

● Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness

● Who owns the website? ● Can you contact someone

easily if you need to?● Can you tell who wrote the

article and why they’re an expert?

● Does it look like a scam?● Google’s Algorithm is just

trying to be as smart as you.

Links

Your content is linked to from trustworthy websites. Your

information is accurate across the web.

3

Why Did Google Win?● Larry Page invented

PageRank: the “quality” of a web page is based in part on the number of links pointing to it

● Based on academic citations - more cited, more better.

● Authority vs. Relevance○ Whitehouse.gov is authoritative, but might not be relevant○ ErinsPuppyAdvice.com is relevant, but might not be

authoritative● Cheap/bad links:

○ Directory sites or link-exchange sites○ Comment links, spun/generated content, forum signatures○ Links from bad sites

● Internal links○ Linking from one page to another in your website○ Helps Google understand how your website topics relate

Not all links are equal

● “Natural” links○ Someone finds your content and links to it naturally○ You sponsor something or receive media attention

somehow, etc● Manual outreach

○ You find someone who is linking to your competitor or who writes content that you would be relevant to, and ask them to link to you

● Social media/Listing sites○ Helps, but is not quite as impactful

Link Building

Google knows that Eich Mazda won’t be able to compete for rankings with Mazda Corporate. So for local rankings, it weighs things a little differently:

● Google My Business● NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone)● Reviews (on Google and elsewhere)● Links still help and can be the difference

Links & Local

● Google wants to see natural looking link profiles○ Who would naturally link to

you○ What’s a normal amount of

links to accrue naturally○ Google Webmaster Tools will

warn you if you are penalized ● Avoid jumping on fads - Google

rolls out updates to penalize anything that catches on

Links & Penalties

Rankbrain

Uses AI to predict the best search results, based on what the AI knows about the connection between links, content, and your behavior.

4

Shamelessly stolen from backlinko.com

Shamelessly stolen from backlinko.com

How it impacts SEO

● Build for humans● Give your content context● Make your SERP listing stand out

○ Think like an advertiser!○ Increase brand awareness

so people automatically trust you more

● Make your website friendly

Shamelessly stolen from backlinko.com

What is Google doing now?

● Enhanced maps showing building entrances and physical features○ Self-driving cars ○ Augmented reality

● Booking of hotels, airlines, sports through Google○ Transaction broker ○ Pay-for-results advertising

● Rich snippets, knowledge panels, and Google My Business○ Cut out the content creator (so you don’t need to pay them

ad revenue)○ Make Google the business homepage, so they have to

ensure data accuracy (compete with Yelp, FB, etc)

Google’s future endeavors

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