This presentation was given at the 2017 annual meeting of the Medical Library Association. Medical libraries currently have low visibility in organic search engine results. By using SEO strategies we an increase the visibility of our products and services. More information on SEO and libraries is available on my website: : http://emilycouvillon.com/2017/06/04/library-seo/

1. SEO and Health
Libraries:
Does optimizing for
Google impact site
visibility?
Emily Couvillon
Clinical Informationist & Data Management Librarian
Dahlgren Memorial Library
Georgetown University Medical Center

2. Background

3. What is SEO?
“SEO is a marketing discipline focused on growing
visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results.
SEO encompasses both the technical and creative
elements required to improve rankings, drive traffic,
and increase awareness in search engines.”
-Moz Beginners Guide to SEO

4. SEO is NOT
• Blackhat tactics
• Stuffing keywords into your HTML
• A short term project
• Spammers begging for Libguides links

5. Why SEO for libraries?
• Attract unreached patrons at
point of need
• Showcase services and expertise
• Compete with information
published by for-profits

6. Why SEO for libraries?

7. Why SEO for libraries?

8. Why SEO for libraries?

9. The Study

10. Research question
• Do SEO tactics impact
health science library
visibility in search
results?

11. Methods
• Selected 25 AHHSL
sites
• Created 3 personas
and select 65 target
keywords
• Measured ranking
• Audited sites using
42 point SEO
checklist

12. Methods – Moz Keyword Explorer

14. Methods – Wincher Rank Tracking

15. Methods – Site Audit

16. Methods – Screaming Frog Site Audit

17. Results

18. Results: what are we ranking for?

19. Results: who is ranking the most?

20. • 65 keywords representing 164880 search volume
• Not ranking at all for 41.5% of sample keywords
• Ranking in top 10 results for 12 words (~19%)
• Small successes with SEO
Results

21. Ranking Factors

22. Ranking Factors
• Domain authority
• Number of pages linking to you
• Quality of pages linking to you
• Content quality
• Unique
• Clear focus
• Answers specific need

23. Ranking Factors

24. How are they ranking successfully?

25. How are they ranking successfully?

26. How are they ranking successfully?

27. How are they ranking successfully?

28. How are they ranking successfully?
• Affiliated with larger library brand
• Connected site structure
• Original content

29. More inspiration

30. Tips going forward

31. Think Locally
• Focus on people searching near you
• Use local examples or case studies
• Network with departments who
might publish a guest post

32. Plan it out
• Conduct long-tail keyword research
• Audit current site
• Connect everything to your domain
• Avoid duplicate content
• Don’t forget about Libguides

33. Limitations
• Not everyone cares about the same keywords
• No access to full analytics
• Hard to replicate results

34. Learn More
• Moz Beginner’s Guide to
SEO
• Vertical Measures Content
Marketing Library
https://goo.gl/vy6ttL

35. ec1094@georgetown.edu
@emilycouvillon