This document discusses search engine optimization (SEO) and covers several topics: 1. It provides an overview of the search engine landscape and how search engines work. 2. It discusses best practices for building accessible websites that search engines can crawl, including link architecture and XML sitemaps. 3. It covers conducting keyword research and targeting to identify relevant keywords for a website. 4. It describes different link building strategies that can help improve search engine rankings. 5. It discusses how social media and influencers on the web can help with SEO efforts.

1. Search Engine Optimization:
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Understanding the Engines & Building Successful Sites
Rand Fishkin – August 2010

2. Content in this Presentation
• The Search Landscape
• How Search Engines Work
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• Building Accessible Sites
• Conducting Keyword Research
• Link Building Strategies
• Social Media & the Web’s Influencers

3. The Search Marketing Landscape
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4. 100 Billion Searches
Each Month!
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7. Organic vs. Paid Search
Paid
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Organic

8. Organic vs. Paid Search
10% of Clicks
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90% of Clicks

9. Click-Through Rates
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10. Vertical Search
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11. Local Results
Completely different ranking
algorithm than standard
search results
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Probably doesn’t get traffic
like most “#1” results

12. Image Results
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13. Video Results
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14. News & Blog Results
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15. Shopping Results
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16. Instant Answers
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17. Instant Answers
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18. Instant Answers
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19. News Results
Instant Answers
Real Time Results
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Local Results
Image Results

20. This Presentation Focuses on:
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21. How Search Engines Work
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22. Crawling & Indexing
Without links, the
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engines might
never find this page

23. Calculating Query-Independent Metrics
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Via www.opensiteexplorer.org

24. Many Domains vs. One Domain
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VS.

25. Domain Authority
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26. PageRank
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27. The Flow of PageRank
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28. PageRank is Split Evenly Between the
Links on a Page
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29. PageRank is an Iterative Algorithm
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30. Technically, Every External Link
“Leaks” PageRank
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31. Nofollowing or Removing Links Can
Alter the Flow of PageRank
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32. Or, at least it used to...
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www.seomoz.org/blog/google-says-yes-you-can-still-sculpt-pagerank-no-you-cant-do-it-with-nofollow

33. Google Says they use PageRank to Crawl
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35. Algorithmic Ranking Factors
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36. Query Deserves Freshness (QDF)
QDF
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Normal Results
QDF

37. Query Deserves Diversity (QDD)
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38. Algorithmic Ranking Factors
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39. Building Accessible Sites
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40. Crawlability / Link Architecture
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41. Duplicate Content & Canonicalization
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42. Duplicate Content & Canonicalization
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43. Canonical URL Tag
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44. 301 Redirects
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302s

45. Duplicate Titles & Meta Descriptions
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46. Search Friendly URLs
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/african-elephants
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Keywords in page name,
Single domain separated by hyphen
Shallow folder structure
with relevant words

47. Search UN-Friendly URLs
Xyz3.nationalgeographic.com/a/?q=31z&mg=vv7z&sd=8
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No keywords in the URL string
Unnecessary
Subdomain Dynamic URLs don’t perform as well
as static and engines recommend
against more than two parameters

48. Fixing Broken Links & 404s
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49. Blocking Robots
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50. Blocking Robots
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51. XML Sitemaps
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www.sitemaps.org/protocol.php

52. Webmaster Tools (Google)
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53. Webmaster Tools (Bing)
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54. Search Engine Guidelines
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www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35769

55. Important Tags & Signals
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56. Title Tags
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57. Meta Descriptions
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58. Tag Length Recommendations
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59. Anchor Text
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60. Page Copy
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61. Image Alt Attributes
Good keyword
usage in the alt tag
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62. Not So Important
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63. Meta Keywords Tag
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64. H1, H2, H(x) Tags
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65. Search Engine “Submission”
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66. Keyword Research + Targeting
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67. The Goals of Keyword Research
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68. Determine Relative Volume Levels
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69. Identify High Value Keywords
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70. Predict the Effort Required to Rank Well
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71. Choose the “Best”
Words/Phrases to Target
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72. The Keyword Demand Landscape
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73. The Long Tail of Keyword Demand
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78. Tools & Tactics for Brainstorming
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& Refining Your Seed List

79. Salespeople & Customers
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80. Google AdWords Tool
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Be Wary of
Match Type
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

81. MS AdCenter Excel Plug-In
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www.seomoz.org/blog/using-the-adcenter-excel-plugin-for-keyphrase-research

82. Google Trends
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Sign In for Y-Axis Numbers
Not Very Accurate

83. Internal Site Search Stats
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84. Competitive Keyword Research
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Restrict query
to competitor’s
domain

85. The Keyword Research Process
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86. Start with Your Seed List
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87. Create Spreadsheet w/ these Columns
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88. Get Google Search Demand Numbers
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89. Guesstimate Conversion Rate Numbers
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90. Or Use PPC Campaign Data
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91. Add Keyword Difficulty Data for Top Terms
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We like using a weighted average of
the Page Authority metric

92. Target High Volume, High Value,
Low Difficulty Terms First
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93. Measuring Keyword
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Difficulty & Competition

94. Run Queries for Desired Term + Engine
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Watch for vertical
results, which can skew
CTRs & visibility

95. Conduct a Competitive Analysis of Metrics
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96. Tools Can Help Provide Scores
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97. Tools Can Help Provide Scores
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www.seomoz.org/mozbar

98. Link Building Strategies
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99. What Goals Can Link Building
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Help Us Achieve?

100. Bolster Individual Rankings
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101. Improve a Domain’s Ability to Rank Pages
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102. Achieve More Complete Indexation
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103. Drive Traffic & Branding Awareness
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104. Send Converting Traffic
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Image Credit: websiteoptimization.com

105. The 8 Basic Kinds of Link Building
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106. #1 - Manual Link Submissions/Requests
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107. #2 - Competitive Link Research/Acquisition
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108. #3 - Links via Embedded Content
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109. #4 - Linkbait & Viral Campaigns
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110. #5 - Content, Technology & API Licensing
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111. #6 - Partnerships, Exchanges & Trades
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112. #7 - Paid Links
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113. #8 - Link Reclamation
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114. Matching the Right Link Building Strategies
to Your Organization’s SEO Goals
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115. Links for Individual Rankings
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116. Links for Domain “Authority”
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117. Links for Indexation
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118. Links for Traffic & Branding
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119. Links for Conversion
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120. Using Tools & Processes to Ease the
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Challenges of Link Building

121. Tools for Competitive Link Research
• Yahoo! Site Explorer & Link Commands
• Open Site Explorer
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• Top Pages
• Google Blog Search

122. Yahoo! Site Explorer
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Directionally indicative
within ~50%
Not necessarily followed & in
a somewhat random order

123. Yahoo! Link Commands
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Less “accurate” than
Site Explorer
Lots of cool, useful modifiers
available

124. Yahoo! Link Commands
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Full list available in PRO Guide to Advanced Search Operators:
www.seomoz.org/article/the-professionals-guide-to-advanced-search-operators

125. Open Site Explorer
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126. Open Site Explorer
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Highly Correlation w/ Rankings
Data updates monthly from the
Linkscape web index (approx. 60% the
size of Yahoo!/Google/Bing)

127. Open Site Explorer
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Poor Anchor Text Spells Opportunity

128. Link Intersect
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Link Intersect uses the same principle – sites
w/ links in common that don’t point to you.

129. Top Pages
Find which pages are
earning links (your
own & competitors)
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404s? Reclaim them!

130. Metrics for Evaluating a Link’s Value
• Numeric (Objective) Metrics
• Subjective Metrics
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• Attainability and Effort

131. Numeric Metrics for Link Valuation
• # of Linking Root Domains to URL
• # of Linking Root Domains to Domain
• Homepage PageRank vs. Domain mozRank
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• URL PageRank vs. URL mozRank
• # of Links to the Page (Yahoo!, GG Blogsearch, Linkscape)
• Twitter mentions (Backtweets.com)

132. Numeric Metrics (Backtweets)
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(in a weird location)

133. Subjective Metrics for Link Valuation
• Brand name reach/recognition
• Quality of other links on page/site (Bing - Linkfromdomain)
• Attainability and Effort
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Jumping through Hoops (via WKA on Flickr)

134. Scalable Link Acquisition Processes
• Written Process + Checklist
• Tools + Metrics for Quick Analysis
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• Training & Incenting Link Builders
• Building & Refining a Link Acquisition Funnel

135. Written Process/Checklist
• Run through the link building process yourself
• Document every step thoroughly
• Pass it on to others (w/ some training time)
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Checklist (via adesigna on Flickr)

136. Tools for Quick Analysis
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Get usable metrics
quickly as you surf

137. Tools for Quick Analysis
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138. Training & Incenting Link Builders
• Do link building together
• Create consistent metrics
• Reward like a sales team
• Record reasons why links
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didn’t happen (like objections
to sales) and work on these
(things like design quality,
affiliations, language, etc. will
come up)
Training Camp (via Gil Searcy on Flickr)

139. Building a Link Acquisition Funnel
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Grab Link Code
Link to the Site

140. Social Media & the Web’s Influencers
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141. Influencers on the Web
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142. The Power of the “Linkerati”
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143. Content that Appeals to Influencers
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144. Making Content Easy to Share
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145. Making Content Easy to Share
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146. Incenting/Rewarding Link Behaviors
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147. Cannibalization of the Link Graph
MMM… LINK
GRAPHS ARE
DELICIOUS!
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148. The Rise of the Social Graph
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149. You have to do these
right, before you can
Algorithmic Ranking Factors
do these right
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150. Learn More w/ the Free Beginner’s Guide:
http://guides.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-search-engine-optimization
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For more information, visit us at www.seomoz.org
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