Understanding SEO

Transcript

1. Understanding  SEO   or   How  to  Help  Users  Find   Your  Stuffs  on  the  Intertronz  
2. MY  NAME  IS  TIM  HUEGDON   First,  an  introduc:on…  
3. Qualifica:on   •  Web  developer  for  15   years    
4. Qualifica:on   •  Web  developer  for  15   years   •  Client-­‐side  specialist  for   6  years    
5. Qualifica:on   •  Web  developer  for  15   years   •  Client-­‐side  specialist  for   6  years   •  Informa:on  architect    
6. Qualifica:on   •  Web  developer  for  15   years   •  Client-­‐side  specialist  for   6  years   •  Informa:on  architect   •  Massive  Nerd   –  Quite  literally   –  SEO  as  a  hobby    
7. Results   •  Google  “Web  Development  Lead”   – Top  result  
8. Results   •  Google  “Web  Development  Lead”   – Top  result   •  Google  “Web  Development  Manager”   – First  page  
9. Results   •  Google  “Web  Development  Lead”   – Top  result   •  Google  “Web  Development  Manager”   – First  page   •  Google  “Object  oriented  JavaScript”   – Top  result  
11. Results   •  Google  “Web  Development  Lead”   – Top  result   •  Google  “Web  Development  Manager”   – First  page   •  Google  “Object  oriented  JavaScript”   – Top  result   •  Google  “Tim”   – Third  result  (above  the  inventor  of  the  web)  
13. </smug>   (I  cheated;  I  was  logged  in)  
14. KNOW  THINE  ENEMY   Sun  Tzu  (paraphrased)  
15. Search  Engines   •  Google   •  Microso]  Bing   – Now  own  Yahoo!  Search   •  Many,  many  more…  
16. How  search  engines  work   •  Army  of  robots  
18. How  search  engines  work   •  Army  of  robots   – Automated  spiders  
20. Tree   Home   Products   Wotsits   Oojamaflips   Dinguses   About  Us   Contact   FAQ  
21. Graph   England  Team   Football   Interna:onals   World  Cup   Euro  2012  
22. How  search  engines  work   •  Army  of  robots   – Automated  spiders   •  Work  page  by  page  
23. How  search  engines  work   •  Army  of  robots   – Automated  spiders   •  Work  page  by  page   •  Cache  and  analyse  content  
24. How  search  engines  work   •  Army  of  robots   – Automated  spiders   •  Work  page  by  page   •  Cache  and  analyse  content   •  Index  keywords  
25. How  search  engines  work   •  Army  of  robots   – Automated  spiders   •  Work  page  by  page   •  Cache  and  analyse  content   •  Index  keywords   •  Assign  an  arbitrary  rank  
26. KEYWORDS   Behold!  The  OARSUM  POWAH  of…  
27. What  is  a  keyword?   •  A  word  or  phrase   •  Contains  high  relevance  to  subject  
28. Keyword  ==  Search  Term  
29. Examples   •  Sports   •  Sport   •  Bejng   •  Gambling   •  Bet   •  Gamble   •  Sports  Bejng   •  Sport  Bejng   •  Sport  Bet   •  Sports  Exchange  Bejng  
30. But  wait…   •  World  Cup  2014   •  Wimbledon   •  Bri:sh  Grand  Prix   •  Cheltenham   •  Spring  racing  
32. Why  so  important?   •  Search  engines  store  references  to  URIs  in   keyword  specific  indices  
33. Why  so  important?   •  Search  engines  store  references  to  URIs  in   keyword  specific  indices   •  Vast  array  of  smaller  databases  
34. Why  so  important?   •  Search  engines  store  references  to  URIs  in   keyword  specific  indices   •  Vast  array  of  smaller  databases   •  Data  denormalisa:on  
35. Why  so  important?   •  Search  engines  store  references  to  URIs  in   keyword  specific  indices   •  Vast  array  of  smaller  databases   •  Data  denormalisa:on   •  Makes  searching  a  whole  bunch  faster  
36. Choose  wisely     •  Keyword  compe::on   – Low  compe::on  can  mean  low  relevancy   – “Long  tail”  
37. Choose  wisely     •  Keyword  compe::on   – Low  compe::on  can  mean  low  relevancy   – “Long  tail”   •  Level  of  use   – More  commonly  used  search  terms  have  higher   compe::on  
38. Choose  wisely     •  Keyword  compe::on   – Low  compe::on  can  mean  low  relevancy   – “Long  tail”   •  Level  of  use   – More  commonly  used  search  terms  have  higher   compe::on   •  Keyword  tools  
39. Where  you’ll  want  to  use  them   •  URIs  
40. Where  you’ll  want  to  use  them   •  URIs   •  Link  text  
41. Where  you’ll  want  to  use  them   •  URIs   •  Link  text   •  Page  :tles  
42. Where  you’ll  want  to  use  them   •  URIs   •  Link  text   •  Page  :tles   •  Headings  
43. Where  you’ll  want  to  use  them   •  URIs   •  Link  text   •  Page  :tles   •  Headings   •  Emphasised  text  
44. Where  you’ll  want  to  use  them   •  URIs   •  Link  text   •  Page  :tles   •  Headings   •  Emphasised  text   •  Within  your  content  
45. Keyword  Targe:ng   •  Never  mind  keyword  density…  
46. Keyword  Targe:ng   •  Never  mind  keyword  density…   •  Think  about  keyword  relevancy  
47. Keyword  Targe:ng   •  Never  mind  keyword  density…   •  Think  about  keyword  relevancy   •  Density  no  rela:on  to   – Quality   – Seman:cs   – Content  relevancy  
48. The  web  CHANGES?!   I  know;  it’s  terrifying,  right?  
49. LINKS   The  internet  is  “a  series  of  tubes…”  (c.  Ted  Stevens,  Alaskan  Senator  1968-­‐2009)  
50. Links  win   •  Links  trump  everything  
51. Links  win   •  Links  trump  everything   •  Link  quan:ty  
52. Links  win   •  Links  trump  everything   •  Link  quan:ty   •  Link  quality  
53. Links  win   •  Links  trump  everything   •  Link  quan:ty   •  Link  quality   •  Largest  single  effect  on  rankings  
54. Link  Juice   •  PageRank   •  Based  on  links  into  and  out  of  the  page   •  Used  to  determine  page  quality   •  Really  is  a  series  of  tubes  (and  sluice  gates)  
55. PageRank  
56. The  juice  will  flow!   England  Team   Football   Interna:onals   World  Cup   Euro  2012  
57. rel=“nofollow”   •  Tell  robots  to  alter  the  flow  of  link  juice  
58. rel=“nofollow”   •  Tell  robots  to  alter  the  flow  of  link  juice   •  Useful  for  user-­‐generated  content  
59. rel=“nofollow”   •  Tell  robots  to  alter  the  flow  of  link  juice   •  Useful  for  user-­‐generated  content   •  Designed  to  prevent  link  spam  
60. rel=“nofollow”   •  Tell  robots  to  alter  the  flow  of  link  juice   •  Useful  for  user-­‐generated  content   •  Designed  to  prevent  link  spam   •  Use  for  “sculp:ng”  is  fu:le  
61. Improving  “crawlability”   •  Flat  site  architecture  
64. Improving  “crawlability”   •  Flat  site  architecture   •  Short  link  depth  to  pages  
65. Improving  “crawlability”   •  Flat  site  architecture   •  Short  link  depth  to  pages   •  Recommend  max  100  links  per  page   – Misleading  value  
66. Improving  “crawlability”   •  Flat  site  architecture   •  Short  link  depth  to  pages   •  Recommend  max  100  links  per  page   – Misleading  value   •  Easily  maintain  250-­‐300  links  per  page   – Next  level  approx.  200  links  and  so  on  
67. Link  building   •  The  art  of  obtaining  links  back  to  content   – High  quality  from  high  relevance  
68. Link  building   •  The  art  of  obtaining  links  back  to  content   – High  quality  from  high  relevance   •  Fine  line  between  link  building  and  link  spam  
69. Link  building   •  The  art  of  obtaining  links  back  to  content   – High  quality  from  high  relevance   •  Fine  line  between  link  building  and  link  spam   •  Full  :me  job  
70. Link  building   •  The  art  of  obtaining  links  back  to  content   – High  quality  from  high  relevance   •  Fine  line  between  link  building  and  link  spam   •  Full  :me  job   •  Link  sharing  
71. Link  building   •  The  art  of  obtaining  links  back  to  content   – High  quality  from  high  relevance   •  Fine  line  between  link  building  and  link  spam   •  Full  :me  job   •  Link  sharing   •  Social  networks  
72. Third-­‐party  links   •  No  direct  value  
73. Third-­‐party  links   •  No  direct  value   •  Promotes  link  sharing  
74. Third-­‐party  links   •  No  direct  value   •  Promotes  link  sharing   •  New  wave  of  Social  Media  Experts  
75. Third-­‐party  links   •  No  direct  value   •  Promotes  link  sharing   •  New  wave  of  Social  Media  Experts   •  Exercise  in  marke:ng  
76. Link  bait   •  High  likelihood  of  reposts  
77. Link  bait   •  High  likelihood  of  reposts   •  Viral  
78. Link  bait   •  High  likelihood  of  reposts   •  Viral   •  Usually  created  with  intent  
79. Link  bait   •  High  likelihood  of  reposts   •  Viral   •  Usually  created  with  intent   •  One  man’s  link  bait  is  another  man’s  quality   content  
80. U.R.I.   Addressing  the  
81. Anatomy  of  a  URI   hsp://www.beuair.com/football/barclays-­‐premier-­‐league/arsenal.html?page=4#line-­‐up   Domain   Path   Protocol   Query   Fragment  
82. URI  Design   •  Highly  important  
83. URI  Design   •  Highly  important   •  Embed  keywords  in  domain  
84. URI  Design   •  Highly  important   •  Embed  keywords  in  domain   •  Embed  keywords  in  path  
85. URI  Design   •  Highly  important   •  Embed  keywords  in  domain   •  Embed  keywords  in  path   •  TLDs  are  important  
86. URI  Design   •  Highly  important   •  Embed  keywords  in  domain   •  Embed  keywords  in  path   •  TLDs  are  important   •  Order  is  important  
87. URI  Design   •  Think  about  archiving  
88. URI  Design   •  Think  about  archiving   •  Try  and  avoid  “magic  numbers”  
89. URI  Design   •  Think  about  archiving   •  Try  and  avoid  “magic  numbers”   •  Use  hyphen  as  space  separator   – Google  doesn’t  recognise  underscores  
90. URI  Depth   •  Try  to  keep  URIs  shallow  
91. URI  Depth   •  Try  to  keep  URIs  shallow   •  Subdomains  similar  to  first  level   – hsp://soccer.beuair.com/   – hsp://beuair.com/soccer/  
92. Branches  and  leaves   •  Branch  URIs  end  with  a  slash   – hsp://beuair.com/football/  
93. Branches  and  leaves   •  Branch  URIs  end  with  a  slash   – hsp://beuair.com/football/   •  Leaf  URIs  don’t   – hsp://beuair.com/football/spurs.html   – hsp://beuair.com/football/the-­‐yid  
94. Branches  and  leaves   •  Branch  URIs  end  with  a  slash   – hsp://beuair.com/football/   •  Leaf  URIs  don’t   – hsp://beuair.com/football/spurs.html   – hsp://beuair.com/football/the-­‐yid   •  Users  read  URIs  in  search  lis:ngs  
95. Branches  and  leaves   •  Branch  URIs  end  with  a  slash   – hsp://beuair.com/football/   •  Leaf  URIs  don’t   – hsp://beuair.com/football/spurs.html   – hsp://beuair.com/football/the-­‐yid   •  Users  read  URIs  in  search  lis:ngs   •  Sets  up  an  expecta:on  
96. PAGE  CONSTRUCTION   Empowering  your  content  through  
97. Page  vs.  Site   •  Bots  have  a  vague  understanding  of  site  
98. Page  vs.  Site   •  Bots  have  a  vague  understanding  of  site   •  Based  on  URIs  and  link  map  
99. Page  vs.  Site   •  Bots  have  a  vague  understanding  of  site   •  Based  on  URIs  and  link  map   •  Domain-­‐level  ranking  factors  
100. Page  vs.  Site   •  Bots  have  a  vague  understanding  of  site   •  Based  on  URIs  and  link  map   •  Domain-­‐level  ranking  factors   •  Page-­‐level  ranking  factors  
101. Page  vs.  Site   •  Bots  have  a  vague  understanding  of  site   •  Based  on  URIs  and  link  map   •  Domain-­‐level  ranking  factors   •  Page-­‐level  ranking  factors   •  Construct  as  pages,  link  as  site  
102. Duplica:on   •  Duplica:ng  content  on  two  URIs  is  bad    
103. Duplica:on   •  Duplica:ng  content  on  two  URIs  is  bad   •  Serving  the  same  page  on  different  URIs  is   duplica:on  
104. Duplica:on   •  Duplica:ng  content  on  two  URIs  is  bad   •  Serving  the  same  page  on  different  URIs  is   duplica:on   •  Try  and  avoid  syndicated  content  
105. Dynamic  and  sta:c  content   •  Dynamic  content   – Blog  posts   – News  stories   – Markets   •  Sta:c  content   – About  us   – Help   – Bejng  rules   •  Good  to  have  a  balanced  mix  
106. Titles   •  Page  :tle   –  <:tle>Football  –  Beuair</:tle>   •  H1   –  <h1>Football</h1>   •  Titles  should  repeat  in:   –  URI   –  Page  :tle   –  H1   –  Throughout  content   –  Links  to  the  page   •  This  one  is  important!  
107. Meta  elements   •  Keywords   – Not  used  by  Google   – Occasionally  used  by  older  search  engines   •  Descrip:on   – Not  used  for  rankings   – Important  for  users   •  noindex,  nofollow  
108. Per:nent  mark-­‐up   •  Links!   – <a  href=“…”>Football</a>   – <link  rel=“index”  href=“…”>   •  Emphasis   – <strong>,  <em>   – <b>   •  Headings    
109. Link  element   •  Canonical:   – hsp://sportsnews.com/football/   – hsp://sportsnews.com/football/?ads=false   •  More  subtle:   – …/teams/tosenham-­‐hotspur/peter-­‐crouch   – …/teams/england/peter-­‐crouch   •  Others   – next,  prev,  first,  last,  index…  
110. Google  is  Skynet   •  Knowledge-­‐based  system  
111. Google  is  Skynet   •  Knowledge-­‐based  system   •  Algorithms  update  regularly  
112. Google  is  Skynet   •  Knowledge-­‐based  system   •  Algorithms  update  regularly   •  Features  added  
113. Google  is  Skynet   •  Knowledge-­‐based  system   •  Algorithms  update  regularly   •  Features  added   •  Try  to  understand  trends  in  content  
114. Breadcrumbs   •  Google  looks  for  them   •  Tries  to  understand  naviga:on  system   •  Improves  crawlability   •  Helps  the  user  
115. Rich  snippets   •  Microformats,  microdata,  RDFa   – Reviews   – People   – Products   – Businesses  and  organisa:ons   – Recipes   – Events  
116. UI  Paradigms   •  S:ll  learning   •  Common  paserns   – Tab  widgets   – Accordion  widgets   – Carousel  widgets   •  Widgets   – Common   – jQueryUI   – YUI  
117. JavaScript   •  Headless  browser  
118. JavaScript   •  Headless  browser   •  Support  for  JavaScript  is  limited  
119. JavaScript   •  Headless  browser   •  Support  for  JavaScript  is  limited   •  Evaluates  some  JavaScript   – Results  vary  
120. JavaScript   •  Headless  browser   •  Support  for  JavaScript  is  limited   •  Evaluates  some  JavaScript   – Results  vary   •  Trawls  embedded  JavaScript  for  links  
121. ROBOTS   Unleash  your  army  of  
122. Using  HTTP   •  Correct  status  codes   – 200  OK   – 301  Moved  Permanently   – 302  Moved  Temporarily   – 404  Not  Found   – 410  Gone   – 500  Errors  
123. robots.txt   •  hsp://www.robotstxt.org/   •  Automa:cally  looked  for   •  Stored  at  the  root   •  No  robots.txt  is  a  free  pass   •  Use  to  guide  bots,  not  control  
124. Sitemap  Protocol   •  hsp://www.sitemaps.org/   •  Aids  discovery  of  content   •  Increases  regularity  of  spidering   •  Doesn’t  have  to  include  every  page   •  Useful  for  dynamic  content  
125. Sitemap  Page   •  Improves  crawlability   •  Helps  users   •  Can  help  flasen  site  architecture  
126. TOOLS   A  brief  overview  of  
127. AdWords  Keyword  Tool   •  Analyse  poten:al  keywords   •  Shows  compe::on   •  Shows  search  traffic   •  Useful  as  a  research  tool  
128. Webmaster  Tools   •  Track  search  queries   •  Discover  crawl  errors   •  Manage  sitemaps   •  Shows  Google’s  keyword  assessment  
129. Analy:cs   •  Track  search  terms   •  Adapt  user  paths   •  Some  tools  allow  tracking  of  bot  traffic  
130. Log  files   •  Track  bot  traffic   •  Spot  errors   •  Use  gnuplot  to  visualise  
131. BUILDING  SEO  TEST  SITES   Search  bot  interroga:on  
132. TO  THE  BROWSER!  
133. NEVERENDING  STORY   SEO  is  a  
134. Rinse  and  repeat   •  Ongoing  analysis  
135. Rinse  and  repeat   •  Ongoing  analysis   •  Keyword  evalua:on  
136. Rinse  and  repeat   •  Ongoing  analysis   •  Keyword  evalua:on   •  Link  farming  
137. Rinse  and  repeat   •  Ongoing  analysis   •  Keyword  evalua:on   •  Link  farming   •  Keep  up  with  algorithm  updates  
138. Ques:ons?