Search Engine Optimization

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Search Engine Optimization
Document for discussion
June 2007
This report is solely for the use of client
personnel. No part of it may be circulated,
quoted, or reproduced for distribution outside
the client organization without prior written
approval from Aragon Consulting Group. This
material was used by Aragon Consulting Group
during an oral presentation it is not a complete
record of the discussion.
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HOW SEARCH ENGINES WORK A PRIMER
Search Index
URL 1 URL 2 URL 3
Keyword 1
Keyword 2
URL 4 URL 5 URL 6

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NEED FOR SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION IS DETERMINED
BY THE BUSINESS OBJECTIVE OF A SITE
Financial Personal Mgmt
Informational Sites
E-Commerce Sites
Social Networks

• Broad or deep content about a topic
• Few community features
• Rely heavily on search engine traffic

• Focus on shopping
• Listings that rank high on key search terms sell
  more

• Site is destination of choice
• Onsite search is important, but search engines
  dont drive much traffic

• Relationship driven
• Users go directly to the site
• Search engines are not allowed to crawl most site
  content

Key attributes
Long-term relationship
Transactional

• IMDB
• Wikipedia

• eBay
• Threadless

• MySpace
• LinkedIn

• Hotmail
• Online banking

Examples

• SEO dictates design choices
• SEO marketing initiatives given priority

• SEO given consideration during design
• SEO among key marketing initiatives

• SEO is solely for marketing and branding, not
  content-focused

• Branding and user experience given priority over
  SEO during design.
• SEO a secondary marketing initiative.

SEO strategy
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ONSITE AND OFFSITE SEO ARE IMPORTANT TO BUILD
TRAFFIC TO A SITE, BUT OTHER MARKETING
INITIATIVES ARE AT LEAST AS IMPORTANT, AND ARE
OFTEN COMPLEMENTARY

• On-site SEO
• Goal is to make the target website search-engine
  friendly
• Site design
• Site content

• Marketing (online and offline)
• Goal is to generate traffic to the site apart
  from search engines
• Direct, stealth, viral marketing
• Public relations
• Promotions
• Get published
• Asking for reviews
• Social media/RSS feeds (i.e. blogs, social
  networks, video sites)
• Advertising (i.e. banner ads, banner exchange
  programs, PPC)

• Off-Site SEO
• Goal is to generate online buzz increase the
  number and quality of inbound links
• Directory submissions
• Link development
• Website co-marketing

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SEO IS A CRITICAL CONSIDERATION FOR SOME
BUSINESSES, AS IT CAN CREATE HUGE EXPOSURE AND
REPEAT BUSINESS AT MINIMAL COST
Description

• Search engines like Google and Yahoo are
  significant drivers of traffic, and the vast
  majority of searchers (97) click links on first
  page

• High search engine rankings increases repeat
  visits
• A site that remains high in the rankings over a
  long period of time will naturally build an
  audience

• Search-optimized sites result in low customer
  acquisition costs by reducing the need for
  investment in other marketing channels

Depending on the business, search engine rankings
can be the most important factor in attracting
new customers
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THE PROCESS OF SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION BEGINS
BEFORE SITE LAUNCH AND CONTINUES THROUGHOUT THE
SITES EXISTENCE
Description

• Determine the importance of search engine
  optimization based on an assessment of the
  companys strategy and the business objective of
  the web site.

Determine need

• Determine weaknesses in companys existing site
  (if applicable)
• Use the SEO design principals in conjunction with
  the problems of the existing site to determine
  the necessary changes and strategy to be
  implemented

Determine necessary strategy changes

• Build a search-engine-friendly web site
  considering critical factors such as keywords,
  page formatting, site linking
• Implement off-site SEO initiatives

Implement pre-launch strategy

• Submit web site to search systems and relevant
  directories
• Make sure all sites that should know about your
  pages are aware that your site is online

Register with search systems

• Keep abreast of new techniques and implement them
  to make sure that the site pages stay toward the
  top of search engines actively manage the
  rankings

Maintain the site
A good strategy prior to launch is important, but
maintenance over time is even more important.
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THERE ARE FIVE MAIN SEO FACTORS THAT A COMPANY
MUST KEEP IN MIND WHEN DESIGNING AN SEO STRATEGY
Keyword Analysis
Page Format Content
External Linking
Ghost site
Internal Linking Structure

• Factor Appropriate usage of keywords
• Action Create Title tags, Anchor text, URL with
  keywords people would use to find the site.

• Factor Ease of navigation and distinct text
• Action Design a clean, minimalist site with
  meaningful, rich text that is prominently
  displayed.

• Factor Placement of links, keywords in links,
  and validity of links
• Action Create a shallow structure with important
  links near the top of the page. Keywords in links
  promote relevancy.

• Factor Linking data is used in ranking
  algorithms Popularity and context of inbound
  links are crucial
• Action Ensure inbound links have topical
  relevance, rank high, are popular among the
  expert community.

• Factor Age of site is very important
• Action Establish ghost site before launch to
  establish credibility by allow bots to start
  crawling , and get site listed in directories.

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THE LONG TAIL OF SEARCH QUERIES MEANS THAT THE
MORE SPECIFIC YOUR TARGET SEARCH TERMS, THE LESS
COMPETITION YOU HAVE IN SEARCH RANKINGS
Britney
MySpace layouts
recipes
Iraq news
Slingbox time warner cable modem compatibility
Mystic CT vacation rentals
Billy Joel song lyrics
Image adapted from Chris Anderson, LongTail.com
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REGISTERING WITH SEARCH SYSTEMS IS MORE
COMPLICATED THAN REGISTERING A URL TO EVERY KEY
PAGE
Stage of website build
Before During Upon Completion

• Yahoo!
• Open Directory Project
• Specialized Local

• Google
• Yahoo!
• Ask/Teoma
• MSN

• Access site structure
• Prevent potential problems

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IT IS ESPECIALLY CRUCIAL TO IMPLEMENT NEW SEO
TECHNIQUES TO KEEP A SUCCESSFUL WEB SITE FROM
SLIPPING DOWN THE RANKS
Then Now
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APPENDIX A BEST AND WORST FACTORS IN SEO

• CURRENT TOP 10 FACTORS
• Keyword use in title tag
• Anchor text of inbound link
• Global link popularity of site
• Age of site
• Link popularity within the sites internal link
  structure
• Topical relevance of inbound links to site
• Link popularity of site in topical community
• Keyword use in body text
• Global link popularity of linking site
• Rate of new inbound links to site

• TOP NEGATIVE FACTORS TO AVOID
• Server is inaccessible to bots
• External links to low quality spam sites
• Duplicate title/meta tags on many pages
• Overuse of target keywords (Stuffing/Spamming)
• Overly graphical sites/Heavy flash
  animations/Splash pages)
• Java or JavaScript redirects
• Site spread across multiple domains
• Dangling pages
• Participating in Link farms
• Hidden tasks/Hidden links

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APPENDIX B TOOLS