SEO Fundamentals for Business Owners How to Win the Attention of Ideal Clients with Search Engine Optimization w/ Josh Currier 59% of consumers use Google every month to find a reputable, local business. -Via Search Engine Watch Today’s Presentation: • Who am I? (Why should you listen to me?) • Philosophy of SEO • Overview of Google and other SEs • What you can & should be doing • What you may need help with & when • Resources to get you started Josh Currier Entrepreneur Business Owner Marketer/Consultant SEO Specialist SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (such as direct mail or print advertising) have a 1.7% close rate. -Via Search Engine Journal PHILOSOPHY •SEO is a long-term effort •Don’t try to game the system, rather provide value •“SEO doesn’t make you money, it gets you a look, and you have that moment to earn someone’s further attention.” What is this thingy? Providing answers to questions and solutions to problems. How can we help Google? Ranking Factors There are over 200 factors that Google considers when ranking a website. Some of these include: •Page speed •Content •Header tags •Meta data •Images •Media •Sitemaps •Outbound link •Inbound links •Social signals •Word count •Domain age •Keywords •unique content ....& More A little overwhelming? Easy-wins for the Committed Business Owner Easy-win #1: Content Creation •Content is the foundation of SEO •Start with blogging •Write for multiple readership paths (headings, subheadings, & images) There are never any traffic jams on the extra mile. -Brian Tracy 27% of total U.S. internet time is spent on social networking sites. -Via HubSpot Easy-win #2: Social Media Profiles &Local Citations •Find out where your customers are online •Pick 2-3 of these platforms & commit 10 mins./day •Create full profiles on social sites and online directories (Google places, superpages, etc.) *Ensure exact NAP on each submission/directory Websites that rank in the top positions on Google usually have a large number of social signals. – Searchmetrics Easy-win #3: Video Content •Convert written content into video •Use video to provide value to your audience (FAQs, how-to,interviews) YouTube has become the 2nd Largest Search Engine – bigger than Bing, Yahoo, Ask & AOL combined. -Via Social Media Today Long-term Considerations Focus on the task at hand and what you can do today. •New website •Conversion rate optimization •Faster hosting •Fine tuning Outside Help & When You Need It •Site audits •Competitive analysis •Technical help •Strategy/Planning/ Implementation Resources & Must Haves CurrierMarketing.com Moz: http://moz.com/ Moz SEO beginners guide: http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo Moz Local: https://moz.com/local Distilled: https://www.distilled.net/resources/ DistilledU: https://www.distilled.net/u/ Search Engine Journal: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/ Search Engine Land: http://searchengineland.com/ Google Analytics: http://www.google.com/analytics/ Google Analytics training: http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/ Google Webmaster Tools: http://www.google.com/webmasters/ Google Webmaster training: https://support.google.com/webmasters/ answer/6001102