1. December 3, 2009 Alan Knecht President/Founder Knechtology Inc. Email: alan@knechtology.com Twitter: @aknecht Search Engine Optimization & PR

2. About Knechtology

3. PR Today PR = Public Relations PR does not simply mean Press Releases PR is now part of Social Media Both good public relations and press releases will help you rank better in the search engines and get found Now a bit of history first

4. The Original PR Search Engine

5. What is SEO? An art / structured methodology A series of best practices The optimization of a web site for search engines An on-going long-term strategy A method for improving ranking in Search Engines A way to have the search engines recognize a site as important for a specific phrase or phrases One way to attract visitors to a web site

6. SEO in the old days 1998: Target search engine Altavista simply fill in keyword meta tag 2000: Target search engines Altavista & Google Complete good title tags, description meta tags, get some links 2007: Target search engine Google (~90% of all searches in Canada ~60% of US searches) Create SEO friendly pages/templates/web sites Write SEO content Get good quality links 2009: Target Google, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube, Twitter etc. Need to be everywhere Need to establish authority on subject matter

7. 2008 Google Releases Blended Search

10. Goals today Get as many links to your site as possible Get as many other web sites as possible talking about you This means: Lots of text based links on company name, product names, product descriptions, etc.

11. Keyword Research The One Constant

12. What 3 Things do SE still like? Words Words in all the usual site places plus Words in links from social media Words/Links in Press Releases Words around links from other sites Words in video And more

13. Keys to Good Keyword Research Start with what you existing clients call your product or service Use a variety of tools to explore variations Wordtracker (Paid) Wordtracker Trellian Keyword Discovery Service (Paid) Trellian Keyword Discovery Service Google's Keyword Tool (Free) Google's Keyword Tool Google Insights for Search (Free) Google Insights for Search Find terms that have good search volume & little competition

14. Demo Time: Google Insights Headline from press release for this event saysIABC/Toronto - MEDIA ADVISORY - Get Searched and Found Summary says Upcoming IABC/Toronto Seminar Reveals Tips and Strategies for Increasing Your Online Visibility

15. SECTION 2 Optimizing Social Media

17. The Press Releases

18. SEO Optimized Press Releases Old days: Press release were sent to news rooms Reporters would occasionally rummage through looking for stories Recent times E-mailed to reporters who subscribed Posted on PR firms site in news section (somewhat searchable) Expected reporters to look here for stories Now Press releases indexed by Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. (when done right) Reporters use SEs to find info, subject matter experts, etc.

19. How to Optimize a Press Release Reference keyword research Head line must contain the appropriate keyword phrase Summary must also contain keyword phrase Avoid relying heavily on corporate jargon Only use industry jargon when appropriate Body of the press release must be written in an SEO effective way Ensure one deep link to web site (on keyword if possible) Verify PR company distributes the press releases to the SEs

20. Demo Time: Press Releases

21. Twitter For Press Releases? Can you write a press release in 140 characters? Are reports that cover your industry following you? Are you following reporters from you industry? If not, get on the ball Make sure all corporate announcements also go out via Twitter Do link to the story on your web site or the press release?

22. Write Optimize posts/tweets Using keywords very important in blog posts and not as critical in tweets For twitter monitor # tags for relevant terms Be prepared to respond Twitter requires quick response time: nearly instantaneously Monitor blogs for comments and respond in a timely manner Example: WebTrends monitors Twitter for problems, etc. Replies (usually within 15-30 min) with a link to the solution; or who to contact

23. Thank You – Questions? Alan Knecht Knechtology Inc. www.knechtology.com Follow me @aknecht Look for my first book sometime in 2010 entitled The Last Original Idea