Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What is the goal of SEO? To convince Google your page deserves to be on top as determined by…

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What is the goal of SEO? To convince Google your page deserves to be on top as determined by…

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What is the goal of SEO? To convince Google your page deserves to be on top as determined by: 1.Relevancy 2.Authority, Popularity, Visibility 3.User Choice and Sustainability

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Relevancy Whether of not Google considers your website relevant is determined by… Keywords Optimized pages targeting keywords Time on page – People hang around Low bounce rate Quality of content, spelling, etc. No spam

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Keywords Keywords are to websites what a foundation is to a house. So build your foundational design with this in mind.

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Build Your Keyword List 1.Listen to or ask customers 2.Bring in an SEO consultant to help 3.Do it yourself

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Build Your Keyword List Not all keywords are worth your time and effort! Consider: Cost Time Competition ROI

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Build Your Keyword List –Check analytics for opportunities –Use Google’s free keyword research tool –Choose keywords that are attainable Look at number of competing websites How well optimized the competing sites are –Top 10 search results (beware of personalized search) –Number of external links and number of domains –General level of on-page optimization

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What to do with your keywords? URLS –Google is dialing exact match domain url points down, but they still work –Use SEF urls (keyword rich) –Eliminate dynamic page urls –Dashes between words

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What to do with your keywords? Title tags –Should include your target keywords –Should be unique –Keywords should come first –Should include your brand name at the end if you have a known, trusted brand –Should include the same words on the page San Jose insurance agent – Taylor Benefits

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What to do with your keywords? Description, keyword meta tags –Description is your call to action –No or little value for rank in Google

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What to do with your keywords? Links –Should include your target keywords and page it links to should be associated with keywords –Only first one on the page counts, so don’t overdo them –Pass page rank, particularly from home page –Should be text, not images

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What to do with your keywords? Images –Should have keywords in the name –Should have keywords in alt tags –Should have keywords in captions

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What to do with your keywords? Architecture –Silos – Don’t be a Macy’s! Organize by category! –Pass page rank to the top level –Keep site “flat” with fewer nested directories

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What to do with your keywords? H1, h2, etc. –Should have one H1 tag at the top of the page –H2, h3, etc. have little value –Bold little value – more value

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What to do with your keywords? Content –Don’t keyword stuff –2-3 keyword targets per page, no more –Long enough copy to incorporate keywords and their variations, plus headings, to give enough weight to establish relevancy Local considerations –Include address and phone number on each page in TEXT

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What is the goal of SEO? To convince Google your page deserves to be on top as determined by: 2.Authority, Popularity, Visibility Content – lots of it, so design it to expand People like it enough to link to it on relevant pages with relevant keywords Shares, Likes, Tweets, +1 –Include sharethis

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo What is the goal of SEO? To convince Google your page deserves to be on top as determined by: 2.Authority Content – lots of it, so design it to expand People like it enough to link to it on relevant pages with relevant keywords Shares, Likes, Tweets, +1 –Include sharethis User signals

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Build Authority with Link Building Acquire quality links from quality sites with keywords in anchor text –Give free advice –Blog commenting –Forum commenting –Guest blogging –Write remarkable copy –Infographics –Whitepaper, research –Create something another business in your industry (non-competitor) would value

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Link Building Announce your remarkable content –Facebook and build engagement –Tweet – –Newsletter –Add share, Tweetme, bookmark ability to your website Sharethis.com

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Link Building RSS Ping Social Bookmarking – Bookmark your own! –StumbleUpon –Digg –Reddit –Google –OnlyWire

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo User Signals Google uses user signals to determine how much trust to give a site

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo User Signals 1.Click thru a.Create great title and description tags b.Your description is your elevator speech

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo User Signals 2.Bounce a.Make sure page is relevant to the keyword you are targeting b.Make sure they can see that RIGHT AWAY! c.Check analytics, look for bounces, CORRECT!

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo User Signals 3. Time on site –Answer: Why am I here? What am I supposed to do? –Make it easy to read and see that the site is relevant –Bullets –Short paragraphs –Informative headings –Call to action – Lead them INTO the site –Put “catchy” content where they look (See F- Heatmap)

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo User Signals

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo DON’Ts DON’T provide different content to search engines and humans DON’T try to trick search engines to improve rankings DON’T use hidden or extremely small text DON’T keyword stuff DON’T use same title tags DON’T copy content

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo In the end Everyone will be doing these steps. What can you do that is more? 1.SEO – What might be enough today, will NOT be tomorrow! You need to keep optimizing with: 1.Better content 2.More backlinks 3.Social involvement and social proof 2.Social Media 1.More followers sharing and tweeting your stuff 3.Take advantage of other marketing tools What Google tells you to do, you should do.

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Need help? Kat & Mouse takes your site to the next level with: Website & Google Places optimization to get Google to take note Link building to move your site above the competition Social Media marketing – Custom landing pages, engagement, website integration to get people singing your praises Mobile Marketing to capture the crowd on the street in the new internet Monthly monitoring and improvements to keep you on top

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Kat & Mouse Please connect with me LinkedInLinkedIn - Kathy Long LinkedIn: Join Local BizBuzz Group To your success!

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Blogging + SEO It’s more than just a title tag. By Kathy Long, SECRO (Search Engine Conversion Rate Optimization) Kat & Mouse SEO & Web Design

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Why does Google love you? 1.Relevancy 2.Popularity & Visibility 3.User Choice and Sustainability

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 1. Relevancy 1.Keyword selection 2.Optimized pages targeting keywords 3.People like it enough to link to it on relevant pages with relevant keywords

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 1. Relevancy - Keyword Research –Check analytics for opportunities –Check difficulty # competing websites Top 10 search results (beware of personalized search) –Number of external links and number of domains –Page Authority and Domain Authority of each ranking site –General level of on-page optimization

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 1. Relevancy – Optimized Page Title tag H1 Keyword density Is the keyword in image alt text? Is the keyword in the domain or URL? Anchor text of internal and external links? TIP: Search to find internal link opportunities: [site: intext:"my target keyword”]

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 1. Relevancy – People like it Your goal is to get people to: 1.Link to you 2.Share you 1.Facebook 2.Tweet 3.Bookmark

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 1. Relevancy - Link Building Acquire quality links from quality sites with keywords in anchor text –Give free advice –Blog commenting –Forum commenting –Guest blogging –Write remarkable copy –Infographics –Whitepaper, research –Create something another business in your industry (non-competitor) would value

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 1. Relevancy - Link Building Query these Keyword blog Intitle blog Keyword Inurl:blog Keyword “tags: Keyword ” “filed under: Keyword ” Keyword “add comment” Keyword forum “Keyword forum” Keyword join Keyword group

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 1. Relevancy - Link Building Repurpose your blog Article Guest Blog Podcast Video

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 2. Popularity and Visibility Announce your remarkable content but where and to whom? You must first build relationships – the same way you do offline!

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 2. Popularity and Visibility Build Relationships & Authority –Be genuine, not spammy –Add value Quora LinkedIn Groups and Discussions Forums Blogs –Look for no-follow

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 2. Popularity and Visibility Build Relationships & Authority Facebook – Likes – F riends – Tag Twitter – Lists – Paper.li and Scoop.it – Hashtags – Retweet, mention, thank, be neighborly – Tag

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 2. Popularity and Visibility Announce your remarkable content –Facebook and build engagement –Tweet – –Newsletter –Add share, Tweetme, bookmark ability to your website Sharethis.com

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 2. Popularity and Visibility RSS Ping Social Bookmarking – Bookmark your own! –StumbleUpon –Digg –Reddit –Google –OnlyWire

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 2. User Choice and Sustainability Check analytics! Bounce-offs will kill you! Craft a compelling title tag with keyword + value proposition + CTA Craft an elevator pitch description Give them what they came for!

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Why does Google love you? 1.Relevancy 2.Popularity & Visibility 3.User Choice and Sustainability

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Google Places – How to Rank High 1.Proximity 2.Popularity (Prominence) 3.Relevance

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo 2: Develop Your NAP NAP = Name, Address, Phone –Consistency across the web is critical! TASK: Search for your phone number on the web. Check to see where your NAP is inconsistent. Make a note of these. FIX THEM!

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Create and Claim Your Place Google Places Yahoo Local Bing Business Portal Facebook Google + soon to come

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Place Page Optimization Exact or close categories – Try entering city name in 1 or 2 categories. Test. Business name in title – Don’t spam with keywords, be consistent –City keywords in title if possible and applicable Point to a better landing page – contact page Use more info links to add additional links to website, either internally or social sites

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Citations Create articles for inbound links - add NAP Videos - add NAP Facebook Page Research top 10 or more competitors and do what they do and then some more! –Whitespark.ca/local-citation-finderWhitespark.ca/local-citation-finder –Check More info on their Place page for more Example: This class at Parks & Rec

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo More Citations Chamber of Commerce BBB Host/support a philanthropic event Sponsor local events –Query these Location sponsorship Location sponsorship opportunities Location sponsor our event Location “thanks to our sponsors” Location intitel:sponsors Location inurl:sponsors –Create future notifications in Google alerts with location sponsorship for one –Ontolo: Citation ProspectingOntolo: Citation Prospecting –Export Citation list from localsearchtoolkit.comExport Citation list from localsearchtoolkit.com

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Citation Prospecting Sponsor a local event. Utilize price anchoring when pitching sponsorships Dear Santa Cruz event, The (event) is going to be a great event. I would love to help sponsor it and my business, can contribute $20 for the sponsorship. I look forward to helping support this event to a successful conclusion and reading more about it as it progresses on your website. To your success, Kathy Long Santa Cruz resident and business owner

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Local directories

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Local directories Check your site at Enter your site MANUALLY here:

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Local directories To find more, query: Location directory Location business directory “list of location sites” Location websites Location sites “location sites” “location websites” “favorite links” location “recommended link” location Must do for all Santa Cruz businesses: Wiki Travel -

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Reviews –Get addresses from customers, segment into gmail and yahoo addresses and ASK –Facebook –Use QR Codes –Use Thumbtack –Brightlocal review tool –Review Triage

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Summary: 7 ways to dominate Google Places 1.Add NAP to off-site content 2.Broaden your citation mentions 3.Optimize your website 4.Get more local, anchor text inbound links from directories, press releases, check-in sites, blogs 5.Get reviews 6.Timely updates to your place page 7.Get active in social media

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo In the end Everyone will be doing these steps. What can you do that is more? 1.SEO – What might be enough today, will NOT be tomorrow! You need to keep optimizing with: 1.Better content 2.More backlinks 3.Social involvement and social proof 2.Social Media 1.More followers sharing and tweeting your stuff 3.Take advantage of other marketing tools What Google tells you to do, you should do.

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Need help? Kat & Mouse takes you to the next level with… Website & Google Places optimization to get Google to take note Link building to move your site above the competition Social Media marketing – Custom landing pages, engagement, website integration to get people singing your praises Mobile Marketing to capture the crowd on the street in the new internet Monthly monitoring and improvements to keep you on top

Kat & Mouse | katandmouse.com | facebook.com/katandmouseo Kat & Mouse Please connect with me LinkedInLinkedIn - Kathy Long LinkedIn: Join Local BizBuzz Group To your success!