1. In c orporati n g SEO Strategi es in Yo ur Library Tabatha Farney Director of Web Services & Technologies Kraemer Family Library University of Colorado Colorado Springs @sharebrarian | tfarney@uccs.edu

2. Defining SEO

3. Rate your SEO expertise! 1 Completely new to SEO. 2 I’ve heard of it, but haven’t practiced it. 3 I know current SEO practices but haven’t used them. 4 I use SEO practices in my library, but want to know more.

4. Importance of Discoverability Libraries are all about discoverability!

5. How many users already find your website through a web search engine? 0%-20% 20% - 40% Over 40%

6. SEO is not just about generating more traffic, it’s about generating good traffic.

7. Constantly changing Requires commitment SEO Challenges

8. Increase in conversions Larger target audience Increased visibility in new areas SEO Rewards

9. Understanding Data External vs Internal Data Building Your SEO Strategy

10. SEO Audit 1.Current SEO practices 2.Understanding the data available 3.Searching and SERPs

11. Current SEO Practices What is already being done? Is your website already indexed in the major search engines? Where is your website linked? What are your practices for creating title tags and description tags? Who manages your library’s SEO practices?

12. Data: SEO-friendly Reports in Google Analytics Acquisition reports Amount Search engines Keywords SEO and Site Search reports Amount Keywords

13. Data: SEO-friendly Reports in Google Search Console Search Analytics Queries (keywords) Clicks Impression Position

14. Searching and SERPs Search like a Search Engine Google Search Console or the equivalent SEO Tools… Moz Tools Varvy Found.SEO-Tool ….the list goes on

15. Searching and SERPs And Don’t Forget Them…

16. Boosting Your SEO Strategy

17. Google SEO Starter Guide, http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en//webmasters/docs/search-engine- optimization-starter-guide.pdf http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en//webmasters/docs/search-engine- optimization-starter-guide.pdf Yahoo’s Get a Higher Website Rank, https://help.yahoo.com/kb/account/higher-website-rank-sln2216.html https://help.yahoo.com/kb/account/higher-website-rank-sln2216.html Bing Webmaster Guidelines, https://www.bing.com/webmaster/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a https://www.bing.com/webmaster/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a SEO Strategy: Check the SEO Guides!

18. Schema.org Structured Data = Schema markup tells search engines to recognize and display certain pieces of data. SEO Strategy: Structured Data

19. { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "Kraemer Family Library", "url" : "http://www.uccs.edu/library", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/uccslibrary/?fref=nf", "https://twitter.com/uccslibrary" ] } SEO Strategy: Structured Data Example

21. SEO Strategy: Another Great Example of Structured Data Montana State University Library New York Public Library

22. SEO Strategy: Structured Data Within Google Search Console Structured Data checker Data Highlighter

23. Display title on SERPs Keep it concise--under 60 characters Keep it accurate and intuitive—important keywords to the front SEO Strategy: Title Tags & Meta Description Tags May be displayed on SERPs Concise sentences—under 160 characters Keep it intuitive—write for humans Don’t just copy and paste

24. SEO Strategy: Title Tags & Meta Description Tags

27. How many of your library’s resources are hidden? Consider adding SEO to popular resources, highlight events, or promote tutorials/guides. SEO Strategy: Making the “Good” Dark Web Visible

28. SEO Strategy: Ensure You Are Mobile Friendly

29. SEO Strategy: Encourage Good Referrals Sharing is caring. Do your multiple web presences refer back to each other? What other potential referrals are out there?

30. You Don’t Have to Optimize Everything! SEO Strategy: Final One

31. Assessing Your SEO Strategy

32. The Assessment Circle of Life Determine what to optimize. Select the metrics to measure success. Set your benchmarks and goals. Collect, analyze, and report. Make changes and retest.

33. Determine What to Optimize Some Suggestions: Homepage Hours/parking info Events/workshops Unique resources or services

34. Determine What to Optimize Optimization Idea: Increase usage of our online help guides Question 1: What are the basic usage stats for an online guide? Question 2: Are users engaging with the guide content? Question 3: Are users returning to the guides?

35. Selecting Your Metrics There’s more than just impressions and click-throughs! Powerful Google Analytics metrics: Events Conversions Are necessary metrics already being tracked?

36. Selecting Your Metrics: Case Study Example Question 1: Basic Usage Users Sessions Pageviews Time on site Pageviews per session Question 2: Engagement Pageviews by webpage Events (outbound links, videos, tabbed boxes, and downloads) Question 3: Returning Returning vs. new users Acquisition data Dates of access

37. Set Your Benchmarks and Goals Put your data into perspective! Benchmarks put your data into context. Goals determine your success.

38. Set Your Benchmarks and Goals: Case Study Example Benchmarks: Fall 2015 vs Spring 2016 basic use and content use data Outside data: Used to teach a class or workshop Goals: 15% more video views 25% more sessions with over three pageviews Use outside of classroom/workshop time is over 20% of total sessions

39. Collect, Analyze, and Report Turn data into actions! What story does the data tell you? What are the actionable outcomes?

40. Collect, Analyze, and Report: Case Study Example

42. I’m open for questions! Unlike some people we know…

43. Some Fun Resources Google Stuff: Google Analytics Academy, https://analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/https://analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/ Google Analytics Help Center, https://support.google.com/analytics/?hl=en#topic=3544906https://support.google.com/analytics/?hl=en#topic=3544906 Search Console Help, https://support.google.com/webmasters/?hl=en#topic=3309469https://support.google.com/webmasters/?hl=en#topic=3309469 Intro to Webmaster Academy, https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6001102?hl=en&ref_topic=4558721 https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6001102?hl=en&ref_topic=4558721 Other Good Reads: SEO: Blogs and Feeds, Search Engine Land, http://searchengineland.com/library/search-engine- optimization/seo-blogs-feedshttp://searchengineland.com/library/search-engine- optimization/seo-blogs-feeds Moz Blog, https://moz.com/bloghttps://moz.com/blog Fichter, D., & Wisniewski, J. (2014). Being Findable: Search Engine Optimization for Library Websites. Online Searcher, 38(5), 74-76.