MARKETING KUNG FU SEO: Key Things to Expand Your Digital Footprint A Practical Checklist 1
1. Content Development... Page 3 2. Content Organization... Page 4 3. META Data... Page 5 4. Fix Errors... Page 6 5. Verify Your Site... Page 7 6. Robot Index... Page 7 7. Site Map... Page 8 8. Google Analytics... Page 8 9. Social Integration... Page 9 10. Enable Sharing... Page 12 11. AdWords... Page 13 12. AdSense... Page 14 13. Yelp... Page 14 14. Search Engine Submission Services... Page 15 15. Wikipedia... Page 16 16. Landing Pages, Blogs and Microsites... Page 16 17. Google Company Page... Page 17 18. Amazon, ebay and Google shopping... Page 17 19. Google Business & Maps... Page 18 20. Product Review Sites... Page 18 21. Press Submissions... Page 19 22. Opt-In Newsletters... Page 19 23. Craigslist... Page 20 24. RSS... Page 20 25. Backlinks... Page 21 2
First, let's acknowledge that Google is what we care about. Most people use google.com to search, and if your website or content page is easily found via Google, the other search engines eventually will list the same page, and generally ranked in about the same position in the listings. So let's focus our efforts on being found in Google searches... 1. CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Create Meaningful, Up-to-Date Content Many consultants will give you very specific instructions for optimizing your content but, ultimately, the content itself is what drives search listings and prioritization. Your content should be original, brief and specific. Brief? Yes! Search engines don't just give you points for more content... it also should be readable, useful and non-repetitive. Instead of just writing more of the same, add depth through additional "read more" sections, add more photos to extended sections, and add categorical pages that get into more specific aspects of your topic. Blogs are great for this, providing a method for adding content depth and timely articles. *Search engines weigh more current content heavier than old content. 3
2. CONTENT ORGANIZATION Use Page, Section and Menu Titles Corresponding with Your Topic In most cases (there are exceptions to almost everything) your navigation menu nomenclature should clearly indicate the subject of the section the user will go to. Make sure each page has a different and indicative <TITLE> tag. Use Key Phrases in Strategic Sections Include sentences using your key words in these parts of your web page: The first sentence The last sentence of the first paragraph The last paragraph File Nomenclature Use the specific topic of each page in its file name, e.g., "my-specific-topic.html" Use the specific topic in directory naming Use the subject in the name your image files, e.g., "my-specific-topic.jpg" 4
3. META DATA Use META Description Tags Search engine robots seek specific tags to extract content. One is the Description Tag, which indicates the main topic of the page, and is typically the description used by Google when displaying your page in the search results. Make your Description Tag one sentence: <meta name="description" content="what you need to know about my topic"> Use META Keywords Tags Search engines add weight to pages with key words specified in the meta data. Use the Keywords Tag to include all relevant key words; keep it to under ten so you don't dilute their power. * Vary the keywords on each page to be more specific to its content. <meta name="keywords" content="each, aspect, of, your, topic, keywords"> Use META charset and http-equiv Tags Search engine robots seek specific compatibility statements. Use the below if you're not sure. <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge,chrome=1"> 5
4. FIX ERRORS Check Spelling Some websites are full of typos, which will make your content less credible and less popular and downgrade your listing. Check Links An amazing number of websites have broken links that produce errors for search engine robots. Check every link on every page! Check Formatting Use a couple of website checkers like validator.w3.org and freeformatter.com to check for HTML errors and get tips on what to change to make your HTML for friendly for robots. (Note, however, that some "errors" are unimportant, so you don't need to "fix" everything. *Make sure your website displays correctly on all devices, including ios and Android browsers. Self Lookup Google your site by name and ensure that links included in the listing are valid. If not, replace the page or create a forwarding script on the old page(s). 6
5. VERIFY YOUR SITE Google Verification: This validates your website and verifies that you are the site owner: Set up Google WebMaster Tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters ) Add your site Google will provide a coded HTML file Upload the coded file into the root URL directory Click the Validate button 6. ROBOT INDEX Create a Robots Index This tells search bots what to index (and what not to index and display in search results): Create a robots.txt file and upload it to the root URL directory. See an example format by Googling "robots.txt example." Submit the URL of the file through Google Webmaster Tools 7
7. SITE MAP Create a Sitemap XML file If your user interface is well designed, you probably don't need a site map for users. But you still should make one for search engine listing purposes. Create a text file named "sitemap.xml." See an example format by Googling "sitemap.xml example." Submit the URL of the file through Google Webmaster Tools 8. GOOGLE ANALYTICS Set up Google Analytics for Website Traffic Reporting You may already have a reporting system for your website that you like. But Google Analytics is connected to Google Adwords and Adsense, so it can provide better data for some things, especially search-related information. It also becomes very useful if you are using Google key word advertising. 8
9. SOCIAL INTEGRATION What's the point? Search engine listings. Google favors popular pages with social links that also have links back to your dotcom content. Each page on social media channels that links back to your website helps people find you and makes your site more attractive to searchbots. Set up Twitter Even if you don't use and don't understand Twitter, it's one of the best tools for enhancing your website's search engine rankings because every tweet is indexed: Set up a Twitter account Upload a profile picture, description and background (don't skip this!) Tweet once a day (or at least weekly) Include links to your website, social media and videos Include #hashtags that are popular and related to your industry Include photos Follow others Follow back everyone that follows you 9
Set up Facebook Facebook links also help your search engine rankings and, in fact, many companies and websites are found first on Facebook due to their popularity. Set up a Facebook account Upload a profile picture, description and background Make a likeable post at least weekly that includes photos Respond to comments and friend requests Include hashtags that are popular and related to your industry Set up YouTube Videos are a powerful way to reach your audience and keep their attention, and YouTube (part of Google) is helpful in obtaining greater search engine prominence. Set up a YouTube Channel Upload a video introducing your company or product. Get creative. Check your video title and keywords against popular searches? Respond to comments 10
Set up Linked In Linked in is a good tool for business-to-business development. You may also have noticed that Linked in pages are often the first thing you see when you look up people or specific types of services. Set up a Linked In account Create a Company page Join Groups related to your industry Reach out to potential employees and customers; respond to all requests More Social Media Other social media you might want to connect with: Reddit Pinterest StumbleUpon Blogger Delicious Tumblr Digg Flickr Google Plus Instagram Ask.fm Baidu 11
10. ENABLE SHARING Use a ShareThis Script to Enable Sharing Use a multi-channel sharing script to allow users to promo your content on their favorite channel (even if you're not part of that medium): Add a ShareThis Javascript widget near content that users may want to share Create a custom share button or icon Example script: <script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js?pub=xa-4a48ca0223ee1d9d"></script> <a expr:name='data:post.title' expr:id='data:post.url' onmouseover='return addthis_open(this, "", this.id, this.name);' onmouseout='addthis_close()' onclick='return addthis_sendto()'><img style="yourstyle" SRC="your image.png"></a> 12
11. ADWORDS Keyword Research Use AdWords to discover what the exact phrases people use when searching for products or services in your industry. Even if you don't spend money on advertising, you can gain valuable insight into how people are finding you (and your competition). Sign in to your Google account and go to google.com/adwords Check key words and phrases for your industry Modify your titles, messaging and META data to match the key phrases Paid Advertising to Boost Organic Rankings Spending even a small amount on AdWords adds powerful Google backlinks to your website. This is one of the best things you can do to improve your organic site rankings. With AdWords you purchase key phrases that match the queries people are using when they search. Sign in to your Google account and go to google.com/adwords Use the most specific key phrases possible to target your audience by pay-per-click Set your budget (use automatic mode) and use the metrics to measure success 13
12. ADSENSE Display Ads on Your Website for Better Rankings Use AdSense to monetize your content if you have pages with a lot of traffic, and Google will prefer your content and rank it even higher. With Adsense you can put Google ads on your web pages and get paid when users click on an ad. Sign in to your Google account and go to google.com/adsense Follow instructions to create an advertiser account Customize the ad formats to fit your content 13. YELP Know What Your Customers Are Saying Yelp.com is where people review your product or service and make comments that are often highly ranked in search engines. High Yelp rankings will help your website be more popular and be more visible in search engines. Have some friends, staff or colleagues post reviews Invite and incentivize customers to add reviews 14
14. SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION SERVICES Using a Search Engine Submission Service Use a single search engine submission service; hiring multiple services to do the same listings isn't helpful and can even lower your rankings. Do pick one service from a reputable provider like GoDaddy or a highly-ranked Fiver service: Select key phrases that are as specific to your product or service as possible Use your chosen auto-submission service (do not pay over $100) Ask your service provider to offer content suggestions for your website Using a search engine specialist can be helpful since SEO rule change regularly as people try to fool search robots and search engineers at Google continue to adjust search algorithms to best match user needs for real content. 15
15. WIKIPEDIA Add Your Content To Wikipedia Did you notice that Wikipedia content is on the first page of search results on almost any topic? You can leverage this by adding content to Wikipedia. To do this: Find content on Wikipedia that's directly related to your industry or product Study the Wikipedia format carefully Determine what information, sources or images may be lacking Create unique, relevant, informative and factual content Add footnoted sentences, sources or images 16. LANDING PAGES, BLOGS AND MICROSITES Adding Content Value with Related Sites and Pages Consider a separate-domain blog, search-specific landing pages and/or content "microsites" that are related, timely or more in-depth content that can be found through even more specific key word searches (for example, content for a specific audience or location). 16
17. GOOGLE COMPANY PAGE Create a Company Profile for Google Use Google+ to make a company profile page and a Google Hangout. No one else may see it, but Google will like it. Go to google.com/business and set up your company on Google My Business. 18. AMAZON, EBAY AND GOOGLE SHOPPING Create Stores in High-Traffic Shopping Areas If you offer a product that can be purchased online, Amazon.com, ebay.com and Google Shopping (google.com/shopping) tend to rank highest in search engine listings. Adding your products to Amazon or ebay can help your specific product listing to be found more easily, and listing your products with Google Shopping helps to reach mobile shoppers and can even get your product to the first page of Google search results. 17
19. GOOGLE BUSINESS AND MAPS Get Linked into Google Make sure you're listed by location with Google, even if people don't come to your location to buy your product or service. This can help your business a number of different ways, but mostly in creates a Google link to your business. If you're not sure how, go to support.google.com/business to see the different options you have for connecting your business with Google. 20. PRODUCT REVIEW SITES Get Relevant Links from Popular Websites Search for reviews on your industry and products, and submit your product for review. Many products are found first in reviews! 18
21. PRESS SUBMISSIONS Creating More Findable Content Press releases circulated and posted by major news services also rank highly in search results because A) they match specific search terms, B) are timely and C) can be posted on major news sites like Yahoo! to add weight to the link. Write a press release about your product with an interesting story angle Submit the press release through a news service 22. OPT-IN NEWSLETTERS Remind and Inform Your User Base and Audience Use a bulk emailing service (not your regular email account) to send newsletters that give reasons to share and return to your site, such as coupons or interesting news. Create an opt-in list (that is, don't spam to unknown lists) Sign up at constantcontact.com or other bulk mail service Create newsletters on a regular schedule, e.g. monthly 19
23. CRAIGSLIST Reach Local Audiences Craigslist might be the best way to promote specific events and find local buyers for your product or service. It's also the best place to recruit talent. Post events 1 month, 1 week and 1 day ahead Post job openings Post products and services 24. RSS Syndicate Your Content via RSS RSS is standard way to circulate your content through updating various news channels people can follow. Go to an RSS service site like feedity.com. Follow instructions to create and publish a feed See wikihow.com/create-an-rss-feed for help Promote your feed across your different channels 20
25. BACKLINKS Raise Your Ranking with Links to Your Site Backlinks (links to your domain from other domains) are one of the most powerful popularity indicators used in search algorithms. The more people that link to you, the more popular Google sees you. Besides direct ads, places to add backlinks include: All your social media and posts Your blog and news articles Your RSS feed and circulated press releases Product review websites Group, training and forum websites Contests and events We hope this has been helpful! There are other things you can do to increase your traffic, too, but if you get these basics executed you're off to a great start. Need help? Need more traffic right now? Ask about our online marketing package that immediately drives visitors to your website and social media. 21
Want some help driving traffic to your website and social media? Find it at placemarkone.com Placemark One 22