SEO: Search Engine Optimization Fundamentals

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

SEO: Search Engine Optimization Fundamentals SEO: Search Engine Optimization Fundamentals Title: SEO: Search Engine Optimization Fundamentals Course material - knowledge required - for certification Copyright © 2018 eMarketing Institute Web: www.emarketinginstitute.org Contact us eMarketing Institute c/o Web Media ApS Tove Maës Vej 7, 3.tv. DK-2500 Valby, Copenhagen Denmark VAT ID: DK 3531871301 Email: [email protected] 2 1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 9 2. Introduction to Search Engine Optimization .................................................. 11 What is SEO? ............................................................................................................................. 11 Why it matters? ........................................................................................................................ 12 Common SEO techniques.......................................................................................................... 13 Content creation as an SEO technique ............................................................................................... 15 SEO as a marketing strategy ..................................................................................................... 15 3. Understanding Search Engines ...................................................................... 19 How do search engines work? .................................................................................................. 19 How do people interact with search engines? ......................................................................... 20 Search engine facts and figures ......................................................................................................... 20 Search engine marketing .......................................................................................................... 21 1) Keyword analysis ............................................................................................................................ 22 2) Site popularity ................................................................................................................................ 22 3) Web analytic and HTML tools ........................................................................................................ 22 4) Sponsored results ........................................................................................................................... 23 Why search engine marketing matters? ................................................................................... 23 4. Search Engine Friendly Site Design and Development ................................... 26 Indexable content ..................................................................................................................... 26 Title tags .................................................................................................................................... 28 Meta tags .................................................................................................................................. 30 ‘Spider tags’ ........................................................................................................................................ 31 The description meta tag (or meta description) ................................................................................ 31 Link structure ............................................................................................................................ 32 Nofollow links ........................................................................................................................... 33 Keyword usage .......................................................................................................................... 35 URL structures ........................................................................................................................... 37 5. Basics of Keyword Research .......................................................................... 41 3 What is keyword research? ...................................................................................................... 41 Phases of keyword research............................................................................................................... 42 Keyword research tools: free and paid ..................................................................................... 45 Moz Keyword Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 46 Advanced Web Ranking ..................................................................................................................... 46 Raven Tools Research Central ............................................................................................................ 47 Keyword Spy ....................................................................................................................................... 48 Wordtracker ....................................................................................................................................... 48 KeywordEye ........................................................................................................................................ 49 SEMrush ............................................................................................................................................. 50 WordStream Free Keyword Tool ........................................................................................................ 50 SEO Book Keyword Tool ..................................................................................................................... 51 Bing Keyword Research ...................................................................................................................... 52 The value of a keyword ............................................................................................................. 52 Keyword demand and the legendary long-tail ......................................................................... 53 6. Google Rankings ........................................................................................... 57 What affects Google rankings? ................................................................................................. 57 Usability and user experience ............................................................................................................ 57 Content, content, content! ................................................................................................................ 58 Tips for improving Google Rank ................................................................................................ 59 7. Google Panda and Other Algorithm Updates ................................................. 62 The rise of Google Panda .......................................................................................................... 62 Understanding the evolution of Google’s algorithms .............................................................. 63 Quality raters and machine-learning algorithms ............................................................................... 63 More refined content analysis ........................................................................................................... 64 Duplicate and rehashed content ........................................................................................................ 64 Search pages on websites .................................................................................................................. 66 Too many ads ..................................................................................................................................... 66 A chronology of updates since Panda 1.0 ................................................................................. 67 4 Getting ahead in the post-Panda internet world...................................................................... 71 Brief lesson for a radically new SEO environment ............................................................................. 71 8. Link Building ................................................................................................. 74 The importance of link building ................................................................................................ 74 Types of links ............................................................................................................................. 75 Natural (or editorial) links .................................................................................................................. 75 Manual (or outreach) links ................................................................................................................. 76 Self-promotional (non editorial) links ................................................................................................ 76 Starting a link building campaign .............................................................................................. 76 What are your assets? ........................................................................................................................ 77 Links come in many flavors ................................................................................................................ 77 Social links .........................................................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • Vol-104-No-3-2012-29
    LAW LIBRARY JOURNAL Vol. 104:3 [2012-29] The Long Tail of Legal Information: Legal Reference Service in the Age of the Content Farm* R. Lee Sims** and Roberta Munoz*** The authors discuss the implications for legal reference service of a new feature of the legal information universe: the content farm. This article describes the content farm, its workings, what makes it profitable, and the market and informational forces that drive content farm creation. It also discusses how reference interactions may be altered if a patron has consulted content farm information before coming to the reference desk. A New Challenge for Law Librarians at the Reference Desk ¶1 Nonexpert legal research patrons come to the reference desk wanting answers to their questions, but they often don’t know what question to ask or how to ask it. The first encounter between patron and reference librarian frequently begins with an analysis of the question itself. It is important for the librarian to consider whether the patron has asked a question that can be answered, and whether the patron has asked the question using language that will lead him down the right path. ¶2 Now, a new type of legal information is becoming widely available—even ubiquitous—that makes this process even more challenging. Vast quantities of legal information are currently being generated by “content farms.”1 Content farm infor- mation, retrieved through search engines like Google, answers legal questions with a high degree of specificity, even when the questions posed are incomplete, poorly formed, or nonsensical. Patrons with an article from a content farm in hand may come to the reference desk assuming that someone else has posed the correct ques- tion, which they then have adopted as their own.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Link Building and How It Is Useful?
    What is Link Building and How it is Useful? digitalmarketingtrends.in/what-is-link-building-and-how-it-is-useful/ Devoo Banna March 23, 2019 What is Link Building and How it is Useful? (90%) Votes Whether you are new or old brand, the main thing you need to know about the link building concept is how it is useful and what is its goal. Basically is helps in boosting your site’s visibility in online world. The way of SEO and link building services is always updated or followed accordingly with the latest trends and techniques in the market according to the Google algorithm. Link building is important, if you want to compete and thrive in the online world. SEO has becoming the vital part of digital marketing. It would be better explained, if it is given the title of need for the hour. Marketing involves different strategies which have been applied for a long duration. Rankraft, the best digital marketing agency of India acts as a supporter to your business which eventually helps your business grow each day. With the help of digital service, the world is now getting an idea of the different strategies in online marketing. SEO is a major tool to promote and initiate online branding, generating organic traffic, online publicity and many things. Thus, it is the time when the search engine optimization expertise is going to get the most of the importance. Rankraft is one of the best online marketing agency where they shape your business as per the latest digital trends to help you for your site’s link building which ensures your business growth.
    [Show full text]
  • Ways Marketing Automation Can Hurt SEO...That No One's Talking About
    6 ways Marketing Automation Can Hurt SEO... ...That No One’s Talking About 6 Ways Marketing Automation Can Hurt SEO (That No One’s Talking About) WHAT IS MARKETING AUTOMATION? Marketing automation is a software designed to help businesses know their customer, then personalize, contextualize, communicate and optimize their content for that customer. Marketing automation tools allow businesses to create an entire website or microsite specifically geared toward capturing leads, organizing their contact data, and then regularly nurturing them with personalized emails and dynamic landing pages that speak directly to each contact’s unique details. WHO USES MARKETING AUTOMATION? More and more businesses, whether they have 5 employees or 5,000, turn to marketing to marketing automation (MA) as a way to grow their businesses. It can help them organize their sales contacts, deliver targeted content and service to those contacts and measure the results - all from one simple user interface. In fact, the adoption rate for marketing automation has grown rapidly over the past couple years, with 2015 statistics showing 59% of B2B Fortune 500 companies, and 68% of top-performing small businesses use marketing automation. verticalmeasures.com 6 Ways Marketing Automation Can Hurt SEO (That No One’s Talking About) SEO potential. And that’s not what you want to SO, WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? hear when making a big investment into a new platform. Marketers, salespeople and SEOs love the optimization, relationship building and On the other hand, when you implement a ROI attribution that marketing automation marketing automation tool properly, there delivers. It can also pose inherent challenges to are lots of SEO benefits largely having to traditional website optimization in ways many do with the kind of unparalleled data that companies may not have considered - because marketing automation can provide, namely: frankly, no one’s talking about them… until now.
    [Show full text]
  • A Web Based System Design for Creating Content in Adaptive
    Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology 2020 (Volume 8 - Issue 3 ) A Web Based System Design for Creating [1] [email protected], Gazi University, Faculty of Gazi Content in Adaptive Educational Education, Ankara Hypermedia and Its Usability [2] [email protected], Gazi University, Faculty of Gazi Education, Ankara Yıldız Özaydın Aydoğdu [1], Nursel Yalçın [2] http://dx.doi.org/10.17220/mojet.2020.03.001 ABSTRACT Adaptive educational hypermedia is an environment that offers an individualized learning environment according to the characteristics, knowledge and purpose of the students. In general, adaptive educational hypermedia, a user model is created based on user characteristics and adaptations are made in terms of text, content or presentation according to the created user model. Different contents according to the user model are shown as much as user model creation in adaptive educational hypermedia. The development of applications that allow the creation of adaptive content according to the features specified in the user model has great importance in ensuring the use of adaptive educational hypermedia in different contexts. The purpose of this research is to develop a web- based application for creating content in adaptive educational hypermedia and to examine the usability of the developed application. In order to examine the usability of the application developed in the scope of the study, a field expert opinion form was developed and opinions were asked about the usability of the application from 7 different field experts. As the result of the opinions, it has been seen that the application developed has a high usability level. In addition, based on domain expert recommendations, system revisions were made and the system was published at www.adaptivecontentdevelopment.com.
    [Show full text]
  • The Algorithmization of the Hyperlink.” Computational Culture 3 (2013)
    Citation: Helmond, A. “The Algorithmization of the Hyperlink.” Computational Culture 3 (2013). http://computationalculture.net/article/the-algorithmization-of-the-hyperlink The Algorithmization of the Hyperlink Anne Helmond, University of Amsterdam Abstract This study looks at the history of the hyperlink from a medium-specific perspective by analyzing the technical reconfiguration of the hyperlink by engines and platforms over time. Hyperlinks may be seen as having different roles belonging to specific periods, including the role of the hyperlink as a unit of navigation, a relationship marker, a reputation indicator and a currency of the web. The question here is how web devices have contributed to constituting these roles and how social media platforms have advanced the hyperlink from a navigational device into a data- rich analytical device. By following how hyperlinks have been handled by search engines and social media platforms, and in their turn have adapted to this treatment, this study traces the emergence of new link types and related linking practices. The focus is on the relations between hyperlinks, users, engines and platforms as mediated through software and in particular the process of the algorithmization of the hyperlink through short URLs by social media platforms. The important role these platforms play in the automation of hyperlinks through platform features and in the reconfiguration of the link as database call is illustrated in a case study on link sharing on Twitter. 1 Introduction The hyperlink as a key natively digital object (Rogers 2013, 13) is considered to be the fabric of the web and in this role has the capacity to create relations, constitute networks and organize and rank content.
    [Show full text]
  • Literature Survey and Open Challenges
    Link maintenance for integrity in linked open data evolution: literature survey and open challenges Andre Gomes Regino a, Julio Cesar dos Reis a,d, Rodrigo Bonacin b, Ahsan Morshed c and Timos Sellis e a Institute of Computing, University of Campinas, SP, Brazil E-mails: [email protected], [email protected] b , UNIFACCAMP and Center for Information Technology Renato Archer, SP, Brazil E-mail: [email protected] c , Central Queensland University of Technology,Melbourne, Australia E-mail: [email protected] d Nucleus of Informatics Applied to Education, University of Campinas, SP, Brazil E-mail: [email protected] e , Swinburne University of Technology,Melbourne, Australia E-mail: [email protected] Editor: Oscar Corcho, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain Solicited reviews: Mikel Emaldi Manrique, Universidad de Deusto, Spain; Two anonymous reviewers Open review: Mohamed Ahmed Sherif, University of Leipzig, Germany Abstract. RDF data has been extensively deployed describing various types of resources in a structured way. Links between data elements described by RDF models stand for the core of Semantic Web. The rising amount of structured data published in public RDF repositories, also known as Linked Open Data, elucidates the success of the global and unified dataset proposed by the vision of the Semantic Web. Nowadays, semi-automatic algorithms build connections among these datasets by exploring a variety of methods. Interconnected open data demands automatic methods and tools to maintain their consistency over time. The update of linked data is considered as key process due to the evolutionary characteristic of such structured datasets. However, data changing operations might influence well-formed links, which turns difficult to maintain the consistencies of connections over time.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ultimate to Digital Marketing in a Data-Driven
    THE ULTIMATE GUIDETO DIGITAL MARKETING IN A DATA-DRIVEN WORLD THE RISE AND RISE OF DIGITAL MARKETING IN A DATA DRIVEN WORLD HOW THE BEST OF THE BEST APPROACH DIGITAL MARKETING DEFINING THE BEST PRACTICE FOR YOUR ORGANISATION HOW DIGITAL MARKETING FITS INTO THE MARKETING MIX The Ultimate Guide to Digital in a Data-driven World 1 Achieving your goals needs marketing and business pulling together. In the digital marketplace the customer is in the driving For more than a decade TrinityP3 has been working seat. Organisations are talking and moving to a customer with many major advertisers aligning their agency roster centric strategy delivered through data-driven customer to their business strategy. In the past five years we have digital engagement. increasingly been extending this strategic alignment process within the organisation too. But achieving a successful customer centric strategy and a successful customer experience requires more To find out how you can achieve the results you need, than just intentions. In most organisations there is a be it integrating digital and data-driven strategy into the requirements to make structural and process changes as marketing process, or aligning the customer experience well, from within the organisation, through marketing to brand, or transforming your company to a customer and right through to the external agencies centric organisation, TrinityP3 has the process and and suppliers. expertise to deliver. Go to trinityP3.com for more information From the EDITOR Can anyone remember what they were doing in 1989? Well for me, it was my first year of university studying a Bachelor of Economics Degree at The University of Sydney.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT COLEY, TOBY FRANKLIN. Wikis in The
    ABSTRACT COLEY, TOBY FRANKLIN. Wikis in the Teaching of Writing: Purposes for Implementation. (Under the direction of Chris M. Anson). Throughout the documented history of the teaching of writing, educators have engaged in various methods through which to guide student learning in the textual medium. In recent years, the digital age has provided a plethora of educational opportunities from long-distance learning and virtual courses, to course management systems, blogs, and wikis. The wiki has emerged as a growing technology with the potential to transform the rhetoric of the writing classroom. The present project seeks to further the research available on wikis in the teaching of writing. This study is both definitional and explorational. The questions it seeks to address include: how are wikis being used in educator’s classrooms; to what purposes are the wikis being used; in what ways are wikis being used? To answer some of these questions, various instructor survey responses were evaluated and incorporated into this thesis. The six main purposes for which wikis are being used in education that are identified in this study are 1) collaboration, 2) facilitation of work, 3) audience extension, 4) knowledge building/reflecting, 5) effective writing, and 6) multimodal literacy. After gathering data on the above purposes, this research discusses the results of the data and considers future research for integrating wiki technology into the teaching of writing. WIKIS IN THE TEACHING OF WRITING: PURPOSES FOR IMPLEMENTATION by TOBY FRANKLIN COLEY A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts ENGLISH Raleigh, North Carolina 2007 APPROVED BY: __________________________________ __________________________________ Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Lapland UAS Thesis Template
    DELIVERING USER-FRIENDLY EXPERIENCES BY SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Lian Heng Bachelor’s Thesis School of Business and Culture Degree Programme in Business Information Technology Bachelor of Business Administration 2014 Abstract of thesis School of Business and Culture Degree Programme in Business Information Technology Author Heng Lian Year 2014 Supervisor Tuomo Lindholm Commissioned by N/A Title of thesis Delivering User-Friendly Experiences by Search Engine Optimization No. of pages + app. 60 The objective of this research is to study different and recent Google algorithms to encourage the uses of White Hat search engine optimization in order to cre- ate a user-friendly experience on websites. Moreover, reasons for not using Black Hat search engine optimization are justified. This research focuses on Google search engine, specifically on the search en- gine optimization principles and its benefits to deliver user-friendly experiences. The exploratory research approach was adopted in this thesis research due to the formulation of the research questions. Descriptive method was also utilized as a secondary research method to enhance the findings. To ensure the validity of this thesis research, the sources drawn from are more recent than from year 2007. On the basis of research analyses and findings, this thesis research proposes different techniques and principles to be applied to webmaster’s websites in order to create websites acceptable by Google standards, more importantly us- er-friendly experiences. Keywords: user-friendly experience, SEO, Google algorithm, Google Panda, PageRank, Google Penguin, Page Layout, CONTENT ABSTRACT FIGURES 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 5 1.1 Motivation and background .................................................................... 5 1.2 Objectives .............................................................................................. 6 1.3 Structure of the thesis ...........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • L-G-0004998833-0007910864.Pdf
    Grahams HD:Users:Graham:Public:GRAHAM'S IMAC JOBS:14238 - POLITY - WALKER RETTBERG:WALKER-RETTBERG 9780745663647 PRINT Blogging Second Edition Grahams HD:Users:Graham:Public:GRAHAM'S IMAC JOBS:14238 - POLITY - WALKER RETTBERG:WALKER-RETTBERG 9780745663647 PRINT Digital Media and Society Series Nancy Baym: Personal Connections in the Digital Age Jean Burgess and Joshua Green: YouTube Mark Deuze: Media Work Charles Ess: Digital Media Ethics, 2nd edition Alexander Halavais: Search Engine Society Graeme Kirkpatrick: Computer Games and the Social Imaginary Martin Hand: Ubiquitous Photography Robert Hassan: The Information Society Tim Jordan: Hacking Leah A. Lievrouw: Alternative and Activist New Media Rich Ling and Jonathan Donner: Mobile Communication Donald Matheson and Stuart Allan: Digital War Reporting Dhiraj Murthy: Twitter Zizi A. Papacharissi: A Private Sphere Jill Walker Rettberg: Blogging, 2nd edition Patrik Wikström: The Music Industry, 2nd edition Blogging Second edition Jill Walker Rettberg polity Grahams HD:Users:Graham:Public:GRAHAM'S IMAC JOBS:14238 - POLITY - WALKER RETTBERG:WALKER-RETTBERG 9780745663647 PRINT Copyright © Jill Walker Rettberg 2014 The right of Jill Walker Rettberg to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First edition published in 2008 by Polity Press This second edition first published in 2014 by Polity Press Polity Press 65 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK Polity Press 350 Main Street Malden, MA 02148, USA All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • Overview Not Confine the Discussion in This Report to Those Specific Issues Within the Commission’S Regulatory Jurisdiction
    television, cable and satellite media outlets operate. Accordingly, we do Overview not confine the discussion in this report to those specific issues within the Commission’s regulatory jurisdiction. Instead, we describe below 1 MG Siegler, Eric Schmidt: Every 2 Days We Create As Much Information a set of inter-related changes in the media landscape that provide the As We Did Up to 2003, TECH CRUNCH, Aug 4, 2010, http://techcrunch. background for future FCC decision-making, as well as assessments by com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/. other policymakers beyond the FCC. 2 Company History, THomsoN REUTERS (Company History), http://thom- 10 Founders’ Constitution, James Madison, Report on the Virginia Resolu- sonreuters.com/about/company_history/#1890_1790 (last visited Feb. tions, http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendI_ 8, 2011). speechs24.html (last visited Feb. 7, 2011). 3 Company History. Reuter also used carrier pigeons to bridge the gap in 11 Advertising Expenditures, NEwspapER AssoC. OF AM. (last updated Mar. the telegraph line then existing between Aachen and Brussels. Reuters 2010), http://www.naa.org/TrendsandNumbers/Advertising-Expendi- Group PLC, http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/ tures.aspx. Reuters-Group-PLC-Company-History.html (last visited Feb. 8, 2011). 12 “Newspapers: News Investment” in PEW RESEARCH CTR.’S PRoj. foR 4 Reuters Group PLC (Reuters Group), http://www.fundinguniverse.com/ EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM, THE StatE OF THE NEws MEDIA 2010 (PEW, company-histories/Reuters-Group-PLC-Company-History.html (last StatE OF NEws MEDIA 2010), http://stateofthemedia.org/2010/newspa- visited Feb. 8, 2011). pers-summary-essay/news-investment/.
    [Show full text]
  • Demo of Backlink Analysis Report for Tesla.Com | Analysis and Report Generated Automatically in CLUSTERIC
    Demo of backlink analysis report for tesla.com | Analysis and report generated automatically in CLUSTERIC 2019-11-24 Demo of backlink analysis report for tesla.com | Analysis and report generated automatically in CLUSTERIC | 2 Demo of backlink analysis report for tesla.com | Analysis and report generated automatically in CLUSTERIC | 3 Table of contents 1. Audit/domain overview 2. Link profle overview 2.1. Links' health 2.2. Link status 3. How the website is linked 3.1. SITE-WIDE links 3.2. Rel attribute 3.3. Anchors distribution 4. Where the links come from 4.1. Location 4.2. Linking websites 5. Authority 5.1. Indexation 5.2. Social metrics 5.3. Link strength metrics 5.4. Trafc ranks 5.5. Risk factors 6. Audit summary 6.1. General advice Demo of backlink analysis report for tesla.com | Analysis and report generated automatically in CLUSTERIC | 4 Audit/domain overview This audit concentrates on the quality of tesla.com's link profle quality. Google uses of- site metrics to estimate the authority of the domain/page and one of the most important of-site signals are external backlinks. In the past, manipulating the link profle by adding lots of low quality or even spammy backlinks (often with the use of automated tools) led to changes in search engine alogorithms. Google introduced manual and algorithmic penalties devoting domains with bad link portfolio (spammy or overoptimised, thus unnatural). Having a healthy link profle will award your website with better organic search results rankings. We analysed 17435 backlinks from 7654 domains to produce this report.
    [Show full text]