Intro To SEO (Youth Employment Services)

PRESENTING TODAY
In 8 short years, Ryan has helped build one of
Canada’s best user experience agencies, developed a
national honey company, and won the advertising
industry’s top awards at Cannes.
He’s recently quit his job as a director in SEO to travel
the world.
Follow him at @gosquab, @nudebeehoney and
@ryantylerthomas on all your social media channels.

WHAT WE’LL LEARN
1 THE LANDSCAPE What search looks like today

WHAT WE’LL LEARN
2 USING DATA Understanding how people search

WHAT WE’LL LEARN
2 USING DATA Understanding how people search
3 YOUR BUSINESS Best practices for your business

IN A SENTENCE: SEARCH
A question asked based on keywords. For example: “What are the best cheap
hotels inToronto?”
A customized list of results based on how you’ve acted in the past.
A contextual link between what a person needs and the most relevant
answer, chosen based on the data at hand.

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SEARCH IS A CONVERSATION
Search is part of the knowledge economy
and is a media channel driven by consumer
intent -We can only speak to a consumer
when they ask to be spoken too.
We can only speak to a consumer when they ask to be
spoken to.This is called consumer intent. In organic search
we’re not paying to be heard, which is why we call it
earned media. It’s a two way dialogue.

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SEARCH IS A RICH MEDIA
Thanks to Google’s Knowledge Graph, a SERP (search
engine results page) can contain a lot of information:
images, videos, itemized lists, maps, related questions,
product reviews, even relevant tweets.

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SEARCH IS CONTEXTUAL
The results you see are personalized to your browser
through cookies; your search history, web history, location
data, and social network data are all used to modify the
results you’re given.

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SEARCH IS BIG DATA
To calculate if a page is shown, Google’s algorithm uses a
combination of over 200 factors.With each successful
search, it modifies the results based on what it’s learned
from user behaviour.

IN A SENTENCE: TRENDS
Google has become a mobile first company; to be visible in search you’ll
need to provide the best content and the fastest speed.
The best content is locally relevant to the person searching for it and contains
rich media like images and video to support what it says.
The fastest content can be read by voice-based assistance using structured
data, and loads faster on mobile than other similar pages.

VIDEO AND IMAGE MEDIA
Travel Channel Subscribers By Format
Travel Vlogs Offical Brand Channels Travel Tours / Footage Reviews and How To Offical Travel Publications
48%
Travel Content Takes Off on YouTube - Think With Google

LOCATION SIGNALS
Impact On LocalVisibility
My Business Signals
Review Signals
Citation Signals
Social Signals
Other SEO Signals
2017 Local Search Ranking Factors - MOZ

LOW FUNNEL SEARCHES
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600
800
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1200
1400
Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Apr-17 May-17 Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17
“Near Me” Searches For Skate Shops & Parks Peak In Summer
Skate Shops Near Me Skate Parks Near Me
Google AdWords – “Skate Shops Near Me” and “Sake Parkes Near Me” Canadian Search Volume

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Food &
Beverage
Health Sports News & Media Lifestyle Automotive Retail Travel (no-
maps)
Real Estate Entertainment Banking
Mobile Search % By Category
GOOGLE DOMINATES MOBILE
95%
of all searches
on mobile are
through Google
Hitwise - http://hitwise.connexity.com/070116_MobileSearchReport_CD_US.html

VOICE SEARCH
4%
US Households
2b+
Commands/Week
20%
Search Queries
The Rise Of Voice Platforms - Comparing Voice Related APIs - February 2017

STRUCTURED DATA
https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool

RICH MEDIA MATTERS
Moz Rich Features - https://moz.com/learn/seo/serp-features
97% of search results
include at least one rich
feature – media or
structured data asset

IN A SENTENCE: SALES
People search because they need more information and search has created
the most savvy generation of consumers ever.
We are less likely to buy based on brand preference and less likely to walk
into a store – yet when we do, we spend almost three times as much.
When we buy on mobile or online, we’re driven by urgency or convenience,
which means an omni-channel approach is essential for brands looking to
compete.

SEARCH IS RESEARCH
Source: Google/Ipsos, Consumers in the Micro-Moment, Wave 3, U.S., n=1,291 online smartphone users 18+, Aug. 2015.
90%of mobile users aren’t
sure of the brand they
want to buy
40%of shopping searches are
for broad category terms

WE PLAN ON MOBILE
Foot traffic to stores has declined by 57%
Store visits value is way up - almost tripled
79% of mobile shopping is driven by urgency
Source: ShopperTrak 2015 holiday, U.S. retail sales, MasterCard SpendingPulse 2010–2015, U.S. retail sale

KEY TOOLS
1 GoogleTrends Identify areas for growth
2 Google AdWords Identify consumer volumes
3 Google Analytics Identify what’s working

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UNDERSTANDING TRENDS
Trends tracks search volumes on a logarithmic scale that is
relative to all the Google searches within a given region
during a given time period.That means it accounts for
population and digital adoption during a year or location.

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UNDERSTANDING TRENDS
By narrowing in on a search behaviour, topic, or search
term we can identify growth over time, regional interest,
or related search terms.

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UNDERSTANDING KEYWORDS
GoogleAdWords Keyword Planner will generate search
ideas and identify average monthly volume of ~700
related keywords.You can use this to understand how
people search a category.
Keyword Competition Avg. Monthly Searches (exact match only)
clip in hair extensions 1 2900
hair extensions canada 1 2400
best hair extensions 0.68 880
human hair extensions 1 590
remy hair extensions 0.91 590
real hair extensions 1 390
best clip in hair extensions 0.81 390
cheap hair extensions 1 390
ombre hair extensions 0.99 390
clip in human hair extensions 1 210
black hair extensions 0.78 170
blonde hair extensions 0.88 170
buy hair extensions 0.99 170
18 inch hair extensions 0.39 170
where to buy hair extensions 0.94 170
20 inch hair extensions 0.37 170
hair extensions online 1 140
curly clip in hair extensions 1 140
remy hair extensions canada 0.97 140

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UNDERSTANDING KEYWORDS
From AdWords, you can download monthly averages,
mobile demand, or segment data by province, city, or
region to understand demographic trends.
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10000
15000
20000
25000
Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Apr-17 May-17 Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17
12 Month Search Volume For Ombre Hair Extensions (and related terms)

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UNDERSTANDING ANALYTICS
Though GoogleAnalytics you’ll be able to identify: what
pages are driving traffic, what mediums are driving traffic,
the age and location of your users, and gauge user
experience though conversion rate, bounce rate, and a
wealth of other tools.

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UNDERSTANDING ANALYTICS
By integrating Google Search Console you’ll be able to
identify the landing pages consumers use to reach your
website, as well as the top keywords that drove them to
your site’s pages.

THE 4 Cs OF SEO
1 CODE How you code your site for search
2 COPY How you describe what you do
3 COOPPERATION How your connected to other sites
4 CONTEXT How your social platforms support

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BASIC CODE FOR SEO
Every page requires a unique title element.This element
should be 55 characters in length and prioritized based on
your keyword research, with pages closer to the top
optimized for your high value category keywords.
<title>

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BASIC CODE FOR SEO
URLs on every page should be easy to read by a human
and include brand terms and keywords relevant to the
pages content. For example www.yourpage.com/123 is
less valuable than www.yourpage.com/shop-mens
<a href="

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BASIC CODE FOR SEO
Every page requires a unique meta description.This
element should be 160 characters in length and include a
strong reason for consumers to click. By including terms
from keyword research, important words will be bolded
and support ranking and relevance.
<meta>

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BASIC CODE FOR SEO
Your navigation bar is one of your most important tools.
Content linked directly from your home page though the
navigation bar appears as a unordered list <ui> and is
ranked higher in search and can be included in call out
extensions.
<id="nav">

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BASIC MEDIA CODE FOR SEO
When creating image files, keep files under 100kb. Often
raw product photography will be set to 300 DPI or be a file
far larger than needed for a mobile device with a 5.5 inch
screen.
Image Size

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Your files should be named in keeping with your product
and brand keywords. Saving a file “black-merino-boxers-
unbound.jpg” is better than “123.jpg”
<img src=

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For blind users and Google’s crawlers, provide alternate
text that describes the image you’re uploading. Under the
AODA (Access for OntariansWith DisabilitiesAct), these
features are required and help your page rank in search.
alt="

A NOTE ON SEO CODE
Platforms like Shopify,WordPress, and Squarespace are very SEO friendly and
will allow you to include most of the data above without learning to code.
As your site grows, new SEO challenges will arise.You may be required to
redirect old pages using a 301 Redirect or include ratings and reviews that
show up in search.These tasks will require a growing knowledge of code and
are well documented on sites like MOZ.com orThinkWithGoogle.com.
Just remember code is trial and error, and in time you’ll find you’re learning
more than you ever thought possible.

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BASIC COPY FOR SEO
Just like a newspaper, the most important copy on the
page is the headline. In code this is noted in a CSS file as
an <h1>. On every page, your headline should include the
most important information on that page.
<h1>

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BASIC COPY FOR SEO
Sub-headlines <h2> inform the headline and help Google
understand secondary support keywords, as well as
providing context to your consumers. Just like headlines
they should be unique to each page and product.
<h2>

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BASIC COPY FOR SEO
Product descriptions are essential not only for consumer
research but for search ranking as well.When writing your
body copy, think of your product’s unique selling points
and what keywords consumers are searching in your
category.
<p></p>

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BASIC COPY FOR SEO
Unordered lists <ul> and list items <li> not only create
bullet points that are easy for consumers to scan, but
support your search rankings with key content indictors
and keywords related to your consumers need state.
<ul><li>

A NOTE ON SEO COPY
Writing for SEO should never replace your brand’s tone or vision, rather it
should support the communications objectives of the brand.
The goal of SEO is to help the right consumers find your site (those that are
likely to buy).That means leveraging the way consumers search in the tone of
your brand, regardless of whether that tone is fun & flirty or technical & exact.
There is a place in the search marketplace for everyone no matter your
positioning: cheap, best, luxury, designer, and even ultra-high performance all
within the same product category.

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COOPERATION FOR SEO
A link to a site is a small vote to Google that says “I trust
this site”. Companies that are talked about online through
PR and social sharing are linked to more often and trusted
more by Google.
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Unbound Libertad Minus 33
External Equity-Passing Links Linking C-Blocks Domain Authority

A NOTE ON COOPERATION
A few high quality links from trusted sources are better than a lot of low
quality links from sites filled with spam.
Pitching your brand through PR is an essential tactic to growing a highly
visible brand in the modern search landscape.Today, Google gives more
value to newer links thank older ones and weighs the value of a link based on
the trust of the site giving it.
As you learn more about SEO, you’ll learn about “follow” and “no follow” links,
but for now any link that drives referral traffic and revue is a good link.

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BASIC CONTEXT FOR SEO
Location has become a powerful search signal in the
mobile age.To take advantage of it, you’ll need to place
and claim your business on Google My Business.As your
business grows you’ll be able to place your listing on other
services which will improve citation signals and visibility.

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BASIC CONTEXT FOR SEO
While Facebook and Instagram may not be search
friendly, other social platforms such as LinkedIn, Reddit,
Pinterest,Yelp, andTwitter can be searched.The location,
link, and keyword data these platforms provide is a boon
to new businesses building a search presence.

WHAT ABOUT YOUTUBE
YouTube is an amazing platform for search and is the culmination of
everything you’ve learned here.
YouTube channels, playlists, and videos can be optimized with title tags,
keywords, and meta data, and closed captioning.
EmbeddingYouTube videos on your site helps support rich media on a site
and attract video views which count inYouTube search ranking.
Above all, 50% of theYouTube algorithm is based on engagement – so
putting your users first is key

Intro To SEO (Youth Employment Services)

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