Succeeding with SEO in

competitive markets
Workshop leader :
Dave Chaffey www.davechaffey.com
200
Our example
 SEO is difficult,
so, what sort of hat will you wear?

Are you prepared to create additional

content
primarily for SEO purposes?

Are you prepared to put effort into

requesting backlinks?

http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2006-11-01-n72.html
 SEO approaches
Today’s agenda: SEOmoz ranking factors
• External linking • Keyword use
• Internal linking • Page attributes
• On-page optimisation • Domain attributes
• Targeting the tail • Inbound link attributes
• Tools, measurement, process • Negative ranking attributes

Please share examples of

approaches that have
worked, failed in each
section
 So, which SEO factors are
you going to focus on?
• On page:
– <title> tag = 4.9/5
– Meta name description = 2/5
– Meta name keywords = 1/5
– Keyword frequency and density = 3.7/5
– Keyword in headings = <h1> = 3.1, <h2> = 2.8
– Keyword in document name = 2.8

• Off-page
– More backlinks (higher PageRank)= 4/5
– Page assessed as a hub = 3.5/5
– Page assessed as an authority = 3.5/5
– Link anchor text contains keyword = 4.4/5
– Link velocity (rate at which changes) = 3.5/5
See http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors
1. External linking
 What makes a good or bad link?
Required feature of quality link Undesirable feature of link
1. Anchor text. Text links preferably contains relevant anchor keyphrase
in text. 1. Redirected links.
These links use a redirection script possibly to an ad server.
2. Adjacent text. Plain text next to a link is valuable if relevant. If there is a query string (?) or a script such as .pl, .php in
the linking URL, then this is a sign of a redirect.
3. Domain or link popularity aka PageRank of site.
The site overall should have a large number of external or backlinks 2. NoFollow. Links containing nofollow tags have no value
View Source or use SearchStatus – see below – to identify
4. Link popularity or PageRank of page
sites which use nofollow
If you can obtain a link that is run-of-site across all pages this is most
valuable. 2. Link exchange network. Filters applied if identified.
5. Context of page. 4. Image links.
Links are more relevant if related links on a topic promoted on. Text links are most effective. So if link requires a banner or
button, a text link in keeping with guidelines above could be
6. Run-of-site/run-of-section link
obtained. Alternatively use Alt text to describe site.
Number of pages containing link.
If you can obtain a link that is run-of-site across all pages this is most 5. Directory links on pages with many sites listed.
valuable since it provides many links. Most directories are simply created to make money through
Google AdSense (Made for Adsense or MFA sites) or
7. Location of domain.
affiliates. Bad neighbourhoods.
UK sites (co.uk) are generally most valuable since will help boost
position for UK local searches. 6. Reciprocal links
Many directories operate through offering reciprocal links.
8. Destination of backlink (Deeplinks)
This will not be possible for the main Euroffice site, although
Links that link directly to a category or product page are most valuable
it may be possible in future as part of a separate blog site.
since these have context.
Such sites will have to be rejected.
9. Site authority
Many SEO commentators believe PageRank is unimportant compared 7. Temporary links
to the authority of site. Link needs to be present for at least one year.
Authority is partially indicated by number of links to domain and links
out – hub site.
 Are you proactively link-
building – 6 approaches?
1. Natural link-building through quality content
– Create ‘must-have’ resources & Guides

2. Requesting inbound-only links

– Run a link-building campaign

3. Reciprocal linking
– Check partner links, Develop existing

4. Buying links
– Directories and link purchase exchanges

5. Creating your own external links

– On blogs and in community forms

6. Generating buzz through PR

– Optimise and distribute your press releases

Source: E-consultancy Guide to SEO Best Practice 2006

What works best for
obtaining quality links?
• Process to follow?
• How to identify sites?
• Types of sites?
• Paid or natural?
• How much to pay per link?
• Managed:
– In-house
– Specialist SEO agency?
– Specialist E-PR agency?
Where is your link-bait?
Zopa competes on
natural linkage
• Zopa’s reasons:
– Semantic markup
– Clean URLs
– Natural linkage
(no linking)

• I would add:
– Blog on subdomain
– Massive PR spend
generating backlinks
from media sites

http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2007/09/05/in-search-of-lost-zopa
 Content Feeds – another external-
internal linking approach
www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/pricesnews/investnews/ http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/flights/

Direct News feeds created by www.adfero.co.uk/newsfeeds

Are you getting tagged?
2. Internal linking
Internal link architecture
= Information architecture is key
HSBCusa.com: Internal Cross linking

• Breadcrumbs
• Contextual cross linking
• Horizontal cross linking
• Related links
• “You might also be interested
in…

Tip: Links from a subdomain can be more valuable, although lower domain popularity
 Barclays use footer links and
primary nav for SEO

Home page

Tip: Ensure primary and secondary

Navigation labels include keyphrases
Current accounts page
within anchor text
Local navigation : filling left and right pods
with keyphrase rich hyperlinks
Social media
• Review positive for:
– Fresh content
– Keyphrase density
– Long tail
– Backlinks
(if separate pages)
– Branding
Persistent search results
are goodish
Example – exposing keyphrases
by home page searches
3. On-page optimisation
On-page optimisation approach
 Are outbound links to related
quality sites a Good Thing?

Outbound link to BBC weather site:

http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/goto.asp?y=l&bi=0&di=0&li=3029&ci=0&f=0&d=0&r=0&pr=0&p=0&c=0&pc=0&

Would a direct link be better or is PR leakage a problem?

How good is your checklist
for content owners and
editors
• Step 1. Aims for page • Step 6. Body copy
– Main visitor type (s) – Keyphrase density
– Page goals – Use synonyms, don’t SPAM
• Step 2. Which phrases? • Step 7. Heading styles
– Use Google Keyword Tool – H1 same or distinct from title
– Primary, secondary, tertiary – H2,H3 – use secondary and tertiary
• Step 3. Name document phrases for long tail
– Keyphrase1-Keyphrase2.html • Step 8. Hyperlinks
• Step 4. Title tag – Include keyphrase in anchor text.
– Keyphrase dense : Action verbs separate?
15-25 chars – Consider external links
• Step 5. Meta tags • Step 9. Images
– Description < 300 characters – Include alt and title text
– Keywords – Provide caption
(Don’t stuff) • Step 10. Optimize
– Track & Modify
Step 4 and 5 - Document
meta data
• <title>
– VERY IMPORTANT = Unique = Call-to-action
– 2-3 keyphrases on left, - brand on right
– Google has around 60 characters= 8-10 words

• <meta name=“description” = Unique = Call-to-action

– FAIRLY IMPORTANT
– 4-5 keyphrases in natural English, c150 characters

• <meta name=“keywords”
– UNIMPORTANT
– Include main target keyphrases comma separated

• File name and directory structure

– Use hyphens, include keywords, be sensible
SEOO – over optimisation
red flags?
4. Targeting the long tail
 Not keywords, but keyphrases

Source: OneStat.com

Tip: Use the Google keyword tool to inform

page identification and copywriting:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Identifying common qualifiers
• <Product name> or <category name>.

• What is you strategy for targeting:

• Generic:
– <category name> + synonyms

• Qualifiers:
– compare + <product name>
– review + <product name>
– cheap + <product name>

– Brand + <category name>

– <category name> + UK

• Use difference between broad or phrase match and

exact match in Traffic Estimator to estimate how long
the tail is.
 How many keyphrases
can you target per page?
Keyphrase priority Narrow scope Broader scope (variants to
use less often)

Primary current account(s) current account uk

keyphrase(s)

Secondary current bank account(s) current interest rates

keyphrase(s)

Tertiary apply for current account basic current account

keyphrase(s)
 Using a database and
boilerplating on a subdomain

From: http://directory.mercedes-benz.co.uk also: http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk

5. Tools, measurement,
process
5 Essential SEO tools
• 1. Google Webmaster tools

• 2. Yahoo! Site Explorer

• 3. Hitwise

• 4. AdvancedWebRanking

• 5. AdvancedLinkManager

See also www.davechaffey.com/seo-keyword-tools

(How) are you using Google
Webmaster tools?

• Reasons for using and distributing diagnosis:

– Crawl errors
– Search query performance
– Internal and external link reports
 Are you tracking the latest innovations –
May ’07 - Google Debuts Universal Search

Tip: Understand the relevance of personalised search

Google local search

Tip: Submit all local retail locations

to Google maps – Add business
 Summary - SEO – the most
common mistakes
1. Insufficient keyphrase research and selection

2. Index inclusion and coverage poor

3. Content owners / editors don’t know rules of SEO

4. Insufficient unique content (dupe content filters)

5. Internal linking strategies not used

6. External link-building tactics weak

 Thank you!
• For detailed guidelines, see :

• Keeping up-to-date:
– My SEO blog (www.davechaffey.com/SEO-Best-Practice)
– Rand Fisher’s seoMoz (www.seomoz.org)
– Aaron Walls SEO Book (www.seobook.com)
– Matt Cutts Blog (www.mattcutts.com)

• Any questions or comments, do e-mail me:

– [email protected]

• Subscribe to my E-marketing Essentials, monthly briefing on

What’s New in E-marketing
– www.davechaffey.com