Scribd
Upload
24 views33 pages

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

The document discusses search engine optimization (SEO) and how it works. It covers the differences between SEO and search engine marketing (SEM), important on-page and off-page optimization techniques, and factors like keywords, links, and page rank that search engines use to determine rankings. The document also discusses ethical white-hat versus unethical black-hat SEO practices.

Uploaded by

ochir.og
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
24 views33 pages

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

The document discusses search engine optimization (SEO) and how it works. It covers the differences between SEO and search engine marketing (SEM), important on-page and off-page optimization techniques, and factors like keywords, links, and page rank that search engines use to determine rankings. The document also discusses ethical white-hat versus unethical black-hat SEO practices.

Uploaded by

ochir.og
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 33

Search Engine

Optimisation (SEO)
Content
⚫ SEO vs SEM Search Engine Optimisation
(SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
⚫ What’s SEO and Why
⚫ On-page SEO
⚫ Off-page SEO
⚫ White-hat & Black-hat SEO
⚫ Conclusion
Search Engines
How Search Engines Work

• Crawl: spider “crawls” the web to find new documents (web pages, other
documents) typically by following hyperlinks from websites already in their
database
• Index: search engines indexes the content (text, code) in these documents
by adding it to their databases and then periodically updates this content
• Local Search: search engines search their own databases when a user
enters in a search to find related documents (not searching web pages in
real-time)
• Rank: search engines rank the resulting documents using an algorithm
(mathematical formula) by assigning various weights and ranking factors
Search Engines Statistics
Why Search Engines Important

• 81% of all traffic on the internet is referred to by search engines


• 90% of all users don’t look past the first page
• Search engine traffic is low and websites aren’t indexed because they are generally poorly optimised
• Cost-effective advertising
• Clear and measurable ROI
• Operates under this assumption:
More (relevant) traffic + Good Conversions Rate = More Sales/Leads
Search Results

Text Ads

Organic
Who is the Winner
SEO vs SEM

Both are important


What’s SEO & Why

To make your website/blog more recognised by search engines, e.g. Google, by


using some free/unpaid techniques

Thus, your website will get higher rank on search engines

As a consequence, more web users will visit your website via search engines

Most likely, you can get more revenue/make more money

In fact, Google even has a Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, much like the
Beginner’s Guide
SEO
How?
Search Algorithm is Top Secret! Only
select employees of a search engines
company know for certain

BUT
There are some general important factors
How?

• On-Page Factors (Code & Content)


• Title tags <title>
• Header tags <h1>
• ALT image tags
• Content, Content, Content (Body text) <body>
• Hyperlink text
• Keyword frequency & density

• Off-Page Factors
• Link Popularity – adds credibility
• Anchor text
On Page SEO - An Example

Page Title

Alt-Tags

Anchor Text

Navigation

Link Title Tags


An Example

Title Tag
Meta data

Javascript
Typical On-page SEO

➢ Pick up a relevant domain name


➢ Select one primary keyword or phrase
➢ Select up to another 6 secondary words or phrases
➢ Include keywords in the page title
➢ Use only the main keywords (use the | symbol to separate words)
➢ Use <h1> and <h2> header tags
➢ Bold, italicise and underline some keywords
➢ Place the keyword at the beginning and end of the webpage
eg include the keyword in the copyright footer
➢ Use <alt> image tags and include your keyword, plus the word “image” or “graphic”
On-page SEO Techniques

1. Domain name strategies


- domain names are traffic magnets
> 366.8 million domain names registered
> 20 million domain names registered 4th quarter 20
- choose a domain name that will increase your search engine ranking. How?
- simple, short, no hyphens, no numbers
- use keywords, common words, advertising terms, product names
- choose a keyword that is important for your business
On-page SEO Techniques
2. Keywords
- important in optimising rankings
- keywords are words that appear the most in a page
- the spider chooses the appropriate keywords for each page, then sends
them back to its SE
- your web site will then be indexed based on your keywords
- can be key phrases or a single keyword
- do not use common words eg ‘the’ ‘and’ ‘of’: spiders ignore them
- write keyword-rich text
- balance keyword-rich and readability
- always have text in your page: at least 100 words
- do NOT have too many keywords
On-page SEO Techniques
3. Title tags
- important in optimising rankings
- the first thing that a search engine displays on a search return
- must keywords in title to be ranked no. 1
- should have the exact keyword you use for the page
- every single web page must have its own title tag
On-page SEO Techniques
4. Meta description tags
- the next important
- displayed below the title in search results
- use dynamic, promotional language
- use keywords

5. Alt tags
- include keywords in your alt tags
NOT Recommended

Flash and shockwave - spiders do not pick up these files


Image only sites - spiders do not pick up images
Image maps - spiders cannot read image maps.
Do not use them on your home page or critical pages.
Frames - only one page can be titled (titling is critical in search rankings)
Password protected pages – spiders cannot enter password protected pages
PDF files - can be problematic for spiders.
Dynamic pages - spiders cannot index some content on pages using ASP, CGI or
other dynamic languages.
Drop down menus – spiders cannot read them
Off-page SEO
Page-rank – The Search Algorithm
• PageRank is a numeric value that represents how important a page
is on the web.
• Google figures that when one page links to another page, it is
effectively casting a vote for the other page.
• The more votes that are cast for a page, the more important the
page must be.
• The importance of the page that is casting the vote determines how
important the vote itself is.
Page-rank – The Search Algorithm

PR(A) = (1-d)/N + d(PR(t1)/C(t1) + ... + PR(tn)/C(tn))


where
➢ there are N web pages including your page A
➢ d is called the damping factor, usually set to 0.85
➢ PR(A), PR(t1), …, PR(tn) are the page rank of A, t1, …, tn
respectively
➢ t1, …, tn are n pages linked to the page A
➢ C(t1) is the number of links in page t1
Page-rank – The Search Algorithm

Suppose there are four pages A, B, C, D, where A has


links to B and D, B has links to A, C and D, C has links to
A and B, D has links to B and C.

Set d=0.85, if PR(B)=0.6, PR(C)=0.4, PR(D)=0.8, then


what is PR(A)?

PR(A) = (1-d)/N + d(PR(t1)/C(t1) + ... + PR(tn)/C(tn))


= (1-0.85)/4+0.85 * (0.6/3+0.4/2)
= 0.0375+0.85*0.4
= 0.3775
Off-page SEO Techniques

1. Linking strategies
- the more inbound links the higher the SE ranking
- if the site linking to you is already indexed, spiders will also receive your site
- quality of inbound links is critical
- how to increase links: a) good content b) good outbound links c) target a list of
sites from which you can request inbound links
- links for the sake of links can damage your search rankings

“Link relevancy is critical in getting your site indexed by search engines”

“A small number of inbound links from high-quality, relevant sites is more valuable
than many links from low-traffic, irrelevant sites.”
Off-page SEO Techniques
You must have links pointing to your website –preferably those with a high
PageRank
• These links must include your main keywords in the anchor text
(although be careful of having 100% of you may be treated as a spammer)
• To get links you can –
• Submit to directories
• Trade links
• Buy links
• Write articles with your link in the footer
• Submit to social networking sites
• Submit videos to video directories
Off-page SEO Techniques

2. Submit your website to SEs for indexing


- submit your site to search engine directories, directory sites and portal sites
- indexing takes 1 wk to 3 months
Off-page SEO Techniques
DO SUBMIT YOUR SITE TO:
• Google
• Yahoo
• Dmoz Open Directory
• Other Quality Directories, like GoGuides, JoeAnt, Gimpsy, and About.com
• Specific Niche Directories
• Industry-Specific Sites Related to Your Topical Web Site Theme
• Regional or Country-Specific Search Engines and Directories
Off-page SEO Techniques
DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR SITE TO:
• "Link Exchange" or "Link Trading" Sites
• FFA "Free-For-All", or "Classified Ads" Sites
• Guestbooks (search engines are getting wise to this old trick)
• Any web site that promises to "Automatically register your URL with multiple
search engines", or any service that "Resubmits" your site monthly. Search
engines can detect these automated submission programs, and will often
reject sites submitted this way.
• Any site that has Low PageRank* Always check the "PageRank" of each
site before you submit!
White-hat vs Black-hat SEO
White-hat SEO: SEO techniques allowed by SEs (mentioned before)
Black-hat SEO: SEO techniques NOT allowed by SEs

Black Hat SEO, also referred to as Toxins, is defined as, “a set of practices that are used
to increase a site or page's rank in search engines through means that violate the
search engines' terms of service.”

Through manipulating search engine algorithms, websites may receive higher SERP
rankings at first, but it’s likely to have the opposite effect in the long run.

There is a long list of Black Hat SEO tactics to avoid, but the top 3 no-gos include
keyword stuffing,
hidden text, and
manipulative links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMScWXRg9Yc
Concluding Remarks

➢ SEs and how SEs work


➢ SEO vs SEM
➢ Important Factors for SEO
➢ On-page SEO techniques
➢ PageRank and Off-page SEO techniques
➢ Ethical issues

You might also like