THE

FACILITATOR’S

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GUIDE

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MEDIA PUBLISHING
APTECH tre
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MODULE: Search Optimization Techniques

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Module Overview and Objectives
This book, Search Optimzation Techniques, introduces you to various aspects of search optimization, search
engines, and SEO tactics. This book provides you with ample understanding of keyword basics and niche
keywords. The concept of link building is discussed and various SEO strategies for search networks are
described. This book helps you to understand the process of optimization of Website for search engines. You
will also understand the ways to measure and track SEO success at the end of this course.

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©Aptech Limited
Pre-Class Activities
Before you commence the session:

 Establish an optimal learning environment by introducing yourself to the class and vice
versa.
 Recall the content covered in the earlier session, in case if the session is a continuation.
 Prepare real-time examples, pertaining to the session, wherever possible. This will help
in easy retention.


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Analyze the participants’ learning styles; this will help in effective management of the
session time.

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 Provide an outline of the module and also state its objectives.


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Scan through the facilitators guide to understand the flow of the topics and the
application/concept being taught. It is of utmost importance to have a hands-on
knowledge of the application that you will be teaching in the class.

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 Refer to the resources on OnlineVarsity (articles, blogs, industry connect, and so on) for
additional information on a topic.

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Session 1

Search Optimization - An Overview

Slide 2

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Session Overview

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In this session, you will be able to:
▪ Define Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

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▪ Explain the importance of SEO
▪ Outline the origin of SEO
▪ Elaborate the basics of SEO
Define the general terminologies related to SEO

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▪

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:

• Begin the session by giving a basic introduction to the students about Search Engine
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Optimization (SEO).
• Conclude this screen by defining the general terminologies related to SEO.
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Quick Tips:
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Before commencing the session, students may express their knowledge about Search Engine
Optimization (SEO).
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Slide 3

Evolution of SEO 1-3

• Tim Berners-Lee on August 6, 1991

1991 – 2002 initiated the world’s first Website and
it is still live today.

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• Google took the lead to develop a
more organized marketing field for
2003 – 2005

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content producers and brands to gain
rankings.

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• Recent trends in user behavior and
search influenced the requirement for
2006 – 2009
a more responsive search
experience.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• 1991-2002: Explain that Search giants, such as Google began to see the prospects for linking
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users to more valued data.

• 2003-2005: Explain that during this period, advertising focused mainly on creating inbound
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links to escalate search exposure. Motto of Google ‘don’t be evil’ is evident from its efforts to
control search results and make sure brands earn results with proper practices.
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• 2006-2009: Explain that Google Suggest was launched in 2008 to enhance usability and
provide users more appealing content by exhibiting suggested options for search based on the
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past data.
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Slide 4

Evolution of SEO 2-3

• During this stage, SEO changed and

forced brands to gain rankings through
2010 – 2012
user-focused content of high quality or
to face penalties during search.

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• Today, there is a struggle between
2013 – Present

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privacy and personalization.

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• In the recent future, one can expect to
The Future see focus around high quality, unique
content and user intent.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• 2010-2012: Explain that Google made major modifications and imposed stricter regulations
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on over-optimization, keywords, and content quality. This impacted the way results were
indexed. Brands which did not conform to the new regulations, such as Overstock and J.C.
Penney, had their names maligned to set an example.
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• 2013 - Present: Explain that as major social powerhouses and searches create a digital
environment which is enhanced around user intent, we find that there is a need for security
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and minimally invasive marketing tactics.

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• The Future: Explain that users expect the search results to provide an immediate appropriate
comprehension with least effort. SEO will continue to develop and accommodate this need,
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possibly by optimizing data from external platforms to offer additional value and personalize
search.
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Slide 5

Evolution of SEO 3-3

SEO Then and Now

▪ Figure alongside
shows differences
between earlier
SEO and present
one.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain that SEO has changed significantly and it is important for users to adjust to it. Today,
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the job has transitioned from more conventional optimization to linking the client’s content
with the user through multiple platforms and devices.
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Slide 6

SEO Basics 1-3

▪ SEO can be defined as the methods that enable a Website to

rank higher in organic (or ‘natural’) search results, which in
turn makes the Website more visible to users through search
engines, such as Yahoo, Bing, and Google.

Changing Face of SEO

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▪ Tweets, retweets, rel-canonical management, social mentions,
likes, page load time, and content marketing form the

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ingredients for an ideal search ranking.
▪ Some old standbys have made an appearance, such as,
quality of content, user experience, and depth of content.

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▪ SEO had two broad categories: On page SEO and Off page SEO

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain the three points given in changing face of SEO.tre
• Further, explain that the method for ranking success has included factors, such as meta
descriptions, keyword density, title tags, keyword tags, H1 tags, volume of links, image
attributes, anchor text in inbound links, quality of links, links from certain domains, internal
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link structure, and so on.

• Explain that some old standbys have made an appearance, such as, quality of content, user
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experience, and depth of content. Even though all this SEO knowledge has been accumulated,
so many Websites still fail. This is because advertisers are stuck in their old methods.
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Slide 7

SEO Basics 2-3

SEO consists of the following nine steps:

Market Keyword On page

Research Research Optimization

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Site Structure Link Building Brand Building

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Measuring Staying
Viral Marketing
Results Updated

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Market research: Explain that the first step is to examine the major search engines to
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understand the types of Websites which rank for crucial words.

• Keyword research: Explain that the SEO Book Keyword research tool can be used to search
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for common and long-tail keywords related to a specific industry. This tool cross references
Wordtracker, Google Keyword Tool, and other common keyword research tools.
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• On page Optimization: Explain that keywords which are not displayed on a page are hard to
rank, hence, each page should be arranged around the motive of ranking for an explicit
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keyword phrase, with some related keywords and related phrases incorporated into the page
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• Site structure: Explain that one must understand which keywords are crucial and map out how
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to create pages to fit the group of keywords within the navigational structure and the site.
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• Link building: Explain that search engines consider links as votes. To gain high quality links,
one needs to contribute in the social facets of the community and give away unique valuable
content which can be shared by users.
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• Brand building: Explain that Brand related search queries are some of the best converting,
most targeted, and most valuable keywords. A high volume of brand-related search traffic is
considered as a sign of quality by major search engines.
• Viral marketing: Explain that in viral marketing, building one common convincing idea can
lead to numerous free quality links.

• Measuring results: Explain that one can look at the server logs and analytics program to keep
track of the traffic trends and to understand the keywords which lead to conversion.

© Aptech Limited
• Staying updated: Explain that one has to stay updated by visiting the various Websites
providing knowledge about latest techniques and tips about SEO.

Slide 8

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SEO Basics 3-3

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Mobile SEO
▪ Following features make a site mobile friendly:

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It presents content in a readable manner, without users
having to zoom in and out.

It loads correctly and speedily on a mobile device, such as a

tablet or smartphone.

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It provides value for mobile users.

It is understandable for search engines.

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It provides abundant room to navigate by touch.
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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain that as our world is progressively mobile-oriented, it has become important for a site
to be mobile-friendly. If a site is not available for mobile users, then one will miss out on a
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good ranking in the search engines and thus, lose income.

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Slides 9 to 11

Summary 1-3

▪ Search engines are the main resources for users searching for
a service, product, or business.
▪ SEO is making small modifications to parts of a Website.
▪ Optimization is possible for all kinds and sizes of Websites

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(large or small)
▪ SEO has turned into a common practice by advertisers to

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attract qualified leads and generate traffic.
▪ SEO is described as a process which helps a Website to be
displayed in the results of the search engine queries.

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▪ Search engines use Internet bots called ‘spiders’ or ‘crawlers’
to index Websites on the World Wide Web and keep their
indexes updated.
▪ SEO deals with enhancing the ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ results that

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a search engine generates for Websites.
▪ Search engines are considered as virtual highways through
which most of the Internet traffic flows.

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Summary 1-7
2-3

▪ SEO is the process of improving traffic towards a Website by

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making it conspicuous in search engine results using explicit
targeted keywords.
▪ SEO basically comprises two activities, which are Off page and
On page optimization.
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▪ On page optimization means making a Website optimized and

compatible so that a search engine can crawl and index it.
▪ Off page optimization refers to activities executed outside the
Website for better promotion.
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▪ The job of an SEO manager has evolved with time due to the
rise of mobiles and Google cracking down on spam
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techniques, modifications in the SERPs and so on

▪ A huge modification in SEO occurred, which forced brands to
gain promotions through user-focused, quality content or face
consequences.
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 Summary 3-3

▪ The list for a flawless search ranking now includes tweets,

retweets, page load time, social mentions, likes, content
marketing, rel-canonical management, and so on.
▪ On creating compelling, high quality and relevant content, one
can engage a site’s visitors in a meaningful manner.
▪ The SEO book keyword research tool is used to search for long
tail and popular keywords relevant to an industry.
▪ Keyword research tools offer a good qualitative measure
instead of quantitative measure.

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▪ To enhance mobile SEO, improve the performance of the site,
and ensure that it delivers an excellent mobile experience.

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▪ Mobile SEO ensures that the Website displays the content to a
mobile device user in the best possible manner.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
Summarize the session.

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Highlight the key points covered in the session and provide an introduction of the next session.
Facilitate a group discussion; ask open-ended questions in relation to the session that was
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conducted.
Invite responses from the participants.
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Session 2
Understanding Search Engines
Slide 2

Session Overview

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In this session, you will be able to:

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▪ Explain the concept of search engines
▪ Demonstrate the use of various Search Engine Tools
Identify various myths and misconceptions about search and

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▪

search engines
▪ Outline the concept of Local Search Engines
▪ Describe the future of search engines

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:

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• Begin the session by giving a basic introduction to the students about Search Engines.
• Conclude this screen by defining the future of search engines.
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Quick Tips:
Before commencing the session, students may express their knowledge about Search Engine
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Optimization (SEO).
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Slide 3

Concept of Search Engines 1-2

E-commerce has become a preferred

method to start earning with low
investment.

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The success of an online business
depends solely on attracting a huge
amount of traffic to the Website.

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SEO or SEM is the marketing technique

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on the Internet which helps in
promoting the Website.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain that the promoting of the Websites is done by the Webmaster or by a digital marketing
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professional in the industry. For successful outcomes, optimize and implement marketing
techniques effectively and monitor them regularly.
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Slide 4

Concept of Search Engines 2-2

Working of Search Engines:

Crawler or spider is the automated program

used by search engines for crawling over Web
and gathering data.

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Crawler gathers information such as text in the
Website and its location, which is then indexed

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in the search engine’s database.

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Links in the site are followed by crawlers to
reach target pages.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain that when a search is performed by a user, the search engine inquires with its database
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for Websites that have the search terms entered by the user. Ranking of sites is done based on
the algorithm of the search engine before redirecting to the results page.
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Slide 5

Search Engine Tools and Services

▪ SEO community is involved in creating many tools for SEO
professionals, organizations, and businesses. These tools
are used by them to optimize the Websites.

Robots Exclusion Protocol:

It is a protocol which makes use of the robots.txt file that is

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▪

found in the root directory of any Website.

Robots can be instructed with the following commands:

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▪

Crawl-
Disallow Sitemap Meta bots

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delay

Nofollow Canonical
Attribute tag

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Disallow: Explain that this is the command that instructs the robot not to crawl a page.
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• Crawl-delay: Explain that it instructs to crawl pages on a server with a stipulated rate (in
milliseconds).
• Sitemap: Explain that it indicates where sitemap and files related to sitemap can be found.
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• Meta bots: Explain that use of Meta robots tag in the head area of HTML pages provide
instructions to the search engine robots.
• Nofollow Attribute: Explain that nofollow links ensure that the links on the pages are not
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valued by search engines, though they still crawl on the target destinations for exploring new
areas over the Internet (for their academic purpose).
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• Canonical tag: Explain that it informs search engines about which link to consider as an
authoritative link for the results.
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Slide 6

Myths and Misconceptions 1-2

Types of Misconceptions:

The first type of

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misconception in SEO The second category
is related to the deals with strategies

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concept of what is SEO for implementing SEO.
and the uses of SEO.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain that these misconceptions ruin the legitimacy of the SEO industry and prevent
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businesses from getting involved in SEO.
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Slide 7

Myths and Misconceptions 2-2

Technical myths in SEO:

HTTPS
Link Building Site Submission
Encrypted Site
SEO is dead means Black to Google is a

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Doesn’t Matter
Hat SEO Must
for SEO

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Keyword
Optimization Social Media
H1 is Must for Content is the
and Keyword Can’t Help in
SEO Only King
stuffing are the SEO

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Same Things

Website Bounce Image

Mobile App is More Webpages
Rate Doesn’t Optimization is
Must for Your Means Better
Matter for Not That
Business Ranking
Ranking Important

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Video Prefer more There is No Use
Optimization links Than More of Blog
Does not Matter Content Commenting

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:

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• SEO is dead: Explain that many experts feel that SEO is obsolete with the emergence of SEM,
PPC, AdWords, and so on.
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• Link Building means Black Hat SEO: Explain that link building is considered invalid only
when links are created through spamming tactics or in an irrelevant way on other Websites.
Sites that practice these tactics are penalized by Google and they cannot create any results
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after that.
• Site Submission to Google is a Must: Explain that there is a misconception that a Website
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should be manually submitted to Google. Rather, the submission of Websites is done

automatically these days.
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• HTTPS Encrypted Site Doesn’t Matter for SEO: Explain that some of the URLs start with
https. The ‘s’ in https means secure socket layer or SSL. These are certifications that ensure
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security of private information on a Web page.

• Keyword Optimization and Keyword stuffing are the Same Things: Explain that keyword
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optimization is necessary for driving traffic to the Website. Keyword stuffing is just about
intentionally repeating the keyword phrase multiple times on the page, just for getting a higher
ranking.
• H1 is Must for SEO: Explain that many SEO experts suggest that H1 tag is helpful in
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improving ranking, but it just helps the user to skim information.

• Content is the Only King: Explain that the truth is that content is not the only factor to
consider, but user experience also carries equal importance.
• Social Media Can’t Help in SEO: Explain that social media is not linked directly with SEO as
the traffic from them may not have any impact on SERPs.
• Website Bounce Rate Doesn't Matter for Ranking: Explain that bounce rate influences the
ranking and gauges the time that users stayed on the page. If the bounce rate is high, then
users are not staying for long enough.

© Aptech Limited
• Image Optimization is Not That Important: Explain that if the images do not have Alt Text
that has a description, then there are chances that those images will not show up in image
searches. Image optimization is as important as keyword optimization.
• Mobile App is Must for Your Business: Explain that mobile apps can aid the expansion of the
business, but are not essential for business.
• More Webpages Means Better Ranking: Explain that Websites with fewer pages can also have
a higher ranking as the quality of the content is a primary factor of consideration by search
engines.
• Video Optimization Does not Matter: Explain that video has become an important tool for

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keeping the users engaged and makes them stay for longer on Website. This has made video
optimization a critical factor in SEO campaigns.

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• Prefer more links Than More Content: Explain that links do form major part of SEO strategy

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but that does not mean that poor content is acceptable. Content should be created with good
quality, thereby helping in link building.
• There is No Use of Blog Commenting: Explain that comments on blogs can be very useful as

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they have the ability to act as potential keywords.

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Slide 8

Future of Search Engines 1-2

Future of Search Engines is Mobiles

▪ Some of the strategies for mobile SEO are as follows:

• Context will Solve the App Discovery Problem

• Adding Context to Search

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• Google Now Is Contextual, But Not Necessarily Integrated

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• Contextual Understanding Moves to Everything

• Navigation and Travel

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• Wearable Technology Serving Ads in Context

• Helping Relationships

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• A Rainy Day Solution

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Context will Solve the App Discovery Problem: Explain that contextual understanding is
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about giving people the information that they are looking for. The users get what they want at
the exact time they need it.
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• Adding Context to Search: Explain that search results are personalized by Google with the
help of social activity and search history. It is limited to activities on Google products.
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• Google Now Is Contextual, But Not Necessarily Integrated: Explain that Google is moving
towards context more and more with time. Integration goes seamlessly but some facts are
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frightening, from a user privacy point of view.

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• Contextual Understanding Moves to Everything: Explain that it would be incredible if your

phone could find discounts at an airport bar or budget accommodation if there’s a flight delay.
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For such searches, context needs to mix, and match the permissions of various apps.
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• Navigation and Travel: Explain that Waze is a navigation and traffic app based on community.
This app predicts where the user travels based on numerous factors.

• Wearable Technology Serving Ads in Context: Explain that wearables like Fitbit track
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information like sleep, calories burned, speed, and distance walked. This information can be
used for enhancing the mobile experience.

• Helping Relationships: Explain that Facebook can identify partners as per relationship status.
With applications such as Digital Assistants and Conversation search, search technology has
reached new heights.

• A Rainy Day Solution: Explain that if a family outing is planned for the day and then the
weather gets bad, the phone should suggest some great indoor plans for the day.

© Aptech Limited
Slide 9

Future of Search Engines 2-2

User Intent: It’s the Future of SEO:

▪ SEO now is focused on user intent and online experience can
be improved by focusing on major psychological principles for
enticing the readers, getting higher ranks with search
engines, and helping grow the business.

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User Intent and Keyword Research:
Focus on needs and intent of user, to grow online and to

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▪

expand customer base. Search terms and keywords are ways

through which user intent gets mapped to digital marketing.

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Search Engines will become more integrated in Future:
▪ The search engine has a major role in the daily life of people.
The need for search engines determines what direction search
engines evolve in, and technology advancements decide how

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far search engines evolve.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• User intent: it’s the future of SEO: Explain that search engines have evolved to optimize
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based on the requirements and search experience of the users. Google tries to reward content
which is relevant and valuable to readers.
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• User intent and keyword research: Explain that semantic search is considered the new area of
focus by Google and other popular search engines that target the positions and relationships of
the words in search queries.
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• Search engines will become more integrated in future: Explain that search will be a process
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beyond search engines. The search will be embedded in all kinds of products. More data,
devices, objects, services will be indexed, and can be searched in the future, along with the
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content which is already indexed by search engines.

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Slides 10 to 12

Summary 1-3

▪ Search engines execute billions of queries daily and are

evolving with many advanced features in services for
balancing the requirements of advertisers, users, and
Websites.
These signals depend on how new the content is on a Website

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▪

to the traffic attracted by that content and the location of the

searcher.

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▪ To improve the design of a product or service, understand
how customers use them and also the interaction of searchers
with search engines.

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▪ It is always necessary to understand the facts and figures
associated with the functioning of search engines and the way
people use them.
The success of an online business depends solely on attracting

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▪

a huge amount of traffic to the Website.

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© Aptech Limited

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Summary 1-7
2-3

▪ SEO or SEM are marketing techniques on the Internet which

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help in promoting the Website.
▪ Crawler or spider is the program used by search engines for
crawling the Web and gathering data.
▪ SEF is a process that happens only once even when it is a
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complex one. There are very rare chances of changing the

Website unless there is a change made in the system.
▪ SEF is usually taken care of by a Website developer, making it
more about coding or constructing the Website.
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▪ SEO considers content the key to successfully achieving goals.

It ensures that the Website contains no duplicate content
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which can create an issue.

▪ Sitemap guides search engines to find the best way for
crawling the Website.
▪ Extensible Markup Language (XML) is the widely suggested
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and used format for sitemap.

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© Aptech Limited
 Summary 3-3

▪ Link building is considered invalid only when links are created

through spamming tactics or in an irrelevant way on other
Websites.
▪ Keyword stuffing is just about intentionally repeating keyword
phrase multiple times for getting a higher ranking. It can lead
to penalization of the Website.
▪ Contextual understating is about giving people information
that they are looking for. Users get what they want at the
exact time they need it.

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▪ Semantic SEO considers keyword research an integral part,
but it is necessary for businesses to bring change in the way

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keywords are implemented.
▪ Semantic search is considered the new area of focus by
Google and other popular search engines that target the

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positions and relationships of the words in search queries.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:

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Summarize the session.
Highlight the key points covered in the session and provide an introduction of the next session.
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Facilitate a group discussion; ask open-ended questions in relation to the session that was
conducted.
Invite responses from the participants.
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© Aptech Limited
Session 3

Keyword Research
Slide 2

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Session Overview

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In this session, you will be able to:
▪ Explain keyword basics and niche keywords

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▪ Explain long tail keywords
▪ Explain the different keyword research tools
▪ List the limitations of keyword tools
Determine a keyword’s commercial intent

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▪

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:

• Begin the session by giving a basic introduction to the students about the basics of keywords
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and niche keywords.

• Conclude this screen by defining a keyword’s commercial intent.
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Quick Tips:
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Before commencing the session, students may express their knowledge about keywords.
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© Aptech Limited
Slide 3

Keyword Research Tools 1-4

▪ Keyword research tools help one to:

• Assess competitiveness of keywords.

• Assess traffic for those keywords.

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• Understand keyword propositions to gain new ideas and phrases.

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• Use keyword filters to customize the search.

• Choose custom date range.

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• Use negative keywords that will be excluded from the research.

• Add location or language to use the targeting feature.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain that search engines offer their own keyword research tools that give statistical
tre
overview to Webmasters. For example, Google offers Keyword Planner, while Bing has the
Bing keyword research tool.
• Continue explaining the usefulness of keyword research tools as mentioned on the slide.
en
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 4

Keyword Research Tools 2-4

▪ Keyword research involves using tools available online.

▪ Some of these tools need to be paid for and some are free.
▪ One of the most useful paid tools are:

Moz Keyword Explorer

y
• Developed in May 2016, it allows one to go through all of

nl
the phases of keyword research, beginning from
discovering keyword ideas to filtering keywords and
obtaining the metrics.

O
se
Search Optimization Techniques / Keyword Research / 4 of 8
© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
tre
• Explain that the the Moz Keyword Explorer comes with a 30-day free trial and a lot of
exclusive features, which are straightforward and easy to use. To use this, it is important to
en
specify a seed keyword (foundation keyword for SEO).
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 5

Keyword Research Tools 3-4

The useful tools which are available for free:

▪ GKP:
❖ Following are the steps for using the GKP:

Sign-in to Google AdWords account.

y
On the toolbar, select Tools --> Keyword

nl
Planner.

O
Select either one of the following displayed
in the where would you like to start?

se
Search Optimization Techniques / Keyword Research / 5 of 8
© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
tre
• Explain that GKP tool has an entire suite of features. It helps in creating hundreds of keyword
combinations in just a few seconds, filtering low-volume searches, and recognizing a
en
keyword’s popularity.
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 6

Keyword Research Tools 4-4

▪ SEMrush
❖ SEMrush is an effective keyword research tool.

❖ It is available in two versions: free and paid.

❖ It is effective in indicating the size of competition for any

specific keyword being used in Google.

❖ Instead of specifying a seed keyword and providing a long

y
list of keyword ideas, SEMrush displays the keywords for
which the business competition is ranked.

nl
❖ These are often outside-the-box keywords that are
otherwise not found using any other tool.

O
se
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U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
tre
• Explain that to use the tool, just specify a competitor’s domain name in the field at the top of
the page. If SEO is being executed in a country outside the U.S. (for example, in
en
Google.co.in), one can select to see the data related to that specific market. One needs to
select a country from the menu.
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slides 7 and 8

Summary 1-2

▪ Keywords play a vital role in SEO.

▪ The search for better keywords is a continuous process.
▪ Phrases can be long tail keywords that combine two to five
words to search for explicit information.
▪ Keyword research consists of finding the actual terms
specified in queries by users on search engines, with the

y
objective of discovering niche keywords which are not yet
competitive.

nl
▪ The Moz Keyword Research tool has a host of elite features as
compared to other tools in the market.
Repeating keywords in a Web page is considered spamming.

O
▪

se
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U
Summary
tre 1-7
2-2

▪ The right placement of keywords in a Web page helps search

engines observe them and understand what the Web page has
to offer.
en
▪ The objective of the niche topic list is to map the various
topics that the target customer searches for.
▪ Niche topics is the simplest way to find untapped keywords.
A buyer personality is an easy way to classify niche topics that
C

are important for potential customers.

▪ GKP has a host of features that help create hundreds of
keyword combinations, filter low-volume searches, and
recognize a keyword’s popularity.
h

▪ A keyword should be tested on different search engines to

understand its ranking and get an idea of how competitive it
ec

is.
pt

Search Optimization Techniques / Keyword Research / 8 of 8

© Aptech Limited

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

rA

Summarize the session.

Highlight the key points covered in the session and provide an introduction of the next session.
Facilitate a group discussion; ask open-ended questions in relation to the session that was
Fo

conducted.
Invite responses from the participants.

© Aptech Limited
Session 4

Link Building
Slide 2

y
Session Overview

nl
In this session, you will be able to:
▪ Explain the importance of link building

O
▪ List the different types of links
▪ Outline link building strategies
▪ Explain the link building tactics
Describe how to build links

se
▪

U
tre
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© Aptech Limited
en

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

• Begin the session by giving a basic introduction to the students about link building.
C

• Conclude this screen by describing how to build links.

Quick Tips:
h

Before commencing the session, students may express their knowledge about link building.
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 3

Importance of Link Building 1-2

Search Engines' Valuation of Links:

▪ As per industry experts’ testing and observation, following are
the ten principles for link valuation:
Links Higher Up in the HTML Code Cast More
Powerful Votes

y
External Links are More Influential than Internal
Links

nl
Links from Unique Domains Matter More than Links
from Previously Linking Sites

O
Links from Sites Closer to a Trusted Seed Set Pass
More Value

Links from ‘Inside’ Unique Content Pass More Value

se
than Those from Footers/Sidebar/Navigation

Search Optimization Techniques / Link Building / 3 of 12

© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Links Higher Up in the HTML Code Cast More Powerful Votes: Explain that after conducting
tre
tests on page or link features in a controlled environment on the Internet, experts observed
that links higher up in the HTML code seem to get more ranking than links at lower level.
en
• External Links are More Influential than Internal Links: Explain that Google separately
calculates external and internal PageRank and possibly uses them in various ways to estimate
page rankings.
C

• Links from Unique Domains Matter More than Links from Previously Linking Sites: Explain
h

that while correlating data, no single, simple metric performs better in Google's ranking
results than the list of unique domains that include an external link to a particular page.
ec

• Links from Sites Closer to a Trusted Seed Set Pass More Value: Explain that Google has
pt

contributed a lot towards this principle and the application of choosing reliable seed sites
certainly conveys the need and value of this methodology.
rA

• Links from ‘Inside’ Unique Content Pass More Value than Those from
Footers/Sidebar/Navigation: Explain that links within content are valued higher than those in
sidebars or footers. These links from the content have a positive impact and protect from spam
Fo

and manipulation.

© Aptech Limited
Slide 4

Importance of Link Building 2-2

Keywords in HTML Text Pass More Value than

those in Alt Attributes of Linked Images

Links from More Important, Popular, and Trusted

Sites Pass More Value

y
Links Contained Within No-Script Tags Pass

nl
Lower (and Possibly No) Value

A Burst of New Links May Enable a Document to

O
Overcome ‘Stronger’ Competition

Pages that Link to WebSpam May Devalue the

Other Links they Host

se
Search Optimization Techniques / Link Building / 4 of 12
© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Keywords in HTML Text Pass More Value than those in Alt Attributes of Linked Images:
tre
Explain that through testing, it has been observed that anchor text carried via HTML is more
valuable than alt attributes in image links.
en
• Links from More Important, Popular, and Trusted Sites Pass More Value: Explain that
Websites with fewer links from unpopular sites still perform well in the results page. This is
because of the value of the domain.
C

• Links Contained Within No-Script Tags Pass Lower (and Possibly No) Value: Explain that as
h

per the testing report, no-script links do not add any value. This raised the need to filter no-
script links.
ec

• A Burst of New Links May Enable a Document to Overcome ‘Stronger’ Competition: Explain
pt

that Google’s algorithm Query Deserves Freshness (QDF) adds more value to the recently
developed and linked-to content in particular ‘trending’ searches. The engines employ
rA

temporal signals to identify spam and reward pages which earn a number of references in a
shorter period of time.

• Pages that Link to WebSpam May Devalue the Other Links they Host: Explain that to avoid
Fo

penalty from Google, Webmasters strive to remain up-to-date on their spam elimination
process for their Webpages.

© Aptech Limited
Slide 5

Types of Links
What are the assets?
▪ Similar to the barter system, to obtain links from different
people/Websites, advertiser needs to exchange something
that the other party is interested in. That something is
referred to as assets.
▪ Following are the examples of what an asset could be:

y
Data Content Products Services Community

nl
Social links:

O
▪ Social links are the links from social networking accounts
and pages.
▪ To ensure better response rate, one needs to place ‘hooks’
in the content.

se
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© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Social links: Explain that even though they might not be as important and powerful as links
tre
which are posted on various other Websites, it is often believed that social links have some
value in determining the ranking on the basis of the quality of a certain Webpage.
• Also explain that a hook can be defined as anything that creates an interest in the potential
en
linker to give the content a reasonable chance, which is an element which would make him or
her stay and finish seeing what the content has to offer.
C
h
ec
pt
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Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 6

Link Building Strategies

▪ Following are some link-building strategies that improve the
ranking of the Website:
• Event submissions

• Reviews

y
• Relevant content

nl
• Get the customers to link to you

• Build a company blog

O
• Create content that inspires viral sharing and natural
linking

• Be newsworthy

se
Search Optimization Techniques / Link Building / 6 of 12
© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain the following link-building strategies that improve the ranking of the Website:
tre
• Event submissions: Submit events and happenings on your Website to press releases or
site directories.
• Reviews: Network with influential bloggers or Website owners to review, reference, or
en
mention your products and services. Influence friends and partners to refer and
discuss the Website products and services.
• Relevant content: Create content that is attractive and interesting enough to compel
C

visitors to link to it and share with people.

• Get the customers to link to you: If one has partners with whom he or she works
h

regularly or loyal customers who love the brand, to encourage their involvement, give
away partnership badges.
ec

• Build a company blog: This link building strategy and content are so trendy and
important that it is probably one of the few options personally recommended by the
pt

engineers at Google. Blogs also have an exceptional ability to publish new material on
a regular basis.
rA

• Create content that inspires viral sharing and natural linking: In the world of SEO, this
is often called ‘linkbait’. Good examples are David Mihm's
• Local Search Ranking Factors, Compare the Market, or the humorous How Not To
Clean a Window.
Fo

• Be newsworthy: Catch the attention of the press, bloggers, and other forms of news
media which are an effective and time-honored method to earn links.

© Aptech Limited
Slide 7

Link Building Tactics 1-3

Types of link-building tactics:

Content-centered linking

Guest blogging

y
nl
Broken link building

O
Ego-bait

se
Search Optimization Techniques / Link Building / 7 of 12
© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain the types of link-building tactics as: tre
• Content-centered linking: The core reason of the content-related or content-based
network is to obtain links through the progress of assets as they are different genres of
content.
en
• Guest blogging: It can be explained as the idea of talking to various other bloggers or
Website owners to check out if they will publish other people’s content.
• Broken link building: The World Wide Web has many broken links. Many of these
C

broken links are visible on Websites with great quality and value. SEO professionals
should try and fix a broken link to work in the Websites’ favor.
h

• Ego-bait: It includes using content that focuses on the personality of the person you
want to get links from.
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 8

Link Building Tactics 2-3

Link-building metrics:

Domain and page

strength
(authority)

y
Anchor text

nl
O
Number of links

se
Search Optimization Techniques / Link Building / 8 of 12
© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain link-building metrics as: tre
• Domain and page strength (authority): Domain strength is the total new value of a
whole domain instead of its individual pages. The domain is measured as a complete
package to deduce how much strength it has. It is either known as Domain Authority
en
or as the homepage’s Page Authority.
• Anchor text: It gives clues with the help of the keywords used in it. Google can also
make use of this in algorithms and choose whether the given page should be rated
C

higher because of that certain keyword.

• Number of links: The basic aim of link-building is to keep a count of the number of
h

links one possess. One may want to weigh it against the link profile, any improvement
of the Website’s competitor, and to check how well he or she is doing individually.
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 9

Link Building Tactics 3-3

Position of links:
▪ A link to the Website positioned at the footer of the sidebar on
the page will not be as important as a link either found at the

y
top or in the center of the page.
Google also analyzes the aggregate of link positions.

nl
▪

Good link building vs. Bad link building:

O
▪ White Hat link building
❖ White Hat link building works by the rules set down by

search engines, such as Google or Yahoo.

▪ Black Hat link building

se
❖ The aim of all Black Hat strategies is to uncover weak areas
to help Websites gain rankings even though they are
undeserving. This can be done by making changes in
search engine algorithms.

U
Search Optimization Techniques / Link Building / 9 of 12
© Aptech Limited

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

tre
• White Hat strategies: Explain that there are a few disadvantages of White hat link-building. Tactics of
White Hat link building focus on the long run. They do not provide quick fixes or quick results.
en
• Black Hat strategies: explain that even though Black Hat strategies can bring surprising results in very
little time, results are often short lived as search engines are on the lookout to counter Black Hat SEO
practices. Once trapped, it usually means heavy penalties, loss of traffic, loss of reputation and trust,
C

and a goodbye to the rankings gained.

h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slides 10 to 12

Summary 1-3

▪ Reliable sites tend to connect to other trusted sites, whereas a

spam site receives very few links from reliable sources.
▪ Link building has become an essential factor in the area of
search engine ranking, which gives information about a
Website by showing its reliability and authority.
▪ Links deserve to be an important factor in gaining attention,

y
traction and search engine traffic, especially while building
relationships with standard and popular Websites.

nl
▪ Links from a site are measured on the basis of its popularity
and importance.
▪ One of the important factors in search engine ranking is

O
Anchor text.
▪ Link signals tend to decline over time. Even popular sites go
stale, and fail to earn new links.

se
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© Aptech Limited

U
Summary
tre 1-7
2-3

▪ PageRank algorithm changed the method of Web search,

giving incredible value to Google's initial efforts for quality and
accuracy in results.
en
▪ PageRank concept does not count external and internal links
differently.
▪ It is observed from testing that anchor text carried via HTML
is more valuable than alt attributes in image links.
C

▪ The value of a domain increases if the links connected to the

domain are ranked high by the search engine and this is fully
reflected in the search engine matrix.
Although the name given is link-building, it is actually a kind
h

of online marketing. Planning goals and objectives is

important in this field.
ec

▪ Facebook and LinkedIn and other social media Websites are

great places to understand how people spend their time
online, and what they share with others.
pt

Search Optimization Techniques / Link Building / 11 of 12

© Aptech Limited
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
 Summary 3-3

▪ Tools like FollowerWonk will permit users to look for Twitter

bios and accounts that have a particular keyword.
▪ Link building is the method of obtaining links from other
Websites.
▪ There are two types of links, inbound and outbound links.
▪ Guest blogging can be explained as the idea of checking with
various other bloggers or Website owners to see if they will
publish other people’s content.
▪ Anchor text gives clues with the help of keywords used in

y
them.
Google also analyzes the cumulative value of link position.

nl
▪

▪ Modern link-building majorly focuses on high-end quality,

original content that gives value to users and includes an
involved audience.

O
Search Optimization Techniques / Link Building / 12 of 12
© Aptech Limited

se
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
Summarize the session.

U
Highlight the key points covered in the session and provide an introduction of the next session.
Facilitate a group discussion; ask open-ended questions in relation to the session that was
tre
conducted.
Invite responses from the participants.
en
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Session 5

SEO Strategies for Search Networks

Slide 2

y
nl
Session Overview

O
In this session, you will be able to:
▪ Outline the concept of SEO strategy
Describe how to create an SEO strategy

se
▪

▪ Identify various effective SEO strategies

▪ Describe SEO strategies to improve user interaction
▪ Explain the SEO strategy for various search engines

U
▪ Demonstrate how to adapt SEO strategy to Search Engine
Updates

tre
en

© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 2 of 13
C

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

• Begin the session by giving a basic introduction to the students about SEO strategy.
• Conclude this screen by defining how to adapt SEO strategy to Search Engine Updates.
h
ec

Quick Tips:
Before commencing the session, students may express their knowledge about Search Engine Optimization
(SEO) strategy.
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 3

Creating an SEO Strategy 1-2

Five Pillar Approach:

▪ This approach is built on the following five pillars or key
components:

y
nl
Strategy Conversion Content

O
Authority and
Optimization
Trust

se
U
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 3 of 13

tre
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
en
• Strategy: Explain that the first step in SEO strategy is to collect information required for making right
decisions.
C

• Conversion: Explain that if the Website is not built for selling, there is no point in investing in SEO.
Therefore, conversion rate optimization is a key aspect while creating an SEO strategy.
h

• Content: Explain that it is the best way of communicating to the prospective customers as to what the
ec

company is and quality content can also fetch higher rankings.

• Optimization: Explain that advertisers must spare time for fine-tuning, testing, and improving the
pt

campaign as it progresses. It is also important to ensure that things conform to Google’s

recommendations for Webmasters and best practices.
rA

• Authority and Trust: Explain that it is necessary to convince the search engines that the Website is
trustworthy and authoritative.
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 4

Creating an SEO Strategy 2-2

Who Should Implement?

▪ So far, we have seen what a solid SEO strategy look like. A
question that may arise now is who should implement it.
▪ As there are options to do this in-house or hire an agency,
following are some of the aspects to be considered:

y
nl
Time Expertise Budget

O
se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 4 of 13

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Time: Explain that it is necessary to check whether the team inside the company is already packed
tre
with too much work. If yes, then it will not make sense to get them to perform the SEO campaign.

• Expertise: Explain that in-house team should be experts in SEO for handling the implementation
en
process.

• Budget: Explain that a company should analyze if they can afford to outsource SEO work.
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 5

Effective SEO Strategies 1-2

▪ Some of the methods to increase the SEO ranking for a

Website are:
Create an influencer who is a subject-matter expert

Develop a content marketing strategy

y
Generate powerful backlinks to your site and pages

nl
Get your Website mobile-ready

O
Move your Website to HTTPS, a secure site

Add schema.org markup to your Website

se
Optimize for mobile search

© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 5 of 13

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Create an influencer who is a subject-matter expert: Explain that in SEO, having an influencer can
tre
bring more people to the Website, more shares for the blog posts, and the content becomes
trustworthy.

• Develop a content marketing strategy: Explain that Websites must have a content strategy that
en

concentrates on the top keywords.

C

• Generate powerful backlinks to your site and pages: Explain that an effective content marketing
strategy and an influencer help in developing backlinks to the Website. It is also necessary to find
ways for people to link to the Website.
h

• Get your Website mobile-ready: Explain that all Websites should be mobile ready either by using
ec

dynamic serving, a mobile subdomain, or with responsive design.

pt

• Move your Website to HTTPS, a secure site: Explain that Google wants everyone to move to HTTPS
and are boosting the ranks of the Websites that are secure.
rA

• Add schema.org markup to your Website: Explain that Schema.org identifies the logo of the Website,
the reviews on the Website, the video, the niche the Website is in, the location and much more.
Schema.org can also help in ranking better in Google.
Fo

• Optimize for mobile search: Explain that a mobile site should be equally searchable, available and
must have updated content as the desktop site. A mobile friendly site is a way for boosting the
rankings.

© Aptech Limited
Slide 6

Effective SEO Strategies 2-2

Focus on a variety of keywords

Do not ignore social media

Ditch complicated UX and URL

y
Don’t sweat the small stuff

nl
Long tail SEO still matters

O
Pair up with PR

Backlinks SEO strategy

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 6 of 13

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Focus on a variety of keywords: Explain that ranking high with the relevant keywords does matter to
tre
be on top of search placement. Use tools such as Rank Tracker and the ‘Suggest Keywords’ feature to
aggregate information from 17 different keyword suggestion platforms.

• Do not ignore social media: Explain that maintaining and boosting social media presence can boost the
en

rank of the page.

C

• Ditch complicated UX and URL: Explain that Run thorough on-page and on-site checks and also
balances to concentrate on encoding issues, homepage content, meta tags, redirect issues, and so on.
Broken links and 404 errors can also bring down the ranking, so it is better to fix such issues.
h

• Don’t sweat the small stuff: Explain that it is not possible to monitor the details for each post and
ec

tracking daily performance. Instead, advertisers must think about the SEO optimization tools and fixes
which can help them.
pt

• Long tail SEO still matter: Explain that ‘Long tail’ unique searches consist of the major part of
rA

searches on the Web. So, it is necessary to understand what can be optimized to achieve higher ranking
on this.

• Pair up with PR: Explain why people should know about the brand and how it can generate valuable
Fo

links from quality sources. Use adverbs, such as ‘top 10’ and ‘best of’ in the search and see whether
competitors are listed.

• Backlinks SEO strategy: Explain that having links to the Website domain from other Websites is a
hard SEO strategy to implement. This is a time-consuming but valuable strategy that can be rewarding
to improve the overall SEO relevance for search engines.

© Aptech Limited
Slide 7

SEO Strategy for Various Search Engines 1-3

Google Hummingbird:
▪ Hummingbird is Google’s new algorithm which looks at
search engine queries in a different and intelligent manner.

Conversational Search:
Users of Google Chrome might have noticed a small

y
▪

microphone icon at the right-hand corner of the search

box.

nl
▪ If they click it, rather than typing their search query, they
can actually speak the query aloud.
The query and the result will be displayed on the search

O
▪

screen.

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 7 of 13

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Google Hummingbird: Explain that it employs new technology in combination with the older features
tre
of the already existing algorithms. It is named after the bird for its speed and accuracy.

• Conversational Search: Explain that when users ask questions, Google does not actually answer them,
en
but rather lists some Websites where users many find the answers. Google is now attempting to answer
questions by understanding their context.
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 8

SEO Strategy for Various Search Engines 2-3

Bing:
▪ Bing uses similar SEO strategies as Google, which are as
follows:

Get the On-page

y
SEO Right

nl
Quality Inbound
Linking

O
Domain Age

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 8 of 13

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain that Bing uses similar SEO strategies as Google, which are as follows:
tre
• Get the On-page SEO Right: A page should cover only one topic and the content should be
free from grammatical or spelling errors.
• Quality Inbound Linking: Theme based search engines are the ones that strictly ensure that the
en
content on the whole Website is on the same topic. Link to the Website should be from
another Website that covers content on the same topic.
• Domain Age: Bing gives importance to domain age. The older ones get more privilege.
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 9

SEO Strategy for Various Search Engines 3-3

Yahoo:
▪ Following factors need to be considered for Yahoo search:

• The title is very important for each page and it should be

crisp, short, and unique for each page of the Website.

y
• Meta description tag should be used on each page with a
description suitable for the site.

nl
• Meta keywords tag must also be used on all the pages.

O
• Well written content with good keywords can help a lot with
Yahoo.

• Providing internal links (in plain text) which are easy to

follow, help the Yahoo spider.

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 9 of 13

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain the factors that needs to be considered for Yahoo search as provided on the slide.
tre
en
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 10

Adapting the SEO Strategy to Search Engine

Updates
▪ Following are some of the factors that search engines look for
on-page:

Quality content

y
Site architecture

nl
Page titles and descriptions

O
Answered questions

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 10 of 13

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Quality content: Explain that good quality and authentic content that is created keeping the readers in
tre
mind (not Google) gets more value. Google is now focusing on linking quality content to the questions
in the searches.

• Site architecture: Explain that the Website should be usable and simple and should allow search
en

engines to easily crawl through them. If the content cannot be found by search engines then human
browsers also cannot find it.
C

• Page titles and descriptions: Explain that HTML tags and titles are helpful for crawlers to find the
content on the site’s page. The title should have relevant keywords to define what content is covered
h

on the page.
ec

• Answered questions: Explain that Google is trying to answer the questions that users enter through
search engines. Keywords form only one aspect of it.
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slides 11 to 13

Summary 1-3

▪ SEO strategy in the marketing discipline is not just about the

technical build of the site for search engines to easily crawl
information but it involves continuous improvement of the site
for users.
There are so many parameters like link popularity density or

y
▪

frequency of the keywords in the content - that decide the

ranking of a Website.

nl
▪ Web sites receive most of the traffic through Web search.
▪ Many people consider SEO as choosing keywords for the
Websites. This is not enough.

O
▪ Optimization is another pillar in the SEO strategy which
includes tasks for optimizing a Website for search engines to
categorize and rank.
It is necessary to convince the search engines that the

se
▪

Website is trustworthy and authoritative.

Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 11 of 13

U
© Aptech Limited

tre
Summary 1-7
2-3

▪ It is necessary to determine the way success is gauged as

en
part of SEO strategy.
▪ SEO strategies should be reevaluated every year so that they
stay relevant.
▪ Majestic SEO is a useful tool which helps in gathering the
C

details of the links to competitor’s sites.

▪ Rank Tracker provides scores based on keyword difficulty for
prioritizing strategy as per difficulty.
▪ Search engines like Google update algorithms continuously for
h

improving user experience so that the results that are

relevant are available within first few of SERPS.
ec

▪ It is a good practice to have a huge amount of content on the

Website to keep the users involved.
pt

© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 12 of 13
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
 Summary 3-3

▪ If the Website has good ranking with Google, it does not

mean that it is going to have a higher ranking with Bing and
Yahoo.
▪ SEO can have an impact on organic search results only and no
impact over sponsored or paid results like Google AdWords.

y
nl
O
se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / SEO Strategies for Search Networks / 13 of 13

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
Summarize the session. tre
Highlight the key points covered in the session and provide an introduction of the next session.
Facilitate a group discussion; ask open-ended questions in relation to the session that was conducted.
Invite responses from the participants.
en
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Session 6

Tactics to Optimize
Slide 2

y
Session Overview

nl
In this session, you will be able to:
▪ Describe the basic SEO tactics

O
▪ Explain the SEO techniques
▪ Explain the SEO tactics for content creators
▪ Define the tactics for social strategy
Explain SEO for mobile phones

se
▪

▪ Describe advanced SEO tactics for increased traffic and

conversions

U
tre
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 2 of 11
en

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

• Begin the session by giving a basic introduction to the students about SEO tactics.
C

• Conclude this screen by describing advanced SEO tactics for increased traffic and conversions.

Quick Tips:
h

Before commencing the session, students may express their knowledge about Search Engine Optimization
ec

(SEO).
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 3

SEO Techniques
▪ SEO techniques can be classified into the following two categories:
• White Hat SEO is a technique recommended
by most of the search engines as a part of
good design.

y
White Hat SEO:

nl
O
•An SEO tactic is considered Black Hat or
termed as Spamdexing if it has the following
features:
• Tries to obtain rank improvements

se
Black Hat SEO which are not approved by the search
engines and/or involves deception.
• Redirects users to a page different
than the page the search engine
ranked.

U
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 3 of 11

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

tre
• Explain that White Hat SEO tactics should always be followed and site visitors should never be
deceived.
en
• Also explain that an SEO tactic is considered Black Hat or termed as Spamdexing if it has the following
additional features:
• Uses invisible or hidden text, or uses a tiny font size or hides content within the HTML code
C

such as ‘no frame’ sections.

• Delivers distinct versions of a page to search engine bots/spiders and human visitors. This is
called Cloaking SEO tactic.
h

• Computes placement of keywords within a page to increase the keyword count, density, and
ec

variety of a page. This is called keyword stuffing.

• Recaps keywords in the metatags and uses inappropriate keywords in the Website content.
This is termed metatag stuffing.
pt

• Creates Web pages which are of low quality, contain very little content and the pages are
stuffed with similar phrases and keywords. These pages are called doorway or gateway pages.
rA

• Creates a copy of a famous Website and displays contents similar to the original Website to a
Web crawler, but sends Web surfers to irrelevant or malicious Websites. This is called page
hijacking.
• Mirrors Websites by hosting multiple Websites all with conceptually similar content but
Fo

utilizing different URLs.

© Aptech Limited
Slide 4

Tactics for Social Strategy 1-3

Understanding the Different Platforms:

▪ Social media is different for different people.
▪ There are different audiences who frequent the various
platforms and they each expect to engage with different types
of content from their favorite brands.

y
nl
Facebook Twitter Linkedln Google+

O
se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 4 of 11

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
tre
• Facebook: Explain that companies tend to fare best when they post a variety of different types of
content from informational posts to fun memes that educate readers and encourage useful
en
conversations. It is best to keep posts under 250 characters.

• Twitter: Explain that Twitter is considered as one giant conversation. Posts have to be less than 140
C

characters, but it is best to keep them under 120 so that the posts can easily be ‘retweeted’.

• Linkedln: Explain that LinkedIn is the network for professionals. Users on this platform are mostly
h

interested in content which is professionally relevant.

ec

• Google+: Explain that Google+ is best for local SEO. Brands usually publish different types of content
on this platform.
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 5

Tactics for Social Strategy 2-3

Understanding Social Media and Site Performance:

▪ Social media offers brands the opportunity to connect
directly with the audience.
▪ Search engines such as Yahoo, Bing, and Google are always
trying to comprehend what content is actually trending,
trustworthy, and relevant.

y
▪ Different techniques (or algorithms) are used to understand
what every single blog or page on the Website is about and

nl
whether it is relevant to a business or not.
▪ Following are the three social media habits which contribute
in a positive manner for better search engine results:

O
Search
Twitter Google+
Queries

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 5 of 11

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Search Queries: Explain that sites with a greater quantity of searches get paid with higher ranks in the
tre
search results by the search engines.

• Twitter: Explain that studies indicate that the number of followers a Twitter user has enhances the
en
likelihood of the tweet being displayed in the Google search results.

• Google+: Explain that if one of the connections has clicked the +1 button on the Google local page,
C

printed a review, or mentioned what one is searching for, then Google identifies that connection as a
trustworthy link. It then ranks the page higher in the search results.
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 6

Tactics for Social Strategy 3-3

Creating a Social Media Content Strategy:

▪ The social media strategy should always be an extension of
the overall content marketing plan.
▪ Advertisers can then decide what and when to post on which
social media platform based on the target audience behavior,
best types of posts for each platform, and industry-related

y
events and news.
▪ It is necessary for them to first to understand the blogging

nl
schedule to create a good social media content strategy.

O
se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 6 of 11

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Explain that having industry-related, high-quality blogs is essentially a crucial part of efficiently
tre
utilizing social media to enhance the business’s online presence and nurture the trust of the audience.
Once the blogging schedule is decided, the advertisers are ready to build a social media content
strategy.
en
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 7

SEO for Mobile Phones 1-2

Mobile SEO:
▪ Mobile SEO is the procedure of designing a Website which
is suitable for mobile devices of diverse screen sizes
having low bandwidth.
▪ Other than following all the SEO rules applicable to a
desktop Website, additional care needs to be taken while

y
creating a Website for mobile devices.
▪ Following guidelines help advertisers to design a great

nl
mobile-friendly Website:

O
Optimize the Avoid common
Site for Mobile mistakes

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 7 of 11

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Optimize the Site for Mobile: Explain that if the site is optimized for search engines, then optimizing it
tre
for mobile devices should be easy. One needs to understand what it takes to go mobile.

• Avoid common mistakes: Explain that to optimize a Website for mobile devices, avoid making the
en
common mistakes such as, slow mobile pages, do not block CSS and Javascript, do not redirect mobile
too often, avoid heavy images and avoid plug-ins and pop-ups.
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 8

SEO for Mobile Phones 2-2

Useful Tools:
▪ Following are some of the useful tools to find out how mobile
friendly a site is:

Google
Mobile

y
Webmaster Moz Local
Emulator
Tools

nl
Responsive
Screaming User Agent
Web Design
Frog Switcher

O
Testing Tool

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 8 of 11

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Google Webmaster Tools: Explain that it helps to understand what can be used and what should be
tre
avoided while creating mobile as well as desktop Websites.
• Mobile Emulator: Explain that it enables to see how a site is displayed on a wide variety of mobile
devices.
en
• Moz Local: Explain that it ensures that the local SEO is in order.
• Responsive Web Design Testing Tool: Explain that it enables to see how responsive a site looks on a
host of different mobile devices with various screen sizes.
C

• Screaming Frog: Explain that it allows to examine the site and double-check all the redirects.
• User Agent Switcher: Explain that a Firefox add-on which helps in finding out how the site looks
when accessed from a different user agent.
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 9

Advanced SEO Tactics for Increased Traffic and

Conversions
▪ Following are some of the advanced tactics for increased
traffic and conversions:

Create
and
User Data Repurpose
Optimize
Research Content

y
Landing
Pages

nl
Embrace
Update Add Latent
Older Unique Semantic

O
Content Content Indexing
(LSI)

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 9 of 11

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• User Data Research: Explain that meeting the needs of the audience with relevant content increases the
tre
probability of the audience clicking on headlines, reading the articles, and/or buying the product. One
good example of such a space is Quora, which is similar to Yahoo Answers.

• Create and Optimize Landing Pages: Explain that use a landing page instead of a home page to
en

generate leads or sales.

C

• Repurpose Content: Explain that content is king and new content is created on a regular basis for that
very reason. This process of continuously creating new content can get exhausting. A smarter tactic is
to use the same content and repackage it in various forms.
h

• Update Older Content: Explain that updating prevailing pages and posts is also one of the advanced
ec

SEO tactics. Up-to-date content is one of the ranking criteria for Google, and this is the reason why
publishing dates are displayed in the search results.
pt

• Add Unique Content: Explain that unique content ranks high in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
rA

To check if the content is duplicate or copied from somewhere, use the tools available for plagiarism
check.

• Embrace Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI): Explain that Google considers LSI while ranking Websites.
Fo

LSI means that Google is attentive to the words surrounding a keyword so as to comprehend the intent
behind the pages and posts.

© Aptech Limited
Slides 10 and 11

Summary 1-2

▪ Editorial links can influence SEO in the most powerful way.

▪ Link reclamation helps one to receive fresh links by searching
for broken links to the site and having the advertiser fix the
broken links.
▪ SEO techniques are divided into two broad categories, White
Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO.

y
▪ One should always follow White Hat SEO tactics and not try to
deceive users.

nl
▪ Search giants continue to focus on the quality of the content
and user actions.
High quality and relevant content is progressively the focus of

O
▪

any search. Quality content helps to rank a Website higher in

the search results page.
▪ Social media is a platform where audience exchanges ideas
and discusses what they want from their favorite brands.

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 10 of 11

U
Summary
tre 1-7
2-2

▪ Social media offers brands the opportunity to connect directly

with the audience and utilize that connection to achieve sales.
en
▪ Social media is generally used by companies to increase brand
awareness.
▪ Based on the updates in Google, a Website needs to be mobile
friendly to be operative on mobile search engines.
Mobile SEO is the process of designing a Website to make it
C

appropriate to be displayed on mobile devices of various

screen sizes having low bandwidth.
▪ Advanced SEO tactics are used to improve search rankings,
increase traffic, and make content more interesting to both
h

the search engines and readers.

ec
pt

© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Tactics to Optimize / 11 of 11
rA

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

Summarize the session.
Highlight the key points covered in the session and provide an introduction of the next session.
Facilitate a group discussion; ask open-ended questions in relation to the session that was conducted.
Fo

Invite responses from the participants.

© Aptech Limited
Session 7

Optimizing the Website

Slide 2

y
Session Overview

nl
In this session, you will be able to:
▪ Explain the process of optimization of Website for search

O
engines
▪ Describe the design and development of an engine friendly site
▪ Explain how to optimize Website for Google and Bing/Yahoo
search

se
▪ List various SEO recommendations
▪ List various SEO do’s and don’ts for Websites
▪ Identify various online tools to assess the performance of the
Website

U
▪ Outline the concept of local SEO for the Website

tre
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 2 of 10
en

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

• Begin the session by giving a basic introduction to the students about the process of optimization of
C

Website for search engines.

• Conclude this screen by describing the concept of local SEO for the Website.
h

Quick Tips:
ec

Before commencing the session, students may express their knowledge about optimization of Website for
search engines.
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 3

Search Engine Friendly Site Design and

Development 1-3

Indexable Content:
▪ Search engine spiders can understand content only in XHTML
and HTML format. Therefore, the important elements of the
Website must be in these formats.

Title Tags:

y
▪ The title tag is the best description about the Website that
should be fed to the search engine spider. It should be precise

nl
and describe the Website and the content.

Meta Tags:

O
▪ Meta tags are capable of offering information, instructions,
and descriptions to the search engines and other clients. They
form a part of the title tag in the HTML or the XHTML code.

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 3 of 10

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Indexable Content: Explain that though Web crawling has become highly sophisticated, it still cannot
tre
view the Web from a human perspective. Therefore, all the design and development of the Website
should be done from a human perspective and then advertisers must look at the Website from the robot
or software perspective so as to come up with a search engine friendly site that still has have long-term
en
SEO built into it.
• Title Tags: Explain that title tags are important for both the search engines and the users. There are
three aspects for which a title tag creates value- relevancy, browsing, and the results produced by the
C

search engines.
• Meta Tags: Explain that there are so many meta tags having different uses and they can control the
activities of the search engine spiders.
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 4

Search Engine Friendly Site Design and

Development 2-3

Description Meta Tag (Or Meta Description):

▪ It describes the web page and provides information to the
search engine about the page.

Link Structure:
Search engine spiders should be able to crawl smoothly

y
▪

through the Website and reach all links on the Website. The
Website should possess a link structure which is created

nl
keeping the search engine spiders in mind.

Nofollow Link:

O
▪ A nofollow link will not add any points or count to the page.
▪ A nofollow link tag looks like:
<a href=”http://www.example.com/”

se
rel=“nofollow”>Example Website!</a>

© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 4 of 10

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Description Meta Tag: Explain that stuffing keywords in meta description will not help in improving
tre
the ranking and it should contain only 160 characters.

• Link Structure: Explain that if the link structure is not smooth, then there are chances that the search
en
engines will not reach certain pages of the Website irrespective of them having the best content.

• Nofollow Link: Explain that they are considered the losers of the link world with regard to SEO
C

points.
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 5

Search Engine Friendly Site Design and

Development 3-3

Keyword Usage:
▪ Keywords are important terms in the search activity. If the
relevant keywords in a niche are used in a Website, then it
will draw the expected traffic.

URL Structures:

y
▪ A URL can actually influence rankings for websites in major
ways and the way users experience a website and use it.

nl
Mobile-friendly Websites:

O
▪ Mobile-friendly Websites should load fast, provide mobile-
friendly navigation and buttons that are touch friendly.
They should also have built-in functionality allowing them
to get adjusted to the smaller screen, adjusting with both
layouts and content formats.

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 5 of 10

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Keyword Usage: Explain that search engines creates databases associated with keywords. This is
tre
similar to the idea of products being displayed in order in a supermarket, making it easier to search
what you want.

• URL Structures: Explain that the URL should be able to define the content that the Website has. The
en

experience that the user has with the URL can have an impact on the rankings of the Website.
C

• Mobile-friendly Websites: Explain that Google’s Mobile-friendly test can be used to understand how
mobile-friendly the Website is. It even provides suggestions for improving user experience for mobile
traffic using Google’s Page Insights.
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 6

Optimize the Website for Google Search

Optimize the Website for Bing/Yahoo:
▪ Following are a few ways to optimize a Website for
Bing/Yahoo:
To be Indexed in Bing, You Should Submit Your Site to Bing

Title Tags are Extremely Important

y
Use Straightforward Keywords

nl
Build Up Backlinks

O
Content is Important

Be Social

se
Act Local

© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 6 of 10

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• To be Indexed in Bing, You Should Submit Your Site to Bing: Explain that as per Bing, the first step
tre
to gain traffic is to get the Website indexed. For that, one needs to submit the Website to Bing
Webmaster Tools.

• Title Tags are Extremely Important: Explain that as per the Search Engine Journal, title tags are given
en

more emphasis in Bing than Google.

C

• Use Straightforward Keywords: Explain that Bing does not perform well with keywords which are
broad-matching, so during optimization make sure to use exact keywords to attain exact ranking on
Bing’s SERPs.
h

• Build Up Backlinks: Explain that backlinks are equally important to develop good search engine
ec

rankings.
pt

• Content is Important: Explain that content is king. Both Google and Bing look for quality and relevant
content while performing the ranking process.
rA

• Be Social: Explain that according to Bing, being associated with social media will help attain better
rankings, unlike Google.
Fo

• Act Local: Explain that having well-optimized local listings is very important. Ensure you claim the
listings at www.bingplaces.com.

© Aptech Limited
Slide 7

Online Tools to Assess the Performance of the

Website 1-2

Online tools which can help in analyzing whether the Website

is adhering to the guidelines or not are:

y
Varvy SEO Tool:

nl
O
se
Varvy SEO Tool

U
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 7 of 10

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

tre
• Varvy SEO Tool: Explain that advertisers can use this tool by simply entering the URL they want to
test, and within a few seconds, an overview report will be generated based on the Website’s
performance.
en
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 8

Online Tools to Assess the Performance of the

Website 2-2

Pingdom:
▪ This tool evaluates the Website’s speed after the URL of the
page is provided.

y
nl
O
Pingdom Tool

se
© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 8 of 10

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Pingdom: Explain that this tool focuses on calculating Website speed as well as gives an insight into
tre
the data which will aid in page analysis.
en
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slides 9 and 10

Summary 1-2

▪ The Website should be analyzed to find the changes necessary

in terms of navigation, cosmetics, and context.
▪ Images should have an accurate description with keywords so
that they can be searchable by search engine bots.

y
▪ Site maps are available in the form of XML files that have the
list of URLs of the entire Website.

nl
▪ It is necessary to ensure that optimization of the Website is a
regular process due to changes in industry and algorithms.
▪ Search engine spiders can understand the content in XHTML

O
and HTML formats.
▪ The title tag is the best description about the Website that
should be fed to the search engine spider.
▪ It is good to see how the title tag appears in various contexts,

se
such as when the URL is posted on a social media site by
someone and how it appears in the search results of various
search engines.

Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 9 of 10

U
© Aptech Limited

tre
Summary 1-7
2-2

▪ Search engine spiders should be able to crawl smoothly

en
through the Website and reach all links on the Website.
▪ Static URLs should be used over dynamic ones as they can be
made readable and self-explanatory.
▪ As per Bing, the first step to gain traffic is to get the Website
C

indexed.
▪ SEO is a technique which enables the Website to be found
easily by search engines.
▪ Optimization of the Website definitely requires time and effort.
h

▪ Backlinks are the links that provide access to the site from
another site.
ec

▪ AMPs are designed to make mobile pages faster and with

Google’s emphasis on speed and user experience, the search
rankings can grow.
pt

© Aptech Limited
Search Optimization Techniques / Optimizing the Website / 10 of 10
rA

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

Summarize the session.
Highlight the key points covered in the session and provide an introduction of the next session.
Fo

Facilitate a group discussion; ask open-ended questions in relation to the session that was conducted.
Invite responses from the participants.

© Aptech Limited
Session 8
Measuring and Tracking Success
Slide 2

Session Overview

y
In this session, you will be able to:

nl
▪ Outline SEO Progress
▪ Describe the key metrics
Explain the use of SEO tools to evaluate key metrics

O
▪

▪ Outline the future of SEO

se
U
© Aptech Limited
tre
Search Optimization Techniques / Measuring and Tracking Success / 2 of 12

Instruction(s) to the trainer:

en

• Begin the session by giving a basic introduction to the students about SEO Progress.
• Conclude this screen by defining the future of SEO.
C

Quick Tips:
Before commencing the session, students may express their knowledge about measuring and
h

tracking Search Engine Optimization (SEO) success.

ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 3

Utilization of SEO Tools to Estimate Key Metrics 1-2

▪ Following are the main advantages of Google Analytics and

Google Search Console:

Offers the likelihood of linking to alternate Google services

to design extensive reports so as to enhance and determine
the performance of the strategy.

y
Provides easy navigation and hence, even if the users are
novice, they will have no issues using these tools.

nl
Offers free version of the tool enabling anybody to use it. All

O
that is required is a Google account.

Provides data to assist in enhancement of Website usability.

se
Search Optimization Techniques / Measuring and Tracking Success / 3 of 12
© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
tre
• Explain that there are many excellent tools that can help in various SEO tasks. The most
essential tools include Google Analytics and Google Search Console (Bing has a similar tool
en
specially created for Webmasters who are oriented towards enhancement of Websites for
Yahoo and Bing).
• Continue explaining the main advantages of these tools.
C
h
ec
pt
rA
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 4

Utilization of SEO Tools to Estimate Key Metrics 2-2

Google Search Console:

▪ This assists in checking and examining internal links, crawl
errors, performance of Website, structured data and so on.

Google Analytics:
▪ Google Analytics is utilized for observing traffic sources,

y
efficiency of the Website, visitors’ behavior, and much more.

nl
PageSpeed Insights:
▪ As loading time of the Website is a key element that affects
the ranking, it is necessary to learn about the Website’s speed

O
and try to optimize it.

Converting a Challenge into a Strength:

se
▪ The most challenging factor for an SEO expert is to perfectly
display the value brought to a business.
Search Optimization Techniques / Measuring and Tracking Success / 4 of 12
© Aptech Limited

U
Instruction(s) to the trainer:
tre
• Google Search Console: Explain that Google Search Console can be accessed freely using a
Google account. It is necessary to include the Website in Google Search Console account to
en
retrieve the data regarding the Website.

• Google Analytics: Explain that Google Analytics offers a large amount of data regarding the
C

Website, which can give an idea about who visited the Website, how they reached the Website
(acquisition), and how they collaborated and spent time on the Website (behavior).
h

• PageSpeed Insights: Explain that while examining the URL, one can view suggestions related
ec

to optimization of different parts of the Website, which impact the site speed.
pt

• Converting a Challenge into a Strength: Explain that quantifying the work from a revenue and
traffic point of view to the boss or a client is necessary for earning and maintaining the
rA

business.
Fo

© Aptech Limited
Slide 5

Future of SEO 1-5

RankBrain:
▪ Recently, Google revealed its latest algorithm named
RankBrain. RankBrain is based on Artificial Intelligence and
tries to analyze the context of the content on any given
Website.

y
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP):
Google announced launch of new open-source initiative

nl
▪

called AMP.
▪ It is oriented towards the improvement of performance of
the mobile Web.

O
Knowledge Graph:
▪ Google’s knowledge graph aims to systematize the world’s
information in a slow but perfect manner and make it

se
globally reachable, corresponding to its mission
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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• RankBrain: Explain that it excludes the idea of keyword density as the challenge is to analyze
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the content and its value to search engine users. RankBrain is the third most important ranking
factor in the Google algorithm after links and content.
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• Accelarated Mobile Pages (AMP): Explain that one can notice an increase in significance of
AMP and the domination of mobile index in the future. Google has also announced that users
searching from mobile devices will be directed to the related AMP pages though similar app
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pages are present.

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• Knowledge Graph: Explain that the knowledge graph refers to a knowledge base utilized by
Google to optimize its search engine’s search results with semantic, that is, search information
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collected from a plethora of sources.

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Slide 6

Future of SEO 2-5

Real-time, Combined Penalty Filters:

▪ Real-time integrated penalty filers will benefit the Website
owners as follows:
❖ It helps to remove spammy backlinks and get rid of inferior

content. This will ensure quick results.

❖ It helps them to justify the extra efforts to improve the

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quality of their Websites.

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Importance of Enhancing User Experience to Improve
Organic Rankings:
Experts conducted a series of research on CTR and

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▪

engagement rates and their impact on organic rankings in an

attempt to find answers to the following questions:
❖ Explain the importance of organic search CTR.

❖ Describe the relevance of organic CTR as an organic search

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ranking element.
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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Real-time, Combined Penalty Filters: Explain that Google has initiated real-time integrated
tre
penalty filters for the following reasons:
• Google feels it is essential to battle spam and make it an important and automatic
function of serving search results.
en
• Google has updated Penguin, which is currently a real-time signal processed within
Google’s search algorithm.
• Google has also combined Panda with their main algorithm, but it does not update in
C

real-time like Penguin.

• Importance of Enhancing User Experience to Improve Organic Rankings: Explain that some more
h

questions for which experts conducted a series of research are as follows:

• Suggest methods to optimize CTR by rewriting the titles.
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• Examining the impact of Website engagement rates on organic search rankings.

• Assess the impact of metrics on featured snippets selection.
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Slide 7

Future of SEO 3-5

Artificial Intelligence to Execute Search:

▪ Once the machines understand content and patterns,
precise results can be noticed.

Mobile and Search:

SEO termed ‘mobilegeddon’was launched in 2016 and

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▪

promises to be more competitive in app development and

mobile searches.

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Personalization:

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▪ Personalization refers to the search query results
applicable to some information derived from the user.
▪ This can be a geographic location, an IP address, and
previous searches.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Artificial Intelligence to Execute Search: Explain that SEO is fast changing as a result of the
tre
tremendous research and development happening in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It
has proven to be of great benefit for search engines.
en
• Mobile and Search: Explain that mobile continues to be a leading factor in the Internet traffic.
Google is pushing Website owners to create mobile friendly Websites. It has included mobile
friendliness in its algorithm ranking for mobile queries.
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• Personalization: Explain that Google is undoubtedly a powerhouse for mining, optimization,

h

and data analytics. Personalization is an integral part of Google’s search results for many
years. It happens when the search engine user is logged in and a few marketers do not realize
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that it is also a part of disguised searches.

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Slide 8

Future of SEO 4-5

Impact of Machine Learning on Search will be

Exponential in Future:
▪ AI system, developed by Google, would help to deliver
relevant results in the SERPs with the purpose of recognizing
patterns between ‘clearly separate’ searches.

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Altering Optimization through Voice Search:
Tracking the users’ interaction with search engines using

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▪

intelligent personal assistants, smart devices and home

automation will bring about changes in the digital marketing
scenario for keyword optimization.

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Impact of News Growth on the Search Experience:
▪ In recent times, it has become necessary for Google to
perform certain tasks to combat the existence of fake news

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in the SERPs.
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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Impact of Machine Learning on Search will be Exponential in Future: Explain that the AI
tre
system would then store this information to utilize in future searches. This would help to sync
with a user’s desire, thereby designing a conversational, predictive and personalized
experience far better than before.
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• Altering Optimization through Voice Search: Explain that similar to RankBrain, voice search
depends on context-based learning to render precise results. With the added ability of the
C

search algorithm to collect context based on location, resolve queries and comprehend search
history, there will be a further drift from ‘short-tail’ keywords.
h

• Impact of News Growth on the Search Experience: Explain that the problem of fake news
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cannot be solved by altering the algorithm. If the source of the fake news is known to the
users, altering the algorithm will not have any effect on the visitors.
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Slide 9

Future of SEO 5-5

Marketers Should Focus on Getting Quick Wins on SERPs:

▪ Marketers should focus on earning quick wins on the SERPs by
enhancing the existing content.
▪ Following three steps will ensure that the ranking of the
existing content is enhanced currently and in the years to
come:

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Shift towards designing superior quality

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content to serve as link assets

Micro-optimization gives an Edge over

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Competitors

Google will resume their scare strategies

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
• Shift towards designing superior quality content to serve as link assets: Explain that links are
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the main income generator of the Internet. The aim is to provide maximum value to the
audience without pushing the brand. This can be done by designing linkable content assets
which will retain the visitor on the page for a longer time.
en

• Micro-optimization gives an Edge over Competitors: Explain that micro-optimization, such as

schema, assists the search engines to give greater informative results to users in the SERPS.
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• Google will resume their scare strategies: Explain that three suggestions provided by Google
h

to Webmasters and Website owners over the past two years include the following:
• Transition to a safe site (HTTPS)
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• Ensure availability of a responsive site

• Avoid usage of keywords in link anchor text
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• Every time these situations arise, many Webmasters hurriedly make changes that are
related to the three suggestions from Google.
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Slides 10 to 12

Summary 1-3

▪ In SEO, measurement is important for success.

▪ Professional SEO experts track data about links, referrals,
rankings, and much more to help determine the SEO strategy
and create road maps for success.
▪ Exact measurement of the success of an SEO campaign can
differ to a large extent depending on the type of business and

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the objectives.
▪ KPIs that should always be taken into account while

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measuring an SEO campaign’s effectiveness include:
Rankings, Traffic, and Conversions.
▪ Keyword rankings are the most general and effective KPI.

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▪ Traffic volume should be determined, depending on the
amount of visits that come from an organic search.

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Summary
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2-3

▪ The best measure of success for an SEO campaign is

conversions.
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▪ Streamlining a system to track the monetary value of
conversions provides the ability to evaluate the ROI of the
SEO campaign.
▪ If Analytics is not installed on the Website, it will prove to be
a disaster.
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▪ Search engines personalize results depending on the user's

Google+ circles, physical location, Web history, and much
more.
The keywords that give more traffic are another vital aspect of
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the analytics pie.

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 Summary 3-3

▪ Google Search Console can be accessed free of cost by using

a Google account.
▪ Google Analytics is utilized for tracking the traffic sources,
behavior of the visitors, performance of the Website, and
much more.
▪ Loading time of the Website is a vital tool that affects ranking.

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▪ SEO is a changing and growing industry.
SEO has evolved from being all about on-page optimization,

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▪

to building backlinks and creating ‘relevant’ content.

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Instruction(s) to the trainer:
Summarize the session. tre
Highlight the key points covered in the session.
Facilitate a group discussion; ask open-ended questions in relation to the session that was
conducted.
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Invite responses from the participants.
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