# Presentation: 070750

## Basics of Search Engine Optimization

**Bob Keating**
- _[robert_keating@sra.com](mailto:robert_keating@sra.com)_
**Web Managers Workshop**
**April 24, 2007**

## Understand how web search engines handle your content
Understand web design methodologies aimed at improving ranking of web pages on search results

- Understand web design methodologies aimed at improving ranking of web pages on search results

- Course Goals

## Search Engine Producers
Google
Yahoo!
Live Search (MSN)
Ask.com
Gigablast
WiseNut

- Google
- Yahoo!
- Live Search (MSN)
- Ask.com
- Gigablast
- WiseNut

- _Web Directories_
- Open Directory Project (DMOZ)
- Yahoo! Directory

- Major Search Engines and Directories** **

## Bruce Clay’s Search Engine Chart: http://www.bruceclay.com/searchenginechart.pdf

**Bruce Clay’s Search Engine Chart:** _[http://www.bruceclay.com/searchenginechart.pdf](http://www.bruceclay.com/searchenginechart.pdf)_

## Basics of Search Friendly Design

## Keywords: Use text that targets your audience; and attracts search engines and links from other sites
Navigation: Give users and crawlers easy access to content
Design Elements: Make sure bells and whistles don’t undermine SEO efforts
Page Rank: Develop a linking strategy to improve your site’s “popularity”

**Navigation:** Give users and crawlers easy access to content
**Design Elements:** Make sure bells and whistles don’t undermine SEO efforts
**Page Rank: **Develop a linking strategy to improve your site’s “popularity”

- Basic SEO Concepts

## Things Search Engines Like

**Text (Keyword)**
- Words and phrases that match what your target audience types into search engines
**Site Navigation**
- Site navigation and URL structure that search crawlers can easily follow
**Links to Your Site**
- How “popular” are you?

## Robots Exclusion

- Robots.txt File
- Place in server’s root directory
- Two elements: User-agent, Disallow
- Example:
- User-agent: *
- Disallow: /cgi-bin/
- Disallow: /scripts/
- Disallow: /images/
- Meta-Tag Robots Exclusion
- <head><meta name=“robots” content=“no index, nofollow”></head>

## Managing Page Content

## Keyword Prominence

_**Primary Text**_
- Title tag
- Body text
- Anchor text
- Text near the top of the page
- Headings and Emphasized Text

_**Secondary Text**_
- Alt text
- Description tag
- Domain name and URL elements

## What About Metadata?

- Metadata is not a factor in most web search engines
- Except for Title and META description tags, crawlers ignore other META tags
- Use metadata if important for your agency’s mission or enterprise systems (e.g., CMS, site search engine)

## Keywords in Text

- Choose one or two keywords or phases to optimize for each page
- Use language of your audience
- Do not over use - avoid keyword stuffing
**Keywords in links influence relevancy of the pages your linking to**
- No “click here” links

## Site’s Search Metrics 

Online Advertising Tools
Yahoo!/Overture: http://inventory.overture.com/
Google: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox

Keyword Density
http://www.webjectives.com/keyword.htm
http://www.keyworddensity.com/

Google Webmaster Tools

- Online Advertising Tools
- Yahoo!/Overture: http://inventory.overture.com/
- Google: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox
- Keyword Density
- http://www.webjectives.com/keyword.htm
- http://www.keyworddensity.com/
- Google Webmaster Tools

- Keyword Selection Tools

## Site Navigation

## Plan how pages link to each other
Pages will not rank well if your site does not have a navigation scheme
Navigation scheme must please users and search engines
Create a crawler-friendly site map
Avoid dangling pages 

- Pages will not rank well if your site does not have a navigation scheme
- Navigation scheme must please users _and_ search engines
- Create a crawler-friendly site map
- Avoid dangling pages

- Linking Basics

## Keywords in links tell crawlers about the pages to which you are linking
Keywords in links influence relevancy of the page to which you are linking
Avoid “click here” links, instead create links like: 
Bad: Click here for more info on famous admirals.
Good: Visit our naval history site for more info on famous admirals.

- Keywords in links influence relevancy of the page to which you are linking
- Avoid “click here” links, instead create links like:
**Bad: **_Click here_ for more info on famous admirals.
**Good: **Visit our _naval history_ site for more info on _famous admirals_.

- Creating Links

## Make a site with a clear hierarchy

Text Links
The most search engine friendly
Use for primary or secondary navigation
Every page should be reachable from a text link

If using graphic navigation, use alt text

Avoid JavaScript, unless you provide a secondary text navigation scheme

- Text Links
- The most search engine friendly
- Use for primary or secondary navigation
- Every page should be reachable from a text link
- If using graphic navigation, use alt text
- Avoid JavaScript, unless you provide a secondary text navigation scheme

- Site Navigation Schemes

##  Poor HTML coding
 Image maps
 Frames
 JavaScript
 Dynamic Pages
 Flash

-  Image maps
-  Frames
-  JavaScript
-  Dynamic Pages
-  Flash

- Problem Navigation Schemes

## Create a Site Map
HTML page on your site with text links 
Create a Sitemap
An XML file that lists your site’s URLs 
Allows crawlers to analyzes information about your site’s architecture to improve crawling
Google: http://www.google.com/webmasters/
Yahoo: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
Site Maps Protocol: http://www.sitemaps.org/

- HTML page on your site with text links
- Create a Sitemap
- An XML file that lists your site’s URLs
- Allows crawlers to analyzes information about your site’s architecture to improve crawling
- Google: http://www.google.com/webmasters/
- Yahoo: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
- Site Maps Protocol: http://www.sitemaps.org/

- Help Crawlers Navigate

## Managing Your Popularity

## A calculation assigned to a page based on the number of links into the page
The more popular pages that link to you, the higher your popularity rank
An inbound link is a vote for a page
An outbound link is a vote for a page you’re linking to
All search engines have different popularity algorithms
Google’s algorithm is called Page Rank
Based on a scale from 0-10

- The more popular pages that link to you, the higher your popularity rank
- An inbound link is a vote for a page
- An outbound link is a vote for a page you’re linking to
- All search engines have different popularity algorithms
- Google’s algorithm is called Page Rank
- Based on a scale from 0-10

- What is Popularity?

## Number and Popularity of Inbound Links
Anchor Text
Others’ use of keywords in a link to your site
Popularity is assigned per page, not for the entire site
Popularity is not inherited
Need to deliberately link internal pages to pass on PR

- Anchor Text
- Others’ use of keywords in a link to your site
- Popularity is assigned per page, not for the entire site
- Popularity is not inherited
- Need to deliberately link internal pages to pass on PR

- Popularity Factors

## Get Listed in Yahoo! and DMOZ
Impact on popularity may vary
Helps to get noticed by crawlers
Establish reciprocal link arrangements with agencies covering similar topics
Reach out to state and local agencies
Syndicate your content
Reach out to professional communities of interest

- Impact on popularity may vary
- Helps to get noticed by crawlers
- Establish reciprocal link arrangements with agencies covering similar topics
- Reach out to state and local agencies
- Syndicate your content
- Reach out to professional communities of interest

- Getting Links to Your Site

## Links That Aren’t Links

- Link has been created in a manner that search engines can’t understand
- Link actually points elsewhere, and not directly to your site
- Example:
- http://www.site.gov/ext/external.jsp?url=http://www.noaa.gov/
- Link passes through a JSP program that logs the click and re-directs the browser to noaa.gov
- Search engines read this as an internal link to Site.gov, not an outbound link to NOAA
- Links from these sites will not help boost your search ranking

## Design Considerations

## Implement bells and whistles carefully
Use external Javascript and CSS to decrease page load time
Avoid using Frames
Flash only pages – include skip link and title and META description tag
Omit Session IDs when requestor is a search engine crawler
Ensure design team understands SEO concepts

- Use external Javascript and CSS to decrease page load time
- Avoid using Frames
- Flash only pages – include skip link and title and META description tag
- Omit Session IDs when requestor is a search engine crawler
- Ensure design team understands SEO concepts

- General Considerations

## Database-driven, created on the fly by asp, cfm, php, jsp or cgi scripts
Dynamic sites are comprised of templates, but usually without original content
When a page is viewed, the template loads the content from the database
Parameters are added to the URL, which tells the template to load specific content

- Dynamic sites are comprised of templates, but usually without original content
- When a page is viewed, the template loads the content from the database
- Parameters are added to the URL, which tells the template to load specific content

- Dynamic Pages

## Example: http://smithsonianstore.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=14273&parentCategoryId=3151&categoryId=3152
URLs such as this are difficult for search engines to index because they do not know the parameters that define a unique page
The more parameters, the less likely pages will be indexed
A database may continually feed data, crashing your server and scaring off the crawler

- URLs such as this are difficult for search engines to index because they do not know the parameters that define a unique page
- The more parameters, the less likely pages will be indexed
- A database may continually feed data, crashing your server and scaring off the crawler

- Dynamic Pages

## Modify URLs so they don’t look like dynamic pages, fewer parameters
Use URL re-write trick using mod_rewrite (Apache)
Create static HTML pages

- Use URL re-write trick using mod_rewrite (Apache)
- Create static HTML pages

- Search Friendly Dynamic Pages

## Make sure PDFs contain actual text, not images of text
Same rules for use of keywords and phrases apply
Put the most important text in the title, headlines
Minimize document size (> 100K)
Create optimized HTML pages for PDFs

- Same rules for use of keywords and phrases apply
- Put the most important text in the title, headlines
- Minimize document size (> 100K)
- Create optimized HTML pages for PDFs

- Optimizing PDFs

## Site Maintenance

## Plan BEFORE you embark on a re-design
Will the site architecture change?
Static to Dynamic?
How is the content changing?
Add SEO review as an activity to your project plan
Make sure your contractor has SEO skills
Poor planning and execution can kill your search rankings 
Do not wait until after you re-designed!

- Will the site architecture change?
- Static to Dynamic?
- How is the content changing?
- Add SEO review as an activity to your project plan
- Make sure your contractor has SEO skills
- Poor planning and execution can kill your search rankings
- Do not wait until after you re-designed!

- Re-Designing Your Site

## Try to keep the same filenames and directory structure when redesigning

Recommended: Set up HTTP 301 redirects that point to the new site or pages

Not Recommended: Add a meta-refresh tag to your page header.  This won’t remove your original page from the search index

- _Recommended_: Set up HTTP 301 redirects that point to the new site or pages
- _Not Recommended_: Add a meta-refresh tag to your page header.  This won’t remove your original page from the search index

- Changes to Site Architecture

## Avoid using default 404 pages
Custom 404 pages are more user-friendly
Submitting all 404 URLs to the search engine helpful, but not essential
Remember to change the HTTP status code on custom error pages from 200 to 404

- Custom 404 pages are more user-friendly
- Submitting all 404 URLs to the search engine helpful, but not essential
- Remember to change the HTTP status code on custom error pages from 200 to 404

- Removing Content

## Case Studies

## Slide 36

## Case Study: Business.gov

- _Term_: Advertising Regulations
- #6 on Google
- #8 on Yahoo
- #2 on MSN
- #1 on USA.gov

- Page created March ‘07
- Submitted to crawlers, listed in DMOZ
- 0-78 inbound links

## Case Study: Business.gov

**Text Component**: page is well-optimized for “advertising” and “regulations”
**Link Component**: All text links
**Popularity Component**: Inbound links are using title submitted to DMOZ – “advertising” and “regulations”

## Case Study: NOAA Fisheries

- _Term_: Fisheries
- #1 on USA.gov
- #2 on MSN
- #2 on Yahoo
- #3 on Google

- _Term_: Fish
- Doesn’t show up on the first page or subsequent pages

## Slide 40

## Case Study: NOAA Fisheries

**Text Component**: page is well-optimized for “fisheries” but not “fish”
**Link Component**: “pull-down” menu may be a problem for some crawlers. Add search friendly navigation (e.g., site map)
**Popularity Component**: Lots of inbound links using “fisheries” (not “fish”) in anchor text

## Next Steps

- Visit WebContent.gov Guide to Search Engines:
**http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/search/search.shtml**
- Conduct an SEO best practices review
- Conduct keyword analysis and determine your rank
- Set success measures
- Use Webmaster Tools offered by the search engines, (e.g. Google Webmaster Tools, etc.)

**Make SEO a routine in your web content management program**

## Resources and Recommendations

## Battelle, John. The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed our Culture. New York. Penguin, 2005.
Kent, Peter. Search Engine Optimization for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ. Wiley, 2004.
Moran, Mike, Hunt, Bill. Search Engine Marketing, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ. IBM Press, 2006.
Thurow, Shari. Search Engine Visibility. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders, 2003.

- Kent, Peter. _Search Engine Optimization for Dummies._ Hoboken, NJ. Wiley, 2004.
- Moran, Mike, Hunt, Bill. _Search Engine Marketing, Inc._ Upper Saddle River, NJ. IBM Press, 2006.
- Thurow, Shari. _Search Engine Visibility._* *Indianapolis, IN: New Riders, 2003.

- Recommended Reading

## SEO Forums & Events

**Industry Forums**
- Webmaster World: _[http://www.webmasterworld.com/](http://www.webmasterworld.com/)_
- Search Engine Watch: _[http://www.searchenginewatch.com/](http://www.searchenginewatch.com/)_
- Digital Point Forums: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/
- High Rankings: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/
**Industry Events**
- Search Engine Strategies: http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/

## Bob KeatingSRA Touchstone Consulting Grouprobert_keating@sra.com(202) 449-7132

**Contact Information**