BarCamp Brighton:
Crashcourse in SEO

Paul Silver

paul@webpositioningcentre.co.uk

Web Positioning Centre

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation

AKA getting your website to the top of Google

Foundations of SEO

• Spiderable site
• Copy (textual content)
• Links

We'll also cover

• Black Hat methods
• Other stuff

Spiderable site

Being a site the search engine spiders can find their way around.

• No Flash or Javascript navigation
• Not many variables in query strings
• Valid HTML doesn't matter, but semantic HTML does
• Don't hide content, that's very bad

Copy: Text on the page.

• Write about what you do and what you want to be found for
• 250-300 words in a block
• Titles and Meta information
• Headings and sub-headings
• Choosing key phrases:
  • Wordtracker
  • Overture Suggestion Tool
  • Google Suggest (built in to Firefox 2 search box)
• SEO Copy Skillswap: Monday 17th September

Links (1)

• More links in = good
• PageRank indicator = rubbish, worry about what you're being found for, not PR
• Reciprocal links = not so good
• Paid links = bad (allegedly)
• Good content attracts links
• Good content needs to be found, which takes links = Catch 22
• Finding your existing links (Yahoo good, Google bad)
  Yahoo search: linkdomain:www.yourwebsite.com -site:www.yourwebsite.com

Links (2): Building incoming links

• Directories and Social bookmarking sites
• Articles
• Blogging and commenting
• Archived forums and mailing lists

Black Hat

• Cloaking
• Hidden Content
• Link Farms

Other Stuff

• New domains - the Google Sandbox
• Useful tools
  • Google Webmaster Tools
  • Google Analytics
  • Spidertest
• Useful blogs
  • SEO firm: SEO Moz
  • Google insider: Matt Cutts
  • Copywriting: David Rosam

Thanks for listening

Slides: http://webpositioningcentre.co.uk/barcamp