Webmaster's Toolkit - SEO & Analytics

Webmaster’s Toolkit:SEO & Web Analytics

WordCamp Toronto 2012

Who is this guy?(I mean, seriously? That shirt? That hair?)

Andy McIlwainOrganizer, Toronto WordPress Group & WordCamp Toronto 2012

(Goes by @andymci everywhere on the internets.)

What are we talking about?

(Alternative title: “What is he prattling on about?”)

Improving + MeasuringHow is your site doing on the web?

I’m reading like a champ.

(That college degree needs to be good for something, right?)

Not clear? Ask questions!

“Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.” – Francis Bacon

Building a ToolkitEveryone needs their secret weapon.

Don’t Re-Invent the Wheel

Just adapt it to your purpose.

SEOSearch Engine Optimization

SEO: A Common GoalSearch engines want to direct users to relevant content.

You want your content to attract relevant users from search engines.

Building it doesn’t mean they’ll come.

Content isn’t king if nobody recognizes the kingdom.

Providing The Right Signals

Google’s algorithm is a complex, ever-changing secret recipe.

Where do we start?Don’t waste your time trying to outsmart Google.

1. SEOmoz’ Beginners Guide to SEOwww.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo

2. Google Webmaster Series on YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp

3. SEO News & Community Discussion

News & Blogs• SEOmoz

www.seomoz.org/blogwww.seomoz.org/ugc

• Search Engine Watchwww.searchenginewatch.com

• Search Engine Landwww.searchengineland.com

• Alltop SEO Headlinesseo.alltop.com

Community Forums• Webmaster World www.webmasterworld.com/home.htm• Digital Point

forums.digitalpoint.com• V7N Webmaster Forums

www.v7n.com/forums

The best way to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in search marketing.

4. Conducting a Technical SEO Audithttp://searchenginewatch.com/article/2200756/How-to-Conduct-a-Technical-SEO-Site-Audit

SEOmoz:http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-do-a-site-audit

5. WordPress SEO Plugin by Yoast http://yoast.com/wordpress/seo/

6. Scribe SEO Plugin for WordPresshttp://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/scribe/

7. Xenu Link Sleuth & Screaming Froghttp://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.htmlhttp://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/

8. Webmaster Tools from Google & Binghttp://www.google.com/webmasters/http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster

SEOmoz review of Bing tools: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/phoenix-rising-bings-new-webmaster-tools-whiteboard-Friday

Web Analytics is like an iceberg.Tip: Basic stuff. Visitors, popular pages.Middle: More useful. Referring sites, keywords.Below the Surface: Campaign tracking, A/B testing, Goals.

Analytics aren’t perfect.

Use them for trending, not precise measurement.

Source:

Two Kinds of Web MetricsSource: Brian Clifton @ http://www.advanced-web-metrics.com/blog/2009/02/22/improving-the-web-with-web-analytics/

Getting Started with Analytics

1. Sign up with Google Analytics @ www.google.com/analytics/ 2. Get the JavaScript tags installed on your site.

(Yoast’s Google Analytics plugin can help with this.)3. Set up your accounts on Bing & Google Webmaster Tools.

(Use the same Google account for Webmaster Tools & Analytics!)

Congratulations, your Google Webmaster Tools data will be linked to your Google Analytics account!

The Importance of Goals

If you don’t know what you’re aiming for, you’ll never score.

Avinash Kaushik’s Digital Marketing & Measurement ModelSource: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/digital-marketing-and-measurement-model/

Free Custom Reports:http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/best-downloadable-custom-web-analytics-reports/

Beyond Google Analytics

Sometimes, you just need to kick it up a notch.

1. UserTesting.comFeedback from real people trying to use your website.

2. ChartBeatReal-time analytics, something that Google doesn’t do too well right now.www.chartbeat.com

3. OptimizelySimplified A/B testing. Covert your visitors!www.optimizely.com

4. CrazyEggVisual overlays and heatmaps.www.crazyegg.com

TL;DR – In Review

1. Build a toolkit by making use of the resources available to you on the web.2. Use other people’s work as a starting point. Customize to fit your needs.3. Your site content is worth nothing if people don’t know that it exists.4. Don’t obsess over SEO. Not worth it. Learn the basics, play to Google’s rules. 5. Skim headlines/forums to learn from the successes (and mistakes) of others.6. Make your life easier by using plugins like WordPress SEO and Scribe.7. If you don’t have on-site analytics set up, you’re flying blind.8. On-site analytics are pointless if you don’t have goals.9. Define your goals!10. Google’s free products are great for many things, but sometimes it’s worth

spending money on specialized premium tools.

Questions? Comments?

Pitchforks? Torches?

…flying shoes?

Gracias.Send your hate mail to andy@andymci.com

Lambast publicly on Twitter: @andymci