SEO in 2017 - WordCamp Atlanta 2017

SEO IN 2017

MICKEY MELLEN@mickmel

greenmellenmedia.com

JENNY MUNN@jennymunn

jennymunn.com

AGENDA

The top 10 mistakes we see in SEO

The future of SEO

Time for Q & A at the end

#WCATLSEO in 2017

The Spectrum of SEO Sophistication

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SEO is a Journey

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●small changes add up over time

●you don’t have to know it all at one time (don’t get overwhelmed)

Search engine optimization is often about making small

modifications to parts of your website. When viewed

individually, these changes might seem like incremental

improvements, but when combined with other

optimizations, they could have a noticeable impact on your site's UX and performance in organic

search results.

MISTAKE 1

Living in the past

LIVING IN THE PAST2010 SEO Mindset 2017 Mindset

Spamming worked Panda what? Penguin who?

Any website can get ranked SEO is an amplifier

Traffic converted quickly 96% of organic traffic doesn’t convert the first visit

Literal keyword usage Semantics and Intent

Following a formula Follow best practices, and have a long-term game plan

Leads and sales YESTERDAY We want quality traffic

MISTAKE 2

Not coveringthe basics

NOT COVERING THE BASICSYou Can’t Rank In a Sea of Sameness

Foundational SEO --> Ongoing SEO --> Competitive SEO

What Hasn't Changed: Quality Signals, Content, Backlinks, Analytics/Data, Engagement, Off-Page

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Optimized Titles and Descriptions

Strategic Keyword UsageMeaty content Internal links

FastMobile ResponsiveOngoing ContentSocial Signals

Content Strategy

The “Perfectly Optimized” Page

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IMAGES

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MISTAKE 3

Lacking an updated keyword strategy

LACKING AN UPDATED KEYWORD STRATEGY

Keywords are not dead

Competition is tougher: go longtail

Mistake: pursuing keywords that don’t have proven search count behind them

Keep your pages tightly focused

SEO informs your marketing strategy -> TOFU “Less than 15% of the ranking equation is wrapped up in keyword targeting.”

- Rand Fishkin

modular manufactured homes

independent schools

horsinality

love coach

Becoming a Topical Expert: Tim Horton’s Analogy

#WCATLSEO in 2017

Inbound Marketing Software Company:•marketing automation tools•how to use marketing automation software•what is marketing automation?•how to tell if I need marketing automation software•lead nurturing best practices•email marketing automation

Voice Search Long-tail is a given

Important for local:

in your car, on the go

“Moments”:

I want to go

I want to do

I want to know

I want to buy

Think how people speak

Test it - voice search your keywords

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Google predicts more than half of queries will

be voice by 2020

Google says 20% of mobile queries are voice

searches

MISTAKE 4Only focusing on-page

ONLY FOCUSING ON-PAGE

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searchengineland.com/seotable

RankBrainRankBrain: Google’s machine learning, AI system that is now baked into its

algorithm (sorts and ranks)

Top 3 Ranking Factors: Content, Links, RankBrain

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Off-Page

#WCATLSEO in 2017Credit: neilpatel.com

● 51 Speakers at WC● How many had

backlinks?

MISTAKE 5

Not focused enoughon speed

PAGE SPEED MATTERS

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NOT FOCUSED ENOUGH ON SPEED73% of mobile internet users say that they’ve encountered a website that was

too slow to load.

47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less.

40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

A 1 second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.

If an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1 second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million in lost sales every year.

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USE LEAN THEMES

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OPTIMIZE IMAGES THE RIGHT WAY

#WCATLSEO in 2017 gmm.to/dpiexample

USE A CACHING PLUGIN

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MISTAKE 6

Not data-focusedenough

NOT DATA-FOCUSED ENOUGH

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GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE

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SEARCH ANALYTICS

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MISTAKE 7

Not focusing onmobile first

AMP: ACCELERATED MOBILE PAGES

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AMP: PLUGIN

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AMP EXAMPLES

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Interstitials on Mobile

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MISTAKE 8

Not being secure

NOT BEING SECURE

#WCATLSEO in 2017 gmm.to/sslmeetup

NOT BEING SECURE

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NOT BEING SECURE

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NOT BEING SECURE

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MISTAKE 9Not understanding how

Google is presenting information

NOT UNDERSTANDING HOW GOOGLE IS PRESENTING INFORMATION

Rich Answers: Quick Answer Box and People Also Ask

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Google’s Carousel Expanding - "Best…”

MOZ “OPPORTUNITY” SCORE

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MISTAKE 10

Not understanding thenuances in your industry

NOT UNDERSTANDING THE NUANCES IN YOUR INDUSTRYStandard SEO Best Practices + ________ (example, eCommerce, local, Schema, other search engines)

Ecommerce SEO -> product, category, tag pages + schema (star ratings, prices)

Local SEO -> local business schema, Google My Business, Citations, etc.

Alternative Search Engines - YouTube, Quora, Pinterest, Amazon#WCATLSEO in 2017

Structured Markup

Schema markup is used to tag entities in your pages' content: Organization (logo), Sitelinks, Breadcrumbs, Articles, Local Businesses, Recipes, Events, Software Applications, Products, Reviews, etc.

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LOCAL SEO

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LOCAL SEO: Name, Address, Phone

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LOCAL SEO: Reviews

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9 other reviews that are not currently recommended

MOZ LOCAL

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RECAP

RECAPLiving in the Past

Not covering the basics

Lacking an updated keyword strategy

Only focusing on-page

Not focused enough on speed

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● Not data-focused enough

● Not focusing on mobile first

● Not being secure

● Not understanding how Google is presenting information

● Not understanding the SEO nuances in your industry

THE FUTURE

THE FUTURE

Smart Home Technology

Wearables

VR

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Credit: SEL

MORE SEO GOODNESS→ munngroupconsulting.com/wc

#WCATLSEO in 2017

allthingswordpress.com

mickmel.com

greenmellen.com/blog

Q & A

Questions about what we justcovered, or other problems?

MICKEY MELLEN@mickmel

greenmellenmedia.com

JENNY MUNN@jennymunn

munngroupconsulting.com/wc