7 Critical Steps to Higher SEO Rankings

Calin Yablonski | @calindaniel | www.inboundinteractive.ca

1. Understand how Google ranks websites2. Make your website findable

3. Uncover quality keywords4. Integrate keywords into your website5. Build your local presence6. Build your website’s authority7. Three SEO Do’s & Don’ts

As we all know, the best place to hide a dead body is on the second page of Google’s search results.

Page 2,no one will think

to look here!

In fact, about 90% of all clicks go to web pages that appear on the first page of Google’s search results.

90%

Further, about 60% of all clicks go to web pages that appear in

the 1-3 positions.

60%

How do you get to the top of Google’s search results?

Question I will be answering.

Step 1: Understand How Google Ranks Websites

Nice, look at all these neat pages.

Google spiders crawl the web looking for new pages. It does this by jumping from hyperlink to hyperlink.

Once it finds new pages, it stores them in its index where web pages are categorized by theme.

Baking Web Pages Surfing Web Pages

I’ll put these over here.

And, these pagesover here.

When a person performs a search in Google, a filter is applied to deliver the most relevant

web pages to the user.

RelevanceIs the page related to what the person has

searched for?

QualityDoes the page include

images, videos, long form content that’s valuable?

AuthorityDo other websites and web pages link to the web page

with hyperlinks?

In total, I’ll analyze about 200 ranking signals.

Google analyzes items such as…

Step 2: Make Your Website Findable

If your website isn’t indexed, it will

NOT appear in the search results.

Killer! I can see all their web pages.

To increase the likelihood your web pages will be indexed, create a XML Sitemap and

submit it to Google Search Console.

You can build one yourself.

Yoast SEO Plugin Google XML Sitemaps

WordPress Website

https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

HTML/CSS Website

Next, don’t block your website with Robots.txt!The robots.txt file, also called robot exclusions, instruct search engines how to index a website. In some cases a

website will block search engines.

Come at me, bro!You shall not… index my website.

Dang, the robots.txt file is blocking me from accessing the site. How rude.

See you never, suckers!

Try it for yourself. Search your brand or domain name.

See something like this? It’s bad.

Remember, to make your website findable, you need to…

Create and submit a xml sitemap.

Ensure you aren’t blocking search engines with the Robots.txt.

Step 3. Uncover Quality Keywords

What is a quality keyword?Keywords are divided into three categories.

“Cookies”

“Sugar Cookies”

“Gluten Free Sugar Cookies”

(Head terms)

(Body terms)

(Long tail terms)

Head terms make up about 10% of all searches.

Body terms make up about 20% of all searches.

Long tail terms make up about 70% of all searches!

What’s more, keywords convert at different rates. And, we want as many

conversions as possible!

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/study/2132155/-page-optimization-dead-tail-keywords-increase-rankings-conversions-study

I know customers are searching for my products and services online, but how do

I find out what they’re looking for?

So, what’s the first step in the keyword research process?

Most people begin here…

It’s best to start by brainstorming head terms and long tail keywords for the products and services you sell.

Cup Cakes Cookies Pies

Vanilla Cup CakesChocolate Cup Cakes

Angel Food Cup Cakes

Chocolate Chip CookiesSugar Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

Apple PiesCherry Pies

Pumpkin Pies

Head Terms

Long Tail Terms

Next, enter the terms into UberSuggest.org. It will provide you with additional suggestions

for keywords to research.

Sugar Cookies

Then, use the Google Keyword Planner to find the amount of people searching for your

keywords and the competition level.

High searches, low competition.

“Sugar Cookie Recipe” looks like a great keyword!

Do this for each product/service you offer.

Brainstorm a list head and long tail keywords.

Find variations of keywords people search.

Find low competition keywords, with…

A high amount of monthly searches.

Step 4: Integrating Keywords Into Your Website

A common misconception about SEO is that you can target multiple keywords with one web page.

Hmmm! Should I categorize this page as

cookies, cup cakes, cake or donuts? I’m not sure.

In reality, it is more like 1-2 keywords per page.

Cool. This web page is totes about Sugar Cookies.

Each represents an individual web page.

The ideal website architecture.

Cup Cakes Cookies Pies

Vanilla Cup Cakes

Chocolate Cup Cakes

Angel Food Cup Cakes

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sugar Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

Apple Pies

Cherry Pies

Pumpkin Pies

Head Terms

Long Tail Terms

Three important items to optimize.

3

Optimize your web page’s meta title. It’s the most important on page item!

What we see WhatGoogle

sees

And, don’t forget the meta description.It won’t increase your website’s rankings, but it

will increase the percentage of times people click your link from Google’s search results.

Meta Title

Meta Description

Optimize your web page’s URL structure.

This page is definitely about Sugar Cookies!

Optimize your web page’s images.

File Namesugar-cookies-calgary.jpg

Alt Attribute (screen readers)alt=“Sugar Cookies Calgary”

Title Attribute (broken path)title=“Sugar Cookies Calgary”

Using WordPress? You’re in luck.

Yoast SEO Plugin All In One SEO Pack

Step 5: Build Your Local Presence

What are the local search results?

• Map• Snack Pack• Reviews/Ratings• Address/Phone• Hours of Operation• Website• Directions

Google uses citations, a reference to a business’s Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP), to build a local profile for your business.

Great. Calin’s Bakery is located in Calgary. I’ll show his business to local customers.

Calin’s Bakery123, Sweet Sugar AveCalgary, Alberta T3A 4M2403 555 5555

NA

P

You need a combination of structured and unstructured citations referencing your NAP.

YellowPages | CitySearch | Yelp411 | Facebook | WebLocal

Blogs | Newspaper ArticlesPress Releases | Media Websites

And, don’t forget Google My Business. It’s a local business’s interface for managing its

presence on Google.

• Address, website, phone• Business category• Hours of operation• Images• Business description

www.google.com/business

Remember, to build your local presence, you need to…

Have a consistent NAP for your business.

Build structured & unstructured citations.

Create a Google My Business account.

Step 6: Build Your Website’s Authority

Hyperlinks, also known as links and backlinks, act like digital votes

and contribute to a website’s authority.

If all these websites link to the same web page, it must

be awesome!

Three places to find backlinks.

Partners

University External Scholarships

Guest Blogging

Build links through partners.

• Testimonials• Partners page• Suppliers page• Links page

Build links throughexternal college/university scholarships.

• Research scholarships • Create a scholarship• Create a page on your site• Perform outreach

Build links through guest blogging.

• Find authoritative websites• Pitch an article• Write an article• Link to your website

Remember, when building links…

Focus on quality, not quantity.

Find relevant websites to link to you.

Make link building a part of your normalbusiness activities.

Step 7: Three Do's & Don'ts

3 Do’s

Focus on building quality content.

Optimize your content for search engines.

Build your authority through backlinks.

3 Don’ts

Attempt to outsmart Google. You won’t win.

Buy spammy, low quality backlinks.

Don’t give up. SEO is a marathon not a sprint.

Thanks!

For more info, visit our website or follow me on Twitter.Calin Yablonski | @calindaniel | www.inboundinteractive.ca