the last 1000 days of google and web presence optimization (wpo) today

The State of SEOWeb Presence Optimization What does Google do? What does Google want? The Last1000 days at Google and the WPO Approach Where are we Today? WPO = Optimized Content Marketing + Social Media Ski-Specific Examples Tying It Altogether

What does Google do?Google’s basic premise has never changed.

Deliver the right content to the right people at the right time.

However their means to identifying that content (The Dreaded Google Algorithm) is

changing constantly.

Why Do We Care?

Whether we like it or not, Google is the de facto lens through

which all businesses are viewed.

97% of searchers do not go beyond Page One and 80% of searchers do not click on ads. Google Organic listings are #1.

What Does Google Want?

Current, relevant, authoritative content.

Organizations need to prove to Google they are the definitive source of whatever keywords (products, services, content)

they want to be found for.

Google over the last 1000 days

What it means to business.

How does business deal with how Google “sees” and “positions” organizations.

The WPO Approach is all about the content.

1000 Days Ago – Local Focus

Brought local results to the top of many results pages

Google Place pages mattered more than ever Online reviews mattered SEO still very much mattered

WPO Approach – Include local keywords in your website , build local backlinks and seek out user generated content / reviews.

900 Days Ago - Panda Updates

Root out low quality, spammy sites with “thin”, irrelevant content

Directories, content farms and ad heavy sites are targeted 25+ updates since the initial roll out

WPO Approach – Make sure your site is technically sound and content rich.

800 Days Ago - Social Signals

8% to 10% of Google organic search algorithm. “Social networking and social media are about relationships and relationships prove relevance. Relevance is at the core of organic search.”

WPO Approach – Socialize your optimized content in Facebook, Google +, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, etc. Determine which social networks work best for you.

700 Days Ago – Google +

Google launches its answer to Facebook.

Content shared via Google + will most certainly be favoured by Google.

WPO Approach – Establish and leverage a presence on Google + and find relevant people to follow.

650 Days Ago – Freshness Update

Google announces that it will give priority to fresh, relevant content.

Press releases, blogs, events, case studies.

WPO Approach – Give Google what it wants – fresh, relevant, keyword rich content. Perhaps the biggest challenge for SMBs.

600 Days Ago – Google + for Business

Branded Google + pages for Business similar to Facebook Fan Pages

Another channel to post and share relevant content.

WPO Approach – Generate optimized content where Google wants it. Build a following. Follow other relevant pages.

550 Days Ago - Search plus Your World

Full out assault on Facebook & Twitter Personalized results based on what people you

follow have liked (+1ed) and recommend Further confirmation that content posted in

Google + will be given priority in search

WPO Approach – Continue to build Google + following and encourage +1ing and sharing. Add Google + button to website pages.

500 Days Ago – Knowledge Graph

WPO Approach – Generate rich content which relates and may be displayed within the knowledge graph for specific searches

Additional contextual info provided in a box to the right of the primary search results

Designed to provide more contextual content and encourage additional searching

450 Days Ago – Penguin

Google’s next major algorithm update focused primarily on the quality of backlinks (inbound links)

Aimed at Directories and Link Farms built solely to generate backlinks, but with little in terms of valuable content

5 updates since initial launch

WPO Approach – Generate backlinks from relevant, high authority sources – industry sites, legitimate local directories, blogs, forums, partner sites , reputable review sites, high ranking websites.

400 Days Ago – Google + Local

Google Places pages (Your Business’ Spot on the Google Map now reside in Google +

Google + Local to become a more interactive platform for Local Businesses and their customers to follow them

WPO Approach – Take ownership of/verify Google + Local page, optimize content, continue to encourage and respond to reviews.

350 Days Ago – Authorship

Ability to tag website content and associate it with an individual’s Google + profile

Search results include the author’s pic and this content is given more weight by Google

WPO Approach – Leverage authorship on any new or existing web content

The Last Year – More Animal Updates

Several Panda and Penguin updates designed to penalize low quality sites and content pages

Those with low quality backlinks even warned in Google Webmaster Tools and Disavow Tool created so site owners can have them removed

WPO Approach – Create good content, clean up questionable backlinks and create high quality new ones

90 Days Ago – Not Provided on Steroids

Google decides to no longer reveal search terms used by anyone. This will only be available to advertisers.

WPO Approach – Pay even more attention to and optimize pages which are positioned well for keywords you want to be found for

60 Days Ago – Hummingbird

Semantic Search – A significant rebuild of Google’s algorithm focused on question based searches and highly contextual results – addresses mobile search

Rewards higher quality contentWPO Approach – Focus on creating rich, relevant, quality content and responsive design for a multi-device experience.

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Today – Socially Speaking…

Facebook is over1 billion users.YouTube has 600 million.

Google + has over 500 million.Twitter has 230 million and growing.

Tumblr (acquired by Yahoo in June) has 130 million.

Pinterest has 70 million+ users, but has grown very quickly and has the most active users behind only FB

and Tumblr.

Today…

SEO/WPO is simply the outcome of a strong, optimized content strategy.

Social Media is about distribution of Content.Create, optimize and publish content your audience will

want to consume and share.

Tell great stories and answer questions!

Convince Google You Are the Authority!

Content Schedule (example)

When What Keywords Where Outcome

Q1 1 Press Release3 Blog Posts2 Videos

PersonalizedProduct AService B

PRWebBlog site XBlog Site YFacebookGoogle +TwitterTumblrPinterestYouTube

30 tweets45 retweets20 backlinks45 views55 new fans25 RePins25 Likes25 +1

Measure Content Campaign against Goals

Tweak, Repeat

Engage

Encourage your audience to create and share their own content about

you.Your customers have far more and more compelling stories to tell than

you are able to generate on your own.

YouTube 2nd largest search engine – optimize videos Follow relevant users and create relevant feeds

Pinterest Image and video based Higher percentage of referrals and backlinks

Tumblr Blogging and specialized social network High authority backlinks

Social networks worth noting…

Ski-Specific Social Examples

Questions?

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@gShiftLabs +gShiftLabs @Jriddall

+Jeff RiddallJeff.Riddall@gShiftLabs.com