1 of 31

SEO BASICS

Techniques for positioning your website better for search engines.

2 of 31

Things to Learn

01

04

02

03

06

05

Understanding Searcher Intent

Setting Realistic Expectations

Optimizing Your Website

Writing Good Content

Finding & Evaluating Keywords

Evaluating Your Results

3 of 31

If you build it, they will come...

...is a powerful lie.

4 of 31

Set Realistic Expectations

01

The SEO Holy Grail won’t happen overnight.

5 of 31

What Results Look Like

6 of 31

Understand Searcher Intent

02

What are people really looking for?

7 of 31

SEO Truths

There is no SEO magic bullet. It will always take time and effort to see results.
Content will always be king. Write content for people, not search engines. The best SEO comes from well-written content that shows your expertise and authority.
User Experience is important. If your users can’t navigate your site, neither can Google.
Keywords need to be relevant to your products and/or services.

8 of 31

Find and Evaluate Keywords

03

How to find the right keywords for your site.

9 of 31

How to find keywords

Brainstorm

Google

Google each keyword and look at the results.

Make a list of words you WANT to be found for.

Edit

Remove keywords that won’t work or add new options.

Research

Use a keyword research tool to learn more.

10 of 31

Keyword Research

11 of 31

12 of 31

Choosing Keywords

Keyword	Search Volume	Keyword Difficulty	Page Match
kitchen remodeling	830	20	kitchens
Bathroom remodeling	450	51	bathrooms
General contractor	110	23	About us
Basement finishing	50	56	Basements

13 of 31

Write Good Content

04

That answers your searcher’s questions.

14 of 31

Content Rules

LENGTH:

OK: 300+ words

Good: 500+ words

Best: 1100+ words

<300 = “thin content”

KEYPHRASE DENSITY:

Between 0.5 & 3%.

PRO-TIP: Use the keyphrase in the title (h1) and the first sentence.

PAGES:

1 focus keyphrase per page

10 pages = 10 keywords

EAT: Expertise Authority Trust

15 of 31

Questions to Answer

What do you sell or offer?

What is special about it?

Why should someone buy from/hire you instead of your competitors?

What is your unique selling proposition?

Why are you the best?

16 of 31

97%

17 of 31

Can you tell when the blogging started?

18 of 31

Optimize Your Website

05

Make a plan to use your keywords in the site.

19 of 31

On Page Optimization

Page Titles (h1, h2)

Content

Images/Alt Text

Permalink

Internal Linking

Meta Title/Description

20 of 31

On Page Optimization

Page Titles (h1, h2)

Content

Images/Alt Text

Permalink

Internal Linking

Meta Title/Description

21 of 31

On Page Optimization

Page Titles (h1, h2)

Content

Images/Alt Text

Permalink

Internal Linking

Meta Title/Description

22 of 31

On Page Optimization

Page Titles (h1, h2)

Content

Images/Alt Text

Permalink

Internal Linking

Meta Title/Description

<a href="/kitchen-remodeling/">Kitchen Remodeling</a>

<a href="/kitchen-remodeling/">Click here</a>

YES!

NO!

23 of 31

On Page Optimization

Page Titles (h1, h2)

Content

Images/Alt Text

Permalink

Internal Linking

Meta Title/Description

24 of 31

Technical SEO

Is it fast?
Is it secure?
Is it mobile-friendly?
Does it have an XML sitemap?

25 of 31

Google My Business

26 of 31

Evaluate Progress

06

How do you know if anything is working?

27 of 31

Data Tools

Google Search Console

28 of 31

Questions

CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik

29 of 31

Terminology

SEO: Search Engine Optimization
Keyword: single word used in a search query
Keyword Phrase: multiple words in a search query
Longtail Keyword: longer and more specific keyword phrase
Search Volume: Number of searches using that keyword
Keyword Difficulty: How competitive a keyword is
Keyphrase Density: Number of times a keyword is used relative to the number of words on a page
Meta Data: HTML tags used to describe the content of the page, usually shown in the search results
Meta Title: An element in your website that defines the title of your page
Meta Description: An element that summarizes the content of your page.
On-Page Optimization: measures that can be taken directly within the website in order to improve its position in the search rankings

Alt Text (aka alternative text): alt text is the written copy that appears in place of an image on a webpage if the image fails to load on a user's screen
Backlinks: a link back to your website
Internal Links: a link to another page of your website
Anchor text: clickable text in a link
Google My Business: free Google directory for businesses
Knowledge Panel: information boxes that appear on Google when you search for entities
Technical SEO: website and server optimizations that help search engine spiders crawl and index your site more effectively
SSL Certificate: a digital certificate that authenticates the identity of a website and encrypts information
XML Sitemap: roadmap of your website’s content

30 of 31

Resources

WordPress

Keyword Research

31 of 31

Connect with Me

Website: sumydesigns.com

Twitter: @sumydesigns

Facebook: @sumydesigns

Instagram: @sumydesigns