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Search Engine Optimization

A District 6 presentation

for the December 2023

South Florida General Service Area 15

Website Committee Intra-Quarterly workshop

Hi my name is Bob I'm an alcoholic. My sobriety date is June 6th 2010 and I am currently serving as the chairperson of the district 6 website committee here in South Florida area 15. I’m just going to qualify briefly. I've been in service for most of my time in AA, starting as a coffee maker after about 3 months of sobriety then becoming my group’s GSR 2 years later.

�I joined the district 6 website committee right away hoping to learn from others. It turned out that was a panel election month and the previous website committee chairperson was happy to hear someone was joining the committee… and immediately rotated out. So I learned through trial, error and education. I did get a technical certificate in web development and one in computer programming; was working on a digital imaging cert when a pandemic changed my priorities. At that time my service was accelerated by taking responsibility for helping set up virtual meetings, then one-on-one helping a lot of people figure out how to attend. Since that time, I served on the area 15 ad hoc committee for technology And chaired the district 6 Ad Hoc committee for hybrid meetings. Having now passed a decade as the district 6 “website guy,” we now have another techie on the committee. He’s approaching 1 year as a GSR, and I am cautiously optimistic about more fully experiencing the spirit of rotation in the near future.

I’ll try to move this along going forward.

�

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Background

A government agency’s treatment referral page is the first result shown on Google when searching for most Alcoholics Anonymous service organizations.

And an initial review detected plenty of stones to turn on the District 6 website.

District 6 suggested Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for committee pages as a topic for an Area 15 website committee workshop.

One slide of background here, the area 15

(Show the SEO.pdf document)

The area 15 website committee is hosting workshops in months when we don't have our quarterly assemblies and district 6 recommended search engine optimization as a possible topic.

�The first District 6 SEO effort was mostly an attempt to inspire other committees to provide website content. At the time, Composition, Scope and Procedure were the only headers on most committee pages. The website committee Distributed a document Defining a rudimentary strategy, showing a suggested page format and initial page descriptions because for most people it’s easier to react to a first draft

2. Regardless of how likely we are to win that battle, SEO is an ongoing effort it’s always a perfect opportunity to leave no stone unturned when communicating about our proven and freely available program of recovery.

3. [READ BULLET] On every level, Know better, do better

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Basics: How search engines work

“Our public relations is guided by the principle of attraction rather than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves.

We feel it better to let our friends recommend us.”

-Tradition 11

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How SEO Works: SEO Process Flowchart�

^{Adapted from www.wordstream.com}

You will notice credits at the bottom of many pages. I have no affiliation with any of these websites, nor does District 6. We like to say our links do not imply review or endorsement, but at the time was preparing this report, I found these pages very helpful. Anyone working on SEO might review each topic for more insight. At the end of this presentation there is a slide with links to SEO sites and another slide with links to specific tools.

1. The pink cloud might just be my personal response to quality targeted content, but the utopia for web pages.

2. The "black box" metaphor is a way of describing a complex system or process that is difficult to understand or explain. Users can see the inputs and outputs but not the inner workings. The dark gray box with small font is the meat of this presentation.

3. They bless us because at this stage, the machines don’t trust us, they think our page is a likely solution for the search.

4a. Anyone who hits the back button downrates us with the search engine they return to, which is a good reason to stay in our lane or in district 6’s case offer anyone looking for a meeting list a direct path to the correct place instead of going back to their search.

7. Other sites linking to ours is one of the biggest factors for search engines. SEO loves backlinks.

8. When our domain is recognized as authoritative, those initial links for new pages and more of a partnership – the search engine gains trust when the pages it lists near the top have the needed information.

6. Now why does this oval specify “Google” ranking us higher? I’m certainly not implying affiliation, endorsement, review or whatever your district’s redirect pages say.

[NEXT SLIDE]

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How SEO Works:

Why Focus on Google?

As of September 2023, 88% of all internet searches in the US are on Google.
Most information about how to improve SEO rankings is focused on the Google algorithm.
The previously mentioned government agency is only appearing on Google.

However, a search for South Florida Area 15 on other search engines has included advertising first, including visitflorida.com and vrbo.com.

^{Statistics from gs.statcounter.com}

1. The reason we focus on Google is almost nine out of ten searches here in the US are on Google.

2. Naturally, most information about how to improve SEO focuses on Google, though I suppose you if you use Bing you might find higher rankings for information which includes Bing.

Bing has been increasing in use, and I have not studied why, but Anecdotally, I can tell you I recently helped a friend set up her new Windows laptop because she couldn't do Several things she wanted with it. It came new out of the box in what they call S Mode. she couldn't load Zoom or Chrome or any other software unless it came from the Microsoft store. I did not try to change Edge’s default search engine before or after I got it out of S Mode, But just the fact that you have to use Edge unless you know the workaround is probably forcing more people to use Bing

Finally, referring back to the background presentation, Google is the only one showing the HHS agency first, or even at all on searches for recovery service organizations. ON a search for South Florida Area 15 Bing showed a map as they are trying to compete with Google maps and Yahoo showed an ad for vrbo, a vacation rental site (last month), and then visitflorida.com this month.

Bing and “S mode”

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How SEO Works:

Google Ranking Factors

Golden brown spokes are can be managed by web servants.
Committee engagement is very important to niche expertise, content freshness, and consistently adding content.
Trustworthiness was added in 2023 when Google applied for a patent on their AI fact checker.

Content freshness can also be thought of as new since it increased from 1% a year ago.

SSL

^{Statistics from}^{FirstPageSage.com}

The pink cloud engaging content and red heart backlinks from two slides back account for about one-third of the ranking but quality content also feeds into user engagement, niche expertise, content freshness and even trustworthiness, so it’s not wrong to say over half of the ranking is based on an evaluation of the content.

1^st bullet – (read, then:) These are from the black box two slides back and represent more than one-quarter of the ranking.

2^nd bullet – Us tech folks try to be well-rounded but we could use some help and knowing every committee’s LoS isn’t enough for a website to cover all these factors. We’re not supposed to have whine in AA but neither Accessibilites nor Literature told me when listen to audio recordings and watch ASL were added to Read pdfs for the Big Book and the 12 and 12 on aa.org. Grapevine didn’t tell me when The Grapevine stopped using the store.grapevine.org domain.

3^rd bullet (read)

I want to quickly mention SSL security because it doesn’t fit anywhere else. It shows 2% but it is far less important now. Even with enhanced security settings Chrome no linger show the “potentially unsafe website.” There are free SSL certificates available at a site shown in the links to specific tools near the end of this presentation.

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How SEO Works: �Index and Follow

By default, search engines index every page they find and follow all links for their value to the site. But there are some instances when You don’t want a page indexed or a link followed because it can hurt your overall site authority rating.

The meta Robots tag should be set to “no index” for Drafts, placeholders or pages with little content which would reduce the site score and any page you would not want a search engine to list, such as duplicates or redirects.

Look up “Canonical pages” for more information about duplicate pages.

Similarly, the “no follow” link attribute should also be added to any link which requires a password, such as business documents.
A sitemap and Robots.txt file can also be used to manage search engine visibility.

There is a link to information about implementing the Robots text file on the SEO Tools slide.

^{Google “meta Robots tag” or “nofollow link attribute” for more information}

Considering using “no index” on pages with little content is a strategic question in AA. Tactically, pages limited to the LoS might be hurting your site score, especially if the composition and procedure are very similar across multiple committee pages. If there is a motion stating the website will include certain pages, it probably doesn’t specify search engine visibility, but that would be pretty big right of decision for a website committee.

There are also “Canonical” tags. If there is more than one copy of the same page or very similar pages, canonical tags are important to suggest which one the search engine should index.

(Customer output can include AI) Also “nofollow “ links that could be consider untrusted content, paid or sponsored links, and links to user comments.

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SEO Details: Helping search engines help us

“Nothing matters more to AA's future welfare than the manner in which we use the colossus of modern communication.”

-Bill W. AA Grapevine November 1960

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Details: Circles of SEO Service�

^{Adapted from www.wordstream.com}

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On Page SEO: Keywords

Keywords are important. As they are the focus of a search query, using keywords in different places is critical.
Do not use the meta tag for keywords. Google doesn’t use them in its ranking and Bing down-rates pages as possible Spam.

Keyword Research

Select target keywords or phrases based on page content

What are we offering 🡪Who wants it 🡪How will they use it 🡪How will they search for it

Use a “keyword research” tool to understand the volume and competition.
Google your keywords to see who and what is on the first page of SERPs.

Perhaps re-evaluate or refine your keywords or expectations.

Create content superior to what is ranking or for an underserviced niche.

AI driven free keyword tool: https://www.ryrob.com/keyword-tool/

Every complete SEO guide I’ve seen includes content and Keyword research. I’m showing keywords first because it’s easier to present and I hope easier to understand this way

1. Consider what is offered on the page and determine how to describe your content with a focus on the benefits end-users are seeking

2. In plain language: How many searches per month use these keywords and are there a lot of other organizations trying to rank on them.

Google “Keyword research” or try the free AI driven listed at the bottom of this page - keyword tool: https://www.ryrob.com/keyword-tool/ - this is shown in larger print in the appendix on the SEO Toolspage.

3. Refining expectations might be as simple as settling for our preamble primary purpose.

Consider combinations. For example, “South Florida” has a lot of competition from travel sectors, but once you add “AA” into the search…

4. In district 6 this is the answer to strategic question raised on the previous slide. We do not tell search engines to ignore low content pages, we add relevant content. More about relevancy coming up

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Meta and On Page SEO: Merging Keywords & Content

Placement

Meta Title tag
Page Title
First 100 Words
Section headings
In text
Image names and alt text
Around links

Important Qualities of Content

Content aligns with what people using this keyword are searching for
Plain language – Write for the reader not the search engine
In depth – 1,500 to 2,400 words
Organized and easy to read – Use section headers and images to depict concepts, bullets and quotes to break up long paragraphs.
Into Action – Offer solution-oriented information for the reader’s use in staying sober or providing service.

Consider a question in the header with the answer below.

^{Adapted from www.wordstream.com}

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On Page SEO: District 6 Basic Page Outline

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On Page and Technical SEO: User Experience (UX)

User Experience encompasses multiple technical, content, and design factors which make the page and site easy to use and understand.

Responsive design is essential with Mobile-first design preferred.
Load speed: Image size and multimedia. Lazy loading loads images when the user scrolls far enough to see them instead of immediately when the page loads.

Your CMS may have a lazy loading on/off switch in the page settings.

Accessibility: Font size and contrast between font and the background are the basics.

Alt text in images, anchor text in hyperlinks, and section headings to aid in navigation.
Also test Tab Navigation on each page and avoid using sliders.
More at the Web Accessibility Initiative: www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/

Content, content, content: none of the rest helps if the answer to the search query is not on the page.
Design: Google doesn’t rate visual appeal except as it is expressed by the back button.

^{Reference: UXDesignInstitute.com}

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SERPs:

Anatomy of a SERP (Search Engine Results Page)

Shortcut icons and dates are on the results page but not in the rankings.

Shortcut icons help the person searching identify us as AA.
Any page with competitive updates should indicate the last update on the page.

Keywords in Meta Title Tags are important to Google Rankings.

The title tag will also appear in the browser tab (with the shortcut icon).
Limit title tags to 55 or 60 characters and front load the keyword as some might be cut off by Google or certainly in the tab

An ideal Meta Page Description convinces the reader of the benefits from visiting your page.

^{Adapted from www.wordstream.com}

Note: none of this is 100% consistent. Examples later but that’s why you should search for your own pages, not only to see where they rank in different searches, but also how they appear.

Google might show a link to this page instead of the Title tag. They might show an H2 heading instead of the meta Page description.
A date is shown if it appears on the page AND Google decides it’s relevant – I paid attention to dates while researching this report

We have announcements on our home page and

Read first bullet:

The triangle in a circle logo is not copywritten but is recognized by AA members

For certain when I was searching for information about SEO I looked for current pages, but Google shows the date only if the AI determines it is relevant

Read second bullet: More about the title tag when get to on page SEO (remember, the circles overlap

Read third bullet – discuss the Optimize… example

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Technical SEO�Consider Different Schema for SERPs

^{Sitelinks Search Box}

^{Google “}^{Sitelinks search box structured data}^{” and go to the Google for Developers page}

^{Local Business}

^{Google “}^{Local business structured data}^{” and go to the Google for Developers page and use}^{this tool}^{if you don’t have a street address}

First, I’m going to point out the green circles with check marks. That’s my anti-virus indicating the page is safe. That’s on the Google SERP page in Firefox. I have the anti-virus extension in Chrome also, but I don’t get that. Also, the AA Bahamas page passes the anti-virus test despite no SSL.

The Sitelinks search box requires having a working search box installed on your site

Local Business generally requires a verifiable street address (not a P.O. or mail drop box) but there is a link on the SEO Tools slide. It explains how to use local schema without a physical address.

Full disclosure, aa.org does not have the search box – they have the “more results” line at the bottom.

And I have an eleventh tradition bone to pick with the general service office because the local business one doesn’t show Bob S., it gives his full last name.

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Technical SEO�Consider Different Schema for SERPs

^{Page Content}

^{Google’s featured snippets}

^{Google “Google’s featured Snippets and go to the Google for Developers page}

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On Page and SERPs: H1 titles

^{Adapted from www.wordstream.com}

In the tradeoff between uniformity and descriptiveness, there is opportunity to let the H1 page title and the Meta Title Tag complement one another.

As H1 titles are not limited in length, some businesses will choose to double down on sizzle

Some say only use one H1 “title” per page.

Google says there is no penalty for using more than one, but, it may lead to confusion for the user.
However, use a unique meta title for each page.

Meta Title and description have already been covered, but it might be important to consider how the Meta Title and H1 page title can work together.

“we think A.A. ought to avoid sensational advertising”

I mentioned in the strategy section the tradeoffs between humility and sizzle, uniformity and descriptiveness in page titles. The meta title and the H1 page title don’t have to be the same.

Consider someone searching for information about taking a meeting into the local jail and they get to a page with treatment committee meetings in the top section. How many will scroll down the page and how many think to themselves “these are completely different things and hit the back button to find a corrections page?

District 6 is considering maintaining uniformity for the page titles and adding using a description of the experience or a call to action in the Meta title.

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Image SEO:

Images in General

Use images to focus attention or improve understanding of text.

An image may help the reader identify with the topic or evoke a desired emotion
Graphs can provide a lot of detailed information
Do not use an image if it may cause confusion

Images help page navigation.

Not everyone wants to read all the content to find the topic they seek

A little fun can improve user engagement.
Create original images?

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Image SEO:

Image size

Compress files (reduce size).

Smaller files means faster load times (reminder, page speed is 3% and mobile friendly is 4%)
Consider using the WebP format – it has better compression, and it was developed by Google
Free converters and compressors are available online

Use a “thumbnail” image or the srcset attribute if you want UHD photos or maps available.

srcset lets the browser select from different size images based on the screen width

WordPress uses srcset automatically

Example: The full size image of this archives display is about ¾ life-size.

For High Quality:

png fille is 6,021 KB

webp file is 1,055 KB

For the reduced size “thumbnail” image on the archives page:

png fille is 114 KB

webp file is 26 KB

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On Page SEO:

Images Filenames and Alt Text

Name your images.

Be descriptive and replace spaces with hyphens/dashes (-)
Use keywords if in proper context

Write alt text for images except those which are decorative only.

Accessibility - Alt text it is read for anyone using a text reader and appears on screen if the image is not available
Use keywords within the constraints of clearly and concisely describing the image
Limit text to 125 to 140 characters

Follow certain guidelines:

For images with links or other actions, images with text or complex information like graphs.

^Guidelines^{for Non-standard Images}

There is text in the image

Alt text: (repeat the text a visually impaired person cannot read) Personal ad, lonely website developer seeking artistic eloquent detail-oriented insomniac to share the message of recovery.

Social media icon

Alt text: (prompt the action) Visit our District 6 in Area 15 YouTube Channel

Image has a hyperlink

Alt text: (indicate the link) Anonymity in the Digital age poster which links to its purchase page at onlineliterature.aa.org

Complex image, such as a graph

Alt text: (describe the trend in the accompanying text) District 6 Website Traffic in the last 13 months

Concepts drawn from accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

2^nd bullet: Don’t leave spaces as they are often replaced with “%” or something similar, which doesn’t not improve Google’s opinion.

Also, many search engines will read hyphens as word separators and underscores as word joiners 🡨 that’s a mistake I’ve made up until now

Alt text is an accessibility factor used by screen readers and the text shows in place of the image if the image link fails.

Use a clear and concise description of the image. Considering your images should be relevant to the page, using your keywords is often appropriate.

Screen readers will stop reading alt text at a certain point to avoid it being overly cumbersome or even interpreted as spam. I’ve seen the limit listed as 125 or 140 characters. I am interpreting this to mean some screen readers will stop reading at 125 words and some search engines will downgrade page if alt text is longer than 140. However, only go over 125 when you must.

Some guidelines to follow:

For social media icons, prompt the action, such as “Contribute at our PayPal page.”

If an image has a hyperlink, try to include a short description and always indicate the link so a visually impaired person is aware of the navigation option.

For a complex image, such as a graph, describe at least the important takeaways in the accompanying text and use the alt text for the graph title

Don’t use text in an image if you can avoid it, and if you can’t avoid it, use the image alt text to repeat the text

There is an alt text decision tree at W3.org Website Accessibility Initiative. The link this is shown in the appendix on the SEO tools slide.

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Image SEO:�More on Images

Don’t indicate “image” or “picture” in the alt text.

Screen readers will do that for you

Don’t use alt text in “decorative” images (like my tacks).

Alt text is optional if the image is described in detail in the page text

Consider captions or page titles for some images.

When the visually able might also benefit from additional information, such as where a photo was taken
Captions are usually below the image, titles appear on hover

On the district 6 website we often quote conference approved literature and use an image of the cover as a link to the literature. We usually put the required credit at the bottom of the page and a similar credit in the image title

The Required credit is:

The above graphic is [graphics are] used with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

I’d suggest clearly indicating the picture (above or below) so AI can tell

Titles also appear when the user touches the image unless the image is a link, in which case the link is activated when you touch the image, so the title never appears on a touch screen only device.

If you read aa.org’s content use policy on their Terms of Use page you will see the following (quoting the AA Service Manual)

“Local A.A. publications are permitted to reprint the Steps, Traditions, and/or the Concepts, and to quote a phrase, sentence or brief paragraph excerpted from A.A. literature such as the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, The A.A. Service Manual and Conference-approved pamphlets without a prior, written request to do so. ..”

And the following in the FAQ

A.A. entities have permission to reprint thumbnail or larger-sized graphics of A.A. pamphlet covers for A.A. purposes only. Place the copyright symbol © next to the graphic and include the following credit line: The above graphic is [graphics are] used with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

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Links: Helping each other

“Used unselfishly and well, it can produce results surpassing our present imagination.”

-Bill W. AA Grapevine November 1960

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Link SEO�Back-link Principles

Back-links remain the best way for algorithms to determine to the quality of a webpage.
The Quality of links is also considered.

Links from pages and websites ranked as having higher “authority” count more for our page rankings.

Meanwhile, paid links or apparent link schemes can downgrade a page rank.

“Relevancy” is now as important as “authority.”

Relevancy is based on how the linking site’s theme relates to yours, which might be leveraged for AA websites since we can help each other.

Links embedded in the content and “editorial” links count for more.

Using the target page’s relevant words in the anchor text helps.
Having the target page’s keywords in the text near the link also helps but using exact keyword matches in the anchor text are indicators of possible link schemes.

Concepts drawn from backlinko.com

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Link SEO�Link Building Methods

Create and Promote high quality content

The District 6 Literature Committee is creating quality content and promoting it by regularly emailing contacts in the US and Canada.

Links from Partners

We are autonomous. We also work together on area committees and hosting assemblies.
The District 6 technology committee has made a motion to allow links to other districts in Area 15 on our contacts page and whenever our page content refers to a cooperative effort involving another district.
Once we pass that motion, we will ask other to districts follow suit, thus helping all of us with search engine visibility.

Put disclaimers on the page; don’t use redirect pages.

^{Adapted from www.wordstream.com}

1.

Consider appropriate ways of promoting content. Some is low hanging fruit, like promoting our GSR orientation page and video to all GSRs at our business meeting since it is it’s planned, scripted and entirely consistent month to month, perhaps unlike in-person orientation.

The technology committee is also making a video out of this presentation and the report from our Ad hoc committee on Hybrid Meetings. And I guess right now I’m promoting them.

2.

The District 6 website may include links to other districts in Area 15 including:

A listing of their contacts pages on our contacts page - or their home pages for districts who have no contacts page
Links to appropriate pages on other district’s websites when our website mentions cooperative activities including that district and District 6.

Referring back to the Bill W. quote which says “used unselfishly and well.” District 6 does not intend to limit our links to districts which link back to us. We can only control how we support others.

District 6 already links to GSO a lot and also Area 15. For the good of AA, we plan to improve those links in accordance with back-link principles discussed on the previous slide.

Area 15 has a current practice allowing links to South Florida Districts.

Area15 #649

In the spirit of cooperation, the Area 15 website shall include links to any Intergroup/District located within the Area that wishes to include their website on the Area 15 website. A disclaimer shall be located on the same page as the links.

Perhaps in cooperation with other committees, the Area 15 Website committee might consider creative ways to equitably link back to districts (more on that non-sequitur later)

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Link SEO�Social Media SEO

Reviews and Mentions

If you use social media, know how it influences your SEO.

Comments afford us an easy opportunity to link to our own page from an external site.
Comments and “likes” can help develop E.E.A.T. expertise for the channel and contributors.
Embedded YouTube videos do not include a like button or comments field.
Each embedded video from our YouTube channel adds over 6 megabytes of content to the page, which is calculated at about 5 seconds of page load time on a cell phone.

^{Adapted from www.wordstream.com}

Develop a balance between best tactical SEO practices for your social media and strategic goals as an AA service organization.
Use Social media “open graph” meta tags to control how your page will look on social media if anyone posts a link.

This is how aa.org presents itself on Facebook

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Link SEO:

Internal Linking Structure

Ideally, pages on the site are interconnected.

And linked not only through the navigation menu.
Green arrows represent “structural links.”
Red arrows represent “contextual links”

Site architecture:

There is a hierarchy with a top-level Home page.
This is followed by main topics then by detailed pages.
Pages on the same or even different levels can be linked to one another.

^{Adapted from moz.com}

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Link SEO:

Internal Linking Example

The concept of internal linking is easily demonstrated by using an SEO site as an example.

Beneath the home page, each “circle” represents a broad topic.

Within each broad topic are more detailed topics, each of which might have its own page or “blog.”

Some topics offer natural opportunities for internal links:

Some are in multiple circles
Others complement each other or appear together in SERPs

^{Adapted from www.wordstream.com}

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Link SEO:�Internal Linking Tech

You can use exact keyword matches in anchor text for internal links

But if you have multiple internal links to the same page, mix up the anchor text.

Contextual internal links send authority to the linked page.

Internal links aren’t as effective as external links, but we have control of adding them as soon as we have a contextual connection.

Best practice tactic: Link from the best performing pages on your site to other pages.

The best performing pages pass more authority, but make sure the content on linked pages is relevant.

Consider how pages are listed in the navigation menu.

SERPs based on internal links often show the anchor text from the first link to that page. The first link to our committee pages is often in the navigation menu.
Search for your pages on Google to see how their SERP appears.

^{Adapted from backlinko.com}

Google flags exact keyword matches for externals links as possible indicators of link schemes, but not for internal links. However, repeating the same text in an anchor link can look spammy and you might as well take advantage of your opportunities to match different possible searches.

I used our district 6 literature page earlier in this presentation as an example for meta page title and descriptions because the committee is very active. As such their workshops are constantly in the announcements section of our home page. It depends how you search, but the SERP for our literature page is more likely to come up with the word Literature as the title, coming from the nav menu, and the description with the page description coming from the home page announcements section. I have a couple of ideas for work-arounds, but I’ve not tried them or searched for information and they’re based on coding tricks. so that’s why I’m saying to search for information about your theme to see if there is a solution, but search for your pages first to discover if there are any problems. Your theme might already be set up to avoid the problem.

Irrelevant links disguised as contextual might damage the authority of your high performing page

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Suggestions

“While our literature has preserved the integrity of the A.A. message, sweeping changes in society as a whole are reflected in new customs and practices within the Fellowship.”

-Alcoholics Anonymous, Foreword to Fourth Edition pg. xxiv

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Suggestions:�Get a Site Audit

Site audits help by cataloging issues to address, including:

Broken links
Page titles and meta data
Sitemaps with change dates and update frequency
Image “maps” with filenames and alt text

There are several free site audits available:

Google has one, (https://search.google.com/search-console/about) but it takes a day to get the report.
Yoast covers many SEO needs in WordPress.
Many high-priced tools have free options which include the basics listed above.

The SEO Tools slide near the end of this presentation includes some options.

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Suggestions:�Optimize PDFs

Search Engines read PDFs. PDFs should be optimized like textual content and use reduced file size like images.

Text optimization includes using keywords, a main header and section headers as well as a table of contents for longer documents.
Create unique content; don’t duplicate of one of your web pages.

A rich description in the page text around or next to the link can help SEO and user interest

Reduce file size when saving:

Consider using greyscale images.

^{Reference: experienceleague.adobe.com}

Search “Optimize PDFs for SEO Acrobat Tutorials” for a step-by-step guide from Adobe.

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Suggestions:�Natural Linking Opportunities

Link down the service triangle to add SEO authority

Links to Area assembly flyers and the delegate’s corner are important to any District GSR or DCM page.

Any service-related workshops are worth promoting within service entities.

The Meeting Guide app, our Service manual, and free to read conference approved literature are commonly linked GSO pages.

Most committees have one or more relevant pages and pamphlets available at aa.org.

As website committees, we can use internal links listing recent updates to pages on our sites.

We can also endorse the committee efforts and page content.
A “coming soon” section can also inspire repeat visits or interest in service opportunities.

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Suggestions: SEO Driven Content�Examples of Working Together

Are there synergies between committees which can be leveraged for internal links?

Can we get committees involved in identifying common ground or ways they can identify the other as the expert in a particular niche?

Can District committees work cooperatively at the area level?

For example, the Area 15 website committee could add a page about business meeting procedures for new GSRs and DCMs including where to find support materials on the Area 15 website.

District GSR and DCM pages could link to this Area page.
The area page could indicate (link to) District GSR and DCM pages as where to find similar information specific to each district.
The Area website committee could also provide a format or example for districts which don’t already have a GSR or DCM page.

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Strategy: How AA Works

“Suppose, for instance, that during the last twenty-five years A.A. had never published any standard literature…no books, no pamphlets. We need little imagination to see that by now our message would be hopelessly garbled.”

-Bill W. The Language of the Heart, p. 348

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Strategy:�Guiding Principles

Be Willing to do the work. In addition to technical SEO, this can include helping create content and getting content approved.

Be Honest in representing our website content to search engines and people using them. Also honestly represent our intentions to our fellow trusted servants in our districts and area.

Be Open-minded regarding new content, expanding connections and adopting advancements in communication technology.

Appendix II Spiritual Experience, page 568 in the 4^th edition

Regarding this type of Honesty,

If you look at the District 6 Current practices motion #390 states:

“Content for the District 6 website shall include and be limited to:” (followed by a list)

Similarly, the Area 15 Book of Current Practices, motion #644 states:

“Content shall include and be limited to:” (followed by a list)

As such, the website committee’s right of decision is confined within what the body of district 6 has approved.

Further,

#531 of 9/2014

“To use the Legacy of Service document to update each committee web page on the district6aa.org website with the Composition, Scope and Procedure…”

There was actually a minor battle whether there could be anything else on committee web pages

This leads to…(next slide)

A15 649 04/2009 In the spirit of cooperation, the Area 15 website shall include links to any

Intergroup/District located within the Area that wishes to include their website on

the Area 15 website. A disclaimer shall be located on the same page as the links.

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Strategy: �SEO Strategy Questions

Answer these and more questions:

Who is our target audience?

Geographic | Demographic | Content
Does this differ page to page?

What level of uniformity do we want?

We use “District 6 [name] Committee” as a uniform page title for committees, but optimal SEO uses keywords related to content

Current Practice and Autonomy

Are we restricted regarding content? Can we link to each other? Can we change?

^{Researched at www.searchenginejournal.com}

the colossus of modern communication. For Bill W was the printing press with a lot of editing review along the way. Bill’s target audience was anyone, anywhere. What about us? Are there lanes we need to stay in?

At the District and Area levels, we are Geographically local, or at best regional

- Demographically, we first and foremost we want to reach alcoholics in service. Do we have Content for other alcoholics, such as meeting lists or 12th step support?

- We might have varying audiences by committee. Public Information might want visibility to still suffering alcoholics, our Treatment and Corrections committees want to reach recovered alcoholics in service outside the structure of the General Service Conference. In District 6, our Literature committee is creating content with no geographic boundaries, the target audience is anyone who is in general service, interested in Conference approved literature or sponsoring another alcoholic and hopefully not too many who are using recordings as a sponsor but they could do worse. (my opinion and experience).

The bottom lines, do we stay in our lane? Do we direct our audience to the correct site if they want a meeting?

- Do we draw a line for attraction, not promotion in Service? Tradition 12 is about HUMILITY expressed through anonymity. How much “sizzle” do we use to promote our product

Of course, there is a lot more to a typical business strategy, such as

+ setting measurable goals and having a measurement process in place.

+ budget

+ team and training*

+ Drive content creation to suit SEO needs*

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Strategy: �Message Styles

Google now seeks a complex array of indicators that signal the expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)

Consumer (such as GSRs) vs. Influencer (such as Sponsors of Future GSRs)

Are we reaching members who focus on twelfth step work? Should we?

Attracting traffic regardless of relevancy

Brand or Word-of-mouth benefit

Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content, so-called for the serious implications it can have on a searcher’s livelihood.

I’m going to work up from the bottom up on this slide

YMYL – I’ve certainly heard plenty of My Meetings or My Life. It’s not out the question for us to be tempted to remind members “You have to give it away to keep it.” The bottom line when it comes to YMYL is simple: Make sure that any content on your website will help, not hurt, the people who consume it.

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Attracting traffic regardless of relevancy is not uncommon in paid advertising. They don’t worry as much about back button strikes because they pay for advertising. Their goal is for people to remember the brand to use or refer later.

“we think A.A. ought to avoid sensational advertising” – Tradition 11

-----this along with consumer vs. influencer strategies might be part of SAMHSA goal. --------

People searching for AA Service organizations are hopefully less likely to need SAMHSA’s service, but we also might be more likely to be known in our community as someone to ask for help.

For our websites, we might even consider how we reach recovered alcoholics who are not yet in General service. For example, do use our former colleagues in service as Influencers at the group level? How do we encourage GSRs or support DCMs in their roles as influencers?

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Finally E-A-T is about the Value, Reliability, and Integrity of the content.

This is our goal with most of our content.

However, even when we deliver such content, anonymity does limit us in some ways. Google looks for “expert” authors and part of how they are defined as experts is how they are presented on the page. We have Tradition 11 conflicts regarding specific identification of authors and tradition 12 conflicts with aggrandizing them.

Tactically, it’s a no brainer. We use first name and last initial and attach service resumes to presentations like this hoping to build a Google reputation. Strategically, right of decision is within certain bounds..

Sensationalism

Expertise

Demonstrating your expertise is especially important in certain niches. The folks at Google want the content on these sites to be written by subject matter experts (SMEs) – people who possess the necessary knowledge and understanding of the field to talk deeply about a specific topic.

“Some topics require less formal expertise. Many people write extremely detailed, helpful reviews of products or restaurants. Many people share tips and life experiences on forums, blogs, etc.. These ordinary people may be considered experts in topics where they have life experience.

Authoritativeness

When Google talks about authority, it’s talking about reputation. The stronger your reputation as a knowledge source is within your circle of industry experts, the greater your authority. When Google sets its raters on your website, they will scour the internet for signals of your authority in your given subject area. They will look in news articles, reviews, references, and even Wikipedia articles.

Make it Likable And Linkable

Another element that signals authoritativeness on your webpage is linkability. Links – especially the quality of those links – continue to be a top-ranking factor.

This is no secret. For years, we’ve heard links compared to votes, where the more votes you get, the more authoritative (or popular) you are.

Trustworthiness

You want people to trust in your brand or business and be willing to endorse or buy from you. One way to increase your trustworthiness is by highlighting the credentials of your content creators and the website. Think awards, testimonials, endorsements, and other trust factors.

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What Is High-Quality Content?

your top priority should be creating content that your target audience wants or needs – content that offers true value

Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T).

Including a descriptive or helpful title

A positive reputation as a website and for the creator of the main content.

Secondary content does not distract from main content.

The creator of the main content can’t have a good reputation if they are anonymous

Identify Your Authors With A Byline And Bio

Identify All Your Content Contributors

About Us and Contact Us page in either your main or footer navigation

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Closing

“Whenever anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help.”

- I am Responsible

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Who is Responsible?

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SEO Tools�(Area 15 and District 6 are not affiliated to these sites)

Current ranking factors: https://firstpagesage.com/seo-blog/the-google-algorithm-ranking-factors/ (BACK)

Free (contribution-based) SSL Certificate: https://letsencrypt.org/ (BACK)

Robots.txt: https://moz.com/learn/seo/robotstxt (BACK)

Keyword research: https://www.ryrob.com/keyword-tool/ (BACK)

Mobile First Index: https://technicalseo.com/tools/mobile-first-index/ (BACK)

Page Speed tool: https://pagespeed.web.dev/ (BACK)

Accessibility fundamentals: https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/ (BACK)

Local Business schema: https://localranking.com/blog/google-my-business-no-physical-address (BACK)

Alt text decision tree: https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/ (BACK)

Page crawlers: https://www.guru99.com/web-crawling-tools.html (BACK)

One Page at a Time Free Technical site audit: https://www.seoptimer.com/ (BACK)

SEO Audit Checklist: https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-audit/ (BACK)

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Research Credits �(Area 15 and District 6 are not affiliated to these resources)

FirstPageSage.com

www.WordStream.com

developer.mozilla.org

accessibility.huit.harvard.edu

www.w3.org/WAI

www.searchenginejournal.com

gs.StatCounter.com

moz.com

blog.hubspot.com

developers.google.com

UXDesignInstitute.com

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Questions?�

Technology@District6AA.org