inbound 2017: back to our roots with technical seo

@SWallaceSEO | #INBOUND17

B A C K T O O U R R O O T S W I T H T E C H N I C A L S E O

Stephanie Wallace Senior Director, Search Engine Optimization

Back to Our Roots With Technical SEO

S T E P H A N I E W A L L A C ESenior Director, SEO Nebo

• The SEO Cycle

• Embrace Our Roots

• Baseline Technical Skills

• What To Learn Now

• How To Stay Ahead

A G E N D A

The Virtuous Cycle of SEO

All Trends Go Through Cycles

The Same Cycles Apply to SEO

SEOs started as “Webmasters”.

But, there were problems…

And frustrated users.

Google had to evolve.

The role of an SEO changed.

“SEO is dead”.

Enough said.

Is this real?

Content is king!

They are wrong.

Technology + Content

3.5 billionSearches Per Day On Google

- I N T E R N E T L I V E S TAT S

500-600

- M O Z G O O G L E A L G O R I T H M H I S T O R Y

Google Algorithm Updates Per Year

+200Ranking Factors, Each With Up To 50

Variations

Of Online Experiences Start

With A Search93%- S E A R C H E N G I N E J O U R N A L

Technical SEO is paramount

Embracing Our Technical Roots1

Death of SEO = Birth of Content as King

NEED IMAGE

This is not about learning to code

NEED IMAGE

Well, not exactly…

Web developers are magical

How does web development work?

Magic.

You need to know how things work

Don’t be this guy

Start curious

Establish a Baseline of Technical Skills2

Google Analytics

TRACK & MEASURE WEBSITE DATAUse data to make informed business decisions

Google Analytics

Google AnalyticsDig into your data to measure performance of marketing activities.

HTML & CSS

THE FOUNDATION OF THE WEB The languages used to explain your content to browsers & make it stylish

HTML & CSS

HTML & CSSLearn how to build a beautiful webpage.

www.codeacademy.com

JavaScript

CREATE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS ON YOUR WEBSITEBring HTML & CSS to life

JavaScript

Learn how to build a dynamic webpage. JavaScript

JavaScriptLearn how to build a dynamic webpage.

www.codeacademy.com

SQL Structured Query Language

LEARN HOW TO WORK WITH RELATIONAL DATABASES

To manipulate data and build queries that communicate with more than one table

Easily parse data to pull out insights that help inform marketing & more. SQL

www.codeacademy.com

MySQL for Excel

PULL PROCESSED QUERY DATA INTO EXCELTo browse MySQL Schemas, Tables, Views and Procedures and perform data operations

MySQL for Excel

Big data needs more than a million rows. MySQL for Excel

Schema

STRUCTURED DATA MARKUP

Schema

Annotates specific elements on a page making them easier for search engines to understand

Schema.org is the complete resource for supported tags & microdata vocabulary. Schema

Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to generate code. Schema

Tools & Technology to Learn Now3

MarkdownMarkdown

USE A PLAIN TEXT EDITOR & MARKDOWNTo bypass the need for a developer

Markdown

H1s & H2s

Markdown

Bulleted & Numbered Lists

Markdown

Block Quotes

Markdown

https://goo.gl/tJvCfi

Markdown

dillinger.io

Markdown

dillinger.io

Paste Markdown here

Markdown

dillinger.io

Paste Markdown here View HTML here

Export as HTML here Markdown

Paste Markdown here View HTML here

dillinger.io

MarkdownCreate the HTML of your dreams.

Install Sublime Text

Install Markdown Editing

Use Online Preview or Install a Viewer

• Online Preview: dillinger.io

• Viewer: Marked 2

Process

Markdown

Process

Markdown

Process

Markdown

Process

Markdown

https://goo.gl/cFuJLc

Google Tag Manager

MANAGE SITE TAGS VIA CENTRAL INTERFACESeparate from the source code a website

Google Tag Manager

1. Tag: A snippet of code (usually JavaScript) added to a page

2. Trigger: Defines when & where tags are fired

3. Variables: Receive or store information to be used by tags & triggers;

these impact what data is collected

Basic Components:

Google Tag Manager

Use CaseImplement structured data markup using Google Tag Manager.

New Tag > Custom HTML

Use CaseDynamically insert J-SON LD on all pages you define.

Paste Code

Use CaseDynamically insert J-SON LD on all pages you define.

Define Trigger Pages

Use CaseVerify via Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.

Why is Tag Manager Awesome?

Google Tag Manager

Make site changes without developers

Implement Structured Data Markup

Analyze form abandonment

Track off-site downloads

Measure scroll depth & dwell time

Merge Google Analytics & CRM data

Change the World

Google Tag Manager

Change the World

Google Tag Manager

Change the World

Google Tag Manager

Change the World

Google Tag Manager

Change the World

Google Tag Manager

Change the World

Google Tag Manager

Developer Tools

EVALUATE THE CODE ON ANY WEBPAGETo efficiently track issues & get insights for code optimization

Developer Tools

Understand the code on any webpage.

Developer Tools

Understand the code on any webpage. Developer Tools

Check header responses for directives such as x-robots, rel=canonical, etc. Developer Tools

Quickly change elements on any webpage to illustrate recommendations Developer Tools

Quickly change elements on any webpage to illustrate recommendations. Use Case

Why is this my favorite non-SEO tool?

Developer Tools

Favorite Tool

It’s built into your browser

Audits pages as they load to provide recommendations for decreasing load time & increasing responsiveness

Allows you to view webpages via different devices, all from your desktop

Has a built in user agent switcher

Developer Tools

Favorite Tool

Developer Tools

Favorite Tool

Developer Tools

Favorite Tool

GTmetrix

ANALYZE SITE SPEED & MAKE IT FASTERBecause site speed matters… a lot

GTmetrix

GTmetrixGet actionable, detailed information on what’s slowing your site down & how to improve it.

Using all of the data available, prioritize implementation based on overall impact.

GTmetrix

GTmetrixWhy not use Google PageSpeed?

Google PageSpeed does not actually measure the speed of your site.

Why is page speed analysis important for SEO?

GTmetrix

Speed Matters

Site speed, and in turn page speed, is your first impression with consumers

47% of users expect a site to load in less than 2 seconds*

50% of users will abandon your site entirely if takes longer than 3 seconds*

Site speed is a confirmed ranking factor *Stats courtesy of Kissmetrics.com

GTmetrixSite speed, and in turn page speed, is your first impression with consumers

Site speed is a confirmed ranking factor *Stats courtesy of DoubleClick by Google

Speed Matters

Log File Analyzer by Screaming Frog

IDENTIFY CRAWLED URLS & ANALYZE BOT DATATo uncover invaluable SEO insights

Log File Analyzer

Your log files contain the only data that is 100% accurate in terms of how search engines are crawling your site.

Log File Analyzer

Upload your log files to uncover how search engines are crawling & parsing your site.

Log File Analyzer

Verify search engine bots, identify crawled URLs and analyze bot data & behavior.

Log File Analyzer

Identify large & slow pages, identify header response errors and redirects that need to be resolved.

Log File Analyzer

Why is log analysis so valuable?

Log File Analyzer

Log Analysis

Too many response code errors create crawl budget waste, which can negatively impact your rankings

Ensure search engines are crawling everything you want indexed

Correcting the problems found in your logs will lead to higher rankings, more traffic, & more conversions / sales

Log File Analyzer

Log Analysis

Log File Analyzer

Log Analysis

Log File Analyzer

INTEGRATE TOOLS & APPLICATIONSTo streamline processes & make data easier to work with

APIsAPI: Application Programming Interface

Your APP / Program

Data Request

Your APP / Program

Data Request

Your APP / Program

Data Request

APIsLearn how to make applications talk to each other.

www.codeacademy.com

Use CaseUncover hidden keyword level data using Google Sheets & APIs.

But why would I use an API?

Many of the tools & platforms you already use have APIs you can leverage

APIs can help make existing data convenient & consumable

Scale productivity by automating robotic processes

Integrate

Accelerated Mobile Pages AMP

REDUCE CONTENT LOAD TIME ON MOBILE DEVICESWith AMP HTML pages served via Google

AMPAMP has been integrated into primary search results pages.

AMP design & compatibility should be a consideration if organic traffic from Google represents a significant amount of total visits.

Regular Page

wwwInbound.com

Hosted AMP

Inbound.comAMP

Cached AMP

Inbound.comgstatic

rel=“canonical”

rel=“amphtml”

AMPHow Accelerated Mobile Pages work.

1. Increased traffic through higher visibility

2. Improved UX

3. Higher CTR & engagement metrics

4. Up to 80% higher ad visibility rates

1. Can be very difficult to implement

2. Offers limited functionality compared to the main site

Queries for news, recipes, ecommerce & more generate AMP results. AMP

AMPWhy should I get AMP’d?

All About Mobile

Nearly 60% of searches are performed on Mobile

Speed matters: users expect sites to load in 2 seconds or less

Advice from Google’s Gary Isles: “Pay attention to AMP. It’s going to be really big. Figure out…how to implement it.”

It will most likely* become a ranking signal *Yes, this is speculation…but trust me!

All About Mobile

Progressive Web Apps PWAs

AN APP LIKE MOBILE EXPERIENCEFaster, lighter, & more personalized

Progressive Web Apps are user experiences that have the reach of the web.

They are reliable, fast, & engaging.

Always fresh.

Universal - available on iOS and Android.

Push notifications.

Connectivity independent to ensure PWAs work with low quality or no connection.

Do I need a PWA?

Probably not…

You don’t need one: most websites don't need to be able to behave like an app

If you have an app it may be worth switching to a PWA

You may need one: your site offers real-time data

You may need one: your audience is likely to pull content to browse offline, such as a news app or a blog publishing many articles a day

Progress

How To Stay Ahead of the Curve4

Establish a baseline of skills

Remember

Don’t be this guy

Stay up to date on MarTech trends

Push your tools

Be prepared to execute it yourself

Thank You! | Q&A

Stephanie Wallace Senior Director of SEO Nebo

@SWallaceSEO | #Inbound17

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