Keywords Aren't Dead, That's Bull - Debunking The Myths. Brighton SEO September 2016 talk from Laura Hogan. Understand the five common myths surrounding the use of keywords within SEO and just why they're wrong! From anchor text, to keyword research and URL structure; learn why keywords are as vital as ever in today's SEO strategy.

1. @lauralouise90
keywords aren’t dead...
that’s bull!
debunking the myths

2. @lauralouise90

3. @lauralouise90
why the fuss about
keywords?

4. @lauralouise90

5. @lauralouise90

6. @lauralouise90
debunking
the myths

7. myth 1
onsite exact match
anchor text no longer
works
@lauralouise90

8. 24% ctr from anchor text interlinking
@lauralouise90

9. not only that…
they rank top of google for
‘corporate retreats’ without link
building
@lauralouise90

10. on-site anchor text
@lauralouise90
birmingham
jewellery
quarter
birmingham jewellery
quarter
12
20
5
6

11. ranking increases across the board
birmingham jewellery quarter
ranking on page one
@lauralouise90

12. think about keywords within
your on-site content.
anchor text still works,
don’t be scared to use it.
@lauralouise90

13. myth 2
keyword research is a
waste of time
@lauralouise90

14. www.yourwebsitename.com14
1.17B
@lauralouise90
40K searches every second
unique users
Brandwatch
on google alone there’s

15. 15
you need to
know what
people are
actually
searching for
@lauralouise90

16. 16
the terms you think people are using may be
jargon
especially if you’re a b2b business
@lauralouise90

17. keyword research is the
foundation of your strategy
you need to know
how people search
@lauralouise90

18. myth 3
only target high search
volume keywords
@lauralouise90

19. 19
high competition
& searches…
yet conversion
is low
@lauralouise90
engagement rings
246,000
uk monthly searches

20. 20
average of 35,000
searches
conversion is
higher
@lauralouise90
sapphire engagement rings
cushion cut engagement rings
princess cut engagement rings
halo engagement rings
solitaire engagement rings
yellow diamond engagement rings

21. half of all
search queries
contain four or
more words
@lauralouise90
Wordstream

22. 22
think questions
@lauralouise90
who?
what?
why?
where?
when?
how?

23. 23
optimise your category
& product pages
use your content
@lauralouise90

24. ranking for a number of low
volume keywords may have
more value than one highly
searched keyword
@lauralouise90

25. myth 4
meta descriptions have
no value
@lauralouise90

26. average user
attention span
is 8 seconds
@lauralouise90
The Telegraph

27. 27
if what users see in the serps is relevant to
their search, they’re more likely to click…
so put your keywords in
@lauralouise90

28. although google states that meta
descriptions aren’t a ranking
factor, I’ve seen the opposite
@lauralouise90

29. exclusive terms now on page one
@lauralouise90

30. 30
@lauralouise90
change of meta description, to include
keyword variation led to a 10 position ranking
increase & sales improvement for cemap
courses

31. continue to use meta
descriptions as part of
your strategy: there’s
ranking value in them
@lauralouise90

32. myth 5
urls don’t need keywords
or a hierarchy
@lauralouise90

33. 33
@lauralouise90
over 46 billion pages are
indexed in google
that’s a lot of competition
worldwidewebsize

34. 34
@lauralouise90
a flat architecture doesn’t show
hierarchy or page relationship

35. 35
@lauralouise90
a clear and planned structure spells out
exactly how pages are related and their
importance

36. 36
@lauralouise90
think about how your urls
read too….
worldwidewebsize

37. @lauralouise90
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Browse/ID72/37907
969/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome+and+gard
en%7C33005908/c_2/2%7Ccat_33005908%7CLi
ghting%7C37907969.htm?tag=ar:cat:homeandgar
den:homeandgardencontenteditorialblock6:slot9:
vbhomelighting

38. @lauralouise90
http://www.habitat.co.uk/lighting

39. 39
@lauralouise90
argos rank in position 7
habitat rank in position 2
worldwidewebsize

40. over 300 page one rankings
@lauralouise90

41. stop using poor urls
friendly ones are better
for the user too!
@lauralouise90

42. takeaways
@lauralouise90

43. think outside the box with your research
target low search volume keywords for
conversion
interlink your onsite content & use exact
match
put keywords in your meta descriptions
use friendly urls & a hierarchy
@lauralouise90

44. @lauralouise90
thank you