Supported by the Australian Government and the NBN Initiative we have been training local Sydney & Wollongong businesses in the high level basics of Search Engine Optimisation and general web marketing. From feedback from attendees our overview points have almost immediately achieved rankings boosts for their website in almost any type of niche or industry. For more information visit us at http://www.aftershock.com.au or http://www.aftershockit.com.au

1. SEO BASICS
INTRODUCTION TO
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
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This entire document is Copyright © 2012 Aftershock Solutions Pty Ltd

2. CONGRATULATIONS!
IT’S A WEBSITE…
What is the purpose of your website?
• Imparting Information
• A Blog Comment
• Getting a ‘Like’ or new ‘Friend’?
• After Leads/Enquiries?
• After Bookings?
• After Sales?
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3. HOW WILL YOU GET TRAFFIC
TO YOUR WEBSITE?
• Business Card with Web Address
• Printed Material with Web Address
• Newspaper, Magazine, Radio or TV Ad with Web Address
• Yellow Pages Ad with Web Address
• Car or Business Signage with Web Address
• Business Networking
• Social Media
• Web Directory (eg… Wotif, Accomline, Tourism Site etc…)
• Internet Search Engines (like: Google, Yahoo! & Bing)
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4. CURRENT SEARCHES
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0 50 100 150 200
2009
2010
2011
2012
Monthly Australian Searches
62 million
88 million
180 million
118 million

5. CURRENT SEARCHES
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0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%
Others
Yahoo
Bing
Google
Search Engine Usage (AU – Sept 2013)
1.21%
5.17%
92.91%
0.71%

6. HOW DO I GET ON THE
FIRST PAGE?
• PAID: Pay Per Click (eg… Google AdWords)
• ORGANIC: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
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7. PAY PER CLICK (PPC)
• Usually but not limited to paying an amount per click
received.
• Price is determined by the competition for that word.
• Can be great for getting a new website onto the front page,
before it is ‘crawled’ by a search engine.
• Regardless it can be expensive.
• Click Cost for ‘Kiama Accommodation’
• $5 bid per click
• $20 daily budget
• Avg position about 2.78
• Approx clicks = 6.44 per day
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8. WHAT’S THE
DIFFERENCE?
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9. WHAT IS SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is:
The process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a
web site from search engines via ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ search
results for targeted keywords.
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Source: Wikipedia

10. WHY IMPORTANT?
Generally, the earlier a site is presented in ‘organic’ search
results or the higher it ranks, the more visits that site will
receive.
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11. WHY ORGANIC?
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Click Thru Rates on First Page Search Results:
Source: Search Engine Watch
PAID
ORGANIC
25%
75%

12. FIRST THINGS FIRST
Before you do ANYTHING you need to work out what
keywords or key-phrases you will be targeting.
• How realistic & relevant is the query?
• What physical area (if any) will you be targeting?
• Will target customers search it?
• Is there enough volume for that query?
• Is it already too competitive?
• Who is the competition: big brands, booking sites?
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13. WHY DO I NEED TO DO
SEO?
Search engines are smart, but they still need help.
The major engines are always working towards improving
their technology to crawl the web more deeply and return
better results to users.
However, there is a limit to how search engines can operate.
Whereas the right SEO can net you thousands of visitors and
attention, the wrong moves can hide or bury your site deep in
the search results where visibility is minimal.
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14. TRAFFIC ESTIMATOR
Google Search: “Google Keyword Planner”
https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home
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15. TRAFFIC ESTIMATOR
Google Average Searches per Month:
• Kiama Accommodation 5,400
• Accommodation Kiama 1,300
• Accommodation in Kiama 480
• Kiama Motels 320
• Accommodation Kiama NSW 140
• Motels Kiama 90
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16. FIRST THINGS FIRST
A draftsman in Kiama wants to optimise his site:
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Kiama House Plans
Sydney House Plans
House Plans

17. BUT TAKE NOTE:
Please understand that Search Engine Optimisation is:
• NOT an overnight fix.
• Usually it takes between 1 and 3 months to see a return.
• Can have long tail benefits, but ranks can also drop
overnight.
• Is an ongoing process (eg Competition, Staleness,
Changes in Algorithms).
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18. HOW TO RANK
ORGANICALLY
Two main factors affect organic rankings:
1) On-page Optimisation
2) Off-page Optimisation
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19. ON-PAGE
OPTIMISATION
Simply put, these are elements of YOUR web page which
when evaluated together calculate a ranking for a particular
search term or phrase.
You or your web designer should be able to make changes to
these website elements to (hopefully) boost web ranking
results.
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20. WEB PAGE ELEMENTS
Some elements are seen by humans, others only seen by
search engine ‘crawlers’ or ‘robots’ all combine to produce a
rating for your website for a particular search term.
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21. SIDENOTE: CHECKING
YOUR SOURCE CODE
In the Toolbar Locate “View Source”
Right Click on the Webpage’s Background -> “View Source”
• In Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome = [CTRL] + U
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22. MAIN ELEMENTS
• Title
• Description
• Heading <H> Tags
• Image ALT Tags
• Descriptive Page URLs
• Content
• Freshness
Our test example will focus on “Newcastle Accommodation”
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23. TITLE TAG IN A
BROWSER
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24. TITLE TAG IN A
SEARCH ENGINE
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25. META DESCRIPTION
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Code:
Search Engine Result:

26. USAGE OF META
DESCRIPTION TAG
• If you don’t have one a search engine will use the first text
it can find…
• Needs to be a balance between utilising key search terms
with making it compelling to click on…
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27. <H> HEADING TAGS
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28. <H> HEADING TAGS
USAGE
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• Should not just say “Welcome to Our Website”
• One <H1> tag per page
• One (Two Max) <H2> tags per page
• Any number of <H3> per page (less important)
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29. IMAGE <ALT> TAGS
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Code:

30. DESCRIPTIVE DOMAIN
NAMES
Can a descriptive (or targeted) domain name give me a boost
in search engine results?
A: No, no longer.
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31. DESCRIPTIVE PAGE
URLS
Once on your website ALL page urls (addresses) should be
descriptive – and where possible infuse your keywords…
Poor (Useless):
• http://toddsplumbing.com.au/subpage.php?=145
Better:
• http://toddsplumbing.com.au/hot-water-systems.php
Best:
• http://toddsplumbing.com.au/plumbing-services/hot-water-systems.php
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32. USE_UNDERSCORE OR
USE-HYPHEN?
Short answer - Use a hyphen.
An underscore is considered a word joiner, so having the url:
red_sneakers is read as redsneakers to Google – not so effective…
A hyphen is a word seperator.
Best:
• http://toddsplumbing.com.au/plumbing-services/hot-water-systems.php
Don’t go home and break your site trying to convert 3, 5, 50 pages
across, but Google has confirmed there is a minor search benefit.
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33. CONTENT IS KING
Content refers primarily to the text you use.
It also generally refers to images and other multimedia that
might be used).
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Google’s goal is to match each search query
with the best, unique content.

34. IS IT A
COMPETITIVE TERM?
If there is a lot of competition for a keyword, then Google
may place more emphasis on the freshness of your page.
A blog can help with this.
(See examples)
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35. CONTENT TIPS
Bring more to the front page.
Aim for around 200-300 words on the main page.
Make it readable, don’t just throw in huge blocks of text.
Make it interesting to read.
Infuse your keywords and phrases.
A blog with the last two entries also appearing on the main
page (with links to more) is an excellent way of feeding
fresh, varied and relevant content to search engines.
Alternatives are a ‘What’s On’ Calendar, Latest Events,
Latest Specials, Latest News…
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36. BLACK HAT SEO
Refers to websites that ‘SPAM’ their site with chosen
Keywords. These are progressively found by Search Engines
and either demoted or banned entirely.
Example is a website’s footer that has something like:
Kiama Accommodation, Accommodation Kiama, Acomodation Kiama,
Accomodation Kiama, Kiama Motel, Kiama B&B, Kiama Apartments,
Stay in Kiama, Accommodation in Kiama, etc..
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37. ARE MANY MORE FACTORS
TO GOOD SEO…
• Page Load Speed
• W3C Code Validation
• Google Tools Setup
• Robots.txt Creation
• RSS Feeds
• Bolding Text
• Bulletpoint Lists
• Internal Links
• Duplicate Content
• Keyword Density
• Checking for Broken Links
• Age of Domain Name…
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38. CASE STUDY
Google: “Newcastle Accommodation”
• Monthly Searches: 4,400
• Competition: High
• Check:
1st (1) Wotif
11th (2) Noah’s On The Beach
44th (5) The Burwood Inn
97th (10) Cardiff Motor Inn
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39. GOING OVERBOARD.
Latest Google algorithm focused on good content and on
finding and penalising keyword spammers and those who
have ‘over-optimised’ their websites.
Since 2012 the focus is on FRESH, ENGAGING CONTENT.
Algorithm updates in the last month are further focusing on
interpreting what the user is searching for and providing
relevant content that answers their query or string of queries.
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40. GOING OVERBOARD.
Sometimes changes you make will send you backward down
the rankings…
It happens.
Keep a record of changes you make to the website –
especially if structurally based so that you can go back and
try a different tack (or lesser number of changes).
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41. OFF-PAGE ELEMENTS
A little trickier to manage, as these refer to items OUTSIDE of
your web page over which you may have little to no control.
However you can positively influence these factors.
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42. OFF-PAGE ELEMENTS
They include:
• Backlinks to your website (from other Websites)
• Links from Social Media (ie Twitter, Facebook, YouTube…)
These provide search engines with an ‘impression’ of how
popular or important you are.
BUT Don’t go and buy links to your site…
Tricks:
• Guest Blogging, Expert Comments on Forums
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43. IMPORTANT SEARCH
ENGINES:
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44. VARIABLES
AFFECTING RESULTS
Can include things like:
• User’s Browsing History
• User’s Location
• Variations to Terms
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45. YOU’RE #1,
CONGRATS…
It’s great to be first or in first place for your chosen
keyword(s), but what’s the user experience like once they get
to your site?
• You typically have 4 seconds to engage a user.
• Is it appropriate to the expectations of YOUR target
market?
• On average a website receives about 1.8 pages visited a
visit. That’s only just a second page on your site.
• Are Your Contact Details Clear (Suggest in Header)?
• Does your site have effective Calls To Action?
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46. DO IT NOW!
If you haven’t already:
Setup Google Analytics for your Website.
http://www.google.com.au/analytics/
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47. DO IT NOW!
If you have setup Analytics:
Access Them & Learn HOW to Read the Reports.
Look at the Keywords People Use to Find You.
Setup Goal Tracking to Record when Key Events Happen.
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48. QUESTIONS TO ASK:
• What will you do to optimise my website for search
engines?
• How soon do you think I will appear on search engines?
• How might you speed it up?
• Have they asked for your targeted keywords?
• Personal Comment: Be wary of anyone who can promise
you’ll be Number 1 for sure…
• Personal Comment: Be wary of monthly ‘open-ended’
plans for SEO.
• Do, Do DO! Check references, what websites are they
currently doing work on? Where are they ranking?
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49. MAIN THOUGHT TO
TAKE-AWAY…
The recent Search Engine algorithm changes by Google have
put more power in your hands:
1. Create Compelling, Targeted Content
2. Keep it Fresh
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50. THANK
YOU.
INTRODUCTION TO
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
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