Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
An Hour a Day, 3rd Edition
Author: Jennifer Grappone, Gradiva Couzin
The third edition of the bestselling guide to do-it-yourself SEO
Getting seen on the first page of search engine result pages is crucial for businesses and online marketers. Search engine optimization helps improve Web site rankings, and it is often complex and confusing. This task-based, hands-on guide covers the concepts and trends and then lays out a day-by-day strategy for developing, managing, and measuring a successful SEO plan. With tools you can download and case histories to illustrate key points, it’s the perfect solution for busy marketers, business owners, and others whose jobs include improving Web site traffic.
• A successful SEO plan is vital to any business with an online presence
• This book provides strategies for setting goals and gaining corporate support, developing and implementing a plan, and monitoring trends and results
• Offers hints, tips, and techniques for everyone from one-person shops to Fortune 500 companies
• Companion Web site includes downloadable tracking spreadsheets, keyword list templates, templates for checking rank and site indexes, and a calendar with daily SEO tasks that you can import into your own calendar system
Fully updated and expanded, Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day, Third Edition will help you raise your visibility on the Web.
Contents
Foreword.
Introduction.
Part I Foundation.
Chapter 1 Clarify Your Goals.
What Is SEO?
Do I Need to Perform SEO for My Website?
What Are the Overall Goals of My Business?
What Function Does My Website Serve?
How Is My Website Connecting with the Goals of My Business?
Who Do I Want to Visit My Website?
What Do I Want Visitors to Do on My Website?
Which Pages Do I Most Want My Website Visitors to See?
How Will I Measure the Success of This SEO Campaign?
Chapter 2 Customize Your Approach.
It’s Your SEO Plan.
Business-to-Business.
Business-to-Consumer.
Large Organization.
Small Organization.
Really Small Organization.
Brick-and-Mortar.
Blog.
Web Designer.
Nonprofit.
Chapter 3 Eternal Truths of SEO.
Robots Deliver.
Search Results Are Blended.
Algorithms Change.
Humans Are Smart—Computers Aren't.
Text Matters.
It's Not Just about Rank.
Search Engines Don’t Like Tricks.
SEO Is Not Brain Surgery.
Chapter 4 How the Search Engines Work Right Now.
In Pursuit of Right Now.
Google Basics.
Bing Basics.
Yahoo! Basics.
Organic Web Search Ranking Factors.
Blended Search Ranking Factors.
Paid Placement.
Social and Mobile Web.
SEO Trend Spotting.
Part II Strategy.
Chapter 5 Get Your Team on Board.
The Challenge of SEO Team Building.
Marketing, Sales, and Public Relations.
IT, Webmasters, and Programmers.
Graphic Designers.
Writers and Editors.
Executives and Product Managers.
Chapter 6 Your One-Month Prep: Keywords, Priorities, and Goals.
Your SEO Idea Bank.
Week 1: Keywords.
Week 2: Baseline Assessment.
Week 3: Competition.
Week 4: Analytics and Goals.
Part III Your SEO Plan.
Chapter 7 Month One: Kick It into Gear.
Week 1: Basic Site Optimization.
Week 2: Site Structure Improvements.
Week 3: Link Building.
Week 4: Building Content for Links and Engagement.
Chapter 8 Month Two: Establish the Habit.
Week 5: Social Media Marketing.
Week 6: Set Up Your Paid Search Account.
Week 7: Selling Through Search.
Week 8: Local Search.
Chapter 9 Month Three: It’s a Way of Life.
Week 9: Special Opportunities: Video, Mobile, and More.
Week 10: Research and Development.
Week 11: What’s Your Problem?
Week 12: SEO Status Report.
Moving On: Forging Your Own SEO Path.
Chapter 10 Extra Credit and Guilt-Free Slacking.
The Slacking Spectrum.
The Extra Credit Continuum.
Extra Credit Tasks.
Appendix.
Glossary.
Index.
