www.it-ebooks.info Wiley Publishing, Inc. Jerri L. Ledford SEO Search Engine Optimization Bible 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page i www.it-ebooks.info 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page vi www.it-ebooks.info Wiley Publishing, Inc. Jerri L. Ledford SEO Search Engine Optimization Bible 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page i www.it-ebooks.info For James — Because your faith was strong even when mine began to fail. Search Engine Optimization Bible Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46256 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: 978-0-470-17500-2 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from Publisher. 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Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page ii www.it-ebooks.info About the Author Jerri Ledford is the author of more than a dozen technology books and hundreds of articles about business and technology subjects. Her books and articles have been published in many languages throughout the world. Jerri also writes and teaches technology courses online for organizations such as HP, Forbes, AOL, and Sony. When she’s not buried in a writing project, Jerri spends all of her time working on other writing projects or on the Alabama and Florida beaches with her children. About the Technical Editor Micah Baldwin is recognized as a leader in the search engine marketing industry, having helped author several books on search engine marketing and often speaking at industry events. Micah started Current Wisdom, a full-service search marketing agency, in 2003 after building ServiceMagic’s search marketing initiative. In January 2007, Micah sold Current Wisdom to Indigio Group, a Denver-based interactive agency, where he currently works as senior vice president, media strategy. Acquisitions Editor Katie Mohr Development Editor William Bridges Technical Editor Micah Baldwin Production Editor Angela Smith Copy Editor Kim Cofer Editorial Manager Mary Beth Wakefield Production Manager Tim Tate Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Publisher Joseph B. Wikert Project Coordinator, Cover Lynsey Osborn Compositor Laurie Stewart, Happenstance Type-O-Rama Proofreader Sossity Smith Indexer Johnna VanHoose Dinse Anniversary Logo Design Richard Pacifico Credits 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page iii www.it-ebooks.info iv After having written more than a dozen books, there is one thing that I can say for sure: no book is written without a ton of helpful people guiding, pushing, and providing for the author. Before even acknowledging that team, though, I must say thanks to God for giving me a talent that few people possess and the means by which to use that talent. There is an entire team at Wiley that I owe a huge thank-you to. These people — Katie Mohr, Mary Beth Wakefield, Tom Dinse, and a good dozen or so other people whom I never get to speak to — are responsible for making this book a reality. They handle production from beginning to end, and without them, there would be no book. My favorite development editor in the world is among those I owe thanks to as well. Bill Bridges has worked with me on several books now, and he’s the reason that my words are spelled and ordered correctly and not full of clichés. Without Bill, the book would be half the quality that it is now. Thanks, friend! And then there’s Micah Baldwin. Micah put lots of hours into ensuring the technical accuracy of the text within these pages. His suggestions (and saves) have kept my facts true. Thanks, Micah. All the interviews included in Appendix B were also gifts to me. Thanks to each of you who took the time to talk to me, to answer my sometimes dumb questions, and to allow me to pass your wisdom on to our readers. Your help provided valuable insight for me, as I hope it will for the reader as well. Thanks, too, to my Mobile family. Big Jennifer and Little Jennifer, Rick, and James — you’re my support system. And you’re there when I need you; you leave when I need space, and you under- stand that brain drain from writing is a temporary situation and love me still. Without you and our weekly dinners, I wouldn’t be able to function nearly as effectively. Thanks, guys! And thanks to you for reading the book. I hope you find all the information you seek. 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page iv www.it-ebooks.info v Introduction xv Part I: Understanding SEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1: Search Engine Basics 3 Chapter 2: Creating an SEO Plan 17 Part II: SEO Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Chapter 3: Building Your Site for SEO 33 Chapter 4: Keywords and Your Web Site 59 Chapter 5: Pay-per-Click and SEO 73 Chapter 6: Maximizing Pay-per-Click Strategies 97 Chapter 7: Increasing Keyword Success 115 Chapter 8: Understanding and Using Behavioral Targeting 125 Chapter 9: Managing Keyword and PPC Campaigns 133 Chapter 10: Keyword Tools and Services 151 Chapter 11: Tagging Your Web Site 167 Chapter 12: The Content Piece of the Puzzle 177 Chapter 13: Understanding the Role of Links and Linking 193 Part III: Optimizing Search Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Chapter 14: Adding Your Site to Directories 211 Chapter 15: Pay-for-Inclusion Services 219 Chapter 16: Robots, Spiders, and Crawlers 227 Chapter 17: The Truth About SEO Spam 239 Chapter 18: Adding Social-Media Optimization 247 Chapter 19: Automated Optimization 257 Part IV: Maintaining SEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Chapter 20: SEO Beyond the Launch 265 Chapter 21: Analyzing Success 271 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 1:57 PM Page v www.it-ebooks.info Appendices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Appendix A: Optimization for Major Search Engines 281 Appendix B: Industry Interviews 287 Appendix C: SEO Software, Tools, and Resources 347 Appendix D: Worksheets 359 Glossary 373 Index 381 vi ContentsContents at a Glance 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page vi www.it-ebooks.info vii Introduction xv Part I: Understanding SEO 1 Chapter 1: Search Engine Basics 3 What Is a Search Engine? 5 Anatomy of a Search Engine 5 Query interface 6 Crawlers, spiders, and robots 7 Databases 8 Search algorithms 8 Retrieval and ranking 9 Characteristics of Search 11 Classifications of Search Engines 11 Primary search engines 11 Secondary search engines 13 Targeted search engines 13 Putting Search Engines to Work for You 13 Manipulating Search Engines 14 Chapter 2: Creating an SEO Plan 17 Understanding Why You Need SEO 18 Setting SEO Goals 19 Creating Your SEO Plan 20 Prioritizing pages 21 Site assessment 21 Finishing the plan 22 Follow-up 23 Understanding Organic SEO 23 Achieving Organic SEO 24 Web-site content 24 Google Analytics 25 Internal and external links 26 User experience 27 Site interactivity 28 75002ftoc.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 1:59 PM Page vii www.it-ebooks.info [...]... an SEO consultant Your goal in picking up this book might be simply to learn about the SEO process so that you can be certain your SEO consultant, or the SEO firm you’re considering hiring, is doing the job they should be doing to help your web site rank high That’s good Two types of people will get the most out of the Search Engine Optimization Bible — people who are interested in being their own SEO. .. down a search engine and explaining how search engine optimization works Chapter 2 explains why you need SEO and walks you through creating your SEO plan Part II: SEO Strategies: SEO strategies are the various ways in which you can implement SEO both on and off your web site Chapter 3 covers the SEO factors that you should consider in web-site design Chapter 4 introduces you to keywords and keyword... Maintaining SEO 263 Chapter 20: SEO Beyond the Launch 265 It’s Not Over 265 Using Content Management Systems 268 SEO Problems and Solutions 268 You’ve been banned! 268 Content scraping 269 Click fraud 269 Chapter 21: Analyzing Success 271 Analyzing SEO Successes 271 Managing SEO expectations... it can learn the most successful strategies of SEO And that’s probably why there are so many SEO consultants in the world today Anyone can be an SEO consultant No official certification programs exist, and no industry standards guide the development of an SEO consultant And from one aspect, that’s good news for you It means that you can become your own SEO consultant And a good first step is to learn... who just want to know how SEO works If you’re an SEO expert, you’ll likely find that you’re already familiar with the information contained in these pages There might be a few tidbits that are worth your while, though, so if you need a refresher course, keep reading For those of you who are new to SEO, you’ll find the information you need to understand and begin implementing SEO strategies that will... strategies and actions that are recommended Part I: Understanding SEO: Understanding search engine optimization is half the battle in planning and implementing an effective SEO plan It’s also the place where you need to start The two chapters in this part of the book will help you to understand SEO and then to work through creating an SEO plan Chapter 1 covers the introduction by breaking down a search... Site Mapping 233 Creating your own XML site map 234 Submitting your site map 238 Chapter 17: The Truth About SEO Spam 239 What Constitutes SEO Spam? 240 Why Is SEO Spam a Bad Idea? 243 Avoiding SEO Spam 244 Chapter 18: Adding Social-Media Optimization 247 What Is Social-Media Optimization? 250... Maintaining SEO: Search engine optimization is not a do-it-and-forget-it strategy It’s an ongoing process that must be maintained In Chapter 20, you’ll learn what to devote time to after the SEO launch is over And Chapter 21 will show you how to analyze your SEO efforts to learn what’s working and what must be changed Appendices: The appendices in this book offer additional insight into and tools for the SEO. .. viii Contents Part II: SEO Strategies 31 Chapter 3: Building Your Site for SEO 33 Before You Build Your Site 34 Know your target 34 Page elements 35 Understanding Web-Site Optimization 39 Does hosting matter? 39 Domain-naming tips 39 Understanding usability 41 Components of an SEO- Friendly Page ... 11/7/07 1:59 PM Page xiv Contents Appendix D: Worksheets 359 SEO Plan 360 SEO Checklist 362 Current State 362 Keyword Research 362 Web-Site Design 362 Write Clean Code 362 Make Use of Tags and Attributes 363 SEO- Approved Content 363 Manual Submissions 363 Linking Strategies . Chapter 2 explains why you need SEO and walks you through creating your SEO plan. Part II: SEO Strategies: SEO strategies are the various ways in which you can implement SEO both on and off your web. 234 Submitting your site map 238 Chapter 17: The Truth About SEO Spam 239 What Constitutes SEO Spam? 240 Why Is SEO Spam a Bad Idea? 243 Avoiding SEO Spam 244 Chapter 18: Adding Social-Media Optimization. everyone wants to be an SEO consultant. Your goal in picking up this book might be simply to learn about the SEO process so that you can be certain your SEO consultant, or the SEO firm you’re considering