Wiley Publishing, Inc. Jerri L. Ledford SEO Search Engine Optimization Bible 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page i 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. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (800) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Trademarks: Wiley and related trade dress are registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 43 Understanding entry and exit pages 44 Using powerful titles 46 Creating great content 47 Maximizing graphics 48 Problem Pages and Work-Arounds 49 Painful portals 50 Fussy frames 51 Cranky cookies 52 Programming Languages and SEO 52 JavaScript 52 Flash 53 Dynamic ASP 53 PHP 54 Other Design Concerns 54 Domain cloaking 54 Duplicate content 55 Hidden pages 56 After Your Site Is Built 56 Beware of content thieves 56 Dealing with updates and site changes 57 Chapter 4: Keywords and Your Web Site 59 The Importance of Keywords 59 Understanding Heuristics 61 Using Anchor Text 64 Picking the Right Keywords 65 What’s the Right Keyword Density? 67 Taking Advantage of Organic Keywords 70 Avoid Keyword Stuffing 70 More About Keyword Optimization 71 75002ftoc.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 1:59 PM Page viii Chapter 5: Pay-per-Click and SEO 73 How Pay-per-Click Works 75 Determining visitor value 76 Putting pay-per-click to work 77 Pay-per-Click Categories 77 Keyword pay-per-click programs 77 Product pay-per-click programs 78 Service pay-per-click programs 79 Understanding How PPC Affects SEO 79 Keyword Competitive Research 81 Keyword suggestion tools 81 Choosing Effective Keywords 88 Creating your first keyword list 88 Forbidden search terms and poison words 89 Forecasting search volumes 91 Finalizing your keyword list 93 Writing Ad Descriptions 95 Monitoring and Analyzing Results 96 Chapter 6: Maximizing Pay-per-Click Strategies 97 Understanding Keyword Placement 97 Alt and Other Tags and Attributes 97 Title tags 98 Meta description tags 100 Anchor text 102 Header tag content 106 Body text 108 Alt tags 109 URLS and File Names 112 Chapter 7: Increasing Keyword Success 115 Writing Keyword Advertisement Text 116 Create Great Landing Pages 119 Understanding and Using A/B Testing 122 Avoiding Keyword Stuffing 123 Chapter 8: Understanding and Using Behavioral Targeting 125 What Is Behavioral Targeting? 126 Taking Advantage of Behavioral Targeting 127 Additional Behavioral Targeting Tips 129 ix Contents 75002ftoc.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 1:59 PM Page ix Contents x Chapter 9: Managing Keyword and PPC Campaigns 133 Keyword Budgeting 133 Understanding Bid Management 136 Manual bid management 136 Automated bid management 137 Tracking Keywords and Conversions 140 Reducing Pay-per-Click Costs 143 Managing PPC campaigns 143 Negative keywords 145 Dayparting 145 Improving Click-Through Rates 147 The ROI of PPC 149 Chapter 10: Keyword Tools and Services 151 Google AdWords 152 Campaign management 153 Reports 155 Analytics 156 My Account 157 Print ads 158 Yahoo! Search Marketing 158 Dashboard 159 Campaigns 159 Reports 161 Administration 162 Microsoft adCenter 163 Campaign 163 Accounts & Billing 164 Research 165 Reports 166 Chapter 11: Tagging Your Web Site 167 What’s So Important About Site Tagging? 168 How Does Site Tagging Work? 168 Additional HTML Tags 170 Nofollow 170 Strong and emphasis 171 Noframes 171 Table summary tag 172 Acronym and abbreviation tags 173 Virtual includes 173 Using Redirect Pages 175 Contents 75002ftoc.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 1:59 PM Page x [...]... scene, too, but we’ll get to that shortly 3 IN THIS CHAPTER What is a search engine? Anatomy of a search engine Characteristics of search Classifications of search engines Putting search engines to work Manipulating search engines 75002c01.qxd:Layout 1 Part I 11/7/07 9:30 AM Page 4 Understanding SEO Archie wasn’t actually a search engine like those that you use today But at the time, it was a program... how and why users use search engines, and exactly how search engines work, the easier it will be to achieve the SEO you’re pursuing Classifications of Search Engines With a decent understanding of how search engines work and how people use those search engines, you can now concentrate on some more detailed information about these engines For example, you know that all search engines aren’t created... of search engines? There are Search engines can be broken down into three different types (in the broadest of terms): primary, secondary, and targeted Primary search engines A primary search engine is the type you think of most often when search engines come to mind Some index most or all sites on the Web For example, Yahoo! Google, and MSN are primary (also called major) search engines Primary search. .. Secondary search engines Secondary search engines are targeted at smaller, more specific audiences, although the search engine s content itself is still general They don’t generate as much traffic as the primary search engines, but they’re useful for regional and more narrowly focused searches Examples of secondary search engines include Lycos, LookSmart, Miva, Ask.com, and Espotting Secondary search engines,... secondary search engines are users because they have some loyalty to that specific search engine For example, many past AOL users who have moved on to broadband Internet service providers still use the AOL search engine whenever possible, because it’s comfortable for them Targeted search engines Targeted search engines — sometimes called topical search engines — are the most specific of them all These search. .. 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 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. .. high in relevant search results Today, very few search engines focus on a single aspect of search engine optimization This means that over time those who focused only on keywords or only on links have found themselves with diminished SEO effectiveness Creating your SEO plan Search engines will naturally change and mature, as the technologies and principles that enable SEO and the engines themselves... classifications of search algorithms, and each search engine uses algorithms that are slightly different That’s why a search for one word or phrase will yield different results from different search engines Some of the most common types of search algorithms include the following: List search: A list search algorithm searches through specified data looking for a single key The data is searched in a very... the Search Engine Optimization Bible Search engine optimization has come to mean a lot of things to a lot of different people In the strictest sense, SEO is about the on-page and off-page design strategies you can use to improve your search engine ranking This usually means tweaking your web site, using design elements and content And in most cases, it also means spending no money at all SEM, or Search. .. a search engine works But there’s much more to it than just the basic overview you’ve seen so far In fact, search engines have several parts Unfortunately, it’s rare that you find an explanation for just how a search engine is made — and that information is vitally important to succeeding with search engine optimization (SEO) 5 1 75002c01.qxd:Layout 1 Part I 11/7/07 9:30 AM Page 6 Understanding SEO . 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. Ledford SEO Search Engine Optimization Bible 75002ffirs.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 8:59 AM Page i For James — Because your faith was strong even when mine began to fail. Search Engine Optimization Bible Published. 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