spine=1.53” Byoouors t$ y2o5u Gr oboogtlteo mAd lWinoer wdist™h Web Site Development/Optimization Search Marketing International SEO Analyzing Results FoundationsOptimizing the Linking Creating Content SEO Web Design Competitive Positioning Keyword Strategy How Search Engines Work Making ESveryethinag Easrier!c™ h E ng i ne credit — see inside Open the book and find: If you have a business, you want your Web site to show up quickly when people search for what you’re selling. Here’s the (cid:127) W hat drives search results OS mization whole story on how to build a site that works, position and (cid:127) How to match meta tags and e O pti p keywords to page content a promote your site, track and understand your search results, A t and use keywords effectively — plus a $25 credit on Google (cid:127) Secrets for selecting keywords and r L i AstdaWrt!ords to get your online advertising efforts off to a good phrases L- mch A L L - I N - O N E (cid:127) What you should know about I HTML, JavaScript®, and CSS N i (cid:127) What makes ’em tick — Book I explores how search engines work zE - and which ones offer the best exposure (cid:127) T he basics of SEO-friendly design O an N (cid:127) Words are key — learn to develop a keyword strategy and be (cid:127) How to manage the mechanics of tg competitive in Books II and III content E i oi (cid:127) Lookin’ good — Book IV helps you design an SEO-friendly site, (cid:127) W hy your server is important n n and in Book V, you learn to create content that lures your audience e (cid:127) Y our Google AdWords gift card (cid:127) Link up — the tips in Book VI show how to line up relevant links worth $25! for a better search showing (cid:127) What’s under the hood — Book VII shows how to get more from your server and content management system 10 BBOOOOKKSS (cid:127) Confirm your suspicions — discover how to measure your site’s 1 IN (and your competitor’s) success in Book VIII Go to dummies.com® (cid:127) Expand your horizons — Book IX helps you globalize your for more! success by marketing in Asia, Europe, and Latin America (cid:127) Search and find — use SEO and Book X tips to build your brand (cid:127) How Search Engines Work (cid:127) Keyword Strategy (cid:127) Competitive Positioning (cid:127) SEO Web Design (cid:127) Creating Content (cid:127) Linking (cid:127) Optimizing the Foundations $39.99 US / $47.99 CN / £26.99 UK (cid:127) Analyzing Results (cid:127) International SEO Bruce Clay is a professional consultant on search engine optimization. ISBN 978-0-470-37973-8 (cid:127) Search Marketing He’s a nationally recognized resource for Web site promotion tactics and tools, and his Web site, www.bruceclay.com, is mentioned in the Inside — your Google AdWords ™ online User’s Guide to the Internet. Susan Esparza is a senior editor for gift card worth $25 bruceclay.com. Clay Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza Esparza 0011__337799773388--ffffiirrss..iinndddd iiiiii 33//2244//0099 66::4433::3344 PPMM Search Engine Optimization ALL-IN-ONE FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza Foreword by Danny Sullivan Editor-in-chief, Search Engine Land 0011__337799773388--ffffiirrss..iinndddd ii 33//2244//0099 66::4433::3344 PPMM Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada 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 permit- ted 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 Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/ or its affi liates 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. 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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, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2009924578 ISBN: 978-0-470-37973-8 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0011__337799773388--ffffiirrss..iinndddd iiii 33//2244//0099 66::4433::3344 PPMM About the Authors Bruce Clay is president and founder of Bruce Clay, Inc., which special- izes in Internet marketing. Bruce has worked as an executive for several high-technology businesses and comes from a long career as a technical executive with leading Silicon Valley fi rms, since 1996 in the Internet busi- ness consulting arena. Bruce holds a BS in math and computer science and an MBA from Pepperdine University and has written many articles. He has been a speaker at more than one hundred sessions, including Search Engine Strategies, WebmasterWorld, ad:tech, Search Marketing Expo, and many more, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, PC Week, Wired, SmartMoney, several books, and many other publications. He has also been featured on many podcasts and WebmasterRadio.fm shows, as well as appearing on the NHK one-hour TV special, “Google’s Deep Impact.” Bruce is a principal editor and speaker for SEMJ (Search Engine Marketing Journal), a scholarly research journal for search engine marketing. He has personally authored many of the advanced search engine optimization tools that are available from www.bruceclay.com. Susan Esparza is senior editor for Bruce Clay, Inc. She joined Bruce Clay, Inc. in November 2004 and has written extensively for clients and industry publi- cations, including the SEO Newsletter, The Bruce Clay Blog, and Search Engine Guide. Susan is an editor for SEMJ, a peer-reviewed research journal in the search engine marketing fi eld and co-hosts SEM Synergy, a weekly half-hour radio show on WebmasterRadio.fm. Her goal is to have a longer author biog- raphy in the future. 0011__337799773388--ffffiirrss..iinndddd iiiiii 33//2244//0099 66::4433::3344 PPMM Dedication To Cindy, for supporting me through thick and thin; to my coauthor, Susan, for helping with this endeavor. And to the entire SEM community that I’ve been privileged to be a part of for more than a decade. — Bruce Clay To my family, for being excited about the book when I wasn’t — particularly to my brother, Robert, who made me quit my previous job to join Bruce Clay, Inc. And to Bruce himself for being an awesome boss and coauthor. — Susan Esparza Authors’ Acknowledgments Special thanks to Kyle Looper, who had the idea for this project and who has displayed unending patience no matter the setback. Also, thanks to Linda Morris, our editor, who answered a hundred questions as we fi gured out the process of writing this. Many thanks go to Paula Allen, Johnny Lin, Scott Polk, Katherine Wertz, and the rest of the Bruce Clay, Inc. staff, for their input, expertise, and support. And not least, we’d like to thank the entire search marketing community, without whom this book could not exist — it’s truly a measure of this industry’s willingness to share knowledge that this book was possible. 0011__337799773388--ffffiirrss..iinndddd iivv 33//2244//0099 66::4433::3344 PPMM Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions and Editorial Composition Services Project Editor: Linda Morris Project Coordinator: Katherine Key Acquisitions Editor: Kyle Looper Layout and Graphics: Sarah Philippart, Christin Swinford Copy Editor: Linda Morris Proofreaders: Evelyn W. Gibson, Technical Editor: Paul Chaney Jessica Kramer Editorial Manager: Jodi Jensen Indexer: Sherry Massey Media Development Project Manager: Laura Moss-Hollister Media Development Assistant Project Manager: Jenny Swisher Media Development Assistant Producers: Angela Denny, Josh Frank, Shawn Patrick, and Kit Malone Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 0011__337799773388--ffffiirrss..iinndddd vv 33//2244//0099 66::4433::3344 PPMM Contents at a Glance Foreword ...................................................................xxii Introduction ................................................................ 1 Book I: How Search Engines Work ................................. 7 Chapter 1: Putting Search Engines in Context ...............................................................9 Chapter 2: Meeting the Search Engines ........................................................................25 Chapter 3: Recognizing and Reading Search Results ..................................................39 Chapter 4: Getting Your Site in the Right Results ........................................................47 Chapter 5: Knowing What Drives Search Results ........................................................65 Chapter 6: Spam Issues: When Search Engines Get Fooled ........................................75 Book II: Keyword Stragegy ......................................... 85 Chapter 1: Employing Keyword Research Techniques and Tools ............................87 Chapter 2: Selecting Keywords ......................................................................................97 Chapter 3: Exploiting Pay Per Click Lessons Learned...............................................109 Chapter 4: Assigning Keywords to Pages ...................................................................117 Chapter 5: Adding and Maintaining Keywords ..........................................................129 Book III: Competitive Positioning .............................. 141 Chapter 1: Identifying Your Competitors ...................................................................143 Chapter 2: Competitive Research Techniques and Tools ........................................153 Chapter 3: Applying Collected Data ............................................................................179 Book IV: SEO Web Design ......................................... 193 Chapter 1: The Basics of SEO Web Design .................................................................195 Chapter 2: Building an SEO-Friendly Site ....................................................................215 Chapter 3: Making Your Page Search Engine-Compatible ........................................241 Chapter 4: Perfecting Navigation and Linking Techniques ......................................275 Book V: Creating Content ......................................... 291 Chapter 1: Selecting a Style for Your Audience .........................................................293 Chapter 2: Establishing Content Depth and Page Length .........................................307 Chapter 3: Adding Keyword-Specifi c Content ............................................................327 Chapter 4: Dealing with Duplicate Content ................................................................341 Chapter 5: Adapting and Crediting Your Content .....................................................355 0022__337799773388--ffttoocc..iinndddd vvii 33//2244//0099 66::4444::0044 PPMM Book VI: Linking ...................................................... 365 Chapter 1: Employing Linking Strategies ....................................................................367 Chapter 2: Obtaining Links ...........................................................................................389 Chapter 3: Structuring Internal Links ..........................................................................405 Chapter 4: Vetting External Links ................................................................................421 Chapter 5: Connecting with Social Networks .............................................................435 Book VII: Optimizing the Foundations ....................... 449 Chapter 1: Server Issues: Why Your Server Matters ..................................................451 Chapter 2: Domain Names: What Your URL Says About You...................................471 Chapter 3: Using Redirects for SEO .............................................................................487 Chapter 4: Implementing 301 Redirects ......................................................................495 Chapter 5: Watching Your Backend: Content Management System Troubles .......509 Chapter 6: Solving SEO Roadblocks ............................................................................523 Book VIII: Analyzing Results .................................... 553 Chapter 1: Employing Site Analytics ...........................................................................535 Chapter 2: Tracking Behavior with Web Analytics ....................................................557 Chapter 3: Mastering SEO Tools and Reports ............................................................571 Book IX: International SEO ....................................... 591 Chapter 1: Discovering International Search Engines ...............................................593 Chapter 2: Tailoring Your Marketing Message for Asia ............................................609 Chapter 3: Staking a Claim in Europe ..........................................................................621 Chapter 4: Getting Started in Latin America ..............................................................633 Book X: Search Marketing ........................................ 641 Chapter 1: Discovering Paid Search Marketing..........................................................643 Chapter 2: Using SEO to Build Your Brand .................................................................669 Chapter 3: Identifying and Reporting Spam ...............................................................691 Appendix ................................................................. 707 Index ...................................................................... 725 0022__337799773388--ffttoocc..iinndddd vviiii 33//2244//0099 66::4444::0044 PPMM Table of Contents Foreword ....................................................................xxii Introduction ................................................................. 1 About This Book ..............................................................................................1 Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................2 How This Book Is Organized ..........................................................................2 Book I: How Search Engines Work .......................................................2 Book II: Keyword Strategy ....................................................................2 Book III: Competitive Positioning.........................................................3 Book IV: SEO Web Design .....................................................................3 Book V: Creating Content......................................................................3 Book VI: Linking .....................................................................................3 Book VII: Optimizing the Foundations ................................................3 Book VIII: Analyzing Results .................................................................3 Book IX: International SEO ....................................................................4 Book X: Search Marketing .....................................................................4 Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................4 Conventions Used in This Book .....................................................................4 Where to Go from Here ...................................................................................5 Book I: How Search Engines Work ................................. 7 Chapter 1: Putting Search Engines in Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Identifying Search Engine Users ..................................................................10 Figuring out how much people spend ...............................................10 Knowing your demographics .............................................................11 Figuring Out Why People Use Search Engines ...........................................13 Research ...............................................................................................13 Shopping ...............................................................................................13 Entertainment .......................................................................................14 Discovering the Necessary Elements for Getting High Keyword Rankings ..............................................................16 The advantage of an SEO-compliant site ..........................................16 Defi ning a clear subject theme ...........................................................17 Focusing on consistency .....................................................................18 Building for the long term ...................................................................18 Understanding the Search Engines: They’re a Community ......................18 Looking at search results: Apples and oranges ...............................20 How do they get all of that data? .......................................................22 0022__337799773388--ffttoocc..iinndddd vviiiiii 33//2244//0099 66::4444::0044 PPMM