Part 1: Search Engine Op2miza2on for Libraries (Public, Academic, School) and Special Collec2ons

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1 Part 1: Search Engine Op2miza2on for Libraries (Public, Academic, School) and Special Collec2ons Presented by Shari Thurow, Founder and SEO Director Omni Marke<ng Interac<ve

2 About me: Author of Search Engine Visibility, which has been translated into 5 languages. Co-author of When Search Meets Web Usability. SEO professional since 1995, pioneering search-engine friendly website design. Informa<on architect since Web designer/developer since Website usability and UX professional since 2002.

Member Formerly the Usability Professionals Associa<on

3 ASLIB Journal of Informa2on Management Editorial Advisory Board User Experience Professionals Associa2on (UXPA) Board Member Formerly the Usability Professionals Associa<on Informa2on Architecture Ins2tute (IAI) Board Member and Advisory Board

4 Search results are far from perfect. Site search engine

That s why we need librarians to help curate the Web. hrps://www.

5 That s why we need librarians to help curate the Web. hrps://

6 Series Agenda: Part 1: Overview of Search Engine Op<miza<on (SEO) for Librarians & Libraries Part 2: SEO Copywri<ng How to Write Search-Engine Friendly Content & Labeling Systems for Library Websites Part 3: SEO Accessibility How to Create Search-Engine Friendly Website Architecture & Naviga<on Systems for Library Websites Part 4: Web Searcher Goals & Behaviors for Library Websites Part 5: Link Development & Social Media Op<miza<on (SMO) for Library Websites

7 Today s agenda: What SEO is and is NOT Goals of search engine op<miza<on Fundamental building blocks of SEO Text Accessibility Popularity Searcher goals & behaviors Good & bad examples Ques<ons & answers

8 Overview of Search Engine Op<miza<on for Librarians and Libraries WHAT IS SEO?

9 Search engine op2miza2on is NOT op<mizing a website for search engines only. technology-centered design spam

10 Search engine op2miza2on is op<mizing a website for people who use search engines. user-centered design technology-centered design SEARCH- ENGINE FRIENDLY

11 Search engine op2miza2on (SEO) is op<mizing a website for people who use search engines. architec<ng, designing, wri<ng, programming, and coding a website to maximize the chance that the most appropriate content will appear at the top of search engine results for selected keywords and phrases. Marke2ng-only defini2on: the process of making web documents easy to locate/discover, interpret, and possibly rank on the commercial web search engines (such as Bing and Google).

12 In addi2on: The op<miza<on process includes how one can improve the appearance of individual search lis2ngs on search engine results pages (SERPs).

15 On a site search engine:

16 SEO applies to: Web search engines and site search engines Human users and non-human users (devices and sohware) Many op<miza<on processes and techniques for web SEO can make the results from a site search engine more accurate. Ul<mately, SEO is about effec/ve communica/on.

17 Site search engine on desktop/laptop:

18 Site search engine on a mobile device:

22 Which search lis<ng is the best one to click (if any)?

24 However, there was a notable search lis<ng below the one with the East Asian Library hours.

25 Click

27 Search experience:

28 SEO is a part of user experience: useful usable desirable valuable findable accessible credible

29 Findability: useful usable desirable! Browsing findable valuable accessible! Searching! Asking credible

30 To remember: SEO is NOT op<mizing for search engines only.

31 To remember: SEO is op<mizing for people who use search engines.

32 To remember: SEO is about communica2on to humans & technology.

33 Overview of Search Engine Op<miza<on for Librarians and Libraries GOALS OF SEO

34 SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec<ng website content so that it is easy to find Ensuring search engines & searchers have access to desired content Ensuring search engines & searchers don t have access to undesirable content

to find Ensuring search engines & searchers have access to desired content

35 SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec<ng website content so that it is easy to find Ensuring search engines & searchers have access to desired content Ensuring search engines & searchers don t have access to undesirable content

36 Example #1: What is this? Clue: hrp://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/apis/ ucb/images/7022.jpg

37 Example #1: What is this?

38 Example #1: What is this? Search engines (technologies) are currently unlikely to know what this label states.

39 Example #2: What is this? Clue: hrp:// kcms/gbs/pa<ent%20consumer/images/ 2013/11/15/17/37/ds00050_ %20my00164_im01229_mcdc7_cataracts 2_jpg.png

40 Example #2: What is this?

41 Example #3: What is this? Clue #1: hrp:// library-collec<ons/ebookseaudiobooks

42 Example #3: What is this? Clue #2: ebooks & eaudiobooks - Gail Borden Public Library District - Elgin, Illinois

43 Example #3:

SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec2ng website content so that it is easy

44 SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec2ng website content so that it is easy to find Ensuring search engines & searchers have access to desired content Ensuring search engines & searchers don t have access to undesirable content

45 SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec2ng website content so that it is easy to find We will cover in Part 3. Informa<on architecture Site naviga<on Technical architecture Ensuring search engines & searchers have access to desired content Ensuring search engines & searchers don t have access to undesirable content 1

46 Utilities Need help? Global Where am I? Local Contextual What s nearby? What s related to this content? Supplemental Site map Source: Informa;on Architecture: For the Web and Beyond, 4 th edi;on. Used with permission.

SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec<ng website content so that it is easy

47 SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec<ng website content so that it is easy to find Ensuring search engines & searchers have access to desired content Ensuring search engines & searchers don t have access to undesirable content

48 Web search engine:

49 Site search engine: PDF ranking in a site search engine

50 SEO applies to many types of digital documents:

51 SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec<ng website content so that it is easy to find Ensuring search engines & searchers have access to desired content Ensuring search engines & searchers don t have access to undesirable content

52 Example #1 orphaned content:

Example #1 orphaned content: X Alignment One of the principles of design, alignment refers to lining up the top, bottom, sides, or middle of text or graphic elements on a page.

53 Example #1 orphaned content: X Alignment One of the principles of design, alignment refers to lining up the top, bottom, sides, or middle of text or graphic elements on a page. Horizontal alignment includes: flush-left (also called left-justified or ragged right), flush-right (also called right-justified or ragged left), centered, and fully justified.

54 Example #2 duplicate content: Whenever you hear these words and/or phrases Personaliza<on Site search engine Tagging or tagged content Faceted classifica<on/naviga<on Sor<ng op<ons (parameters) Syndica<on Mul<ple product categories Mul<ple languages Aggrega<on hrps/hrp Shared content across network it means that the website will need extra work so duplicate content is not delivered to search engines.

55 Sor2ng op2ons:

56 Faceted classifica2on:

57 Example #3 search engine spam: Search engine spam is pages created deliberately to trick the search engine into offering inappropriate, redundant, or poor-quality search results. Tim Mayer, Former VP of Web Search Yahoo, Inc. Also read: hrps://

58 Source: hrps://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/using-data-to-fight-webspam.html

60 POLL QUESTION: a) Posi<ve b) Nega<ve c) Neutral d) LiRle or no experience with SEO

61 To remember: SEO professionals are concerned with: Labeling website content so that it is easy to find Organizing and connec<ng website content so that it is easy to find Ensuring search engines & searchers have access to desired content Ensuring search engines & searchers don t have access to undesirable content

62 Overview of Search Engine Op<miza<on for Librarians and Libraries FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCKS OF SEO

63 4 fundamental building blocks: 1. Keywords, labels, and copywri2ng Do your digital documents contain the words and phrases that your target audience types into search queries? 2. Accessibility (site architecture & formadng) Do search engines have easy, user-friendly access to content through site architecture, naviga<on, page layout, formarng, and URL structure? 3. Link development & social signals Does your website get objec<ve, high-quality, third-party links poin<ng to it (not only your home page)? 4. Web searcher behaviors Does your website accommodate known searcher goals and behaviors?

64 Keywords & Labels Access & Architecture On-the-page criteria Link Development & Social Searcher Goals

65 Keywords & Labels Access & Info Scent Link Development & Social Searcher Goals Off-the-page criteria

66 Web searchers have 3 main goals: Go (naviga<onal) Know (informa<onal) Do (transac<onal)

SEO professional goals: Organizing, labeling, and connec<ng content so that it s easy to find.

67 In summary: SEO is op<mizing for people who use search engines, not op<mizing for search engines (technology) only. Ul<mately, SEO is about effec/ve communica/on. SEO professional goals: Organizing, labeling, and connec<ng content so that it s easy to find. Enabling easy access to desirable content. Limi<ng or preven<ng access to undesirable content. 4 Fundamental Building Blocks Text & labels User-friendly accessibility Valida<on Searcher goals & behaviors

68 Ques2ons? Shari Thurow, Founder and SEO Director Omni Marke<ng Interac<ve

Op#mizing Websites for Results

MARKETING EDUCATION SERIES Op#mizing Websites for Results 10:00 AM 1:00 PM 3:00 PM David Warren VP Digital Media PennWell Objec5ve and Scope Of this Talk Objec5ve: To help you (marketers) make the most