PAN AFRICAN INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT – WEST AFRICA

P.O. BOX 133, BUEA, CAMEROON

DIGITAL MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

CHAPTER 4: WEB 3.0 & SEARCH

ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
By:
Mr. NGANG PEREZ
MAJOR 1

04 February, 2020.
 4.0 Brief Introduction:

• Web 3.0 is slated to be the new paradigm in web

interaction and will mark a fundamental change in how
developers create websites.

• But more importantly, how people interact with those websites

• SEO is a strategy to ensure that when someone googles

your product or service category, they find your website
FIRST.
 4.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• By the end of this session, students should be able to;
• Describe the evolution of the internet

• Bring out the challenges of web 3.0

• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of Web 3.0

• Define the term search engine optimization

• Differentiate between a website and portal

• Outline the importance of a website

• Understand things to consider when choosing a keyword

 4.2 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
• (a) Home page: The first page of any website.

• (b) Universal Resource Locator (URL): A web address that

is unique to every page on the Internet.

• (f) Domain name: The easy-to-read name used to

identify an IP address of a server that distinguishes it
from other systems on the World Wide Web:
 4.3 MAIN CONTENT

• The new paradigm in web interaction will make people's

online lives easier as better search functions will give users
exactly what they are looking for

• It will be akin to an artificial intelligence which understands

context rather than simply comparing keywords, as is
currently the case.

• Search engine optimization will be facilitated more by the

web 3.0.
4.3.1: The Evolution of the Internet
 4.3.1: The Evolution of the Internet
• 4.3.1.1: Web 1.0
• There used to be a version of the internet that existed
before social media and video streaming!
• The internet used to be dominated by AltaVista and
Netscape
• These websites
were “read-only
web,” meaning
you were only
allowed to search
for information
and read it.
 4.3.1: The Evolution of the Internet
• 4.3.1.2: Web 2.0
• The next iteration of the internet was called the “web 2.0” or
the “read-write” web.

• Users were not just idle visitors, they could create their own
content and upload it to a website.

• Since 2003 web 2.0 has taken over the world by storm.

• In just over a decade, it has completely redefined marketing

and business operations.
 4.3.1: The Evolution of the Internet
• 4.3.1.3: Web 3.0
• Every time you buy something on Amazon:

• The website’s algorithm will look at the other items that people
who have purchased your product went on to buy and then
recommends that to you.

• So, think about what is going on here.

 4.3.1: The Evolution of the Internet
• 4.3.1.3: Web 3.0

• The website is learning from other users what your

preferred choices can be

• The website uses it to recommend to you what you may

like.

• In essence, the website itself is learning and becoming

more intelligent.
 4.3.1: The Evolution of the Internet
• 4.3.1.3: Web 3.0
 4.3.2: The 4 Properties of Web 3.0

• Semantic Web

• Artificial Intelligence

• 3D Graphics

• Ubiquitous
 4.3.2: The 4 Properties of Web 3.0
• Property #1: Semantic Web

• What does semantics really mean?

• What is the difference between “I love Bitcoin” and “I <3

Bitcoin”?

• The syntax between the two sentences is different but the

semantics between the two is identical.

• Semantics deals with the meaning or the emotion conveyed

by the data. Semantics are encryptions
 4.3.2: The 4 Properties of Web 3.0
• Property #2: Artificial Intelligence

• Artificial intelligence, is intelligence demonstrated by

machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence
displayed by humans and other animals

• Semantic web along with artificial intelligence are the

two cornerstones of web 3.0.
 4.3.2: The 4 Properties of Web 3.0
• Property #2: Artificial Intelligence

• AI will allow websites to filter and present users the best

data possible.

• Currently in web 2.0, we have started taking user

opinions to help us understand the quality of a particular
product/asset.
 4.3.2: The 4 Properties of Web 3.0
• Property #2: Artificial Intelligence

• Think of a website where users get to vote on a list of movies.

• Movies with a higher rating are usually considered “good movies”.

• Lists like these help us get to the “good data” without going
through “bad data.”

• Peer reviews, as we have already mentioned, is one of the

biggest contributions of Web 2.0.
 4.3.2: The 4 Properties of Web 3.0
• Property #3: 3D Graphics
• Web 3.0 is going to change the future of the internet.

• It is developed from the simple 2D web into a more

realistic three-dimensional cyberworld.

• The three-dimensional design is being used extensively

in websites and services in Web 3.0 such as online
games, e-commerce, real-estate industry etc.
 4.3.2: The 4 Properties of Web 3.0
• Property #4: Ubiquitous

• Ubiquitous means the idea of existing or being everywhere,

especially at the same time i.e., omnipresent.

• We have already got this feature in Web 2.0. Think of social

media websites like Instagram, users capture images on the
camera and distribute it online
•
• The image thus becomes accessible everywhere aka
ubiquitous.
 4.3.2: The 4 Properties of Web 3.0
• Property #4: Ubiquitous
• Development of mobile devices and internet access will make
the web 3.0 experience available anywhere at any time.

• The internet will no longer only be on your desktop like with

Web 1.0,

• Or your smartphone, like Web 2.0.

• It will be omnipresent. Web 3.0 may as well be called the web

of everything .
 4.3.3: Challenges of Web 3.0 Implementation
• Vastness: The internet is HUGE

• Vagueness: User queries are not really specific

• Uncertainty: scores of uncertain values{symptoms that correspond

to many different distinct diagnoses each with a different
probability}

• Inconsistency: Inconsistent data can lead to logical contradiction

• Deceit: What if all the data provided is intentionally wrong and

misleading.
 4.3.4.1: The Advantages of the Web 3.0:
• Increased information linking: Semantic web will help in the
connectivity of online data.

• Efficient searching

• Better marketing.

• More efficient web browsing.

• Effective communication.

• Change human interaction.

 4.3.4.2: The Disadvantages of Web 3.0:

• Less advanced devices will not be able to handle Web

3.0.

• Web 1.0 websites will seem that much more obsolete

• It can be very complicated for newcomers to understand.

 4.3.5: Search Engine Optimization
• Search engine optimization consists of two processes.

• The first is getting a website configured so a search engine like

Google can index it correctly.
• The second is making sure your website is in the top search
results when someone Googles your products or brand names.

• To understand how to optimize a website, the best place

to start is understanding how Google, yahoo search and
Bing work so you understand where to start optimizing
your site.
 4.3.5.1: Understanding Search
• The best way to think about search is to think of Google as
Internet librarian.

• It takes in ridiculous amounts of data from websites all over

the world and indexes them.

• When someone comes to its website with a query like

• “Who won the best picture in 1948?”
• They search their index to find an appropriate reference and
then serve up those answers to the user on their webpage.
 4.3.5.1: Understanding Search

• But how did they actually get that data and how did Google
know that Hamlet won the best picture in 1948?

• What Google and Bing do all day long, is crawl the Internet
and they do that with a program called Spiders.

• Spiders start on websites they deem as highly valued, like CNN.com

and they click on every link which leads them to other websites where
they again click on every link that leads them to more websites so
after a while they start to map out most of the webpages on the
Internet.
 4.3.5.1: Understanding Search

• When the Google spiders come across something new, they put
that web page into its index for future reference and there it
sits in the Google data warehouse until someone comes to
Google.com and starts a search.

• One basic tenet of SEO is to understand how people search on

Google so you can craft strategies on those search patterns.
 4.3.5.1: Understanding Search
• The first thing to understand about how people search is that people
search with intent. They are looking for something.

• The intent people search with can be categorized into the following:
• Solve,
• Learn,
• Buy and
• Find.

• Each of these intents leads to different kinds of search categories.

 4.3.5.2: Website

• Websites provide the platform where these searches are conducted.

• The decision to build either a website or a portal is based on the

company’s needs.

• Many a time, a website is confused with a portal.

• Generally a website is more diverse whereas a portal is tailored for a

specific purpose
 4.3.5.2: Website

• Websites are for providing a plethora of generic information for the

traffic driven to it.

• whereas web portals are for limiting information to a specific group of

users.

• Hence, web portals usually require a registration process and users

need to log in with credentials or authentication that facilitate the site
to deliver more specific content based on the user profile.
 4.3.5.2: Website

• Websites are usually destinations that everyone can get to, and
therefore are generally designed for a broader audience.

• You must have experienced a situation where you wanted to access a

web page and you are requested to put in your name and email
address to register, right?

• If so, then understand now that you were on a web portal and not a
website.
 4.3.5.3: Importance of Website

• The web has a far wider reach than any other form of advertising.

• Website is like a business card that everyone assumes you have.

• It is the face of an organization/ product & is almost the first contact point
with the prospective customer/ user.

• A good website helps in increasing the visibility and establishing credibility

for the business.

• A website gives an online presence and opens up online business

opportunities
 4.3.5.4: Website Benchmarking

• Benchmarking is essentially to gauge where a website stands in

relation to other websites

• Many different tools are available that can help determine how
effective a website is; but for beginners, it is best to start with a free
analytics tool.

• Some typical benchmarking parameters are site performance, search

performance, and usability.
 4.3.5.4: Website Benchmarking

• Page load time is a critical factor

• The bounce rate measures the number of visitors going deeper than
the page they enter on.

• The bounce rate from e-mail campaigns looks at the traffic you get
from e-mail marketing.

• Website visitor metrics indicate how effective the site is at drawing

traffic.
 4.3.5.4: Website Benchmarking

• Acquisition source metrics indicate where the visitors are coming from.

• Conversion rates (CR) indicate the effectiveness of your strategy and

tactics.

• Cart abandonment rate tells you how many buyers selected items to
buy, began the checkout process but dropped off before completing
the purchase.

• Products per transaction is an excellent benchmark to consider in

tandem (relation) with cart abandonment.
 4.3.5.5: Landing Page (LP)

• A landing page (LP) is a standalone webpage, created specifically for

the purposes of marketing.

• It is where a visitor ‘lands’ having clicked on a specific advertising or

similar communication from somewhere.

• While websites provide an overview of what you are (breadth), you

need to have tabs/pages that provide more information (length) and
links (depth) to provide specific information.
 4.3.5.5: Landing Page (LP)

• For a digital marketer, conversion means convincing a visitor to do one

specific act only. From somewhere to your website

• Landing pages are designed with a single focused objective known as

‘Call-to-Action’ (CTA)

• This simplicity makes landing pages the best option for increasing the
conversion rates of campaigns.
 4.3.5.6: Conversion Centered Design (CCD)

• Conversion Centered Design (CCD) helps in designing experiences that

guide the visitor towards completing that one specific task ‘call to
action’ (CTA),

• using persuasive design and psychological triggers to increase conversions.

• In other words, it is about persuasion.

 4.3.5.6: Conversion Centered Design (CCD)

• The end purpose is CTA is the likes of Register/ Download/ Call, purchase or
whatever etc.

• CCD needs a source and a destination. The source is any campaign on social
media. The destination is the landing page.

• You could find a purchase advert on Facebook (source) with a link to the
actual page on a website (Destination).

• The reason for LP and not the Home page is because the focus is on a single
purpose with no distractions and making the navigation friction-free and
direct.
 4.3.5.6: Conversion Centered Design (CCD)
• 7 Principles that govern CCD.
• 1. Attention: The headline should be powerful both textually and
visually to hold attention

• 2. Context: Context is how well the above-the-fold landing page

delivers the promise made.

• Above the fold is the portion of a web page that is visible in a browser window when
the page first loads.

• The portion of the page that requires scrolling down in order to see the content is called
below-the-fold.
 4.3.5.6: Conversion Centered Design (CCD)
• 7 Principles that govern CCD.
• 3. Clarity: Clarity implies that the copy or text should effectively
communicate the value proposition.

• 4. Congruence: Congruence calls for a message match –having a headline

that closely matches the call to action

• 5. Credibility: Credibility leads to trust

• 6. Closing: Closing refers to triggering an action or CTA. The area around CTA
should be well designed.

• 7. Continuance: If the CTA is to initiate a download, it should happen

immediately and in real-time.
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)

• The primary tool that facilitates the search is called the search engine

• The process is called search engine optimization

• Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing a

website to achieve the highest possible ranking on search engine
results pages (SERPs).

• The average website receives a significant proportion of its traffic from

search engines.
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)
• 2 processes of Search engine optimization

• The first is getting a website configured so a search engine like Google

can index it correctly.

• The second is making sure your website is in the top search results
when someone Googles your products or brand names.

• With millions of people performing billions of searches each day to find

content on the Internet, it makes sense that marketers want their
products to be findable online.
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)
• When someone Googles, who is the president of the United States?,
Google goes into its index and pulls out every webpage that mentions
president of the United States.

• It then applies its secret algorithm, and quickly ranks those pages from
1 - infinity and serves them up to the users.

• Google says it uses more than 200 different factors in its algorithm to
determine relevance and ranking.

• None of the major search engines disclose the elements they use to
rank pages.
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)
• SEO is an extremely effective way of directing search engines to your
website. It’s search psychology.

• People search with intent. They are looking for something. The intent
people search with can be categorized as:

• Navigational Searches: Looking for a specific website but don’t remember the exact URL

• Informational Searches: This is Google’s bread and butter. Who won AFCON 2002?

• Commercial Investigation: Find reputable businesses to contact

• Looking for a Purchase: Search the Internet when they are ready to buy
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)

• Search engines need to help users find what they’re looking for.

• To make sure they provided the best results first, they look for signals
of: • Popularity • Authority • Relevance • Trust • Importance

• SEO can be split into two distinct camps: white hat SEO and black hat
SEO (with, of course, some grey hat wearers in between).
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)
• Black hat SEO refers to trying to game the search engines.

• These SEOs use dubious means to achieve high rankings, and their
websites are occasionally blacklisted by the search engines.

• White hat SEO, on the other hand, refers to working within the
parameters set by search engines to optimize a website for better user
experience.

• Search engines want to send users to the website that is best suited to
their needs, so white hat SEO should ensure that users can find what
they are looking for.
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)
• 2 main strategies for SEO

• 1. On-page optimization: Achieved by making changes to the HTML

code, content and structure of a website, making it more accessible for
search engines, and by extension, easier for users to find.

• 2. Off-page optimization: Mostly focused on building links to the

website, and covers activities like social media & digital PR.
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)
• Balancing the Equation

• Optimizing a website for search engines should entail optimizing the

website for users.

• Done properly, it should result in better user experience, while

ensuring that search engines index and rank the website well.

• However, it can be tempting to focus on the technicalities of SEO while

forgetting that both robots and humans need to read the same
website.
 4.3.6: Coordinating Search Engine Optimization)
• Balancing the Equation

• Search engine optimization is a fairly technical practice but it can easily be broken
down into five main areas:

1. A search engine friendly website structure

2. A well-researched list of key phrases

3. Content optimized to target those key phrases

4. Link popularity

5. User insights.
 4.3.6.1: Search engine friendly website structure
• 2 Obstacles for search engines

• Technical challenges that prevent the search engine spider from accessing
content.

• A competitive marketing environment where everyone wants to rank highly.

• To ensure that search engines can access your content, you must remove
technical barriers.

• The most important pages should be accessible directly from the home
page of your website.
 4.3.6.2: SEO and key phrases

• what people enter into Google, Bing, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or

other sites to find stuff is called key word.

• A key word could be in the form of a question such as what is a love

• It could be in the form of a phrase such as I love you

• It could be in the form of a name such as Samuel Eto’o

• It could be in the form of an image

 4.3.6.2: SEO and key phrases

• What separates one keyword from another? Is the level of their

competitiveness

• There aren’t good and bad keywords.

• There are competitive and non-competitive keywords

• Competitiveness now makes you to understand why Google get traffic

to a website more than others
 4.3.6.2: SEO and key phrases

• When a user enters a query on a search engine, he or she uses the

words he or she thinks are relevant to the search.

• The search engine then returns those pages it believes are most
relevant to the words the searcher used.

• Increasingly, the search engine now returns the implied meaning of

the search.
 4.3.6.2: SEO and key phrases

• If a user searches for ‘car rental’, the search engine will look for pages
that are relevant to ‘car rental’ as well as ‘car hire’, ‘vehicle hire’, and so
on.

• Search engines have also built up knowledge around common

misspellings, synonyms & related searches.

• A large part of keyword research is to understand search psychology.

• To build a key phrase list, one has to tap into the mental process of
searchers and put together the right mix of keywords.
 4.3.6.2.a: Defining a Keyword Strategy
• A keyword strategy is the understanding that people get and start using
it across their website properties
• How do you start building your key phrase list?
• 1) list your services, industry and products
 4.3.6.2.a: Defining a Keyword Strategy
• 2) understand how people search for those products so you can use
those searches as a basis to develop your keyword strategy.

• The best tool for this is Google’s keyword tool.

• Using Google’s keyword tool, we enter each keyword and Google will
report back on the number of searches and how competitive each
keyword is.

• They will also supply a list of keywords that are similar to the search
phrase you just entered.
 4.3.6.2.b: Things to consider when choosing a keyword
• 1) Search volume:

• How many searchers are using that phrase to find what they want?

• For example, there is an estimated monthly search volume of over 338

million for the keyword ‘hotel’.

• but an estimated 6,600 searches per month for a key phrase such as
‘Cape Town Waterfront hotel’.
 4.3.6.2.b: Things to consider when choosing a keyword

• 2) Competition:

• How many other websites out there are targeting that same phrase?

• For example, Google finds over 2.8 billion results for ‘hotel’, but only
3.2 million for ‘Cape Town Waterfront Hotel’.
 4.3.6.2.b: Things to consider when choosing a keyword
• 3) The propensity to convert:

• What is the likelihood that the searcher using that key phrase is going
to convert on your site?

• A conversion is a desired action taken by the visitor to your website.

• Related to propensity to convert is the relevance of the selected term

to what you are offering.
 4.3.6.2.b: Things to consider when choosing a keyword
• 3) The propensity to convert:

• If you are selling rooms at a hotel at the V&A Waterfront, which of the
two terms (‘hotel’ or ‘Cape Town Waterfront hotel’) do you think will
lead to a higher rate of conversions?

• Using the hotel example, consider these two terms: ‘luxury Cape Town
hotel’ & ‘budget Cape Town hotel’.

• Both are terms used by someone wanting to book a hotel in Cape

Town, but it is likely that someone looking for a luxury hotel is
intending to spend more.
 4.3.6.2.c: Step-by-step key phrase research
• Step 1: Brainstorm:
• Think about the words you would use to describe your business, and about
the questions or needs of your customers that it fulfils.

• Step 2: Gather data

• Two ways in which to gather accurate key phrase data are;

• Survey customers and

• Look at your website referral logs.

• What terms customers are already using to find you. You can add those to
your list
 4.3.6.2.c: Step-by-step key phrase research
• Step 3: Use keyword research tools

• There are several tools available for keyword discovery, and some of
them are free.

• Some tools will scan your website and suggest keywords based on your
current content.

• Most will let you enter keywords, and will then return suggestions
based on past research data such as:
• Similar keywords • Common keywords used with that keyword • Common misspellings
 4.3.6.2.c: Step-by-step key phrase research

Figure 3.3 Keyword performance for Hotel and Luxury hotel

 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases

• Once keywords and phrases are selected, we need to ensure the site
contains content to target them.

• Content is the most important part of your website.

• Create relevant, targeted content aimed at your selected key phrases.

 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases
The Role of Content on your site:

• It must provide information to visitors.

• It must engage with them.
• It must persuade them to do what you want.
• It must also send signals of relevance to search engines.

• You need to use the keywords on the content page in a way that search
engines will pick up, and users will understand.
 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases

• You need to use the keywords on the content page in a way that search
engines will pick up, and users will understand.

• SEO and content marketing go hand in hand since SEO relies on fresh,
relevant and popular content.

• User research and web analytics can generate insights into how users
find the website
 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases
• Users can find the website through:

• Search advertising campaigns which can provide valuable keyword

research and direct the visitor to the website

• Social media marketing can generate an enormous amount of links to a

website.

• Digital PR aims to generate links too

 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases

• Most websites today uses a content management system like Drupal,

WordPress and Joomla.

• These systems are very compliant in how they work to maximize your
chances of Google indexing your keywords.

• There are four key areas where Google will search for keywords: Page
Titles, H1 Tags, Clean URL-s, & Alt Tags
 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases
• 4 key areas where Google searches for keywords
• 1) Page Titles: These appear in the tab of your browser and are used by
Google to understand what the web page is about.

• 2) H1 Tags: H1 Tags are headings on a website page.

• Paired with the Page Title, it gives the search engines more context to
what your page is about.

• H1 tags are important for SEO.

 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases
• 4 key areas where Google searches for keywords

• 3) Clean URL-s: This refers to the URL structure.

• On some websites, you will see a lot of confused words cooked together
like:

• www.digitalfireflymarketing.com/#hlhldkhjglkahjd;dkjgf.

• You have no idea what the URL means, neither does a search engine.
 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases
• 4 key areas where Google searches for keywords
• 3) Clean URL-s:
• Google needs to understand not only what the page is, but how
important you think it is.

• For example, ww.apple.inc.

• The farther away the page from the front means the less important it
is.
 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases
• 4 key areas where Google searches for keywords
• 4) Alt Tags:
• Google uses Alt Tags to index images since Google can only read a text
and does not (yet) recognize images.

• Every time an image is displayed on a website, there is an option to

put an alt tag behind it.

• This is to help people who are visually impaired to get text describing
the image when they are looking at a web page
 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases
• Guidelines for optimizing Key Phrases in a webpage

• 1. Title tag: use the key phrase in the title and as close to the beginning
as possible.

• 2. H1 header tag: use the key phrase in the header tag, and as much as
possible in the other H tags.

• 3. Body content: use the key phrase at least three times or more if
there is a lot of content
 4.3.6.3: Optimizing content for key phrases
• Guidelines for optimizing Key Phrases in a webpage
• 4. Bold: use tags around the keyword at least once.

• 5. URL: try to use the key phrase in your page URL.

• 6. Meta description: use it at least once in the meta description of the page, which
should entice users to clickthrough to your site from the SERP.

• 7. Link anchor text: try to ensure that the keyword is used in the anchor text of the
pages linking to you.

• 8. Domain name: if possible, use the key phrase in your domain name.
 4.3.6.3.a: Optimizing media
• 5. ways to optimize images with key phrases for SEO

• Use descriptive, keyword-filled filenames.

• Use specific alt tags and title attributes.
• Add meta information to the image.
• Use descriptive captions,
• Make sure that the header tags and images are relevant to each other.
 4.3.6.3.a: Optimizing media
• 5. ways to optimize your apps
• Give your app a catchy name that also includes your most important keyword or
phrase.

• Include a distinctive, recognizable and clear icon.

• Spell out the features and benefits clearly, including key phrases where possible.

• In your app store listing, add links to your major social media platforms and your
website

• Include as much meta data as you can, including tags, categories and descriptions.
 4.3.6.4: Link popularity

• Links are a vital part of how the Internet works.

• The purpose of a link is to allow a user to go from one web page to

another.

• Search engines, doing their best to mimic the behavior of humans, also
follow links.
 4.3.6.4: Link popularity

• Besides allowing search engine spiders to find websites, links are a way
of validating relevance and indicating importance.

• When one-page links to another, it is as if that page is voting or

vouching for the destination page.

• Generally, the more votes a website receives, the more trusted it

becomes, the more important it is deemed, and the better it will rank on
SEs.
 4.3.6.4: Link popularity

• Besides allowing search engine spiders to find websites, links are a way
of validating relevance and indicating importance.

• When one-page links to another, it is as if that page is voting or

vouching for the destination page.

• Generally, the more votes a website receives, the more trusted it

becomes, the more important it is deemed, and the better it will rank on
SEs.