McDaid's SEO Workshop for Techcomm

Get hands-on with your SEO learning. McDaid's SEO Workshop for Techcomm let's technical writers interact with real GSC (Google Search Console) data.

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Create a Google Account using your existing email

You can attach your work email address or your personal email address to a Google account. Many companies will require this if you want to access company Google Search Console or Analytics data. And I’ll need you to attach a Google Account to whatever email you used to sign up for the conference before our workshop starts. So I can grant everyone access without wasting workshop time. 

1) Go to https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2/webcreateaccount?flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=SignUp

2) Select Use my current email address instead.

3) Fill out the rest of the form and click Next. 

4) Follow the instructions to validate your email address. 

That’s it! Looking forward to seeing you at our ETC Bulgaria SEO Workshop. 

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Jen McDaid’s Review of SEO Keyword Research Tools

Check out my review of some of the common free and paid SEO keyword research tools we discuss in my SEO Workshop for technical writers. Use this information to start planning SEO keyword strategies for your docs or grab an offline copy.

AnswerThePublic.com (G Suggest):  

This is a free tool. You know how when you start typing something into Google or Bing and you get an autosuggest list based on related searches other people made? With this tool you type in a "seed" keyword like "vSphere" and this tool scrapes all the autosuggestion based on that seed keyword. This lets you see all the common variations of your seed keyword, like "where are vsphere snapshots stored." The search is specific to your keyword, not your site, so it can help you find content gaps or cases where you might want to alter your keywords a bit. For example, we found out that people were looking for a "VMC on AWS Security Guide". We had this content, but had labeled it differently. In another case, we'd renamed a product and found out that almost everyone was still searching for content using the old name!!  

Pros: You can use this tool for free several times a day. It provides cool visuals you can use in presentations.  

Cons: You don't get any idea about how many people are searching for each keyword so it's hard to pick the "best" ones to focus on. It won't work well if your content has really small audiences, and it will work a little too well if your keyword is generic. For example, we have software called NSX, but there's also a car called NSX. Much of the data we get back from AnswerThePublic is about cars.  

Google Search Console

Every site should register with Google Search Console to take advantage of the webmaster tools. GSC shows you what search queries people are using to find your content, and which pages are performing well or not. Sometimes we can even see where we clearly have content gaps for longtail keywords.  

Pros: It's free. It's from Google, which is where most of our customers are coming from. It gives us insight into keywords that are specific for our site.

Cons: If we aren't ranking at all for a specific keyword, then we won't see it in all in Google Search Console.  

BrightEdge Data Cube

You need a paid subscription to use the keyword research tool BrightEdge. Their BrightEdge Data Cube feature lets you do keyword research based on a URL or on a keyword, in real time.  

Pros: You can do keyword research based on a seed keyword like with Answerthepublic, or you can do it based on your URLs like with Google Search Console. You get information about competition and search volume that help you decide where to spend your efforts. This tool is optimized for marketing use and integrates with other Brightedge marketing tools.

Cons: Depending on the size of your audience, results vary. This is a tool optimized for marketing use so sometimes we don't see great results for content or keywords with small audiences.

Google Keyword Planner

Google Ads has a keyword research tool called keyword planner. While Google Ads will obnoxiously hide this feature and try to get you to start a paid campaign, you can in fact just use the keyword research tool for free.  

Pros: You can do keyword research based on a seed keyword like with Answerthepublic, or you can do it based on your URLs like with Google Search Console. You can combine multiple seed keywords, phrases, and URLs in a single search. You get information about competition, search volume, and ad pricing that help you decide where to spend your efforts. This tool is optimized for marketing use and integrates with other Google Ad tools.

Cons: The feature is so hidden it's ridiculous. Returns a limited set of keyword ideas compared to other tools, but still a ton.

Google Trends

Another free tool from Google. You can use Google trends to compare interest in keywords over time, broken down by region or search type, as well as look at related queries. A useful, visual tool to help understand which synonyms you should prioritize for search queries like "Active Directory Federation Service" vs "ADFS" or how different geographies are searching for your content.

Pros: Lets you filter to certain subject areas, so you can remove all those false positives we get from NSX car results. Provides search traffic over time, and by region and by search type (web, image, etc). Both can be filtered. Let you compare multiple keywords at once. Provides some related query suggestions. Has nice visuals that look good in reports.  

Cons: Nowhere near as thorough as the other tools.  

Keyword.io

You can use this tool for free. Like answerthepublic, it scrapes keywords using third party search engine autosuggest functionality.

Pros:  Keyword.io scrapes many more search domains than answerthepublic. And it lets you filter down your list and export it to an excel.  

Cons: I’ve gotten feedback from my colleagues that the tool isn’t as user-friendly or intuitive as answerthepublic. You also have to get keywords from each search domain separately, whereas answerthepublic just combines bing and google into one result.

Web Analytics (Adobe, Google, or other)

Decent web analytics tools will capture keywords from your onsite searches. For example, VMware Docs tracks all internal search terms as well as dozens of related analytics like what page you were on when you searched, which search filters you used, which search results you clicked, how many pages you visited after the search, how long you spent on a page you visited from the search results, etc. All of this information can help you understand what your users are querying as well as understand whether or not they are finding what they expect on the first or subsequent tries.

Pros: Contains additional information about user behaviors.

Cons: Only reliably captures onsite search keywords, and we know most of our customers are actually using third party searches instead. Adobe analytics is not the most intuitive and requires some level of expertise before you can make good use of it. Adobe analytics lets you export/download lists of keywords, but you have to separately download the list in groups of a couple hundred. Free Google Analytics accounts often only contain a sampling of data depending on the size of report you're running.  

Looking for even more SEO keyword tools?

Still not satisfied? Check out this article about the 15 best keyword research tools of 2019: https://backlinko.com/keyword-research-tools

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Jen McDaid speaking SEO at ETC Bulgaria 2019!

Hey TechComm! I’m coming to ETC Bulgaria this year! I’m excited to be presenting an Intro to SEO for techcomm talk as well as a 90 minute SEO workshop for technical writers. You’ll walk away with the vocabulary you need to engage your tech teams about SEO, and some new rules for writing with SEO in mind. If you attend McDaid’s SEO Workshop for TechComm at ETC Bulgaria, you’ll also get hands on experience to some free SEO tools like answerthepublic and Google Search Console. 

Why should TechComm care about SEO?

If you happened to be at TC World India, you might have seen my presentation on the Workshop One UEM RNs. If you did you know that making really small investments in SEO paid off tremendously for that project. We saw 911% increases in impressions and 633% increases in clicks. That means WAY more people are seeing our content in the search results and WAY more people are clicking through to our site. Previously, we had customer satisfaction issues because our content was hard to find, and we just made it a whole lot easier!

SEO Presentation and Workshops for Technical Writers

I’m putting the finishes touch on the Intro to SEO for Technical Writers presentation and the 3 hour SEO workshop for Technical Writers now. I hope I’ll see you there! 

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Conferences for Technical Writers

Looking for a conference to speak at or attend? There are conferences all over the world that cater to the technical communication industry. Plus there are lots of conferences related to our field where we can go and learn some crazy new skills we’d never thought to use before.

Me. Mainstage at LavaCon 2018.

This year, I’ve made it a personal goal to help colleagues get out and speak at conferences. I spent years avoiding conferences until my boss finally dragged me (kicking and screaming) onto a stage with her. Now I feel the urge to return the favor. Sure, the stage fright was (is still) awful. But my peers encouraged me and my industry listened to me. We all just want to hear your story, learn from your lessons. Everyone has something to share... And who doesn’t want an all expenses paid trip somewhere cool? 

Talking to my first couple of (victims) colleagues, it turns out that a big problem is only knowing about 1 or 2 conferences. Someone told me they’d missed the boat for LavaCon this year, so they were going to wait until next year to put in a bid. They didn’t even know about the 4 other conferences that have open calls out as I write this. 

I’m going to attempt to maintain this list and keep it up to date. Please reach out if you know of any conferences I’m missing!! Or if you want advice on submitting a proposal or prepping a talk!

General Technical Communication Conferences

These conferences are appropriate for a wide range of technical writers. 

Winter IDEAS (Jan) - I’ve spoken at this one on a panel with Dell folks. It’s an online-only conference (no video just slide share) held twice yearly. It’s sponsored by CIDM, so sometimes it’s DITA-heavy. Sometimes general. 

MEGAComm (Feb) - Yearly conference held in Israel, appropriate for techcomm, marcomm, and content managers. 

TC World India (Feb) - I’ve spoken at this one. The conference has a lot of personality. It’s the world stage version of LavaCon in that sense. The food was fabulous. The MC thinks he’s hilarious. And evening entertainment included performances and an open dance floor. Conference material focuses heavily on things technical writers can do, in addition to writing, to add value. They love things like chatbots, AR, visualizations, automation, etc.

Tekomm Spring (March) - Bilingual in German and English.

ATTW (Mar) - A little off the beaten path. This is a yearly conference by the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing

Information Energy (April) - Fancy a trip to Amsterdam anyone?

MadWorld (April) - Sponsored by MadCap Flare, but focused on content strategy.

TC Camp (April) - The technical writer’s UNconference. This camp focuses on issues, skills, challenges, and tools for technical communicators. Expect discussions instead of lectures.  

TC World China (May)

Technical Documentation Roundup (May) - New conference from the Content Wrangler.

STC Summit (May) 

Write the Docs Portland (May)

ComTecnia (May) -  Held in Italy in spring (sold yet?), this conference focuses on the latest trends in techcomm.

Evolution of TC (June) - Focused on software documentation innovations. I’ve been to this one, and am speaking at it for the first time this year. It’s a lovely time of year to visit Bulgaria, and the TC industry has exploded in Sofia over the last decade or so. You’re bound to be inspired.

Write the Docs Vilnius (June) 

Soap! (June) - An annual conference for content professionals, held in Poland.

Summer IDEAS (Jul) -  An online-only conference (no video just slide share) held twice yearly. It’s sponsored by CIDM, so sometimes it’s DITA-heavy. Sometimes general. 

Nordic Tekomm (Sept) - I’ve got a bid in for a gig here this year! I’ll let you know how the conference is if I get to attend!

Write the Docs Prague (Sept)

TCUK Conference (Sept)

CIDM Best Practices (Sept) - This is another CIDM conference, so can skew DITA. But it’s intended to be general. You can also enter to win the Inspire Award. Whose boss doesn’t like that kind of industry recognition?

LavaCon (October)  -  The focus tend to be on content strategy for techcomm. I’ve spoken at this one and it’s super fun. They have parades and storytelling and karaoke events! Call for papers is early, and it closes out fast. 

MadWorld Europe (October) - Sponsored by MadCap Flare, but focused on content strategy.

TC World (October) - This is the biggest of the Tekomm events. I’ll be putting in a proposal myself!

TechCommNZ (October) - Yeah, an annual New Zealand technical communications conference. How awesome does that sound? I can speak first hand about NZ being basically a living post card (so beautiful), but I don’t have any first hand knowledge about the conference.

ASTC (October) - Who wants a trip down under? Every year the Australian Society for TechComm puts on a conference. This could be your opportunity to get those flights to the GBR paid for. Not to mention the fabulous techcomm education you’ll be getting.   

DITA Technical Communication Conferences

XML Prague (Feb) -  A conference about XML and markup languages. DITA welcome. Oxygen attends.

CMS/DITA North America (April)

MarkUpUK (June) - A conference about XML and other markup languages. DITA welcome. Oxygen attends.

Balisage the Markup Conference (Jul) -  Another conference about XML and other markup languages. DITA welcome. Oxygen attends.

RIDE Ottawa (Sept) - A regional, single day conference from CIDM. 

DITA OT Day (Nov) - A one day conference dedicated to the DITA Open ToolKit

CMS/DITA Europe (Nov)

User Assistance Conferences

Writers UA West (March)

UA Reloaded (May) - Held in Germany and brought to you by Tekomm. This is conference aimed at bringing techcomm and UA to breakthrough heights. 

Writers UA East (October)

Content Strategy Conferences

Confab (April) - One of my favorite conferences of all time. A range of perspectives, excellent presenters, interesting presentations. Highly, highly recommend. Very competitive for speakers.

IA Conference (April) - Formerly the IA Summit, this conference is under new management after they mishandled a harassment complaint.

Marketing Conferences (that relate to us)

Content Tech Summit (April) - I’m really interested in attending this one. I bet I’d be all sorts of inspired by the technical inroads marketing is making into spaces like analytics and personalization. 

Digital Summit Series - 5 conferences throughout the year. Wide range of topics covering all aspect of customer strategies.

(A couple) SEO Conferences

Search Engine Journal keeps a humongous list of SEO Conferences. Here are two that stand out for me.

OhGMCon (April) - In a basement, no wifi, no sponsor talks. Sounds interesting...

Brighton SEO (April) - Well known conference comes to me highly recommended by people I trust and respect in the industry.

(Some) Conversational Design Conferences

Business of Bots (Feb)

Chatbot Conference (May) 

Chatbot Summit (June)

ConverCon Dublin (Oct)

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Search and share these pages/posts so we actually have some data to work with come June!!!!

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McDaid’s SEO Workshop just appeared on the ETC Bulgaria site. We’re official! Keep searching for and sharing these posts so we have actual data to work with come June!

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Where do I get started learning SEO?

More and more, Techcomm is looking to join their Marcomm counterparts in the realm of SEO. A lot of writers ask me where they should go to get started. I do of course point them to my speaking events page, but then I share a list of my favorite resources. 

Moz - my favorite starting point

My favorite place to start is Moz. Start with Moz’s Beginner Guide to SEO. Check out all the free SEO tools, resources, and catch up on the SEO blog. Don’t miss out on Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays. They are amazing. And if you ever have any SEO questions, just ask Google and watch Moz rise to the top. (Surprise, surprise - they’ve got great SEO.)

Other great SEO sites:

https://yoast.com/

https://searchengineland.com/

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/

Looking for a conference?

Search Engine Journal put out a pretty good rundown of the best SEO conferences of 2019. I’ve got friends who highly recommend BrightonSEO, and others who swear by MozCon.

I know, I know - you’re writers not SEO Experts. Hear me out though.

Get outside your industry. Synthesize what you learn into something amazing for your own industry. Go learn mad SEO skills and bring them back to Techcomm. Read up on growing trends in marketing, data analysis, user experience, and bring the magic home for your users. Think outside the box. 

The best conference I’ve been to so far was ConFab. Not a single Techcomm speaker in sight. It fueled me to throw out my entire content playbook and start over. I was inspired to redesign an entire AI personality from scratch from a new perspective, education my industry about SEO, and think about my career in whole new ways.

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Inclusive Docs?

A colleague got me thinking today when he sent me an article about Google. You know how Google's fancy new autocomplete AI guesses the whole rest of your sentence? Well they've removed all the gender-based pronouns from the AI's vocab in an effort to be more inclusive. Google created a whole big list of off-limits words to try to remove bias and embrace diversity and inclusion. I recommend watching the 2 min video for a look at why Google found this necessary and important.

Splunk too has made similar moves to be more inclusive. I ran some quick searches through doc sets I work with and came up with a lot of hits for "he" and "she." Also saw a lot of anglo-american names (John, Sean, Bob) leaving a lot of the audience un- and under-represented.

We (tech) should be mindful of unconscious bias and diversity/inclusion even in our docs. Maybe talk to your PM about user personas if you see that some users aren't being represented. And I agree with updating style guides to embrace gender neutral pronouns and names. I know that today it’s “bad english” to use “they” in place of a single-person pronoun like he/she. But language evolves. Let’s be the change.

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Remember the transitive property? (I barely do.) Well if SEO in 2019 is all about a good user experience, and plain language is a driver for good user experience, then plain language needs to be part of your SEO strategy. 

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Deborah Bosley and Plain Language

I listened to a webinar today with guest Deborah Bosley from the Plain Language Group. Thought I'd share her old TedTalk with you. We should all strive to use plain language so customers get more out of our docs, faster! Active voice, strong verbs, clear and concise, avoiding passive phrases, etc. More on that at the Center for Plain Language.

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Plain Language in Unexpected Places

When I talk about simplifying your writing for someone with an 8th grade reading level, I'm talking about the sentence structures and words - not the content. The goal is to convey complex thoughts and concepts without letting the words and sentence structures slow your reader down. Take a look at this study from Shane Snow, who ran famous authors through readability tests with surprising results. Turns out lower readability scores are for the best writers: 

"Apparently my man Ernest, the Pulitzer- and Nobel Prize-winning novelist whose work shaped 20th-century fiction, wrote for elementary-schoolers.... Cormac McCarthy, Jane Austen, and Hunter S. Thompson join J.K. Rowling in the readability realm of pre-teens. The content ... isn’t meant for children, but these writers' comprehensibility is rather universal."

Add this to the info from that NNG study I always share (Plain language for everyone, even experts) and it's getting pretty hard to argue that plain language isn't the right language.

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Search and share these pages/posts so we actually have some data to work with come June!!!!

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An Introduction to SEO for Technical Communicators - Evolution of Technical Communication

We’ll start with evidence for why SEO must be a key component of your tech comm strategy. We’ll align on what SEO is and is not, and clear up some common misconceptions.

Put it in your calendars - our first Live Workshop will take place at ETC Bulgaria this summer June 4-5. I’ll be doing this Intro to SEO for Technical Communicators as well as a workshop where we’ll use this blog site to dig through real world Google Search Console data. Giving everyone the same access to real data during the workshop should make learning this awesome SEO tool much easier!

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What’s the difference between #seo and #sem anyway? In the screen shot, paid search is above the red line. Companies bid on the keyword and pay to appear here with the little “ad” icon you see. That’s SEM (search engine marketing). Below the red line you see the organic or natural search results. No one paid Google for that, they just have good SEO (search engine optimization).