5 PowerPoint Pitch Deck Tips For SEO-Friendly Slides

online presentations

pitch deck

Powerpoint

powerpoint slides

Presentations

SEO

slideshare

There are plenty of great benefits in creating a solid content marketing strategy.

As we’ve discussed before, we found that it’s an easy way to connect and engage with consumers. By sharing content that is relevant to them, you help them create an emotional connection with your brand.

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Of course, gaining leads through this method isn’t always easy. Sure, sharing your PowerPoint slides on the Internet does introduce your brand to a wider audience. The problem is that it might take them a while to find your content, even if you’ve created slides that are relevant and useful for them.

To nudge these potential consumers in your direction, let your slides stand out. The way to do that is by making your PowerPoint and pitch deck presentations SEO-friendly.

BrightEdge CEO Jim Yu stresses that unlike its earlier stages, SEO content no longer means stuffing your work with random keywords, but incorporating them into meaningful and well-researched content.

So how can you optimize your PowerPoint’s searchability? Follow our five tips:

Optimize your title slide

The title slide is an important part of your presentation, especially if you’re sharing it online. It’s the first thing that people will see when they’re browsing and come across your PowerPoint deck on SlideShare or any other site.

It’s also the title slide that will help them decide if your content is relevant to their interests. As such, optimize your title slide.

Take the time to craft the perfect title for your presentation, which needs to contain the keyword you’re optimizing for. The keyword should flow naturally with the single phrase you come up with.

Also have visuals that match your creative and SEO-friendly title. While the keyword helps search engines decide that your content is a match, it’s the visuals that will capture your target audience’s attention.

Use long tail keywords in the content

Using keywords shouldn’t stop at the title slide. The long tail keywords you choose should also be incorporated to the content of your slides.

For SEO beginners, that means you should incorporate keywords that are quite specific to the topic you’re discussing and optimizing for. This way, your content doesn’t get buried under millions of results for a general search term.

HubSpot contributor, Corey Wainwright, explains the use of long tail keywords. Such keywords flow naturally with the rest of your writing. Doing otherwise might end up alienating your audience.

Provide an accurate description

Aside from content, you also have to provide an accurate and thought-provoking meta description of your presentation.

Focus on the core message of your presentation and make sure that stands out in what you write.

A good description isn’t too long. A few, quick sentences will do. This will serve as the space where you can include information about your company, like links to your website and social media profiles.

Carefully tag your pitch deck presentation

Another crucial step to SEO-friendly slides are the tags. Sites like SlideShare allows up to 20 for your presentation.

Tags are keywords that will make it easier to categorize and find your content. Make sure you use those that are relevant to your content and your brand.

Tagging random keywords might damage you in the long run by marking you as spam. Always relate your tags to what your presentation is actually about.

Share presentation on social media

Finally, it’s time to share your presentation on social media platforms. When you upload your PowerPoint deck, you don’t have to sit around and wait for the audience to appear.

Do the heavy lifting and take your presentation to them. Share links to your newly-uploaded PowerPoint pitch deck presentation on your social media profiles. This will give your followers a heads up.

In turn, they can share it on their own profiles or websites. Search engines prioritize results that have plenty of back links. The more you share your pitch deck presentation, the larger your reach will become.

Sharing your presentations online can help you reach out to a wider audience. Do it right by making sure your PowerPoint slides have SEO advantage. Take note of these tips and do your best to connect and engage with consumers through the large world of the Internet.

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References:

Content Marketing Lesson: Presentations Create More Impact.” SlideGenius, Inc. July 13, 2014. Accessed January 29, 2015.
Wainwright, Corey. “The Ultimate Guide for Mastering Long Tail SearchHubSpot. Accessed January 29, 2015.
Perfecting Your Presentation Title Slide.” SlideGenius, Inc.. October 16, 2014. Accessed January 29, 2015.
Yu, Jim. “5 Steps To An Integrated Approach To SEO-Friendly Content Marketing.” Marketing Land. March 11, 2014. Accessed January 29, 2015.

 

Featured Image: Picjumbo.com

Quick PowerPoint Tips: Designing for SlideShare

PowerPoint Design

Powerpoint tips

presentation design

slideshare

SlideShare is a powerful platform for sharing presentations, but designing slides for SlideShare requires a slightly different approach than designing for live presentations. Since users view your slides at their own pace, without your verbal explanation, your slides need to be clear, concise, and self-explanatory.

Here are some quick tips to help you design effective presentations for SlideShare:


1. Make Each Slide Self-Explanatory

Since your audience won’t hear you speak, each slide needs to stand on its own and clearly communicate the key point.

Why It’s Important:

  • Ensures Clarity: Your audience should be able to understand the content of each slide without needing additional context or explanation.

How to Do It:

  • Use clear, concise headlines and include supporting text that explains your main point.
  • Avoid too much jargon or complex concepts unless they are explained clearly on the slide.

Example: If you’re presenting on market trends, include simple, easy-to-read charts with brief descriptions explaining the data.


2. Use Simple, Clean Visuals

SlideShare presentations are often viewed on smaller screens, such as laptops or mobile devices. To ensure readability, keep your design simple and avoid clutter.

Why It’s Important:

  • Improves Readability: Simple visuals ensure that your slides are easy to read on any device.
  • Enhances Focus: Clean designs help direct the viewer’s attention to the key message of each slide.

How to Do It:

  • Stick to a minimalist design with plenty of white space.
  • Use large fonts and high-quality images that won’t lose clarity when scaled down.

Example: For a presentation on digital marketing strategies, use icons and short bullet points to summarize each strategy rather than overcrowding the slide with text.


3. Focus on One Key Point per Slide

SlideShare users often skim through presentations quickly. To keep their attention, make sure each slide conveys just one main idea or key point.

Why It’s Important:

  • Maintains Engagement: Slides that are too busy or contain multiple points can overwhelm viewers and lead to disengagement.
  • Increases Retention: Focusing on one point per slide makes it easier for viewers to digest and remember the content.

How to Do It:

  • Break up complex ideas across multiple slides.
  • Summarize your key points using headlines or short bullet points, and avoid adding unnecessary details.

Example: Instead of listing all product features on one slide, dedicate one slide to each feature and explain its benefit briefly.


4. Use High-Contrast Color Schemes

On SlideShare, slides need to be visually appealing and easy to read. High-contrast color schemes help ensure that text and visuals are legible, even on small screens.

Why It’s Important:

  • Improves Visibility: High contrast makes it easier for viewers to see your text and graphics.
  • Keeps the Presentation Professional: Avoid using too many colors or clashing schemes that can make your slides look unprofessional.

How to Do It:

  • Use a dark font on a light background or vice versa.
  • Stick to a cohesive color palette of 2-3 colors for consistency.

Example: Use a white background with dark blue text and a contrasting color (like orange) for key points or calls to action.


5. Add a Strong Call to Action

If your presentation has a specific goal (such as promoting a product, sharing insights, or driving traffic to a website), include a clear and compelling call to action at the end.

Why It’s Important:

  • Encourages Audience Engagement: A call to action guides your audience on what to do next, increasing the likelihood of further interaction.
  • Helps Achieve Your Presentation’s Purpose: Whether you want viewers to visit your website, download a report, or contact you, a strong call to action drives results.

How to Do It:

  • Use action-oriented language like “Download the full report,” “Contact us today,” or “Learn more on our website.”
  • Place the call to action prominently on the final slide.

Example: For a product launch presentation, include a link to your product’s landing page with a call to action like, “Discover how [Product Name] can help your business grow—visit [website URL].”


Final Thoughts

Designing for SlideShare requires a focus on clarity, simplicity, and self-explanatory slides. By keeping your design minimal, using high-contrast visuals, and focusing on one key point per slide, you can create presentations that engage your SlideShare audience and communicate your message effectively. Don’t forget to include a strong call to action that directs viewers toward the next step.

Presentation Ideas from Great SlideShare Uploads

examples

presentation ideas

slideshare

Are you currently stuck on a blank PowerPoint screen? Don’t know how to begin the daunting task of creating an engaging presentation? It’s hard to move forward when inspiration is running low, so we’ve compiled 6 SlideShare uploads that can help you out of your predicament. Try and source some great presentation ideas from this list.

Steal This Presentation by Jesse Desjardins

presentation ideas - steal this presentation
(Click image to view full presentation)

This slide show covers some useful info on presentation design. It gives a bit of insight about which colors to use for your deck, what kind of images can go with your presentation, and how to create a more interesting layout for each slide. It also includes a list of websites where you can download images and fonts. The main objective of Desjardins’ catchy post is to show that not every presentation needs to end with a Death by PowerPoint — not even yours.

Speaking Tips from Popular TED Talks by Dell

presentation ideas - tips from ted talks

The TED Conference has seen some of the best presentations in recent history. Get some presentation ideas from the techniques that make the best TED Talks stand out. The appeal of the TED talk is its inspiring and engaging speech. Audiences not only sit and listen to a speaker, they also relate to the presenter. Learn to move and inspire people with your words.

13 Steve Jobs Quotes About Design by Steve Young

presentation ideas - steve jobs design

Steve Jobs gave some of the most memorable presentations. He created a fun and engaging experience for audiences watching his product launches. What he was best known for in presentations was his ability to incorporate effective storytelling into his product pitch. Other than that, he’s a respected leader in innovating the tech industry. Learn more about his thoughts on design to inspire your own presentation.

Pixar’s 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling by Gavin McMahon

presentation ideas - pixar storytelling

Pixar has been making films that are simple yet profound. If you’re feeling stuck, even after several brainstorming sessions, this can be a great source for presentation ideas. The animation company’s ability to reach out and relate to their audience through their storytelling is deeply rooted in a combination of fleshed out characters and organized narrative construction. Learn more about their storytelling technique and try applying it to your presentation content.

7 Rules of Content Marketing Design That Convert Customers by Uberflip

presentation ideas - content marketing design

Presentations can make a great addition to your content marketing strategy. In this SlideShare presentation, take note of the different design tips that can help you earn and engage a larger audience. Consistency and an engaging CTA are among the things you need to include in your design in order to get noticed.

How to Get Picked for the SlideShare Homepage by SlideShare

presentation ideas - slideshare feature

If you do decide to use presentations for content marketing, you need to upload them to a site like SlideShare. In this presentation, SlideShare offers advice to help you create eye-catching and memorable slides. The key to getting the most ‘views’ is effective PowerPoint design.

Presentation ideas still not coming to you? Keep browsing through SlideShare’s featured presentations until you find something that clicks. You can also visit our SlideShare profile for more inspiration.

Featured Image: Andrés Nieto Porras via Flickr

PowerPoint as Narrative Tool: Jennifer Egan’s ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’

jennifer egan

powerpoint as narrative tool

slideshare

powerpoint as narrative tool as featured in eganPresentations are all about sharing stories. It doesn’t matter what the content is about, or what the specific goals are. You could be pitching a business plan or leading a seminar. At the very core, they’re truly all the same. In all presentations, you share knowledge and information in a way that your audience can easily understand. In other words, you tell a story.

Since stories are in the nature of all presentations, the same should follow for your PowerPoint decks. It’s hard to think of PowerPoint as a narrative tool, especially in the corporate setting. Most of the time, we fill our slides with charts and numbers and all the important points in our presentations without much thought. But if you take the time to familiarize yourself with its functions, you’ll be surprised how PowerPoint can become a narrative tool. It can easily turn your information into a story that’s easy to follow.

As an example, let’s take a look at how a piece of fiction is told through PowerPoint slides. In Jennifer Egan’s Pulitzer Prize winning book ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad,’ there’s an entire chapter that’s written using PowerPoint. You’ll be surprised to see the PowerPoint charts and graphics we’ve discussed in the past used as a literary medium.

In “Great Rock and Roll Pauses”, you can see just how flexible the most iconic presentation software is. Observe how Jennifer Egan fashions PowerPoint as a narrative tool by viewing the full presentation here.Try to get inspiration from Egan’s work for the next time you have to make use of charts and graphs in your PowerPoint presentation.

powerpoint narrative tool jennifer egan

 

 

 

Featured Image: fly via Flickr

SlideShare Mastery: Unleashing the Power of PowerPoint Design to Captivate and Inspire

PowerPoint Design

slideshare

SlideShare is a great platform for sharing knowledge and information. Upload your PowerPoint presentations to the website and you’re sure to reach a broader audience.

Since it was created in 2007, SlideShare has been boasting 50 million visitors and 3 billion views a month. That much traffic offers plenty of opportunity for your message to spread. But of course, as with most things on the Internet, you can’t expect your presentation to go viral that easily.

SlideShare requires a different technique for PowerPoint design. Without a speaker to explain the details on the slides, presentations have to speak for themselves. Take note of these PowerPoint design tips to help you maximize the famous presentation platform.

Use the right amount of text

Too much text is usually frowned upon in PowerPoint presentation design. Most of the time, presenters opt for adding short phrases to their slides. But with SlideShare presentations, having the right amount of text is crucial. There’s no other way to get your point across.

But don’t flood your slides with a barrage of information, either. Make sure your PowerPoint design has captivating and concise copy. It can’t be too short. It just needs to be long enough to convey the message you’re trying to get across.

Discuss one concept at a time

A great way to condense the text and information in your SlideShare presentations is by discussing only one concept at a time. This also helps prevent any information overload from overwhelming the audience.

Your content has to flow in an organic way. Structure your presentation in such a way that you can discuss one point in one slide, before moving on to the next one in a new slide.

Visuals are crucial

Visuals are probably more crucial for SlideShare than it is in real-life-presentations. When you’re in front of an audience, you’re able to command attention with enthusiasm and dynamic body language. If you’re a particularly skilled public speaker, you might be able to get away without using a PowerPoint presentation at all.

But for SlideShare, a visual PowerPoint design is extremely important. Command the attention of SlideShare users through your use of images, colors, and interesting fonts.

Upload PowerPoint as PDF

SlideShare allows you to upload your PowerPoint presentation in several different formats. But the best file format is PDF. This makes it more compatible across different programs. It’s also a smaller file size than a PowerPoint, which makes it easier to transfer to other devices

It gives your presentation the most polished, high-quality look. Your PowerPoint design will maintain its crisp images and unique fonts.

Check out our SlideShare account for more tips and inspiration on PowerPoint design. You can also get great ideas by browsing through the featured SlideShares.

Reference

15 Mind-Blowing Stats About SlideShare.” CMO by Adobe. Accessed July 14, 2014.