Posts About ‘Business’

“Big data is going to replace the majority of marketers”

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Big Data, it is a term of which many marketers still don’t know how to act on it. Maybe because they don’t understand it or maybe because it is ‘too big’ for them. But they will need to understand and get a grip on it to not fall behind and in the end get lost entirely.

Earlier today I spoke to Bryan Eisenberg when he was on his way to his keynote presentation about big data at the PPC Hero conference. Bryan, on his birthday actually, made an interesting point which he will also be making in his keynote speech: we might be heading into a direction in which marketers are (partly) being replaced by automation.

Let’s elaborate a bit on that. The idea is based on several different elements which Bryan and his brother Jeffrey describe in a new whitepaper which can be gotten from the website http://www.usethedata.com. It is about understanding big data, or as Rod A. Smith, an IBM technical fellow and VP for emerging Internet technologies says in the whitepaper:

“Big Data is really about new uses and new insights, not so much the data itself,”

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Why Should I Choose You?

Best Business Decision

No matter what business you are in, this is the one question you should ask yourself everyday. If your sales are up or down; if your rankings are up or down. Big brand or small mom and pop shop. You should always be striving to be able to answer that question with more than just “because we are the best.” Best is subjective and in this world of low barriers to entry, you need a good answer to that question.

Not sure how to answer that question? It’s not just about being what the Harvard Business Review calls category creators (you must pay to view, sorry guys), the people that create an entire new business idea. It can be a number of things that we’ll review in a minute, but the point is that you need this not only for your business as a whole, you need it for many parts of your business. A good unique selling proposition (USP) is beneficial for: (more…)

10 tips for Managing an Effective Search Team

The Ideal Digital Marketing Team

Quite a few people of late have asked me what it’s like to branch out on your own and run a search agency. To me it’s very similar to playing several  games of chess concurrently. You need to keep a constant eye on all things from finance and marketing to production, R&D and HR. The ever changing nature of search adds a level of complexity to it all that’s really quite challenging.

Now I have made a hell of a lot of mistakes along the way. Some people I backed way too much for too long and others I probably failed by not communicating effectively enough with them. Most of the mistakes I learned from (I hope!) and, as a result, tried things differently the next time the situation cropped up. I am a big believer that the right decision is a series of small decisions rather than one massive one as you learn things along the way that change your perspective.

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FAQ Pages – Are you Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory?

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Last month I spoke at the SearchLove London conference. One of the sessions I took part in was entitled ‘Let’s Get Real’ where each of the speakers were asked to share an actionable tip or tactic.

The tip I shared was around FAQ or Terms and Conditions pages, and went a little something like this:

When you get back to the office on Wednesday morning, go take a look at your FAQ and/or Terms and Conditions pages. Most are woeful. All too often the language used is unfriendly at best; or impenetrable legal jargon at worst. This is a crying shame on several counts – not only may it adversely affect a visitor’s perception of your company, but it may actually lose you business.

Why am I bothered about these pages?

Because the visitors who are reading your FAQ or Terms and Conditions pages are a hair’s breadth from converting on your site.

Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

No one wants to be *that* girl.

 

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How non-SEO Books Have Taught me to be a Better SEO

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I really enjoy reading books that aren’t strictly related to my job as an SEO but can be applied in some way.  The truth is that we’re often overwhelmed with the amount of SEO content that is thrown at us everyday, I purposely try to avoid a lot of it and try to do catchups at certain points of my week rather than getting distracted from the task I’m on.  Although that is easier said than done!  I do wish that there were more posts from SEOs about non-SEO elements of their job, I’m talking about things like:

  • Managing people
  • Managing projects
  • Working with clients
  • Selling projects
  • Influencing change

There are more but I’m sure you get the idea.  It is this side of the industry that I wish people wrote about more, so in the spirit of this I wanted to share some of my learnings on non-SEO issues and introduce you to the books that gave me those learnings.  This is a good time to point out this list that Sam wrote not too long ago which talks about business and marketing books that SEOs have found useful. (more…)

Reflective SEO: Money, Power, Respect

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It’s not often that I actually do an opinion piece, for those who have seen my first few blogs on state of search or seen my presentations or seminars over the years will know that I like strategy, facts, figures and of course add my opinion or experience to that but I rarely actually put out a heartfelt blog post, well this year has made me feel like I’ve had a hard paper round!

If you’re not familiar with my background I started in Search about 2003, a little wet behind the ears and no clue about how a Search Engine worked, I delved in and like a lot of my generation of marketers learnt by trial and error. By 2005 I took the company I work for to rank basically number one for the phrase “SEO” in Google UK. I was still young and maybe even a little cocky thinking that I must be so good at what I do because I ranked top of Google for SEO.

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A Few Things I Learnt From Freelancing

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Before my current job I spent quite a few years freelancing as an SEO and have always wanted to write a post about the experience. This isn’t a guide to going freelance, but it does discuss some points that I think anyone considering taking the leap and working for themselves should think about. A lot of people consider being your own boss and working from home the ultimate dream; getting up when you want and taking the odd day off when you don’t feel like working. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. If you do decide to go it alone you’ll find yourself working twice as hard as your counterparts with ‘proper jobs’. Be prepared to be up early, work late into the night, work weekends and deal with problems when you’re on holiday. In short, there is no such thing as true ‘time off’. Added to that you’re going to have to quickly learn how to run a business and suffer the mistakes when you make them.

There are also some immense benefits, but not in the way that most people expect. One guarantee is that you will come out the other end with a work ethic that I don’t think you can develop in any other way. If you’ve had to deal with being in a situation where you do the work or face earning no money; suddenly most day to day issues simply won’t be a problem anymore – you’ll just fix them because it’s what you’re used to doing. Not being tied into a particular role also means you can develop in the way that you want to, when you want to. If there’s a training event you feel you need to attend you can; if you decide to spend time developing a new skill you can. (more…)

Past and Future: I’m an old man now, you better listen

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Today I turn 40. Now that is an age on which most men go out and buy that fast motorcycle or the convertible car which makes them feel like they are 21, even though at the age of 21 hardly anyone can afford a car like that. Now this mid life crisis behaviour of course is triggered because a man feels he is about halfway through his life and he is now part of the ‘old’ people. It’s because it is a time of looking back and looking forward. What have I reached and what is there to reach?

I have not bought a motorcycle. I have not bought a car. But of course, I reached the ‘dreadful 40 age’, I have looked back and forward. And I wanted to share (part ;-) ) of that with you, the part which is about what I do: online marketing, search, social, speaking and State of Search of course. Things are changing and we all need to be aware of that and act on it. And remember: I’m an old man now, you better listen to what I have to say. (more…)

Friday Talk: Brian Solis – Screw business as usual….this is the real world

When it comes to online Brian Solis is one of the people who is widely recognised as being a visionair and an excellent talker. At TEDx Presidio he took the stage and talked about what he writes about in his new book, The End Of Business As Usual, in which he looks at the changing consumer landscape, it’s impact on business & what companies can do to adapt & lead.

SEO Growing Pains – What the Search Industry Should be Searching for

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Things continue to grow and evolve at such rapid pace, in our previously tiny industry. And to be quite honest, one of the major struggles we’re all facing is trying to keep up! I’m not talking about keeping up with life-changing technological advancements, Google’s mind-boggling algorithm updates, or even with the challenges of working in such a competitive industry. Instead, I’m talking about business 101 – recruitment challenges.

SEO blogs across the web have been voicing their ideas on what makes the perfect SEO team. Articles such as The Ideal Digital Marketing Team, written my friend and fellow blogger, Barry Adams, echo the industry’s thoughts.

Recruiting the right people, whilst growing an agency and keeping clients happy, is never an easy task. But what’s amazed us most about our recent burst of recruitment has been how we have changed.  We’re simply not looking for the same people we were looking for this time last year. We’re not even looking for the same people we were looking for this time 6 months ago. (more…)

Awesome Marketing and Business Books – Recommended by the State of Search Team

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Over the past couple of years I have been to a number of conferences and always come away with a list of books that have been recommended by the speakers. This got me thinking about the types of books that people in the industry read, whether they are directly related to online marketing, SEO or business in general so I spoke to the State of Search team and have compiled this amazing list.

I hope you find some of these useful and would love to hear what books you would recommend so if you have anything to add, please leave a comment at the end of the post to share with all the State of Search readers.

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