Posts About ‘SEO’

The value of content: why exactly am I writing this post?

SEO content memes

As both a writer and reader of all kinds of blogs, I’ve been thinking a lot of late about the quantity and quality of posts that are out there, particularly within the search marketing realm. I’ve spoken a lot about the feeling of drowning in content with friends and collegues, who are experiencing the same sense of growing disinterest.

As connoisseurs of the SEO/digital industry, I think we all recognise that there is a ridiculous, possibly simply excessive amount of content being pushed out on a daily basis.  And alas, all too ironically, a fair amount of it is written not because the subject matter is interesting but because people are just out hunting for links using tried and tested content methods. (more…)

What The Smiths Can Teach Us About SEO

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This is a guest post by Chris Smith is a SEO Copywriter at Manchester-based digital agency Fluid Creativity, providing bespoke web design and SEO services to a range of clients. Like this post? Let us know!

When you think of SEO experts, who comes to mind? Matt Cutts, SEOmoz’s Rand Fishkin, SEOBook’s Aaron Wall? We’re willing to bet that one person who definitely doesn’t figure in your thinking is professional miser and ex-frontman of The Smiths, Morrissey.

Inspired by this excellent post from Copyblogger on Eminem’s guide to becoming a writing and content marketing machine, I’ve decided to draw on inspiration a little closer to home for us here at Fluid. In a move that I’m almost positive would make Moz himself baulk, I’m going to spend the next few hundred words trying to convince you that The Smiths entire career and discography can actually be interpreted as a series of important lessons for people working in SEO, particularly in regards to content.

Odd? Definitely. Far-fetched? Not as much as you’d think. Without further ado, here are some of the vital SEO lessons we can learn from Manchester’s favourite miserable sons (sorry Joy Division). (more…)

A letter from a Concerned PR Professional

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Dear SEO Company,

Having asked what SEO looks like in post penguin and panda world, I am afraid. Very afraid. Because it looks like PR (public relations).

As a freelance PR person, of course, new entrants to the market bring prices down, and for the inexperienced PR purchaser, having an SEO person do your PR at the same time as your SEO seems like a great idea. So there’s the selfish bit out on the table.

But years of experience have gone into making me a good PR, and my bigger fears are for PR in the hands of the inexperienced. (more…)

Big Brand Keynote Panel

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Here we are at SAScon, the Manchester-based search, analytics & social conference that just keeps getting bigger & better.

After an emotional introduction from Manual Link Building‘s Gareth Hoyle and Manchester Digital‘s Richard Hudson, we kick off the first day of SAScon with a big brand keynote session moderated by Richard Gregory and featuring Ben McKay from Moneysupermarket, Martin McDonald from Expedia, and James Hamlin from Seatwave. (more…)

SEO vs PPC – The What And The Why

You have them at conferences sometimes: the battle between SEO and PPC on stage: which one is better, which one is more effective and which one is easier. Probably those in favor of either one of them will never agree on that.

Still there are many who don’t see the difference. People ‘on the streets’ who are asked about Google sometimes say they believe every result in Google is PPC: you have to pay to get up there. But they won’t call it “PPC”, because they haven’t even have heard of the term PPC, let alone SEO. This infographic looks at the initial differences between the both.

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Google’s Maile Ohye Talks About “SEO Mistakes”, But Are They SEO?

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Google’s Maile Ohye is a smart woman who knows her stuff. She decided it was time to address some SEO matters and ‘teach’ the world about SEO. So she made a video called “5 common mistakes in SEO (and 6 good ideas!)”.

The video, which you can see below, is a quick 101 lesson in how to think about SEO, or even better, how to think about sites in general. The title suggests you will get actual SEO mistakes and tips. In fact it is about how to think strategically. Still, its a message we all should be aware off, but why the “SEO Mistakes” title? (more…)

Video Is The Winner In Branded Content Marketing

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Via Panda, Penguin and other subtler algo updates, Google are hammering home the message that content is everything when it comes to judging the worth of a site and how often they are prepared to return it in the search results for its target keywords.

Savvy marketers have been using a variety of methods for years to attract visitors, both on and off page but the latest report from ContentWise and the Custom Content Council shows that it is video content that is proving to be an invaluable addition to their branded marketing repertoire. (more…)

SEO from Another Angle

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I’ve had many conversations with people (usually in the pub) who seem convinced that SEO is not something they need; and I’m always tending to take the line that if it can be tailored in the right way, SEO should be able to provide benefit for anyone or any business. In fact, I quite enjoy bending the rules of a traditional SEO campaign and really making it work for the business or project in question. Whilst trying to rank for big keywords might not be something everyone wants or needs, perhaps protecting branded search or driving traffic to campaigns as and when they happen would be a good fit.

To make more sense of this, I thought I’d walk through an example plan for a musician’s or band’s website. Ranking for something like ‘band’ or ‘blues band’ probably isn’t going to get you too far, and as a goal it might not be the best way to go. I personally think that it would be far more beneficial to get people to the right places as quickly as possible. So as a musician writing your own material who has no real need to rank for something big; what do you need people to find and interact with quickly? (more…)

SEO is a Business: Just Focus On What You Can Change

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Dearest SEOs, this is not a rant per say but more a sigh of exasperation. It’s also not aimed at one person, group of people or industry alone. However… I am starting to feel blue, and stay blue, with all the endless ranting, raving, negativity and well even ‘whining’ that seems to abound these days. (Or maybe it’s just the constant rainy downpour I’ve been under for the last 2 weeks – can’t quite figure out which).

Between panda, penguin, social signals, algorithmic ‘tweaks’, WMT warnings, Search Plus Your World, (not provided), random ranking drops, delving into the world of financial comparison and all the other stunts Google has pulled in the last six months (not to mention fun privacy laws popping up), I get where the ranting comes from. I do. And yet I’m also a little sick of it.

At the end of the day, we’re all in business. What we need to do is adapt, learn, have a mini rant and move and focus on the ££/$$/€€. There are a few facts which cannot be denied people. Some seem to be forgetting them. (more…)

Looking At UK SEO Agencies: Or Should We Say “Digital Marketing Agency”?

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When it comes to SEO industries one of the leading countries without a doubt is the UK. There are many high level agencies in the UK and the developments are going very rapidly there.

Whether or not the UK industry is much better or worse than other countries is hard to say, not just because it is difficult to look at specific agencies, but also because the environment can be different in each country.

Still, you can try and look to the UK by looking at the numbers. Numbers that show that the UK SEO industry is not just focussing on SEO anymore, but also heavily involved in Social Media and Web Analytics for example. Or that most agencies have a blog. And that the good old fashioned “SEO Agency” seems to be replaced, as a name that is, by “Digital Marketing Agency”. This infographic sums it up. (more…)

Meta Description Tags – Billboarding Your Site on SERPS

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So you are now ranking where you want to be, but you simply are not seeing the results that your research tells you to expect. It could be that you suffer from having weak meta description tags. Don’t listen to the “experts” that say it doesn’t matter – let’s billboard your page!

A lot of search marketers now believe that the meta description is meaningless. They say that since because it is not a part of the algorithm in determining rankings that they will shift their focus from it. I ask why, they give reasons, and we both end up feeling unfulfilled from that conversation. So during my drive from Michigan to Florida, I got some motivation for this months article. (more…)

The Case for Specialisations

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In many of the SEO consultancies I’ve worked alongside, little silos are appearing. One person or team does the link building. One does the onsite. One does the editorial. And some poor soul gets to write the monthly report.

This reflects what happened with some PR consultancies years ago – someone doing the ‘telesales’ to journalists, someone doing the writing. Many who took that approach didn’t last long – the focus moves away from creating rounded ‘consultants’ organised around clients’ needs for someone who understands their business and market, and a single point of contact.

With Google starting to focus on the ‘who’ as well as the ‘what’ of online content, with author credence beginning to matter, has SEO matured to a level where SEO consultancies are beginning to specialise around industry specialisms? (more…)

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