SEO In-house Blog

If your SEO agency doesn't educate you in the process, drop your agency right now.

I was recently chatting with an SEO at an agency about consulting, now that I am doing SEO audits and in-house SEO training, and he asked an odd question: "How do you talk to your clients about what they need, but not pass on too much SEO knowledge in the process?"

Gobsmacked, I choked… that is what a client is paying you for!

My response was to the tune of "I don't worry about it as a consultant because I offer so much great advice, I know they'll come back for more. And when I'm working as an in-house SEO, and sense this is happening, I drop the agency immediately. When I work with a good consultant to pick up work that I didn't have time for, they are very forthcoming with knowledge and insight for the project."

What amazes me is that this isn't an uncommon question/concern for some agencies. I am floored that an SEO agency fears that in one day of training or a few conversations with IT would give away too much knowledge – perhaps they don't have too much to offer in the first place!

If you sense your SEO agency is dodging your questions about SEO, drop them flat and find an SEO consultant who will pass along all the SEO knowledge you desire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WebAward Claims Linking to their Site will Help Your SEO Rankings, Hah!

I got an interesting email the other day about the WebAward from the Web Marketing Association and in theory it sounds like an OK award to apply for.

But... the crazy thing they did was give a Top 10 reasons you should want to apply, one of which addresses SEO - and it's off base, very unfortunate for a web marketing association.

Reason #3:

"A link to webaward.org will help your site's search engine rankings because you will be linked to an 12-year old .org authoritative site with a high Google PageRank."

We all know that every SEO has a different stance on what it takes to rank high in search engines, but I'm pretty sure that most SEOs feel that linking to a 12-yr old .org site isn't really going to help boost your rankings. 

My hope is that it's a mixup and it should have read:

A link FROM webaward.org will help your site's search engine rankings because you will be linked FROM a 12-year old .org authoritative site with a high Google PageRank.

The thing is that anyone can link to webaward.org, even if they don't win - so if this was part of your reasoning for the application, know that it's a bit of *bleep* and not likely to have affect your rankings as their top 10 list implies.

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Wondering what will boost your site's search engine rankings?
Get an SEO audit, SEO Training or other SEO service.

Product Placement Service Launches, Storybids.com

Normally my blog is all SEO, all the time; however, I wanted to point out an interesting new service offered by Storybids, a product placement marketplace.

The concept is that people can upload their user generated videos that are intended to be webisodes, viral videos, serial min-dramas, videoblogs and webisodes, and companies can bid on product placement in the videos. 

Imagine having received product placements in the Chocolate Rain video that has had more than 21 million views in YouTube alone - that would be mega exposure for a microphone manufacturer or for any company who supplied the guy with a t-shirt with a company logo. That's what Storybids is all about.

Chocolate Rain Video
Missed Product Placement Opportunities:
Logo Microphone, Branded Shirt, Glasses with an identifiable mark/logo

Storybids.com - A product Placement Marketplace
More details about their product placement service

What is the foundation for first class SEO?

The other day I was working on-site for a client and the CEO came out to tell me about a pitch he got from an SEO trying to sell their services.

In the midst of the pitch, the SEO company says, "We're going to have first class SEO", and the CEO said, what does that mean? Surprisingly, after working with my client for two months the CEO nailed it bang on – in a way the SEO company's pitch did not:

First class SEO success doesn't start with SEO, it starts with a really great site that is usable, meets the needs of users and is a site people want to come back to, and most importantly, will want to tell your friends about.

Then, once you have that, you can apply SEO to the site and SEO will be wildly successful.

I looked at him with excitement and said, "You get it!"

To be wildly successful for SEO, you need a site that's really great in the eyes of your users. It needs to be well designed, the content needs to be well laid out and it needs to resonate with search engine users in a way that makes them want to read more, come back later and tell their friends about it – the needs of these users are slightly different than direct traffic to your site. Once you have all of this, combined with optimized content and a search engine friendly site, you will be wildly successful because suddenly the coveted links required for SEO will come easily, and many will come naturally, without any effort from you.

Now that they get it, I hope they'll implement the 100+ changes I wrote up to make their site even better for search engine users. :)

 

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Wondering what you could do to improve your site for search engine users?
Get an SEO audit

PageRank Sculpting and NoFollow Tags - Just what you need to know

I just met Joost de Volk at SES New York (hello Joost!) and saw his recent post about PageRank sculpting and it's an excellent overview on the ways that you can use the nofollow tag to pass on PageRank juice to where you need it most.

As with other aspects of SEO, there are a lot of different theories out there and this one is pretty consistent with my views on the subject.

Wondering how to leverage PageRank sculpting on your site?

Get SEO consulting services with Jessica and we'll talk about exactly how to leverage this tactic to boost your rankings.

SEO Webinar: International Search Marketing

SEMPO is offering a Webinar on International Search Marketing

Date:  Thursday March 27, 2008
Time: 12pm EST / 9am PST
Cost: Free

Register and Get Details

It may be on pay-per-click, but the topics covered look as though you may learn a few things that will be applicable for SEO as well.

The Motley Fool comments on my Layoff :)

Ah, very refreshing...

The Motley Fool commented on the Yahoo layoffs and Yahoo letting me go, basically saying they knew people were being laid off, but not the kind of talent that would be leaving Yahoo. My favorite line is the intro quote:

"You tell me that you need me. Then you go and cut me down"

Definitely how it played out. Oh, well. Life goes on and for now I'm doing SEO consulting, SEO audits and building out some great SEO training programs - and I really enjoy it.

Read The Motley Fool comments on Yahoo's Layoff, I got a few chuckles out of it. :)

SEM/SEO Job: VP of Search Marketing (Los Angeles, CA)

This title doesn't come around a lot: VP of Search Marketing

Experian Interactive Media needs someone to manage their SEO and PPC programs, obviously they see the value in search marketing by creating a VP role.

Big properties: Lowermybills.com, classesUSA.com, InstantApprovals.com and ExpertsOnCredit.com

It's based in Santa Monica, CA. I lived there, it's great, right on the beach and definitely a more mellow part of LA.


Here is the Official job description:

SEM/SEO Job: Hilton Hotels (Los Angeles, CA)

Here's a really nice big brand for your resume:  Hilton Hotels

Hilton is hiring an in-house SEM/SEO for their office in Beverly Hills. An amazing location - near great eateries, shops and boutiques.  I drove by it all the time when I loved in LA - it really is a great spot.

It's a great opportunity to propel your career with a really big brand if you have 1-2 years of experience -- something like this doesn't come around often. The only catch, you need to be local to LA (no relocation assistance).

Within the organization the position sits in interactive marketing, and you'll have the opportunity to move up within the company if SEO isn't what you want to do forever.

The best part -- Free hotel stays!  Great for the passionate vacationer, they have a Hilton Employee Travel Program where you can stay for free at any Hilton owned and managed hotel.  And, you get a discount on any franchised property.  (based on availability, of course)

They also claim a nice 401k matching program -- not all companies match the 401k.

Some lucky SEO is going to have an uber-cool job.

Here is the Official Job Description:

In-house SEO Happy Hour at SES New York

If you're going to SES New York, I wanted to let you know about an in-house SEO happy hour sponsored by SEMPO.  You don't have to be a SEMPO member, but you do have to be an in-house search marketer.

Here are the party vitals:

• Purpose:  A chance for in-house SEMs to meet one another, exchange cards, have a drink, and learn they are not alone
• When:  Wednesday, March 19th at 6:30 PM ET
• Where:  Playwright Tavern – 3rd floor  (8th Avenue between 45th &      46th, 212-354-8404) - be careful, there are two taverns with the same name
• Who: In-House marketers only – no vendors, please

Who's going to be there??