Search Engine Marketing Blog: piloSEO

I am a fan of Sphinn and generally find a bunch of good information and discussion there. Lately though I have noticed increasingly more SPAM submissions there. If I see Spam I report it right away and I hope others do the same. Unfortunately the problem seems to be getting worse though. I like to check in on Sphinn early in the morning and now it seems that I am trudging through more Spam than real posts. This is a problem. Sometimes the Spam is cleaned up quickly but far too often it stays alive for too long.

Recent Spammy Sphinns

Here are a few recent examples of the Spam I have been seeing all too often.

Porcelain Veneers

Viagra & Foreign Language Porn, Really?

Spending Half of My Sphinn Time Reporting Spam

I now spend as much time reporting Spam as actually reading useful articles and this is a problem. I understand that this is the nature of social media when a social news site becomes popular but it is getting out of hand. Something needs to be done. To all the Sphinners out there make sure you are using the Report Spam button when you see spam. Don’t just ignore it, take action and let the mods know so it can be eradicated. I like Sphinn and don’t want to see it go down the toilet because it is a Spam haven. And IMO it is getting close to reaching a point where the useful and interesting discussions will be overwhelmed by garbage. I hope that it does not come to that and I will do my part to keep it from happening and I encourage everyone else to actively identify and report spam.

Popularity: 50% [?]

First off let me start by saying the SES is a well run conference series and provides some good information for those just entering search as well as marketers and business execs who want to learn more about the basics of search marketing. There are plenty of good sessions for the newbies and even the intermediate search marketer. But what about those of us who have been involved in SEO & SEM for a while? There are plenty of search professionals who have moved past the basic & intermediate information provided at most conferences but want to continue improving and learning about more advanced techniques.

Where are the Advanced SEO & SEM Conferences?

While there are plenty of conferences for beginner to intermediate search marketers where are the advanced sessions? As I sat through the panels at SES NY this year (and last year too) I found that I was not really learning anything new.  Don’t get me wrong I had a good time at the networking event, parties, and walking through the exhibit hall and talking to people but the main point of the conference to increase your knowledge. That simply did not happen for me. I could see that many of the people in attendance were learning new things , which is great but there were plenty of people who were really not benefiting. I think that SES and most conferences do a great job at explaining SEO and SEM to attendees with a limited knowledge of search. While that is great I would like to have more search marketing conferences aimed at the advanced SEOs and SEMs.

 Search Marketing has Matured

Search marketing has been around for a while and many of the search professionals have been doing this for a long time. This means that there should be more conference options for those of us who are advanced search marketers. I know that SMX offers an advanced conference series but they are not as prolific as the beginner and intermediate conferences. I would love to see more advanced search conferences available to the experienced search marketer. Search is growing and there is plenty of room for various conferences or at least more options for advanced search people at the current conferences. As it stands right now I don’t see much value in paying to attend the current SES conferences but if there were more sessions geared towards experienced SEO/SEM professionals I might change my mind.

Popularity: 37% [?]

Everybody hates Me and I don’t care

Yeah, I am an SEO and much of the Internet hates me. Of course most of the people who rail against SEO’s have a very misguided idea about what an SEO actually is but part of the beauty of the Internet is that you don’t have to know what the hell you are talking about to be considered an expert. To many of the “thought leaders” at the big social sites SEO=SPAM. To some SEO’s this is troublesome because they are concerned about their “reputation”. It does not really bother me that some power users at Digg or Stumble Upon have a misguided hatred of anything SEO. I know I provide a valuable service to the clients who utilize my service and expertise.

Embrace the Outlaw Reputation

When I started in SEO it was a field that was relatively unknown. At that time Internet marketing consisted of banner ads and email spam to the average user. I will admit my knowledge of SEO was very raw back then and what we were doing was patently black hat. I had no idea that it was but it was. Over time I learned a lot more and quickly gravitated towards the whiter shade but I still hold some of the outlaw ideals that were ingrained in me back then. Today many power users still consider SEO to be the realm of spammers and black hats. While they still exist and tend to be more noticeable (everyone loves controversy) most SEO’s have a desire to help their clients succeed and help the search engines index and return useful information. After all, we have to use search engines too. Even though this is the reality many still consider SEO’s as manipulators of the Internet and will hate us regardless. I say embrace it and relish in the outlaw status. As long as SEO’s provide valuable service to their clients they will continue to have an important position in the world of online marketing.

Everybody hates lawyers…until they need one

How many lawyers do you hear complaining about their reputation? Not many. That is because they know that they can truly help people in need. Sure, there are plenty of lawyers out there who deserve the scorn and ridicule they get but for the most part they provide a valuable service to their clients when they are in a tough situation. SEO’s are hated by many Internet geeks but when a small business needs help competing against the big dogs many times it is an SEO that can help them do just that. Everyone hates SEO’s until they need one. So my challenge to all the SEO’s out there is to be more like lawyers. Embrace your reputation and continue to provide valuable services to those in need of your help.

Popularity: 100% [?]

One of the main points that many SEO advocates use is that high quality SEO can help the little guy compete with big businesses. This is a good point and is mostly true. A small company that utilizes the efforts of a good SEO, or one with a lot of internal SEO knowledge, can compete with and succeed against much larger brands. There are a many reasons for this but a few of big reasons are as follows.

• Small companies are more agile and can implement SEO projects more quickly.
• Small companies have smaller budgets so free traffic is much more important.
• Small companies are much more focused and they don’t have layers of red tape to work through.

So, what about big businesses?

I don’t see a lot of people talking about SEO for big businesses. Now I understand that many big businesses either use in-house SEO’s or simply don’t actually consider utilizing SEO. After all they get by on their name and paid search. It can also be very difficult to work with a big company on an SEO project so many SEO’s don’t want to work with them. But there is a lot to be said for working on a big businesses’ SEO project. There are some issues that need to be overcome though.

Working on a big business SEO project

So, big business SEO is much different than working with a small to medium sized business. There are some issues that need to be dealt with but if you can overcome the following issues the rewards can be huge.

1. You Must Have an Advocate: This is imperative when working on a big business SEO campaign. You must have at least one person, preferably at a high level, who believes in what you are doing and willing to push everyone to implement your recommendations. Without an advocate it will be nearly impossible to get SEO efforts implemented and all your effort will be for naught. Make sure someone within the company believes in SEO and has the authority to push SEO recommendations through.
2. Integrate all the Players: One of the biggest issues in big business SEO is that there are multiple levels within the company. You will need to deal with the owners of separate business units as well as IT, Legal, Editorial, and other departments. It is important to bring in these different business units when delivering recommendations. Make each unit feel they are part of the process and that they know what the need to do. If everyone feels they are included it will make them feel that they are part of a team and make them more willing to implement the recommendations you make. Your advocate can help with this.
3. Understand the Ultimate Goal: This is common amongst both large and small businesses but is especially important when dealing with the disparate business units of a big business. You have to control the conversation and keep on task when dealing with the different business heads. While all business units want what is best for the company each business unit also considers what is best for them. It is important to understand what the ultimate goal is and push each business unit to focus on that goal.
4. Control the Time Line: This is a huge aspect when it comes to running an SEO campaign for big businesses. Each unit has multiple projects that require their attention right now. Since SEO is a long term project it is easy for a big business to put it on the back burner. Because of this it is important to control the process and make sure everything stays on schedule. Othrwise the project will go on forever. Stay on top of everything and make sure your advocate pushes for the SEO work to stay in the forefront.
5. Deliver Implementable Recommendations: When dealing with big businesses it is difficult to get direct access to their servers. They have too much sensitive information and too many legal issues to deal with to allow vendors direct access. That means you will need to develop easily implemented recommendations. The best case scenario is to create SEO recommendations that they can simply copy and paste. Again, when the time comes to deliver recommendations it is necessary to help each unit understand what needs to be done and help them understand how to implement these recommendations. Bring in your advocate and include everyone who will need to implement the recommendations in the conversation so you are all on the same page.

Get it right

Following these recommendations will help you control the SEO process with big businesses. Get it right and you will have happy clients. Failure will lead to unhappy clients who will let others know that you did not deliver what you promised. Big businesses offer a huge opportunity if you control the engagement and succeed in achieving their goals.

Popularity: 45% [?]

Who is going to SES NY? Since I am in NYC I will be hitting up a couple sessions and spending a bit of time there. I would like to meet a few regular readers (and Sphinners) who are heading out. So, if anyone is heading out let me know and we can make plans to get together at the conference and maybe have a beer (or three).

Also, I would like to know what sessions you are looking forward to. I have not really spent a lot of time looking over the different sessions so I am not sure what I will be attending. Let me know what sessions you think will be the most interesting and help me decide which sessions to attend.

I have had a blast at the previous conferences that I have attended but I really did not meet too many people. I spend most of the time attending sessions and hanging out with people I already know. I would love to meet some new people and talk SEO over a beer.

Popularity: 39% [?]