This week I’ve been thinking a lot about the season. For marketers, its the busy season. We have a years worth of work publishing across dozens of platforms, monitoring conversions on a daily basis to see if our grand strategy is working.
But its also the holiday season. Its the time of year we need to slow down, be with those close to us and dare say… Relax. The question is: How do you turn it on and off? How do you go from meeting to meeting, stressing about work and then immediately shut if off? For most of us, we don’t. We may appear to be relaxing, but inside we’re still going 100 MPH.
So here’s your holiday season reminder – Its okay to take a break. Shut off your phone, don’t read that one last email, ignore that voicemail until Monday – It will be okay, I promise.
Now onto this week.
When you need all the SEO
If you ever need an example to prove that providing value first, then figuring out how to rank or increase engagement, look no further than this post. From content to local SEO to tips & tricks this post is a one stop shop of all things SEO from MozCon. Read it, bookmark, and read again later.
Here’s a quote that has stuck with me and its just from the first few paragraphs:
“What this means for us is that we need to make sure our sites are seen as authoritative as Google is looking for authoritative consensure – and it’s up to us to build these signals.”
15 SEO Questions Answered by Mozcon 2019
Local SEO – Your not-so-secret weapon
Each Google channel has different SEO tactics and it is really tempting to put your Maps efforts on autopilot. But if you have brick and mortar locations, local SEO should be your highest priority. This is another one of those guides that you read, bookmark, and read again and again.
For B2B product distribution or SMB contractors, this is probably where you should spend most of your time. Your customers are local and so is your business. Make it as easy as possible for people to find you, identify what you do, and reduce as many barriers to the first phone call/visit as possible.
Local SEO: The Definitive Guide
Don’t be fooled, SEO isn’t easy
SEO should be ingrained into all of your content processes. But, that doesn’t mean its easy. Before starting, you need to be really clear with yourself how your customers find you, what is their intent, and how you fit.
Sometimes its best to hear the wrong ways, then to do the opposite instead of trying to copy someone doing it well. Read this, do the opposite.
SEO Keyword Research: 13 of the Biggest Mistakes You MUST Avoid
SEO is and isn’t the solution
There is no such thing as a magic bullet. Increasing leads, conversions and sales doesn’t happen by just ranking better. There’s lots of questions you need to answer before your keyword research. Can you handle an increase in calls? Estimates? Site walks? Do you have enough qualified sales people to call on leads? Will your efforts reach the right audience, the customers that value your work the most?
“SEO is not the right path for each and every initiative, and that’s OK. It’s better to call this out before wasting time/resources.”
Sometimes marketing comes off as a checklist. Create content, do social, attack SEO. But what of those things actually help you sell more? Marketing isn’t just talking, its a strategy to help the business accomplish their objectives. Are you sure you’re clear about your objectives?
Never too late | Get Better Friday
2019 is nearly done and so are the 2010’s. Growing up, 2020 always felt like “the future”, yet here it is. I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote:
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
(As always, its nearly impossible to attribute a quote on the internet.)
2020 isn’t the end of a decade, its the start of a new opportunity. This year I turned 37, which is making me incredibly uncomfortable as I near 40. But none of that matters. The past doesn’t dictate my future. As the quote says, its never too late.
Go make that thing. Make that pitch to your boss. Move to the city/country. Create fearlessly, I believe in you. I know you can do it. I give you permission.