Not much time to post, but check out this excellent article by Muhammad Saleem at Copyblogger.com entitled “Writing Headlines for Regular Readers, Search Engines, and Social Media“.
He breaks down the three styles and shows some good examples of titles and headlines.
Laura Lippay, Yahoo’s SEO manager, posted a response to the recent topic about Yahoo! Autos cloaking.
There are dozens of groups within Yahoo who manage hundreds of products and properties that maintain some of the largest, most trafficked sites on the internet consisting of millions of pages and gobs of new content being pushed out all day long every day. This operation involves a good chunk of our 11,000 employees including project managers, designers, engineers, marketers and partners. For all of this activity and mayhem, there are a handful of us SEOs checking, recommending, emailing, chatting, educating, researching, reporting, testing and generally playing SEO supermom(/dad) .
No question that this is a difficult role and there will be things that slip through. Sometimes in a company this large the best you can hope for is the 80/20 rule.
Kinda funny misunderstanding, but I could imagine the overcrazed, overhyped, yahoo doesnt follow their own rules, what on earth is going on, oh my god the world is coming to an end blog posts & comments like these if that engineering manager hadn’t caught this at the last minute.
I’m not sure if everyone else read it as such but I certainly didn’t think my post had the tone of “the world is coming to an end”. But I did point out the hypocrisy and I stand by it.
We do continue to work on processes here for automating all SEO checkpoints on all pages that go out every day using a complex system of publishing and CMS tools, by automation, by hand, and/or by partners. In the meantime, we will continue to whisk through the halls like SEO superheroes with a keen eye for white on white, doing our best to save the Yahoo! properties from unintentional villainous blackhat ways.
First, I’d say that it looked pretty intentional. Whether it was her intention or someone else’s intention is not the issue.
Second, I think it’s a great idea to have an automated system for SEO QA. It wouldn’t be difficult to develop a system that would dynamically crawl a new site or product and analzye it for unique Title tags, Meta tags, <h> tags, etc, on each page. The program could also check the keyword density on each page, ensure all pages are crawlable, report duplicate content, etc. Checking for IP or agent delivery could also be built into this sytem.
To be continued……..
One portion of this article/interview at Searchenginejournal.com about Hewlett Packard’s in-house SEO team caught my interest. About halfway into the article Jessica and Tanya discuss the utilization of external SEO resources to augment your in-house team and resources.
Jessica: I always tell in-house search marketers that you need outside council, just like a corporate attorney has outside council to discuss issues and an accountant has an auditor that ensures everything is accurate. HP is a company that has an in-house SEO, and still engages an SEO firm for both outside council and to do SEO work. What do you use the SEO firm for and how do you decide which tasks go to the SEO firm vs. doing yourself.
Tanya: I rely on my SEO firm to answer or find the answer to any questions I can’t. They also have some more technical resources that can consult on code development to our developers when they’re trying to make certain sites more search engine friendly. They also get on calls with me to IT when I need a little more backing. I also rely on them for bandwidth. They’re my extended team so a lot of what I need done gets done by them because I know I can tell them what I need and they’ll deliver. There are some things I prefer to do myself. One is to consult with other teams that are just getting up to speed on SEO. Then once they get excited and ready to do some serious SEO projects, I hook them up with our SEO vendor. But if they’re only going to optimize a page or two and have a really short turn-around, I walk them through some of the basics and provide guidance or specific recommendations myself. I also do some of the ad-hoc reporting myself (regular reporting I leave to the agency) and I manage the intranet SEO Program site and all communications regarding SEO (not to mention the standard company stuff you get to participate in as an employee!)
I can see needing advice from time to time, but I don’t agree with them nor do I think the analogies apply.
I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable outsourcing any portion of our SEO or consulting with an outside firm. Some of the old school guys have trained me to keep everything as close to the chest as possible.
Most SEOs have strong tech skills and you’ll obviously know the goals of the campaign. If you need to make code more search engine friendly within a language you are familar then you make suggestions directly, or you can assign it to one of your team members. As I discussed in this post, in a large company you should have a team of SEOs. That said, if you aren’t familiar with the language, your developers should be! Arrange a meeting, or series of meetings, with the developers and their managers. Clearly explain the goals and brainstorm available techniques and steps to achieve those goals.
If these deep IT issues are a recurring them then you can justify hiring a tech SEO for your team to work with the rest of the IT team.
Do you outsource of any your internal work? Do you utilize any outside consultants?
In November of 2005, the majority of Automotive.com was acquired by Primedia for $72.5 million. Just today it was announced that Source Interlink has purchased the Enthusiast Media division, of which I’m a part, for $1.2 billion.
Here’s a roundup of the articles:
From thestreet.com: “Our review of strategic alternatives is complete and our direction is clear,” said Source Interlink Chairman Michael Duckworth in a statement. “Over the last several years Source has driven the consolidation of a fragmented and inefficient channel for the distribution and merchandising of home entertainment content at retail and the newsstand. This acquisition is a first step to leverage what we have built by transforming Source into a fully integrated media company with both print and digital content.”
It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out over the next few months.
I got this article, “So…Should We, or Shouldn’t We?“, in my inbox. Jill Whalen posted an article, “Don’t sweat the small stuff“, a few days ago advising SEOs not to worry about the nitty gritty details like keyword density, proper Title tags, or implementing the use of <h> tags throughout their pages. It was followed up by Lisa Barone’s article “Sweat The Small Stuff: Search Engine Optimization Is In The Details“, which as you can imagine suggests the opposite.
This seems to tie directly to Brian’s post entitled “About.com Asleep At The Wheel“, where he found some things that About.com and their SEO team are failing to implement.
So, who’s right?
Jill has a point. And Lisa has a point. But the fact is that SEO is a package. It all matters.
Look, if you are overwhelmed with the amount of work you have or sites you manage, then you can probably only afford to see the sites from 30,000 feet. It’s the old 80/20 rule. You probably don’t have the time to optimize each Title tag. You probably can’t get into the code and optimize it by getting the text close to the top of the code, implemeting <h> tags, externalizing CSS and JS, and reducing code bloat.
But you know what? I CAN. And a lot of others can. And we might pass you by as a result.
It’s a resource issue that you, as a manager, need to identify and resolve. If you are a one, or two, or three man team within a huge corporation how much good do you think you can do? If you have 100 sites to manage, how much time can you dedicate to each? Can you be in all meetings at once to ensure all projects are in compliance with your SEO best practices? If you have the resources you need you’ll be able to assign individuals to the 30,000 foot view, but have others getting their hands dirty in the small SEO details. Don’t settle for 80/20.
I just read Lee’s post entitled “Are Search Engine Rankings are Dead?”, with the followup “R.I.P. Search Engine Rankings?” from Jennifer at Search Engine Guide.
Are they right? Partially. Yes, the landscape has changed. That said, it hasn’t changed enough to a point where the ranking is no longer a metric. Similar to the reported “death of the page view” as a web metric. Until there are some major changes in the advertising and publishing businesses the page view will remain to be the metric with which billions of dollars worth of business is exchanged.
Why are rankings still important?
So, after all this, what could or should your SEO reports entail? We have a custom reporting system that we built in-house. Here are some of the things that we report to the various teams and executives.
What do your reports include?
One of the things I love about working here is the great team that we’ve built over the years. I feel team building is a business skill just like negotiating, communication, or even SEO. Unless hiring and recruiting is your full time job and responsibility it can be tough to identify needs, find applicants, and get good people in the door. This is magnified within the SEO industry. Just yesterday I was talking with Oilman about how hard it is to find good SEOs, especially if you want them on-site, which I always prefer.
To build a successful SEO team there are certain skills and individuals you’ll need. All of these would need to change based on the supporting cast you have from other departments and how many sites and/or projects you manage.
Here are some of the key ingredients:
Here are some optional ingredients for the SEO team:
Hope this helps. Think I missed anyone?
I recently signed up for Danny’s new Search Marketing Expo conference in Seattle schedule for June 4th and 5th (more posts to come on this later). I was thinking about some people I know will be there and searching through some resumes and it got me thinking about SEOs, arrogance, bragging rights, and the divide between a typical SEO and a great SEO.
One of my jobs as the manager of our SEO department is hiring. I have to scour Monster for resumes, search online for SEOs personal blogs and websites, conduct interviews and tests, etc. It’s common to see stats on resumes and when talking wih people. Even the most well known SEOs do it. “I increased the visitors on XYZ.com by 900% with visitors increasing from 500 to 5,000 a day.” That’s a very commendable achievement, but excuse me if I don’t pop the champagne. I’m not overly impressed. The reason I’m not floored by this increase is that you’re starting from ground zero. You can take the site from 0 to 10 visitors per day and say you had a 1000% increase on your resume without providing the details.
If you were to take an existing site of a well known brand with a significant amount of traffic and existing SE referrals and achieve the same increases then the drinks are on me. Why? It takes a great SEO to see past the existing site, content, links, and brand to see the potential value. I am sure it is a fantastic site, but where can they improve? What are the content gaps? What content could you add to crush your competitors and really drive some traffic? Are they utilizing SMM? Developing widgets to generate buzz and links? Is their complicated design or horrible code hindering their rankings?
It comes down to thinking outside of the box and its part of the test I give to all job applicants. When shown a website and told to optimize it, does the SEO in question talk about optimizing the Titles, Meta tags, and navigation? Or does the SEO talk about restructuring the site, developing content to target untapped keywords, optimizing the platform, and other non-standard items? I think this mindset is part of the divide between good (or typical) and great.
1) You’re a cat when I need a dog. I can’t count the number of SEM/PPC resumes I get for SEO related positions. If you’re involved in the PPC field then you know there’s a difference between the two. Why even apply?
2) You’ve got book smarts, but no street smarts. I have a very low interest in where you went to school or what degree you have unless it is directly applicable to the job in question. Work experience is far more valuable than a degree. Sorry, I know that degree was expensive.
3) You don’t know your stuff. I don’t care that you know what Meta tags are. Who doesn’t? You better bring something else to the table if you want the job. Don’t talk about PR. Don’t talk about meta tags. It reveals your lack of knowledge in the field.
4) You have the social graces of a hobo. I have had applicants sit across from me in an interview chewing gum with their lips smacking. Unless you’re a previous Google search engineer with the keys to the kingdom, you might as well leave because there’s no way I want to listen to that crap every day. It also gives me insight into your character. Pass.
5) You’re over priced. I know we all want money, but you need to manage your expectations. If you’re coming into an entry to mid-level position you shouldn’t be expecting a 6-figure salary.
6) You didn’t pass the test. This isn’t a metaphor or an analogy. I give all serious SEO applicants a test in order to verify their skills. Most people can cram a lot of information into their short term memory but it doesn’t mean they actually know what they’re talking about or are able to apply it to real world situations.
7) You bruised my ego. I’m the Director of SEO for the company. Don’t you think I know something about the field? Don’t talk down to me or try to teach me about SEO. And don’t try to tell me that “there are things we aren’t doing with our site.” People that say that to me before the interview don’t even get one.
8) You’re an affiliate, not an SEO. Some people are just not meant to work for a company. Maybe you are a born entrepreneur. Or maybe you’re always been rebellious. Or maybe you’re a newbie to the SEO field and you’ve been bitten by the affiliate bug. Frankly, I don’t want these people working for me. They typically have very little loyalty to the company and often have problems juggling their tasks at work and their personal projects. I want 100% of your attention.
9) You’re a nomad. When I look at your resume and see that you’ve moved from job to job it isn’t comforting. Why should I dedicate resources to train you and get you acclimated to our system when you’re going to leave in 6 months? Pass.
10) You didn’t show. This sounds crazy, but there’s been numerous occasions where applicants didn’t even show up. What’s worse than not showing up? Being late! Don’t even bother showing up late for your interview if you’re going to be late. Plan for traffic. Expect the unexpected. Just don’t be late.