The Search Engine Journal Show
Welcome to the official podcast of Search Engine Journal with your host Loren Baker. We talk about trending SEO, paid, social media, content, and digital marketing with top industry experts and authorities.
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Local Strategies - How Better Online Reputation Drives Revenue with Raj Nijjer - EP329
01/30/2024
Local Strategies - How Better Online Reputation Drives Revenue with Raj Nijjer - EP329
Join us as we look at how your online reputation and local marketing strategies can drive revenue for your business, while avoiding pitfalls along the way. With guest Raj Nijjer of Edge, we’ll dive into the revenue impacts that your online reputation can have, and why this reputation building should be crucial in your planning. Join your host Loren Baker, as he and Raj discuss how to avoid wasteful strategies of local marketing and multi-location businesses, plus a couple tips on how a good reputation can help attract and retain top talent. [01:14] - Raj's Background and Journey to Edge. [02:44] - Edge's Concept of Employee-Driven Growth and Its Connection to Google Reviews. [10:34] - How Reviews Contribute to Local SEO. [11:27] - Customer-Facing End: In-Depth Reviews and Personalization. [13:24] - Standing Out in Cutthroat Competition: Franchises and Service Businesses. [14:37] - Motivating Employees and Transparent Recognition Through Reviews. [20:49] - Reputation Management and Injecting Employee Recognition. [45:06] - Employee Retention During Challenges Like The COVID-19 Pandemic. We encourage businesses to amplify positive reviews and learn from the negative reviews. - Raj Nijjer, 5:34 Now not only does the brand win and the business win, but employees can feel great or a person can feel great about the job that they've done. - Raj Nijjer, 9:21 Positive reviews are so important. There's one stat I read on your site…53% of customers won't go to a business rated under four stars. - Loren Baker, 15:21 I think the injection of motivating and recognizing your employees while they're doing this service is something that we're very proud of, because we can see which employees are doing really well. And then you can duplicate that. - Raj Nijjer, 21:44 Our goal is to marry the marketing with operational excellence. You want to hold people accountable, especially if you're rewarding them. - Raj Nijjer, 30:53 I think one thing COVID taught every business owner is employee retention and how hard it's been to find people and when a displacement happens, it really jeopardizes your business if you don't plan it well. So you want to keep your superstars, don't ever lose your superstars. - Raj Nijjer - 41:10 Resources Mentioned: Connect With Raj Nijjer: Raj is Head of Marketing for Edge, an employee-driven growth platform for service brands. Previously, he was the CMO of Refersion (acquired), and held executive marketing roles at Yotpo and Yext (IPO in 2017). Raj also spent over nine years at Godaddy (IPO in 2015) in leadership roles launching innovative product lines with over ten patents issued and leading to a PE buyout and an IPO. Raj is also fractional CMO to early and mid-stage technology startups. Raj received his Bachelors of Science degree in International Management and his MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Connect on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Avoid The Noise: How To Prove That Your SEO Matters with Dan Taylor - EP328
01/19/2024
Avoid The Noise: How To Prove That Your SEO Matters with Dan Taylor - EP328
Join us as we explore how to prove that SEO matters to resistant stakeholders and C-suite executives, along with ways to combat the external noise affecting the outlook on SEO efforts. Dan brings his experience as a leading SEO consultant for top companies to this exclusive interview. He and Loren navigate the complexities of the shifting SEO landscape, and how to set realistic expectations in your business. They also dig into the potential risks and opportunities of AI in search, and what these drastic changes mean moving forward. I think oftentimes in a lot of organizations, everyone's time poor, everyone has their own set of KPIs and objectives moving towards that bigger goal, and oftentimes SEO is trickled through. - Dan Taylor, 1:53 I think through that communication system framework, however you want to go around it or phrase it, it's about getting that shared buy-in. - Dan Taylor, 8:24 We have people planning their budgets and their SEO plans already, but with a little bit of a turbulent economy, sometimes it's a little bit of a question mark. - Loren Baker, 1:18 [00:43] - Dan's background and expertise [01:53] - SEO planning and visibility tips. [03:18] - Recommendations for visibility in SEO. [04:14] - Managing expectations with AI. [07:02] - Addressing SEO performance comparisons. [08:24] - Effective communication for executive buy-in. [11:17] - Combatting SEO Misinterpretations. [15:52] - Personal Touch in Client Interactions. [26:48] - Adapting SEO to Rich Media in Search Results. [32:06] - Adaptations in the travel industry. It’s having sincerity and it's actually having a human touch. - Dan Taylor, 14:40 Essentially that kind of battleground which we previously had in search is sort of being lost. Now it's understanding what the impact of that's going to be, whether or not it's going to be a major impact, minor impact, or if the impact overall is going to be redistributive. - Dan Taylor, 18:19 It's about trying to bring in what unique modifiers we can into the actual product pages themselves...So how can we create a differentiator? It was this concept we had called champion products. - Dan Taylor, 21:03 Resources Mentioned: Connect with Dan Taylor: Dan Taylor is a recognized SEO professional, having worked with a number of companies in strategically helping them increase their organic market visibility and overcome technical challenges. Having consulted and worked with companies like Cloudflare, Proton, and China Southern Airlines, Dan has been featured in the leading SEO publications, as well as spoken at a number of SEO and marketing conferences in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and online. Connect on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Navigating Publisher Policies: Insights from Google's Trust & Safety Expert with John Brown - Special Episode
12/15/2023
Navigating Publisher Policies: Insights from Google's Trust & Safety Expert with John Brown - Special Episode
In this must-listen episode, join us for a sit-down with John Brown from Google's Trust & Safety team. With his rich background in building ad networks and more, John offers exclusive insights into Google's efforts to educate publishers globally. Discover critical differences between publisher policies and demand restrictions, explore the evolving role of UGC, and learn about Google's initiatives to support publishers. As you navigate the complexities of policy compliance, you won't want to miss John's expert perspective, honed through years of leadership and mentorship in this realm. We don't want to misinform folks or trick folks or anything like that. We provide clear narratives around the policies, why do we create it? Where does it fit within the ecosystem? - John Brown 03:46 Really, it's the ease of use for the user because everything that's in the website, or mostly everything that's in the website without some editorializing, it is things that could be found elsewhere on external Google pages. - John Brown, 08:01 That was the number one concern going into this is not just to launch and then leave alone, but to launch and iterate and make sure it's fresh. - John Brown, 09:44 I learned early on at Google, traveling globally and speaking on stage globally, that different users across the world consume information differently. So we can't just have a help center with text and localize it and hope that people understand. - John Brown, 13:30 [00:00] - Introduction to John Brown, Google's Policy Transparency Lead. [01:57] - Significance of John Brown's role in ecosystem health. [02:45] - Overview of transparency.google's key features. [09:44] - Keeping transparency.google current in the digital landscape. [23:02] - Google’s Fair Policy Appeals process: Google highlights fairness and transparency in the policy appeal process. [37:28] - Google's dedication to a mission-driven nature of trust and safety teams. Resources Mentioned: Make sure you meet people who need the information, and give them the information that they want to consume in their format that they most prefer. - John Brown, 16:29 There's a dedication there. There's a mission that you probably don't find in other parts of organizations just because other teams, not just within Google, but elsewhere. It's quarter to quarter revenue, things like that, trust and safety. - John Brown, 37:28 Connect with John Brown: John is part of the Trust & Safety team at Google, and leads a team that is focused on educate publisher partners globally on policies, enforcement actions, and best practices to remain policy compliant. Prior to Google, John built two Ad Networks, has served on two IAB working groups, managed qualitative data for over 90 ad networks, and has mentored dozens of startups through his Techstars accelerator affiliation. Connect on LinkedIn: Connect with Amanda Zantal-Wiener: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with her on LinkedIn:
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PPC Strategies For 2024: Insights From Over 16,000 Businesses with Jacques van der Wilt - Sponsor Spotlight
12/11/2023
PPC Strategies For 2024: Insights From Over 16,000 Businesses with Jacques van der Wilt - Sponsor Spotlight
We're diving into insights from over 16,000 ecommerce businesses, showing the trends that shaped PPC advertising in 2023, and how to use them to move forward into 2024. In this insightful interview with Jacques van der Wilt, he and Loren examine highlights from DataFeedWatch's powerful Multichannel Marketing Report. They take a look at which PPC strategies stood out the most and which channels provided the best return, along with big changes coming next year. Using these insights, they also explore the most common challenges in ecommerce PPC campaigns, and what leading brands are doing to succeed right now. We looked into the feeds of 15 to 20,000 online stores in all of those countries, and that means that's such an incredible volume that what we see basically is an almost exact picture of what is happening in ecommerce advertising. - Jacques van der Wilt, 2:20 Obviously Google is still the largest channel. Almost every retailer is using that. However, we can see that social is beginning to eat their lunch. - Jacques van der Wilt, 6:06 I think Amazon has a big influence on everything. They're probably market leader in ecommerce, so their impact must have been big. Yet I think that it's not primarily driven by Amazon. - Jacques van der Wilt, 11:59 [0:00] About Jacques van der Wilt [2:11] DataFeedWatch's Multichannel Marketing Report [6:06] Marketing channel trends [9:14] Growth of TikTok [13:42] The 3 largest barriers to PPC growth in 2024 [16:58] Other challenges retailers are facing [21:40] Best tactics for PPC practioners to use in 2024 [25:02] Challenges for retailers with large inventories Resources Mentioned: Multichannel Marketing Report 2023: DataFeedWatch homepage: Creating or modifying images with AI is super easy. Imagine you're unhappy with your images as a retailer, but you have images for 10,000 products. It's horrible. So you can do that much quicker. It's a big time saver. - Jacques van der Wilt, 16:02 Connect with Jacques van der Wilt: Jacques is a shopping feeds industry leader, start-up mentor, and entrepreneur. He's the founder of DataFeedWatch (acquired by Cart.com in 2022): a leading global feed management and optimization company that helps online merchants optimize their product listings on more than 2000 shopping channels in over 60 countries. Before founding DataFeedWatch, Jacques held leadership positions in the US and Europe. He is also a seasoned guest speaker at industry events and a mentor at Startup Bootcamp. Connect on LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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How To Secure And Defend Your SEO Budget For Executive Buy-In
12/08/2023
How To Secure And Defend Your SEO Budget For Executive Buy-In
In an increasingly difficult economy, do you know how to prove the value of your SEO and remain efficient, while maintaining the SEO budgets you need to succeed? Will Critchlow, CEO of SearchPilot, joins me on the SEJShow to examine actionable strategies to doing more with less and maintaining the freedom to test, all while proving the positive impacts of your SEO work. Using insights from marketing leaders, SEO specialists, and senior executives, you’ll hear Will and Loren break down the skills you need to keep your CFO happy while driving efficiency. If you’ve found yourself having to defend your budget, pitch harder than ever, and work more to prove your results, then you won’t want to miss this episode. There's more pressure on ROI calculations, there's more scrutiny on all of those decisions. SEOs are often shy of taking on targets, quotas, goals and so forth. But even forecasting is something that I think the industry is too naive about. –Will Critchlow, 06:04 Big companies are spending tons of money on this stuff. The fact that you are out there asking for a quarter of a million dollars, half a million dollars, whatever it might be, that's actually totally achievable. –Will Critchlow, 09:38 Speaking of the funnel, we all know that SEO is not a direct response marketing technique. It's not search keyword, find site buy done. There's all kinds of touch points throughout the funnel, multi-touch attribution, which is massive. –Loren Baker, 16:16 [00:00] - Will's background and expertise.[08:44] - Integration challenges in long-term planning.[12:30] - The importance of planning when dealing with CFOs.[13:18] - Tracking multiple attribution points.[16:16] - Google algorithm updates and their impact on forecasting.[21:05] - Forecasting challenges influenced by various factors.[23:32] - Beta testing's effects on search results.[26:41] - The evolving impact of AI-powered tools on search queries.[29:28] - Strategies for SEO teams to improve forecasting. Resources Mentioned: SEO as a product discipline is something that we are seeing. And what that often means is squads of product managers, engineers, designers, all aligned to that objective. –Will Critchlow, 13:18 I think almost every SEO is testing beta testing, Google, SGE, and we have in our heads that when that query is done, everything's going to be pushed down. There's going to be an article, there's going to be this, there's going to be that, but we tend to forget that we're the ones beta testing it, right? –Loren Baker, 23:07 And so the other reason that I'm bullish on there being organic links is I think there have to be ad links because I don't think Google is going to turn off 98% of their revenue overnight. And I think they're not going to go with only ad links because I think that's a degraded user experience. So I think there's going to be a combination of advertising links and organic links, and our job is to win the organic just as it always has been. –Will Critchlow, 27:37 Connect with Will Critchlow: Will Critchlow is the founder and CEO of SearchPilot, a company dedicated to simplifying and improving SEO testing processes for large websites. He co-founded the SEO agency Distilled in 2005 and played a key role in expanding its services and the SearchLove conference series to the US, establishing offices in Seattle and New York. In February 2020, he spun out SearchPilot as an independent business while Distilled was acquired by Brainlabs. Will is recognized for his expertise in SEO and digital marketing and often shares his insights through various platforms. Connect on LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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How To Create High-Impact Content In A Changing Landscape with Purna Virji - EP326
11/29/2023
How To Create High-Impact Content In A Changing Landscape with Purna Virji - EP326
In an era of user-generated, human-generated and machine-generated content, mistakes are increasingly costlier to make. Learn the ways to revitalize and future-proof your approach to content marketing with Purna Virji, globally recognized content strategist and bestselling author of "High-Impact Content Marketing". She and Loren will uncover the common mistakes content marketers make, and how you can avoid them as you plan your marketing strategy. Tune in and hear strategies for creating genuinely inclusive and relevant content that audiences will actually want to consume, so your content strategy won't go the way of the dinosaurs. What we want to think about is what are we solving for. What roles do we play? How are we engaging with the audience and giving them what they are interested in, what they need, and what would be of value to them? – Purna Virji, 03:00 You always want to give your audience something to do next. It all comes down to this concept called backward design. – Purna Virji, 08:58 We found that we get the most social interaction and the highest quality traffic from social media. LinkedIn has just become the most engaged platform there is within social media, and it's been a complete 360 over the past three or four years. – Loren Baker, 27:30 [00:00] - About Purna. [02:41] - Strategies for intentional content creation. [08:58] - How to ensure content effectiveness. [14:41] - Best practices for content promotion. [18:01] - How to create content for various audience awareness levels. [20:13] - Importance of company representation in content marketing. [23:41] - LinkedIn's content promotion capabilities. Resources Mentioned: Take an idea before you even create the content and think about different ways you'll use that idea. – Purna Virji, 17:13 The members on LinkedIn tend to see their time on LinkedIn as an investment in themselves professionally and personally. They're here to learn, grow, share, and put their best foot forward. – Purna Virji, 30:18 Try to understand what makes you money and for that, who are the types of the cream of the crop? Customers who spend a lot are loyal are referring you to others. – Purna Virji, 03:53 Connect with Purna Virji: Purna Virji, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a celebrated content strategist and marketer, currently the Principal Content Solutions Consultant at LinkedIn. Her career spans leading roles at Microsoft, and diverse experiences in social media, search advertising, and television, giving her a unique perspective on content marketing. Recognized as an Adweek Young Influential and Search Personality of the Year, she's also a top-rated international speaker and an advocate for women in technology. Virji is the author of the best-selling book "High-Impact Content Marketing," showcasing her expertise and influence in the field. Connect on LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Google Ranking Factors: What Really Matters Right Now with Ben Steele - EP324
11/17/2023
Google Ranking Factors: What Really Matters Right Now with Ben Steele - EP324
The most important thing you can do if you are worried about ranking is write content that satisfies intent and fulfills the aspirations of E-E-A-T. –Ben Steele, 09:11 Join us as we talk about the biggest updates to Google Ranking Factors this year, and what that means for you as we head into 2024. Our very own senior editor of ebooks, Ben Steele, gives you the behind-the-scene scoop on what factors really matter now. More than 200 hours went into researching and gathering our findings on the signals that have been officially declared, at one point or another in time, as Google ranking factors. Ben brings you the impact behind the BIG updates made this year: E-E-A-T, Google's redefining of page experience, the developments around systems and signals, and more. Listen in as Ben and host Loren Baker, two of SEJ's brightest SEO professionals, talk Google Ranking Factors. Discussion designed for search professionals and marketing managers planning for next year. Notable: Suppose you do build content that is comprehensive enough to display authority in your experience. In that case, the aspiration is that content will float to the top regardless of more manipulative tactics. –Ben Steele, 10:14 When people have asked me what's our secret to ranking content at SEJ, I've always told them the publish button because we've been building this brand, this entity, and this trust for 20-plus years. –Loren Baker, 13:48 Google is evaluating links more qualitatively. Keywords are still huge, but the number doesn't matter anymore. It's about the way you use them. –Ben Steele, 22:30 [03:30] - Google ranking factors 2023: What's changed and what remains? [10:14] - Keywords and links vs. content and E-E-A-T in today's SEO. [22:30] - Google's qualitative approach to evaluating ranking factors. [27:39] - Building E-E-A-T for smaller sites to compete with big brands. [29:42] - Generative AI content's ranking performance post-updates. [37:24] - Long-term success with E-E-A-T and user intent. [43:27] - Curation as a strategy against generative AI in SEO. [46:52] - How to access the Google Ranking Factors ebook. Keeping your nose clean, don't engage in the quick win strategies that are technically spam because Google has come out and straight up said if it's defined as spam under our guidelines, relevancy doesn't matter. –Ben Steele, 33:33 Curation is something you can lean into as a small business. There is still going to be a demand for human curation. –Ben Steele, 43:27 You can become a trusted source of curation for your audience... that's one thing that language models are not good at: being a source of well-curated information that you need right now. –Ben Steele, 44:29 Those factors of E-E-A-T will be critical for inoculating your business from the negative impacts of AI implemented by big platforms... the experience and the trust. –Ben Steele, 45:53 Resources: Get the Ranking Factors ebook: Subscribe to our newsletter: Connect with Ben Steele: Ben Steele, the Senior Editor at SEJ, boasts profound expertise in digital content. Though he didn’t initially aim to become an SEO strategist, the skills he acquired for his role, combined with his self-initiated research into digital marketing, unveiled his genuine passion in this field. His experience in professional theater not only refined his work ethic and leadership abilities but also fostered other invaluable attributes such as creativity. Now, at SEJ, Ben contributes to their ebooks, consistently providing fresh perspectives and strategic content advice. Through his SEO endeavors, he artfully weaves the nuances of human experiences, journeys, and expressions into enlightening lessons for others. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Why You Should Switch To An Always On SEO Auditing Strategy with Patrick Reinhart - Sponsor Spotlight
11/16/2023
Why You Should Switch To An Always On SEO Auditing Strategy with Patrick Reinhart - Sponsor Spotlight
Everyone who touches your website is on the SEO team. The problem is that most people don't know they're on the team. An “always on” mentality regarding SEO can help mitigate risk and protect rankings. Since there's no 'easy' button for a technical audit, join us for this special spotlight episode to learn how 24/7 monitoring can help you see everything happening on your site at any moment. Go beyond SEO and bring together teams focused on compliance, know when people go rogue and when other teams make changes. Addressing them quickly as they happen can help your rankings and growth. Conductor's Patrick Reinhart joins me on the SEJ Show to dive into the importance of continuous SEO monitoring and how Conductor can help you work smarter, not harder. Patrick will walk through common problems with SEO and how you can proactively fix them before rankings are impacted. You'll also learn how real-time SEO auditing can streamline your process. One of the hardest things is a conversation with other teams getting people to care. And I think something that always gets someone, the attention is data. –Pat Reinhart, 13:47 The mindset of it being a compliance component and that notification when something is not working can not necessarily change a negative mindset, but get everybody on the same mindset that you're working together for this common goal, which I like. –Loren Baker, 16:59 One of the best things you can do is pay attention to how specific you're being with your content. Specificity is going to be a key factor moving forward. –Pat Reinhart, 26:16 [00:00] - About Pat Reinhart. [05:51] - SEO audit shift to ongoing processes. [07:34] - Always-on SEO mentality explained. [12:38] - Real-time SEO monitoring versus health check-ups. [16:22] - Emphasizing compliance in SEO audits with developers. [17:31] - Realistic goal-setting with dev teams in SEO. [19:31] - SEO strategies before holiday code freezes. [24:41] - AI's impact in SEO and ChatGPT's role. [25:05] - Strategies for Google's search generative experience. [32:58] - Transparency and authorship in SEO content. [35:58] - LinkedIn's importance for SEO professionals. Resources Mentioned: Conductor‘s 30-30 Webinars: Searchmetrics: Content King: Lily Ray’s E-E-A-T: LinkedIn: It's not about speed or volume. It's more about creating specific content that drives value. –Pat Reinhart, 29:51 LinkedIn has been very helpful to me throughout my career. It's not just my digital resume. It's a community that you can use to your advantage. –Pat Reinhart, 38:12 It's more about process than practice most of the time. –Pat Reinhart, 44:25 Connect with Patrick Reinhart: Patrick Reinhart leads enterprise digital strategy for Conductor’s Customer Success team as Vice President of Services and Thought Leadership. With over 15 years of organic search and digital marketing experience, he helps some of the world's largest brands with organic search initiatives. Connect on LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Beyond Bard: A Conversation With Google’s Yury Pinsky On AI & The Future Of SEO - EP325
11/10/2023
Beyond Bard: A Conversation With Google’s Yury Pinsky On AI & The Future Of SEO - EP325
Bard is our creative collaborator. It's a place where you can come in and have a conversation with the large language model which really helps you to boost your productivity and bring your ideas to life. –Yuri Pinsky, 02:16 Step behind the curtain and into the world of Google's Bard with its Director of Product Management, Yury Pinsky, in an exclusive conversation with SEJ Editor-in-Chief Amanda Zantal-Wiener. Hear about the origins and journey to Bard's unveiling, and discover how the team behind it envisions a collaborative future with AI. SEO pros and seasoned digital marketers alike will get an up-close look at the nuances of generative AI and a glimpse at what predictions for what's next. So prep your popcorn -- grab your notetaking method of choice -- and tune in to learn how to incorporate Google's current and forward-looking AI initiatives into your own business innovation. [07:11] - The origin of Bard and its market niche. [13:23] - Impact of generative AI and Bard on SEO and content creation. [17:37] - Using Bard for audience evaluation in content creation. [23:54] - Distinctive features of Bard compared to other AI models. [28:33] - Most interesting prompts seen in Bard. [33:29] - Future vision for Bard and generative AI. I'm inspired by this idea that technology can work together with us, and we can bring Bard in as a creative partner in your editorial work or when we're trying to write a document for work or something in our personal lives. –Yuri Pinsky, 09:46 It's a very vibrant, fast-paced, fast moving industry right now. I think some of the unique things we have with Bard are things like the ability to plug into Google tools. –Yuri Pinsky, 23:54 In the sciences and the medical field, there could be lots of interesting breakthroughs in drug discovery in climate applications. How can they use the power of these foundational models to really benefit all of us in some way? –Yuri Pinsky, 25:44 Your ideas still have to be your own in order for AI to work with you best and work for you best. –Yuri Pinsky, 28:33 It is not the end of search. Bard is an experiment. It's complementary to search. It's this conversational collaborator. –Yuri Pinsky, 32:47 Connect with Yury Pinsky: Yury is a Product Manager for Bard, leading areas including Extensions, Factuality, and multi-modality. Yury is passionate about cutting edge technology and finding ways to bring it to users around the world. Prior to serving in his current role, Yury led product teams around Natural Language and Speech Recognition for the Google Assistant, spent time building wearables in Google [X], and helped build out Google Search on mobile devices. Outside of work, Yury enjoys spending time with his family, planning his next vacation, and the daily logistics of kids' extracurricular activities. Connect on LinkedIn: Connect with Amanda Zantal-Wiener: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with her on LinkedIn:
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Secrets of a Viral Content Creator With Brian Kearney - EP323
10/19/2023
Secrets of a Viral Content Creator With Brian Kearney - EP323
As platforms evolve, so should our strategies. No one knows that better than Brian Kearney, a prominent content creator who gained over 100k Instagram followers in about a year. Brian joined me on the SEJShow to dig into his viral success and what it's taught him about discoverability, co-branding with authenticity, and how a unique background can make for some of the best content. From harnessing the ever-evolving algorithms of digital channels to leveraging the nuance of relatable humor, Brian shared how his journey has culminated in an unparalleled ability to craft resonant content -- and how it can be applied to your strategic success. — Based in Boston, Brian Kearney started as a registered nurse, later transitioning into the healthcare and startup sectors. He also ventured into politics and volunteered for local initiatives. As a content creator on Instagram and TikTok, Brian is known for his relatable humor and consistent content quality. His diverse experiences highlight his adaptability and passion-driven journey. Connect with Brian Kearney: Instagram: Tiktok: Connect with Amanda Zantal-Wiener, Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Journal: Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn: Follow her on Twitter:
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SEO and Site Migrations: Common Pitfalls To Avoid with Arnout Hellemans - EP322
10/03/2023
SEO and Site Migrations: Common Pitfalls To Avoid with Arnout Hellemans - EP322
SEO and Site Migrations: Common Pitfalls To Avoid with Arnout Hellemans Migrations can be time consuming and stressful, even more-so when you don't have company-wide collaboration and alignment, or when you're worried about drops in rankings. Come learn some myth-busting migration tips shared between our host, Loren Baker, and freelance SEO and analytics consultant, Arnout Hellemans. Arnout has seen plenty of migrations go bad. Hear actual case studies on what not to do to have better success. Join us for this can't miss episode. Arnout Hellemans is a freelance SEO and analytics consultant based in Amsterdam but mostly working for clients all over Europe and the US. He just loves solving SEO puzzles. He has been freelancing since 2010 and loves it. Connect with Arnout Hellemans: LinkedIn: X: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Effective Website Redesigns: How To Avoid Costly Mistakes with Janet Mesh - EP 321
09/04/2023
Effective Website Redesigns: How To Avoid Costly Mistakes with Janet Mesh - EP 321
Effective Website Redesigns: How To Avoid Costly Mistakes With Janet Mesh of Aimtal Website redesigns are a necessary component for marketers. But with so many elements going into an effective redesign, do you know what to focus on to develop a solid plan from the start? Join us and hear from Janet Mesh, CEO and co-founder of Aimtal, as she and Loren Baker, our founder and host, break down the ways to effectively launch a website redesign using Webflow and HubSpot, and the factors you need to focus on when redesigning. You’ll get tips on honing in on your site’s infrastructure using Janet’s “do no harm” strategy, to ensure that you have a clear infrastructure plan from the beginning. If you're looking to make your next redesign efficient and effective, you won't want to miss these tips. Resources: Connect with Janet Mesh, CEO and Co-Founder of Aimtal: Janet Mesh is the CEO + Co-Founder of Aimtal, a fully remote integrated marketing & consulting agency for B2B tech companies like Cisco, Atlassian, Trello, and Prisma Cloud. She is a remote work advocate who, in the past 5 years, has built and run a team of marketers located in 6 time zones all over the world. Janet has doubled the size and revenue of her agency year-over-year since its inception in 2018 and Aimtal won the Sprout Social ‘Always Be Growing’ award in 2022 in recognition of this growth. Her passion for integrated marketing with an agile approach is the key to her success, and has led to over a million dollars in sales for her clients in the last year. Outside of work, you can find Janet trying new restaurants around the world, reading historical fiction novels, and hosting happy hours at home for family & friends. Instagram: Facebook: YouTube: Twitter: LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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The State Of SEO 2024: Disruptions And Opportunities with Ben Steele - EP320
08/30/2023
The State Of SEO 2024: Disruptions And Opportunities with Ben Steele - EP320
Using data gathered from 3,890 SEO professionals for our annual State of SEO report, we're ready to give you new insights on the disruptive factors in the industry. From the rise of generative AI to shifting content trends, there are many opportunities to use these new disruptions to your advantage and stay ahead in such a competitive time. Ben Steele, senior editor at Search Engine Journal, joined me on this SEJ Show to break down the three significant disruptions in the SEO world and the opportunities they present. We examined the process behind implementing generative AI and what AI might look like next year. Get tactics for communicating your SEO value, tips on new ways to cultivate your audience, and new content creation strategies for facing changing trends. People noted that generative AI would be the biggest disruptor. However, respondents are largely positive; they feel optimistic about the impact of generative AI and its potential to affect their business's bottom line. I think there's an interesting duality to note there. It's disrupting many things, but people are still excited about it. –Ben Steele, 04:33 You bring up a great point about adapting focus. The industry is incredibly dynamic. With the acceleration of AI, changes in search engine algorithms, and evolving user behavior, SEO professionals need to be agile. They have to reassess and adapt their metric priorities in real time to ensure they're capturing the most relevant data, which translates to business value. That could be the reason we had to revisit the metrics we included in this year's survey. –Ben Steele, 20:29 While I can't predict the future with absolute certainty, what's clear is that the traditional role of an SEO professional is already transforming. SEO is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. It's no longer just about optimizing for search engines; it's about optimizing for user experience, understanding data analytics, and even having some proficiency with AI and machine learning models. –Ben Steele, 21:15 [00:00] - About Ben. [03:57] - Top disruptors in SEO. [04:33] - Has generative AI affected search yet? [07:07] - User behavior toward new technology: voice search example. [10:46] - Freelancers moving to permanent positions. [12:15] - Impact of layoffs in tech companies. [16:34] - Priority metrics for SEO professionals. [18:05] - Agency vs. in-house SEO communication struggles. [22:20] - Importance of click-through rate as a metric. [27:25] - SEO's role in ecommerce and Google Shopping. [28:53] - Content's role in SEO. [29:37] - Top barriers to SEO success. [30:57] - Communication barriers in SEO. [32:31] - Frequency of Google updates. [34:01] - Changes in Google SERPs. [34:36] - Major takeaways in the SEO report. [36:46] - Navigating SEO algorithm changes. [38:03] - Communicating SEO value. Resources mentioned: State of SEO 2024 - An SEO's job is not just to drive traffic; it's to complete that journey all the way down to the checkout. –Loren Baker, 26:08 What we're seeing is a shift in focus. Last year, people were going back to basics and focusing on technical SEO. This year, we're seeing a greater emphasis on understanding audience intent and traffic quality, not just raw numbers, but what this traffic means. –Ben Steele, 22:22 People are no longer convinced by the promise of getting you to page one for any term you want because the question becomes, 'Page one for what? For something that nobody searches for?' –Ben Steele, 38:03 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect with Ben Steele: Ben Steele, the Senior Editor at SEJ, boasts profound expertise in digital content. Though he didn't initially aim to become an SEO strategist, the skills he acquired for his role, combined with his self-initiated research into digital marketing, unveiled his genuine passion in this field. His experience in professional theater not only refined his work ethic and leadership abilities but also fostered other invaluable attributes such as creativity. Now, at SEJ, Ben contributes to their ebooks, consistently providing fresh perspectives and strategic content advice. Through his SEO endeavors, he artfully weaves the nuances of human experiences, journeys, and expressions into enlightening lessons for others. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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How To Use Multilingual Localization To Extend Your Reach with Naoko Takano - EP319
08/08/2023
How To Use Multilingual Localization To Extend Your Reach with Naoko Takano - EP319
Have you wondered how to expand your business' reach across different languages and cultures? Do you know what role multilingual and localized content can play in your business? Naoko Takano, Localization and Community Program Manager for WordPress, joined me on the SEJShow to explore the significance of localization and internationalization in WordPress’ mission. Naoko has been involved with WordPress localization since its infancy and has seen firsthand how multilingual localization has built larger communities around businesses. Learn the power of multilingual content and what it means for effectively broadening your reach online. Discover tips and opportunities for your business to collaborate across different cultures and how to leverage this power to improve your ROI. WordPress, being an open-source solution from WordPress.org, your mission is to empower the publisher. –Loren Baker, 06:45 One of the advantages WordPress has is that we have so many different types of languages, and it's possible to add more languages as long as there are translators. –Naoko Takano, 13:49 The mission of WordPress is democratizing publishing. Our mission is to reach all the people using the internet and want to publish, not only in English-speaking countries. So yes, we want to expand beyond. –Naoko Takano, 23:28 [00:23] - About Naoko. [02:18] - WordPress localization and global growth. [06:45] - Open source as WordPress.org's growth driver. [08:49] - The role of translation in WordPress business expansion. [10:58] - Volunteer-driven operations at WordPress.org. [12:55] - WordPress plugins vs. enterprise CMS for expanding businesses. [13:49] - WordPress' multilingual capabilities. [14:55] - Anticipation of multilingual support in WordPress core software. [16:07] - Balancing WordPress' multilingual offerings with business interests. [16:54] - Gutenberg's fourth phase: Multilingual support? [17:07] - Adapting translation plugins for WordPress' block editor. [19:54] - WordPress' growth in the Spanish market. [21:52] - The most active countries in WordCamps events. [23:12] - The impact of translation on WordPress.org's international usage. [24:42] - Democratization through cultural collaboration in WordPress. [26:12] - Localization in WordPress: More than translation. [30:15] - The future of multilingual WordPress. [32:48] - The international WordPress community's size. [34:07] - Site translation and localization for various audiences. [36:24] - Connecting with the WordPress community online. Resources Mentioned: I would like to see a more technology-assisted way for us to read and reach the audience in different parts of the world. That helps us find more engaging content and allows the content provider to reach further than the limitation of their language area. –Naoko Takano, 30:55 We benefit as a community by using the version we are familiar with and providing that to the client. The backend is also translated, which helps people make the plugins usable without the language barrier. –Naoko Takano, 08:49 We, the translation community, always say over 20,000 active people have been translating something within a year or so.–Naoko Takano, 32:52 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to enhance your knowledge and skills in search marketing. Connect With Naoko Takano: Naoko Takano is the Localization & Community Program Manager at Automattic with over ten years of experience in the US. She specializes in software localization and English-Japanese translation and applies her expertise to WordPress support, technical writing, and community organization. A full-time contributor to the WordPress Polyglots and Community Teams for almost two decades, Naoko works as a Polyglots Global Mentor and General Translation Editor (GTE) for Japanese, aiding translation contributors and enhancing WordPress accessibility across different languages. Connect with Naoko on LinkedIn: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker
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Learn To Master Your Website - Even If You Dont Speak Tech with Fiona Allman - Treen - EP318
08/02/2023
Learn To Master Your Website - Even If You Dont Speak Tech with Fiona Allman - Treen - EP318
No matter what your business specializes in, your website is often the first place potential clients and customers learn about your company. This means visitors can decide about your services within the first few seconds. So how do you hook them? Fiona Allman-Treen, author of “Website Mastery for Business Owners Who Don't Speak Tech,” joins me on the SEJShow and shows you the three key things your website needs to increase your website’s visibility, boost your business growth, and convert visitors to paying customers. Get expert analysis based on Fiona’s best-selling book that will show you how to translate the tech-speak around website design and maintain ROI after your website launch's initial excitement is over. Website Mastery for Business Owners was needed because [speaking tech] is something that people shouldn't have to do to get a really good website. They shouldn't need to know the ins and outs of the code. - Fiona Allman, 00:59 What attracted me to the web in the first place was seeing that level playing field. It makes a one-man band can sound like an orchestra online, and that's what I love. So it's, it's all about making that happen for people. - Fiona Allman, 01:31 I've always found it nice to just send a text every once in a while and send a follow-up because you never know when someone will leave and go somewhere else. It's just good sportsmanship at the end of the day. Just, "Hey, how's it going?" It's checking in, you know, happy new year, whatever it may be. It doesn't have to be cheesy, but it, it has helped me personally retain or even bring clients back. Just having an open line of communication all the time. –Loren Baker, 20:21 [00:46] About Fiona. [02:22] Keeping up with recent web design changes. [03:12] Initial steps in defining a website strategy. [06:11] Key elements for website visitor engagement. [13:57] Significance of image selection in customer engagement. [15:23] Strategies for customer satisfaction and preventing buyer's remorse. [15:56] Importance of post-purchase customer engagement. [17:22] Balancing customer connection and salesmanship. [19:42] Value of communication with returning customers. [22:57] An insight into Fiona's book "Website Mastery." [23:00] Advantages of print publishing over online writing. [24:02] Networking advantages of a physical book. [25:41] Using "Website Mastery" in client onboarding. [26:20] Unexpected outcomes of book publishing. [27:28] Reaction to book rejection at networking events. [30:49] Advice for non-tech individuals on web design mastery. Resources Mentioned: Website Mastery Book: Fat Promotions: You can attract people to your website, but you've got that attraction piece if they don't connect with what they see when they get there. You've got these visitors coming in, like, with decent search engine listings. You'll get that. But if they get there and they don't connect with what they see, it's not going to happen." - Fiona Allman, 06:11 I had one guy who bought a copy, and he put this glorious review on Amazon. He was so kind. And he said, I read it in three days, and I have to work with you. That's it. And it, as it turned out, we ended up going through all the different things that he wanted.–Fiona Allman, 26:56 You want those repeat customers. That's where your engagement gold comes in. When you get those repeat customers, just show them you care. So really what you want to do is, as you say, keep them on the, on your love them up the list. Keep them in your email marketing. Give them regular newsletters, but keep people from pestering them. –Fiona Alman,15:56 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to enhance your knowledge and skills in search marketing. Connect With Fiona Allman-Treen: Fiona Allman-Treen is the Director of FAT Promotions, a digital agency she founded in 2001 to help clients create compelling websites. Also known for her best-selling book 'WEBSITE MASTERY,' she is renowned for her expertise in strategic website design and online systems that drive sustainable growth for businesses and charities globally. Before launching her web design agency, Fiona spent over a decade in graphic design and marketing. A passionate advocate for entrepreneurship and female empowerment, she founded the Affinity Business Initiative in 2019 to support local businesswomen. Away from work, Fiona's interests include classic cars, red wine, and playing the ukulele. Connect with Fiona on LinkedIn: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker
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Reflecting On 20 Years Of Wordpress With The CEO of WooCommerce Paul Maiorana - EP317
07/21/2023
Reflecting On 20 Years Of Wordpress With The CEO of WooCommerce Paul Maiorana - EP317
As WordPress celebrates its 20th anniversary, it is essential to reflect on its roots and explore how its history has shaped ecommerce and what this means for your website. Paul Maiorana, CEO of WooCommerce, joined me on the SEJ Show for this special episode to reflect on how ecommerce found its way into the WordPress world and how WooCommerce intertwined with WordPress’ values and initiatives. We talked about Paul’s 11+ year career with Automattic, his experiences leading WordPress VIP, and what led him to take on the leadership of WooCommerce. You’ll also hear about the core community spirit that lives in the foundation of WordPress and how this has impacted WooCommerce’s mission for its users. You won’t want to miss this critical look back from someone who has been there through countless steps along the way. The difference, though, in governance is really important, which is that nobody owns WordPress. It's stewarded by the WordPress Foundation and a nonprofit that owns the intellectual property and everything around WordPress. That’s guided by Matt Mullenweg, its founder, co-founder, and still project lead. But the governance model is different. Whereas with WooCommerce, Automattic wholly owns WooCommerce. It's still an open-source product that uses the GPL license, free software, the same as WordPress is. Still, we effectively fund all of the development of WooCommerce. –Paul Maiorana, 14:36 WooCommerce is a global platform for sure. So we have customers in every country. There is such great support for localization. Translations and localization are a massive part of that, not just in terms of people providing those translations but also on the other side. It's how merchants can build a localized experience for their shoppers. –Paul Maiorana, 20:57 That's the beauty of open source, right? We're able to get leaner and meaner than some of our competitors. We’ve adequately federated this ecosystem of independent software developers, agencies, freelancers, and web hosts. These folks come together to produce a WooCommerce site and a quality product. Our interests are aligned, which ultimately makes for a better customer experience. –Paul Maiorana, 23:02 [00:00] - About Paul. [03:28] - WooCommerce's origin & Automattic integration. [07:01] - Purpose of WooCommerce development. [09:38] - WooCommerce's market share. [13:27] - Developer engagement with WooCommerce. [17:10] - Exploring WooCommerce extensions/integrations. [20:57] - WooCommerce & localization strategies, shopping support, lean model & open-source contributions. [24:14] WooCommerce's Solution to ecommerce challenges. [26:23] Commerce platform fragmentation issues. [27:40] Future commerce trends: Smartphone preference. [29:37] Growth potential in the WooCommerce ecosystem. [30:42] WooCommerce success stories. Resources Mentioned: Woo Express: Showcase of WooCommerce Merchants: Woo’s In-House Developed Extensions: Recent Woo Blog: WooCommerce Merchant: Tonal: Success story mention who uses WooCommerce as their ecommerce platform: We think we've got a real advantage and opportunity to, through WooCommerce, provide a solution that developers love, but also to provide a more opinionated package of WooCommerce and extensions integrated with a hosting solution to provide something that's much more turnkey and simple and just more intuitive for a merchant to get up and running with. –Paul Maiorana, 26:23 The ability to start with something simple like Woo Express, or something like that, just out of the box simplified shopping environment. And then as that company grows and as they go down the paths of more and more and test more and more marketing channels, making that easier to grow from a core as opposed to having everything thrown at you at once and trying to figure it out sounds like a very logical solution. –Loren Baker, 30:09 We're making some decisions and saying, this is the best way to do that. These are all separate. Each of these features represents a different extension in the WooCommerce ecosystem today. And we're bringing that all together into a preconfigured solution so that it's easy, and again, people can start selling without having to build. –Paul Maiorana, 27:40 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to enhance your knowledge and skills in search marketing. Connect With Paul Maiorana: Paul Maiorana is the CEO of WooCommerce, an open-source eCommerce platform, where he leverages his expertise in open-source development, content management, and WordPress, among other specialties. His leadership has contributed significantly to WooCommerce's growth and innovation in the online retail sector. Before WooCommerce, Paul built a formidable portfolio of professional experience focusing on open-source technology and software solutions. His understanding of the industry and his technical expertise have positioned him as an influential figure in pushing the boundaries of ecommerce. Connect with Paul on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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How To Navigate Social Media Trends & Emerging AI Technologies with Jamie Gilpin - EP316
07/14/2023
How To Navigate Social Media Trends & Emerging AI Technologies with Jamie Gilpin - EP316
How do you prepare your social and marketing team for AI? There are a ton of AI tools out there, but not all of them are useful. Jamie Gilpin, CMO at Sprout Social, joined me on the SEJ Show to talk social, search, and how AI can play a bigger part in your strategy. Gain valuable insight into virality, social media trends, and emerging AI technologies, and discover the seamless integration of these technologies into your team's workflow. Trends come from forces, and forces are the big cultural shifts that we see. As a result, the moment or signals from those forces become micro topics. –Jamie Gilpin, 05:43 In the world of SEO and search, search changes quickly. Social media trends change just as fast, whether it's platforms or just the way that people are communicating. Everything used to be written. Then, it went to images. And now, video. –Loren Baker, 02:03 Social does infiltrate not just the full customer journey but all aspects of the customer's enterprise. –Jamie Gilpin, 33:23 [00:00] - About Jamie [02:03] - The evolution of social media trends & content consumption [03:25] - Understanding trend culture and TikTok's influence [13:14] - The importance of having a business presence on TikTok [19:51] - Opportunities to integrate AI in daily social media marketing workflows [20:57] - Current discourse and applications of AI in marketing [25:39] - Understanding the AI Assist Tool [27:16] - Future of AI in visual content for social media marketing [33:39] - Intersection of social media and search in consumer research Resources Mentioned: Sprout Social - One of the biggest opportunities, I would say, and it's synonymous with the challenge we have on the marketing team, is that it's so much easier to work autonomously in silos. Still, the real value, and more importantly, our customers expect that all those folks are working together and delivering one seamless customer experience. –Jamie Gilpin, 18:52 The worst thing that you can do, from a customer experience and perception perspective, is to not have a through-line for when your customer is ready to buy. When they see something they want to buy from you and can't find it. –Jamie Gilpin, 15:13 That's the future of social, and that's why I get very excited about this space. It started in marketing, but it started as a tool for us to advertise another thing–another channel that we would push our message out. –Jamie Gilpin,32:26 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/searchenginejournal Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out https://www.searchenginejournal.com for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Jamie Gilpin: Jamie Gilpin, the Chief Marketing Officer at Sprout Social, is a marketing maestro who knows how to grow brands in technology. Her knack for building stellar teams and driving revenue through ingenious strategies make her a force to be reckoned with. From lead generation to social media sorcery, Jamie's expertise shines through. Armed with an MBA from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in public relations from Florida State University, she's a marketing dynamo who knows how to make things happen. Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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How To Create A B2B Content Strategy For YouTube with Ali Schwanke - EP315
07/11/2023
How To Create A B2B Content Strategy For YouTube with Ali Schwanke - EP315
YouTube is a powerful platform for B2B marketers, but many organizations still need to start using it to its full potential. Ali Schwanke, founder at Simple Strat and Host of HubSpot Hacks, joined me on the SEJShow to share her top tips for creating a successful B2B YouTube strategy- including using YouTube's new features to make your videos more discoverable. Gain insight into the rising importance of YouTube in B2B marketing, leveraging podcast features, differentiating strategies for marketers, the role of video in an AI era, and much more. We run a channel called HubSpot Hacks over on YouTube, with about 18,000 subscribers. We just crossed over a million views earlier this year, and we're a small team of 10. –Ali Schwanke, 00:41 YouTube happens to be a place where there is very little competition for most B2B companies. So if we do help people on YouTube, it's because the barrier to entry is very high, and so the competition's low. –Ali Schwanke, 02:00 You can create videos so that they just earn a rabbit hole. So if I sent viewers a video every day, it'd take 30 days to get to know me. But if I create an experience for you and your journey that you consume 30 videos in four days because they're just so one after the other, yes, I've accelerated that relationship building, and that's what we're seeing. –Ali Schwanke, 14:18 [00:00] - Introduction to Ali Wanky. [00:41] - Simple Strat’s role with "HubSpot Hacks." [02:00] - YouTube as a strategy for B2B in low-competition platforms. [03:56] - Misconceptions about video marketing. [06:19] - The importance of informative content in B2B YouTube marketing. [08:52] - The role of authenticity in learning. [11:22] - Strategies for embedding YouTube videos versus using tools like Wistia. [14:51] - Techniques for consistent video exposure. [16:17] - The benefits of multi-platform promotion for video content. [21:51] - The value of content length variations in viewer engagement. [23:49] - Format and style considerations: vertical versus horizontal videos. [26:07] - The potential of YouTube Shorts in content marketing. [27:29] - The role of AI tools in video creation. [32:17] - The necessity of engaging content in a crowded YouTube landscape. [34:44] - Efficient content generation through webinar repurposing. [35:19] - An overview of valuable resources on HubSpot Hacks. Resources Mentioned: HubSpot Hacks: Simple Strat: How I recommend people use AI is less about the editing and more about the strategy. –Ali Schwanke, 28:57 You have to get outside your box of “everybody's ready to buy today, and we're going top of the funnel.” We're saying, “how do I create interesting content?” So people just go, “you know what, that company is different. I kind of wanna pay attention to them because attention, time, and convenience are the currency that we all have today.” –Ali Schwanke, 32:17 If you're going to go onto YouTube as a B2B company with human personalities, you do need to have people that are comfortable on camera and know what it's gonna take from them to be on camera consistently. –Ali Schwanke, 34:05 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out https://www.searchenginejournal.com for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Ali Schwanke: Ali Schwanke, the founder of Simple Strat, stands out in the realm of B2B content marketing with over 15 years of experience. A certified content marketer, HubSpot agency partner, and YouTube creator, she leverages her expertise to build data-driven strategies that fuel business growth. Schwanke champions a customer-centric approach to marketing, viewing content as a powerful tool to address customers' needs and challenges. Her innovative methods offer businesses a roadmap to increase their influence and reach through strategic content marketing. Connect with Ali on LinkedIn: Follow her on Twitter: Watch her on YouTube: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker
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Dont Call It A Throwback - 20 Years Of SEO & Search Engine Journal with Loren Baker & Amanda Zantal Weiner - SPECIAL EPISODE
07/05/2023
Dont Call It A Throwback - 20 Years Of SEO & Search Engine Journal with Loren Baker & Amanda Zantal Weiner - SPECIAL EPISODE
It's our 20th Anniversary! In this special commemorative episode, take an exhilarating ride back to some of the earliest SEO and search marketing days as I sit down with our founder Loren Baker. Come for the nostalgia and stay for the hidden gems as Loren reflects on an awe-inspiring 20-year evolution of Search Engine Journal. We delved into the unforgettable landmarks, behind-the-scenes stories, and revolutionary insights that have shaped the industry and our coverage. Loren's captivating anecdotes and poignant reflections paint a bold picture of SEO's past, present, and future. Join us as we celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Search Engine Journal and inspire a new generation of digital innovation. We've achieved considerable success, especially since we collaborated with Alpha Brand Media in 2010 under the leadership of Jenise and Brent. Our primary goal was to expand SEJ's reach. Despite the various changes, one thing has remained constant – our commitment to continuous experimentation. –Loren Baker, 17:17 When I used to write, my natural inclination was to include a summary or an implication section in the post. I would explore questions such as: 'What does this information mean for marketers?', 'How can this be integrated into your SEO campaign?' or 'How can you incorporate this into your daily tasks? –Loren Baker, 15:34 Some of my favorite shows are those where we've invited day-to-day marketers, mainly in-house marketers, to share their experiences. They discuss how things are working from an enterprise perspective and in-house. Even when I used to attend a lot of conferences, I particularly enjoyed the in-house or enterprise-oriented sessions. As a consultant or agency representative, it helped me understand the thought processes, challenges and struggles in-house marketers face, which improved my communication with clients and sales. –Loren Baker, 24:54 [00:00] - Origin and Initial Vision of the Search Engine Journal [07:15] - Key Changes in SEO Since Launching SEJ [11:33] - Impact of Social Media Rise on SEO Strategy [15:34] - Applying SEO News to Marketing Campaigns [16:31] - Importance of Experimentation in SEO and Marketing [17:17] - Growth and Evolution of SEJ with Alpha Brand Media [18:29] - Learning from Past Mistakes and Wrong Decisions [20:22] - Maintaining SEJ's Editorial Integrity and Accuracy [21:12] - Keeping SEJ Relevant Amidst AI Advancements [24:02] - Most Impactful Interview Conducted on the Podcast [27:04] - Evolution of Challenges Faced by Marketers [30:40] - Impact of AI and SGE on SEO's Future [32:02] - Debunking the Myth: Is SEO Dead? [38:13] - Proudest Moments after Two Decades at SEJ [41:04] - Future Plans for SEJ & Loren’s Personal Career [42:43] - Possibility of a Lauren Baker AI Chatbot [44:55] - Dominating News Coverage without Being First [45:47] - Making News Stories Evergreen for Audience [47:55] - Creating Engaging Content for Less Exciting Topics [49:58] - Influence of Trends on the Content Creation Approach [51:13] - SEJ Experience's Impact on Worldview and Work Approach Early on, I collaborated with several companies that wanted to start blogs. However, they were hesitant because they didn't believe they had anything of value to discuss. –Loren Baker, 47:55 Search and search traffic has evolved from being considered a vanity metric to becoming more focused on the long tail and conversion-driven. –Loren Baker, 27:13 The one thing I do love about this industry is that it's constantly changing. I love staying on top of everything in search, tech, and everything else, so I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Going to continue to help to grow this puppy. –Loren Baker,42:16 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/searchenginejournal Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out https://www.searchenginejournal.com for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Loren Baker: Meet Loren Baker: a trailblazer in digital marketing, the mastermind behind Search Engine Journal (SEJ), and an authority in SEO. As the founder of SEJ, he's built a powerhouse of cutting-edge SEO insights and news, becoming a beacon for marketers and industry enthusiasts worldwide. But Loren's passion for digital excellence doesn't stop at SEJ. As an Advisor at Alpha Brand Media, he injects strategic vision into every decision, continuously pushing the boundaries of what's possible in digital media. At the helm of Foundation Digital, Loren crafts bespoke digital marketing strategies that redefine business success. His penchant for innovative solutions, along with his keen understanding of the industry's pulse, sets him apart as a dynamic and impactful leader. Connect with Loren on LinkedIn: Connect with Amanda Zantal-Wiener, Editor-in-Chief at Search Engine Journal: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with her on LinkedIn:
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Generative AI - Using Tools Effectively While Avoiding Common Traps with Eric Enge - EP314
06/23/2023
Generative AI - Using Tools Effectively While Avoiding Common Traps with Eric Enge - EP314
ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) are seemingly everywhere, and it's crucial to learn what's possible with them while acknowledging their flaws. After all, do LLMs have their intelligence? Is ChatGPT ready for “prime time,” or is it merely a toy that can lead to fake and error-laden stories? President of Pilot Holding, Eric Enge, joined me on the SEJShow to share the truth behind the prevailing myths surrounding the generative AI landscape and how to succeed with the tools instead. Discover the problems arising from placing too much trust in generative AI. You'll also find out what is possible and how to use it in your business best while avoiding the common mistakes associated with LLMs. We must remember that the real problem is that this stuff is trained on the open internet. We have all the world's information on the web, and that's great, but we also have all the world's disinformation on the web and a lot of overtly intended misinformation. –Eric Enge,41:18 Anybody who thinks SEO is going away because of this doesn't understand SEO. As long as people want to search for and find things, and as long as there are tools to help people search for and find things, there will be SEO, end of story. –Eric Enge, 32:48 We're not at the point where this will supplant humans in all things. But we are at a point where we've developed a really interesting tool that can be used constructively and creatively in many different ways.–Eric Enge, 37:38 [00:00] - Introduction to Eric [04:21] - AI’s current and future role in search & opportunities [09:36] - Effects of incorrect information on different Internet users [14:13] - Error reporting to Google: Best practices [15:25] - Preparing ecommerce sites for AI-enhanced search [21:02] - The role of content in local search results [23:52] - Evaluation of Google's source selection for search results [28:23] - Impact of Google's result integration on clicks and conversions [31:48] - Importance of brand visibility in search results [33:14] - Misunderstandings about AI's influence on search results [37:40] - Outlook on the future of ai systems [38:29] - Recent advancements in ai-generated output accuracy [41:18] - Web disinformation issues and their effect on ai models [44:22] - Strategies for ai-optimized business content [46:55] - AI's potential impact on online content credibility [48:33] - Importance of experts in enhancing ai-generated content [50:19] - Google's approach to evaluating content trustworthiness [51:49] - Insights on AI's role in future content generation and SEO Resources Mentioned: Pilot Holding: Right now, we have this massive paradigm shift or the preparation for the shift. We're definitely in the infant stages. Most of us SEOs have Google SGE running on our browsers. We're doing queries daily. We're getting scared or anxious every time we do a query. Now we're seeing an article appear before the typical organic results. We must keep reminding ourselves that we are beta-testing this at the moment. And this is a tricky thing to do sometimes when every time you search, you see everything pushed down. Google trying to answer what may not even be a question-oriented query with a relatively long piece of content. –Loren Baker, 04:21 The easiest way to get started is to take a page on your site, feed it into the model, give it the search query you want it to rank for, and ask it what changes you need to make to improve your chances of ranking on that or what content gaps you need to fill. –Eric Enge,44:22 Over time, E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is going to become more important. Google will place a lot of weight on looking for subject matter experts, fact-checking, and a strong staff of experts owning the content. –Eric Enge, 48:22 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/searchenginejournal Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out https://www.searchenginejournal.com for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Eric Enge: Eric Enge is an award-winning professional and co-founder of Pilot Holding, specializing in executive consulting for SEO, content marketing, digital marketing, and finance. He founded Stone Temple Consulting, later acquired by Perficient, where he served as General Manager and Principal in the Digital Marketing team. Eric's expertise spans digital marketing strategy, SEO, content marketing, paid search, conversion rate optimization, social media, web analytics, and marketing automation. He excels in guiding businesses toward their next stage of growth. Connect with Eric on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Leveraging WordPress To Tell Your Brand's Story with Josepha Haden Chomphosy - EP 313
06/16/2023
Leveraging WordPress To Tell Your Brand's Story with Josepha Haden Chomphosy - EP 313
Unlocking Your Brand's Potential with WordPress: Insights from the Executive Director Have you ever wondered how WordPress can transform your brand's narrative and enhance your online presence? Executive Director of WordPress, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, joined me on the SEJShow to discuss the impact of the open source model on WordPress's growth and economy and provides valuable insights on leveraging WordPress to tell your brand's story and succeed in the digital world. As WordPress marks its 20th anniversary, empowering individuals and organizations to share their narratives and establish their businesses, this episode provides a glimpse into WordPress's future and the unique ways marketers, entrepreneurs, and SMBs can capitalize on its evolving capabilities. WordPress enabled about half a trillion dollar economy based on everything people can do to create services and products inside the WordPress space. How we have created our marketplaces has been significant.–Josepha Haden,15:22 Like all the things with AI, I always ask my community to move slowly enough to be ethical but fast enough to be relevant. We're technology, and we have to be fast. Otherwise, we don't matter. But also, we are open source, so we always want to be as ethical as possible.–Josepha Haden, 36:02 The thing I think that makes Open Source so valuable in the history of WordPress and probably in the history of any open source project is that it not only has a bunch of freedoms for what anyone who wants to use our software can do and can have, but it also specifically includes freedoms from things that they should not have to deal with. Like they should be free from having someone suddenly change their terms of service and no longer having access to their content or, suddenly changing their algorithms and no longer having any access to the audiences that they worked so hard to gain on their sites and in their own spaces.–Josepha Haden, 10:12 [00:00] - About Josepha. [00:29] - The 20th anniversary of WordPress. [00:40] - SEJ's transition from Blogger to WordPress. [01:54] - The WordPress project timeline. [04:12] - Explanation of open-source project contributions. [14:32] - The economy of WordPress. [14:51] - SEO plugins in WordPress. [17:23] - How do plugin and theme developers monetize their work in the WordPress space? [20:25] - How has Gutenberg changed WordPress post publishing? [27:21] - Benefits for merchants using WordPress for ecommerce. [28:56] - Storytelling in ecommerce. [31:26] - The role SEO plays in WordPress' operation and its importance to users. [32:31] - Future of WordPress. [33:08] - WordPress' multilingual support. [34:12] - How WordPress is navigating enterprise-level customizations. [36:02] - Ethical considerations of WordPress & AI. [41:57] - The role & importance of the WordPress community in its success. Resources Mentioned: WordPress – A Bill of Rights for the Open Web – WordPress Playground – Yoast – All-In-One SEO – Rank Math – Josepha’s Blog – And for what it's worth, a group of existing agencies caters to enterprise clients in WordPress. We know, as WordPress is in the heart of us, that we can do that and support that. And we also can do that while keeping the heart of our open-source philosophies like we see it happening. WordPress.org/enterprise is the page that enterprise-specific agency leaders pulled together to help us get more awareness that WordPress is an excellent choice for enterprise implementations and clients.–Loren Baker, 45:24 One of the goals of Gutenberg was to lower the barrier to entry for new users of WordPress by creating this block standard. The idea was that everyone would use the same variety and type of interactions. You only had to learn one type of management style for all the interactive management spaces available inside the CMS. This was an opportunity for us to modernize the code base and bring in a new concept of how we can work with WordPress. –Josepha Haden, 21:40 So in the publishing space, one of the things that I think, I'm not going to say we're going to lead in, but certainly, I believe we're going to do the best in, is making sure that our native, multilingual support is as seamless and robust as it can be. We are the most used CMS worldwide, and that work is slated for phase four of our current Gutenberg project. It's not necessarily a Gutenberg-centric concept, but it is one of the areas where we can stand to make the most profound difference in using an excellent CMS globally. And so that is in our next three to four years.–Josepha Haden, 33:08 Connect with Josepha Haden Chomphosy: Josepha Haden Chomphosy is an accomplished leader and technologist in open-source software. As the Executive Director of WordPress, she oversees the strategic direction of the world's most widely used content management system (CMS), with 43% of all websites globally powered by WordPress. Since taking on this role in 2019, she has devoted her work to cultivating a more diverse and inclusive community that welcomes hundreds of volunteers worldwide, expanding the platform's reach, and empowering users to create exceptional digital experiences. Josepha is known for her leadership skills and philosophy, passion for open-source software, and commitment to creating a more equitable and inclusive industry. Connect with her on LinkedIn - Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Googles Head of Ads Safety Talks Clicks and Compliance with Alejandro Borgia - EP 312
06/09/2023
Googles Head of Ads Safety Talks Clicks and Compliance with Alejandro Borgia - EP 312
Get ready to unlock the secrets behind successful – and SAFE – advertising as we dive deep into the world of ads policy with a true industry expert. Alejandro Borgia, Google’s Director of Product Management, Ads Safety, joins me on the SEJShow to decode ad policy, setting the record straight on common myths in the ads world, from captivating clicks to unwavering compliance. From debunking misconceptions to chatting about what’s next for ads, this episode is a must-listen for marketers, advertisers, and PPC enthusiasts alike. [00:00] - About Alejandro. [01:46] - How Google approaches ad safety. [07:27] - Benefits of the Transparency Center. [09:23] - How will AI integration affect ad safety? [14:25] - How Google will defend the risks of generative AI in advertising. [19:21] - Misconception about ad safety. [22:21] - Top threats to Google’s safety work. [24:34] - The then and now of Google Ads. [27:48] - What Alejandro is excited about. For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/searchenginejournal Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out https://www.searchenginejournal.com for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Alejandro Borgia: Meet Alejandro Borgia, a standout authority in product management and marketing. At the helm of strategic initiatives at Google as the Director of Product Management, Alejandro is known for breaking new ground. His proven track record extends to influential roles at cybersecurity giant Symantec and digital music pioneer Napster. Known for his thoughtful approach and continuous contributions, Alejandro has a well-earned reputation for fostering innovation, promoting growth, and encouraging transformation in the tech industry. Connect with Alejandro on LinkedIn: Connect with Amanda Zantal-Wiener, Editor-in-Chief at Search Engine Journal: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with her on LinkedIn:
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After I/O: What To Know Following Google’s Big Month with Amanda Zantal Wiener, Roger Montti, and Matt Southern
06/08/2023
After I/O: What To Know Following Google’s Big Month with Amanda Zantal Wiener, Roger Montti, and Matt Southern
On this episode of the SEJ Show, we dive headfirst into the aftermath of Google's momentous May, from I/O to Marketing Live. Join SEJ Editor-in-Chief Amanda Zantal-Wiener in conversation with industry experts Roger Montti and Matt Southern as we dissect the key takeaways and groundbreaking announcements from Google's annual events. From an abundance of AI announcements to product updates, tune in to learn how to leverage and apply these developments to stay ahead of the curve. Google announced a lot of things, but they're not shipping anything yet, so it's not like they're flooding the market with all this new stuff that we have to try. There are a lot of announcements, and I find that we have a lot of time to digest them before we can get our hands on them and use them. –Matt Southern, 2:17 The big takeaway that I got from I/O and the way Google is looking to change the search experience, also with GML yesterday changing the advertiser experience is making everything conversational, which by the way, I feel like we've seen this before. Conversational marketing with chatbots etc., was a really big deal. There's a big emphasis on a conversational approach to all these things. –Amanda Zantal-Wiener, 32:22 So it seems both Open AI and Google are afraid of the democratization of AI. Right now, people are building a chatbot for 500 bucks or less, so the technology is out there. People are building their own things, like Jasper AI is working with Cerebras, which provides AI infrastructure, and a lot of people think Jasper AI is just taking a chat GPT feed and modifying it. No, they built their own large language models using the Cerebras infrastructure, and it's very unique to them and very specific–what's called domain-specific. That's going to pose a problem for them, and they want to keep a light on it, in my opinion, but that's why you're seeing the first strike from Google and open AI about the legislation because they want to control what the laws are. –Roger Monttii, 7:17 [00:00] - About Matt & Roger [02:04] - Are things slowing down this summer? [05:50] - The talk about the L-word: Legislation. [12:33] - The white paper on Google’s ethics and AI. [17:32] - Initial thoughts on Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) [22:03] - About Section 230. [32:22] - How do you optimize for the new search experience? [47:15] - How will the new search experience impact accessibility & KPIs? [52:37] - What’s the motivation for companies? [58:26] - What’s on the horizon? Resources mentioned: Google I/O: 230 should be amended to account for recommender algorithms which is a relatively new thing that didn't exist. Section 230 was originally formulated to regulate, give a fair forum, and allow free speech. Section 230 is about allowing free speech. But let's face it: When it comes to people advocating harm, it might seem controversial, but there should be limits on free speech because the right to free speech is only the right to have to be able to say what you want and not have government and put laws into it. Free speech is when I walk into your house or Matt’s house, or anybody who's watching. I can't go in there and say whatever the hell I want. You have the right to kick me out. So when you go to a website, whether it's YouTube, Twitter, or some random forum, if you don't can abide by the terms of service that restrict what kind of speech is allowed there, they have the right to kick you out. –Roger Monttii, 27:22 As far as the summer in search, I think that it might slow down, but Google has a history of pushing things without announcing them over to summertime, although there are some updates too. But there's been a history of Google pushing important changes related to how search works during the summer and then announcing it in the fall. –Roger Monttii, 4:13 I was watching the hearing with Sam Altman, and it seemed a little too friendly compared to previous hearings. It's unusual for a company like that to just welcome regulation, almost like they're asking, "please regulate us." –Matt Southern, 10:09 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Roger Montti: Roger Montti is a seasoned search marketer boasting over 20 years of experience in the field. He has built a solid reputation for expertise and effectiveness by offering site audits, phone consultations, and content and link strategy assistance. In addition to being a Head Judge for the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Search Awards, Roger is also a publisher of award-winning websites, showcasing his multifaceted talents within the industry. As a prominent figure in search marketing, Roger has shared his insights at various conferences, including SES, SMX East, SMX West, SMX Advanced Seattle, Affiliate Summit NYC, Affiliate Summit West, and multiple PubCon events. In addition, his writing covers various topics, such as WordPress, Facebook, Google, SEO, and search marketing, further establishing him as a thought leader. Connect with Roger on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect With Matt Southern: Matt G. Southern, a highly respected Senior News Writer, has been integral to the Search Engine Journal team since 2013. With a bachelor's degree in communications, he excels at distilling complex subjects into clear, engaging content. In addition to writing, Matt is responsible for overseeing strategy development within SEJ's news department, ensuring that the organization remains at the forefront of the digital marketing and search engine optimization landscape. As a trusted source of information, Matt's work at SEJ combines accuracy, quality, and relevance. His dedication to excellence in reporting and commitment to helping others better understand search engines and digital marketing make him an indispensable asset to SEJ and the broader industry. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with Amanda Zantal-Wiener, Editor-in-Chief at Search Engine Journal: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with her on LinkedIn:
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Content and Brand Storytelling Be A Better Brand Storyteller with Ryan Kutscher - EP311
06/01/2023
Content and Brand Storytelling Be A Better Brand Storyteller with Ryan Kutscher - EP311
In the world of SEO, search marketing, and content marketing, it's becoming clear that getting a solid grip on the customer's needs, desires, and lifestyle is equally essential to building your brand's unique persona and story. Ryan Kutscher, the creative force and founder behind CIRCUS MAXIMUS, joined me on the SEJShow to talk about how his team creates compelling brand narratives. We covered their use of Ikigai, a profound Japanese concept that translates to "a reason for being." This concept is a remarkable tool in their storytelling arsenal, providing a fresh perspective that introduces depth and purpose to their narratives. In this episode, we'll gain invaluable insights into how Ikigai can be utilized to create more meaningful, impactful stories, ultimately adding a rich layer of authenticity to your brand narrative. We take a step back for brands to think more narratively about what the story they're trying to tell is. And then think about how they're applying that to the customer journey rather than tactics first, which just makes your head explode these days. –Ryan Kutscher, 04:38 Sometimes as a business owner or an executive, you assume that the entire company gets the mission and what you said is a human mission. So, one of the things lacking in the workplace, so that's been lacking in the workplace for the past 20-30 years, is purpose. What gets you up in the morning? –Loren Baker, 07:22 [00:00] - About Ryan [02:43] - How they craft memorable brand narratives and characters [08:50] - How human mission & passion comes in. [11:57] - The Mark Cuban example. [16:05] - How to get started with the voice of the customer. [17:48] - How do companies earn revenue from pinpointing passion & mission? [19:39] - Uber & Lyft example. [24:46] - The In & Out Burger example. [28:36] - Brands Ryan worked with applying Ikigai. [32:11] - Other ways listeners can use the Ikigai concept. [34:56] - How important are videos? Resources mentioned: Circus Maximus - The first question that we ask is why? Why is your brand doing what it's doing? What is the brand's purpose? That answer is not to make money or increase revenue by a quarter. It's not a business goal. It's a human mission. If everyone can kind of answer those questions the same way, or at least have an understanding of how the brand wants to answer those questions, they start to work for that idea or that narrative, and then that helps them do their job better and hopefully helps them tell their story better, tell the story better. There's an internal role of answering these questions and having this shared narrative, and there's an external role. So that's where it starts, with purpose. –Ryan Kutscher, 05:32 People like Mark Cuban, who are successful entrepreneurs, understand that you start with the mission and then build the company around it. You don't start with the company and then build a mission backward. And when you have a mission clearly defined, the people you need to help you build that company come to you because they're attracted to the mission. And some of those people are customers. So that's the power of the mission. –Ryan Kutscher, 13:32 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Ryan Kutscher: Ryan Kutscher stands at the helm of Circus Maximus, an innovative agency transforming the advertising landscape. With a unique model that blends branding, content, and media, Ryan, founder and CEO, has propelled brands onto global platforms, partnering with industry giants and burgeoning start-ups. Beyond his leadership role, Ryan is recognized for his creative approach to life. He champions entrepreneurship within his team, urging them to infuse creativity into their daily lives. And amidst all these, he finds joy in the companionship of his Australian Shepherd, Rudder. Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Conversion Optimization for PPC - Delivering On The Promise From Ad To Landing Page with Navah Hopkins - EP310
05/20/2023
Conversion Optimization for PPC - Delivering On The Promise From Ad To Landing Page with Navah Hopkins - EP310
Looking for some great PPC conversion rate optimization tips? Navah Hopkins, PPC expert and SEJ contributor, joins me on the SEJShow, where we explore the art and science of turning ad clicks into valuable conversions. She delves into the crucial journey from ad to landing pageant and shares strategies and techniques to help you deliver on the promise made in your advertisements. Whether you're a seasoned professional or a newcomer, this podcast episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to take their conversion rates to new heights. Navah Hopkins is the Evangelist for Optmyzr. A veteran of the digital marketing industry, she began as an SEO in 2008, transitioning to PPC in 2012. In 2019, she became a founding member of the Paid Search Association, a group dedicated to empowering the next generation of PPC practitioners and serving as a resource for all practitioners to learn from and share with the community. Now, landing page experience is a core component of quality score, which is a core component of ad rank, which influences your cost per click in at least Google and Microsoft PPC campaigns. And what's interesting is that the landing page experience is a two-part piece: The first is how well the landing page answers the promise you made in your ad, and that goes to the keywords you're targeting or the audiences you're targeting. The other piece is a little bit technical, and where you might need to partner with your SEO friends or use a tool that has some of these things baked in. Is the ad bot able to crawl your landing page to generate a quality score? Are you going to be having popups going left, right, and center? Are you going to have modules that may not necessarily behave? So there's a, there's a technical component, and then there's the, the content component. And what I think a lot of either PPCs, may need to remember to think about is the technical component. –Navah Hopkins, 04:47 I've always considered utilizing SEO or normal site pages as huge distractions for PPC campaigns. Typically with PPC campaigns, someone knows where they're going to go. You want to keep them in that funnel and follow that call to action, so they will make that purchase. But it seems like, in PPC, you can direct someone into taking that call to action. Whereas SEO, we're doing the exact opposite. We're interweaving this web of distractions to show that it's an authority, and there are reviews, FAQs, and there's the schema, and there's everything else, like all across the board and interlinks and navigation. –Loren Baker, If we want experiences that are curated, we need to know how to say yes. Because that's another thing: what does that experience look like? And we can talk about that in terms of what cookie consent looks like on the landing page. The other thing that's important to factor in is that if you choose to say no to tracking, which is a valid choice, just expect to see ads that are not valid. –Navah Hopkins, 18:00 [00:00] - About Nava. [03:35] - What is landing page experience, & how does that impact overall PPC performance? [12:52] - How important is landing page compliance for in-app browsers? [19:32] - Which is worse, rage clicks or abandoned carts? [24:02] - Metrics for landing pages. [27:45] - What is Performance Max? [32:23] - Opportunities in AI. [35:43] - Tips for managing multiple campaigns & pages. Resources mentioned: Performance Max: Google IO: What's interesting is that if you see that mostly YouTube displays and others are getting the lion’s share of your budget, odds are you're not budgeting enough for transactional search. More importantly, your landing pages are likely being served to people that aren't as relevant. So definitely make sure that, as you're building your P-max campaigns, you include as an audience signal some of your competitor websites. –Navah Hopkins, 31:17 One of the things that I would encourage every consumer to think about is whether you want the experience of walking down New York City and you see billboards everywhere. Or whether you want an experience of, “I went into a pop-up store that I sought out, and I have this very curated shopping experience specifically for me.” No judgment either way, but bear in mind that advertisers and SEOs only have the data that we consented to give. So you need to share that data to expect landing pages to be a perfect match. –Navah Hopkins, 14:34 I think this new visual era is exciting and interesting, but that's one of the areas where this is a good time to fail fast and test playing with video, playing with display, ads, and content. See how you can adjust your landing pages to capitalize on that. Because if you're treating your landing pages that came from tech sources with the same as visuals, you likely need to include a couple of opportunities to connect with your consumer.–Navah Hopkins, 11:53 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Nava Hopkins: Meet Navah Hopkins, the Evangelist for Optmyzr. With over a decade of experience in digital marketing, she knows the ins and outs of SEO and PPC like the back of her hand. Navah is all about sharing knowledge and spreading the love for paid search. She's a frequent contributor to SEJ, SEMrush, and WordStream. Plus, she's a sought-after speaker, sharing her wisdom with audiences across the globe. In fact, Navah loves PPC so much that she's a founding member of the Paid Search Association. Along with her fellow members, she's dedicated to nurturing the next generation of PPC pros and creating a community of collaboration and learning. Connect with Navah on LinkedIn: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Consulting for Equity and Avoiding the SEO Hamster Wheel with Roland Frasier - EP308
05/18/2023
Consulting for Equity and Avoiding the SEO Hamster Wheel with Roland Frasier - EP308
You know how the world of SEO is constantly changing. And staying on top of things and making the most of your skills is essential. That's what we're all about here at the SEJShow - finding fantastic new business models and strategies that help you shine as an SEO consultant. Roland Frasier joins me in today's show to dive into alternative methods that could change your consulting game, giving you even more rewards for all that hard work you put into client and partner projects. So, strap in, and let's jump off that old SEO hamster wheel to uncover some exciting SEO consulting opportunities! If you're entrepreneurial, it makes sense to think about possibly getting something more permanent for your time. –Roland Frasier, 03:40 What I found to be most effective is to say you've got knowledge, skills, experience, and connections that add tremendous value to businesses, so you have a choice: You can get a short-term income and a flat fee, get paid by the hour, and even get in the middle of a revenue share. But when that stops, it stops. A way around that is to come in and add value to the business. The value you bring to the company should be compensated by participating in the ongoing profits or equity of the business...That's the concept: how do you turn your effort into equity? –Roland Frasier, 05:12 After so many years in marketing, I don't consider myself just an SEO. I'm typically brought in to do SEO Consulting and help on that side. The next thing I know, there's a new brand launching, so I'm looking at opportunities for brand messaging, looking at the product before it comes out, and involved with that this and that. –Loren Baker, 13:03 [00:00] - About Roland. [07:01] - What consultants should look for when they want to have equity in a company. [12:55] - How to avoid “over consulting” and earn based on the value provided beyond SEO? [20:45] - How to yourself as proving more than just SEO. [23:20] - How to start consulting for equity. [32:55] - What is a Fractional CMO? [41:30] - The mindset that leads to a better quality of life. Resources mentioned: Epic Network - The Business Lunch Podcast- I'm going to look at where I can have a significant impact. I'm going to say if the lift that I can add to this company is something that I think will move the needle for them, then I believe it’s an appropriate conversation. –Roland Frasier, 9:40 They will put you in that box if you come in as an SEO, so how you brand and present are essential. I'd position myself as a strategist as opposed to an SEO-only. The fact that SEO is one of the things that you do is significant. It might be the main thing that you do. But having even alliances with other people that can provide the additional services is an intelligent way to go because if you come in as growth, you know that the company is going to value you more than if you come in as a component or sub-component of development. –Roland Frasier, 15:01 People might think that it's not possible to have you as a partner. It might not occur to them, but they might believe you're so far beyond that it's not even an option. So by telling them in advance that this is an option having them put skin in the game by having them show that they believe in you and that they're willing to invest in themselves is crucial in making this work. –Roland Frasier, 20:00 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Roland Frasier: Roland Frasier stands out in the world of ambitious investments and building strategies. With over 1000 acquisitions, exits, real estate portfolios, and more under his belt for himself and his clients, he knows what it takes to succeed in business! As a principal of 6 Inc.'s fastest growing companies plus an advisor at Stanford University –Roland is making waves with some hefty credentials. Not only has this savvy investor been featured on all major news networks but Business Insider, Fast Company, Forbes & Entrepreneur are singing praises too! And if that isn't enough star power...he even interviewed Sir Richard Branson AND Magic Johnson, so you know something good must be cooking up around him - like his award-winning podcast, 'Business Lunch.' Connect with Roland on LinkedIn: Watch him on YouTube: Follow him on TikTok: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Professional Growth - The Value of Smaller SEO Events & Masterminds with Jim Christian and Stephanie Solheim - EP 309
05/12/2023
Professional Growth - The Value of Smaller SEO Events & Masterminds with Jim Christian and Stephanie Solheim - EP 309
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Talking AI & SEO Plus IndexNow Updates With Bing Fabrice Canel - EP308
04/24/2023
Talking AI & SEO Plus IndexNow Updates With Bing Fabrice Canel - EP308
AI Revolutionizes SEO: Unveiling IndexNow Updates and Bing Strategies We know you're wondering: What does SEO look like for the new Bing? Can you use AI for SEO? We're curious, too. Fabrice Canel, Principal Program Manager for Microsoft Bing, joins me on the SEJShow to share insights and answer your questions. We'll dive into the latest advancements in AI and their potential impact on SEO strategies and discuss recent updates to the IndexNow protocol and how it's transforming the search landscape. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn from an industry expert and discover the future of search engine optimization on Bing. Open AI investment for Microsoft is not recent. Microsoft has invested in Open AI for a few years already. For years, there has been a lot of investment in leveraging AI at Microsoft and Bing and liberating machine learning. We are purely machine learning based, trying to satisfy the user. –Fabrice Canel, 04:39 When people enter the search chat experience, this is about refining the queries and results to satisfy the user. The Bing experience is really about redirecting a customer to a site that somebody has published. This is all about finding the best content and clicking to find this content online and clicking this link where people can transact. –Fabrice Canel, 11:18 When you navigate a site, you can use the chat experience to learn about the site or summarize information about this page. The chat can help you generate an email, LinkedIn posts, Twitter, etc. This experience is not only available within Bing.com. This is also moving across Microsoft products. You will see this also in Skype and directly integrated into Windows. –Fabrice Canel, 13:39 Resources mentioned: Bing Webmaster Guidelines - Edge Browser - [00:01] - About Fabrice. [00:59] - The new Bing & the technology it powers. [03:35] - How does Bing use ChatGPT & Open AI technology? [05:32] - What is the Prometheus language model? [07:41] - How citations work in ChatGPT-powered Bing search results. [12:41] - What can you do with Bing Co-Pilot in Microsoft Edge? [18:03] - What AI integrations is Bing working on for small and local businesses? [20:26] - How to use ChatGPT-powered Bing Search - Help planning a trip to London. [23:01] - What has Bing learned since launching ChatGPT-powered search? [25:24] - How to generate an image with DALL-E in the Edge browser. [26:56] - How does Bing view AI-generated content? [30:11] - What is IndexNow & how can SEO professionals use it? [34:53] - How long does it take to get indexed by Bing? [36:15] - What’s Bing working on next? [38:20] - What should you do with the other URLs listed as sitemaps in Bing Webmaster Tools? I love the guerilla warfare aspect of this, the ability to introduce this new being chat experience in products and services that have been seated and are used by individuals daily. So when you bring up things like Skype, you know it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to download Bing, or someone does not necessarily have to be a Bing fan to get into this. Skype is a lifestyle tool. It's a chat tool. It's a communication tool. Teams obviously on the B2B side skyrocketed in the past couple of years. There are so many SharePoint or default Microsoft products that are utilized daily. –Loren Baker, 15:56 Sometimes you want to interact with an experience that will offer the ability to learn more, refine your query, and improve your question to find stuff online. So we enabled this experience beyond web links. Meaning that you can also find images, you can also find local, you can also find advertising, and you can all find all these things assuming they are relevant. So you will see a profound experience in chat that is more than a text search. –Fabrice Canel, 18:21 If you're utilizing IndexNow, it should be more or less instantaneous or nearly instantaneous for new content. We are scaling variabilities, and in the following weeks, you will see this content indexed in seconds. Some very large websites have already adopted IndexNow. We are encouraging everybody to embrace and explore because SEOs want to be in control. –Fabrice Canel, 34:43 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Fabrice Canel: Fabrice Canel is part of Microsoft's most exhilarating team: Bing, where AI plays a crucial role in shaping the future of search. Every day, hundreds of billions of new pages emerge on the web, and an equal number of existing pages are updated with fresh content. The challenge of indexing and crawling the web demands a large-scale, distributed approach emphasizing speed, accuracy, and thoroughness, all AI enhances. With an impressive 24-year tenure at Microsoft, Fabrice takes excellent pleasure in tackling this fascinating endeavor. Connect with Fabrice on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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3 Pillars Of Privacy Centric Marketing Steps You Need To Take Now with Lucas Long - EP306
04/21/2023
3 Pillars Of Privacy Centric Marketing Steps You Need To Take Now with Lucas Long - EP306
Privacy laws and best practices are ever-evolving, just like everything else in marketing. How do you ensure your organization is compliant and keep your customer's best interest in mind? Lucas Long, Director of Privacy Strategy at InfoTrust, and co-author of the new Amazon Best-Selling book, "Becoming a Privacy-Centric Marketing Organization" joins me on the SEJ Show for a privacy-focused podcast. Gain insights on the three pillars of privacy that every marketing should consider and what steps you need to take now. When we start talking about consumer expectations and we start talking about compliance, it becomes very complicated in large organizations that are working across different countries. You have other things like GDPR and EPRI in Europe versus all the state laws in the United States. There are various restrictions for how you can use an identity service, how you can identify users, and for those users that you can identify, even what activities and what data you can start to leverage for any advertising activity. –Lucas Long, 02:13 Traditionally, third-party cookies have played a significant role...Those are ultimately going away by the end of next year once Chrome deprecates support. So how we have to identify those users and associated information together is the core of what's changing right now. –Lucas Long, 06:14 The only way to identify a user across different locations is if there is some persistent identifier. Typically in the form of an email or a login, so that's really where it starts. And then it gets into that first-party ownership for that first-party data, collecting the correct information on each of those different properties, integrating it so that we can then have that more centralized view and be able to take various actions for that consumer –Lucas Long, 07:16 [00:00] - About Lucas Long. [01:37] - ID-oriented data and targeting in multiple brands & regions. [03:26] - Industries Lucas specializes in. [04:13] - Ecommerce challenges with cross-country targeting. [07:16] - Core pillars of privacy-centric marketing. [08:34] - Other ID touchpoints available. [14:58] - Other options for additional data sources. [16:21] - What is server-side tag management? [19:21] - Can companies access more data from loyalty programs? [23:09] - How the book launch has been for marketing. Resources Mentioned: Book: Becoming a Privacy-Centric Marketing Organization (Crawl, Walk, Run) InfoTrust: https://infotrust.com/ Tag Inspector: https://taginspector.com/ I want to make it easy for my consumers to do what they want on the website. And that's where interoperability comes in...develop that brand relationship with the individual and get that persistent identifier yourself. That would be a login. Many organizations are starting to have email as a part of the checkout process, with a much larger focus on loyalty programs, rewards programs, and discounts. –Lucas Long, 11:23 One core focus of many different regulations, and even being privacy-centric in general, is the concept of data minimization. So, thinking through a particular use case, what minimum user data is necessary to accomplish that use case? And then designing your data collection strategies and everything really from there. –Lucas Long, 21:12 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Lucas Long: Lucas is a dynamic professional who brings incredible skills and experience to the InfoTrust team! With extensive sales, marketing strategy, and analytics knowledge – not to mention his successful implementation record for tag architecture with significant corporations – he sure brings fresh insight into SaaS offerings. He is also Google Analytics Certified, making him an invaluable asset when it comes time for web analysis and tag management strategies. His passion for introducing businesses to his company's fantastic suite of analysis products and educating them on user behavior has allowed him to forge excellent relationships with some of the world's leading agencies and enterprises. He's truly making a difference! Connect with Lucas on LinkedIn: Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with him on LinkedIn:
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Whats Great and Whats Noise Content Crafting Best Practices from Our Experts with SEJ Panel - EP307
04/19/2023
Whats Great and Whats Noise Content Crafting Best Practices from Our Experts with SEJ Panel - EP307
In today's world, we are bombarded with information from all sides. As a result, it can be hard to know what is newsworthy and what is not. Matt Southern and Roger Montti, SEJ's news writers, joined Amanda Zantal-Wiener, Editor-In-Chief at SEJ, to discuss how to determine what is worth following and how to avoid being overwhelmed by the information deluge. These experts talk about information overload, marketing, and data science to share tips on how to stay informed without being overwhelmed. Matt and Roger share their experiences with information overload and how they have learned to manage it. If you are overwhelmed by the information, this episode is for you. We will help you learn how to navigate the information jungle and stay informed without being stressed out. I filter the information according to what I find interesting professionally and personally and what I think the audience would be interested in. I'm especially interested in things that are novel or under-covered but are essential for people to know. That's one of the reasons why I started covering more of the WordPress stuff as well as Wix. –Roger Montti, 3:14 Covering John Mueller, it's always interesting to decipher what he's trying to say, what he wants to say…he addresses people with the understanding that they have a high level of knowledge of SEO, and that's only sometimes the case for people who can benefit from the information he has to share. So I like to take the data he's sharing, which is usually communicated at a high level, and distill it into smaller parts and try to break it down into a language everyone can understand. –Matt Southern, 18:01 I see breaking news as two things. The first one is the fact: “This happened.” The second part is “What does that mean and how does that impact people?”...So you must balance the speed and being out there with the news and saying, “this happened.” But then we can also revert to what happened, do an article about what it means, and bring in other people who might have interesting insights into it. –Roger Montti, 7:38 [00:00] - Meet Matt & Roger. [01:26] - Understanding information overload. [05:34] - Keeping content timely and relevant amidst rapid news flow. [09:18] - How to strike a balance between reader engagement & SEO rankings. [15:24] - Best practices for tackling inaccurate information. [17:31] - Tips and insights for covering statements from authority figures. [19:56] - Providing the right historical context: A key to effective writing. [23:41] - Should you always credit who covered a topic first? [27:15] - How to avoid falling down a rabbit hole when researching a topic. [33:52] - How to craft compelling personas for better writing. [40:57] - Nerdy conversations: How nerdy is too nerdy? [44:55] - How to keep repetitive topics interesting when writing. [49:35] - The experts' views on the legal drama surrounding generative AI and innovation. [56:24] - How writers are using generative AI: Matt & Roger's perspectives. [58:10] - What our experts are writing about right now. There are three main factors I focus on when choosing a topic. First is audience interests. Then, industry relevance. And then, I find out where there are some content gaps. To prioritize that information, I considered the overall impact on the readers and the timeliness of how it aligns with our editorial goals. So putting all that together and understanding everyone's needs, what we want to communicate and what the readers want to get out of it and keeping myself informed along the way. –Matt Southern, 6:04 Roger and I have a similar philosophy. We both like short, concise non-click baiting titles. That philosophy satisfies both sides of what we're trying to balance: ranking and audience. With ranking, you want to mention the most important keyword as close to the beginning of the title as possible. If you do that, you're also accomplishing the goal of grabbing the audience's attention. –Matt Southern, 11:59 When I write anything, I focus on the benefit to the reader and what information is beneficial. Sometimes you have to ask how that impacts me. Put yourself in their seat…What do I do as a Content writer or as an SEO? How does that impact them? …When you write about something complicated, you have to slow it out and explain the jargon so that people can follow along can understand why it's important. –Roger Montti, 28:38 For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer. Connect With Roger Montti: Roger Montti is a seasoned search marketer boasting over 20 years of experience in the field. He has built a solid reputation for expertise and effectiveness by offering site audits, phone consultations, and content and link strategy assistance. In addition to being a Head Judge for the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Search Awards, Roger is also a publisher of award-winning websites, showcasing his multifaceted talents within the industry. As a prominent figure in search marketing, Roger has shared his insights at various conferences, including SES, SMX East, SMX West, SMX Advanced Seattle, Affiliate Summit NYC, Affiliate Summit West, and multiple PubCon events. In addition, his writing covers various topics, such as WordPress, Facebook, Google, SEO, and search marketing, further establishing him as a thought leader. Connect with Roger on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect With Matt Southern: Matt G. Southern, a highly respected Senior News Writer, has been integral to the Search Engine Journal team since 2013. With a bachelor's degree in communications, he excels at distilling complex subjects into clear, engaging content. In addition to writing, Matt is responsible for overseeing strategy development within SEJ's news department, ensuring that the organization remains at the forefront of the digital marketing and search engine optimization landscape. As a trusted source of information, Matt's work at SEJ combines accuracy, quality, and relevance. His dedication to excellence in reporting and commitment to helping others better understand search engines and digital marketing make him an indispensable asset to SEJ and the broader industry. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn: Follow him on Twitter: Connect with Amanda Zantal-Wiener, Editor-in-Chief at Search Engine Journal: Follow her on Twitter: Connect with her on LinkedIn:
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