SEO used to be WAY easier. All you had to do was "out-execute" competitors. 1. Find more keywords to target. 2. Pump more content. 3. Build skyscraper pages. 4. Get a perfect Clearscope score. 5. Build more backlinks. etc. etc. etc. We're all guilty of this. But the game has changed. It's too hard now. "Just build more links" than Salesforce rarely works today. You can't be a company people only hear about when they search for something on Google. Today's marketing mix requires a multi-channel approach. The days of "pure SEO" horsepower are gone. Brand search, company reviews, YouTube, events, dark social, etc... these channels (indirectly) influence SEO a lot more than most executives realize.
Kevin Indig dropped a fantastic piece about this topic today. I'd highly recommend everyone give it a look: https://www.growth-memo.com/p/seo-product-marketing-a-blueprint
Nailed it sir. Nobody wakes up ready to spend $100k+ on software. SEO is one piece of the b2b journey. Anyone saying different has been drinking (especially for high ticket B2B/SaaS). I've had prospects tell me they found us on Google search. Flicked through our site. Then tuned into the Breaking B2B podcast. Followed me on LinkedIn for a few months. Flagged us up with leadership. Then they followed me here. Saw us on Google again. And eventually booked a call to do some business. (in our "how did you hear about us" form field they put: podcast :) B2B marketing & SEO works best when you cover the core channels your prospects use daily. Think of it as an eco-system. Educating, entertaining, sharing proof of results... And staying top of mind for when the timing is right. SEO is a big piece of the puzzle to build mindshare, trust and capture demand from google search.
One of our clients very recently said they had some extra money to spend working with us and asked where we think its best spent. The linear (and lazy) answer would've been just more pieces of content or more links. But for an early stage company like them, we knew that they can't outpace their competition that way. So we did some analysis and found 3 types of opportunities: ➡️ Original research (to be distributed through PR) ➡️ Templates targeted towards their audience's use-cases ➡️ An interactive tool geared towards the customers pain points. None of these had anything to do with SEO directly (or at least in the sense of how most traditional SEOs think) but we knew that's what this company can use as leverage. SEO has changed a ton but most SEOs are still pretty one dimensional in their strategies.
100% True. And once you stop doing other things, you can see drops in search results.
I remember the days of more and more content and finding as many long tail keywords as possible, and it wasn't all that long ago. Agree that those days are behind us. Integrated campaigns (with the right messaging...know your ICP!) are the right approach. Review sites, video, and events, are channels that can provide a competitive advantage, even if some of the engagement is not as easily measured.
In the rapidly changing digital world, where strategies are easily shared via social media and the bandwagon effect takes off... what works well today will quickly become cluttered and less effective. I think about this multi-method approach like tools in a kit. You need them all; it's how and when we use them that matters.
Good riddance the days of keyword stuffing are gone
Spot on about the evolution of SEO!
Growth Advisor 🚀
2dProbably not a coincidence that Emily Kramer is also thinking about SEO losing ground in this new guide about "ecosystem marketing" https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/ecosystem-marketing