Online Marketing News from the SEJ Summitby: Jackie

Recently, our SEO and Social Media Marketing team attending the virtual Search Engine Journal (SEJ) Summit which had some great speakers, seminars, and Master Classes. Here is a quick glimpse at some of our takeaways that covered the areas of both beginner and advanced SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Importance of Image Search + Branded SERPs

The importance of image search and making that an intentional part of your SEO strategy was discussed in the “What Will 2021 Bring for SEO?” session with Loren Baker and Izzy Smith. The rise of website accessibility and usability over the last year has been good for image search and brought an increased usage of image alt tags, which is having an impact on the searchability of images. And then, of course, there is an SEO tie-in with shopping images, eCommerce, and the window shopping that happens in image searches. They also discussed the importance of branded SERPs and paying close attention to the ways people search for you and the variations of your own branded phrases, and then making sure your information is correct and consistent. This is something we already know to be critical and is an integral part of the foundational work we do with so many clients at Vivid Image in regard to their local listings. ~ Beth

Follow these SEJ Speakers on Twitter: Loren Baker and Izzy Smith

Beginner SEO vs Advanced SEO + Value of Backlinks

In SEJ’s SEO Master Class, Keith Goode, Sr. SEO Strategist at IBM, explained the difference between beginner SEO and advanced SEO. Beginner SEO answers the “What” around organic content such as keywords and URLs. Advanced SEO answers the “How and Why” and digs deeper into the user experience and why people may prefer competitors. In his session about external links, he emphasized the importance of preserving the links you have, educating PR to ask for external links, and building internal linking. He cited that the average value of a quality backlink being $500! Will Reynolds of Seer Interactive also brought up backlinks as a way to build credibility in the SEO to Growth Keynote. He offered ideas of talking to media about COVID resources and building yourself as a subject matter expert to earn the backlinks. ~ Jackie

Follow theses SEJ Speakers on Twitter: Keith Goode and Will Reynolds

Self-Serve Digital Ads

Facebook and Google introduced everyone to the concept of self-serve ads, but this next year we’ll see other social media platforms and television apps take it to a whole new level playing field. It was a small portion of their discussion in “The Biggest Digital Ad Shake Ups in 2020 & How To Set Yourself Up for Success in 2021“, but Gregg Finn, Jessica Budde, and Mark Saltarelli mentioned self-serve ads on Hulu, Tik Tok, Samsung, CBS and others. They really got me exploring new strategies for our clients who want to reach different demographics in fresh ways this next year. ~Beth

Follow theses SEJ Speakers on Twitter: Gregg Finn, Mark Saltarelli and Jessica Budde

E-A-T and the 2020 Social Media Cocktail

Lily Ray, the SEO Director of Path Interactive (and a captivating DJ) presented “How 2020 Changed the Course of SEO in 2021” and created a recipe for a 2020 SEO Cocktail. As we all know, 2020 was a year of a global health crisis, political issues, and other craziness. Lily explained how search results adapted as a result of 2020 events, based on intent of the people searching. For instance, for the query “masks”, costume/beauty masked stopped ranking on page 1, since the intent shifted to COVID masks. There was a surge in authority for credible health institutions, government sites, other health and science sites that were communicating important information. Lily calls this the “Wear a Mask update” that took place on June 22. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) has always been important to Google, but even more so in 2020. The sites that are improving their E-A-T with high-quality content have seen improvements in their ranking. Not sure where to start in improving your E-A-T? We recommend starting with your “About Us” page.

Follow this SEJ Speakers on Twitter: Lily Ray

SEO Authority

IBM Sr. SEO Strategist Keith Goode, highlighted in his SEO Master Class that we need to focus on 3 takeaways in regards to SEO authority, relevance, and usability in 2021. For Authority takeaways: Understand your audience’s language and intent; Align your content to the user’s journey, and don’t neglect the post-conversion funnel. Concerning relevance, focus on earning trustworthiness over time; understand the nature and value of link neighborhoods, and engage your PR team to tap into their established relationships. Lastly, takeaways for Usability: focus your attention on Core Web Vitals; understand how important JavaScript is to the future of SEO, and use Structured Data. ~ Jessica

Follow this SEJ Speakers on Twitter: Keith Goode

Want to learn more about beginner or advanced SEO, Google Ads, and Social Media? Search Engine Journal is a great resource, and the team at Vivid Image is always here too. Reach out or give us a call if you have questions or would like to discuss how to take your search engine marketing to the next level.