Summary

In this episode, Annie, an SEM strategist, joins Lindsie and Jay to discuss a case study on capitalizing on a competitor's rebrand failure. They highlight the importance of acting quickly and adapting strategies to take advantage of opportunities. The client, a lease management software provider, saw a 165% increase in organic traffic and a 129% increase in organic conversions in the first month. The key lessons learned include the need for a strong SEO viewpoint during rebrands and the importance of tracking competitors.

Takeaways

• Act quickly and adapt strategies to take advantage of opportunities
• A strong SEO viewpoint is crucial during rebrands
• Tracking competitors is important for staying ahead
• The client saw a 165% increase in organic traffic and a 129% increase in organic conversions in the first month

• Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
• 02:42 Discussion of Dogs and Animals in the Workplace
• 04:41 Introduction to the Case Study
• 07:11 Getting the Client On Board
• 10:12 Taking Advantage of the Competitor's Rebrand Failure
• 12:48 Tactics and Changes Made on the Client's Site
• 16:08 Measuring Success and Results
• 19:22 Maintaining Momentum and Adapting Strategies
• 22:22 Key Lessons Learned
• 24:30 How to Catch Competitor Changes
• 25:59 Closing Remarks and Farewell

Summary

In this final episode of the Site Migration series, Lindsie and Jay discuss the user testing phase and the launch phase of a site migration. They emphasize the importance of sequential and timely execution during the user testing phase, where stakeholders test the site and ensure everything works as intended. They also highlight the need for SEO professionals to confirm that all the necessary SEO elements are in place before the site goes live. During the launch phase, they stress the significance of monitoring SEO metrics, such as rankings and traffic, to identify any issues and address them promptly. They also advise against removing redirects too soon and emphasize the need for ongoing monitoring even after the site is live.

Takeaways

• During the user testing phase, stakeholders should thoroughly test the site to ensure everything works as intended and all SEO elements are in place.

• In the launch phase, it is crucial to monitor SEO metrics, such as rankings and traffic, to identify any issues and address them promptly.

• Redirects should not be removed too soon, as they may still be valuable for maintaining traffic and addressing any issues that arise.

• Ongoing monitoring is essential even after the site is live to catch any potential problems and make necessary adjustments.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

03:50 User Testing Phase: Ensuring Everything Works as Intended

19:57 Launch Phase: Monitoring SEO Metrics and Addressing Issues

26:00 Submitting Top URLs for Crawling

32:24 Monitoring SEO Metrics and Watching for Red Flags

36:08 The Importance of Maintaining Redirects

41:29 Final Thoughts and Tips

Summary

In this episode, Lindsie and Jay discuss the development phase of a site migration and the importance of SEO during this process. They cover key tasks such as handling crawling and indexing, conducting a full site crawl, and mapping out redirects. They emphasize the need for collaboration with the development team and the challenges that may arise. They also highlight the significance of testing and reviewing the site to ensure proper rendering and functionality. Overall, they stress the importance of experience and expertise in successfully navigating the development phase of a site migration.

Takeaways

• The development phase of a site migration is a critical part of the process where SEO plays a crucial role.

• Tasks during this phase include handling crawling and indexing, conducting a full site crawl, and mapping out redirects.

• Collaboration with the development team is essential to ensure that SEO requirements are met and potential challenges are addressed.

• Testing and reviewing the site's rendering and functionality are important to ensure a successful migration.

• Experience and expertise are key in navigating the complexities of the development phase.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

00:26 The Importance of SEO in the Development Phase

02:42 Key Tasks: Crawling, Indexing, and Redirects

09:05 Collaborating with the Development Team

13:01 Building Priority Redirects

17:12 Communicating SEO Needs to the Development Team

26:12 Technical SEO Elements: Consistency and Stability

29:56 Testing and Reviewing: Frontend and Backend Considerations

35:05 Conclusion and Next Steps

Summary

In this conversation, Lindsie and Jay discuss the importance of integrating SEO into the site migration process. They emphasize the risks associated with site migrations and the potential loss of organic traffic and revenue. They recommend involving SEO from the early stages of the project, including the discovery phase, to ensure that important pages and SEO considerations are not overlooked. They also highlight the significance of data review and understanding the current traffic and revenue from organic search. Additionally, they discuss the importance of considering site architecture and involving other teams, such as merchandising, in the decision-making process.

Takeaways

• Integrating SEO into the site migration process is crucial to mitigate risks and avoid loss of organic traffic and revenue.
• SEO should be involved from the early stages of the project, including the discovery phase, to ensure important pages and SEO considerations are not overlooked.
• Data review is essential to understand the current traffic and revenue from organic search and make informed decisions.
• Considering site architecture and involving other teams, such as merchandising, can lead to better outcomes and opportunities for organic search.
• Building a good working relationship with the development team and other stakeholders is important to advocate for SEO and make effective decisions.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

03:08 The Risks of Site Migrations

07:28 The Importance of Involving SEO from the Early Stages

12:54 The Role of SEO in the Discovery Phase

28:21 Site Architecture and Involving Other Teams

35:09 Building a Good Working Relationship

37:15 Conclusion

Summary

MozCon is a two-day SEO conference held in Seattle, focusing on big-picture topics in the industry. The key takeaways from the conference include the importance of building a strong brand, the impact of AI on SEO, the need to rethink data analytics, and the call to do better in the industry. The speakers emphasized the need to focus on brand building as a way to differentiate from AI and provide unique experiences. They also discussed the challenges of tracking data accurately and the need to shift the focus from exact numbers to directional trends. Overall, MozCon is valuable for experienced SEO professionals and those in leadership roles.

Takeaways

• Building a strong brand is crucial in the age of AI and commodified information.

• AI can't replicate human expertise, experience, and trust, so it's important to lean into these qualities.

• Data analytics in SEO is becoming less reliable, and it's important to focus on directional trends rather than exact numbers.

• The SEO industry needs to do better and move away from checklist approaches and low-quality content.

Chapters

00:00 Building a Strong Brand in the Age of AI

12:32 Navigating the Impact of AI on SEO

26:12 Doing Better in the SEO Industry

Resources
https://moz.com/mozcon/schedule

Summary

In this conversation, Jay and Lindsie discuss the recent leak of Google's API documentation and its implications for SEO. They cover topics such as domain authority, the impact of clicks on rankings, the use of Chrome data, the categorization of links, the existence of a sandbox for new domains, the importance of authorship, and the concept of whitelists. The main takeaway is that building a notable, popular, and well-recognized brand outside of Google search is crucial for improving organic search rankings and traffic.

Takeaways

• Building a notable, popular, and well-recognized brand outside of Google search is crucial for improving organic search rankings and traffic.
• Domain authority exists in some form, although it may not align with how it is commonly understood in the SEO world.
• Clicks and user behavior, such as dwell time and impressions, have an impact on rankings.
• Chrome data is used by Google for ranking factors, and it provides valuable user behavior information.
• Links are categorized as low, medium, and high, and the freshness of links from high-quality sources has a bigger impact.
• There is a sandbox period for new domains where SEO efforts may be muted until trust is established.
• Authorship or the track record of expertise and authority of a writer can influence rankings.
• Whitelists exist for certain industries, such as travel, and Google may trust certain sites more for specific types of searches.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Speculation on Lawsuits

02:03 The Most Breaking News: Leaked Google Documentation

11:57 Understanding the Leaked Information: Key Findings and Insights

34:53 The Importance of Brand Building and SEO Complexity

Summary

In this conversation, Jay and Lindsie discuss the negative perception of SEO and the reasons why people hate it. They touch on topics such as bad user experiences, unrealistic expectations, fear-mongering sales tactics, and the impact on journalism. They emphasize the importance of finding a trustworthy SEO partner and highlight the value of SEO in data analysis and understanding target markets. They also discuss the need for a rebranding of the SEO industry and the importance of setting clear distinctions between good and bad practices.

Takeaways

• The negative perception of SEO is often fueled by bad user experiences, unrealistic expectations, and fear-mongering sales tactics.
• Finding a trustworthy SEO partner is crucial for success and avoiding negative experiences.
• SEO offers value beyond keyword optimization, including data analysis and understanding target markets.
• The SEO industry needs a rebranding to differentiate between good and bad practices.
• Clear distinctions should be made to educate businesses and marketers about realistic expectations and the benefits of ethical SEO.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:38 The Negative Perception of SEO

08:40 The Importance of a Trustworthy SEO Partner

11:03 The Value of SEO Beyond Keyword Optimization

27:28 Setting Clear Distinctions in the SEO Landscape

39:40 Conclusion

Summary

In this conversation, Jay and Lindsay discuss the upcoming Google update focused on reputation abuse and parasite SEO. They explore the reasons behind Google's decision to give publishers a two-month notice before implementing the update and the potential impact on large publishers and universities. They also discuss the actions that publishers can take to ensure compliance with the update and the potential consequences for sites that have been using parasite SEO. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the broader implications of the update and the need for further observation after the update is implemented.

Takeaways

• Google is implementing an update focused on reputation abuse and parasite SEO

• Publishers have been given a two-month notice to make any necessary changes

• Large publishers and universities may be impacted by the update

• Publishers can take actions such as noindexing sections of their site to comply with the update

• Sites that have been using parasite SEO may experience a drop in traffic and rankings

• The update raises questions about Google's priorities and the financial challenges faced by publishers

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

08:56 The Impact on Large Publishers and Universities

27:20 Actions Publishers Can Take to Comply

33:09 Broader Implications and Post-Mortem

Resources

• https://www.seroundtable.com/google-march-2024-spam-updates-37002.html#:~:text=and%20manual%20actions.-,Site%20Reputation%20Abuse%20Spam,-Site%20reputation%20abuse%22

• https://www.seroundtable.com/forbes-coupon-directory-google-block-37269.html

• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/garyillyes_googles-gary-illyes-was-quoted-saying-that-activity-7188778700320960512-FUtD/

https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-update-march-2024/