2018 SEO executive skill set?

[Nathan Hill-Haimes]

Hey everyone i'm looking to hire an SEO executive, to promote content, gain links and follow our SEO methodology. In 2018 what do you think should be the core skills?

 

[fisicx]

Same as they were in 2017, 2016, 2015....

SEO hasn't fundamentally changed in years: optimise the site making sure you have both width and depth and then if needs be market the site (which may include collecting relevant inbound links)

 

[justinaldridge]

Same as they were in 2017, 2016, 2015....

SEO hasn't fundamentally changed in years

Not sure how you can say that. There's a lot more to it these days, it's not just content and links like it used to be.

• Local search rankings (maps, local pack)
• GMB
• AI (third biggest ranking factor)
• Schema
• Personalisation
• Mobile usability
• Mobile conversions
• Featured snippets
• User metrics
• Page speed loading
• Backlink value
• Backlink interaction value

Yes, many of these were around before but not to the extent they are today.

AI ranking factors in particular are providing big opportunities in search...and that's only really been around for a couple of years and will only get more and more powerful.

 

[fisicx]

A lot of those things have been around for a while. They were just less important.

The core skills are the same, they are just used in different ways.

 

[StevePoster]

Its still the basics of SEO and how they can improve and evolve the method according to the continuous updates in the search engines and specially the creative ways to reach as well as benefit your target users by using your optimize site pages.

 

[Killua7]

The core skill won't change alot. But you should focus on Onpage optimization and mobile friendly

 

[AnotherSEOGuy]

Pretty much what @fisicx said - SEO hasn't fundamentally changed massively since Penguin, and is unlikely to now for a while. PBN's are much, much smarter so the good networks are almost impossible to detect, so even 'black hat' is pretty chilled at the moment.

Just make sure whoever you hire actually knows what their talking about, throw a few spanners in the works, 'Do you plan on using SAPE links?' - if they don't know what they are nor give you a 'hell no' then you're dealing with a noob.

Best of luck!

 

[The next Steve Jobs]

I think the interwebs is for xxxx and it's secondary hidden function seems to be SEO/Marketing tips ... lol

In fact there is a parallel internet of crosslinked backlined uplinked seo/market gumf that is only visited by the perpetrators .... and the occasional surfer who slips thru the cracks...Google and co spend millions each year sweeping link farms under the rug 'so we can surf while spammers play'



As for hiring advice ... sounds like you want an obedient robot rather than a switched on techie

... in 2018 being mobile freindly is a top 10 thang to do...and #1 If that's your primary audience

Can't beat quality content and common sense

 

[James Rae]

I wonder if you will find a person who is awesome at the role you seek to take a PAYE JOB... surely if they are that great they will have their own business.

 

[AnotherSEOGuy]

You'd be very surprised @James Rae - A lot of people the security of working for somebody else outweighs the freedom of having your own business. Depends on the salary more, how flexible the job is and what the working environment is like.

Nobody wants to work in a stuffy agency with clear hierarchical structures and very little creative freedom, but a strong salary, decent benefits, 'unlimited vacation' and strong incentives to actually be in work and perform? You'll find a tonne of people.

 

[Nick Arthur]

Pretty much what @fisicx said - SEO hasn't fundamentally changed massively since Penguin, and is unlikely to now for a while. PBN's are much, much smarter so the good networks are almost impossible to detect, so even 'black hat' is pretty chilled at the moment.

Just make sure whoever you hire actually knows what their talking about, throw a few spanners in the works, 'Do you plan on using SAPE links?' - if they don't know what they are nor give you a 'hell no' then you're dealing with a noob.

Best of luck!

Are you saying the use of PBN's and SAPE links should be part of an SEO executives tool kit?

 

[seoauthority]

Look out for a good content marketer. The two go hand in hand these days.

 

[fisicx]

Look out for a good content marketer. The two go hand in hand these days.

Why? Can't think of any occasion in the last umpteen years why I've needed a content marketeer.

 

[seoauthority]

You don't do SEO do you fisicx? If you did, you wouldn't ask a ridiculously stupid question like that. This is a thread about SEO mate, move along.

 

[fisicx]

It’s not a stupid question. You don’t need a content marketeer to do get great results with SEO. Some of the very best people I know rank sites purely using onsite techniques. And Google has been warning people for years about linkbuilding by content marketing. Do you not remember the great article submission site crash?

 

[seoauthority]

We are not talking about "article submission" That's a completely different kettle of fish. If you don't think a homepage link on CNN or BBC (for example) to your site will do anything for you SEO, then you need your head checking.

anyway, i'm out before this descends further into a flame war.

 

[fisicx]

And you can get a link on the BBC homepage for Mandy’s Hair and Nails in Doncaster? And even if you did how long will that link last? A couple of days at mist so it’s seo value is going to be very transient.

 

[Nick Arthur]

The thing is @fisicx you keep arguing on the SEO threads about link building by stating that out dated techniques such as article marketing no longer work. We all know that and agree, but you are wrapping up those techniques in ones that do work. Submitting an article to an article directory is not content marketing or outreach.
You should spend some time reading Google page rank patents. 1 of which was recently updated.

 

[fisicx]

Yes all well and good but the majority of businesses reading UKBF threads either don’t need or can’t afford the techniques discussed. They can all rank well without content marketing or outreach. To suggest that’s it’s a necessary part of marketing is disingenuous.

 

[Nick Arthur]

Perhaps as a member of the forum staff it's your job to keep discussions going but i'll bite anyway.
How do you know the majority of businesses on here can't afford the techniques discussed? Have you asked them? Do you know how much they cost?
Massive assumptions made on the profile of the forum members. Every reply you give involves shifting the goal posts in some way.
Yes, you can rank well without back links but as the web gets more and more competitive, they are becoming more and more necessary. To suggest otherwise is being disingenuous. When you have 10 websites all selling the same thing, with on site optimisation 100% nailed, what differentiates them? The strength of their back link profile.

 

[fisicx]

Most businesses are small: 99.3%

https://www.fsb.org.uk/media-centre/small-business-statistics

The majority of these are local or niche and market themselves accordingly. I disagree that links are becoming more and more important. Google has been moving towards content focused ranking for a number of years.

However, my posts were really about the absolute statements. Yes some businesses may need content marketing, some may need links and some may need lots of social media. But an awful lot don't. That's point I was trying to make.

 

[Nick Arthur]

Most businesses are small: 99.3%


The majority of these are local or niche and market themselves accordingly. I disagree that links are becoming more and more important. Google has been moving towards content focused ranking for a number of years.

The majority of my clients are local or niche but they clearly have more money than sense

I'm getting very dizzy going round in circles with you

 

[seoauthority]

And you can get a link on the BBC homepage for Mandy’s Hair and Nails in Doncaster? And even if you did how long will that link last? A couple of days at mist so it’s seo value is going to be very transient.

Mmmm, let me see... Mandy's Hair and Nails in Doncaster breaks the world record for most hair cuts in one day ever.

Mandy makes a video of the occassion and publishes it on her blog and shares it on social media.

BBC Doncaster, on a slow news day, do a report on Mandy's effort and the joy she has brought to the city. They publish the article online and link to said video on Mandy's website on BBC.CO.UK

The video goes viral and she gets backlinks from news organization across the UK.

Mandy sits back and enjoys the boost in SERPS.

Not that difficult to imagine now was it fisicx??????

 

[fisicx]

Except in reality that's not going happen. Maybe one or two small businesses get this sort of break but the majority won't. And it's not going to help their business either. If many does get all this exposure and is inundated with enquiries she won't be take on new clients. This has happened with a number of companies over the years - they get exposure and ranking and suddenly find they can't deliver. I know of some that went bust because the rapid expansion wasn't sustainable.

So while I agree that it is possible to do as you suggest and for some businesses it may be viable. It's not going to work for everybody. And this was the point of my earlier post. There are loads of way to market a business. One of these may be to employ a content marketeer. For many small business (ie the majority in the UK) it's not necessary. A plumber can only install one boiler per day so in theory he only needs one phone call per day. A link on the BBC homepage isn't going to help his business.

 

[UKSBD]

Maybe one or two small businesses get this sort of break but the majority won't.

Yes, but the ones that do, know what they are doing or are using people who do.

Mandy's Hair and Nails in Doncaster, BBC, going viral, is an extreme example.

Mandy's Hair and Nails in Doncaster, Doncaster Chronicle, a few local people sharing, is more realistic

Are you saying it's not worth trying to create a bit of content that might get picked up locally, shared locally, get you more well known locally?

 

[Khurram Aziz]

Are you saying it's not worth trying to create a bit of content that might get picked up locally, shared locally, get you more well known locally?

He's basically saying building any types of links is pointless, which is a ridiculous statement. Internet marketing continues to be a potent way to build business.

 

[fisicx]

Are you saying it's not worth trying to create a bit of content that might get picked up locally, shared locally, get you more well known locally?

Nothing wrong with doing this as it can generate some quality traffic but you don’t need to do this to rank locally (which is what Mandy wants).

 

[UKSBD]

Nothing wrong with doing this as it can generate some quality traffic but you don’t need to do this to rank locally (which is what Mandy wants).

Resting on laurels is not what I would advise people to do.

 

[fisicx]

Resting on laurels is not what I would advise people to do.

Why not? I've got sites ranking well I haven't touched for years. Ranking locally is relatively easy and takes very little effort to stay there. A bloke I know has been at the top of google for years and doesn't even have a website (he's prominent in some local directories and a popular community site). A more effective way for Mandy to market her services locally. Social Media is ideal for this and will generate more business (because of her target clients) this way than she will ranking on Google.

 

[Khurram Aziz]

"A bloke i know one time did something and now i stand by it!"

It's always a good idea to work on your social media WHILE you work on your SEO. Don't neglect either, especially for local businesses.

 

[fisicx]

Only if your marketing plan requires both. Not everything is required by all businesses.

 

[Khurram Aziz]

It's good for any business, particularly certain niches, to have a big social media following, which gives you ready access to an engaged market, as well as the abililty to rank high for certain keywords in search engines for customers who are using those keywords SPECIFICALLY to look for the service you offer and you turn up number one out of all your customers.

 

[fisicx]

...to have a big social media following, ...as well as the abililty to rank high for certain keywords in search engines for customers who are using those keywords.

No it's not. Social media accounts and followers will not help your ranking. There are ways to use SM to influence ranking but it's a lot of hard work for very little gain. So your advice is (again) wrong.