Search Marketing Experts Convene to Discuss Key SEO Trends & Innovations
April 5, 2019Fueled by jalapeno margaritas, ice cold beer, and hot sauce, a panel of SEO thought-leaders gathered at GroupM’s 3WTC office on Thursday, March 28th for Catalyst’s SEO Hot Trends Happy Hour .
Like a group of talented musicians who happily find themselves in an impromptu jam session, there was an abundance of unvarnished, honest commentary and SEO riffs aplenty. The group of SEO experts enlightened a rapt audience on the hottest SEO trends in today’s search marketing landscape.
The evening’s panel discussion was moderated by search industry veteran Kerry Curran (Managing Partner, Marketing Integration, Catalyst), and featured panelists Tim Eschenauer (Head of SEO, mPlatform/GroupM), Frank Vitovitch (VP Professional Services, Botify), John Shehata (Vice President, Audience Growth, Condé Nast), and David Minchala (Head of SEO, Etsy).
Here is a summary of this fiery conversation’s key points and themes:
The Evolving Role of SEO
- We have to think differently. It is not only about driving traffic anymore. It is about driving business outcomes that can be tracked and measured.
Data is the Glue
- SEOs need to continue to invest in data and intelligence. This will help marketers understand what drives purchase. Hiring a data analyst is a great way so stay ahead.
- Work with people who can solve hard data problems and who like to think and analyze onsite features, content, links.
- Blend data to come to actionable insights and trust your data.
Do’s:
- Iterate, iterate, iterate. Test single variants and use the learnings for the rest of your site.
- Make interesting content. Avoid focusing on content that answers overly simple questions. Google has that covered. Rather, create compelling and interesting content that prompts people to click through and engage with your brand.
- Don’t forget about product page optimization on Amazon. Amazon is a prime space for SEO.
- Voice + Visual are somewhat overblown. But, voice search is still another behavior we have to think about. Kids are growing up with voice search.
Final Thoughts
The panel closed with the sentiment that SEO will remain vitally important to agencies, advertisers, and more. They will continue to play a key role in driving business outcomes and maximizing website visibility and performance.
Can’t Get Enough SEO?
Make sure to check out TechSEO Boost, Catalyst’s SEO conference 100% dedicated to technical SEO. All of the presentation recordings are available for free on our site. You can also get the presenters’ slides from the Catalyst SlideShare.
Interested in partnering with Catalyst or joining our team? Drop us a line at info@catalystdigital.com
