This year we hit a milestone: 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of Bruce Clay Inc.! What started in January 1996 with one man working off his dining room table has grown into a multimillion-dollar agency that has served thousands of clients via offices around the world.

So how did we get our start? The story goes way back to the 1990s, before search engine optimization — or Google — was even a thing. Bruce, having run several other businesses, was ready for a change. He started a consultancy in his name (Bruce Clay Inc.) and well, the rest is history.

We know the timeline (see our company history here). But we wanted to hear the story of how we got to where we are today from the man himself. So enjoy this interview with Bruce, which details the journey of how a guy with a vision of internet business turned Bruce Clay Inc. into a global brand.

• The year was 1996… how did you get started? 
• What was business like the first year? 
• What were your first clients like? 
• Tell me about the first big milestone for Bruce Clay, Inc. 
• Let’s talk a little more about the early SEO conference days
• What are some of your achievements over the years? 
• When did you start the SEO training program and why? 
• When did you launch the SEOToolSet and why?
• How did the brand go international?
• What sets BCI apart?
• What do you like best about what you do? 
• What’s in store for Bruce Clay Inc? 
• FAQ: What were the early challenges Bruce Clay Inc. faced in the ever-changing landscape of search engine optimization?

The year was 1996 … how did you get started?

Bruce: My bachelor’s is in math and computer science, and I’m a programmer at heart, even though I was managing businesses before that. And my MBA is from Pepperdine, so I liked the concept of business marketing.

Prior to 1996, I had run other businesses. And I decided I really wanted to be a consultant. I didn’t want a cast of thousands in multiple cities nor did I want any of the things that went with operating a business.

My general feeling at the time was it’s just gonna be me, my notebook computer, and a Corona on a beach. That’s what I was going to do. And it ended up taking on a life of its own.

Back in January of ‘96, when Al Gore “invented” the internet (even though the internet had been around for 20 years), everything I read made me realize it was going to get to be really, really big. And I looked around and determined that marketing on the internet was through something called a search engine.

I figured out how all the data moved around and what kind of data the search engines used. And it really turned out to be a puzzle. And the more I did it, the more I loved it.

But this was years before Google. The landscape had Infoseek, AltaVista, Excite. It was chaos at the time. We actually made the very first search engine relationship chart pretty early on, in the year 2000 (you can see that below).

What was business like the first year?

Bruce: A vast majority of the time, I was building the website and doing a lot of research on search engine ranking, which is what it was called back in the day.

I used Netscape to build my handwritten HTML website. I learned how HTML and search engines could work together if I changed the HTML. I just kept adding content. So there was a lot of experimentation going on.

And then, all of a sudden, people started hiring me. I was making enough money to make ends meet and grow.

And then, I started getting more business, and I raised my prices. Then, I got more business, and I hired people. Then we raised our prices, and I got more business again. And before you knew it, I had to move the business out of the house. That was in the year 2000.

What were your first clients like?

Bruce: They were very small companies — like one-person companies. They were people who said, Hey, I’m going to get on the internet. I’m going to sell this thing online.

I remember that one of my first few clients was an actual witch.

So I felt very good because I think every SEO company at the beginning needs to have a witch on their client list.

Tell me about the first big milestone for Bruce Clay Inc.

Bruce: Well, the first real milestone didn’t happen quickly. I think the first milestone was when I could afford staff. Then the next milestone was probably when I started speaking at Danny Sullivan’s conferences, Search Engine Strategies.

And then, from there, the next milestone was probably a million-dollar year. And then it kept going from there.

After reaching those milestones, I felt I had really succeeded. I had run other businesses successfully, but with Bruce Clay Inc., I pivoted into a whole new, yet-to-be-discovered industry, and I was once again succeeding.

Anybody can succeed once. So I really felt strongly that I had actually succeeded twice.

Let’s talk a little more about the early SEO conference days…

Bruce: I think ‘99 was the first year of Search Engine Strategies. For the very first one, I was there, as were most of the people who had started doing search engine ranking.

Danny Sullivan got all the key speakers together for his conference. We all sat at one table in a bar to discuss what we were doing. That was the conference. That’s how few of us there were.

Had there been an earthquake or disaster of some kind, the SEO industry would have been wiped out.

A lot of my early fame was because I was vocal and answered questions freely, participated in conferences and gave away information. And I’ve been given a lot of credit for the foundation-building of the industry by doing that.

And I’m proud to be in that position. I think that’s how I got the honor of having colleagues name me the Father of SEO.

What are some of your achievements over the years?

Bruce: Well, obviously, there is success. That is really a great thing.

Over the years, I have been on TV shows, in major publications like Wired magazine’s spread on Google before Google went public, and even on the cover of magazines. We’ve been pretty fortunate that we’ve been able to retain recognition.

When Wiley asked me to write the Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies book, that was a nice surprise and recognition.

I also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The History of SEO advisory board.

One of the other things that comes to mind — almost a moment when I didn’t know how to react — was the first few times that people came up and asked to have their picture taken with me or asked for an autograph. The first time that happens, it’s like, You’re talking to me?

I could have let it go to my head and become a really terrible person. But all it made me do was double my efforts to train people, answer questions, and engage.

When did you start the SEO training program and why?

Bruce: The catalyst was a client who asked for on-site SEO training around 1998. I had a lot of materials because I was training my staff, but I didn’t have a formal training program. So I had to create one.

I built a PowerPoint deck and went out and did the training.

And it was a couple of years later that I started offering my own classroom course.

So I’ve been doing training for about 23 years now. I’ve trained over 5,000 people by my rough count. Now we are releasing our online SEO training course in March.

When did you launch the SEOToolSet and why?

Bruce: Within six months of starting the company, I wrote my first tool. At the time, it was called the Keyword Density Analyzer, which evolved into the Single Page Analyzer today.

I was tracking keywords in spreadsheets for pages I was optimizing, and it became very tedious. So I wrote a program that would read the webpage and build a report that told me where all the keywords and keyword phrases were used on the page.

I started building the tools out in about 1998, and we have 40 of them in the SEOToolSet^® today. Recently we added a WordPress plugin and even got a patent for our analysis software. And we are expanding the SEOToolSet even more in the near future.

How did the brand go international?

Bruce: I had people from other countries asking me if they could open Bruce Clay offices. The first time that happened, there were a number of things that ran through my mind — Do I want to do this? Is it going to succeed? How do I structure it? — But equally as important was: Is it a place I want to go on a vacation?

And Sydney, Australia, was nice. So I set up Australia first in 2007. Today, we have offices there and also in Japan, India, and Dubai. We are looking to expand in Europe and Singapore next.

In many cases, the international locations had clients before they even had offices because the brand was strong. I would make sure the employees knew what they were doing beforehand, but we also had our training program in place. So we were able to train people to do SEO our way.

The international offices were almost an instant success.

What sets BCI apart?

Bruce: There are a great many companies that have only one expert and a whole bunch of junior people supporting them. At BCI, we are now a company of only experts. I made the decision a few years back that 100% of the staff working on client projects would have 10 years or more of experience in their field.

By hiring experts, I found that larger companies are drawn to us. I’ve had people come to us and say the reason they are talking to us is they got tired of having to train the prior agency’s SEO team on how to do SEO because they knew more than them.

So we’re a company of experts. We’re certainly not the cheapest nor the most expensive in town, but we are one of the best. We’re not a cast of hundreds of employees here in the U.S. We don’t need to have hundreds to be the best.

What do you like best about what you do?

Bruce: I solve puzzles for a living.

We are working in an environment that is a moving target. Google changes the algorithm an average of 10 times a day. You have competitors that want your lunch, and they’re going to do whatever it takes for them to get it.

Every day, we go to war. Your website is the tool we bring to the battle as the weapon. We are fighting in real time against other businesses in the search results. If we lose, the client company might have to let people go.

Some other industries out there are not so mission critical in any given moment. If an SEO messes up a company’s website and SEO strategy, they could damage the company’s revenue and people’s livelihood.

And so there’s a level of responsibility with SEO that very few industries have.

What’s in store for Bruce Clay Inc.?

Bruce: In the first month of 2021, we saw almost exponential growth. I think 2021 is going to be an unbelievably amazing year for digital marketing because everybody’s at home.

Things pivoted in 2020, but nobody knew the impact of it until this year when all of the marketing money was going to digital. From the inquiries that we’ve had in January, I see that companies recognize that there’s an opportunity they need to jump on.

We may have to hire a person a month for the whole year just to keep up with growth, maybe more! So I expect 2021 to see rapid growth. Our near-term focus is on SEO training and the SEOToolSet. And services, of course, will need to keep up with demand.

Happy 25th anniversary to Bruce Clay Inc.! We look forward to many more years of serving businesses with the very best SEO strategies out there.

Interested in talking with us about your digital marketing needs? <https://www.bruceclay.com/quoteform/”>Request a quote for a free consultation, or learn more about Bruce Clay Inc. today.

FAQ: What Were the Early Challenges Bruce Clay Inc. Faced in the Ever-Changing Landscape of Search Engine Optimization?

As the SEO industry’s landscape emerged and evolved, Bruce Clay Inc. found itself at the forefront of pioneering strategies and tactics. The nascent days were marked by uncharted territory, where algorithms were erratic, and practices were experimental. This article explores the challenges that Bruce Clay Inc. grappled with during this formative period.

In the dawn of SEO, algorithms were rudimentary and often unpredictable. The challenge lay in deciphering these algorithms, which lacked transparency and consistency. As a result, optimizing websites for search engines demanded an almost intuitive understanding of their behavior. This dynamic environment required continuous adaptation, forming the bedrock of the company’s commitment to staying ahead.

Moreover, the scarcity of reliable resources and guidelines compounded the challenges. SEO professionals like Bruce Clay Inc. had to rely on trial and error without standardized practices. Crafting effective strategies meant relying on experience and intuition rather than established conventions. This early phase thus demanded a willingness to experiment and innovate, shaping the company’s foundation of expertise.

The infancy of SEO also witnessed a lack of awareness among businesses about its potential impact. Convincing clients of the value of SEO posed yet another hurdle. The team at Bruce Clay Inc. had to effectively communicate the significance of ranking higher on search engines, often pioneering the concept to skeptical clients. This experience solidified the company’s role as a practitioner and educator, helping clients navigate unfamiliar terrain.

Transitioning from traditional marketing to digital was yet another uphill task. SEO was a relatively novel concept, and industries were skeptical about its efficacy. Bruce Clay Inc. faced the challenge of establishing credibility and proving SEO ROI to businesses accustomed to traditional advertising methods. This experience honed the company’s ability to showcase tangible results, a skill that remains integral to its success.

The early challenges faced by Bruce Clay Inc. in the dynamic realm of SEO shaped its trajectory into becoming a trailblazing authority in the industry. Navigating the unpredictable algorithms, experimenting with nascent strategies, and advocating the potential of SEO to skeptical clients were all instrumental in forging the company’s identity. These challenges, once surmounted, laid the groundwork for Bruce Clay Inc.’s continued success and expertise in the ever-changing landscape of search engine optimization.

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Despite the events of 2020, CEOs are focused on growth in 2021. And, despite continuing uncertainty as we head into 2021, CEOs are confident about the business environment 12 months from now. But many CEOs — 40% — believe growth will be slow going.

To achieve the growth necessary to survive and to be confident about what their business will look like by the close of 2021, CEOs need to figure out how they are going to achieve that.

And they may be at odds with what the CMO wants. According to Gartner research, the majority of CMOs believe recovery is going to be quick and sharp and are more likely to preserve the status quo in the meantime.

• Where we’ve been and where we’re headed
• Budgets in focus
• Winning 2021
• FAQ: What challenges do CEOs face when aligning with CMOs’ views on growth and marketing strategies?

Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Headed

What we’ve learned in this past year is that the way we do business has changed forever. From a critical shift in how we work, learn, live, and search, businesses had to get creative and aggressive to stay relevant in what will now be the most important arena to do business: online.

The status quo is simply not an option for most businesses moving forward. As such, CEOs need to understand that they have no choice but to embrace digital marketing tighter than ever.

Here’s the thing about making sound investments in digital advertising and SEO: Together, these two strategies support any long-term and short-term business goal you are pursuing. The combination keeps you relevant and visible online despite current events. And it allows you to be a reliable presence for your target audience.

Companies like Google have a lot planned in 2021 (the page experience update is just one of many). Without the skills necessary to navigate their own plans and changes to the search engines, websites will forever be lost — relegated to Page 2 and beyond of the search results (what we in the industry refer to as the best place to hide a dead body).

Budgets in Focus

As businesses pivot, digital channels are set to benefit from marketing budgets in the coming year more than offline investments.

According to Gartner’s Annual CMO Spend Survey 2020-2021, digital advertising will be the beneficiary of the most dollars.

It’s nice to see that SEO makes the top five priorities. The survey found that 69% said they would increase their investment in SEO, and 78% said the same for digital advertising.

Winning 2021

If CEOs don’t win in early 2021, they may find their company’s future at risk. The risk to business leaders is so high that many will pay whatever it takes for the highest probability of success. That means hiring the best and brightest experts who live and breathe the digital marketing channel you want to win.

According to Gartner though, in response to the pandemic, 32% of companies have shifted work from agency services to in-house employees. Yet Gartner recognizes that “this shift from working with agencies to bringing work in-house is a long-term investment and involves more financial risk than relying on a contracted partner.”

Make no mistake: Not hiring the best means leaders will probably fail to compete, and they will be held accountable for failures by an increasingly knowledgeable board of directors. The motivated business competition is going to have quick-moving, aggressive digital marketers, and any businesses not in the race early will be left behind.

Understand that your competition will pull ahead if you hesitate for one moment. If you are afraid to enter the game now, by April, you will likely face a competitor that started in January. Do you want to be that person who delayed the process? Does your job depend upon success? Does your business depend on it?

Let us know if you’d like to discuss your situation. Contact us to get a free quote for digital marketing services from BCI.

FAQ: What challenges do CEOs face when aligning with CMOs’ views on growth and marketing strategies?

The synergy between CEOs and CMOs is pivotal for a company’s success. However, achieving alignment on growth and marketing strategies can be complex and challenging. One major hurdle lies in differing perspectives stemming from the inherent distinctiveness of their roles. CEOs prioritize overarching business goals, often leaning towards immediate results, while CMOs focus on long-term brand building and customer engagement. This divide can result in conflicting priorities and hinder cohesive strategy development.

Another critical challenge is effective communication. CEOs and CMOs may use disparate metrics to evaluate success. While CEOs tend to emphasize revenue and profit margins, CMOs often gauge effectiveness through metrics like customer engagement, brand reach, and ROI on marketing campaigns. Bridging this gap requires transparent communication, mutual understanding, and agreement on shared KPIs reflecting short-term gains and long-term brand equity.

The rapidly evolving digital landscape adds further complexity. CMOs must keep abreast of the latest marketing technologies and channels, adjusting their strategies to remain ahead of the curve. CEOs must weigh the risks and benefits associated with any emerging new technologies. Striking the right balance necessitates mutual respect for expertise and open discussions on embracing innovation while safeguarding the company’s financial stability.

Amid these challenges, fostering a culture of collaboration and trust is paramount. CEOs and CMOs bring unique insights to the table, and recognizing each other’s expertise is essential. Regular cross-functional meetings and joint strategy sessions provide platforms for constructively aligning goals and resolving differences. Additionally, encouraging rotational programs or job swaps between departments can offer valuable firsthand experience, promoting empathy and deepening collaboration.

Achieving alignment between CEOs and CMOs regarding growth and marketing strategies demands a multi-faceted approach. By acknowledging the divergence in perspectives, promoting transparent communication, embracing digital transformations, and nurturing a collaborative environment, organizations can overcome these challenges and pave the way for a harmonious and effective partnership.

Step-by-Step Procedure: Navigating CEO-CMO Alignment

1. Acknowledge Divergent Roles: Recognize the inherent differences in priorities and responsibilities between CEOs and CMOs.
2. Define Shared Objectives: Identify common goals that bridge short-term financial gains and long-term brand development.
3. Establish Clear Communication Channels: Implement regular communication platforms to discuss strategies, expectations, and concerns.
4. Agree on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Define metrics that reflect financial success and marketing effectiveness.
5. Embrace Cross-Functional Meetings: Schedule joint strategy sessions to align views and address discrepancies.
6. Promote Open Dialogue: Encourage transparent conversations about marketing innovations, risks, and potential rewards.
7. Cultivate Mutual Respect: Foster an environment where each party values the other’s expertise and insights.
8. Stay Abreast of Industry Trends: CMOs should continuously update themselves on emerging marketing technologies and trends.
9. Balance Innovation and Stability: CEOs and CMOs must find an equilibrium between investing in new strategies and maintaining financial stability.
10. Consider Rotational Programs: Implement job rotations between departments to enhance understanding and collaboration.
11. Create Shared Vision: Develop a unified growth strategy aligning short-term revenue goals and long-term brand building.
12. Prioritize Customer-Centric Approaches: Center strategies around understanding and addressing customer needs and preferences.
13. Measure ROI Holistically: Evaluate marketing campaigns on revenue, brand reach, engagement, and customer satisfaction.
14. Leverage Data Insights: Utilize data analytics to inform decisions, refine strategies, and predict market trends.
15. Adapt to Changing Dynamics: Be open to adjusting strategies based on market shifts, customer behavior, and technological advancements.
16. Encourage Innovation Culture: Instill a culture that values experimentation, learning from failures, and embracing change.
17. Align Incentives: Design compensation and reward systems that promote collaborative success between CEOs and CMOs.
18. Review and Reflect: Regularly assess alignment progress, identify bottlenecks, and refine collaboration strategies.
19. Celebrate Wins Together: Recognize and celebrate joint successes to strengthen the partnership.
20. Evolve Together: Continuously evolve strategies, processes, and collaboration methods to adapt to evolving market dynamics.

By meticulously following these steps, organizations can navigate the complex landscape of CEO-CMO alignment, ultimately fostering a cohesive approach to growth and marketing strategies.

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Oxford dictionary defines a tipping point as: “The point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change.”

Right now, we are experiencing a tipping point in SEO and digital marketing. Fueling it is a series of changes that have occurred due to COVID-19 and a pressing need for SEO expertise in every industry to stay relevant and survive online.

A digital world and the digital marketing that supports it are no longer revolutionary – they are evolutionary. And this will gain even more momentum going forward.

Let’s explore some of the factors leading to this digital marketing evolution.

• A permanent shift to working from home
• Online is the new “ideal” location for businesses
• Marketing and SEO learning goes virtual
• Agencies are back in vogue
• FAQ: What role does the shift toward online presence play in the changing landscape of businesses?

A Permanent Shift to Working from Home

In April, I predicted that COVID-19 would create a permanent work-from-home economy in many sectors. Today, we are finding out that work-from-home (WFH) is becoming the new norm for many businesses.

For example, Twitter told its employees they could continue the WFH model indefinitely. Many other businesses are following suit because they’ve been able to prove working from home is successful.

In May, Gallup published the results of a poll that showed only 26% want to return to the workplace while 50% would rather continue working from home.

Even as some businesses adopt this new mindset, it presents certain challenges. While it might seem intuitive for tech and computer-based businesses to be able to adapt, it may not always be so.

Take Facebook, which said half of its workforce would work remotely by 2030. But critics say it’s hard to take that seriously due to the nature of the business:

There’s an ideal at Facebook embodied in the image of a group of young “hackers” gathered around a whiteboard inside a glass-walled conference room late in the evening, hammering out some new feature. How do you do that on Zoom—or in Facebook’s case, Bluejeans?

Digital marketing agencies may find a WFH shift harder, too — unless they hire the right people. If you read the article I wrote on the new WFH economy, you might remember some of the issues that I highlighted:

… the typical SEO company/agency scenario goes like this: After competing for seasoned pros in the local talent pool, you start hiring entry-level pros and interns.

Then you have the monumental task of training them, mentoring them and getting them up to par to work on accounts.

But this employee only lasts so long. Many new professionals want new roles with more money and better titles. Then comes the turnover, and the cycle begins again.

… many agencies are going to find that a workforce of entry-level professionals who need mentoring is going to fail in the current environment.

In our experience, seasoned pros fare much better in a remote situation. They don’t need the same level of guidance.

Of course, many SEO consultants and companies already had WFH teams — but not all. Right now, the industry is at a tipping point with how it will operate and best serve its clients.

Online Is the New “Ideal” Location for Businesses

More employees working from home means fewer occupied buildings and less foot traffic for the businesses that support them. City centers are likely to be most changed by this shift. Reports show that Times Square in NYC continues to be a ghost town.

We are facing a shift from the old adage of 'location, location, location' to 'What’s the URL?'

Nationwide Insurance said that the company would keep four major offices but exit all other locations because the WFH model is working.

CEO of Mondelez, Dirk Van De Put, said: “Maybe we don’t need all the offices that we currently have around the world.” And Morgan Stanley CEO, James Gorman, says they’re going to need much less real estate.

Finally, Barclays CEO said that “putting 7,000 people in a building may be a thing of the past.”

Neighborhood businesses that serve WFH professionals will reign in this new economy. But all businesses will need to beef up their online presence to compete.

I wrote about this extensively in my article on how COVID-19 will change the way we live and search, where I said:

In a WFH economy, neighborhoods will be where people spend most of their time — grabbing lunch down the street or walking to their local coffee shop. …
If you want to survive in this new digital world, you have to be digitally connected to be found.

For local businesses, prepare for a future where fewer people drive past or walk by your store. Where the first touch point is a Google search. … For non-local businesses, think about the demands of this new WFH economy, how that will impact your offerings, and how you optimize. …

In this new world, search traffic is just as important as foot traffic.

In other words, we are facing a shift from the old adage of “location, location, location” to “What’s the URL?”

Marketing and SEO Learning Goes Virtual

A huge shift for the industry is obtaining the education people want and the marketing leads that vendors need from large marketing conferences. Without conferences, companies are instead taking that need online.

Major conferences have opted for virtual events in the midst of the pandemic (including SMX), and recent surveys show that marketers are unlikely to attend in-person events until at least the second half of 2021. Many wonder if online-only events will be the norm moving forward.

I previously outlined the benefits of virtual learning, including cost savings, time savings and more accessibility. But not all virtual learning will win in this new educational model.

Consider the fact that most virtual learning today is in a prerecorded format. Regular conference goers now lose out on personal interaction as they are cornered into a format with none whatsoever.

That’s why online courses will prevail. Online courses that are prerecorded, however, will eventually drown themselves out due to low quality and high maintenance. The reality is that even today’s completion rates for online courses rarely rise above 15 percent.

Why? It’s part distraction, part competing priorities, and part learning style.

In order to succeed as a learning format, online courses need to provide teams with the same material within a specific time frame. This is so they can clarify ideas, share their understanding of the material, and discuss how it applies to their situation right away.

The ability to tweak the online curriculum for current events and update the courses to remain relevant makes the course much more valuable. This is essential in SEO as things change at lightning speed.

A huge benefit of live interactive learning (like in a classroom) is the time dedicated to answering questions. This makes the material relevant for everyone and offers personalized consulting for each student. In the digital format, this will need to be accomplished by “ask us anything”-type Q&A sessions virtually.

Agencies Are Back In Vogue

It’s been a trend for many years: companies are hiring their own in-house SEOs and scaling back on agency services. This was a natural evolution.

But then SEO teams got busy, and their continuing education and development fell by the wayside. I summed up the issue in my article on agency expertise:

You’re an in-house SEO professional who, after years of demonstrating your expertise, was promoted up the ranks to run the SEO department.

Now, in addition to overseeing strategy, you’re being pulled in a million different directions. On top of that, you’re tasked with building a great SEO team. One that is on par with your standards of SEO.

But corporate doesn’t allow for an entire team of SEO directors. So you hire people with a handful of years under their belt and a lot of potential. The problem is, things continue to get busier. It’s hard to develop staff and stay on top of projects.

And when things get tricky — for example, if you’re trying to solve a really complex SEO problem, or you’re facing uncharted territory (such as COVID-19) — you may find that your staff can take you only so far. And you’ve been out of the weeds for enough years that you realize your company needs some outside expertise.

In a world where companies face decreased staff or budgets but need to compete online more than ever, businesses are realizing that digital marketing agencies are the secret weapon.

Closing Thoughts

All the circumstances I’ve outlined here lead to a new era when digital marketing displaces most traditional channels.

For those who don’t see this happening, as Gartner points out: “Failure to anticipate potential change to campaigns, promotions, event marketing, sponsorships, and other marketing strategies will leave marketing teams in defense mode throughout the duration of the crisis.”

It’s clear to many that we are at a tipping point. And our time as digital marketers has come. The digital caterpillar has emerged. And it only gets better from here.

To discuss how we can support your digital marketing needs, request a free consultation here.

FAQ: What role does the shift toward online presence play in the changing landscape of businesses?

The shift towards a digital landscape has not only reshaped the way companies operate but has also revolutionized how they connect with their audience, market their products, and adapt to changing consumer behaviors.

1. Adapt or Perish: The Business Landscape Evolution

The first and foremost impact of the online presence shift is on business survival. Digitally-savvy companies have proven more adaptable and resilient in times of economic hardship. Businesses that leverage an online presence to reach wider audiences, diversify revenue streams, and remain connected with customers during difficult periods can increase reach by keeping an online presence alive.

2. A Global Marketplace at Your Fingertips

The digital age has transformed local businesses into global contenders. With the right online strategies, a small startup can compete on a level playing field with established corporations. E-commerce platforms and online marketplaces have eliminated geographical boundaries, offering businesses unprecedented access to international markets.

3. Data-Driven Decision Making

Businesses can leverage data generated from their online presence to make better decisions. Data analytics provide businesses with invaluable insights into customer preferences and trends, which enables them to tailor strategies more efficiently while staying ahead of competitors.

4. Building Trust and Credibility

A well-crafted online presence can enhance a business’s reputation and credibility. Strong social media engagement, customer reviews, and testimonials can help build trust with potential clients. An engaged online community can further cement a brand’s position as customer-oriented and reliable.

5. Tips for a Robust Online Presence

To harness the full potential of online presence, businesses should focus on creating a user-friendly website, optimizing it for search engines (SEO), engaging customers through social media, and regularly updating content. Utilizing email marketing, paid advertising, and monitoring online reviews are also essential strategies for success.

The shift toward an online presence is not merely a trend; it’s a fundamental transformation that impacts how businesses operate and succeed in the modern world. Embracing this change and leveraging the digital realm effectively can empower companies to thrive in today’s dynamic business landscape.

Step-by-Step Procedure for Leveraging Online Presence in Business:

1. Determine areas for improvement in your online presence.
2. Create an effective plan for your online presence that supports your business goals.
3. An engaging website will pay dividends.
4. Apply SEO best practices to enhance the ranking of your website in search engines.
5. Keep active social media accounts for the target audience on relevant platforms.
6. Create and share valuable, relevant content to engage your audience and build credibility.
7. Implement email marketing campaigns to nurture leads and maintain customer relationships.
8. Invest in paid advertising campaigns to boost your online visibility.
9. Monitor online reviews and respond promptly to customer feedback.
10. Analyze data from your online presence to make data-driven decisions.
11. Continuously update and adapt your online presence strategy to stay relevant in a changing landscape.
12. Foster a responsive and customer-centric approach to build trust and credibility.
13. Expand your reach by exploring international markets through e-commerce platforms.
14. Network and collaborate with influencers or other businesses to expand your online presence.
15. Regularly assess the ROI of your online presence efforts and adjust strategies accordingly.
16. Stay informed about the latest digital marketing trends and technologies.
17. Prioritize customer privacy and data security in your online operations.
18. Encourage customer reviews and testimonials to build social proof.
19. Leverage online analytics tools to gain deeper insights into customer behavior.
20. Foster a company culture that values and prioritizes the online presence’s role in business success.

The post A Tipping Point for the Digital Marketing Industry: From Caterpillar to Butterfly appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

For example, sites that have put off mobile readiness — thinking that most of their traffic comes from desktop, so why bother with mobile? — will find themselves in crisis this year.

Marketing teams across the board will face receding budgets as the C-suite becomes increasingly unwilling to dole out money without solid proof that it delivers results (per Gartner’s Oct. 2017 CMO survey).

As a result, I expect to see a focus on attribution tools and better data reporting as the industry scrambles to connect the dots of customer journeys and justify marketing spend.

Predictions for digital marketing in 2018 are fairly easy to make — at least compared to the last 13 years of annual prediction posts I’ve written. I am sure that most in the SEO industry who follow Google see these trends already progressing.

In a nutshell, the hot buttons SEOs know now will stay hot.

Here are my predictions for mobile first, voice search, content, linking, speed, SEO, ecommerce, machine learning, virtual reality and video, to help you make more informed decisions this year.

My Digital Marketing Predictions for 2018

Mobile First: Google’s mobile-first index will become a bigger player starting around February. I expect that there will be a significant “disturbance in the force” when companies that have rested on their brand realize that the indexed content has changed enough to disturb their rankings.

For sites that are not mobile friendly, Google may continue to index the desktop version and hold off moving it to the mobile-first index. However, I don’t expect their rankings to hold since mobile user experience is the search engine’s top priority.

I anticipate Google will roll out mobile-first faster than expected. But even the preparation for it is changing the search engine’s index — which impacts rankings.

For instance, businesses trying to speed up their sites may remove large images, eliminate non-essential content, and modify other elements including links. Just altering the navigation menu to simplify it for mobile users changes a lot. All of this fluctuating content will affect the index and (combined with other changes) potentially create a flurry of lost-traffic panic.

Sites that have put off mobile readiness — thinking that most of their traffic comes from desktop, so why bother with mobile? — will find themselves in crisis this year.
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Voice Search: Right behind mobile, I predict voice search will be a major SEO focus in 2018. This is not because it impacts ecommerce so much as it impacts information and news sites.

Video: Why voice search will be big in 2018

Users will ask questions, and many sites are not well optimized to provide answers to questions. The traditional phrase-centric search will become archaic, and optimization will need to be about spoken Q&A instead of who used the keyword best.

Virtual assistants (such as Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant) and smart devices (such as Amazon Echo, Google Home) will continue improving their ability to interpret spoken language through machine learning. That’s a given.

But voice searches are still imprecise in many cases, and users often have to restate questions in different ways to get useful information. For example, try this:

• Can you find your product with a voice search if you don’t mention your brand name?
• When you do a voice search for your business or products by name, are they correctly understood or mistaken for something else?

Businesses should test voice searches and make sure their online information is sufficient to give people multiple ways to find them (by name, by type of business, by location, by specialty, etc.). In addition to all the local SEO factors, local businesses in particular need to consider how to be found for various descriptive terms through voice search while the technology is maturing. (See more on how to optimize for voice search.)

Businesses should test voice searches and make sure their online info is sufficient to give people multiple ways to find them.
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Content Focus: Content is next in line for a major 2018 emphasis, but now more of the same. The creation of intelligent content that answers people’s needs is the role of the content writer (more so than the SEO), so empowered content teams with SEO tools will dominate this area.

This will be a period of significant growth in the development of content teams with tools and training, enabling an army of writers many times larger than the SEO team to start doing SEO themselves as the content is created.

As a sidebar, I expect the usage of WordPress, which currently runs 29.3% of all websites, to multiply this year, with a massive number of sites redesigned using WordPress. There will soon be a new era of Active WordPress Plugins (AWPPs, to coin a term), which actively give guidance while you’re working in WordPress (like a digital assistant for WP). They will empower content writers to do more SEO themselves, leading to better-optimized content on WordPress sites.

This improvement will be countered by the possible late-2018 release of WP Gutenberg, a new editor interface for WordPress that’s currently in the testing phase. In my opinion, it will be difficult for Gutenberg to gain favorable recommendations for use if it takes away plugin-derived revenue from the web design and hosting companies.

Linking: Links have always been a headache for Google — they empower the search results, but they are also heavily spammed.

As good as the Penguin filter is, which has been running within Google’s core algorithm for over a year now, we see that unnatural links still work way too often in the search results. There’s room for improvement.

Unnatural links still work way too often in the search results. There’s room for improvement.
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I predict Google will issue a major update to the algorithm sections that deal with links to better filter spammy, off-topic links.

Search engines will also be adjusting to a diminished number of links from and within mobile sites (due to sites becoming more efficient for mobile, as discussed under Mobile-First, above) as well as other undisclosed mobile-first algorithmic factors. I predict Google will examine the speed and popularity of the linking page to determine the probability of the link’s being seen and clicked. Eliminating any link unlikely to be clicked because of poor performance will become critical as the link patterns are reviewed. All of this certainly should change how we acquire links in 2018.

Speed: Another factor for digital marketing in 2018 will be the increased adoption of Progressive Web App (PWA) technology to achieve faster site speed. Both app and website developers will embrace this hybrid approach that is easier to maintain and promote while delivering impressive speed for users. There’s a lot of resources out there for details on PWAs; this recent post by Cindy Krum is one of my favorites.

Coupled with a rise in PWA usage will be a diminishing regard for Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), certainly wherever bandwidth is acceptable. If pages are fast enough and fully responsive, then AMP is not needed (a point Google’s Gary Illyes made during a keynote in June).

By the holiday season a year from now, I predict AMP will be a non-issue for most websites. The AMP project was all about speed anyhow, and as internet speed in general increases, the need for AMP will diminish — even if, as Google has promised, the odious problem of masking the publisher’s URL in search results gets fixed in the second half of the year.

Coupled with a rise in PWA usage will be a diminishing regard for Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).
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I expect speed to be seen as a cloud issue this year, as well.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and similar cloud-based platforms will expand. Meanwhile, Content Delivery Network (CDN) usage will decrease. Serving up a website’s static resources from the cloud provides greater speed and efficiency than doing it from nodes, as CDNs do, except for sites with a significant quantity of large files (such as high resolution images). CDNs are certainly becoming less important, and by year end, CDNs will be seldom used. While CDNs solved a significant conversion issue in the past, with higher speed networks and server technology changes, they will be unnecessary by the end of the year.

SEO: So what about traditional technical SEO?

It continues and actually becomes more important. As easy links stop working, companies will increasingly turn to other parts of the algorithms — specifically content as well as on-page structure, navigation, internal linking, and better compliance with SEO practices.

Building a site’s experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) will dominate this focus and become more critical across the board. The winning companies will be the ones with the best trained staff already working on an SEO-aligned content-based strategy aggressively. Between equally helpful content, the tie-breaker will be E-E-A-T, and we’ll see fewer sites ranking without it. This is likely to benefit established brands in the rankings.

As cited above, there will be considerable activity impacting the content in the Google index. A great amount of the algorithm is based upon the index’s having a reasonably large and steady population of content pages. The advent of the mobile-first index, query changes towards questions, a massive SEO content change (in kinds, volume and number of competitors), the diminishing access to links both internally and inbound (backlinks), and other easily identified factors all add up to a massive index change this year — and that will destabilize rankings.

Factors all add up to a massive index change this year — and that will destabilize rankings.
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Ecommerce: Google will step up as a major competitor in ecommerce this year. Google’s ecommerce site Express.Google.com has a network of manufacturers and resellers already in place. I believe it is poised to rival Amazon.

I order a lot of products online, and I think there is room for a second major service. Consider that as Amazon gains usage, people are going straight to Amazon.com. That threatens Google’s search business.

Machine Learning: Due to machine learning, Google’s ability to figure out what the user wants is advancing at lightning speed.

As Google’s algorithm learns to map user intent to each search query more and more accurately, sites must match that intent in order to rank.

Consider this – as Google figures out that a query requires purely information, your ecommerce site will lose rankings for that keyword. Sites that used to perform well for head terms need to pay attention to what is being ranked and forget what used to rank, including themselves. Getting an ecommerce site to rank for an information keyword is much harder now.

As a result of Google’s machine learning, rankings lost may be next to impossible to regain. In a competitive keyword field, the profile of the website silo (associated themed pages), and not just the ranking page, must match user intent.

As a result of Google's machine learning, rankings lost may be next to impossible to regain.
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I’ll give a personal illustration. Google recently upended its search rankings for the query [search engine optimization]. This query is popular with do it yourself (DIY)-minded searchers, rather than people looking to consume SEO services. The algorithm detected this in 2017 and rapidly shifted rankings to favor news and information sites, not just the most in-depth answer to the query. As a result, our SEO Tutorial hub page fell from the middle of Page 1 to #15 in just a few months for this specific query.

Marketers will need to take user-intent cues from Google by watching what results are shown as the SERPs fluctuate this year. Doing so will help you avoid futile keyword targets and find new search queries to optimize for in order to match your site content to the right user intent.

VR: Virtual reality (VR) and especially EEG controls will continue to grow throughout 2018. The technology enables remote conversations to feel like everyone’s in the same room.

Beyond chat rooms (e.g., Facebook’s experimenting with a VR hangout app), imagine business meetings leveraging VR to pull remote workers together in one place. Conversations and examples would jump to life better; collaboration could be virtually face-to-face, all without travel expenses. It will be the business applications that monetize VR and propel it forward, so watch for opportunities there. We are considering it for our classroom SEO Training course.

Video: It’s about time for Google to seriously leverage the revenue opportunity of YouTube (which it owns). I expect to see many more video results co-mingled with organic listings this year.

I expect to see many more video results co-mingled with organic listings this year.
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Video production for marketing purposes will grow exponentially. Video has been expanding as a marketing tool for years now, ever since Google first started blending results in Universal Search.

But companies in every niche are now investing in video production at record levels. A mid-2017 HubSpot survey found that the top two content distribution channels that respondents planned to add during the next year were both for video: YouTube and Facebook Video. We’re considering this as an option for our training materials, too.

Last thoughts as we launch into 2018

Google is in the business of making money, and they are banking on/assuming that search advertising is primarily how that happens. On a mobile device, that could mean less exposure for organic results. I expect PPC to be taking budget from SEO when this occurs.

As for how marketing is going to do in a year of shrinking budgets, that is a tough situation. Digital marketing is getting more complex, and ROI is still difficult to measure. Social media is a big cause of the current wariness, since companies have tired of throwing money across various social sites without seeing tangible results. The attribution problem is still not solved, and companies will require more proof that marketing is working.

If results can be measured, then digital marketing will get more buy-in and more investment.

That is enough new for now. If you would like a hand with your digital marketing strategy for 2018, let’s talk.

If you like this post, please share it with your friends or colleagues. For more like this, subscribe to our blog.

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While SEO best practices are not clearly defined anywhere in black and white by a search engine authority, Penguin and Panda before it make it clear that there are no safe shortcuts to improve a site’s search engine ranking. Involvement in any deceptions or attempts to shortcut the ultimate objective of serving website visitors and customers is akin to playing with fire. Can your business afford to drop out of search results?

Since the Penguin algorithm update started to drop the rankings of sites suspected of manipulative linking practices, we’ve been getting at least two phone calls a day requesting information about recovery from Google penalties. The issue for those businesses struggling from Penguin penalties is one of continued livelihood.

Many site owners we’ve talked to got involved in poor linking practices on ill advisement of SEO companies purporting to have the answer to their web traffic needs; in other words, the business owner didn’t know any better. Many are guilty of ignorance, at worst, and are paying dearly as their traffic has slowed and online revenue has dropped.

In order to help businesses who have found themselves under a Google penalty, we’ve tailored a new offering to assessing Google penalties and providing an action plan for recovery.

In this SEO Newsletter, we’ve also created resources for the SEO community outlining our proven link removal process and inviting a conversation on whether or not algorithm-resistant SEO exists. We hope you join the discussion in the comments below and enjoy this month’s SEO Newsletter articles, described here.

But first, is there such thing as an algorithmic-resistant SEO strategy? Does Google owe us rankings? Is SEO just a “reactive” discipline? These are some of the questions we tackle with Bruce Clay in this month’s feature:

• Find out just what types of sites are in Google’s crosshairs right now.
• Learn why the approach, not the tactics, is the key to long-lasting SEO.
• Know the questions to ask to find out if your site is worthy of ranking.

The Step-By-Step Guide to Link Pruning

If a Penguin attack has dropped your pages down the pecking order, low-quality links are to blame. You need an action plan to get you back into Google’s good graces. In this article, you’ll learn how Google’s Penguin Update has targeted poor linking practices, as well as:

• Discovering a methodology for identifying links impacting your site.
• Finding out how to request removal of bad links.
• Tracking your efforts and communicating progress to Google.

The post Reacting to Penguin: Link Pruning and Bruce Clay on Algo-Proof SEO in the SEO Newsletter appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Published last month and available on Amazon or HOEPLI.it, the book is nearly 200 pages of fresh, tactical search marketing methodologies, trends and tips. I caught up with Ale over the weekend to get the deets on the book, what people will learn and why it’s the perfect time for the European business community to embrace self-education in Web marketing.

Jessica: Tell me about the book, what’s behind it and who should read it?

Ale: Most traditional or conventional marketers do not fully understand how to do SEO and PPC because of thetechnicality that is needed to perform these activities. That’s why we wrote this practical search marketing book for business people that explains Web marketing strategy in a straightforward manner. Anybody who is currently running a business, in charge of marketing or sales should read this book. The book is also a great tool for SEO analysts and SEM practitioners.

What kinds of things can readers expect to learn?

Even the toughest concepts of SEO are explained in an easy way. Some of topics covered include:

• How to increase visibility in search engine results.
• How to generate qualified traffic to your site.
• How to make Web marketing a powerful advertising sales and public relations tool for your business.
• How to integrate SEO into press releases, online video and social media.

The philosophy behind the book is explained in a short video on, “Trovare clienti con Google” (video in Italian).

Why was the time right for an Internet marketing book like this in Italy?

In Italy, as well as the rest of Europe, a large proportion of companies continue to increase their investment in both paid search, SEO and social media. But most of these firms (probably 99 percent) are outsourcing search and social media without having enough knowledge or experience on how to assess the quality of these services. That’s why I believe the time is right for a book like this; it’s an easy read and gives a good understanding of sound search marketing practices, which can be immediately applied to the reader’s business.

Will the book be published in any other languages?

We are currently thinking about localizing and publishing the book in some European languages like German, French, Spanish, Polish and Dutch. If anybody is interested in seeing the book in their native language, please let us know.

What other educational things will Bruce Clay Europe be involved in for 2012?

Bruce Clay himself will come to Italy to join Bruce Clay Europe in June 2012 to teach the annual SEO training course. Last year was the first of it’s kind and was wildly popular amongst the European business community. Besides that, I will probably speak at SMX West in San Jose in February, and again at SMX Munich in March.

If you have questions about the book “Trovare clienti con Google” or anything else related to Web marketing or Bruce Clay Europe, you can reach Ale on Twitter or his profile on Google+.

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The conversation coming from SEO corners regarding Google’s recently announced measures for signed-in users’ search privacy is largely related to the reduction of search referrer data that results from encrypted transmissions. And in a world where every person doing a search may see a unique set of search results, it goes without saying that consistent ranking reports are a thing of the far past.

Yet there are broader implications for the search industry at play, including the changing makeup of search results and increasing modes of personalization. Picture a SERP that reflects an individual users’ behavior, query history and click behavior and integrates search results from a user’s accounts on Google services like Gmail and Google+. This latest move could enable a new iteration of individually personalized search experience.

What’s Happening Under the Hood

To see how the next step in personalized search has been advanced, let’s start by examining the technical mechanism by which Google is encrypting signed-in users’ organic search activities.

When a user queries Google, the browser sends a packet to Google’s server with some basic info. The server returns the info being requested. What SSL does is make the info packet secure by encrypting (scrambling so it’s indecipherable) the data.

Now, Google is encrypting its interactions with signed-in users. This includes hiding search terms from the referrer when you click on a search result. They do this by going to an intermediary page, which changes the keyword parameter to something unrecognizable. That intermediary page also provides Google with a connection between the user, query and the site they are visiting.

It’s up for debate how much Google previously knew about a signed-in user’s click behavior from search results. However now, as an intermediary, it’s certain that Google understands the user’s behavior from query to click.

Individualized Universal Search Results

With this information, Google now knows an individual user’s preferences to an unprecedented degree. Google has a newly enhanced ability to display finely tailored organic and paid search results for every signed-in user. The more signed-in users they can get to participate in this experience, the more targets they’ll be able to offer advertisers.

No doubt, Google’s hoping that Google+ adoption will take-off, as more Google+ users would build up the signed-in Google user base. While Google says that currently only 1.5 percent of search is performed by signed-in users, this number could grow as the Google+ network grows ━ the potential of which shouldn’t be underestimated given Google’s resources and determination on this front.

And here’s another impending implication of secured search. In 2007, Google introduced Universal Search, the integration of search verticals, including video, maps and images, on the default results page. By securing search results pages, Google can now safely include results from a user’s accounts across Google’s many services, from Gmail to Google+.

The utility of connecting search to social services is already apparent in the Bing-Facebook integration. The first signs of cross-service integration within Google have been announced. Google Reader and Google+ will be tied together as Google+ takes over Reader’s social functions like friending, following and sharing.

As Internet marketers, we’re reliant on the search ecosystem and the topography of Google’s results pages. Watching the story unfolding here is fascinating, if nerve-wracking, as following every move by Google is like keeping up with a dancing target. Still, I think we can all appreciate how Google’s turned out another game changer in the evolution of the search experience.

Take a listen to Bruce explaining how secured search will lead to intensely personalized search results in the second segment of today’s SEM Synergy.

The post The Major Implications of SSL Encryption No One’s Talking About: Enhanced Search Personalization appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Well, for the most part.

We apologize to readers for some technical difficulties that resulted in a couple of the articles turning up 404 pages. All that’s been fixed now and there are four fresh pieces available for viewing, from a simple but sophisticated formula for calculating the dollar value of higher rankings to a survey of the current state of Internet usage and marketing opportunities in the super-engaged Japanese market.

In July, we welcomed Bruce Clay India and Bruce Clay Japan as regular contributors to the newsletter, lending their eye for regional Internet industry happenings to the collection of significant news stories from the past month. Starting this month, they’ve joined the article-writing ranks, adding a second international article to the monthly newsletter mix. Taku Amano of Bruce Clay Japan provides the first

The Value of Organic Rankings – A CTR Study

If you’ve ever struggled to justify the benefit of search engine optimization efforts to the boss, here’s a straight-forward formula for estimating the value of increased traffic due to improved search engine rankings. Using your current rankings, the traffic volume of current rankings and projected additional traffic that could be gained from higher rankings, you can estimate the additional traffic you’ll receive. From there you can calculate the revenue you can generate from projected increased traffic based on your current per-visitor revenue estimates. Happy calculating!

SEO and Social Media Market Forecast in Japan

The Japanese Internet market is ripe for Internet marketers, with a rising demand for SEO and booming social media usage. If you have an interest in Internet usage trends, Japan’s market is a good bellwether thanks to a penchant for early adoption and embrace of technology. Get a snapshot of Japan’s Internet market, where penetration goes deep, and users are highly mobile and extremely social. A recent report by an Asia-focused marketing company forecasts SEO demand (both in-house and consultancy). We also look at the current growth rates of popular social networking platforms in the country.

Announcing New SEO Data Built Directly into the CMS

This month’s feature is a look at Search Advice, Bruce Clay’s SEO recommendations built into the SEO-friendly CMS, Pixelsilk. With more than 200 factors at play in ranking your site, on-page optimization requires much attention to detail. One way to streamline the process of optimized content creation is by being reminded of SEO best practices during the process of content development. With Search Advice, these best practices are presented in tidy fashion within the CMS. Look for an update to Search Advice in the coming months.

How to Submit a Reconsideration Request to Google

We think there’s value in offering basic SEO tips, which is why every newsletter contains a Back to Basics article. The issues covered in this monthly feature are often generated by questions from clients. Definitive explanations of SEO procedures and strategies, we find these articles handy to come back to time and again when a client asks why we’ve made a recommendation to do X or what to do when they are faced with circumstance Y. This month we outline the basic dos and dont’s for submitting a reconsideration request to Google if you suspect your site has been penalized for violating quality guidelines.

The post Calculate the Value of Higher Rankings: New SEO Newsletter appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Many of the people that make up Bruce Clay, Inc. have degrees in an array of things like math and computer science, business, marketing, communications, fine arts, aeronautical and astronautical engineering, and more. Still, others in our staff don’t have formal university degrees and are just as competent in their focus because they’re self-taught.

That actually brings to mind something Bill Gates said last summer at the Techonomy conference in California. An article by TechCrunch reported Gates thinks university education could be replaced by self-motivated learners in the future.

Gates said that five years from now, all the best lectures will be free on the Web and that it will be better than any university. Gates is a college dropout himself and a member in the billionaire drop-out club with others such as Sir Richard Branson, Ralph Lauren and Steve Jobs, to name a few.

As we all know, staying on top of the latest information and strategies in this industry takes a lot of initiative; every week is as rigorous as a college major in and of itself. Many of the industry’s leaders have been self-educated through trial and error and by immersing themselves in the profession 100 percent.

Breaking into Online Marketing Today

Companies are still trying to figure out how to qualify their applicants for positions like social media manager, SEO analyst or manager, online marketing manager and a slew of other new titles that have popped up in the past couple years.

Some people have already made a name for themselves by becoming leaders in an aspect on online marketing; there’s Bruce Clay on SEO, of course, people like Marty Weintraub on Facebook and Tim Ash on conversions, to name just a few. Most companies would probably understand they are experts in their field and well qualified to run their online strategy, whatever it may be.

But what about the people that aren’t national speakers or don’t own businesses of their own? What about those that haven’t yet built up credibility as the go-to pro? And doesn’t it also seem like everyone and their mother is a “social media strategist” or “Internet marketing expert” these days? So, how will we begin to accredit this?

A little research on open positions for social media and online marketing brought up job descriptions with all-over-the-board degree requirements in:

• Business
• Marketing
• Journalism
• Public relations
• Mass communication
• Technology

I did happen to find some management-type positions that did not require a degree of any sort. A host of questions flooded my mind:

• Are the aforementioned degrees really the best qualifications for the job?
• Are businesses just looking for any college degree to show some sort of self-discipline and accomplishment?
• Is industry experience in Internet marketing the new college degree?

University Majors Transforming

I majored in communications at San Diego State University and was required to take an array of journalism, public relations and mass communications courses. It was drilled into our heads over and over that the gatekeepers of information were the traditional media. This was in the early to mid-2000s. There was no major focus on the online aspect. Social media was around but it really went as far as MySpace and even then, only the music industry was involved, business-wise.

I decided to get in touch with one of my former professors at SDSU, Dr. Bey-Ling Sha, to ask her a few questions about how the curriculum has changed to meet the growing demand for professionals who know how to market online, and also how it has changed the way we look at traditional media.

Me: Has the communications major shifted focus to teach more about the social media and online phenomenon that is occurring?
Dr. Sha: First, you should understand the School of Journalism and Media Studies separated from the School of Communication in 2007. JMS majors now graduate with B.A. in journalism, not communication. So, my responses pertain only to majors in journalism, media studies, advertising and public relations; not to the communication studies major. Yes, of course, we’ve included social and digital media in all aspects of the curriculum.

Me: What year did it make this shift?
Dr. Sha: Definitely by 2007.

Me: How does the major integrate it into its curriculum?
Dr. Sha: Each class does it differently. In JMS 481, which is Public Relations Media & Methods, we integrate social media with traditional public relations tactics and tools.

Me: Do you expect the curriculum to be rapidly changing every semester to keep up?
Dr. Sha: No. we can’t keep changing the curriculum, per se. Plus, the official curriculum change process takes at least a year. The fastest way to incorporate social and digital media is for individual classes to make the changes within the confines of the existing course descriptions.

Me: How has it changed the way the school sees mass communication? For example, when I was in the major, the traditional media were still positioned as the gatekeepers.
Dr. Sha: Mass communication is still there, and traditional media are not going way. They are just changing. Traditional news media are still gatekeepers in many ways, although there is some evidence that new media are agenda-builders for certain segments of traditional media.

I wanted to see if other universities were adapting quickly to this new online profession. A quick search for online marketing-type degrees at accredited four-year universities pulled up several majors in information science, marketing and other traditional degrees that alluded to the fact that there might be an online focus, but it was a bit fuzzy. I did find one college, Maryville University in St. Louis, offering a Bachelor of Science in Internet marketing (Is it bad that I chuckled at the school’s degree title, “Internet Marketing B.S.”?)

But if my conversation with Dr. Sha was any indication, the ability to change curriculum within a university system may be too bureaucratic of a process for it to stay up-to-date with the changing industry.

The Future of Qualification

As with many new professions, it’s a struggle to reach the point where it becomes a truly recognized professional focus. Oftentimes, it takes a university or some sort of third-party accreditation to make it so.

An example of this is the public relations profession. For years, it was also a Wild West type profession similar to Internet marketing. It got to the point where companies knew they needed it, but there wasn’t formal education or accreditation available for the professional they were hiring. Now, there’s college degrees from a multitude of universities, and post-graduate certifications from professional organizations like the Public Relations Society of America.

For now in the Internet marketing industry, we have options like Bruce Clay’s SEO training, which transfers up-to-date knowledge from expert to public. But, I am curious to find out how the industry will continue to evolve, what educational requirements businesses will have of its Internet marketers in the future and how we will begin to accredit the practice.

So, my questions to all of you are:

• What sort of requirements, educational or not, does your business look for to show ability in Internet marketing, whether it’s for a staff position, mid-senior role or executive-level leadership?
• As a professional, have you found that a degree, experience or initiative has weighed more heavily in furthering your career in some aspect Internet marketing?
• If you were to go (back) to school for a degree to further you career in some aspect of Internet marketing, what major would you choose?
• If you decided to pursue a non-university education to further your career in Internet marketing, what would you do?
• Do you suggest we begin to accredit the concentrations within Internet marketing? If so, how?

The post Qualifying Internet Marketers: What Education Matters? appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

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In the article, Bruce talks about the tools that SEOs use and how they must adapt to the ever-changing goals of the search engines. And because you’re all such loyal readers, I’m going to give you the CliffsNotes, so to speak, in case you want to skip class aka only really have time to skim a shortened version and hopefully your brain registers some of it.

In his article, Bruce points out the major changes that have occurred with search engines that make rankings a complicated little thing:

• Personalized search: Depending on a user’s prior searches, bookmarks and websites visited, the search engines try to interpret what the user is really searching for with any given query.
• Behavioral search: A search engine can monitor the behavior for all users of a particular query and make predictions for the results based on a community-level understanding.
• Intent-based search: Search engines try to understand what the intention of the user is based on the query, for example, research, commerce or something else.
• Localization: Depending on the user’s location, search engines tailor the results to the geographic area.

New updates to the way search engines work require that the tools in a person’s SEO arsenal must also evolve. No longer can people solely rely on a print out of a ranking report to gauge success. The new tools must work harder and develop faster than ever before to keep up with the changing search marketing industry. Just some of the features SEO tools should have today, says Bruce, include:

• Features for assisting geotargeting efforts.
• Features that make optimizing simple for search engines other than just Google.
• Tools that offer mulitbrowser compatibility and work just as well on a Mac as they do on a PC.
• Features for multilanguage support as search marketing continues to go global.
• Features that allow research to be more convenient, serving up info like keyword stats, daily activity, demographics and so on, without ever leaving the SERP.

Check out the full article, “Retooling the SEO Tool Belt,” on VisibilityMagazine.com for more tidbits from Bruce on how search is changing, and the free and subscription-based tools you can use to stay ahead of the game.

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