Kevin Gibbons

Simple SEO strategies for soaring up the SERPs

As a search engine optimisation (SEO) professional, I naturally believe the best way to secure good placement in the search engine results pages (SERPs) is to invest in the services of a good SEO agency. However, that does not mean there are not a number of steps a company can take on its own.

What can a company do by itself to help it rise in the results? Here are some simple SEO strategies you may wish to employ as a starting point for your site...

by Kevin Gibbons 14 April 2009 12:39pm 5 comments

Seriously stupid socialising: how to ruin writing

Engaging with potential customers through social media is one of the key tactics I urge clients to undertake. Blogging, getting involved in forums, creating social spaces and visiting consumers in their own webspace, social media effort enjoys a great deal of success.

Of course, by virtue of being online, the majority of such engagement is made through written copy, with a small amount taking place through online video. While the potential for such marketing is huge, it is frighteningly easy to get wrong, risking reputation and consumer wrath.

Here are my main concerns when it comes to online copy – as always, leave a comment if you think I've missed any.

by Kevin Gibbons 07 April 2009 10:00am 5 comments

Recessionary reasons for really ramping up online marketing

Isn't it a shame when you can't finish a headline alliteratively? Anyway, despite the odd politician claiming they can already see the green shoots of recovery, the economic downturn continues to kick the nation's finances squarely in the groin.

Fortunately for my industry, there are many financial savvy reasons for continuing to spend money on search engine optimisation (SEO) and other online marketing strategies. I have listed the ones I consider most pertinent below but please feel free to add more.

by Kevin Gibbons 30 March 2009 09:32am 1 comment

A treatise on the ethics of search engine optimisation

Search engine optimisation (SEO) and the online marketing sector as a whole may not present the most ethically challenging jobs in the world but it does offer a few moral predicaments.

We may not need to wrestle with thorny moral debates on the nature of personhood or seek to justify wars, but we are still challenged regularly by everyday small moral queries, which I suppose is true of any role.

Here are a few of the routine debates an SEO executive may encounter. Let me know if you think I have missed any and we can furrow our respective brows and thrash it out in the comments page.

by Kevin Gibbons 25 March 2009 09:40am 2 comments

The lesser-blogged benefits of building brand loyalty

While I often argue that social media marketing is an excellent way to build brand loyalty, it occurred to me recently that the benefits of such consumer commitment may not be immediately obvious to all marketers.

Clearly, customers who are engaged with a brand are less likely to leave for a competitor. That is the main perk of consumer loyalty but some marketers may question whether that is enough to justify the effort (and therefore budget) needed to build those relationships. After all, that cash could have been spent on developing a new customer base.

by Kevin Gibbons 17 March 2009 10:01am 1 comment

5 top tips for SEO customer service

Usually my articles are directed at the search engine optimisation (SEO) customer, the entrepreneur or marketer looking to boost their online business through search.

Today though, I want to explore how we sector professionals interact with these customers, how we deal with them and how we can get the best out of our working relationships.

by Kevin Gibbons 01 December 2008 09:44am 8 comments

5 Most Annoying SEO Myths

The world of search engine optimisation (SEO) is filled with mythology and misinformation.

Because it is an entirely online industry, it has one of the most active web communities. This includes forums, blogs and online debate but also endless badly-written articles, misleading guides and just plain lies.

by Kevin Gibbons 24 November 2008 09:00am 23 comments

A beginner's guide to optimising video content

It is becoming increasingly important to consider search engine optimisation (SEO) tactics when creating video or any non-text content.

As the web becomes an increasingly competitive marketplace, companies are striving to build dynamic, exciting, thrilling pages to capture their consumers' confidence.

by Kevin Gibbons 18 November 2008 09:30am 2 comments

Creating cracking corporate content

Although decent organic search engine optimisation (SEO) continues to rely hugely on content, the standard of copy needed to work effectively continues to rise.

It used to be that some fairly horrific keyword stuffing could see a website soaring up the rankings, but fortunately now the portals look for ways to assess copy's popularity and usefulness.

by Kevin Gibbons 10 November 2008 09:00am 1 comment

Five frequent & frustrating SEO fallacies

It is a fact of our business that quite a number of people do not really understand the world of search.

This is perfectly understandable. When I take a watch to be fixed, I do not get embarrassed because I don't know what is wrong with it. I know it needs to be fixed and I hand it over to someone who can help.

by Kevin Gibbons 23 October 2008 10:00am 2 comments