Where PRs are failing in SEO: Tim Barlow interview

And just before Tim shares his wisdom, remember that the DADI Awards entries close tomorrow, May 31).

In terms of SEO are we settled back into routines after the Panda/Penguin updates? Have lessons been learned and everyone knows what the new benchmarks are? Are people sticking to them or are there still cowboys out there?

The routine has always been one of algorithm updates so, in that sense, Penguin and Panda are nothing new, just the next evolution. Can we expect less disruption going forward? No! If anything the pace will increase and it’s going to get more and more difficult to read and diagnose.

Have lessons been learned? With every update, some lessons are learned and there are always voices (including mine) preaching the “good content” message but unfortunately many simply chose not to hear them and continue to look for the quick fix.

Are we at a stage now where companies understand the benefits of SEO or are there still industries and areas resistant?

Not yet. Especially with business to business, there are still many companies large and small who believe “clients don’t go to search engines to find companies like ours”. As a result they completely miss the opportunity to become trusted advisors to prospects long before they are in purchase mode.

What’s best: a m. website and desktop site or one responsive website for everything?

One responsive website (there are exceptions of course)

What’s your essential must-have SEO tools and why?

Creative Ideas. For a less “soap box” answer: Google AdWords Keyword Tool, SEOMoz Tools, ScreamingFrog

We see SEOs moving more towards producing content and not just chasing backlinks. Are we seeing social media types trying to poach into SEO space at the same time?

In terms of skills, no, not really but in terms of marketing message very much so. There is an increasing belief that all you need is some good content marketing and ranks will appear automatically. This is actually true to an extent but only in a world where everybody is doing their job properly (developers fully appreciate technical SEO, marketers fully understand keyword insights, UX designers live and breath “persuasion”, directors genuinely “get” digital etc etc).

The advantage many SEOs have is that they have always required a varied and agile skill set. So whilst SEO may no longer be the online marketing top dog, the mindset of an SEO is to evolve and adapt.

There’s also nothing new about content marketing as part of the SEO mix. Brett Tabke’s influential 26 steps WebmasterWorld post from 2002 had content marketing at it’s heart. What has changed though is the need to need to take the “quality” part of “quality content” more seriously. The Metro-esque “just good enough” level of content no longer makes the SEO grade.

What one tip could you give Microsoft to try and have Bing topple Google?

Sell before it’s too late (there’s lots I like about Bing but I can’t see the parent being able to give Bing the support and mentorship it needs)

What’s your favourite campaign you’ve worked on and why?

It would be politically correct to name a client of course but actually my own role is more internally focused so it is the current work I am doing on Attacat that I find even more rewarding. Invariably working on our presence allows us to put into practise everything we’ve learned and to not have ambition constrained by budget.

I do still get involved in client work though and at the moment I’m really enjoying working on Highland Titles (who are creating one of the world’s most innovatively funded nature reserves) and EnergySys (innovative production allocation software for the oil industry). In both cases it’s the combination of really interesting product and entrepreneurial owners that float my boat.

In your eyes, what individuals or firms gets SEO and does it right (apart from yourself obviously)?

It’s becoming a cliched answer but Red Bull are a company who just get “it” and I suspect they do it all without ever worrying about ranks. An SEO might describe the Stratos skydive from space as 2012’s best linkbait campaign even if they wouldn’t/shouldn’t use the phrase “linkbait” in public. Dorset Cereals is another example I’m using a lot at the moment. Sadly neither are clients!

Another group who seem to get it are technology start-up entrepreneurs. Perhaps because disrupting your industry is arguably an SEO tactic.

The PR world was slow to catch up to the possibilities of SEO. Do you think it should be an essential part of any PR practictioners tools, especially for a crisis?

SEO is more of a mindset than a tool but yes, PRs do need to have that mindset. They need an understanding of searcher intent and how to provide searchers with answers. They also need to appreciate how the internet has changed audiences. Do they need to understand the ins and outs of technical SEO? No. They just need to be able to recognise whether or not a company has the ranks it deserves and know where to turn for help.

In terms of crisis management, I think it is less about being able to do SEO and more about realising that search results play an important part in a crisis. In other words, developing the culture that makes monitoring brand rankings a regular activity is more difficult than the actual crisis search engine optimisation itself. If we are talking reputation management in search results (dealing with more deep seated rot) then an SEO mindset is clearly more critical.

What’s coming next from Google that’s going to cause impact on the industry? Or should we focus elsewhere than on Google?

If you’d asked that question a year ago I’d have said watch Apple and Facebook given the audiences they control. However the offerings they’ve produced in the interim look lame in comparison to the innovation coming out of Google. We definitely shouldn’t ignore the vertical search engines though (Amazon, Ebay, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Skyscanner etc) as they are chipping away at parts of the Google search share.

Google have been doing a lot of talking about artificial intelligence of late. We’ve seen them learn to recognise cats in images which may sound entertaining, but actually the sophistication of what they can now deploy seems to be underestimated by most. I think it will only accelerate the move out of what is seen as traditional SEO to organic marketing.

Developments such as Google Now and Google Glass mean that focus will move away from just rankings to working to appear in the right place at the right time (“context”). Will it be your company appearing in someone’s eye as they ask a question at a time and a place where you are the perfect organisation to answer that question?

Do you have one SEO takeaway tip that you could share?

Add value (if you are doing something that doesn’t add value to your target audience, do something else).

Google talks a good game in terms of punishing people for not following best practice but there still seem to be a lot of sites out there getting away with black hat tactics. Does this annoy you? What can be done about it?

It certainly doesn’t irritate me. I’ve never been the sort of SEO to surf the algorithm and instead have always sought to understand the direction of Google and what it wants to have ranking (“Want to be no 1 for a term? Be the best site for that term”).

That’s an approach that has always stood me in good stead and I’ve long accepted that the black hat work will not come our way as we have never been geared up to deliver it. It’s easy to not be irritated by the effectiveness of black hat tactics when you can see white hat tactics also working.

At Attacat, we can look back at those who adopted our recommendations years and years ago and watch them continue to benefit from the algorithm-resistant “base” put in place back then. Had they chosen the black hat route, then at some point they would have lost rankings and would be having to spend money on a “clean-up” (a bit like the nuclear industry, the cost of cleaning up after the tactics have served their purpose, is rarely factored into any cost benefit analysis).

What can we do about it? The short answer is nothing. It’s just important we don’t get caught up in the crossfire. Google are as aware as anybody of the problem, and I believe they will continue to raise the bar. The cost of doing black hat is going up and I certainly believe that it exceeds the cost of “best practice”.

Sadly though it’s not just about cost as best practice invariably requires a business to change. This isn’t a change of the SEO approach, it’s a change of the very raison d’etre of a business, and that is why we still have quite a long way to go before black hat will no longer be able to provide a quick fix alternative.

What’s the most annoying thing in the SEO industry at the moment?

1. Businesses who still think SEO is a tick box exercise
2. SEO businesses that seek to take advantage of businesses who still think SEO is a tick box exercise.