Where should a company start with SEO?

It depends on the company type. E-commerce companies should focus on site architecture for scalability. Media companies can leverage tools like Google Search Console to see what's working and double down on those areas. The key is to understand what content is driving traffic and conversions.

What's the most important type of content for SEO?

Raw text content is crucial for SEO as it's easiest for search engines to parse. While images enhance user experience, the core of SEO content should be well-written text that thoroughly describes products or services.

How can a service company generate SEO traffic?

Start by creating content directly related to your services (e.g., 'unclogging drains' for a plumber). Then, expand to content further up the buying funnel, covering best practices or related topics. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner and Google Search Console to identify relevant queries.

What are the best practices for images in SEO?

Ensure images are titled with relevant keywords (e.g., 'coffee-mugs.jpg') and utilize descriptive alt text. This helps with ranking in Google Images, which is a substantial search engine.

Are links still important for SEO?

Yes, links are still very important but quality and relevance are key, not just quantity. Google values links from authoritative and relevant sources. Creating interesting content that naturally earns links is the most effective strategy.

How can I optimize my website for international audiences?

Create a subdirectory (e.g., example.com/zh/) for translated content and use language selectors. Ensure payment gateways and shipping options support international customers. For specific markets like China, local hosting and a separate domain may be necessary.

How does GDPR affect SEO?

GDPR positively impacts SEO by necessitating clear privacy policies that serve as cross-links across a site. It also reduces reliance on paid advertising due to tracking limitations, shifting focus and budget towards organic efforts.

What metrics should I use to measure SEO success?

Focus on growth in SEO traffic and, if possible, the dollar value generated from that traffic. Avoid solely measuring keyword rankings, as these are not within your direct control and can fluctuate based on Google's algorithm changes.

Key Moments

SEO Advice from SurveyMonkey Director of SEO and Growth, Eli Schwartz

Y Combinator

Science & Technology4 min read53 min video

Sep 27, 2018|17,602 views|340|21

YC Y Combinator Eli Schwartz Survey Monkey Podcast Interview SEO Growth

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Key Moments

TL;DR

SEO is vital for growth. Focus on user experience, quality content, and strategic link-building for sustainable results.

Key Insights

SEO remains crucial in 2018 and beyond, especially as other acquisition channels become more expensive.

Start SEO by understanding your core business, e-commerce requires strong architecture, while media companies should cross-link content.

Amazon excels at SEO through meticulous site structure for crawlability, ensuring every product is discoverable.

Prioritize raw text content and user experience; images enhance UX and offer SEO benefits via Google Images.

Link building is about quality and relevance, not quantity, often stemming from PR-worthy content.

GDPR presents SEO opportunities by boosting organic efforts as paid tracking diminishes, and privacy policies aid cross-linking.

THE ENDURING IMPORTANCE OF SEO

In 2018, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not just relevant but essential for business growth. As traditional acquisition channels like paid media and social media organic reach become increasingly expensive and less effective, SEO emerges as a vital, often untapped, channel. Companies that previously relied on other methods are now turning to SEO to drive acquisition and gain a competitive edge. Investing in SEO is seen as unlocking a channel that has already been driving business organically, with the potential for significant returns on intentional investment.

GETTING STARTED: TAILORED SEO APPROACHES

The starting point for SEO strategy depends heavily on the nature of the business. For e-commerce companies, a foundational focus on site architecture is paramount, ideally considered before platform selection to ensure scalability for thousands of products. Media companies, conversely, can maximize content value through extensive cross-linking of articles, making older content discoverable for new, relevant searches. For broader businesses, leveraging Google Search Console to identify what's working and merging that with analytics data to see what converts is key to directing efforts towards building more relevant content and conversion elements.

EXCELLENCE IN EXECUTION: AMAZON AND MEDIA LEADERS

Companies like Amazon exemplify exceptional SEO by ensuring their vast inventory is fully crawlable, with no 'orphan pages.' Their site structure guarantees that every product, regardless of its niche, is cross-linked, allowing search engine bots to discover and index them efficiently. This meticulous organization enables products to rank for relevant queries. Media companies also achieve strong SEO by maximizing content discoverability through strategic cross-linking, creating a web of interconnected articles that can draw traffic even for older, less timely topics if they become relevant to a current search query.

CONTENT IS KING: RAW TEXT AND USER EXPERIENCE

The emphasis in SEO content remains on raw text, which is easiest for search engines to parse. While images and JavaScript enhance user experience, excessive reliance on them can hinder SEO performance, as search engines may struggle to interpret dynamic content in real-time. For product descriptions, more detailed content is generally better, as it increases relevance across a wider range of keywords. However, this content must be substantive and not merely filled with empty keywords; user engagement and conversion are the ultimate goals, making descriptive content and user reviews valuable if they genuinely add value.

STRATEGIC LINK BUILDING AND CONTENT DISTRIBUTION

Link building remains critical for SEO, but the focus has shifted from quantity to quality and relevance. Instead of accumulating numerous links, the goal is to acquire links from authoritative and related sources that signal credibility. This often aligns closely with public relations (PR) efforts, where creating compelling, shareable content can naturally attract links from media outlets and blogs. Proactive distribution through social sharing and directory listings can initiate this process, building discovery and eventually leading to valuable backlinks that enhance a site's authority and ranking potential.

NAVIGATING MOBILE, INTERNATIONAL SEO, AND GDPR

Mobile-first indexing and user behavior necessitate optimizing for smaller screens, with a focus on ranking in the top three results due to reduced screen real estate. Internationally, SEO requires localization, potentially through subdirectories for different languages rather than entirely separate domains. However, true international reach also demands addressing local search engines like Baidu for China, which necessitates local hosting and compliance with regional regulations. Furthermore, GDPR, while presenting new privacy challenges, offers SEO benefits by de-emphasizing paid tracking, pushing budgets towards organic efforts, and utilizing privacy policy pages as a form of site-wide cross-linking.

EVALUATING SEO TALENT AND MEASURING SUCCESS

Effective SEO professionals are highly creative, curious, analytical, and possess a hypothesis-driven approach informed by Google's guidelines. When hiring, look for entrepreneurial spirit and problem-solving skills, using interview questions to assess their critical thinking, such as how they'd react to a sudden loss of organic traffic. Success should be measured by traffic growth and its impact on business goals (e.g., leads, revenue), not by keyword rankings, which are volatile. A 90-day plan for strategy development and continuous iteration based on performance data are key indicators of an SEO specialist's effectiveness.

ESSENTIAL SEO TOOLS AND THE PATH TO EXPERTISE

A robust SEO toolkit includes Google Analytics for tracking traffic and conversions, Google Search Console for performance insights and technical issues, and tools like Ahrefs for keyword research and backlink analysis. Technical SEO benefits from crawlers like Screaming Frog or Xenu Link Sleuth to audit site structure, metadata, and identify issues. For aspiring SEOs, practical experience is paramount. Starting with personal projects, like creating content around a niche topic and observing its performance, is more valuable than formal courses. The journey involves genuine curiosity, testing ideas, and adapting to the evolving digital landscape.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Organizations

●Books

●People Referenced

SEO Best Practices: Do's and Don'ts

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Focus on creating high-quality, raw text content centered around user intent.

Ensure your site architecture is crawlable and free of orphan pages.

Use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to understand performance and iterate.

Optimize images with descriptive file names and alt text for Google Images.

Be proactive with distribution; paid traffic can supplement organic growth.

Create interesting content that naturally earns links and PR.

Consider international SEO by localizing content and using subdirectories for different languages.

Understand GDPR's impact and leverage it for cross-linking and organic focus.

Avoid This

Do not buy links; this is against Google's guidelines.

Avoid 'black hat' tactics like hiding text for crawlers or creating content solely to rank.

Do not rely on outdated tactics like meta keywords.

Do not build separate websites for different countries; use subdirectories.

Avoid machine-translated content for critical pages if accuracy is paramount.

Do not measure SEO success solely by keyword rankings or page one results.

Do not ignore mobile optimization; aim for the top 3 results.

Common Questions

Yes, SEO absolutely matters and will continue to do so. Other channels like paid media and PR have become significantly more expensive and less effective for acquisition, making SEO an essential and often untapped channel for generating significant returns.

Topics

Technology & Innovation Business & Entrepreneurship Search Engine Optimization Content Marketing Link Building Technical SEO Keyword Research SEO Strategy Website Architecture International SEO Mobile SEO GDPR Compliance

Mentioned in this video

Books

SEO for Dummies

A book mentioned as an example of basic SEO practices that companies might have followed in the past.

Companies

A platform that has effectively utilized SEO for images, often appearing in Google search results for visual queries.

Y Combinator

A startup accelerator mentioned as an example of a company with existing traffic, where SEO idea testing can be faster.

Facebook

A social media platform where organic reach has become more difficult, leading to increased costs for paid traffic.

Google

The search engine company whose algorithms and practices are the central focus of the discussion on SEO.

Amazon

An e-commerce company that excels at SEO due to its structure, enabling discovery of billions of SKUs.

A professional networking platform where Eli Schwartz is active and responds to messages, making it a good way to connect with him.

Software & Apps

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

A highly recommended crawler tool for technical SEO audits, used to imitate Google's crawl of a site and identify issues like redirects and duplicate content.

Google Search Console

A recommended tool for businesses to see what's working in terms of traffic and identify areas for improvement.

Xenu Link Sleuth

A free link crawling tool for Windows, similar to Screaming Frog, useful for technical SEO analysis.

SurveyMonkey

The company where the speaker, Eli Schwartz, works as Director of SEO and Growth.

Google Keyword Planner

A tool used to research keywords related to a business, providing ideas and search volume data.

Google Analytics

A tool used to track website traffic, conversions, and content performance, helping to identify best-performing content.

Bing

A search engine that some companies explore for potential market opportunities when other paid channels become too expensive.

Ahrefs

A popular paid SEO tool with a keyword tool that can provide ideas for content creation.

Legislation & Policy

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation, which has positively impacted SEO by increasing the importance of privacy policies and reducing reliance on paid advertising.

People

John Edwards

A public figure mentioned in relation to Michael Schwartz's early SEO experiments with mesothelioma keywords, where content about him also drove traffic.

Eli Schwartz

Director of SEO and Growth at SurveyMonkey and the primary speaker in the video, sharing advice on SEO.