Every year, it seems as though somewhere, someone asks the question: Is SEO dead?
And inevitably…the answer is no. You’d simply have to attend something like BrightonSEO to see for yourself.
BrightonSEO is a flagship SEO event in the industry and twice a year search marketing professionals flood the south coast of the UK for two days of expert talks, fringe conferences and training sessions.
With over a hundred talks and panels addressing a range of subjects from AI, SGE, and helpful content to unleashing your e-commerce potential, there was so much to learn and so many actionable tips, that it would be impossible to fathom this to be a languishing industry.
As you can imagine, with so many conferences, we couldn’t be everywhere. But, here are some highlights from the conferences we did attend and what we thought to be the interesting takeaways.
Rin Hamburgh – How to leverage subject matter experts to create EEAT-boosting super content
Quick summary
In her talk, Rin Hamburgh shed light on the importance of expertise in modern SEO. She emphasized that although E-E-A-T is not a ranking factor, they are elements that are regularly checked by the quality raters and Google continues to improve their quality ranking algorithm. Given the context, you should leverage subject matter experts to create quality content. You can either turn to internal experts (consultants, CTOs, product leads) or reach out to external ones (partners, influencers, users).
Source: @colletteontour on X (Twitter)
Key takeaways
There are two main methods to leverage experts, be they internal or external, when creating content Google can see:
- Get experts to create content;
- Get experts to validate your content.
Each method presents its own pros and cons.
Experts creating content
While relying on copywriters can reduce the time it takes to produce content and is low cost, it is sometimes complicated because this method often requires a lot of support. It depends upon a “content champion” that will:
- Provide the right editorial briefs.
- Ensure copywriters employ the right tone of voice, one that is similar to that of your blog/site/brand.
- Make certain they follow the right SEO guidelines.
Experts validating your content
On the other hand, you can also choose to create your content in-house and turn to SEO experts to validate or correct it.
The advantage is that you have total control over the editorial and SEO aspects, but it requires a lot more resources.
Working with experts is the key to E-E-A-T success. Although it takes time and the validation processes can be complicated, the benefits are worth the effort.
If you would like to see the full deck, you can find it here.
Anna Moragli – Cross-channel e-commerce SEO integration: boost visibility, multiply sales
Quick summary
Anna Moragli’s talk was particularly interesting for those in the e-commerce industry. She explained that by leveraging advanced personas and multi-channel strategies, businesses can enhance their online visibility and drive conversions across various platforms.
Looking at a number of different channels, from social media to Amazon, Moragli provided actionable insights for maximizing your SEO impact.
Key takeaways
Morgali pointed out that the sales cycle is getting longer and longer and consumers are taking more time to make a purchase.
Single keyword searches can hide a whole host of other very interesting queries and this is where the long-tail keyword strategy comes into play.
- Start by building advanced personas; including feelings, pain points, tasks, goals and benefits.
- Based on those personas, define your KPIs, and then the strategy to be implemented.
- Next, define and implement your multi-channel approach:
- Use high volume and long-tail keywords to generate social media posts.
- Use your top content on Pinterest, TikTok and Youtube.
- Use long-tail keywords on Amazon.
- Combine SEO and SEM paid advertising.
Pascalle Bergmans – Stories that sell: turning lurkers into leads
Quick summary
Pascalle Bergmans captivated the audience with her insights into the art of storyselling (and also with possibly one of the best outfits at Brighton).
Pascalle Bergmans at BrightonSEO
By understanding and connecting with your audience on a deeper level, Bergmans revealed the transformative power of storytelling in driving conversions. As she revealed, stories that sell can result in a staggering 30% increase in conversions.
Key takeaways
- The key to converting visitors into regular clients is knowing and understanding your audience.
- Connect to your audience by communicating, persuading, deciding and trusting.
- Storytelling is important because it builds emotional urgency that ends in a decision.
- The key elements of a good story: problem, challenge, solution, new world, the results + a good CTA.
The full speaker deck is available online.
Emilio Takas – Thriving in competitive niches without backlinks
Quick summary
Emilio Takas shared an interesting study about the SEO strategy he implemented that enabled his site to thrive in the ultra-competitive world of iGaming.
Focusing on technical and on-page SEO, Takas highlighted the power of internal links and evergreen content. By strategically leveraging these pillars, he achieved a remarkable 71% increase in natural backlinks without an off-page strategy.
Key takeaways
- Technical SEO is the first pillar you must work on, if not everything else won’t work!
- The most important thing is internal links based on a smart anchor text strategy.
- Evergreen content is very important. It is content that will never get old, so it should rank for years.
Emilio Takas at BrightonSEO
Rad Paluszak – From algorithmic penalty to 373% revenue increase
Quick summary
Rad Paluszak enlightened attendees with a detailed case study that outlined how he was able to bounce back from a 40% traffic drop after an algorithmic penalty. From identifying duplicate content to optimizing site structure, Paluszak emphasized three main steps in his process and also pointed out the importance of a holistic approach to SEO. As he aptly stated, “It’s not one thing you did or didn’t do; it’s everything – the whole picture.”
Source: @radpaluszak on X (Twitter)
Key takeaways
- His SEO action plan to turn around the traffic drop had three steps:
- SEO audit, strategy and implementation;
- Penalty analysis;
- Growth planning.
- Find balance between automation and personalization.
- Work smart: strategize, set goals and assess.
You can find the full deck here.
Wrapping up
That’s a wrap for this edition of BrightonSEO. There were so many engaging and insightful talks and we were really inspired by the speaker line-up. We only scratched the surface in this recap considering how many talks there were, so let us know what some of your favorites were on our social media channels!
We look forward to seeing what’s in store for the October edition.
