This post is aimed at those in the SEO/Online Marketing Industry, if you have no interest in the industry you might find this a little dull, if you do read on

I have numerous requests now asking for a post along the lines of “a day in the life of an SEO consultant” or “a day in an SEO Agency”, obviously there is an increasing amount of interest in the Search Marketing industry and people want to know more about how it works.

I guess the main issue with writing a post like this is that every agency, every consultant and every in house team will differ in their approach to SEO and Online Marketing in general. The type of clients you service has a massive impact on the techniques you use and the resources available. Some clients literally just want to see a report every month, other clients want to be actively involved in the processes, and neither is wrong, just different.

So in this post I want to give you an honest insight into the processes and departments at Branded3, of course some things I can’t disclose in the interest of the company but I will try and give you the best insight possible into roles, processes and responsibilities.

Link Building

I think the best place to start is link building, the link building team are the back bone of any good SEO outfit, and these aren’t just spammers who get links here, there and everywhere. Our link building team are looking for ‘quality’ links and we have weekly meetings discussing link strategy and creative new ways to get links, if we wanted to just spam everywhere we could outsource it for a few hundred dollars, that’s not our aim and if you’re a serious SEO outfit you need to start producing quality.

When brainstorming link building for a particular client we consider the following sort of questions:-

- What does our client have to attract links?

- Does anything need creating in order to attract links?

- What types of websites are relevant to our clients’ product?

- What other products are relevant to our clients?

- What leverage is needed to acquire the links?

- What is the competition doing?

We try and get the whole SEO department involved in this process in an attempt to be as creative as possible, we have a select time each week to discuss the link building requirements of every client we service and tend to stumble upon new ideas every week.

Just a quick note on leverage……

I know after reading the above points some of you are going to be asking “hmmm, leverage = Paid links???”………. I am not going to turn this into a paid links debate but I will say this, If a link looks like a paid link it is going to be devalued whether money passed hands or not. So if you have a blogroll link that you got from a good friend and they have 20 other blogging friends that pass good anchor text, the chances are these will be classed as paid even though you never spent a dime.

So, with regards to leverage and link acquisition in general, all I will say is ‘be smart’.

Typically our links builders will perform the following tasks;

• Competition Analysis
• Viral Marketing Brainstorming and Implementation
• Create and maintain online relationships
• Source relevant links agreed upon in client meetings
• Report to Head of Search on rankings, link acquisitions and quality details

We have a very strict quality process with regards to acquiring links taking into account:

- Pagerank

- Moz Metrics

- Inbound Links

- Outbound Links

- Indexation

- Trust

- Relevance

These are obviously very broad but it gives you a good idea of what we look for in a typical link.

We tend to avoid using our link building team for acquiring directory links, article links or press releases, not because these types of links are worthless but because we can outsource them relatively easy whilst still having a say over the quality. We differentiate between premium links and ‘content/user generated links’ they all have a place but we prefer to use our internal resources to develop quality link acquisitions.

On Page Optimisation, Keyword Research and Site Auditing

I and Patrick are both firm believers in on page optimisation and the effects it can have on the traffic of any website.

We have an ‘on page team’ who constantly work on enhancing the content and general optimisation of our clients. The tasks we complete are varied but the main aim is to better target page keywords and to fill in any gaps with lucrative terms, what Patrick refers to as ‘gap analysis’.

A typical site audit involves the following;

• Keyword Research
• Page optimisation – completed on every page of a website
• Site Architecture
• URL Structuring
• Internal Linking
• Content Brainstorming

Some of these practices merge and every client has different needs with regards to content and on page issues, however when a new client relationship begins we always start with an audit making sure everything is in place ready for the link building to begin.

Our content team work extremely close with the Pay Per Click side of Branded3 ensuring the keywords we are targeting are the most profitable and that traffic potential is as accurate as possible, often even if we don’t take care of the PPC for a particular client we ask for access to their Adwords campaign.

Pay Per Click

At Branded3 we class ourselves as ‘natural search’ experts, however we also get involved in the search marketing side of things, our intention was clear when we launched ppcagencies.org.

Our aim with Search Engine Marketing is probably the same as every other agency, we are constantly looking to reduce costs and increase conversions producing the best possible ROI. We see PPC as an ongoing management task, much like SEO, removing unprofitable keywords, increasing ad copy and landing page relevancy and ensuring our clients ads are seen at the most profitable times in the most profitable locations.

We report and discuss on PPC activities weekly so we can quickly get on top of any account issues.

Our main platform is obviously Google Adwords, however, we do use Facebook and MSN ads with limited effect if I am honest.

The Many Meetings

Yes here at Branded3 Search we are no different to any other agency and have a diary full of meetings including;

- Client Updates and Reports

- Traffic and Conversion Analysis

- New Business Meetings

- Brainstorming and Planning

- One to One Consultant Meetings

- Team Meetings and Feedback

- Training and HR

It can seem like a lot of time spent discussing instead of doing but if carried out efficiently meetings are essential to the success of the business. They help us prioritise, plan and implement, often you will find that someone has a great idea about how we can improve a particular campaign but unless they have a formal procedure in which to put forward their ideas they will never do it. These meetings allow us to stay on top of the major goals for each client and encourage creativity on all levels.

A Typical Day

A typical day for anyone in the online marketing industry will depend on their position, the clients they work with and the type of work they do (agency/in house/consultants). I head the search team at Branded3 Search and will give you a little insight into what a typical day for consists of;

8.15am – I try and hit the office at this time, however some of my colleagues may beg to differ . I spend the first hour of every morning going through my check list of urgent tasks and emails; this is an attempt to prioritise for the day and to ensure I complete what I’ve set out to do. Often they will be quick fixes such as emailing a client or answering a client query, however sometimes they can be large tasks such as hunting down an indexation issue or dealing with a severe rankings drop, these have to be scheduled in to be completed that day or week depending on urgency.

10.00am – We have a meeting with each member of the team to discuss the clients they are dealing with and how the campaign is doing in general (usually a weekly meeting). We discuss things such as;

• Links
• Traffic
• Viral campaigns
• Brainstorm new ideas
• Set action points for the month

We also discuss any potential issues or requests from the clients that are outside the norm….

12.00am – Lunch time!!!! This is usually spend at my desk with Fish and Chips Thursday being the highlight of the week!!

1.00pm – After lunch I like get my hands dirty with the link building, highlighting those clients that need an extra push that particular month and going out there and trying to create some fruitful relationships. I think it is important for any Head of Search/SEO Manager to get involved in the day to day search work. Not only does this keep them skilled in the practice but also allows them to better understand the issues consultants and analysts may be facing in their roles.

2.30pm – I will now look back to my task list and begin to work down them, the ones in the afternoon are the more time consuming issues and they can vary from sorting out bad press, problem solving on page issues, brainstorming viral ideas, advising on new page set up, diving into Google Analytics, communicating with PR companies and agreeing new terms with link partners. These are just a few of the many tasks I could deal with, I think that’s why I love the industry so much, it gives you the chance to work with a different problem every week, particularly within an agency environment.

4.30pm – I like to spend the last 30 mins to an hour checking in campaign process and seeing what links we have managed to acquire that particular day. We don’t have link targets as such; however what I will say is that I would prefer to see 2 Quality links at the end of any one day rather than 10 low quality links.

5.00-30pm – At the end of every day I spend time making sure I am ready for the following day with tasks clearly defined and important contacts recorded in the diary.

Of course there are a multitude of other things I do and times when office hours extend beyond the norm, however this should give anyone who is thinking about entering the industry a broad enough overview.

I realise not everyone that reads this SEO wizz is in the industry but hope this has been interesting to those that are.

If there are any posts anyone would like to see on here, just let me know, always happy to look at putting any sort of content together.

So many bloggers think they can simply put a blog together, submit to a handful of social sites and loads of traffic will come piling in, as I have said many times before this is not accurate.

If you are a blogger and you’re serious about making a living from blogging, then you have to invest like you would any business.

So where does Google Adwords fit in??

When I encourage bloggers to use Google adwords to give their blogs that necessary push I usually get the same responses;

“Adwords is too expensive”

“I don’t sell a product”

“How do I track conversions?”

“It’s just not measurable!”

Now when it comes to promoting your blog it is true the success of any PPC campaign can be difficult to measure but this really depends on your goals.

- Are you looking to attract readers?

- Do you sell an eBook?

- Do you have ads?

- Do you promote affiliate products?

Remember with Adwords you could fully optimise a page of your blog to promote a particular product or affiliate program and send relevant traffic straight to it.

However, even if you have no product at all you can still use Adwords to promote your blog and increase your brand and online visibiliy, let me give you a few tips about how to go about this;

Keep It Broad

When you first come to set up your Adwords campaign you are going to have to select keywords to use, then you can use keyword matching options to select either;

- Broad Keywords – This will display your ad to searches who use your keyword, any variations of it or even related keywords. This is great for branding and general exposure but not so brilliant for keeping click rates and conversion rates high.

- “Phrase Keywords” – These will activate your ad when a your keyword is used or any variation in the exact order. This is a much better way for increasing conversion rates but can mean a low click through rate.

- [Exact Match] – This means your ad will be activated only when the exact keyword search is used. Brilliant for maximising conversion and click through rates.

So which type of keywords do you think should be used to promote a blog? Well if you are selling a specific product you will probably want to go with the phrase match, however if you are simply trying to give your blog some exposure you need to stick to broad matches, this makes sure you get a good amount of impressions and your clicks are as cheap as possible.

A blogger’s main aim is to increase readership, if you can get 1000 clicks for 9p thats £90 spend, and you convert 10% into readers, this basically means you could increase your readership by 100 every month for £90. Obviously conversion rates are not all the same but if you create decent content and have a compelling opt in box there is a good chance your conversion rate may be higher.

Placement Ads

Ever since Google Adwords introduced it, this has been one of my favourite ways of attracting blog readers.

It allows you to place your adwords ad on targeted pages that are in the adsense program, so how are you going to take advantage of it?

Really easy, search for one of your main keywords and search down the top 20 results, then make a note of the ones that use adsense, and target them in your placements. You may even know popular blogs within your own niche that use adesense without searching for them, target them too.

Out of all the advertising methods this has made the biggest impact on readership and blog activity. The clickers are already reading a blog before they click your ad, this means their more likely to convert if your content is up to scratch.

Just a couple of final things to finish with.

If your aim is to increase readership then you need to create huge keyword lists, this ensures your using as many long tail keywords as possible and getting clicks for the lowest amounts. For this I suggest you head over to the Google Keyword Tool.

Do a “website keyword search” and this will show you all the keywords that relate to your sites content. It will even display keywords in keyword groups so you know exactly how to group your ads. This is just the starting point though, I want you to use the keywords it suggests to create huge keyword lists, take every keyword and run it through a descriptive search, this will give you a huge keyword list to start your campaign with.

Remember to keep the keywords in the groups the adwords tool suggests.

This will ensure you keep your campaign as relevant as possible and it will keep your cost per click down. Don’t increase your cost per click to accommodate for the expensive keywords, stick to a certain amount per keyword, some keywords may become ineligible but we are not looking to increase quality score here, just looking to drive lots of traffic through low cost clicks.

If you are thinking to yourself, “I am not paying money to promote my blog!” Then you are probably not going to be a successful blogger, you have to invest in this game.

If you stay on top of SEO news you will be aware of recent comments made by Matt Cutts in relation to nofollow links, if not you can find the full details at searchengineland.

Nofollow is a popular link attribute used to prevent Google from following links on your site, the use of it can help your pages retain more pagerank therefore enhancing your rankings. You can read more on nofollow at “Getting to grips with nofollow”.

On top of the nofollow hammer there have also been suggestions that Google maybe following PPC campaign links within javaScript, something Google is getting more and more advanced at doing.

All this is enough to leave any SEO in confusion, if the two above points are correct it makes “chasing the algorithm” extremely difficult due the vague nature of link following and link iimportance.

I thought in todays post it would be a good idea to go through what these changes mean and what effect they could have on your SEO efforts.

No Follow

I think the best way to explain the possible nofollow change is by using a couple of diagrams.

Outgoing Links

Here we have 3 outgoing links all passing on x10 ‘link juice”, therefore the page has x30 PageRank to pass on to other pages.

Pretty straight forward.

Link 1 is now nofollow

If we were to nofollow the first link then links 2 and 3 would share out the link juice from link 1 respectively, as seen below.

As you can see the 2 remaining “follow” links pass on a little more link juice. You can see how sculpting your links using nofollow can help enhance PageRank and send the most link juice to our most important pages.

What Matt Cutts says

OK so Matt Cutts has told the online marketing world that a nofollow link has no effect on the amount of link juice other links from a page will pass. So using our above examples, if your page has x30 PageRank to give nofollowing 1 of the three links will not increase the link flow on the other 2, as so;

So link sculpting is dead right? Well I’m not sure, you see Google has neither clarified or confirmed the above information and I personally think it could be a little bit of scare tactic to put SEO’s off using the nofollow attribute.

It was only a week or two ago Matt was talking about PageRank Sculpting and admitted to the fact that it worked, albeit he did advise nofollow was not the best way to do it, but never denied it worked.

Does link sculpting using the nofollow still work? Who knows is the only answer and it leaves a certain amount of uncertainty when trying to focus our sites, Google should really clarify this.

Adwords Enhances Organic Results???

This is related to a story that came from searchenginewatch and showed a case study involving a clients account which was being ranked for anchor text used in their PPC campaigns.

Webmaster tools confirmed Google were picking up on the anchor text and a quick ranking check proved they were sitting pretty high for the term.

I personally think this may a little out and that even if Google is passing relevancy through PPC ads, it will be something they jump on quickly as it is against their own “paid links” policy.

The problem is, for anyone involved in SEO, how do we know what benefits our sites the most???

Can Google crawal script effectively?
Do all links pass relevancy? Even Ads?
Does nofollow still work?
Can we still use nofollow on paid links?

We know that Google is able to extract links from javascript but can they do it effectively, can they prevent paid “java” links from counting and how will they determine this.

All the above news fills the SEO industry with uncertainty and Google really should clarify the position, but as always it’s not forth coming. This is why it is important for SEO’s to do their own case studies to see what works and what does not, it creates more work but such is the life of an SEO.

Please let me know your thoughts on the debate.