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Rebecca Gill, Dr. Seuss, and the Green Dot

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The very savvy Rebecca Gill detailed her journey into SEO success at the DFWSEM March event.

The third DFWSEM meeting of 2017 was thrice awesomeness. January featured Jenny Halasz unveiling the mysteries of Google Analytics. In February, it was Dave Synder’s turn to bring the noise and/or funk about content. But March belonged to Rebecca Gill, who not only rocked a serious pair of heels, but rocked faces with the realities of SEO. It isn’t enough to use a plugin, chase that green dot, and call it a day. Because in the end, SEO is about helping.

Before the Dr. Seuss themed goodness unfolded, DFWSEM President Jeff Rudluff and Executive Director Scott Vann gave a shout out to event sponsor Advice Local, shared the love for new and renewing members, and listed the amazing upcoming speakers for the DFWSEM monthly meetings this year. Check out this list.

  • April: Pearl Higgins of Outspoken Media on incredible storytelling
  • May: Ruth Burr Reedy of UpBuild on genius-level Google tagging
  • June: Tyler Hakes of Optimist on data-driven content badassery
  • July: Mike Esordi of The Marketing Center on million dollar style for $100
  • August: Andrew Choco of Directive Consulting on Facebook + email = swank
  • September: Matthew Barby of Hubspot on huge organic SEO gains

As for October? Brace yourselves, y’all.

State of Search

Not only is State of Search back at Dallas’ own legendary Gilly’s. Not only are keynote speakers like Dr. Pete, Bill Hunt, and returning favorite Duane Forrester confirmed. Not only are speakers pitches open right now. You can also save $50 through the end of April with the code SaveSomeGreen.

And registering before the end of April is a good idea. May 1st, the early bird prices end, and tickets go from $500 to $600! Save that cash and spend it on something nice. #TreatYoSelf2017

The once and future SEO

Rebecca took the stage with an all-Suess, all-the-time themed presentation that started in the halcyon days of yore, when the world was young and SEO was simple. Keyword stuffing? Check. White text on a white background? Check. No mobile devices messing with search? Extra-crispy check.

But then things got real. And for “real” read “weird and at the mercy of unseen forces.” Rebecca started to hate what she did. But instead of jumping ship to another field, she got to thinking about why she’d started to care about SEO in the first place.

SEO is a process. A journey, not a destination. And ultimately, it is about helping. Being the good guy. Why do you think they call doing it right white hat?

The basics in the past are still the basics now. Create a positive user experience. Educate. Build authority and gain trust. And, of course, prove to Google that someone other than your mother is reading your content.

Rebecca doesn’t buy links. She doesn’t play shady tricks. Most importantly, she doesn’t forget the user. Here’s how she does it.

Research: Start with questions. Who are you? What does your business do for people? Who is your target audience? (Have you ganked your competitors best ideas? Protip: see if they’re still using meta keywords and steal ‘em.)

Plan: Build a seed list. Check out search volume. See what people are really looking for. And don’t think you don’t need a sitemap. Just as before, you need to make it easy for Google to index your content goodness.

Execute: Write. But don’t just write any old stuff. No keyword stuffing, no shortcuts, no foolishness. Quality content is usable content, and that’s what Google — and your customers — are after.

Competing for eyeballs has changed, no doubt about it. That’s why standing out from the crowd is so important. Rebecca’s got some advice on that front, too: celebrate what makes you unique.

Brilliantly enough, next month’s speaker is the perfect follow-up to Rebecca’s insightful presentation. Pearl Higgins will get you in touch with your inner storyteller so you have the mojo to create the kind of content people really want. Register today so you don’t miss it!

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Stephanie_StuderStephanie Studer is a writer, editor, cook, and massive nerd who calls Dallas home. A social and content marketer, she’s deeply in love with all that language can do. She blogs at storytellingforsuccess.wordpress.com, tweets at @Editrix_Steph, and posts entirely too many pictures of dishes she’s made on Instagram. Don’t ask her about ukuleles or comic books unless you have nothing to do for the next several hours.