Tactics vs strategy: why SEO’s shouldn’t focus on industries

A lot of SEO Agencies focus on serving specific industries, because the brands they serve look to industry experience as a measure of how suited an agency may be to their business.

In this talk, Peter will look at why this doesn't necessarily work and explore an alternative approach, which delivers higher value, better results and greater happiness for the client.

Transcript

2. the seven year old me wasn’t dreaming of an SEO Conference
3. San Diego in November
4. Brighton in November
5. Peter Van Zelst CEO Zelst ZELST Z
6. We Provide White Label SEO & PPC Management to Agencies ZELST Z
7. mot
8. Tactics vs Strategy: Why SEOs Shouldn’t Focus on Industries zelst.io peter@zelst.co.uk
11. mot Specialization allows you to scale: knowledge of industry players, competitors challenges & pain points seasonality, regulations industry issues influencers & journalists link knowledge marketing
12. mot so what’s wrong with focusing on a specific industry or niche?
13. Tactics vs Strategy mot
14. a strategy is a plan for achieving long-term goals, it defines the what and the why
15. strategies are premeditated and involve anticipating the actions of others
16. chess is a strategy game mot
17. tactics are the specific actions taken to carry out a strategy; they focus on the how
18. tactics are immediate, focused on short- term outcomes, and using available resources efficiently
19. strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory; tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat - sun tzu
20. all men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved
21. Back in 2006 One Client Per Sector
22. SEO is a Zero Sum Game
23. to the winner the spoils
24. to position your client to be market leader you need a strategy to take ranks from site that are currently top
25. industry knowledge might work in web design but how can it work in SEO?
26. three generic competitive strategies
27. industry leaders most profitable where high level of competition and no dominant players, profitability affected
28. to the winner the spoils
29. Competitive Strategy x SEO Michael E. Porter
30. An SEO Strategy without a strategy is .....
31. industry specialists who deliver great tactics WILL achieve great results
32. SEO specialists who develop and implement a great strategy will deliver market leadership
33. Porter & Strategy Theory
34. LOW COST DIFFERENTIATION NICHE MARKET TOTAL MARKET COST LEADERSHIP COST FOCUS DIFFERENTIATION DIFFERENTIATION FOCUS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE SCOPE
35. so, how do these strategies work?
36. Cost Leadership
37. Differentiation
38. Cost Focus
39. Differentiation Focus
40. the real world
41. many clients don’t have a marketing strategy
42. marketing strategy: a business’s overall game plan for reaching prospective consumers and turning them into real customers
43. client immersion & the 7 P’s
44. if you try to market to everyone, you’ll end up marketing to no one you need to understand the client’s markets better than them
45. those who seek to please everybody, please nobody - aesop
46. then work out how best to achieve dominance in target segment how does demographic behave? where do they live? language defines targeting and content
47. many clients believe too narrowly defining market and limiting potential crucially, in SEO, once you gain a foothold you can scale
48. developing an SEO strategy
49. the greatest victory is that which requires no battle - sun tzu
50. avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak. - sun tzu
51. develop short, medium & long term targets
52. gain momentum
53. what momentum looks like
55. strategy gains quick wins, gaining buy-in and trust for long term plan
56. takeaways
57. a strategy is a plan for achieving long-term goals, it defines the what and the why
58. strategies are premeditated and involve anticipating the actions of others
59. tactics are the specific actions taken to carry out a strategy; they focus on the how
60. tactics are immediate, focused on short-term outcomes, and using available resources efficiently
61. SEO is a Zero Sum Game
62. industry specialists who deliver great tactics will achieve great results
63. SEO specialists who develop and implement a great strategy will deliver market leadership
64. three generic competitive strategies
65. don’t risk being stuck in the middle
66. many clients don’t have a marketing strategy
67. immerse yourself in your client’s business and develop a winning strategy
68. sometimes you need to understand the client’s markets better than the client
69. you can’t please everyone and you can’t target everyone
70. develop short, medium & long term targets
71. momentum is key
72. strategy gains quick wins, gaining buy-in and trust for long term plan
73. how many will ferrells did you spot? mot
74. qr code will go here come see us at booth 35 and find out! mot
75. ZELST Z thank you zelst.io peter@zelst.co.uk