CCC Expert Chats: Say Hello to Eddie - Our SEO Specialist
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has changed a great deal over the years. In the early days, it was largely about figuring out how to make your content rise to the top by doing keyword stuffing or buying links. With each new update, the search engine has increased its efforts on rewarding content that best serves users.
With so many creative agencies struggling to keep up, how does CCC stay on top of things?
We have our team of specialists to thank for that. It's with their insights and expertise that we ensure our clients always stay ahead of the curve, and that even the most unexpected Google algorithm update doesn't bring their site to its knees.
We recently sat down for a chat with our resident SEO veteran, Eddie, who shared his thoughts on the current state of SEO, emerging trends, and how he helps our clients climb up the search engine results page (SERP).
Who is Eddie Nehani?
Eddie has been in the digital marketing industry for more than twelve years. He got his start running SEO campaigns for clients in the pet nutrition industry while working for a smaller agency. Around seven years ago, he branched out — he began working in local SEO, helping organizations optimize their Google Business Profile.
It wasn't long before he set his sights higher, moving into larger industries and working with more nationally-focused clients. Flash-forward to today, and Eddie owns his own agency, which supports CCC in our search engine optimization efforts. He has extensive experience in all areas of SEO, and works with everyone from local photographers to fashion brands to real estate companies.
So what does a veteran like Eddie have to say about the current state of SEO?
For the most part, he believes the landscape is a positive one, though not without its challenges.
Current SEO Trends & Challenges
With how many snake oil salesmen operate in the SEO space, legitimate experts must work twice as hard to ensure they stay up to date on new trends, tactics, and issues. Here, in Eddie's opinion, are the three biggest trends shaping the future of SEO:
Create Content for Users, Not Search Engines
In August 2022, Google introduced the latest in a long series of updates: the Helpful Content Update, tweaking its algorithm to focus more on content quality and using machine learning to target unhelpful content that was published just for ranking purposes.
According to the
Google Search Central Blog, "helpful content update aims to better reward content where visitors feel they've had a satisfying experience." From the perspective of website owners, that means creating content that's valuable, relevant, and engaging first and foremost — creating content for users rather than search engines, as Google put it.
According to Eddie, the August Google content update followed by the December 2022 content update will continue to impact sites that rely on buying links for the purpose of improving their rankings.
Eddie also said that he has seen organic impressions and visibility trend higher for several clients in various niches, largely due to the fact that they're creating content users actually want to digest — Google sees that content as relevant and contextual to user intent, which ultimately led to higher organic visibility.
Video Marketing & SEO In Focus
Younger generations especially are big on video content for media consumption — sites like TikTok have become their go to place for online community engagement and content consumption. While TikTok is not yet a search engine, the beta search engine is being tested in the US.
An understanding of video marketing and SEO is crucial in this landscape. Although video should not be the only focus, it
must
be part of your strategy. Eddie's most important advice, however, is to understand how your own channels drive traffic and optimize with that in mind.
Trends are important, but don't forget about the basics. Know that there's always a market for publishing good content, and leverage video across the entire customer experience if you decide to make it part of your online marketing strategy.
Local SEO's Getting More Visual
Although there haven't been many groundbreaking changes to local SEO, Eddie notes that some huge disruptions are just over the horizon. First and foremost, local users will soon be able to search using Google Lens multisearch near me feature, a new way to search combining images and text. This is part of an overarching push at Google which is making the algorithms more visual.
Eddie emphasizes that many businesses miss a huge opportunity by not providing high-quality images on both their website and their
Google Business profile. People are more inclined to click on a picture of an item or menu rather than plain text.
How CCC Tackles Current SEO Challenges
How is Eddie collaborating with CCC to meet each of the trends and challenges above? Let's break down his approach.
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust) Right With Google
Google's Search Quality Raters guidelines have always emphasized the importance of quality content in search results — and they've been readily available for some years now. At CCC, those guidelines are functionally our content bible. We've alway focused on ensuring the content we generate reads as naturally as possible without sacrificing quality or optimization.
To put it another way, we don't write for machines, we write for humans — we're all about naturally providing the best solution to every user's search intent.
An Integrated Approach
For many clients, CCC manages both their onsite content and their Google Business Page. We therefore place considerable emphasis on coordination between the two disciplines, and open collaboration between all key teams and stakeholders to keep everything aligned. This allows our customers to create a more seamless experience.
But we're not done there. We also encourage our clients to mirror this approach in social and email as well. The most important thing above all else is to keep each business's brand voice focused and consistent across channels.
Looking for a Knowledgeable SEO Partner? Choose CCC
The SEO market may be difficult to keep up with, but we're here to serve as your guide. We'll help you make the most of your SEO efforts, and help you rank higher in search than you thought possible.
Team up with CCC today, and we'll put you in touch with an SEO professional like Eddie.
