The SEO mess, EEAT and six solutions

Some of you may have had the eyeopener of reading the late David Graeber’s ‘Bullsh*t Jobs’. It makes for grim reading. A lot of what many enterprises do, alongside the marketing profession, consists of unproductive tasks, elaborations on specializations. In essence the specializations begin to develop specializations.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the realm of search engine optimization (SEO). If you use Google Cards, you will see hundreds of articles on SEO. In a nutshell SEO ‘improvements’ are being improved. And the endless rounds of improvements are a mess. The two categories of David Graeber’s jobs that can be linked to this are ‘duct tapers’ and ‘box checkers’.

Duct tapers gradually improve on existing processes, yet do not bring meaningful and final change. They often complicate things with steep learning curves. Box checkers make sure that jobs are done, yet do not contribute meaningfully to the job, just make sure that it is done.

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Does complex SEO have bearing on Namibia? Probably not, unless you sponsor a result or use keyword search which is easy. Complex SEO comes into play in highly nuanced and competitive environments. Namibia is neither: most SEO techniques can be replaced by a sponsored post. There are a couple of enterprises that do that locally.

Should SEO be abandoned? No. It is par for the course. The result needs to appear on the search engine results page (SERP). However, SEO often argues against itself. Nowhere is this clearer than in the principles of EEAT; experience, expertise, authority and trust. Bear in mind that the searcher does not go out seeking SERPs, rather answers and solutions.

Even Google admits that the productive relationship will be formed by EEAT but gives little information as to how this can be achieved and how pages will be ranked. The truth is that brands have to form their own relationships and develop their own channels independent of SEO.

So if SEO is only a partial solution and does not bring across the elements of EEAT, what can the brand manager do to develop channels and maintain the bond?

Firstly, use the web page to promote a stream of relevant new information. Everything else is secondary to this. If your website is not updated it will be a ghost town. Very few people will go looking for the same thing twice.

Secondly, use the principle of user experience (UX) to make sure that that people can find the information that they need. All too often I visit websites and find that they are confused and the information is obscured. Worse yet, some of the sites are down. Is your site up and running?

Thirdly, develop an FAQ and place it prominently on the site. If you need to know what your users are looking for, use keyword searches.

Fourth, develop an email mechanism and use it rigorously. If your market is engaged enough to want regular contact with you, respond. Anything less is remiss. As an adjunct to this ensure that you can update it, and don’t have to wait for the web company.

Fifth, use social media. I notice a distinct trend towards social media for search. With the right components, a reel can be produced in a couple of hours.

Finally, add value with downloadable content that can be referenced offline, PDF guides for instance.

There is no point in believing that or allowing the complexity to get in your way. Your market wants news and information, and your outcome depends on it.

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Pierre Mare has contributed to development of several of Namibia’s most successful brands. He believes that analytic management techniques beat unreasoned inspiration any day. He is a fearless adventurer who once made Christmas dinner for a Moslem, a Catholic and a Jew. If you need thought-leadership, strategy and support email contact@pressoffice7.com