4 ways to improve your value as a strategic SEO partner
Sometimes retaining clients is about more than doing great SEO work. Columnist Derek Edmond explains how to increase your value through improved client relationships.
Derek Edmond is a Managing Partner for KoMarketing, a B2B online marketing agency specializing in search, social media, and content marketing. With over 10 years experience, Derek has worked with a range of organizations from the Fortune 500 to venture-backed startups and small businesses.
Sometimes retaining clients is about more than doing great SEO work. Columnist Derek Edmond explains how to increase your value through improved client relationships.
Derek Edmond | Sep 21, 2016 at 9:29 am ETColumnist Derek Edmond describes his company's method for keeping SEO and content marketing teams performing at a high level for the duration of an ambitious campaign.
Derek Edmond | Jul 1, 2016 at 10:17 am ETTo ensure that you're providing content that aligns with business objectives, columnist Derek Edmond recommends basing your keyword strategy on stages of the buyer journey.
Derek Edmond | Apr 6, 2016 at 10:50 am ETColumnist Derek Edmond explains how to use data from Google Search Console to inform ongoing content marketing initiatives for greater search engine visibility.
Derek Edmond | Jan 13, 2016 at 9:55 am ETAlthough organic search can be very effective at supporting demand generation efforts within B2B organizations, columnist Derek Edmond notes that SEO professionals are often left out of these conversations. Here's why they shouldn't be.
Derek Edmond | Oct 21, 2015 at 11:23 am ETYou had big dreams for your content marketing initiatives — but unfortunately they've fallen flat. Columnist Derek Edmond shows how to assess why your content marketing isn't positively impacting your SEO.
Derek Edmond | Jul 29, 2015 at 10:47 am ETColumnist Derek Edmond reminds us that sometimes we get so busy with the execution of ongoing SEO tactics that we forget to step back and review the actual content experience competitors have to offer.
Derek Edmond | May 6, 2015 at 10:27 am ETA key element in shaping your SEO program is understanding your competition. To illustrate this, columnist Derek Edmond takes us through a recent competitive analysis performed for a client.
Derek Edmond | Mar 11, 2015 at 10:35 am ETMergers and acquisitions present unique opportunities and challenges for B2B search marketers. Columnist Derek Edmond explains how to plan and prepare for the process.
Derek Edmond | Jan 14, 2015 at 11:07 am ETStructured data markup can improve search visibility, yet few websites use it. Columnist Derek Edmond provides tips for B2B marketers on how to get started.
Derek Edmond | Nov 19, 2014 at 10:00 am ETThough SEO tactics may come and go, the underlying principles behind them often remain true.
Derek Edmond | Sep 24, 2014 at 11:00 am ETIt’s no secret that LinkedIn is widely considered one of the top social media platforms for B2B marketers. As illustrated in the fourth annual B2B Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report, put out by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 91% of B2B content marketers are using LinkedIn to distribute their content. And in Holger Schulze’s 2013 B2B Content […]
Derek Edmond | Aug 1, 2014 at 9:39 am ETHere’s a painful truth: for B2B marketing success in fast-growth environments, inbound marketing only plays a small role in the process. Outbound marketing efforts, like event marketing, often play a much more significant role. In fact, according to a study released last year covered by InsideSales.com, event marketing was the second most effective B2B marketing […]
Derek Edmond | Jun 4, 2014 at 9:40 am ETWhile B2B SEOs understand the value in content marketing initiatives, we sometimes fail to understand the level of content commitment required to demonstrate success. In the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council’s recent study, “The Content Connection to Vendor Selection,” researchers uncovered six distinct personas that all consume different types of content and share that content […]
Derek Edmond | Apr 9, 2014 at 9:10 am ETEven though B2B marketing goals and objectives remain relatively consistent year to year, what’s changing are buyer expectations of marketing programs and communication. In late 2012, Simon McEvoy of Tangent Snowball wrote about the influence consumerism was having on the B2B buyer. After all, B2B buyers are people, too. The exposure of dynamic communication and marketing campaigns […]
Derek Edmond | Feb 12, 2014 at 9:20 am ETWhile discussing the changes in the search industry with a B2B marketing colleague earlier this month, he mentioned that many marketing professionals may be confused about SEO, particularly when it comes to advising clients on search initiatives. Jargon, conflicting “expert” opinion, and technological changes (like search algorithm updates) all add to the confusion. B2B marketers […]
Derek Edmond | Dec 17, 2013 at 9:45 am ETA recent article in BtoB Magazine highlights how marketing to the electronics engineering vertical is changing due to technological innovation and the demands of a more specialized (and time-constrained) workforce. The focus of the article centers around content marketing designed to attract buyers at every stage of the buying cycle, particularly early-stage awareness. B2B marketers […]
Derek Edmond | Oct 31, 2013 at 9:00 am ETLinkedIn’s recent announcement about the redesign of LinkedIn Group pages has had me thinking much more about why B2B search marketers need to leverage this social media platform in support of SEO initiatives. According to the announcement, “there are more than 200 conversations happening each minute across LinkedIn Groups and more than 8,000 Groups created […]
Derek Edmond | Sep 4, 2013 at 9:05 am ETA few weeks ago, Marketing Land covered the release of an update to the Digital Marketing Depot 2013 B2B Marketing Automation Tools Buyer’s Guide. The 61-page report covers “key trends impacting the marketing automation software market, as well as detailed information about the leading pure play marketing automation platforms that primarily target the B2B market.” […]
Derek Edmond | Jul 10, 2013 at 9:55 am ETLike many online marketing professionals, B2B marketers are obsessed with data. Technological innovation creates phenomenal opportunities for marketers to “slice and dice” information in an effort to create more meaningful lead acquisition strategies. But, innovation might also act as a deterrent and be considerably overwhelming. A recent article on MarketingSherpa discussed their latest survey report […]
Derek Edmond | May 15, 2013 at 9:45 am ETMany of our clients face sales cycles in a six- to twelve-month duration. In a recent client interview, one of the sales directors revealed that they were on the verge of closing a multi-million dollar deal that took nearly three years of nurturing alone to finally get to the proposal process. With multiple decision makers […]
Derek Edmond | Apr 17, 2013 at 9:30 am ETA few weeks back, Dr. Peter J. Meyers (“Dr Pete“) wrote a post on SEOmoz about the average position in the browser screen a number-one ranking in Google appears. It is an interesting piece of research, and I recommend reviewing it. My two key takeaways were: More Google-specific features, such as advertising and local results, […]
Derek Edmond | Mar 20, 2013 at 11:46 am ETWhile buyer personas (user personas) are an established concept in broader B2B marketing discussions, it has taken on new life in recent years. The shift organizations are making to a digital marketing strategy coupled with innovation in technology (should) allow Internet marketers the ability to deliver effective content marketing campaigns across segmented audiences or targeted […]
Derek Edmond | Feb 20, 2013 at 9:46 am ETWith the new year upon us, search engine marketers are focused on putting the foundation together for campaign execution throughout 2013. Central among the strategies meant to deliver B2B SEO results will be content marketing. Just in time for preparation in the new year, MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute launched their 2013 B2B Content […]
Derek Edmond | Jan 23, 2013 at 12:30 pm ETIt’s the last week of 2012. If you’re reading this column, you are forsaking at least a bit of much needed rest for some serious B2B SEO planning in 2013. For me, the few days ahead are about research, preparation, and getting milestones in place for client initiatives (and probably finishing one or two or […]
Derek Edmond | Dec 27, 2012 at 10:14 am ETWith the Thanksgiving holiday behind us, B2B marketers must now focus on wrapping up 2012 and preparing projections and budgets for the upcoming year. A common theme we have seen with our clients is to define a few “big” Web enhancements that will be associated to B2B search engine marketing in the coming year. Website […]
Derek Edmond | Dec 5, 2012 at 9:20 am ETOne of the biggest obstacles to B2B search engine optimization is developing new content marketing assets for targeting important keywords and acquiring link assets. While our organization has seen this in client relationships throughout the years, this degree of difficulty was further supported by industry peers in the 2012 MarketingSherpa Search Engine Marketing Report. Even […]
Derek Edmond | Oct 17, 2012 at 4:48 pm ETAs B2B marketers assess the strengths and weaknesses of their SEO programs so far this year, the relationship with social media marketing must come into focus. As I wrote in a column last year, 66% of organizations with a formal SEO process were integrating social media into their overall SEO strategy. But social media plays […]
Derek Edmond | Sep 5, 2012 at 10:48 am ETIn a recent Forbes article, the popular SEO is Dead / Death of SEO topic took center stage. The article highlighted how questionable SEO tactics (particularly for link building) will no longer be valid. Marketers need to focus on creating truly great content, which in turn earns the right to be shared and searched for. The […]
Derek Edmond | Aug 8, 2012 at 2:10 pm ETB2B search engine marketing performance is based as much on lead generation as it is on traffic, keyword visibility, and production. As B2B organizations become more competent in digital marketing strategy, lead quality becomes just as important as lead quantity. It should not be a surprise that fewer form field requirements generate a greater volume […]
Derek Edmond | Jul 11, 2012 at 12:59 pm ETFor B2B marketers, a common challenge is targeting the key platforms and mediums where users are most likely to consume information. In today’s digital landscape, this now includes mobile marketing. According to a recent eMarketer article, nearly one-quarter of B2B ecommerce professionals said that mobile Web was one of the most influential touch points for their […]
Derek Edmond | Jun 13, 2012 at 1:40 pm ETPublished earlier this year, GlobalSpec conducted its third annual Social Media Usage Survey of engineering, technical, manufacturing, and industrial professionals. While social media adoption is on the rise, more traditional social networks might be blocked or limited at the workplace, even if a percentage of usage is work related. The research also showed that industrial […]
Derek Edmond | Apr 18, 2012 at 9:24 am ETAccording to the 2012 MarketingSherpa Search Engine Marketing Report, of all SEO tactics available, “content creation works the best, but takes the most work,” says Kaci Bower, Research Analyst, MECLABS. B2B Internet marketers need new content to enforce and build upon keyword strategies, acquire links, and attract attention in social media. In my experience, effective […]
Derek Edmond | Mar 21, 2012 at 9:13 am ETGoogle+ Pages have sparked a lot of discussion in B2B marketing circles. The ability to add multiple management functionality, site verification, and easy to integrate Google+ badges have leadership teams asking whether this truly is the next social media platform B2B marketers must focus upon. However, all of the recent hype and scrambling to start […]
Derek Edmond | Feb 22, 2012 at 9:30 am ETThe start of the new year is the ideal time for B2B search engine marketers to reassess website strategy and determine where enhancements could be made to benefit SEO visibility. With budgets still in review and benchmarks being set, focusing on site enhancements first could help maximize the benefits of all ongoing SEO initiatives, that […]
Derek Edmond | Jan 25, 2012 at 9:16 am ETWith the holiday season winding down and 2012 just around the corner, it’s time to take a deep breath and get ready to plunge into the new year. When marketing teams get back from the New Year’s weekend, you can be sure that new found vigor and excitement will be in the air. For B2B […]
Derek Edmond | Dec 28, 2011 at 10:18 am ETTis the season…to wrap up budgeting and forecasting for 2012. As the year begins to draw towards a close, the hope is that your search engine marketing initiatives have an upward trend attached to them. According to MarketingSherpa’s 2011 B2B Marketing Advanced Practices Handbook, SEO ranked as the fourth most effective B2B marketing tactic. For […]
Derek Edmond | Nov 30, 2011 at 12:12 pm ETThe news that Internet marketers will no longer be able to receive certain keyword-specific search referral data from logged-in Google.com users should be a concern to B2B marketers. With such an emphasis on lead evaluation and the importance of ROI in their marketing programs, every bit of data helps. Take a look at the top […]
Derek Edmond | Nov 2, 2011 at 12:12 pm ETIt should come as no surprise that for B2B marketers surveyed in Marketingsherpa’s 2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report, five of the top six B2B marketing priorities and challenges were related to lead generation process. More importantly, while brand awareness (the only priority outside of the lead generation process) was an important priority, its fourth place […]
Derek Edmond | Oct 5, 2011 at 12:21 pm ETRecently, our company started working with a client launching a new B2B website, which incorporated a membership-based conversion action (IE, member registration). As we went through the checklist of SEO best practices for launch, a question arose on the visibility of content marketing assets being created. Where would the value-added material our client was developing, […]
Derek Edmond | Sep 7, 2011 at 12:25 pm ET