February 2011 | DANIEL BIANCHINI

Staying up to Date or Left Behind! You Decide..

Since announcing that I was leaving iThinkMedia, a number of colleagues have asked me how I keep up to date with the latest SEO news, techniques and debate.

For me this was quite a strange question as I have had Google Reader setup with RSS feeds for SEO resources that I regularly read for a VERY long time now. These SEO resources are then delivered to my Google Chrome browser as and when they are updated keeping me up to date all day.

Using Google Reader and Google Chrome I am able to sync my feeds anywhere that I have a computer/smart phone and internet connection. I thoroughly recommend using these tools to deliver your SEO resources direct to your browser instead of having to go looking for your information.

Top Questions to ask your Potential SEO Agency

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a highly efficient technique when used well and one that is often best left to the professionals. However, it can be very hard to know whether you’re picking the right SEO agency or not to handle your precious campaign. Here are a few questions you can ask to ensure the company you are choosing knows what they are doing.

First, be sure to ask your SEO company what tactics they prefer to use in terms of increasing search rankings and overall visibility. Some agencies could use techniques that take greater risks than you need to be associating yourself with, and broadly speaking for longer term projects, these are not recommended; certainly not without being aware of the risks associated with these activities. It’s important to check if they play by the rules search engines set, or if greater risks are taken – and to be aware of the potential consequences if there are risks involved.

Communicating with your Clients

Communicating with your client is a key part of any SEO account manager or account executives role. It is essential to clearly communicate on a regular basis with your client, whether it is to provide recommendations, documentation or discuss some development enhancements. Becoming an extension of their marketing team allows you to build a long lasting relationship, which helps with client retention.

I regularly contact the main stakeholders of all my clients, this enables me to build a relationship that allows us to talk about a range of different subjects even stuff away from work, including Saturday’s football game or my forthcoming wedding.

Below I will describe how I communicate with my clients and the tools I use to make sure that I am always available and keep a strong working relationship.