Summary: <br> How to reach out to Bill Sebald:<br> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/billsebald/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/billsebald" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a> <a href="https://www.greenlanemarketing.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> SEO is dead.<br> That’s what Bill Sebald has read a million times in his 20 years of SEO experience. He knows better. SEO is alive and well and as competitive as ever. As founder of <a href="https://www.greenlanemarketing.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Greenlane Marketing </a>and as a professor teaching SEO, Bill shares his insights on how to execute <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/insights/3-proven-seo-strategies-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the best SEO strategy</a>. On the episode, he explains how to move from SEO tactic to strategy, why SEO is different for different industries and <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/insights/outrank-your-competition" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">why competitors’ SEO techniques are valuable</a>.<br> SEO STRATEGY VS. TACTICS<br> Where do your SEO tactics end and where does your SEO strategy start?<br> Not sure? Don’t worry. You’re not alone.<br> “A lot of people struggle with switching from tactics to strategy because it’s not what we’re used to,” Bill explains.<br> Tactics are a means to an end, such as writing guest posts or adding alt-tags. But, they cannot answer the question of your overall SEO goal. A strategy outlines what the goals are and the plan to achieve them. It requires stepping back from the noise and doing the homework to develop a real SEO strategy.<br> SEO STRATEGIES CANNOT BE DONE ALONE<br> To achieve the SEO strategy, SEOs have to wear a lot of hats and work with a range of people.<br> SEOs combine <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/insights/technical-seo-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">technical</a>, <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/services/link-building-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">link-building</a>, and <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/services/seo-content-writing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">content</a> in their own work. It’s a busy job on its own, then you need to add coordination of people on the team. SEO techniques require coordination from UX, developers, content strategists, and more — not to mention, the needs of the client or the boss.<br> To do the job right with this much coordination, a clearly identified strategy is needed.<br> APPLYING YOUR SEO STRATEGY<br> With the strategy in place, there are a million places to start putting it into practice. The first place Bill recommends starting?<br> Competitors.<br> Look at <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/seo-tools/keyword-rank-checker" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">where your site is ranking compared to your competitors</a>. <a href="https://dev01.sureoak.com/services/seo-audit-service" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Do an audit</a> to determine the gaps in terms of rankings and estimated traffic.<br> Competitor backlinks have serious value. Not in comparing volume, but by investigating their source. The sites that are linking back could be useful resources for your own content and can indicate what is popular in your market.<br> Bill shares these tactics with a key question to always ask yourself: “Does that make sense for our business?” Look at your competitor’s work for standards and ideas, but always ensure it suits your brand.<br> SEO BASICS<br> When it comes to improving SEO, you have to be on top of your game.<br> Google has over 200 signals and they’re changing all the time. Being search engine optimized is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ that can add to ROI. In today’s world, it’s simply a must. If you're not sure how your site is doing, drop your URL into Sure Oak's <a href="https://dev01.sureoak."></a>
