The Modern Tool Kit For SEO and Digital Marketing

Just in case you are thinking of offering SEO and digital marketing, I wanted to make a quick list of the resources and tools you’ll need to be successful.  A professional digital marketing company or consultant will have access to, or own most of the following.  Some of these are simple resources, like time, and some are web properties like social media accounts and web sites.

Minimum Tools You Need To Do Internet Marketing (specific to Local SEO and Organic SEO)

• A decent and active facebook page. To Share your content  and engage others.

• A decent authority and active Twitter page to share your content, engage  and build relationships.

• A decent authority and active Google Plus page. Same as above – share and engage.

• A Blog(s) with some authority, updated several times a month with original and interesting content

• If you are a local company, you will need to be listed and verified in the major local directories.  Starting with Google + for business, but only after you have submitted your exact and correct information the main national “source” directories.  An understanding of how the Local Directory systems work is essential.

• Relationships with web masters from other related industry sites. You can’t get in to the good parties without knowing someone. (unless you’re famous)

• Being famous really helps

• Relationships with Social media firms.

• A working knowledge of on site SEO

• Time or money to research online opportunities.

• Time or dollars, to engage others online through blogs, Social sites, forums, and email.

• A private network of authority white hat sites is very valuable.

• A working understanding of white hat SEO  and linking practices for off site work.

• Patience

• A Google Analytics and Webmaster account

• The ability to add pages and make changes to your site on a regular basis

• Accounts with one of the major SEO software providers.  Moz, Majestic or a handful of others.

• A passion and willingness to write great content, or the ability to hire someone who can write great content.

• A basic understanding of P.R. in the digital world

• Professional relationships with other respected SEO’s

Why all of these?  Well, today SEO is still about links and mentions just like it always has been. The difference is what we call a link or mention, and how we earn them.  Note the word earn.

SEO Is Just Good Old Fashion P.R.

Because most of the easy and cheap tactics to get a site highly ranked are long gone. Today you have to earn them through good content development. intelligent and valuable engagement on social sites and forums and any where. Although old fashion link building still is utilized (and in some cases effective) the long term process of “SEO” is now much closer related to the old fashion P.R. world.

In that world, you create an event, that would draw attention from your market through the news media. Today, you create content that will draw attention through the Internet, and the “authority” or at least popular sites your market will visit. Same stuff..  different media.

By Mike Bayes