Is it smart to reveal your clients and projects in the Q&A forum? What about on your own SEO blog?
-
On one hand it seems like having my cake and eating it too: blogging about SEO using my clients as case studies in order to give them a couple backlinks. On the other hand it seems like asking for it from Google or from competitors. Got any advice?
And what of mentioning actual domains and brand names when asking questions here in the forum? One one hand it seems like I'd get more specific advice, on the other hand, once again, it seems like it comes with some amount of risk. Any advice?
Thanks!
-
So anyone out there disagree with the consensus and think it doesn't matter or else is particularly advantageous to be forthcoming with client specifics?
-
Right, sure. Yeah all of this is helpful.
-
Some clients might not want to find out that their 'SEO Expert' is on here asking questions of other SEO's...they may think they should have employed the SEO Experts answering the questions.
Also some companies may not want their competitors to find out that they are using SEO services as if their competitor then hires an SEO the amount of competitive advantage is potentially reduced.
I would use example.com, company.com./product etc to get any points across. If it looks like you can only get the help you need by revealing more details then it may be best to PM the people who offer to help.
-
Thanks Vinnie.
-
Right, that makes sense.
-
Hey Louis,
I can understand both sides of the argument, but land on the side of don't post them. Like David said, you would never want to post clients sites without their permission. Even with their permission I would be hesitant to post specific phrases or results. I don't even want to tell other clients who my other clients are most of the time. Protecting niches is very important in this industry. If you want to discuss past successes you have had I suggest speaking in generalities and give broader examples of marketing or link building ideas without pointing out specific sites.
Personally I don't even post my own sites on any SEO or webmaster forums if I can avoid it.
As far as your Google concerns go, as long as you aren't cheating or link farming or anything that would take away from Google's reputation I doubt they would penalize you or your clients sites for posting SEO case studies.
I look forward to seeing other opinions on this issue.
Cheers,
Vinnie
-
I do not keep an SEO blog. Our company blog is just for generic info that we use to bring in new clients and also for existing clients to see us sharing information openly about the best practices and tips. Honestly, since we redid our website, we have one or two blog posts and never blog and didnt even finish our website, we are too busy with client work. Speaking of that... we need to finish our site lol.
The benefit a SEO blog would bring is fresh content (Google loves it), attract new clientele, share information to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, city, and client list!
-
Thanks David; that makes sense. Do you keep an SEO or other company blog? What benefit do you get out of it?
-
I think the only way to do it properly is with your clients full permission and knowing that they understand the full ramifications. Honestly, my clients would never go for it. The last thing they want is their strategy or their secret weapon (my company) to be known to their competitors. The link juice is minimal unless you have an exceptional blog.
My rule is to never expose a clients name, URL, or strategy unless it's completely anonymous and literally no chance of it getting back. However, you may find some clients okay with it, in that case... GO FOR IT
I'd love to post some of my best work but my clients are pretty strict on me releasing that information, so for now I'll have to keep my trap shut.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Does the Year according to the URL have an SEO impact
I ask to Godaddy if there is an SEO impact between buying a url for 1 year or 10 years. They said me that there is no impact, however, I read the historical URL has one. So, the question is : buying with 1 year and autorenew might be the right choice. Warm regards,
Industry News | | johncurlee0 -
Re-writing articles, how does this effect SEO?
Hi there, I noticed a competitor had re-created a couple of articles I wrote, but they made reference back to me in the article, can in anyway possible myself or their site be penalised for duplicate content? The article isn't completely copied word for word, however it is definitely shows some similarity. Any advice around this? Thank you in advance
Industry News | | edward-may0 -
Train Client to SEO?
What would you do if a potential client asked you this: Bob and I could meet with you soon to discuss how we would like to work with you regarding SEO. We are specifically curious whether or not it is worth it to have you work on SEO-related issues for a specific period of time or to pay to have you train Bob in doing so for that period of time. We would be interested in comparing rates and the value of each proposition. I am tempted to tell them that I do not doing SEO training. But, I have a feeling that there is a way for me to help the client and to make some money for myself as well. I'm curious what the rest of you would do in this situation though. Thanks in advance.
Industry News | | theBREWROOM0 -
SEO Agency Recommendations
I'm looking for recommendations for SEO agencies for an e-commerce site in the cell phone accessories niche. The list of companies recommended by SEO Moz are out of our budget, as we are looking to stay under $3k/month. Looking for an agency that will focus especially on link building efforts, as there has been minimal white-hat link building implemented for the site in the past. Many of the agencies we've talked to are relying entirely too much on easy wins like directory submissions and we are looking for an agency that will be able to garner us quality links as opposed to a huge amount of mediocre links. Any recommendations for reasonably-priced, quality SEO agencies? Thanks!
Industry News | | eugeneku0 -
Does Sticky Post in WordPress Have Impact on SEO?
Hi, I Have a Blog that I have attached a "sticky" post, obviously the content in the "sticky" post is the content that I want to ensure that everyone sees. I do update, by adding new posts daily or at least everyother day, my question is: Is the "sticky" post hurting, helping, or is it indifferent to SEO? I know the SE enjoy fresh content, and was wondering does that fresh content have to pop-up at the top of the page otr not. Any input would be great. Thanks. Jimmy
Industry News | | jimmy02250 -
Ideal SEO / Social Media Employee Skillset
I’ve been wondering recently what makes a good SEO / Social Media employee. It seems to me that SEO and Social Media are in the process of merging into a single role. What are your thoughts on the skills that this new world SEO / Social Media employee would need? Or do you think these roles should ideally remain separate and that a “traditional” SEO is more what is needed? My own role has been moving much more towards social media recently and I was wondering if this was a common trend!
Industry News | | RG_SEO0 -
Redirecting International ccTLD affect SEO?
I've watched Rand's Whiteboard Friday video on How to Host and Where to Host for International Websites and read Gianluca's article on International SEO; however, I am still unable to find an answer or solution to this. ABC Company is a US based company with the website www.abcexample.com and plans to target people in Hong Kong. Therefore, they purchase .hk ccTLD. However, with the time restraint and budget limit, ABC Company is unable to create a completely new website under .hk ccTLD. Scenario 1: ABC Company plans to create different pages for each service offered in HK and 302 redirect .hk ccTLD blank service page to www.abcexample.com's same service page. Quesiton 1: Will this have the same benefit of creating a .hk website? Although ABC Company is redirecting, does the .hk ccTLD still tell Serach Engines that we are targeting people in Hong Kong? Will this solution harm or help with SEO with other search engines in Hong Kong? Scenario 2: ABC creates a /hk subdirectory under www.abcexample.com and have exactly same content in the same language as www.abcexample.com but use rel="alternate" hreflang="x" and use Webmaster to Geotarget Hong Kong. Question 2: By using rel="alternate" hreflang="x" and geotarget, will this avoid duplicate content if ABC Company has exact content in the /hk folder? Please let me know if my questions and scenarios are unclear. I understand that these are not best practices. Please advise the best way to work around this. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Industry News | | TommyTan0 -
SEO hosting (EU/Spanish IP's) any1?
Hello all, I'm currently trying to find a great hosting company which can offer a fast and stable service and more important, with the possibility of geolocalizing IP's of Europe and concretely for Spain. I've found Ixwebhosting but they only offer US Ip's, as their datacenters are there. I don't know if it's the same thing outside spain, but here the hosting companies only use to have a single "C-class" range so even buying them different IP's doesn't help that much, and it isn't cheap (2€/month/ip...). So if you know someone offering what I'm looking for (or really close to it) drop a line, I'll appreciate your help! 🙂
Industry News | | PabloGV0