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@rjonesxruss@moz.com
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MOTTO
Russ Jones
Principal Search Scientist @moz
*Better than Dr. Pete in every known measure.
*not valid in the United States

To Be, Rather than to Seem

@rjonesxruss@moz.com @rjonesxruss@moz.com
I’m a Liar

@rjonesxruss@moz.com @rjonesxruss@moz.com

What are the ethics surrounding optimization? Should we ensure
that our clients’ content is the best before proceeding? Do we have
any obligation to the searcher at all?
Which do you prioritize, your
clients or searchers?
Of SEOs state that they
have promoted sites they
believe are not the best
answer to the query.
64%

Of SEOs stated that they
“didn’t know”. Do we even
care to check in the first
place?
14%
Do we even care?

Our Shared Heritage of
Deception

User Centric Rank Centric

• Keywords in title, meta, alt, strong, etc.

• Guest Post Link Building

• Content Length for Length Sake

• Content spinning

• Hidden content

• Hidden content
• Page Speed

• Hidden content
• Page Speed
• Content Quality

• Hidden content
• Page Speed
• Content Quality
• Content Formats (Image, Video, Text)

• Hidden content
• Page Speed
• Content Quality
• Content Validation (Citations)

• Hidden content
• Page Speed
• Content Quality
• Content Features (Tools, Calculators)

• Hidden content
• Page Speed
• Content Quality
• Accessibility

• Hidden content
• Page Speed
• Content Quality
• Accessibility
• Usability (UI/UX)

• Hidden content
• Page Speed
• Content Quality
• Accessibility
• Usability (UI/UX)
• Competitive Content Analysis

Central Thesis
Within the discipline of Search Engine Optimization, the ROI of being the best query
response is approaching the ROI of pretending to be.

Central Thesis
Conditions which would contribute to this being true:
• Costs of writing exceptional content relatively decreasing
• Costs of producing quality UI/UX relatively decreasing
• Costs of speeding up site relatively decreasing
• Costs of making content accessible relatively decreasing
• Costs of link building to exception content relatively decreasing
• Efficacy of poor content relatively decreasing
• Efficacy of poor UI/UX relatively decreasing
• Efficacy of poor imagery relatively decreasing
• Efficacy of poor link building tactics relatively decreasing
While not all of these conditions to need to be satisfied, if enough of them are,
we can expect that “being” rather than “seeming” is becoming the preferred
methodology.

Creating Exceptional Content

COST OF UI/UX

COST OF SPEED

COST OF ACCESSIBILITY

COST OF LINK BUILDING
?

Efficacy of Tactics Focused on Rank

Evolutionary Model of SEO Tactics
The relationship between tactics and algorithm updates with sites competing for
resources (clicks) describes a simple evolutionary model.
Ingest & Filter
Google applies selective
pressure against tactics
which do not convert
into improved search
experience*
Redistribute
Winning tactics are
promoted, losing tactics
are demoted. Resources
shift to new winners.
Learn
Google learns which
interventions worked and
failed, SEOs learn which
tactics succeed or fail.
Create & Mutate
Webmasters create or
update tactics while Google
creates or updates
algorithms

If Google effectively applies selective pressure to the tactics which “seem” rather than
“are” the best, eventually the cost of those which “seem” will increase relative to those
which produce the actual best content.

If Google effectively applies selective pressure to the tactics which “seem” rather than
“are” the best, eventually the cost of those which “seem” will increase relative to those
which produce the actual best content.
EfficacyofTactics
Iterations of Google Interventions to Discover and Promote the Best Content

Where are we in this process?

Where are we in this process?
We are still at the position that at least some tactics which “pretend” are more cost
effective than actually creating the best page.
EfficacyofTactics

If We Aren’t at the Crossing Point, Why Abandon
Standard Tactics?
• Lost Investment: When a “seeming” tactic is successfully suppressed by Google, sites
dependent upon that traffic lose their initial investment.
• Competitor Pressure: When a “making” tactic is successful, competitors must parry this
tactic, they cannot wait for Google to suppress its effectiveness because Google is not
interested in suppressing actually good content.
• Surviving the Red: When a “seeming” tactic is successfully suppressed by Google,
sites dependent upon that traffic temporarily lose substantial revenue which might not
be weatherable.

Points of Business Instability
Customers abandon you, employees are let go, offices are closed, paychecks are skipped
and, if it gets bad enough, companies go under.
EfficacyofTactics

Stop Seeming, Start Being

What does it look like to
commit your SEO efforts
towards “being the best?
• Qualify customers. Make sure they are
on board with your vision.
• Commit to tactics that improve user
experience until the page is the best.
• Use tactics that promote agnostic to
user experience after the content is the
best.
• For most agencies, this just means
changing the order of services, not
the services themselves.
Content Thoroughness
Accessibility
Page Speed

What does it look like to
commit your SEO efforts
towards “being the best?
• Qualify customers. Make sure they are
on board with your vision.
• Commit to tactics that improve user
experience until the page is the best.
• Use tactics that promote after the
content is the best.
Content Thoroughness
Accessibility
Page Speed

SEOs can be clever, resourceful,
and cut-throat while holding
to strict ethical standards.
• Clever
quick to understand, learn, and
devise solutions
• Resourceful
having the ability to find quick and
inexpensive ways to overcome
difficulties
• Cut-Throat
fierce, intense, and ruthless in
nature.

Clever: Split Testing Link Building
Scenario:
Law firm produces exceptional content related to plagiocephaly, including all the
health information found on health sites and all the legal information on law sites. The
content deserves to rank, but the context (a law firm site) fails to convert on resource
page link building requests.

Scenario:
Law firm produces exceptional content related to plagiocephaly, including all the
health information found on health sites and all the legal information on law sites. The
content deserves to rank, but the context (a law firm site) fails to convert on resource
page link building requests.
Steps:
1. Register the .org of the domain
2. Duplicate the site with cross-domain canonical
3. Split-test multiple designs of informational page

Who says you have to link build to your ranking content?

Resourceful: Better Content for Less
Scenario:
You know what your content needs – unique, helpful imagery – to break up the wall
of text and provide alternate methods for your visitors to consume information. But
you don’t have a graphic designer on staff and freelancing can be expensive.
Steps:
1. Identify the exact images you would want on your site
2. Find these images online
3. Use Fiverr to convert to images to attractive illustrations with more information.

INSPIRATION IMAGE
VECTOR IMAGE WITH INSTRUCTIONS ADDED,
REMEMBER TO CITE THE ORIGINAL IMAGE

Ruthless: Undercutting Competitors
Scenario:
Your content deserves to rank. It is the most thorough, offers multiple formats, is accessible, is secure, is
mobile-friendly… are your competitors all of these?

Scenario:
Your content deserves to rank. It is the most thorough, offers multiple formats, is accessible, is secure, is
mobile-friendly… are your competitors all of these?
Steps:
1. Download the backlinks to all competitor content
2. Determine whether each competitor is
3. Outreach to all inbound links of competitors targeting each limitation.
1. Accessibility
2. Mobile Friendly
3. Format Targeting
4. Security

Terminology:
Inbox Justification: If you are going to reach out to competitors’ backlinks, you need “Inbox Justification”.
Inbox justification is a good reason to email someone who you don’t know to make a request that will take
them time and energy to perform.

Download Links:
Select followed, one-link-per-
domain from Moz Link Explorer.
Export all the links because
everyone now is vulnerable to
poaching.

Accessibility Link Building:
Check your competitors’ performance with tenon.io and use
Because you have taken the time to make your site compliant with accessibility guidelines, you can outreach
to every competitor backlink with the message of “including an accessible alternative” next to your
competitor’s link.

Mobile Friendly Link Building:
Check your competitors’ performance with search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly and use errors as an
opportunity to ask that the site link to your mobile friendly one as well.

Format Targeting Link Building:
Check your competitors’ performance with search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly and use errors as an
opportunity to ask that the site link to your mobile friendly one as well.
PDF Guides Videos
Use a hash (#pdf) to cause the main
page to auto-download the PDF so
you can link to your HTML content
rather than the PDF.
It is important to remember
that the goal is to get links to
the primary page. This requires
including all the important
elements in the single
document.
These methods work ONLY
when the content is
comprehensive, and the quality
of the surrounding content will
increase the conversion rate of
link building.
Use a hash (#video) to cause
the main page move the video
to a more prominent position
on the page.

Format Targeting Link Building:
Check your competitors’ usage of a number of various formats. If they don’t have them, add them and use
them to snipe backlinks.
PDF Guides Videos
Use a hash (#pdf) to cause the main
page to auto-download the PDF so
you can link to your HTML content
rather than the PDF.
It is important to remember
that the goal is to get links to
the primary page. This requires
including all the important
elements in the single
document.
These methods work ONLY
when the content is
comprehensive, and the quality
of the surrounding content will
increase the conversion rate of
link building.
Use a hash (#video) to cause
the main page move the video
to a more prominent position
on the page.

Security Link Building:
Check your competitors’ SSL status. In certain industries, especially “your money or your life” industries,
having a secure site can suffice for “inbox justification”.

What have I done?

Thanks
Follow: @rjonesx
Follow: @britneymuller
Follow: @moz
Unfollow: @dr_pete

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