Mozcon 2015: Wil Reynolds

DISCLAIMER: This post is written as a live blog from Mozcon. There may be typos and grammar to make my high school English teachers weep. Please excuse those … it’s a fast=paced conference with back-to-back sessions and no time for proofing or even proper writing.

Wil Reynolds from SEER Interactive is up next to chat the speed that the web needs to operate under.  I’ve been looking forward to this one since deciding to come to the show.

Will starts wit a quote: The best ads, ask no one to buy

The idea is that if you provide the wanted information and solutions the people will choose you.

A neat idea he presents – Apply how Google works to gain an understanding of how people work.

He uses some great examples of Kings On Lean from David Growl.  One left the sage from big ppop, the other returned form breaking his leg to finish the show.

He brings up a great idea: if we don’t disrupt ourselves someone else will.  The idea is that if we don’t make sure we’re on or toes, others will step on them.

2010 Won’t Work In 2015

Does it work?  No.

He is irritated when he gets asked to build links.  He doesn’t want to build links, he wants to help people find stuff.

It’s also important to remember that marketing doesn’t fix – it amplifies.  If there’s a problem it’ll amplify it, if your product is great I’ll amplify it.

When you get asked in because there’s a problem with the product – don’t.  The issue needs to be fixed before the marketing.

Connect Tactics to people’s needs.  Digital needs are met with content and often starts with a little box.  He talks about wanting to be what the customer is aspiring to – not just what they’re searching for.  This is a theme at this conference.

We need to think:

Who needs
AND
Who searches

After securing that info we need to …

  1. Raise your flag.
  2. Get loud and think outside the box.

And interesting point is that maids who were told that their job was exorcize lost 8 lbs over a few month whereas those not told that did not.  The mental state affects reality and how your body interacts with it’s environment.

A big point he’s moved to is the importance in focusing on brand and experience.  Focusing on users and experience and core competency will, over time, drive rankings.  You need wins now to keep the doors open but this is a marathon not a sprint.

A key to success is branded search.  If you don’t have branded search you’re doing it wrong.

He goes on to show a couple brilliant videos from Air BNB, their SEO spent 2.2 million on just one.  It was a HUGE success.  Their competitors were still ranking for the generic terms but Air BNB moved their search volume past the generic terms themselves effectively moving the battleground to one they couldn’t lose.

Virgin also made their safety video entertaining.  Wil watches the video monthly to remind himself to think outside the box.  Here it is to save you hunting:

He also points out dollar shave clubs’ commercials.  They’re entertaining and touch on what we’re frustrated by.  But you’ll never see that in a search box.  They put out TV commercials and own both the brand and have now outranked major players.

The big message …

OLD MEDIA ISN’T GETTING IT.

But new media isn’t either.  We keep talking the same game like popup blocked and ad blockers don’t exist.

A great quote he brings up:

Be ready tat any moment to give up what you are for what you might become.

Awesome quote.  The idea is to always be ready to evolve.

Link Building Mistakes

Thinking about links is wrong, think about people.  Think about whether people will click a link – that defines it’s value.  Sound familiar.  I heard the same message just an hour ago by Mary Bowling.

Moz (and Mozcon) is a great example.  Non of us searched “internet marketing conference” to get here.  We trust Moz for their reputation.  That brand carries over to sales without queries.

LESSON: The best marketing is rarely created by only one discipline.  If you want the best, you need to collect the best.

He makes me laugh chatting about answering questions about the number of keywords in the URL rather than focusing on building your brand and relationships.

And he’s giving away Tiles to help up remember what it’s like to find something you’ve lost.