BrightonSEO Sept 2023: Key Takeaways

Here are some key takeaways from some of my favourite talks: 

Tom Vaughton: How and why the history of SEO will help us plan for the future of search:

• The point of search engines was to make information easy to find - Optimising user-friendly, logical, clear content is key to improving ranking and getting those conversions your business deserves! Rank for those high-volume keywords, have clear, relevant metadata and build those links. 
• Over time you will make more profit with organic search over paid - Although yes, paid will give you instant results, in the long run, Organic search will give you bigger, better and more consistent results that allow you to grow your business.
• Relevant high-quality content still rules - Don’t underestimate the impact of content! The quality of your content CAN affect your ranking. Updating low-traffic pages for low-hanging fruit opportunities can give you quick and easy wins. Consider EAT, Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness. 
• Always align with Google roadmap, don't try to trick it - If Google says “jump”, you jump, aligning yourself with Google’s requirements will ensure you are not penalised and are recognised for your amazing site and skills. Work with Google, don’t try to beat it!
• Never stop learning - Expanding on your SEO knowledge and staying up to date on new skills and techniques will drastically improve your performance. It allows you to stay ahead of the game and always be one step in front of your competition. 
• Link building is irrelevant unless you build your brand - Having a clear and precise brand establishes trust between you and your potential customers. 
• Competition - Know your competition! Understanding your competitors and their ranking is vital to improving your performance! If you don’t know what your competitors are doing, you cannot out rank them. Know what they’re doing, and do it better. 

Andrei Tit: 10 quick wins to improve your rankings:

• Update existing pages for low-hanging fruit keywords
• Find featured snippet opportunities
• Update pages with declining traffic in the past 6 months
• Uncover content gaps
• Update pages with low-traffic
• Redirect links from broken pages 
• Get internal linking suggestions 
• Uncover link gaps
• Find unlinked brand mentions 
• Find critical issues holding your website from ranking. 

These 10 tips were a great place to start when trying to improve your ranking and boost your overall performance. 

Why we love BrightonSEO

The reason I love BrightonSEO is because it gives me the opportunity to learn new skills and expand my knowledge in ways I wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to. There are so many incredible people there who have very different takes on SEO approaches, enabling me to leave with an abundance of information. As a junior at the beginning of my career, BrightonSEO is so valuable because it exposes me to areas of SEO that I might not get to experience until further down the line in my career. My top tip to anyone wanting to attend Brighton SEO would be, to plan what talks you want to see prior to the day and arrive at them early! This ensures you utilise your time there and also get the best seats. - Isabel Coltham, SEO Executive 

What our team had to say

The whole three days featured a brilliant range of talks, the quality of the lineup across all three days was exceptional - I really enjoyed the Panel sessions, in more of a 'debate' format - and of course, my own experience on the Friday of speaking on the main stage in Auditorium 1 was incredible! - Andy Mollison, Head of SEO

I loved the keynote speaker! It was so interesting to hear about the power of data in so many different scenarios. It showed how data can help to make some really interesting decisions but can also be skewed by a low intelligent pigeon! - Sarah McAreavey, Head of People

My first time back to Brighton SEO in 6 years or so and while it's grown a bit since then, it's still a fantastic opportunity to look at the industry trends as a whole. Great insights across all of the days and some really interesting topics. - Carl Poxon, SEO Director

There are few conferences that match BrightonSEO's welcoming and friendly tone. It's greatest strength has always been the wide variety of talks from people with real-world experience rather than professional speakers - and September's event was no different. There were several standout talks that gave real depth of insight while also sparking new ideas and things to explore on our return to the office. - Matt Greenwood, SEO Manager