As promised in our earlier post, this is the first interview of the SEO Thought Leadership Interview Series that we are going to publish. In this interview, we put Jon from Point Blank SEO in the hot seat and ask him his views on how the world of online marketing is evolving.
Here’s the complete interview:
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Do you think SEO is becoming irrelevant with Google rolling out updates like Panda and Penguin? If not, then how do you see the role of an online marketer evolving?
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What is your take on mobile marketing? What advice would you give to businesses trying to optimize for mobile search?
All I can say is that if you’re not on the mobile bandwagon in 2013, you’re going to get left behind.
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Do you think social media will slowly replace the conventional website?
Don’t think so. Social media is a means to communication. Websites serve a lot of other purposes. Essentially, your site is the home base, and social media helps get the word out.
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What is your favorite new tool for online marketing and why?
Launch Rock is a pretty slick tool that just had a huge upgrade in UX, definitely worth checking out if email marketing is a huge part of your strategy.
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Do you think the online marketing / SEO industry lacks collaboration between different companies? How do you think the industry can better promote its interests?
In the past it has, but that’s starting to change drastically as we’re starting to have to adapt and use other company resources in order to get the things we need for our online marketing efforts. For instance, utilizing partnerships to get links from those companies. It goes a lot further when you get into broader resources, but that’s a good example.
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What are your online marketing predictions for 2013?
For the first time, people will begin to realize that even though Google is finally making great improvements in terms of fighting link spam, at the end of the day, it’s an algorithm, and that if you don’t leave footprints that math can detect, you can get away with anything. I’m not a proponent of black hat, but I just don’t think it’s going to disappear off the map one day.
Not at all. The number of searches being conducted each year on Google continues to rise, and even know more & more SERPs are being overtaken by Google properties, the opportunity for SEO is still increasing.
I think our role is evolving into a more rounded approach. I’m trying to build myself for the future by becoming an online renaissance man of sorts; for example, learning a lot of CSS3 & HTML5, as well as Photoshop, because design in all aspects is becoming more of a priority, and although I could hire someone or get someone internally to do it, it’s much easier if I’m able to do things myself.
Jon Cooper is an eminent online marketing and SEO expert from Florida. Jon is one of the young guns of the SEO industry. To read his insights on online marketing, head to Point Blank SEO.