This blog discusses how to get found in Google by choosing the right keywords and putting them in your Webcopy and Metatags – Title, Descriptions, Keywords and Image Tags etc. You too can become a Speaker SEO Champion!
Speaker Buyers do NOT just search in Google for webpages (mostly at work via laptops), they are also searching for Speaker Videos (in Google and Youtube), Google Images, in speaker directories, on Facebook Search and LinkedIn Search too.
You need to be easily findable in ALL these places and these SEO keywords & tips can really help you get found fast.
Having looked at lots of speaker websites recently, most of their SEO is BAD, really bad! Clearly not a priority.
SEO for websites consists of On-page activities (the Basics) and Off-page activities (lots of work).
I have hired many SEO agencies through my work with clients. We found MOST SEO Agencies are really good at producing meaningless reports for you and collecting your money. Very few really CARE about your business success. They are like snake oil salesmen.
Early on, we hired one SEO agency for AUS$5k per month. I asked what work had been done for the month. After much discussion the Account exec said “Technical SEO”. I said “Yes, I know about about that, what exactly was done?”. After many questions it became apparent that our allocated SEO person had been away that month and NOTHING was done.
The best thing I ever learnt was how to audit their SEO work and know what to look for.
There is lots of SEO work that can be done and it can really pay off if you get it done well.
You can get LOTS of really good buyer traffic to come to your site – you will get known as a speaker and you will get more bookings!
You can quickly check your own on-page SEO for free by downloading and installing the MOZ bar from moz.com and visiting each of your individual webpages to see the Title, Meta Descriptions and Keywords on each page.
Most Web Agencies use expensive programs like SEMRUSH, MOZ or AHREFS which are AMAZING for analysing website problems, SEO Ranking opportunities and analysing your competitor traffic. I paid the money and use SEMRUSH.
There is also a program called SCREAMING FROG which produces a file of all your tags and image tags which can be changed to make your pages rank better.
If you are using WORDPRESS website (check with www.isitWP.com – Use YOAST which is an awesome WordPress plug-in which tells you explicitly how to rank your page – Red, Orange, Green. Ask for Yoast “Greenlighting” by adding in inbound & outbound links, tagged images, the right number of keywords and lots of other SEO things.
Think about how a buyer searches and looks for a speaker online. What search terms will they use? Once they find your website – what will convince them to further consider you.
Most speakers design websites for themselves NOT for buyers.
Buyers may be searching for a speaker (their solution) or the Problem they are trying to solve.
These keywords should be used in metatags, image tags and hashtags on your website, directories, blog posts and social media posts.
You MUST get found, suggested and selected to be part of the “Consideration Set” for the conference.
I have organised and help organised many conferences. You need to think like your Buyer!
Who is your likely Speaker buyer? – a Manager, the EA/PA, the CEO, a Professional Conference Organiser (PCO), In House Meeting planner (IHMP), another speaker/trainer or a speaker bureau consultant
Think about what would your potential buyer would type into Google Search
Sadly NOT many buyers are using these keywords in their searches – Choose and Use more popular ones above
These words could be used as “BEST Keynote Speaker Australia” or “TOP Retail Speaker Australia”
e.g. Best Female Technology Speaker Australia
If you are new or starting out – your buyers are using these phrases – good luck!
Obviously YOUR Speaker Topic
Your potential Buyers will also check out the International Expert Speakers or the National Expert Speakers on your Topic and then they may choose YOU because your are available or local or suit their budget. Hence it is a good idea to have their name on your site to be found in their Google Search.
If you have NO ETHICS at all you could run Adwords campaigns on these premium competitor speaker names – seems to happen a lot in future speakers adwords searches. (Just Don’t do it)
Yes these can be helpful but are less often used as a selection criteria but helpful as a search criteria.
Some Speaker Buyers are seeking local speakers to save costs or add local flavour but most just want the best speaker for the job within their budget.
These are the priorities for these words & searches – (Clearly an Australian Example – duh!)
As you can see I LOVE this stuff. It’s simple and it works. If you just want some BASIC SEO help and tips for your Website – contact me via Email, Facebook or LinkedIn.
At least we can have a quick high-level look at your Google Analytics and your SEO tags with MOZ & maybe SEMRUSH.
OLD I.T. JOKE – “How can you tell that your SEO sales guy is lying? – his lips are moving”
DISCLAIMER– I am NOT an “SEO guy” – I am just a professional speaker and there are plenty of SEO people out there much better than me. I am just sharing these SEO tips for the benefit of speakers and the conference industry buyers. There is HUGE OPPORTUNITY for speakers & presenters to improve their website ranking and findability with just a bit of attention to their SEO. Just DO IT!