The opening talk was given by Jan Tichý (SEO
consultant, analyst, MedioInteractive). The central theme of the talk was
the question of what the world would look like without
search engines. Jan Tichý proved to be a good speaker, and so, in an engaging manner
(using the example of the cargo cult), he explained why one should focus on building content on
social media, blogs or discussion forums. The relevance and popularity
of websites go hand in hand; backlinks are on the wane. Building relevance and
popularity, however, requires a clear plan and objectives, ideally with the help of clients who have already
themselves (consciously or unconsciously) changed the way they search for information. It is no longer search engines,
but social media that rule the world…
The second speaker was Zdeněk Dvořák (Linki.cz)
with a talk entitled Dreams of Link Building.
Unfortunately, the opening section of the talk was off-topic regarding
the present and future of SEO. Explaining to a specialist audience how the
concept of links originated or how the function of links has changed is not entirely relevant. Fortunately,
the whole talk wasn’t like that. After covering topics such as risk assessment and mind
maps, the speaker moved on to a more substantial topic: the changing
nature of the link builder’s work. Zdeněk Dvořák described the role anew as the market’s antenna,
monitoring trends and developments. By browsing websites, they seek out new topics, identify
customer issues and build new relationships. In this new interpretation, the link builder is primarily
a salesperson and a team member who actively contributes to the overall business strategy.
The third talk was devoted to a practical
demonstration of linkbaiting, and Martin
Matějka (consultant and owner of the SmallCars.cz shop) presented it
as ‘Smart Link Building in Practice’.
Creating interesting content that encourages sharing and dissemination (linkbaiting)
need not be limited to articles, comments, videos or photos. Using the Smallcars
e-shop as an example, Martin Matějka introduced the idea that an e-shop can be not only a sales platform but
also a community hub. The key is understanding customer needs and devising
a suitable strategy. “Give customers something
they can boast about without any effort,” said the speaker, explaining the principle
of the virtual garage, which boosted sales on the e-shop but, above all, significantly
strengthened the backlink profile. In summary, involve customers in content creation, let
them express their own opinions, get reviews or ratings from them, and don’t be afraid
to do things that aren’t profit-driven.
The author of the following presentation, Antonín Cicvárek, addressed
the question of who should actually be doing SEO
for corporate websites? Is a consultant,
an agency, or an employee more suitable? According to his conclusion, those involved in the SEO strategy should
primarily be people who understand the relevant business sector. This does not necessarily have to be
an independent SEO consultant. In his view, for example, a capable employee can learn SEO
and this will ultimately be of greater benefit to the company. He illustrated this point with
an example of a more appropriate selection of long-tail keywords for vehicle specifications,
which someone unfamiliar with the subject would have overlooked.
Pavel Ungr (senior SEO consultant, lecturer, H1.cz) stepped in at short notice for
Jaroslav Hlavinka, who somehow failed to turn up. However, this certainly did not bother those present,
as he addressed the interesting topic ‘Behind
SEO – Penguin 2.0’. If your website dropped
in Google’s search results after 23 May 2013, the reasons may be as follows: duplicate
content, over-optimisation (high keyword density), prohibited
practices (listed in Webmaster Tools, black-hat SEO), sponsored articles, texts
lacking context and meaning, and so on. What should the new SEO be like? Trustworthy, social, natural,
helpful.
Štěpán
Škrob (product manager for full-text search at
Seznam.cz) (probably)
unintentionally provided some amusement for the conference attendees. He gave a talk on the topic “How search engine relevance is fine-tuned”. However, the topic
seemed somewhat elusive to the speaker; it lacked clear focus, so
by the end, many were asking what it had actually been about. Sentences such as: “I’ve observed that content on the web is important”
provoked roars of laughter. Overall, the talk
came across as rather dull and unprepared, though it did amuse many.
The final speaker was the well-known “SEO guru” Marek Prokop. He was perhaps the only one
to do justice to the conference’s second theme, namely the future
of SEO. After some initial musings on whether search engines would still be around in five years’ time, or how
companies should behave to survive potential changes, he introduced the topic of the website (e-shop) as a publishing house. In
his view, SEO agencies in their current form will not survive the changes in the market. It is
necessary to focus more on consultancy in the sense of integrating SEO into corporate culture,
setting up corporate processes and involving the employees themselves (for example, in content creation,
after all, they are experts in the relevant sector). The new focus will therefore not be
on traditional search engine optimisation, but on developing methodologies or
training staff.
And so the “best SEO conference in Prague and the surrounding universe”
came to an end. For visitors, however, rather than new directions in SEO, it summarised current
insights in the field. Marek Prokop outlined certain visions, albeit ones that are
controversial for many. But isn’t that what conferences are all about, after all?
You can find an article comparing SEOrestart and BarCamp Brno, which took place the very next day, in the next article by my colleague David.