Is it smart to reveal your clients and projects in the Q&A forum? What about on your own SEO blog?
-
On one hand it seems like having my cake and eating it too: blogging about SEO using my clients as case studies in order to give them a couple backlinks. On the other hand it seems like asking for it from Google or from competitors. Got any advice?
And what of mentioning actual domains and brand names when asking questions here in the forum? One one hand it seems like I'd get more specific advice, on the other hand, once again, it seems like it comes with some amount of risk. Any advice?
Thanks!
-
So anyone out there disagree with the consensus and think it doesn't matter or else is particularly advantageous to be forthcoming with client specifics?
-
Right, sure. Yeah all of this is helpful.
-
Some clients might not want to find out that their 'SEO Expert' is on here asking questions of other SEO's...they may think they should have employed the SEO Experts answering the questions.
Also some companies may not want their competitors to find out that they are using SEO services as if their competitor then hires an SEO the amount of competitive advantage is potentially reduced.
I would use example.com, company.com./product etc to get any points across. If it looks like you can only get the help you need by revealing more details then it may be best to PM the people who offer to help.
-
Thanks Vinnie.
-
Right, that makes sense.
-
Hey Louis,
I can understand both sides of the argument, but land on the side of don't post them. Like David said, you would never want to post clients sites without their permission. Even with their permission I would be hesitant to post specific phrases or results. I don't even want to tell other clients who my other clients are most of the time. Protecting niches is very important in this industry. If you want to discuss past successes you have had I suggest speaking in generalities and give broader examples of marketing or link building ideas without pointing out specific sites.
Personally I don't even post my own sites on any SEO or webmaster forums if I can avoid it.
As far as your Google concerns go, as long as you aren't cheating or link farming or anything that would take away from Google's reputation I doubt they would penalize you or your clients sites for posting SEO case studies.
I look forward to seeing other opinions on this issue.
Cheers,
Vinnie
-
I do not keep an SEO blog. Our company blog is just for generic info that we use to bring in new clients and also for existing clients to see us sharing information openly about the best practices and tips. Honestly, since we redid our website, we have one or two blog posts and never blog and didnt even finish our website, we are too busy with client work. Speaking of that... we need to finish our site lol.
The benefit a SEO blog would bring is fresh content (Google loves it), attract new clientele, share information to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, city, and client list!
-
Thanks David; that makes sense. Do you keep an SEO or other company blog? What benefit do you get out of it?
-
I think the only way to do it properly is with your clients full permission and knowing that they understand the full ramifications. Honestly, my clients would never go for it. The last thing they want is their strategy or their secret weapon (my company) to be known to their competitors. The link juice is minimal unless you have an exceptional blog.
My rule is to never expose a clients name, URL, or strategy unless it's completely anonymous and literally no chance of it getting back. However, you may find some clients okay with it, in that case... GO FOR IT
I'd love to post some of my best work but my clients are pretty strict on me releasing that information, so for now I'll have to keep my trap shut.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Re-directing blogs from an expired Hubspot account
We used hubspot for our blogging until 6 months ago, and had over 90 blogs on the hubspot subdomain "blog.site.co.uk". We've since reverted back to our own "site.co.uk/blog" but have noticed we no longer gain the traffic from the 90+ blog posts we put through hubspot. To get this content back onto our site thought i could simply relaunch it onto our own /blog site and use .htaccess to rewrite the old url to the new one. But hubspot keep the landing page "blog.site.co.uk" from re-directing to the new blog post. Questions: Has the original hubspot blog post gone from google index? Are there any other risks to re-posting this back to our site? Any advice on closing off the old blog post? Many thanks Matthew
Industry News | | Party_Experts0 -
Do You Work At Home As An SEO Or Have An Office?
I'm curious how many of you all work at home or mostly at home either through an company or freelance. Or are most of you employed at a corporation? My company was recently bought by a very large global company. Recently I found out that all the SEO and web design is contracted through outside sources. With the headquarters in Europe, this being my primary job function I kinda feel well you know.... down.. Websites I put my life into for the last 7 years are going to be handed over to a corporation to do with whatever they feel they should. I know they were never really mine, but when you spend so much of your life to making them the best you can, so much so to attract the attention of a global billion dollar company, you should feel great right? But I feel like my dog just died. I don't have a bad impression of the company but the shift of moving me to the IT guy has begun. Normal web updates I would have done, are now being pushed aside. I don't hate IT I like helping others, but I really loved being able to make a difference through the web. Now I'm left contemplating my future, big corporations have so much bs, I just don't feel comfortable. I would really appreciate you all giving me your thoughts and tell me about any similar experiences you have had in your life. Cheers, Don
Industry News | | donford0 -
Please critique my seo packages page on my website
Hello, I think there is a lot of room for improvement to my SEO packages (analysis) page on my website. Visit it by clicking here. I've always done SEO for our own business, so I'm new to this. Any help is appreciated. btw: I'm going to redo the chart on the page. I don't think profit and sales would ever compare like that. Thanks.
Industry News | | BobGW1 -
What's an example of an SEO firm's site that lists their SEO packages excellently
Hello, I'd like to make a packages page on the site I'm still building bobweikelseo.com What's an example of a firm or SEO that lists their packages in a way that is appealing, useful, and all around excellent? I'm thinking of having a first package for analysis at $440, a second package for analysis and on-site SEO for $880, and a third package for analysis, on-site SEO, and link building for $2000-$4000/month depending on how fast they want the link building to go. Looking for some input on how to create a packages page, if my prices are appropriate (I want to be affordable), and an example of a website that does an excellent job at presenting their packages.
Industry News | | BobGW0 -
SEO Service Needed
Any suggestion about hiring an SEO individual? Primary focus will be proper link/relationship building. What questions would you ask them? What is a fair compensation method? Can the compensation be based on results vs. effort? Thank you, Joe
Industry News | | csamsojo0 -
SEO Agency Recommendations
I'm looking for recommendations for SEO agencies for an e-commerce site in the cell phone accessories niche. The list of companies recommended by SEO Moz are out of our budget, as we are looking to stay under $3k/month. Looking for an agency that will focus especially on link building efforts, as there has been minimal white-hat link building implemented for the site in the past. Many of the agencies we've talked to are relying entirely too much on easy wins like directory submissions and we are looking for an agency that will be able to garner us quality links as opposed to a huge amount of mediocre links. Any recommendations for reasonably-priced, quality SEO agencies? Thanks!
Industry News | | eugeneku0 -
Has anyone been to SMX or any other SEO Conference?
Hello All, I have been given the opportunity to go to several conferences. But like most SEO guys, I have a tone of work, and need to use my time sparingly. The one conference that has peaked my interest is SMX. I was wondering if anyone has been to SMX before and if they recommend it. Also if anyone has any other conferences they would recommend, preferrably on the east coast, that would be interesting please let me know. Any answers are appreciated. Thank you.
Industry News | | Asher1 -
Mobile Website Creator - Any Advice & Recommendation?
Hi, I think more people are using mobile for searches now and it is wise to have a mobile version of our website. Anyone has got any good recommendation? I came across Dudamobile and i am just wondering anyone using it?
Industry News | | chanel27
Any reviews?
It cost about $9 monthly paid plans to create a website
Premium Plan $9/Month Click-to-call
Text your business
Mobile Map with directions
Ads Free & Customizable Footer
Your Own Mobile URL (m.yourcompany.com)
Email support
Bandwidth: unlimited
Page limit: unlimited
Mobile Site Analytics Anyone?0