[SEO Tips] Can SEO save the world?
Not too long ago, I saw a tweet that resonated so hard.
Like right up in the feels.
It was from Lily Ray, a well-known SEO professional in NYC.
Here's what she tweeted:
Sometimes it's easy to forget that the work you are doing as an SEO actually provides real value in people's lives, and helps them make smart decisions related to their health, safety, families, etc. When you become the searcher in need of help, it can be a nice reminder.
I love this.
It's about how we craft SEO strategy to build a better web and a better world.
I used SEO to help someone avoid bankruptcy.
I had limited access to their CMS (Joomla) and had my hands tied whilst being blindfolded.
It was tough but your boy got the job done.
I literaly created new pages, added more internal links and optimised meta data.
AND JUST LIKE THAT, they were able to get a lot more leads and business and avoid the hell that is bankruptcy.
I'm no Robin Hood. I'm no knigh in shining armour. I got a bit lucky with that project (despite the odds).
But with 0 budget and 100% SEO know-how, someone's life was saved.
YES THIS IS REAL LIFE.
Now... you can achieve similar things too. But you need to be more than just normal/average/BLAH.
There are people who write for the sake of it, copy pasting their way with a thesaurus, being boring and BASIC.
And then... there's people who genuinely MAKE A SOLID EFFORT to write INCREDIBLE STUFFS.
Case in point: Compass.com
I discovered them in 2015 when I was researching property portals (FUN & GAMES y'all).
I stumbled upon their Neighborhood Guides (their spelling, not mine!)
And instantly fell in love with it.
I mean, it was SO SO GOOD.
- area maps
- what you'd love about it
- what not to expect
- commute times
- popular shops & restaurants
- loads of excellent photos.
NO BIAS. Just the best info around, so you can make up your own mind about where to live.
Compared to what everyone else was doing at the time (anywhere in the world), this was LIGHT YEARS ahead.
So I used this as inspo for my work at Property Finder.
We made our own version called Area Guides, sent our hipster photographer out to snap some pics, and we got to work.
A critical detail: asking real people for real feedback about the areas they lived in.
This meant: GENUINE content that wasn't MANUFACTURED.
Our team had people living all across Dubai so this made it so easy to write about these areas.
Moving to Dubai or even just moving around the UAE can be super stressful if you're not familiar with the place.
So when you have an Area Guide that's designed to be as helpful as possible, it makes things so much easier.
I didn't have these guides when I moved to Dubai. But I wish I did.
So that's what fueled my fire.
I made sure these guides would be as helpful as possible so people could make better informed decisions.
It had to be legit, interesting and totally honest.
With gorgeous photos.
And it just had to be so helpful, people would be forever grateful.
I simply wanted people to be so happy we made a difference to their moving experience.
This is what you should consider with your content:
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Don't be a run of the mill basic with your cookie cutter content jibber jabber.
-
Write stuff that is so unique and different and creative and interesting that people have no choice but to like, share, subscribe and link to it.
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take GORGEOUS photos.
and write CONTENT that makes people want to thank you forever and ever.
SRSLY - every bit of content has an opportunity to be more than just a bit of content.
Call me naive, but frankly, SEO can save the world.
And you can be the hero we need.
You know it makes sense!
Peace,
Jaaved
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