SEO is more than just a method to improve organic search rankings. SEO is a powerful tactic that can be used in ways you've probably never considered, such as increasing brand awareness and reputation management, and can even be used for ideological influence. 

Read my interview with WebsiteBiz' newest team member and SEO Expert, Heather Myers, to read her thoughts on SEO today.

Q: What is the biggest missed opportunity for SEO you see among marketers?

Heather: Integrating SEO into all marketing channels. Your SEO strategy should not be isolated to website development; it should influence the development of all your interactive marketing initiatives. SEO content is valuable, particularly your keyword research. Make it work double-time for you by applying it to paid search, email marketing, display advertising...anywhere you broadcast information online.

Q: What is your typical day like as an SEO Campaign Manager?

Heather: First, I'm always thinking about how to stay two steps ahead of clients' competition; and, in many ways, the changes search engines might make that would impact our performance. Secondly, following our process and ensuring that our project plans and activities are aligned with our methodologies that we built for SEO. I also spend quite a bit of time talking with clients and sharing education and helping them to reduce barriers within their company that keep us from making huge strides. I help with facilitating conversations with marketing, IT and executive management to make sure everyone knows why SEO is important. I'm in a constant mode of testing and networking with other SEO experts so I can bring the most effective recommendations to our clients.

Q: What's one important tactic for improving organic ranking?

Heather: Content is king, but linking is Queen. If you're not an SEO professional, you may not be familiar with the left and right wings of the practice.  At WebsiteBiz, we believe that combination of the two provides a balanced SEO strategy. Being able to create quality, compelling content focused around your link-building efforts is a vital component for an SEO campaign.

Q: What role does social media play in SEO strategy?

Heather: Social media and SEO go hand-in-hand; you really can't be successful in one without the other. SEO strategies have developed into so much more than just speaking to search engines with title tags and proper coding. SEO thrives with authority and relevance, and there's no better way to feed the fire than with content and links featured in blogs and community sharing sites.

Q: What's your favorite online SEO tool?

Heather: I have many 'favorite' SEO tools, so I'll share a really fun one - TagCrowd. Type in a web page URL and the tool will produce a 'word cloud,' a visual representation of word frequencies found on the page. This tool is useful in SEO content development, but has many other applications too. Try it with your next speech, blog post or resume by uploading a file or directly pasting the text into the box provided.