Julia McCoy of Express Writers Interviews Jayson DeMers, CEO of AudienceBloom
On February 14, I interviewed Jayson DeMers. He was unavailable via conference or video, so we utilized a live Google Doc (what awesome technology!). Jayson is the CEO of AudienceBloom.com, a content marketing & social media marketing agency, and has been in web and online marketing since 2010.
I asked Jayson DeMers several questions centering around 2014 online content practices for him to answer, and he obligingly accommodated with very helpful answers.
Julia: Please tell us a little about yourself and what you do in regards to web content/Internet! How do you serve others with AudienceBloom, your company? You and I were starting out about the same time, if I’m right? (in 2010-2011)
Jayson: Sure! I grew up in Seattle, WA, where I still live and run my business, AudienceBloom. AudienceBloom is a full-service content marketing, SEO, and social media agency. Personally, I love writing and publishing helpful, informational content and advice across publishers like Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, and Huffington Post. And yes, I started AudienceBloom in April of 2010, so you and I were starting out about the same time.
What Jayson DeMers Thinks About SEO & Content Post-Google Updates
Julia: How do you think keyword optimization in content has changed since the Google updates (Panda, Penguin, etc)?
Jayson: I think it’s all but dead now. Whereas keyword density used to be a popular term and metric used to decipher the SEO-optimization level of content, it’s now seen as a manipulative, antiquated practice and metric. These days, the only metric that matters is quality, and quality is measured by social shares, reads, and inbound links to the content.
Julia: What are other noticeable content changes have you encountered post-Google updates?
Jayson: Really, it’s just about content quality and shareability now. Keywords, keyword density, and other long-obeyed SEO content metrics are a thing of the past. Great content that adds value, builds your brand, and establishes credibility and authority is all that matters now.
Julia: What do you feel about guest blogging today? We’ve all heard the buzz that Matt Cutts, leader of Google’s Webspam team, recently discounted it.
Jayson: I’ve got an upcoming article in Search Engine Journal that outlines exactly how I feel, but in a nutshell, I still strongly endorse (and engage in) guest blogging. Not as a link building tactic (which is what Cutts warns against), but rather as a brand building, credibility building, authority building tactic that increases my audience and reach. Furthermore, guest blogging provides referral traffic which can convert very well. It’s a brand-building tactic rather than a link building tactic, and that’s what should be the focus in 2014.
Web Copy Trends in 2014, According to Jayson DeMers
Julia: What do you think the trends are for web content in 2014? What should we be aware of (good practices) and what to avoid (bad practices)?
Jayson: Most companies know by now that they need to produce and publish content, but what I’ve found is that their idea of the quantity of content is far less than what they actually need. Many people think that 3 blog posts per month is sufficient. But in reality, 1 per day should be the goal for a small business. Furthermore, content distribution is going to be key to running a successful content marketing strategy in 2014. After publishing content, it needs eyeballs, and that’s where many companies don’t know what to do. Distributing that content strategically to get the right audience’s eyeballs on it is going to be critical for staying ahead of the competition. Bad practices to avoid will be posting content that isn’t interesting or valuable to your audience, not posting enough content, and not engaging in an offsite content strategy.
Julia: Thanks for your time! 🙂
Jayson: You’re very welcome! Thanks to you as well.