How SEOs Can Use Their Superior Knowledge of The Web For Good

If there’s truly one thing I learned from getting a degree, it’s how to research. Researching, i.e. the process of gathering and analyzing information, is a pretty critical part of being an intelligent adult human.

Where do humans in 2020 get their information and perform their research? The web.

Who knows the web better than, arguably, anybody else? The people who have made the internet their careers — SEOs.

2020 has been far from what anyone expected, and it’s difficult to not feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new information that becomes available each day. If you’re anything like me, you likely start your day with what we in my house call a “morning report”, in which you hop on the app of your choice and review which aspects of your world are burning down. Of course, it’s not all bad; my morning report often includes a peruse of my favorite art blogs, some of my favorite wrap ups, and any Google alerts that I have in place, maybe even a space blog or two. But much of the content that makes it into that morning report was curated by…someone else. Other people tend to determine what makes it onto my device. Other people tend to determine what should be shown and what should be ignored.

That’s just the stark nature of the internet: there is simply too much information out there, so we must find ways to narrow it down and deliver the answers that best fit the questions at hand. We set rules around what gets shown first, but we allow less-relevant information to still be found.

Surely by now it’s obvious that I’m describing a search engine.

SEOs — those that work on search engines and perform Search Engine Optimization — have a very unorthodox professional decree. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to learn what factors of information and sources are most important to the masses, so that we can help the websites that we work with be more easily found online. We as SEOs not only have access to the behemoth library of information found on the web, we have the unique ability to categorize it, to shape it, to determine what is visible and what is not.

SEOs are the gatekeepers of the internet.

It’s my personal mission to do more good than harm in this world, and now more than ever, the world needs people who will protect a fairly new human right — the right to correct, accurate, and true information.

While protesting works and taking action creates an undeniable ripple effect towards a better world, you are not powerless behind a computer. Your digital voice can be just as impactful. You can support what is right and make a difference using the strengths that you already have. SEOs can use their superior knowledge of the internet and search engines for good, and I have a few ideas on how it can be done.

In true SEO form, here’s the TL;DR summary of ways you can use your SEO powers for good:

1. Capture Current Events from Your Viewpoint
2. Help Make Important Events, Images, Articles, Searchable
3. Help Remove or Flag False Information and Spammy Sites
4. Explain Complex Things in Clear, Understandable Ways
5. Support Black and Minority Owned Businesses
6. Link to or Aggregate Resources and Information that Support Your Mission(s)
7. Use Your Research Skills to Deepen Your Own Knowledge

1. Capture Current Events from Your Viewpoint

In social media strategies with our brand partners, we often discuss working with influencers and getting “user generated content” from an audience. We emphasize the importance of this because having content generated from a real person’s actual viewpoint creates a genuine connection with the people you’re trying to reach. There is endless ‘noise’ from brands online, and most of the time, the brands creating this noise aren’t exactly ‘woke’, if you will.

Capturing and cataloging your experiences with current events is one of the easiest ways to help ensure that false information cannot be spread. It’s pretty easy to say “this event didn’t happen”, when there’s no or minimal evidence of the event. It’s a lot harder to make this claim when there are photos, videos, social media posts, and other tangibles out there.

What’s more, true change comes from groups of people united in a mission or stance. Sharing your emotions, frustrations, and questions with the people in your networks (and beyond!) can help others handle these factors as well.

Lastly, take your mission one step further and help others to capture and share current events from their viewpoint. Encourage others to capture events from their perspective and share their emotional reactions to the world around them. Create a genuine, human snapshot of your world, and use your SEO magic to make sure that what you’re sharing is findable.

2. Help Make Important Events, Images, Articles, Etc. Searchable

SEOs spend a good majority of our time trying to get content to rank higher than it currently is (or maintain a high ranking), but we also are often the first people to submit a brand new website to the search engines. It’s like the website is a new baby, and SEOs are the stork delivering it to Google.

SEOs, more than any other professional, have the know-how to make things “findable” online.

Another superpower that you probably have if you’re an SEO: the ability to somehow know what keywords need to be searched in order to find exactly what you’re looking for. This isn’t just helpful at parties when you need to find the perfect tiktok or when you need to find that video that you need to show your husband (“ok try searching ‘girl arms in pants dancing jump funny’. ”)

What this superpower actually demonstrates is an understanding of the types of descriptive words that humans use to categorize things. You might even call this an understanding of “User Intent”, or human psychology. Get as fancy as you’d like, but what it boils down to is that SEOs have an understanding of the ways humans tend to categorize and search for things.

Take it upon yourself to make sure important events, images, videos, articles, information sources, etc. are categorized in a way that not only makes them findable, but also makes sense and would mirror the search process of an average person.

It’s up to us as SEOs to attach important meta information, i.e. dates, locations, brands involved, tags and hashtags and the like, to information shared on the web, so that those who are less knowledgeable about synonyms and keywords online can more easily find important information.

3. Help Remove or Flag False Information and Spammy Sites

The concept of keeping the web ‘clean’ has been around since long before “Fake News” became a buzzword. An integral aspect of an SEO strategy is making sure that false information, such as incorrect or misleading data, ‘clickbait’ titles, fake reviews, duplicate content, and spammy tactics used online, don’t cloud up the web.

SEOs can use this ability to help fight back against fake news and misleading information. Everyone has this ability, but SEOs in particular understand the true impact of flagging and even disavowing spam. While there are limitations on what can be reported to The Google Machine, don’t stop there. Report fake news sources on Facebook, flag and report spammy tweets on Twitter. Take it upon yourself to call out fake news sources and stop the spread of misinformation.

Here are some resources to help:

• Report Spam, Malware, or Paid Links to Google
• Flag and fix inappropriate content — Google
• Snopes.com for Known Fake Website Checks
• FactCheck.org
• How to report fake news to social media — BBC

4. Explain Complex Things in Clear, Understandable Ways

SEOs have the unique ability to translate some pretty complex concepts into easy-to-understand bites for those who are not familiar with these concepts. Try explaining to a CFO why investing in a link building strategy for long term SEO health is a good idea, using enough detail to get your point across without using so much detail that their eyes cross and they tune you out. SEOs need to be able to deliver facts and data to back up our claims, while also “dumbing” it down in a way that makes sense for non-SEOs.

The ability to explain the complex in a simple way is a gift that not everyone has. Leverage it.

Additionally, few SEOs have experience in only one industry or niche. Especially in agency life, SEOs are tasked with jumping into a new space or brand with minimal background information, and spitting out a cohesive omni-channel strategy that leads to growth. SEOs make it look easy, but it’s anything but simple to come into an entirely new subject or industry and understand it enough to build a marketing strategy around it, write content about it, or tell others why they should care about it.

SEO can use this power for good by helping to translate complex concepts into easy-to-understand bits that the average person can understand.

Especially in 2020, lack of awareness or understanding of a topic is privilege in itself. When it comes to discussions on the tougher issues, it can be hard to admit that we “don’t know”, and feeling stupid is the last thing anyone wants to feel. When people feel ‘talked down to’ or inadequate, they tend to shut down and stop listening. However, when things are explained in a clear way and backed with accurate data and evidence, the conversation (and the ever-important listening) can continue.

This concept is sometimes referred to as “Explanatory Journalism”, and is basically a professional requirement for SEOs. In much the same way that SEOs need to gauge when to educate a consumer about a product or service, SEOs can look for opportunities to provide information in an approachable, easy to follow way.

5. Support Black and Minority Owned Businesses

SEOs help business and brand owners reach audiences and grow their markets. SEOs can take it upon themselves to use their understanding of local ranking factors to help Black or minority-owned businesses get found online more easily by those searching for them.

If you’re not sure where to start, I recommend taking a walk around your neighborhood. Perhaps you even choose a different neighborhood other than your own. Look around at the businesses you see. While chances are high that your local Target or Starbucks has a fully-optimized Google my Business profile, is found on Yelp and Foursquare, and had some reviews with keywords that help it get found, the local shops and businesses that have been in the community for years might be lacking.

Ideas on how you can support:

• Ensure all NAP (Name, address, phone number) info is correct on the biggest players — I recommend Google, Facebook, Bing for Business to start.
• Leave positive reviews for Black or Minority-owned businesses using local keywords. For example, a review for a local black-owned boutique might include a sentence like “I love this women’s clothing boutique in chicago’s logan square! I purchased a cotton sweater from here and loved the quality.” You can see how using specific keywords AND leaving the review can already help to make brands more visible to searchers.
• 3 Ways to Support Minority Owned Businesses — Entrepreneur.com
• BlackOwnedChicago.com

They say that you “vote with your money” — SEOs can help others to vote with their money and support businesses that bring true value to communities.

6. Link to or Aggregate Resources and Information that Support Your Mission

Love them or hate them, ‘round-ups’ and ‘ultimate guides’ are always a part of most SEO strategies. Why? Because they are an aggregation of a series of sources centered around a single topic.

If you can put together the “Ultimate Guide to The Best SandPaper for DIY Home Projects”, you can put together “Best Brands That Support [THING THAT YOU SUPPORT]. If you can get featured in “20 Best Link Building Strategies for Sock Brands”, you can get featured in articles related to progress or political change.

Likewise, when writing your content, make sure to use sources from brands that support the initiatives you hold important. If consumers vote with their dollars, SEOs vote with their backlinks.

SEOs can use their unique abilities to round up, assemble, and direct people to credible sources and information that’s easy for others to find.

7. Use Your Research Skills to Deepen Your Own Knowledge

Ultimately, having an understanding of SEO is like having a multi-tool for the web. We as SEOs know the power of information and the impact of access to information. If you’re an SEO by profession, chances are high that you have a deep knowledge of how to gain knowledge. Use your advanced research abilities to deepen your own knowledge on the subjects at hand for 2020 (why not start with systematic racism?), and understand your own biases.

SEOs possess a dangerous combination of the ability to make the complex simple and an understanding of how to control the information others see. We know how the web (where most people get their information) works, how to alter it, how to keep it clean, and how to use our powers for good.

SEOs are the Robin Hoods of the web.

I have personally taken a vow to keep the internet a clean, accurate place that belongs to everyone. I invite you to use your abilities to do the same.

- Marissa @ VisualFizz