During the 185th episode of “Marketing Today,” I interview Eli Schwartz, a SEO expert and consultant with over a decade of experience. He’s led SEO and growth programs for several leading B2B and B2C Companies. This episode was a part of a series of interviews conducted at the Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC.

Schwartz has worked with clients such as Shutterstock, Blue Nile, Quora, Get Around, Mixpanel and Zen Desk to help them build and execute global SEO strategies. He previously led the SEO team at Survey Monkey, building organic search to become one of the largest growth drivers at the company.

Schwartz shares how he got into SEO by accident. He talks about how basic SEO strategies aren’t keeping up with the changes that Google is making and how “we need to think about Google as another user that can read content.” He adds, “SEO is a marketing channel and companies are wanting to have someone responsible for it, and they are wanting to have someone to grow that channel.”

Highlights from this week’s “Marketing Today”:

  • Eli’s background in SEO. 01:09 
  • Why basic SEO practices just aren’t working. 02:16 
  • E.A.T. and the need for writing good content.  03:33
  • The 4-step process for creating great content. 04:21 
  • The amazing stats around organic search. 06:09
  • Examples of people “getting it right.” 07:14
  • Programmatic SEO: the key to knocking it out with SEO. 08:58
  • How SEO fits into the marketing mix. 09:40
  • The future of AI in search. 11:20
  • The four keys to making marketing more valuable. 11:32
  • The importance of discussions at the executive table. 13:40 
  • The current state of talent in the marketing industry. 14:40
  • How to be successful as chief marketing officer. 15:55 
  • The key to earning the right to your audience’s attention. 16:38
  • The importance of content marketing in your tool bag. 16:55

Resources Mentioned:

Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on opportunities around brand, customer experience, innovation and growth. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine startups.