Having a website and social media page is great, but is it really any use if nobody is seeing it? Building your presence online should be high on your marketing priorities, and getting to grips with SEO can certainly help to build that presence. To set the record straight on SEO and content we decided to invite some expert marketers along to our September Business Club ‘Raise the Ranks on Google: Your Easy Step Guide to Being Visible Online’ 

We were happy to welcome Mark Russell from bmirco and Ruth Hartnoll from J&R Agency to come and deliver some SEO and content magic at the event. Mark, specialising in micro businesses has 5 years’ experience in the digital marketing field and Ruth, who is the founder and director of J&R agency, works to empower small businesses to think bigger.
We had varied audience, ranging from marketing consultants to interior designers, established businesses to people thinking about going into self-employment, and they were all ready to delve into the sometimes-complex world of SEO. First up, we welcomed Ruth to the Business Club stage!
Ruth Hartnoll talking content and SEO at business club
Ruth Hartnoll
Talking about the important relationship between quality content and SEO, Ruth took us through some of the DO’S & DON’TS of producing good content to help boost Search Engine Optimisation and of course, we spoke about that top position on Google
 “I see people obsess with reaching the top search result on Google, but they have to remember that’s sometimes it’s better to be third or fourth as some people find these results more trustworthy, and you’re still on the first page”

Surprising, and definitely worth focusing on! She also spoke about the importance of blogging, and focusing on long form content that outranks short form much to the dismay of our budding writers! 

“Articles over 1800 tend to do better for SEO, always try and focus on the long form content for your blog and website”
Next up to speak, we had Mark Russell, who started his presentation by telling us to “forget the algorithm” and focus on the long-term SEO goals instead.
Mark Russell speaking content and SEO at business club
Mark Russell

“You have to understand what question people want solving, not just now, but what they wanted solving in the past and the future”

Helping us to break down all that SEO jargon, Mark took us through on-page, off-page and local SEO that will be key to building your SEO strategy. We then touched upon link building, a task that can be difficult to start. “Link building can be hard, this is why you have to build relationships offline so you can join together for content, help share each other’s website and offer out guest blogs”
We’ve certainly took away some amazing hints and tips from the event, and we had some great feedback from our audience:
“This was really good! I got loads of useful information on things I didn’t know already”

“My first time at a Business Club event! I’m very impressed with the amount of information and help I’ve been given. I will be coming again!”

“Very informative! I’ve got some new insights and tips that I had not heard of”

Mark and Ruth at guest speakers at business club
Mark & Ruth
Thank you to Ruth and Mark for giving us such SEO and content wisdom! And thank you to everyone who attended Septembers Business Club. If you’d like to contact them, you can use the links below: 
J&R Agency
bmicro
If you enjoyed ‘Raise the Ranks on Google’, we have more exciting networking events throughout this year….



Join us on 14th November, 1:30-4pm for ‘Unleash the Entrepreneur Within: In Conversation with Nisha Katona

 Join us on 6th December, 4-6pm for seasonal spirit at ‘Festive Networking
Tickets all available via eventbrite or alternatively, contact us on 0151 706 8111 or hello@thewo.org.uk for more information.