BrightonSEO – April 2016 – Pi Datametrics round-up
One of the biggest search events in the digital calendar, BrightonSEO attracts brands, agencies and freelancers from all four corners of the globe, and is the place to be for world-class SEO insight.
BrightonSEO is our favourite search marketing event at Pi Datametrics. In fact, we love it so much that we sponsored it for the 5th time in a row this April (Friday, 22nd 2016).
We’re fortunate enough to be just up the road, so we arrive in force twice a year, to make sure you’re always in good company.
Brighton SEO training
Brighton SEO kicked off again this year with brilliant workshops and training sessions. Some of us from the Pi Datametrics team headed to the Dome, to find out lots of interesting digital tidbits. Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) took us through local SEO, with a Star Wars themed twist, while Sam Orams (@SamOrams) showed us how to build a strategic and measurable video marketing campaign.
Shocking facts and shocking slides – everybody loves a #StarWars pun! @GregGifford #BrightonSEO spot Pi too! 💫 pic.twitter.com/RpRai2rhxD
— Bel (@BelPW) April 21, 2016
Brighton SEO April 2016
This April Brighton SEO was fit to bursting – with queues all the way along the road for entry:
Huge queues for #BrightonSEO – it’s set to be a good’n! pic.twitter.com/fLwvDi2TEU
— Louise Linehan (@Lou_Linehan) April 22, 2016
We decided it was time to coordinate our outfits at Pi. This Brighton SEO will undoubtedly be known as ‘the one with the checked shirts’…
The Pi team are out in force in our check shirts for #BrightonSEO – come and say hi! pic.twitter.com/8Nd4Tb575H
— Pi Datametrics (@PiDatametrics) April 22, 2016
…but more importantly, as the last Brighton SEO at the Dome, before it relocates to the Brighton Centre in September…
Breaking: @kelvinnewman took to the big screen to say #BrightonSEO will no longer be in the Dome! The end of an era! pic.twitter.com/REMCjUXFTP
— Louise Linehan (@Lou_Linehan) April 22, 2016
The Pi Datametrics team got up to lots of things throughout the day:
- Our CTO Jon Earnshaw gave another fantastic talk on “How to fix any SEO problem” on the Brighton SEO Main Stage
- Our CMO Sam Silverwood-Cope hosted an intriguing “Ask Anything” panel, with ex-Googlers Fili Wiese and Kaspar Szymanski
- We hosted a wine tasting challenge at our stand, with brilliant prizes
- We brought back the official Brighton SEO / Pi Datametrics pub quiz
- Our CMO took part in a “Pointless” style quiz on the Brighton main stage
Read on to find out more…
Jon Earnshaw’s Brighton SEO talk
At 2.30pm, Jon Earnshaw began his talk in the packed-out Brighton Dome Concert Hall. Focussing on Pi Datametrics’ clients – Waterstones –
Jon revealed how internal and external duplicate content can decimate search rankings – especially in the context of Ecommerce.
Read more about Jon Earnshaw’s talk on “How to solve any SEO problem.” here
Jon’s key takeaways:
- Always investigate suspicious flux
- Look within + or – 2 positions
- Don’t be afraid to minimise crawlspace
- Don’t abandon the keyword game just yet!
- Begin inside the mind of your customers
- Use this insight to shape your content
- Follow the flowchart…
Pi Datametrics content flowchart: Avoiding internal conflict
Use the Pi Datametrics Content Flowchart to avoid any internal conflict when creating a new piece of content.
Watch Pi Datametrics Brighton SEO talk
View Pi Datametrics Brighton SEO slides
The ‘Maestro of Suspicious Flux’ @jonearnshaw delivered a great insight into #seo & #ecommerce at #BrightonSEO https://t.co/bMa2eOfzY8
— Josh Whiten (@joshwhiten) April 23, 2016
Praise on Twitter for Pi Datametrics Brighton SEO talk
Awesome research from the team @PiDatametrics https://t.co/VD56mncf0E
— Search Engine Watch (@sewatch) April 22, 2016
The highlight of #BrightonSEO @jonearnshaw takes the stage representing @PiDatametrics pic.twitter.com/rlZS8dWxU4
— Kate Hamer Limited (@KateHamerLtd) April 22, 2016
“suspicious flux” is my new favorite SEO term… thanks, @jonearnshaw #brightonSEO
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) April 22, 2016
Pi’s CMO hosts Google confessions panel
Our CMO Sam Silverwood-Cope kicked off the day at 9.45am with a brilliant “Ask Anything” panel, featuring ex-Googlers Fili Wiese and Kaspar Szymanski.
.@scopey123 has kicked off the #askanything session – get your questions ready… #BrightonSEOpic.twitter.com/nsSJeOhbBE
— Louise Linehan (@Lou_Linehan) April 22, 2016
The session covered everything from UX to RankBrain, and answered lots of interesting questions. Here are just a few:
Q: Which market shows the most spam in the SERPs?
A: The Polish market conducted link-building on a huge scale.
Q: Which 3 ranking factors carry the most weight in Google?
A: It’s always the context. Whether your site looks great or looks like it’s from 1997, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s relevant to the search. It’s not about making the site appealing to search engines. You have to make your site all about the needs of the users. Make it so that Google would be ashamed not to have indexed or ranked it. Make it unique. Something that no one else offers.
Q: What are your thoughts on RankBrain and how do you think it will it affect the future of search?
A: 15-20% of queries processed by RankBrain have never been seen before and probably will never be seen again. Keep optimising for users. You will get the ranking. RankBrain is not something to worry about.
Pi Datametrics wine tasting
Our Pi Datametrics wine tasting challenge went down a treat at Brighton SEO! Many wine enthusiasts had a go, in the hopes of winning £100 in vouchers from a Pi client.
We offered 3 anonymous wines, which had to be ordered from least to most expensive. If all 3 wines were guessed correctly, the wine boff then had to guess the number ‘Pi’ to as many decimal places as they could.
Some keen wine boffs starting the #BSEOWine early at the @PiDatametrics stand pic.twitter.com/kcZYroHXsp
— Sophie Moule (@SophieMoule) April 22, 2016
The winner
Matthew Finlay, CEO of Rising Media, proved that he is the ultimate wine connoisseur with 7 points (3 for tasting, 4 for Pi decimal places)!
The Pi Datametrics pub quiz at Brighton SEO
We were proud to host the 3rd official Pi Datametrics pub quiz at Brighton SEO this April, at The Black Horse opposite the Dome. As with the other quizzes, it was a huge success, with attendees from all areas of SEO, including:
We had some of the hardest topics yet; ranging from SEO, to film and geography. The pub was buzzing with anticipation, and the drink flowed freely.
The @PiDatametrics pub quiz is underway with @scopey123 back as the ultimate quizmaster! #BrightonSEOpic.twitter.com/FShZyJlCar
— Louise Linehan (@Lou_Linehan) April 22, 2016
Our CMO Sam Silverwood-Cope did another fantastic job of hosting the night.
The winners of the Pi Datametrics pub quiz
And the official @PiDatametrics#BrightonSEO pub quiz champions are the seo experts! @dawnieando@hamer30@PlumJanspic.twitter.com/G1BGQnXPa6
— Pi Datametrics (@PiDatametrics) April 22, 2016
1st place: The “SEO Experts” battled their way to victory, with 57 points out of a possible 68, and were the proud winners of the much coveted Pi Datametrics pub quiz cup, and an abundance of wine.
2nd place: Coming in at 2nd place was the “Random team” with 53.5 points
3rd place: The original winners of the Pi Datametrics Christmas pub quiz, “The Journalists” took 3rd place.