Order of importance

[Studio33]

Hi,

From the screenshot below I have signed up to "Plan 1".  I am not happy with the company and think I can do this better myself using SEOMoz.  My questions are.  Ignoring the one off tasks listed.

Which of the Monthly tasks is the most important, which is the second most important etc?

Is there any that can be ignored or are any now detrimental to SEO?

Is there anything that is not on the list that maybe there should be?

In summary I am trying to workout how hard and how much time and effort it will take to go it alone using SEOMoz for guidance?

In case the screenshot doesn't show, below is the Monthly tasks I get on my Plan.

5 x Themed Link Building (min PR2)

10 x Directory Submissions

4 x Blogs

250 words Content Copywriting

1 x Article syndicated 50 times

Thanks

Andrew

[TomRayner]

Hi Andrew

The screenshot hasn't been attached, could you try again or list the tasks here?

The fact that it's a preset plan makes me pessimistic to begin with.

[Studio33]

Hi thanks for the feedback I didn;t realize it hadn;t shown.  I have updated the question.

[TomRayner]

No worries Andrew. Here's my feedback.

You would be able to do this per month quite easily. The problem is that you shouldn't do any of it. At least not in this matter.

Directory submissions - I would can altogether. The value of the link you will get from a directory is already weak, but what we have seen in 2013 so far are a lot of directory links being devalued.  Taking the time, and possibly money, to submit to directories is just a waste to me.  It's a favourite of bad companies because it is quick and scalable.  You should remember that there are no quick wins in SEO, or at least very few of them.

If you absolutely must use directories, have a look at the SEOMoz directory list. Look for the ones that specialise in your niche/industry.

"Themed Link Building" - I don't even know what that would entail. The fact they are judging it by PR, an outdated, inaccurate and easily manipulated metric, worries me quite a lot.

Article syndication - just no. It reeks of laziness, duplicate content and will offer little to no value whatsoever.

If I were you, I'd concentrate with your website first.  Ensure that everything is in order with your own house and that you're targeting the right keywords before you continue.  Here are some really useful audits you can carry out:

SEER Interactive Audit Checklist

SEOMoz Audit Guide

Keyword audit guide from Zazzle Media

I mentioned before that there aren't many quick wins when building links.  If there are any to be found, you can definitely find some at PointBlankSEO.  Read their Link Building Resources guide and also the complete link building strategy guide.  Both are extremely detailed and the second link also includes a tool that gives the estimated time for completion, which could be useful for you.

After that, I'd always look at producing some great content, both for your own site and for guest publications.  Make your website exceptional by producing content for your industry that has never been seen before.  Keep your best content on your own site.  If you're looking for content partners, don't look at PR.  Don't even look at PA/DA.  Look at how engaged their audience is, how active they are on social media and relevant it is to your industry.  MyBlogGuest is a quick stop for some resources, but you'll have more luck jumping into the communities where your audience appears, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.  Identify key influencers in your industry via FollowerWonk and strike up a genuine connection.

This is just a brief summary, but I hope these links help set you on your way.

[Studio33]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the response.  So I am 100% clear, what you are saying.  Would this be a good plan of attack? Get the site A graded by SEOMoz tools.  Forget about directory submissions unless they are top notch.  Forget about articles totally.  Once the site is A graded concentrate on the Blog content and make it a) interesting to our users b) add keywords into the blog as per LSI blog writing techniques.

Incidentally we are an online invoicing company which is a fairly dull subject to blog about, any ideas how to make our blog interesting?  And is it more important that google finds it "interesting" from a SEO point of view rather than humans?

Thanks

Andrew

[TomRayner]

I wouldn't forget about articles completely, just make them compelling and only market them on proper blogs or websites, not article directories etc.

Invoicing itself may not be that compelling, but invoicing is an integral part of any online business.  Therefore, it is not too much of a leap for the user or especially Google for you to produce engaging content on business practices, small business advice etc.  Business advice could be a huge market to explore.  There won't be a problem producing content across the business niche for a company offering your product, I wouldn't think.

The algorithm itself does not differentiate between "exciting" or boring content, but it will take notice of social signals (which are more likely to be present in engaging content) and will also take notice of a page with rich media, such as images or videos.

Hope this helps and feel free to pop in with any more questions!

Tom

[Studio33]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the reply.  What do you mean by Social Signals?

Andrew