RSM University Hosted its First Seminar: Class Is in Session!

RSM Marketing hosted its very first RSM University event on Thursday, September 16th. This seminar was a significant moment for us, as RSM University has been in the works for quite some time now. Our Marketing Director, Sundee Dunn, leads the initiative, organizing all RSM U efforts and planning future events.

These free courses dive deep into several digital marketing topics, including search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, social media, brand building, lead generation, video production, website design, and so much more. To participate in our events, you only have to register. A different member of our team hosts each event. We encourage viewers to ask questions during the events and pick the brains of our seasoned marketers.

If you missed our first event, we invite you to check it out now. We record all of our events and will send out links to anyone who requests them, whether they want to watch the event again or they missed it the first time.

Bryan Marvin, our Lead SEO Specialist (or “Level 99 SEO Wizard” if you prefer), hosted our first event, titled Building, Breaking, and Rebuilding: What it Takes to Recover from SEO Losses. In it, he discussed SEO recovery, as well as general SEO topics.

Those who have tried to delve deeper into the world of search engine optimization will know that it is a grotesque, shape-shifting monster that is truly impossible to understand fully. Despite that, SEO efforts are crucial if you want your website to perform well and drive traffic, which is why we recommend that you check out our first seminar.

Questions and Answers from Our First Event

We allow viewers to submit questions during the event, which we answer once the seminar concludes. Here are some of the questions that viewers asked and our answers to those questions.

What are the best free SEO tools?

There are a handful of Google tools in addition to Google Search Console (GSC). GSC is a great tool to see how Google indexes your site; it’s the best tool for accurate, usable data. Google Analytics is a top tool, as well.

Google Trends does a great job of showing related topics and their ability to propel your website through terms that are crushing the search. For keyword research, you can use Google Keyword Planner for free with a Google Ads account. Surfer SEO is a free chrome extension.

If you don’t have an SEO expert, how much should you budget for annual SEO efforts?

You can determine the answer to this question by understanding your competitors’ budgets, and it depends on the depth and breadth of how many products or services you offer. You should start with at least $750 to $1,500 per month to get a good foundation.

Individuals competing for prices can be a risk. The proven companies have higher costs. Remember that SEO is an ongoing investment, even when it’s not delivering the leads you want. SEO is similar to building a tower, and the tallest tower wins. Keep adding!

What is something that ANYONE can do to help their SEO?

The best way to implement SEO is to understand your customers’ mentality, otherwise referred to as user intent. Talk to your sales team and inquire about the questions that your customers ask before signing a contract. Find the answers to these questions and explain how your company can solve those pain points on your website. Your website is a sales facilitating platform, so answer the questions your sales team consistently receives.

How often do Google updates occur?

​​There are several update levels. Google Core Updates typically occur between two and four times per year. However, there are minor updates that do not affect the core algorithm, and these updates usually occur one to six times per year. Additionally, Google makes changes to its algorithms daily. They provide those numbers with a frequency of around eight to ten updates per day. To answer your question simply, very often!

When can you stop doing SEO?

Never! We will never recommend that you stop your efforts; continue building that tower! You need to establish a culture that understands how SEO content can fit on your website. Are you cannibalizing keywords from other parts of the site? Rework content and refresh those layers. Having a guide for your overall strategy is beneficial for this.

If you follow all SEO best practices, can you guarantee first-page or #1 rankings on Google?

There is no guarantee! SEO relies on four parties: Google, users, your website, and your competition. You can only control one of these factors (can you guess which one?). Thus, even if you do everything “perfectly,” it’s impossible to guarantee excellent search engine results page (SERP) rankings. The only thing you can do is not get discouraged!

Register for Upcoming RSM University Seminars!

We are very excited that you get to be a part of RSM University. If you enjoyed our first event, we highly recommend you register for our upcoming seminars.

• Tuesday, October 5th, 9 AM CDT Risky Business: Understanding & Mitigating Website Risks
• Tuesday, October 19th, 9 AM CDT The Four P’s of Marketing
• Wednesday, November 10th, 10 AM CDT Brand Positioning and Analysis that WORKS
• Tuesday, November 30th, 10 AM CDT How to Measure Marketing Success

We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming RSM University classes!

Have more SEO-related questions? Interested in outsourcing your marketing efforts? We’re here to help! Schedule a free consultation with RSM Marketing today!