Ross Hudgens’ Post

You don’t want your agency to be a rocketship. I know that back in Siege Media’s early days - when it was just me and a laptop - I thought I wanted exponential growth. I was chasing that hockey stick curve. Instead, it was a bit of a grind and we experienced more steady, reliable growth. In hindsight, now, I can see that our steadiness was such a blessing and an asset. Scaling a people business is really, really hard. I’ve watched agencies reach huge heights - just to plummet really fast. Rocketship-level growth usually turns into: - Declining quality. - Operational chaos.  - Inexperienced leadership. - Lowered hiring standards.  - Layoffs and reputational hits. Siege’s YoY growth (10-30%) let us avoid most of those pitfalls. Instead, we were able to maintain quality, focus on the details, do right by our clients and drive innovation. For the clients and job seekers out there: Look for agencies that grow sustainably over time. Those are the ones you want to work with and for. And to the new agency owners: Slow and steady is a good thing! Appreciate it, and take advantage of all the time and runway you have to get it right.

The SEO industry is changing. That’s why I’m thrilled to be joined by Clearscope Founder Bernard Huang on the latest episode of Siege Media’s podcast Content and Conversation. Bernard and I had a great discussion about the future of the industry, our takes on information gain, and how we can use forums to inform content strategy. We also explore how Clearscope and Siege are adapting their roadmaps to meet AI head on. Bernard, thanks so much for the conversation - loved getting into the weeds with you on this one. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gYnWnAPG

Success comes from doing what you love with people you like. As an example of this, I had a blast catching an NFL game with Nick LeRoy in Minnesota recently. Nick and I sometimes work together, so there was arguably a business reason to meet up. But one of the best things about being in the SEO industry all these years are the connections that I’ve made, and catching up with Nick over football and SEO throughout the past decade has been a highlight. And not to push the sports (and SEO!) metaphor too far, but playing the long game without immediate expectations makes work, and the network you’re building, more meaningful. It's even better when you're surrounded by great people.

Buy a domain for its potential links - not its current links. Here’s how that worked for us at Siege: In April 2023, we acquired Contrast Ratio, a free tool that measures website contrast. We used it frequently in our sales process and saw the value it had for SEO and content. At the time, it had over 1,000 existing backlinks. We saw its potential and its relevance to Siege. So we: - Moved it under our brand. - Improved its user experience. - Maintained rankings and generated ongoing links from it. The result: Since joining our portfolio, it has generated over 100 new high-quality links, including several from trusted universities. Some SEOs will say that expired or redirected domains no longer hold value for backlinks. And sure, old links seemingly can lose some steam when a domain moves. But if you can maintain traffic and enhance the page or tool, it’s a clear win. The reason for that? You’re buying it for what it will be, rather than what it was. That’s a future proofed SEO strategy.

Small changes to your related links can equal big results. Five things to think about this when developing your related links strategy: 1. Adjust for a mobile-first audience. If your readers are on mobile, large images will slow down load times. Consider micro thumbnails or text-only links. 2. Accommodate for (AKA, hide) your stock imagery. If you’re currently using stock imagery, choose an accordion slider or similar tool to minimize the number of generic images. 3. Highlight time-sensitive or super-current content. If you’re covering the news, make sure the date stands out in the related link thumbnails. 4. Feature SEO-focused content. Include search-optimized posts in your related links or time-sensitive updates, depending on how frequently you publish. This will drive performance. 5. Use 6+ links in related linking. In a recent case study, we saw a 5% increase in engagement metrics and a large jump in rankings moving to six related links from three. Taking a customized, thoughtful approach to related links improves your UX and does right by your content.

Programmatic SEO or craft content creation: which is better? The future of SEO isn't about choosing sides - it's about mastering the art of balance. Programmatic SEO offers: - Efficiency. - Scalability. - Low-cost, high-volume content. On the flip side, there's the culture of craft content: - High-touch. - Brand-focused. - Quality over quantity. I’ve noticed that companies excelling in one area can struggle to shift gears and/or see the value in the other. A programmatic SEO-driven org may not want to spend thousands on a single piece of content, even if it’s expertly-crafted and drives revenue. On the other end, brands focused on carefully crafted content may find it challenging to think and act in terms of scaled-out SEO strategies. The key to a high-performing SEO program is understanding when to prioritize efficiency and when to focus on craftsmanship. It's about fostering a culture that values both and knows exactly when to pull the right lever. One of our favorite case studies here: Zapier. Zapier is well-known for their programmatic strategy, but also manages to nail craft content on their blog. There was initial tension there, but the organization’s willingness to change and innovate is a big reason why they have been so successful with SEO.

How much does it cost to run a digital PR survey? There’s an easy way to calculate that. Here’s how we do it at Siege: 1. Choose your tool. At Siege Media we use SurveyMonkey’s audience preview calculator to compare survey costs. (Not sponsored, just the tool we like.) 2. Select your sample size. To make your data meaningful, you’ll need a sample size that provides statistical significance - typically between 300 to 1,000 respondents, depending on your industry. SurveyMonkey also has a sample size calculator for determining this. 3. Determine your survey questions. We suggest including 10 questions in your survey. If you’re using SurveyMonkey, you’ll see the price difference between 5 to 10 questions is minimal. What to expect on pricing: The average consumer audience survey costs around $1,800. For more niche audiences, costs may go up to $6,000. SurveyMonkey does also require a yearly subscription in the $900-$2,700/year range, but if you’re employing digital PR as a recurring strategy, that’s a rounding error. And a note on question selection: This likely deserves its own post, but think carefully about the story you want to tell and the headlines you want to generate when creating your questions. In our case, we specifically plan out our content roadmap such that each question can tie to a future topic. For example, we build a content marketing trends survey and have a question on interactive content, that is then referenced in a future post on the same subject.

No one likes losing at work. Whether it's a lost deal, a departing team member, or a client walking away - it often stings more than we’d like and can weigh us down. But I do believe there’s a big silver lining: every work-related loss is an opportunity. It’s a chance to show grace, composure, and professionalism in the face of setbacks. It's easy to lead when things go right. But how you respond when things go wrong reveals the depth and strength of your leadership. I share more thoughts on this below. (And would love to hear your perspective, too.)

The key ingredient to getting more press coverage? First-party data. One big takeaway that stood out to me in Cision’s annual State of the Media Report is how heavily journalists are relying on data to shape their stories. This year, nearly two in five journalists say data is playing a bigger role in how they approach their work. You can make their jobs easier - and earn media coverage - by: 1. Conducting your own surveys to create first-party data. 2. Including that first-party data in your pitches. 3. Including multi-media visualizations of that data (videos, infographics) in your pitches.  4. Connecting your data to newsworthy trends that are earning press coverage and clicks. Generating your own data not only benefits your owned channels, like your sales pages or blogs - it makes you a valuable resource for journalists who need great and unique data to support their storytelling.

What themes do high performing SaaS content operations share? Superpath CEO Jimmy Daly has interviewed more than 70 high-performing SaaS marketers for his great podcast: Content, Briefly. (Me among them - I had a great time on his show back in August.) So, I was especially glad to talk with Jimmy for the latest episode of Siege Media’s podcast Content and Conversation. I used our time to pick his brain about: - The content types driving outsized results. - Innovative content marketing tactics everyone should know. - Common traits among high-performing SaaS content marketers. Watch below, or find us wherever you get your podcasts. Jimmy, thanks for a great conversation. https://lnkd.in/g66pjhBR