BrigthonSEO September 2023 is done and dusted. Countless hours in the car, uncomfortable beds in a local hotel, tasty coffee from Sussex Coffee Trucks, networking opportunities and plenty of knowledge shared. Read my re-cap from the conference below.
BrightonSEO is the biggest SEO conference in the UK. It started by fellow SEOs getting together in local pub and exchanging knowledge and it became a 3-day long get-together opportunity for learning, networking, and training.
This year I attended talks focussing on personal development, wellbeing, technical SEO, log files, information architecture and product management:
Malcolm Coles – Learn how to combine Google Sheets functions and do a keyword research analysis in 5 minutes
Everyone loves efficiency, right? Use query function combined with some formulae and you’re a wizard! More details about this function can be found in Google Docs Editors Help and in Google Charts.
Charlie Whitworth – How to tackle keyword cannibalisation & dominate the organic SERPs
Key takeaways:
- Audit your site: Is cannibalisation really an issue?
- Get rid of any duplicate, similar, thin or low engagement URLs
- Cluster your keywords to strengthen signals and improve UX
- Fill content gaps, but don’t create new URLs for every single keyword if not necessary
- Don’t overdo it
Jess Maloney – Unleashing the full potential of keyword research
Expand your keyword research beyond Google. Use keyword research data for platforms that your target audience uses: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube etc. Carry-out an in-depth analysis of your data. Mark-up your keywords into multiple buckets/categories. Depending on your client’s offering they may include: time of year, demographic, cost, colour, size etc. Use the insights to inform your content strategy.
Thiago Pojda – Exploiting XPath in Screaming Frog/Google Sheets
Use XPath to extract relevant data using Screaming Frog in bulk, e.g. missing content on category pages, product pages without on-page copy, certain elements present/missing from templates. Once you’ve gathered your data, use the insights to analyse potential issues or maximise discovered opportunity. A quick check shows that over 40% of PLP pages on Next’s website does not contain any on-page copy.
Aliya Mirzakhmet – JavaScript SEO, solved
By following Aliya’s recommendations (have an up-to-date sitemap, optimise JavaScript files as much as possible, use ‘href’ for internal links, analyse and optimise crawl efficiency, render your pages) JavaScript shouldn’t cause too many issues.
Ruth Everett – Demystifying Chrome Devtools
Probably one of my favorite talks, due to excellent DPP (dog per page) ratio. Ruth uncovers the potential of DevTools. Some of the tasks that can be carried out without 3rd party tools are:
- Reviewing and validating elements (from JavaScript injected/altered content to on-page elements)
- Running Google Lighthouse and analysing performance metrics
- Discovering JavaScript errors
- Taking full page screenshots!
Vanda Pókecz – Are SEOs like architects? An SEO product manager’s story
Gus Pelogia – Think like a product manager and optimize beyond the SEO bubble
Greg Gifford – Product management – the secret to being an SEO superhero (deck is not yet available)
Julien Deneuville – How to handle internal linking on large scale websites
JM Felip – Wanted: link wranglers – taming your site’s wild herd
Internal link are a quick and easy way to improve performance of your target pages. Josep’s dashboard will allow you to discover opportunities at a glance.
Grace Frohlich – Pirates should use maps: how to build a user journey map for search
A step-by-step guide how to carry out an in-depth keyword research that will guide you through content creation and optimisation for your website.
Create your map:
- Lay a foundation and set your objectives
- Create user persona to build a user journey with AI
- Categorise and map keywords to your user journey
And use it to create a bullet-proof strategy.
Ryan Jones – Mastering mental health in digital marketing’s always-on world
Adrijana Vujadin – 3 sabotages that SEO professionals believe are good for them
Tazmin Suleman – The most important algorithm you need to understand
Claire Taylor – Running a successful business without it ruling your life
You can browse all talks and decks on BrightonSEO’s and if you’re feeling inspired and would like to share your knowledge, pitch your talk.