Matt Colebourne is the CEO at Searchmetrics, a global provider of search data, software, and consulting solutions. I spoke to him about why he believes that organic search and SEO don’t get the “love” they deserve from organisations, how to make SEO a whole-organisation effort and tap into its true value, and what major trends he foresees for search marketing and SEO, including why the demise of third-party cookies makes search all the more powerful.
Image: Matt Colebourne
Tell us about your role – what does a typical day look like?
I don’t have a typical day; they’re all very different. We’re a dynamic business in a growing and rapidly changing market. My role involves a combination of both strategic and operational responsibilities.
So, one day I might be speaking at an event about the importance and ROI benefits of SEO and its role within digital marketing strategies. On another, I could be working closely with customers and prospects to ensure we’re delivering on their needs. And, of course, sometimes I’m taking care of the basics such as budgeting and planning.
The workload like this whatsapp number list allows both the vendor and the affiliate to focus on. Clicks are the number of clicks coming to your website’s URL from organic search results.
A key part of my job – and something I’m passionate about – is acting as a sounding board and player-coach to my team. I want to ensure people feel empowered and supported to act and make decisions. I’m not a strong believer in a company structure where everyone is required to get approvals for individual decisions. In a fast-changing industry this just ties up time and increases the chance of missed opportunities. Instead, I aim to give everyone a clear remit within which they can do their job – with the ability to make decisions independently. At the same time, I encourage individuals to consult with colleagues to get good ideas and to test new concepts.
Do you think that brands in 2022 put enough emphasis on SEO, and search marketing in general? Why or why not?
No. While things are changing, I still don’t think organic search gets the attention it deserves in the wider marketing mix or the business. Part of the problem is that it’s seen as a largely tactical, technical discipline that senior marketing and business chiefs don’t find easy to get their heads around.
Sometimes I think we don’t help ourselves because we focus on metrics such as keyword rankings that don’t translate to what a business is trying to achieve. SEO is a proven marketing channel that delivers fantastic return on investment (ROI) – we need to focus on that ROI rather than SEO-specific metrics that can confuse marketers because they don’t align with the other metrics they’re used to seeing.