Ben McKay

When chima mmeje🏳️‍🌈 moved to the UK in 2022 and launched the Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries, she quickly noticed something surprising: 90% of people signing up for the Tech #SEO training thought it meant “SEO for tech companies”. This was a simple misunderstanding caused by a lack of awareness and she knew she needed to do something about that. She realised many people from developing countries had historically gravitated toward content work, as it’s often the easiest entry point into the industry. Chima shares how she herself first got into SEO through content, simply because it was something she could teach herself without formal training. Chima also shares how instrumental Aleyda Solís was in getting the FCC off the ground in its early days - and how she didn’t hesitate for a second to offer her help. Watch the full episode here https://lnkd.in/eyaWT7Ks

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My annual post recommending digital marketing trends to watch is now live, covering the new techniques and opportunities to look forward to in the year ahead. ✨ 🔮 📈 🚀 https://lnkd.in/ejh6s5GZ Of course AI is the main game in town, but which aspects of AI should you be taking a look at from a strategic POV? I cover 5 top-level use-cases of using AI to support marketing. But AI isn't the only game in town and I also look at the latest Gartner hype cycle, our updated Martech tools wheel and other opportunities to improve marketing across our RACE framework. Please take a look and let me know the new techniques and trends which you think will be important for you in the year ahead.

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This is me at the lectern last week giving a talk on AI, SEO and Digital PR. It was a Figaro Digital event for marketers working within financial services, professional services and B2B. I've been asked quite a lot about this subject recently so here are a few of the main take-aways from my talk: 1. Don't panic. Yes things are changing and it's ok to feel overwhelmed by the avalanche of AI news, but things aren't changing quite as quickly as some would have you believe. AI search is tiny compared to organic Google searches and the intent behind those searches is quite different. You have plenty of time to consider your approach and adapt activity before Chat-GPT overtakes Google, if it ever does. 2. SEO isn't dead. If you are doing best practice SEO then you are already doing most of what the LLMs care about. Ignore the hype. Rather than being dead I think we'll see the opposite, a boom in demand for good SEOs who understand how to rank in both search engines and AI. 3. Brand mentions are vital. Having your brand spoken about and reviewed in the press and on social channels is one of the most important things if you want to get more AI traffic. That's why being great at Digital PR is a superpower. 4. Data is limited. We're at the start of things so the tools we are used to haven't been created yet or are far from where we need them to be. Those great keyword suggestion tools and the ranking software you're used to aren't really a thing yet. This is important if you are requesting or defending budget for this work as it's a lot harder to do projections and harder to prove value. I was hoping people would find the talk useful and thankfully the attendees did, with 94% of the room rating it "very good" or "excellent". With that in mind I'll be delivering it at other event in the coming months. Watch this space.

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📢 Google’s AI Mode is here in the UK - and it’s changing everything. Google has launched their most powerful AI search experience yet. Unlike traditional search, AI Mode introduces a conversational, context aware experience powered by Gemini. It’s not just surfacing links, it’s generating answers. For brands, this marks a major shift in how digital visibility is earned. To win in this new landscape, here’s what you need to focus on: ✅ Be reference-worthy - your content needs to be clear, trusted, and well-structured so Google cites you in AI responses ✅ Double down on EEAT - expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness are critical to appearing in generative results ✅ Optimise for entity recognition - make it easy for Google to understand who you are and what you do at a semantic level ✅ Create for context, not just keywords - content must answer broader intent, not just rank for specific terms ✅ Embrace structured data - schema, FAQs, how-tos, and product markup are foundational to being picked up by AI systems ✅ Rethink your performance mix – this is key, it's never been more important for paid and organic to work together to own more of the AI-influenced customer journey. A siloed strategy is a big no no. Hello Everysearch™ It’s never been more important to seriously rethink how your brand shows up in search. #GoogleAIMode #FutureOfSearch #SEO #ContentStrategy #DigitalMarketing #FoundEverysearch Found.

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Top tip for my freelance marketing homies out there: Stop trying to justify the costs involved in what you provide. Focus on the value/deliverables it will provide instead. I see a lot of people breaking down the fact that their prices include insurance, software, equipment, holiday pay etc. And whilst that’s all absolutely true, I’ll let you in on a little secret: That potential client doesn’t give a toss. They only care about them getting results/returns from whatever the service is that you’re selling. Try this instead: “That price is a bit steep. Especially as we didn’t get any results last time we did this.” “Interesting. How much did you pay for this last time, what did you get for it, how was it implemented, and what did you get back?” “We spent £300 on [let them specify shit deliverables from the fella from Fiverr] and got nothing back” “What’s an avg client worth to you?” “£3000”. “Ok. Well for [insert price], here’s a full breakdown of our process, all the exact deliverables you’ll get, how they’ll be used, and the metrics we’ll measure to show how they’ll affect your bottom line. I’ve also attached 3 examples of businesses similar to yours that we’ve done this for and the results they got. If we can land you [x] new clients from this in [y] time, how much profit does that leave in your pocket each month?” People think they want someone to “do a thing”. What they ACTUALLY want is confidence that there’s a clear system behind the investment that will return more than they’re putting into it. Frame your conversations this way and you’ll have a much nicer time on sales calls. P.S- there are plenty of people out there that are inherently just cheap/daft and will always place price above logic/evidence. Don’t waste your time or energy on those. The economy will teach them harsher lessons than you ever could. #Freelance #Marketing #Sales

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Unlocking the Power of Storytelling in Branding Connect emotionally with your audience Showcase your brand's journey Highlight customer success stories Use visuals to bring your brand story to life 👉 Follow The Unspoken Pitch on the journey into selling with visual storytelling #BrandStorytelling #Marketing #Visuals

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Today marks a major milestone in the fight to protect children online. The UK’s Online Safety Act fully comes into force with new rules requiring platforms to enforce effective age checks and remove harmful content that puts young people at risk. As an agency working in Youth Marketing and utilising digital channels to engage our audiences, we hugely welcome and support this long-overdue shift. Too many children have been exposed to harmful material online whether that’s violent content, pornography, eating disorder encouragement, or bullying leading to devastating consequences. These updates force platforms to take real accountability, prioritising child safety by design, not as an afterthought. This isn’t just the right thing to do for society, it’s the smart thing for business too. Stronger protections build trust, improve digital experiences and set a higher standard for innovation. It’s time the internet worked for the next generation, not against them. #onlinesafetyact #nextgeneration #youthmarketing

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