SEO has been a dreadful word for me since I have gone online. I don’t know much about it till now. So when I met Roms at Boss Bellas a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to interview her and ask about SEO 101!
Tell us about what you do?
Hello! I’m Romela Iane de Leon-Ortega, and you can call me Roms 🙂
I help brands (both local and international) optimize their websites for search. My goal is to enable businesses harness the power of user traffic from search engines to drive their bottom line.
I do SEO consultations, as well as implementations through the help of my team of experienced SEO professionals.
What is SEO in a nutshell?
SEO is a set of processes that you apply on a website to help it rank better for relevant search terms (keywords, i.e. “online school supplies shopping philippines”) typed in by people in search engines. The goal is to drive traffic to your site from search users who are ready-to-buy or to-decide.
SEO is a marketing discipline under online or digital marketing. Unlike with social media marketing, SEO is focused on search queries or keywords that signal the intent of people to make a decision and opt-in to your offer. I would say that SEO fits a wide spectrum of people. It suits creatives, marketers, coders/developers. Part of the SEO process involves technical applications, content marketing, and relationship-building.
Why do entrepreneurs or bloggers like me need to know the basics of SEO?
Entrepreneurs can make use of SEO in meeting their business goals. People using search engines are deliberately looking for something to buy or research about (i.e restaurant reviews). As I’ve mentioned earlier, SEO is a discipline that focuses on user-intent. And that is reflected in their use of keywords or search queries. While having a social media presence is equally important to drive awareness, the social channel uses audience targeting, which in my opinion quite misses out in the spur-of-the-moment intent or need of a user when looking for something. That’s the opportunity for brands. By implementing SEO, you have greater chance to reach to a market that’s ready to buy or opt-in for you. Also, SEO yields long-term results. It is not a growth hack technique where one day you win, the next day you lose or you’re not sure if you’ll get the same results. With SEO, you can power in long-term traffic to your website once you do it right, and continue with marketing your brand or content
For bloggers on the other hand, of course it’s important that you are found on Google when people look for an authority figure in your niche. If you are a life coach for WAHMs, for example, then it’s a must that you rank for keywords that relate to your service. Like I said, SEO is not a one-time win. It usually needs six months of time/work investment, so you can continually drive traffic to your site from search engines in the long-term.
Do you do coaching or seminars regarding SEO?
Yes! I specialize in one-on-one SEO coaching, workshops, e-book courses, and video courses (to be launched very soon!) targeted for SEO beginners and freelancers. I teach the basic course because I believe there’s a need for aspiring SEOs to start on the right track. There’s a lot of misconception about SEO. Some people are mislead to believe in black hat or unethical SEO techniques. These sort of things I believe are very short-term. They can hurt your brand, and does not always add value to the search user.
What’s your advocacy for your SEO business?
Apart from helping our local brands, I’m opening up a new market to meet my advocacy goals. I want to encourage WAHMs (work at home moms) to learn SEO and try their hand in this highly dynamic, and creative marketing technique. I really think moms make the best marketers because they handle the economic and lifestyle choices of our families, right? They are mostly the ones you find in supermarkets, schools, churches, etc. So I think moms are a natural fit for SEO. Plus, I am happy to say that SEO is not usually tied to an hourly pay. You can charge better rates because SEO work is normally project-based. So there goes your time and location freedom!
Tell us about your upcoming SEO workshop for beginners.
I partner with Manila Workshops in all my SEO workshops and seminars. This coming June 24th, we will be having our 2nd run of SEO for beginners. It’s a whole day event so you can expect that we pack it with helpful information + activities to get you started in your SEO 101 career. For more details, please visit: http://manilaworkshops.com/events/seo-for-freelancers-second-run
Romela is a 10-year SEO Veteran and WAHM. She has handled various optimization projects, spanning several industries both local and global. Her usual freelance projects involve small to medium range businesses.
Aside from her own search marketing consultancy business at romeladeleon.com , she’s also working side by side with her husband in running their creative design agency: getsomecola.com
