Ecorys UK Spotlight Series with SEO Specialist Sam Swinton

To celebrate World Social Media Day, we caught up with Digital Communications Consultant, Sam Swinton, in our Communications and Digital team, on his views working within the digital space.

Check out what he said in our quickfire interview below:

What made you want to work in the digital space?

Post university, I took a job in advertising sales and marketing, I found the digital space really interesting, the marriage between data and creativity in digital marketing has helped brands with success. It is also an area that is forever evolving and changing. There are ups and downs with digital and the internet, but it is a central part of almost everyone’s lives.

Can you explain SEO briefly?

SEO is the task of ensuring your website is appearing as high as possible on search engine result pages for the search terms that are relevant to your business. It is important as the largest share of traffic to your website is more than likely from search engines. It looks at how only ranking your content for specific keywords, but also how your website performs with load speed, crawlability and mobile friendliness, among many, many aspects.

What has been your favourite campaign to have worked on?

Working on the European Cluster Collaboration Platform has been a favourite due to the variety of work I have been involved in. Ranging from user experience, web developments, content creation, and producing insights and analytics.

How do you measure success?

Success can be measured differently for each project and client, using a measurement plan, and being involved early on in projects will help create a solid infrastructure for analysis of performance and measuring success. Understanding client objectives is the most important first step.

How do you stay on top of the latest updates, innovations, and new platforms?

Staying on top of the latest changes to Google, Facebook, Twitter and the changes with privacy and user data is important, so subscribing to receiving the companies updates and changes is recommended. Also, find websites that specialise in each area that concerns you, there is an abundance of SEO sites, PPC and digital marketing news and case studies.

Any advice for someone trying to get into analytics or work in the same field?

Take advantage of the free courses available from Google, Facebook and SEMrush, learn how to use their tools, and what their metrics mean. Learn about matching metrics to business objectives, and conversions. You will quickly learn about other tools used, more advanced analytics and how to understand the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.