RUSSELL Scott is the SEO and analytics manager with newspapers, magazines and comics publisher, DC Thomson.
He has been in the post since August 2011 and has previously worked in both the public and private sectors, for Angus Council and C2 Software Ltd, in various roles – from IT support consultancy to ‘geographical information systems’.
He submitted this on Tuesday, May 27.
What exactly is it that you do?
As SEO and analytics manager for DC Thomson, it means that it’s my job to make sure that DC Thomson comes up top in search results for the products they sell. I also take care of tracking the web statistics across all our publications and reporting these to the board. Previously, I’ve worked on PPC [pay-per-click] campaigns, social media strategy, and I also train staff within the company on SEO and social.
What did your working day today or yesterday comprise?
Currently, I’m working on promoting one of DC Thomson’s latest publications, The Stooshie. After making sure the new website was in good shape to show up in search results, I then started contacting people who have written stories about the magazine launch to get some links pointing at our site. I really enjoy this part of my job, as it means you reach out to a lot of new people, help them to enrich their stories, and also get a result for the magazine. If I had never asked for a link from allmediascotland, I wouldn’t be writing this now!
How different or similar is your average working day to when you started?
The great thing about SEO is that it doesn’t stand still. Because of the evolving nature of the web, my job is constantly changing, and there’s always something new to learn. It’s a really exciting industry to work in. When I started, there was a lot to take in, but now I have some experience behind me, the challenge now is to get creative to raise the profile of the sites I’m working on. Also, with the diverse portfolio DC Thomson has, I’m always working on something different. One day it might The People’s Friend, the next it could be The Beano.
How do you see your job evolving?
If I knew that I’d be a very rich man! I presume my job will evolve as technology in general – and search technology, in particular – evolves. For example, as voice search is becoming more prominent, people are searching more by questions. In this case, we need to create good quality, original content to answer these questions. There’s also a big push just now for ‘long form’ content. People want detailed answers and, more than that, insight into a topic. The days of syndicating content are gone, fantastic original content is where it’s at.
What gives you the most job satisfaction?
What gives me the most satisfaction in my work is hitting that number one spot in Google. There’s a real feeling of a hunt or a chase to get a top spot sometimes and it’s this challenge that I really love. I’m definitely a competitive person, and, in SEO, coming first is everything.
