When you evolve in the world of digital marketing, there are encounters that mark a turning point in your professional career. My meeting with Dennis Yu, at the Affiliate World event in Dubai, in February 2024, was undoubtedly one of those memorable experiences.
Dennis Yu, recognized for his expertise as a search engine engineer, writer and speaker, is a true source of inspiration for anyone interested in natural referencing (SEO) and digital marketing.
A great setting for valuable conversations
Affiliate World Dubai is a must-attend event for all digital marketing professionals. It was in this prestigious setting that I had the chance to meet Dennis Yu. The city of Dubai, with its futuristic atmosphere and economic dynamism, was the perfect setting for discussions around the latest trends in SEO and digital marketing.
First exchanges : Diving into the world of SEO
From the first moments of our meeting, Dennis Yu captured my attention with his mastery of the subject and his ability to simplify complex concepts.
We discussed the basics of SEO, as well as more advanced strategies to improve a website’s ranking on search engines.
Dennis emphasized the importance of understanding Google's algorithm and staying up-to-date with frequent changes in the field.
Valuable advice for an effective future SEO strategy
Throughout our conversation, Dennis shared several valuable tips for optimizing an SEO strategy. We covered many topics that I already knew were important and had an impact on rankings.
Below, I'll share the five key points that I believe are most important for establishing relevant and successful SEO strategies.
Offer quality content
Although this principle seems to be logical, many professionals in our field do not pay enough attention to offering quality content. Indeed, at a time when the content offering is prominent, it sometimes becomes difficult to offer unique and value-added content.
However, Dennis Yu did not shy away from the fact that this is a fight not to be taken lightly. In a world where information is omnipresent, the quality of content becomes a determining factor in attracting, retaining and retaining visitors to a website.
Disclosing well-developed, informative and relevant content strengthens the credibility of a company, a legal person or an institution. In the contemporary digital landscape, it is quality content that establishes a deep connection with the audience and promotes organic sharing on social networks, other websites or between people.
Dennis Yu took the time to explain to me how much importance search engines place on content quality when ranking pages. Consequently, this directly impacts the visibility of a site on the web. So, by offering quality content, we are able to stand out in a saturated digital environment. Additionally, it also establishes a strong reputation and long-term trust, both for the public and for Google.
In conclusion, offering quality content turns out to be a real pillar for the success and sustainability of a website. According to Dennis Yu, whose point of view I share, a user-centered approach appears to be the key to success in SEO.
Importance of connections through social media
During his speech at Affiliate World Dubai, Dennis Yu discussed a subject whose importance I did not realize in the world of SEO: connections through social media and the web. During our impromptu meeting in an alley, I had the chance to explore this subject in depth with Dennis. And I must admit that it opened my eyes wide for the future of VIA Communication.
Connections through social media play an unsuspected, but significant, role in SEO due to:
- their impact on online visibility
- user engagement
- the perceived authority of a site
Concretely, when content is shared, liked or commented on on social media, it sends a positive signal to search engines. For example, Google considers social engagement as an indicator of relevance and interest for Internet users. So, social links contribute to better natural referencing.
Google Knowledge Graph : a tool not to be underestimated
Additionally, Dennis also discussed the impact of Google Knowledge Graph. Google's knowledge graph is a massive information database filled with billions of pieces of data about diverse people, places, and topics. This tool allows Google to provide immediate and factual answers when searching the web.
So, for example, when VIA Communication publishes posts on social media tagging places, public figures or companies with authority, the Google graph begins to create links between all these protagonists. Google creates for each person, each company, like an immense digital social spider web.
Thus, over time, thanks to its various contacts and impacts on the media, VIA Communication gains trust and authority with Google. Which therefore impacts VIA Communication's SEO strategy by improving the visibility of our company.
This awareness radically changed my vision of SEO and the future strategies to adopt for VIA Communication and its clients. Thanks to Dennis Yu, the VIA Communication team is expanding its knowledge to offer superior quality services.
Using artificial intelligence wisely
|
Currently, artificial intelligence and its use are becoming essential. However, my concern lay in the ability of Google to penalize this use, and therefore, negatively impact the visibility of a website.
Dennis Yu took the time to answer my questions on this topic. And I must admit that his answers reassured me. Despite certain abusive beliefs, the use of AI is not penalized by Google... under certain conditions. It's like everything: nothing is good in excess. As such, Google does not penalize the use of artificial intelligence as long as it allows the creation of relevant content with high added value. However, AI must be considered as a support tool, and not as an employee. In other words, at no time should an AI replace a human. In writing, for example, an artificial intelligence can write the basis of an article, but can in no case be the only source of writing. Indeed, in Google's eyes, artificial intelligence cannot provide text with real added value. Only a human being is capable of this. However, a distinction must be made. Writing generic text without any added value written by a human will be penalized in the same way as if it were written by an AI. |
 |
Backlinks : choosing quality over quantity
Another point discussed during our impromptu meeting: the weight of a well-conducted backlink strategy. Dennis Yu recalled the different possible link building techniques, but above all, the importance of establishing a thoughtful and relevant strategy.
Many digital marketing professionals are looking for as many inbound links as possible to prove to Google that people are talking about them a lot. However, this choice is not really wise.
Indeed, Dennis emphasized always choosing quality over quantity. Already aware of this, VIA Communication continues on this path. However, one question bothered me: what to do with poor quality backlinks operated by robots, which were therefore not created by our team? Indeed, the revocation of these harmful links sometimes wastes valuable time for our internal teams.
Dennis' response: "Stop disavowing them. Either way, bad links are losing importance every day. Old, low-quality backlinks have less impact than new, high-quality links. So no energy is wasted in disavowing old bad links. Really, focus on building new, quality backlinks.".
This perspective gave me a new look at upcoming SEO strategies for our clients. From now on, the VIA Communication team will focus all its energy on continuing to create premium quality backlinks with a solid positive impact. The objective: to considerably improve the authority, credibility, visibility, traffic and indexing of VIA Communication client sites.
Importance of the timeline of events on the web and social networks
Finally, Dennis Yu mentioned an aspect that influences SEO, much more than I thought: the impact of the chronology of actions carried out. Simply put, Google gives significant consideration to the recency of actions. It is this freshness that sends positive signals to search engines to improve visibility, credibility, traffic, authority and indexing.
It is therefore important to always remain active and fresh in the content offered, the strategies implemented, the activities, etc. Concretely, here are some tips given by Dennis Yu:
- Update product/service pages several times a year
- Continue to generate good quality backlinks throughout the year
- Add service/product pages during the year
- Continue to generate positive reviews on Google Reviews: although all reviews impact your visibility, only those from the last 60 days have real importance and influence on SEO
Future SEO challenges
Lucky to be in the presence of a web specialist like Dennis Yu, I obviously wanted to ask him how he saw the future of SEO. It is therefore by looking to the future that Dennis shared his vision of the challenges ahead in the field of SEO.
In particular, he discussed the growing importance of artificial intelligence and machine learning in search engine optimization. According to him, SEO professionals will have to adapt to these new technologies to remain competitive.
Friends, digital marketing professionals, it’s time to take into account the next challenges now so as not to be left behind!
A source of inspiration for my career
It goes without saying that my meeting with Dennis Yu was an invaluable source of inspiration for my career. His advice and expertise gave me a deeper perspective on SEO and encouraged me to continue growing in this area.
It is with renewed motivation that I left this meeting, ready to put into practice the teachings of this recognized expert for my company VIA Communication. But also, to share all this new knowledge with my entire team so that each of them continues to evolve and give the best of themselves.
A big thanks to Dennis Yu
Meeting Dennis Yu at Affiliate World Dubai was an enriching experience that broadened my understanding of SEO.
His wise advice and his vision of the future of natural referencing are valuable elements that I intend to integrate into my digital marketing strategy.
This meeting will remain engraved in my memory as a key moment in my professional career.
François Beaudry is a digital marketing expert and president and CEO of VIA Communication, a company specializing in digital marketing located in Quebec.