Kavi Kardos

We have Kavi Kardos, an SEO philanthropist with 10 years of experience leading organic search for top companies in entertainment, cybersecurity, education and more. A former Mozzer, she created Moz Academy’s technical SEO certification and has appeared on Whiteboard Friday, Brighton SEO, Search Summit and Pubcon. Kavi is Director of Organic Growth at Client Boost. In her free time she hosts pub quizzes, plays poker and watches baseball with a beer in hand.

Table of Contents

• Who is Kavi Kardos?
• Current Projects Kavi is Working On
• Kavi’s Tactical and Strategic SEO Tips
• Where Does Kavi See the Future of SEO Going?
• How to Get in Contact with Kavi
• Conclusion

Who is Kavi Kardos?

Kavi grew up in Southern California where she wanted to be a writer. Her journey into SEO started by accident when she landed a job as a content writer for a record label during the crazy times of 2007-2009. This was when she was exposed to the digital landscape and the switch from analog to digital in the music industry.

During this time Kavi saw:

• The decline of physical album sales and the rise of digital downloads
• The emergence of streaming platforms
• The importance of social media for artists

These changes piqued Kavi’s interest in the digital space and eventually led her to SEO. She found her content creation background was a great foundation for understanding and succeeding in search engine optimisation.

Current Projects Kavi is Working On

Kavi is currently loving her work at Client Boost where she’s helping clients recover from previous SEO mistakes made by other agencies. She shares an example of a recent project:

We have a new client who came to us and said their previous agency told them ‘SEO is dead’ and couldn’t help them anymore. Within 10 minutes of looking at their website using free tools we could see how much opportunity there was to improve.

Kavi highlighted one of the worst mistakes the previous agency made:

“When they rebuilt the website they redirected all the old pages to the homepage – thousands of pages. This killed their traffic from 15,000 sessions a day to less than 400.”

We did:

1. Removed 7,000 unnecessary redirects
2. Properly redirected 6,000 pages to relevant content
3. Basic SEO best practices

And the results are already showing: “It’s only been a couple of weeks and we can already see a hockey stick growth in their traffic”.

This is a great example of how SEO is still important and how much can be achieved with experts.

Kavi’s Tactical and Strategic SEO Tips

Overcoming the Obstacles to SEO

One of the biggest topics Kavi covered was the challenge many businesses face in making SEO a part of their overall marketing strategy. She listed the reasons why:

1. Lack of knowledge: Many executives and decision makers don’t fully understand how SEO works or its benefits.
2. Instant gratification: Paid advertising gives quicker, more visible results compared to SEO’s long term nature.
3. Measuring ROI: Unlike other marketing channels, SEO is hard to measure precisely.

SEO Myths

Kavi listed three common myths that hold back SEO:

1. SEO is a one off: Many think once you’ve “done SEO” you’re done. Reality is it’s an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and adjustment.
2. SEO is all about keywords: While keywords are important, modern SEO is so much more, including user experience, content quality and technical aspects of a website.
3. SEO gives instant results: Unlike paid advertising, SEO takes time to show significant results which can be frustrating for those looking for quick wins.

How to Persuade Leadership to Invest in SEO

To overcome the challenges and myths, Kavi recommended the following for SEO professionals:

1. Educate decision makers: Explain in simple terms how SEO works and its benefits to the business.
2. Show competitive analysis: Show how competitors are benefiting from SEO and the potential market share that can be gained.
3. Start small and prove value: Begin with smaller, measurable projects to prove the potential of SEO before asking for bigger investments.
4. Align SEO goals with business objectives: Frame SEO efforts in terms of overall business goals, e.g. revenue or market share.
5. Provide regular, clear reporting: Use analytics and data visualization to show progress and ROI in a way that non-SEO people can understand.

SEO and Other Marketing Channels

Kavi stressed the importance of breaking down silos between different marketing teams:

“It’s not your SEO team here, your paid search team over there. That’s not how it works anymore. SEO should be integrated with all other marketing efforts for maximum impact.”

She recommended:

1. Cross team meetings to share insights and align strategies
2. Shared KPIs to encourage collaboration
3. Joint projects that leverage the strengths of multiple channels

Internal Resources for SEO Insights

Kavi recommended tapping into internal resources for SEO insights:

1. Sales team and call centre staff: These front line employees have direct insight into customer needs and pain points which can inform content strategy and keyword targeting.
2. Customer feedback channels: Analyse customer inquiries, support tickets and feedback forms to find common issues and questions that can be answered through SEO content.
3. Product development team: Stay in the know about upcoming products or features so you can prepare your SEO strategy ahead of time.

SEO for Crisis and Reputation Management

Kavi shared her experience of using SEO for crisis and reputation management:

“SEO is a big part of crisis management and reputation management. Being proactive is key – if you’re not proactive and a crisis happens, you’re not just going to rank overnight.”

She recommended:

1. Develop a proactive SEO strategy for potential crisis scenarios
2. Create and optimise content around common concerns or criticisms
3. Monitor brand mentions and search results regularly
4. Coordinate with PR and comms teams during crises

Kavi also shared a clever tactic from a previous role:

“We sent a communication to all the direct sales people with a PDF of a negative article, explaining the situation and our response. We told them not to Google it or click on it as their engagement would inadvertently boost the article’s search rankings.”

SEO in Product Launches and Updates

Kavi emphasised the need to involve SEO early in product development and launch process:

“You don’t get into November and say, ‘Okay, what should we do for Black Friday?’ That’s just not how it works. With digital products, especially if it’s a new feature, getting ahead of that, answering the questions, putting up the FAQ, sending out the emails – everything kind of combines together.”

She recommended:

1. Involve SEO teams in product planning
2. Develop content strategy well in advance of launch
3. Optimise product pages and related content before launch
4. Coordinate with other marketing teams for a joint launch strategy

Working with Development Teams

Kavi stressed the importance of SEOs working with development teams:

“Having the SEO team involved in the digital development of your website is key, if only to make sure it doesn’t mess things up. There are also opportunities to add schema or make other SEO improvements that we couldn’t do through the CMS.”

She recommended:

1. Add SEO to website development briefs
2. Regular catch ups between SEO and dev teams
3. SEO review of major changes before they go live
4. Educate devs on basic SEO to avoid mistakes

Where Does Kavi See the Future of SEO Going?

While the transcript doesn’t explicitly cover Kavi’s views on the future of SEO, we can infer from her comments that she sees SEO becoming increasingly integrated with other marketing disciplines. She emphasizes the need for SEO to be considered in various aspects of business, from product development to crisis management, suggesting a future where SEO is not a siloed activity but a fundamental part of overall business strategy.

How to Get in Contact with Kavi

The transcript doesn’t provide specific contact information for Kavi. However, interested parties can likely connect with her through professional networking platforms or by reaching out to Client Boost, where she serves as the Director of Organic Growth.

Advice to Her Younger Self

When asked what advice she would give to her younger self, Kavi reflected:

“I would tell myself to trust my instincts more. There were times early in my career when I knew something wasn’t right or could be done better, but I didn’t speak up because I was new to the industry. Now I know that fresh perspectives can be incredibly valuable, even (or especially) when you’re just starting out.”

This insight highlights the importance of confidence and the value of diverse viewpoints in the fast-evolving field of SEO.

Current Sources of Inspiration

Regarding the books, podcasts, and leaders that currently inspire her, Kavi shared:

“I’m a big fan of the ‘Search Off the Record’ podcast by Google. It gives great insights directly from the search team. As for books, ‘The Art of SEO’ by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, and Jessie Stricchiola is always on my desk – it’s a comprehensive guide that I refer to often. In terms of leaders, I really admire Lily Ray’s work in the SEO community. Her research on E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) has been groundbreaking.”

These recommendations provide valuable resources for SEO professionals looking to deepen their knowledge and stay current with industry trends.

Conclusion

Kavi Kardos provides valuable insights into the challenges and strategies for getting companies to adopt SEO as a core part of their marketing efforts. Her experience highlights the importance of education, collaboration, and strategic alignment in overcoming resistance to SEO investment. By integrating SEO with other marketing channels, leveraging internal resources, and considering SEO in various business processes, companies can realize the full potential of organic search as a driver of growth and brand strength.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, SEO professionals like Kavi play a crucial role in helping businesses navigate the complexities of search engine algorithms and user behavior. By following her advice, both SEO practitioners and business leaders can work together more effectively to harness the power of organic search and drive sustainable online success.