An interview with the founder of Optimising
Amezmo allows us to push any website changes to our git repository, which is then picked up by Amezmo and built out each time.
Based in Melbourne, Optimising is a leading SEO agency that helps businesses of all sizes, from small business to enterprise. We spoke to Daniel, one of the founders of Optimising, to learn about the company and how Amezmo helps them with their managed PHP hosting needs.
Hey Daniel! Thanks for speaking with me. Let's begin by talking about SEO from the point of view of a client.
Why is SEO important?
It's all well and good to have the best looking retail shop in your city, but if no one can find it then what's the point! That's how we look at SEO. You need to be found, and with the search landscape changing by the day, you need to stay on top of it.
What led you to build Optimising, a SEO agency?
After my business partner and I came out of the website development side of digital, we wanted to learn more about how Google (and Yahoo!) worked. This led us down the rabbit-hole of SEO when we realised we can help our existing clients get better results with their websites.
In terms of SEO, what's a common misunderstanding clients have?
Easy. All SEO is the same.
It is very easy to do bad SEO. A wrong move, or poor advice, can put you in Google's sin bin for a period of time. It's important to know what Google is looking for and not risk penalising your domain.
In addition, every website and market is different, and needs a different approach to achieve results, which is why we create customised solutions which solve the underlying problems.
What is the most difficult thing you have ever done at Optimising?
This is perhaps a bigger answer, but surviving 13 years in a rapidly changing market!
Through our time as an SEO agency, Google is constantly moving the goal posts, and great agencies survive by adapting and implementing strategies that are algorithm-proof.
Doing that has required patience, and assembling a great team.
How would your clients describe you?
Proactive.
We love to stay on top of all things search. They love being educated by us on new search trends as we take them along the journey.
How does Amezmo help you with your PHP hosting needs?
We built our own website on a Craft CMS a few years back, and being reliant on having good web rankings ourselves, we needed a web host to back that up!
Amezmo allows us to push any website changes to our git repository, which is then picked up by Amezmo and built out each time. It also takes care of any database backups so we don't have to think about that either!
How do you see Google's Core Web Vitals update affecting the industry?
Just like with Google’s HTTPS update in 2014, and their later Mobilegeddon update, don’t buy into the FUD! It will be a more gradual rollout than anticipated. You won’t be penalised day 1 if your site does not perform!
That doesn't mean you should take years to become familiar with Google's PageSpeed Insights tool. There's lots of actionable wins you can get out of it right now.
Be sure to check with your website host to ensure your Time To First Byte TTFB is efficient, you have GZIP enabled, you’re utilising HTTP/2 and have a solid caching layer. These will all go a long way to improving your PageSpeed/Lighthouse Performance score.
Ulterior motives aside, it's great to see Google throwing their weight behind some issues that make the web better for all. Everyone benefits from a quicker website on mobile.
How do you see the SEO industry in the next 5 years?
I feel that SEO is just going to become more important. The last 12 months have seen businesses realise how important online is in reaching their customers and all forms of digital marketing have come to the forefront.
Search engines will get smarter, users savvier, and SEO as a whole will become purer.
What's next for Optimising?
We're starting to work on some bigger campaigns, which brings with it more challenges, which the team thrives on! We'll continue innovating our SEO work and bringing more great results for our clients!
Find out more about Optimising, and try Managed PHP Hosting on Amezmo.