• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, February 14, 2022

Searchmetrics CEO Matt Colebourne, known as one of the brightest minds in search engine optimization, believes marketers do not use search data to its full potential, so the company is working on building out custom services in machine learning and artificial intelligence to solve a variety of challenges for brands.

“Organic search has been the Cinderella service in the market, but for those who manage multiple channels it’s the answer,” Colebourne says, adding that data from search is possibly the best source of strategic marketing information.

The services will require Searchmetrics to partner with other companies to build and manage the process.

If a brand needed a 10% boost in organic search traffic, for example, Searchmetrics would historically sell them the software and send them on their way to find developers and someone to manage the process.

That will change. Searchmetrics will build out a series of managed services. The company also will make all its services accessible through APIs so any company can integrate their technology.

When asked what amount the company will spend on building these services, Colebourne says, “about 35% of the company’s operating expenses,” with a possibility to increase that in time.

He says that SEO at times is mistakenly perceived as being free. While the cost to appear in organic search does not cost anything, companies need to invest in content, site optimization and technology to achieve the desired traffic.

Marketers need to follow the search terms people use, viewing them as signals to determine where the consumer is in the purchase journey. The more specific the phrase, the closer they are to making a purchase, he says.

Part of the problem is that marketers view SEO as a largely tactical technical discipline. It has an dated reputation as a black art that’s focused on tips and tricks to manipulate search rankings.

SEO also flies under the radar and rarely features in boardroom discussions because it doesn’t command the huge media budgets of areas such as display advertising. Colebourne plans to change that with many of the services the company will launch this year.