Based on our positive experiences with Surfer SEO , we decided to invite Sławomir Czajkowski, co-founder and current CEO of Surfer, to join the conversation. This also marks the beginning of a series of conversations with people who have something interesting to say in a field close to our hearts – ergo digital marketing. The interview was led by me – Łucja. 🙂
From general to specific
Sławomir Czajkowski: First of all, thank you for the invitation and your willingness to conduct this interview. It is an honor and a great privilege for me.
Łucja Stachura: Our pleasure! And now, Sławek, tell us what prompted you to pursue online marketing?
SC: I began my online marketing journey at the turn of 2007 and 2008, which, considering the dynamics of the industry, feels like ages ago. Before that, I studied information technology for several years, and online marketing proved to be a field I could truly pursue, helping numerous companies grow.
(The rest of the article can be found below the form)
LS: How do you think search engine algorithms will change over the next two years, do you anticipate any significant changes?
SC: When trying to predict the next steps and developments in search engine algorithms, we always try to find something that will reverse the current order, but looking through the lens of the last few years, it's difficult to predict a radical change of direction and a departure from Google's established patterns. If I were to venture a prediction, it seems that local results and maps will become increasingly important, and, as usual, we should expect an increase in sponsored results.
LS: How did Surfer come about? What was the thinking behind it?
SC: Initially, Surfer was an internal tool at the SEO Campaigns agency , designed to relieve experts who spent a lot of time manually collecting and analyzing data. The tool was designed to speed up work, increase efficiency, and eliminate the risk of human error. Every strategic decision should be based on data analysis.
LS: What are your plans for the future of Surfer?
SC: I have no doubt that Surfer will be the go-to tool for most SEO experts worldwide, but even what we've achieved so far is considered a success. It's important to remember that we decided to bootstrap our idea, meaning we self-funded it. There are so many plans it's hard to list them all, so I'll focus on the immediate ones. We'll soon be releasing an additional tool included in the package, designed to aid in keyword research. Over the next few weeks, the dashboard will also be redesigned to be more intuitive and easier to use. We'll also be implementing new link analysis data soon. In the meantime, we're heading to Web Summit (to which we were invited as one of the most promising startups globally), and we'll also be present at the prestigious SEO conference in Chang Mai, Thailand, so a very intense fourth quarter awaits us.
LS: We recently learned about new link attributes. What are your thoughts on this change?
SC: Google's note on the new attributes contains two main messages. The fact that nofollow links can be treated as a ranking indicator is obvious. Although the opinion wasn't popular, I've repeatedly highlighted this fact, citing tests I've conducted. Perhaps we'll be able to share the details soon. The second aspect, the introduction of UGC and Sponsored as additional attributes, is surprising. It seems that in the age of machine learning and AI, the Google algorithm should increasingly rely on its own conclusions, yet Google complicates users' lives and places the responsibility for optimal link tagging on them. I believe the goal of the changes is to train the algorithm to recognize patterns and prepare it to draw the right conclusions independently.
LS: Will marking sponsored content change the way websites are positioned?
SC: I think the impact will be marginal.
LS: Do you think that large portals that make money from such publications will strictly adhere to the new guidelines?
SC: I think that large portals can comply with the new guidelines, but in the case of smaller publishers or organizations, it is difficult to expect them to adapt the engines of their blogs, portals, and forums, especially if their activity is hobby-based and the websites are treated as side projects.
LS: Is it possible that this change will change the entire sponsored content market? + How will it change?
SC: It is possible that the market will change slightly, with new items appearing in many price lists, especially with large publishers.
LS: Will link attributes significantly affect link strength?
SC: I don't have enough data to definitively answer your question, so I can only rely on my intuition. It seems the change won't have that much impact, but that's just guesswork for now. Remember, not everyone will follow the new guidelines, others will implement attributes incorrectly, and so on.
LS: Is it possible that due to Google's increasing control over online practices, SEO will disappear completely and we will only work on paid results?
SC: Google is a thriving business whose goal is to make money. Trying to find a mission is wishful thinking. Market monopolization and monetization of everything possible will continue as long as users are willing to accept it. Unless the increasing number of sponsored results reduces profits and threatens Google's growth, we must expect increasing scrutiny. However, remember that over half of users are aware of which results are sponsored and skip them, which guarantees the preservation of the enormous potential of organic rankings.
LS: What tools do you use when working with clients and would you recommend them?
SC: Personally, I'm working less and less with clients, and I'm devoting all my professional time to developing Surfer, but there are tools I always recommend. Besides Surfer and other basic tools like Ahrefs, Majestic, and Semrush, I often use Screaming Frog, KeywordTool.io, Amazon (yes, a great source of knowledge about user intent), Wikipedia context tables, and, of course, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Tag Manager.
LS: What should you pay special attention to when creating content that is to be positioned well?
SC: User intent. Every piece of content you create should solve the problems of users entering the right query in Google. If the content doesn't meet expectations, even the best rankings won't help. To diagnose user intent, it's worth analyzing competitor content, the topics discussed, common elements, and questions related to the phrase being entered. This will provide a foundation for creating excellent content that will be optimal not only for SEO but also for conversions.
LS: What advice could you give to beginner SEO specialists?
SC: It's worth absorbing knowledge and staying up-to-date. SEO is a very dynamic field where much can change overnight, so reading one guide, book, or ebook and relying on that knowledge for the next few months or years likely won't yield good results. Let's develop a learning habit, let's say we dedicate half an hour a day to studying the most important news from the world of SEO and online marketing in general, because SEO already, by definition, only concerns organic search results. In reality, it's a much broader spectrum of possibilities, and it's precisely the incorporation of SEO and other marketing channels that yields the best results.
LS: Is it possible to effectively position pages using the same scheme for all websites?
SC: No, each industry, each phrase, and sometimes each location requires a unique strategy and a personalized approach. However, it's possible that established patterns will still work in some areas. Relying on patterns can yield satisfactory results, but this will become increasingly rare.
LS: How did the idea for the SEO Playbook come about?
SC: Many people have asked for reliable sources of information. Unfortunately, such sources, especially those available in Polish, are few, although more and more are emerging. The idea for the book was born several years ago, but it wasn't until I worked at Surfer that it became possible to implement it. SEO Playbook was designed to help newcomers enter the fascinating world of SEO , introduce them to those thriving in the industry, and teach them how to make data-driven decisions.
LS: Thanks to your book, can you start positioning your website yourself and it will be effective?
SC: In some cases, yes, but the book should be treated as an introduction and a foundation for further development of skills and practical testing of solutions. The book doesn't teach a single framework, but rather shows how to create such frameworks.
LS: Are you satisfied with the book's sales results?
SC: Yes, sales exceeded expectations; the entire run sold out in a few weeks. We've now ordered a reprint of the revised version (because we had many typos and layout errors), which will be available soon.
LS: Are you planning to re-edit the book or write further publications?
SC: Yes, and I hope someone from Verseo decides to share their knowledge, because I believe you have a lot to offer our great SEO community in Poland.
LS: In your opinion, what training should SEO specialists take to avoid going out of business?
SC: Working with data, analytics, automating data collection and analysis processes, technical aspects of SEO , using tools, and expanding your knowledge to include other online marketing channels – in my opinion, this is the optimal development path for any SEO specialist. It's worth having HTML/PHP/JS knowledge in your arsenal and exploring this area as well.
LS: What did your first marketing campaign look like?
SC: Oh, it was so long ago :-). I remember implementing my first SEO campaign at the insistence of clients for whom we had created websites. They understood that SEO was the fuel that would generate traffic and propel their business toward growth, so you could say they forced us to implement SEO into our offerings. While implementing the first campaign, I tested various strategies that were standard in 2008. Although the activities looked completely different than they do today, the satisfaction with the results was the same. I think this realization made SEO my passion, and it still is.
LS: Thank you very much for the interview. And finally, a short bio:
Sławomir Czajkowski has been passionate about internet marketing for over 12 years. He has co-created marketing strategies for over 500 companies. He is the owner of the SEO Campaigns agency and one of the founders of Surfer SEO, a highly regarded tool supporting website positioning on Google . He shares his knowledge at training courses, conferences, and industry blogs. He has been recognized for his SEO projects and is a Certified Google Ads and Google Analytics Specialist. He is the author of the book "SEO Playbook."
Frequently asked questions about topics covered in the interview
Initially, Surfer was created solely as an internal tool for SEO campaigns. Its primary purpose was to relieve specialists of the tedious, manual collection and analysis of data, significantly accelerating their work and eliminating human errors.
Sławomir Czajkowski doesn't anticipate any sudden, dramatic changes or a departure from Google's current patterns. However, he does expect the importance of local results (including Google Maps) to continue to grow, and the number of sponsored results in the search engine will continue to grow.
As the title of the interview suggests, the foundation of modern SEO is user intent. For a website to rank high, it must first and foremost precisely and comprehensively address what the internet user is actually searching for at a given moment.
Modern optimization is moving away from actions based solely on intuition or guesswork. The key to success is relying on hard analytics – including thorough correlation research and analyzing ranking factors of competitors who already rank at the top of search results (a task aided by the Surfer algorithm).
He began his adventure in the industry at the turn of 2007 and 2008. He had previously studied information technology for several years, but digital marketing proved to be a field where he could combine technical knowledge with real-world assistance for companies in their development.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- development of SEO tools and the use of data in making effective marketing decisions,
- the importance of continuous learning, testing and working with data in the online marketing industry.
