Last Night an SEO Saved My Life

I had the amazing opportunity to attend Distilled’s #SearchLove London conference this week. It really was an awesome conference where I learnt loads from all the great presentations (I’ll be blogging my write up on it soon). However, for this blog post I wanted to do something a little fun – reflecting the great atmosphere at #SearchLove (especially the evening drinking sessions) – fashion and style within the SEO industry. That's right, SEO meets Gok Wan meets ASOS meets OK magazine (with a little bit of ego bait thrown in for good measure). Everyone knows how developers and designers dress (some better than others...) but what about us SEOs? I wanted to know if we had a definable style. If we dressed in as much Super Dry as designers or if we own as many pairs of baggy jeans as developers? Or heaven forbid as much corduroy as project managers... A massive thank you to @alantea for his fashionista eye for a good shot and everyone who kindly agreed to take part. We asked everyone featured two questions:

• How would you describe your outfit/style?
• How would you describe the fashion style of the SEO industry?

There might have been some variations (I had had cider by this point) but we got some fantastic answers and great pictures! So without further ado, let’s get to the good stuff.

SEO Fashion Styles - Best Dressed

(@OliArchibald and @HannahRampton from SEOgadget with @tm_nsh - www.tomnash.eu) Colour blocking chic and a structured mac – fashion essentials that you’ll find in many a magazine and fashion blog. No one looks like an X Factor contestant here! Oli, Hannah and Tom all agreed that in general, SEO fashion is geeky and slightly mediaish - I’d agree with this. Oli also pointed me in the direction of this funny infographic about the differences between designers and developers! Check it out – it rings true! Expect a three-way battle infographic throwing us SEOs into the mix coming soon (I’ll try not to make it biased). (@GusQuad from Quad London and Steve from USwitch) I love Gus and Steve’s jackets. Darker colours here but there’s an understated confidence again. It’s casual but not unkempt. No carrot cut skinny chinos here but they still look great. MintTwist also loves Gus’ hair. Gus describes SEO fashion as mediarish (r included), whilst Steve describe it as geeky but also awful. Bit harsh, Steve! SEOs are 85% less likely to wear a fleece jacket than developers are so I would say we’re doing well (this statistic may not be entirely true...). Also, it was Gus’ third time at Distilled’s conferences and he thought, like me, that the focus on what works with actionable and usable tips is one of the highlights. (@SteveRobinson87 from OMD) Steve thought #SearchLove was quality, class and a belter! Couldn't agree more! He describes his own fashion style as being British orientated and cites Fred Perry, Steve McQueen and Barbour as inspirations. We love Steve’s sense of style. His navy Fred Perry cardigan and scarf combo is bang on trend and we’ll be rocking this look sometime soon too. Whilst Steve agrees that SEO fashion style is geeky, he also says it could be improved! So if you’re reading this and thinking that your fashion is fine with a baggy t-shirt, some baggy jeans and broken plimmys, maybe you’re that person who is letting the side down! (@wwlinn from Comfort Click, her own fashion-related blog is unfortunately no longer available) Linn doesn’t work as an SEO but as a content writer within the SEO industry. We think her style rocks! Linn says she isn’t afraid to be herself and loves Alexander Wang. This is totally reflected in her outfit – we love the layered look with carefully selected accessories and a pop of colour with the Converse. When it comes to the SEO fashion style – Linn describes it has good, featuring many cardigans and casual jeans. Our favourite colours are blue, white and grey. Well, that’s just me summed up! (@garybuchan from Render Positive and @hannah_bo_banna from Distilled) Gary describes his style as a penchant for Hawaiian shirts, Vibram FiveFingers running shoes and anything orange. Gary was definitely someone who caught our eye! His bold sense of personal style was awesome and shows you can have fun with colour without making a hat out of a telephone or lobster. Hannah, who was also the presenter of an awesome presentation on link baiting (thank you, Hannah!), describes her style as constantly trying to disappoint her mother! Well Hannah, you don’t disappoint us! Although you can’t see too well, Hannah is actually rocking some fabulous animal print and we were big fans of Hannah’s boots on both days! Gary says that SEO fashion varies, and we couldn’t agree more. He said that if you’re a freelancer you’re more casual whilst working in an agency means you have to be more formal at times. Hannah also agrees that it’s casual but that it pushes the boundaries of casual to coach potato chic. You know who you are... (@randfish from SEOMoz - but you knew that already, right?) Rand was an awesome presence at #SearchLove and I loved his presentations on the strength of an online community and the head-to-head with Will (@willcritchlow from Distilled). Rand describes his fashion as being very British for an American. He favours colourful socks and slim fit shirts. His favourite brands include Ted Baker and Scotch & Soda. We totally dig Rand’s smart/casual dress sense and think his inspiration from British designers is evident. I too am a firm believer that socks can and should be incorporated into your outfit. Roll up them jeans and let the world marvel at your colourful ankles! Rand was a little unkind to us SEOs when it comes to our style... the words ‘Microsoft tuxedo’ and ‘khakis and polo shirts’ were mentioned. Polo shirts aren’t all bad are they? (@LynsLittle from Distilled) Firstly, another big thank you to Lynsey who is Distilled’s Events Manager. #SearchLove was a triumph! Lynsey describes her style as on trend, she likes to read fashion magazines and her favourite high-street stores are Zara, Mango and has recently discovered Uniqlo (Uniqlo is one of my favourite shops too! Definitely check it out for some on-trend chunky knits). Well, where to start? We love Lynsey’s outfit! Aztec patterns are one of the hottest trends and she looks fabulous with her monochromatic outfit. Big fan of the geometric patterning on her lovely scarf too! Who says you can’t bring a bit of high fashion to the SEO industry? Lynsey describes SEO fashion as being varied with a penchant for the three Js – jumpers, jeans and jackets. (@jhuntley and @wwlinn again from Comfort Click) Finally, we have Jonathan and Linn from Comfort Click. He describes his style as casual and smart and we really like the layers and the structured jacket. We also love the Yogi bear t-shirt (where can we get one, Jonathan?!). I think Jonathan’s outfit shows that SEOs know how to dress without looking they tried too hard.He also describes SEO fashion as being smart but casual which I think is quite an apt description for the majority of the #SearchLove delegates.

SEO Fashion Trends

Let’s take a look at the SEO fashion trends. The two most popular words used to describe fashion in the SEO industry are ‘geeky’ and ‘casual’ and I’d say this was fairly accurate. Everyone’s clearly trendy and has a strong sense of personal style. I think we can quite easily say that SEOs dress well. We might not always be a dedicated follower of fashion, but we definitely don’t take inspiration from the IT Crowd. I would say that the outfits here are reflective of the SEO industry on a wider scale – understated yet confident. We look good without trying too hard (link to being a dickhead’s cool video). And so what do you think? Are you an SEO? How would you describe your own sense of style? Comment below and let us know what you think! Finally, I would again like to thank everyone who agreed to be featured – this post couldn’t be done without you! Another big thank you to Alan who did the papping and everyone involved in #SearchLove as it was epic.