#BUT ITS SO UPSETTING HOW THESE LAYOUTS HAVE TO LOSE SO MUCH IN DESIGN AND FUN AND CREATIVITY

[pinayelf]

I'm gonna have to scrap any of the possible web layouts I have if I wanna make it responsive...

[thenixkat]

HCs for a fic

Big brother Tomura au

–> Legally he is Tenko Midoriya, a student studying abroad and working part-time for his salesman father.

–> Has firebreathing as a secondary quirk thanks to dad.

–> His decay is ALWAYS on. He’s learned to control how quickly and far something decays and how to stop it once it starts if he desires to do so. But it is highly reflective of his emotional state and he does tend to get upset quickly and throw tantrums (something his dad’s very terrified therapist is trying to help with). 

–> Tomura Shigaraki is his villain name. Does he have suits to wear for villainy like dad and Nine? Yes. Will he wear them? Only if he has to, he hasn’t really found a decent fabric that doesn’t make him itch on some level. Calls dad Sensei when on the clock.

–> The nomu at USJ was his personal pet he was allowed to design. The nomu’s name is Mr. Beaky. Mr. Beaky is a good boy who doesn’t get called by his real name when everyone is trying to be serious.

–> Usually contacts Izuku via video games and plays with him sometimes. Is technically a youtuber but uploads just whenever. His channel consists of him streaming horror games, especially vintage pre-quirk era games, and discussions on anarchist literature.

–> If Inko needs a babysitter Tomura is there. Does it matter that he himself is being babysat by Kurogiri at all times? No, just means two babysitters for the price of one. Babysitter Tomura likes to watch vintage banned children’s tv with Izuku. (Its banned for promoting vigilantism and illegal quirk use). They like to watch Digimon in particular b/c both of them love the idea of having a fate-assigned monster bff who loves and protects you no matter what.

–> Approves of Izuku’s quirkless friends. Especially the twiggy one that just beats the shit out of that Bakugo asshole. Tomura is a good big brother so if Izuku asks him not to murder someone outside of work he will not commit murder. He will however scare the shit out of fuckers.

–> Prefers to wear safety gloves when interacting with his family b/c he’d rather not accidentally lose his second one.

–> As a bonding experience, he teaches Izuku things like hotwiring vehicles, lockpicking, and forms of minor crime.

–> Every now and then takes Izuku to the local HeroCon. Has become a minor cryptid who always wins at the Dance Dance Revolution contests and sings villain songs at karaoke. 

–> Is pretty reserved when around people he likes but wants to financially support the people he loves and spoil them.

–> Met a few of the future permanent League of Villains members on various online forums and became internet friends with them b4 meeting them in person.

–> On one hand yes, he believes that people should be free to be who they are and that everyone rejected by society are his comrades. On the other hand, he can’t just let some shit slide like, you gotta have some limits and rules.

–> Very much does not want his little brother to be a hero. Is trying to get through to Izuku that he’s on the wrong side of the conflict. Is willing to go tough love on him.

–> Does not like people who abuse children. It’s one thing to kill a kid it’s entirely different to abuse them.

–> Calls out Stain for being a fucking serial killer who is too full of himself to just fucking murder people without making it a fucking moral crusade. Also, Stain wants just fucking martyr ‘cops’ and fuck that.

–> Has a hand collection that he adds to if he kills someone particularly memorable. He can’t wear all of his emotional support hands but it’s nice to mix up his layout ever now and then. Is smart enough to not wear/bring any of his hands when he hangs out with the Midoriyas. 

–> Inko made him a very nice weighted blanket that he loves very much and Izuku makes him Tsumemon plushies every other year for his birthday. These are cherished items.

–> All people shunned or disrespected by society are comrades (with some exceptions) so Tomura is down with quirkless people too. And mutants. Don’t start some bigoted shit on his watch.

–> Izuku and Tomura recognize eachother at USJ and both go ‘WTF!!’. Izuku has the dawning realization that if his brother is a villain so is his dad.

–> Tomura doesn’t try to kill the kids at USJ nor does he want his assembled villains to do so. It’d be simpler to brutally slaughter the teachers and demoralize the kids to get them to quit trying to be heroes and he is trying to work on a cause. He’s not against maiming kids tho.

–> Has absolutely no issues with Toga trying to stab his little brother and drink his blood. Girls are weird and he’s pretty sure Izuku won’t die. And it helps that it doesn’t seem to be an act of malice on her part, that’s just who she shows affection.

[xenteaart]

Diplomacy Failure

Summary: The Master and you have an established friendship, a bromance - you’re basically partners in crime. One day the Master comes up with this grand robbery scheme but it takes him months to plan the whole thing out properly, and by the end of it - he’s getting way too impatient and reckless. That’s where you step in.

Warnings: none, pure fluff again

Pairing: Dhawan!Master x Reader

Note: This was supposed to be a short thing so I decided not to create a whole ass backstory around it. The main reason why I wanted to write this was because I usually see MC being mostly submissive in fics (not that there’s anything wrong with it whatsoever) and I craved some diversity so here it goesss. 

Huge thanks and lots of love to my incredible beta @wonders-of-the-multiverse​ i love you to bits <3

The last few months have been hard to say the least. After years of knowing the Master you’d grown accustomed to his severe mood swings, but this was something else. 

Most of the time you never really bothered to get to know all the details of his typically complex and intricate schemes. You simply trusted him with those and did what he asked you to do, not taking any liberty to make your own decisions because he did know better. He was the one spending restless days and nights planning everything out after all, so you never really questioned anything. Until today. 

He was getting impatient and it wasn’t a good thing at all. 

The Master had an impressive set of skills, the ability to wait and execute slow-burn plans exceptionally well being one of them. However this time, he got way too invested in what he was doing, his near obsession leading you to believe it had something to do with the Doctor in the long run.

As for now, he needed to get his hands on something “very valuable and very important” and he was planning to steal it, of course. It was no common robbery though, the ship you were now finding yourselves on was huge. No, massive, so simply threatening a few creatures with his TCE and acquiring the object wasn’t a viable option. The ship’s obscenely advanced security systems were not working in your favor either.

The two of you were pretending to be a regular married couple, mere visitors to the event and so painfully ordinary in your nature as to not draw any attention. Keeping a low profile was essential.

The Master called from somewhere below the console where corridors led to the wardrobe room, and since you weren’t occupied with anything even remotely important you joined him right away. You were happy to merely see him and talk to him considering he now preferred the company of a thousand papers with all sorts of layouts, schemes, his own scribbles and something else in Gallifreyan that you had no way of understanding. 

“What’s that?” you asked, a little taken aback by his excessively fancy suit. 

“Your dress is right there, try it on and see if it fits,” he said casually as he looked in the mirror, ignoring your question and waving his hand at the sophisticated purple dress that was laid out on a nearby sofa. 

Ah. Matching outfits. He could never resist the drama of it.

You looked at the dress, the decoration on it exquisite and lavish. A quiet sigh escaped your lips as you tried not to laugh too loudly.

“If that’s for tomorrow, we’re not wearing that.” you uttered, not even trying to hide your amused grin at this point.

“What? Why?”

“Because we need to be wearing this,” you pointed at a horrendous blue suit and a dress of the matching color, the shade and design of both so ugly and simplistic that the clothing wouldn’t look good on either of you. 

A displeased frown flitted across the Master’s features.

“Come on, we need to look pitiful. Men of wealth love playing charity and chatting with lower class people, helping them out with whatever. It makes them feel better about themselves, boosts their ego.” you elaborated, your words heavily accompanied by expressive hand waving and vocal shifts.

He blinked a couple of times and looked at himself in the mirror again, trying to make peace with the idea of this fashion crime you were both about to commit.

The first step of his plan was relatively easy - he was doing the networking and you were doing the smiling as the two of you were slowly getting closer and closer to higher rank guests that were usually a little too drunk and clueless to not accidentally give away the information you needed most, that being - where the security control room was located. Getting a sample of some rich and wasted guest’s DNA was also part of the job since they all had unlimited access to all parts of this ship. As of now, you were getting a feeling you were never even going to make it to that point. 

The Master wasn’t very good at tolerating stupidity, especially when nobody knew and feared who he was. To all of these arrogant and self-absorbed upper class assholes, he was literally a peasant. Little did they know. 

You could see his hand playing with the TCE in his pocket as he was seriously considering whether to take it out and end this shitshow here and now. That would probably feel really good for a couple of minutes but then both of you would be captured and very likely executed on the spot because no matter how intimidating and dangerous the Master was - the quantity of creatures on the ship would be an undeniable advantage on their side. Plus, he’d spent so much time on plan A, there wasn’t any room for plan B, you figured.

Granted, dying wasn’t something the Master was ever afraid of. But you were human with no spare lives, so his impatience would mean very bad news for you.

“Don’t you want to take a break from this?” you asked timidly, standing in the doorway and not daring to let yourself into the Master’s working space just yet since knocking on the door did nothing to catch his attention. 

He was rapidly glancing all over the papers, his mind being evidently busy with something of more significance than your presence. 

“I can get you some coffee if you like? Or... anything at all, really,” you made another attempt at starting a conversation but it was met with silence once again, except this time you noticed hints of irritation in the way he was making notes and moving things around his table, mercilessly digging his pen into his notebook and purposely making a lot more noise while searching for something buried under these piles of paper.

“Yeah, no worries then.” you sighed as you saw yourself out of the room. 

You were getting fed up with this.

As you were standing next to him and contemplating your options, you felt the air around you change a little. It was an insignificant shift but you were particularly sensitive to emotional fields people and other creatures tended to create, and right now the atmosphere did not feel friendly.

You looked at the Master and then back at the greenish humanoid looking creature he was talking to. The conflict was clearly starting to develop, filling the space around you with tension and unease. 

You were so close to the control room, you couldn’t let that happen. There were only a few more floors you had to pass in order to get to the royalty hall where your main mission would be taking place. 

“For Christ’s sake.” you thought to yourself, recognizing the familiar burning anger in the Master’s eyes as he was slowly losing his already weak grasp on his temper and reaching for his pocket, his actions now fuelled with proper intention of making the man pay for his disrespect and bad manners.

The problem with the Master was - no matter how brilliant and clever his ideas were, his emotions and temper would always get in the way. You had to learn it the hard way by nearly getting killed a couple of times because of it in the past. But pissing off a few soldiers and running away was one thing, and acting hostile on a space station sized ship with no quick way out was a completely different story. 

“I am so sorry, sir, my husband suffers from this terrible condition,” you spoke as you looked at the Master intensely, doing your best to wordlessly communicate with him and beg him to stay silent, “where he gets unreasonably aggressive when he’s upset.”

The man’s expression was now plagued with confusion but it was a good sign, you thought. He was paying attention.

“He’s just frustrated we can’t yet afford to lead a life like yours, sir. Isn’t that right, darling?” you patted the Master on the back, your voice now so sugary sweet it made you want to vomit, but you were committed to your little act and nothing could stop you.

“Please forgive our jealousy, we simply wish to be more like you but it pains us to realize we’re a long way away from that,” saying this made your skin itch, and you were pretty sure the Master’s eye was twitching a little. You looked at him briefly and noted he was indeed… puzzled. 

Your flattery seemed to work wonders on the man’s self esteem, though, his facial expression momentarily switching to pity and its default arrogance mixed with pride. 

You tried not to make eye contact with the Master as you were escorting him away, your hand wrapped around his elbow. Your heart was beating a little too fast for your liking, and your main concern for now was peacefully leaving the floor and avoiding any more fuss on the way because, honestly, you were getting angry yourself.

---

“What the hell was that?” was the first thing he asked you as soon as you both entered the TARDIS safely, the two of you still slightly out of breath from your usual cardio on your way back; the desired object sitting securely in the Master’s pocket.

“I was actually going to ask you this exact same question, how convenient.” you snapped, kicking off your heels and making your way to the console barefoot, the cold metal floor having a soothing effect on your aching feet.

The Master gave you a grim look as he took off his ridiculous and evidently uncomfortable jacket, and swiftly marched towards you. His intimidating aura rarely had any impact on you and you didn’t even flinch at his intrusion of your personal space. You knew all too well he would never hurt you deliberately. 

“I did not allow you to intervene.” 

“You should have seen your face, darling,” you said mockingly, maintaining intense eye contact as if it was a competition on who looks away first. 

“You should have heard your voice, such sweetness and flattery I was worried you were gonna kiss his ring at the end of your speech or something,” he spat out his words with grimaced disgust. 

The two of you stared at each other in complete silence for about half a minute, and your facade dropped first. You burst into laughter, giggling obnoxiously at the memory of the Master’s pure and sincere confusion. You’d never seen him so baffled and mad, the funniest thing of it all being the fact that he had to comply and play along. It made you a little proud of yourself.

The corner of the Master’s lips twitched, his stubbornness and denial still fighting his urge to crack up, but a couple of moments later he finally joined you. Any trace of annoyance was long gone, and a wide smile took over his person as he laughed out loud with you. 

“Idiot.” he commented, still chuckling and grinning while also unbuttoning his lousy shirt. You both wanted to get out of those trashy clothes as soon as possible. 

You suddenly went quiet. With no further talking you simply stepped forwards and hugged the Master tightly, burying your nose in the crook of his neck.

“I’ve missed you.”

He hugged you back, resting one of his hands on your head and ruffling your hair, so very aware of how much you hated it. 

“Missed you too, fool.”

[elliehopes-blog1]

Brightening Your Home With Flowers

Your house is your generally private, personal space. You spend a great deal if not a large portion of your time there eating, resting and working, accordingly stepping a common house with your dispositions and personality, making it increasingly special and one of a kind. Normally, you need your home to see its best. You need it to have an unwinding, rousing air that you can't find anyplace else.

Such an air can be accomplished by setting flowers in your home. A pretty bundle of flowers can brighten up any room with a spot of shading. Simply seeing them can make any person lose the pressure gained during the day! There is something in particular about flowers that brightens individuals up, so why not exploit it by following these supportive tips on designing your home with flowers?

1. Containers are not by any means the only things that you can use for holding your flowers! Experiment with earth pots, china porcelain, precious stone, steel, or glass bowls, cups, champagne glasses, tea kettles, water pitchers - the rundown is interminable. Simply ensure that the container is spotless and cleaned to complement the magnificence of the flowers you will put in them.

2. For wide, open spaces, use blossoms that are huge with noisy hues, for example, hydrangeas, gladiolus, and lilies. Enormous flowers can without much of a stretch catch attention in a huge room. You don't need the flowers to go unnoticed right?

3. Match the room's stylistic layout with complementary or contrasting hues. In the event that you need to present a mitigating impact in a room, use flowers in hues, for example, blues and greens. For a hotter look, oranges and reds will do the stunt. For an unpretentious arrangement, yellows and peaches are the best selection of hues.

4. How do you realize which flowers work out in a good way for one another? There are no immovable standards, yet you might need to pick only one sort of flower for your bouquet (this is known as a monobotanic arrangement) or one shading with differing conceals (called a monochromatic arrangement).

In beautifying you home, be inventive. You might be exceptionally occupied to go out to purchase flowers in the city or in the shopping centers, so you can select to simply have your flowers delivered. It's easy - there are a few flower shops online. One such assistance is Island Rose of the Philippines. They utilize an imaginative delivery framework that promises you to have the best roses fresh from the ranch. Their flower delivery is quick, productive, and tranquil. Flowers from Island Rose are likewise considered probably the best on the planet. Why not beautify your home with flowers now? It doesn't need to be upsetting when you can purchase flowers with only one tick of a mouse.

[grailacademy]

Welcome To Grail Academy - Chapter Eight: A Real Hero

“A little bit to your left!” Napier made a frame in front of his eyeline with his thumbs and forefingers as he watched another student wobble on the top of a ladder, trying to pin up the end of a long purple banner. “No, your other left!”

It was finally here, the day of the Prom. Many others were preparing for the celebration, putting together their best outfits, fixing their hair, working up the courage to ask certain friends to accompany them as dates, the usual awkward teenage shenanigans that would fling kids into fits of anxiety. Everyone except the teams that were to do battle in the tournament. Those who applied for the competition portion had the duty of setting up the ballroom before the festivities. Beau reeled her arm back and took aim before shouting “GO LONG!” to Deacon, on the other side of the repurposed training hall, and throwing a roll of streamers over the series of pipes that ran across the ceiling. Deacon caught the roll, tore a portion of the paper, and took a turn at throwing the decoration back to her. He pushed his hair out of his face and grumbled “I still don’t see how making the only people who are going to fight do all the work setting up is fair.” The boy on the ladder who was still struggling to maintain balance, Inigo of team SPIA, retorted, “That’s because it’s not. The teachers should be the ones doing this! Or the janitors, or….lunch ladies or something, at least!”

While Alora hobbled to the snack table with a giant tub of fruit punch, sloshing around as she waddled from the weight of it hanging on her arms, Vert was asleep with a comic book on his face, on the bleachers that were in the process of being folded up and put away by the rest of team SPIA. “And BRSQ isn’t even here to pitch in or help at all….” Iris huffed to herself while she assembled sound equipment on a makeshift stage with Rowan, who was trying to put together the microphones like he was trying to finish a puzzle. In fact, he spoke out in anguish after giving up on the complex design of his current nemesis (Mister Microphone), carping “Yeah! Not to mention half of EBNY isn’t even here. I mean, Bernard, what have you even done to help!?” The weaselish hunter accused. Without looking up from his diligent work, Bernard, who was sitting against the wall near the door, gestured to the mountain of origami suns and moons waiting to be hung on the ceiling. Then he pointed with a pair of scrapbooking scissors to the walls that were embellished with detailed paper shapes of stars, and the purple banner he had painted that read “A Night Under The Stars” in gold lettering, and finally directed Rowans attention to the beautifully crafted doilies that sat on the tables near the bleachers. “....Oh.”

Team PWTR sat near Bernard’s crafts, the four of them all admiring the paper handiwork in silence, with dramatic expressions. Though Bernard himself didn’t mind, the rest of the students new little to nothing about the team they would soon be fighting, and they were a bit put off. This is not to say that anyone feared the members of PWTR, but the only reason they had no idea what they would be up against is because this group of hunters never said a word about themselves. Literally. Another reason one might be upset by team PWTR would be for the black and white facepaint, red noses, and lace gloves they all wore. As they all mimed an invisible box around the origami pile, their leader, Puce, made a complex gesture meant to represent him folding his own creation. To be completely candid with the audience, the only reason that the other students knew these hunters’ names was because Ms.Madehold had announced them when assembling teams in their initial year at the academy.

Nico was standing on the shoulders of Sal, who held his friends ankles firmly so he wouldn’t fall, as the precocious boy constructed the rig that would hold a large disco ball over the center of the dance floor. Then, with his free hand, he hung the glittery orb with ease (accidentally brushing a bit of the decorative glitter off on the tips of his hair as he hopped down from Sal’s back). “Rowan’s right though. Where’s our backup?”

Yorick turned the plastic blue flower over in his hand, looking over the petals and ribbons. Was the bow big enough? No….no, it could definitely be bigger. It needed something extra. Maybe more sparkles. With a sigh he placed it back in its container and clamped the lid shut, looking up to see Esmerelda in their bathroom. She was leaning on the rim of the sink, inching closer to the mirror as she did her makeup. She looked so resolved, quiet. He had seen his partner like this a few times before, getting herself ready and presentable, but every time it felt like he was risking to steal a glance into a sacred ritual, something private she wouldn’t usually share with the rest of her team. When she was done, she smacked her lips and swankered out into the room. Yorick began to twiddle his thumbs, stuttering out “S-so, you wanted to talk?”

“I did.” Esmerelda sat down on the edge of her bed, looking on at Yorick standing stiffly against the wall. “Have I done something to upset you?” Her question confused him.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“It feels like you’re avoiding me. The whole team, in fact. I understand if it’s just anxiety or schoolwork, but….it’s been weeks, Yorick, and I haven’t seen you at lunch or dinner. You’re getting back to the dorm later than Nico! Is there something going on?”

The truth was, Yorick was training into the wee hours of the night, not just to prepare for Prom and get Nico off his back, but for his own personal benefit. And he was starting to feel the toll of sleep loss and overworking himself weigh on him. But he couldn’t tell Esmerelda that, she’d try to stop him from fighting in the tournament! So, he did what any logical person would do in his situation: he lied. “Of course not! I would never do that, Esme. You’re my friend….there’s a lot on my plate right now. So much is happening, and so fast.”

“Darling, I’m worried. Are you sure you’re alright? You seem so distant during combat class, and now with the Prom coming up, I can’t lose you. I just don’t want you falling back on smoking.”

The room fell still. A strange kind of silence settled on the two of them while Yorick clenched his hands. That set him off. “What? How did you even-”

“Bernard told me.”

“HE TOLD YOU!?” He was suddenly shouting, he didn’t even realize it. He threw his hands up in the air, pacing the room. “The ONE thing I wanted to keep to myself, and he just--and now YOU’RE playing the pity card! This was my one thing! This was all I had!”

Esmerelda stood up quickly, grabbing him by the elbow and trying to keep him in place long enough for him to listen. “Calm down, darling! It’s not a big deal, I simply-” but he interrupted again. “Oh, ENOUGH with the darling shtick!” He yanked his arm back, and out from his pocket fell the wrinkled box of cigarettes. The pair looked down at the container on the floor, any number of thoughts rushing through both their minds in the abrupt hush. Yorick exhaled and grabbed the box, a single butt falling from the package as he stuffed it back into his pocket.

“....Esmerelda, this is my one thing. The only thing that keeps me from breaking down every day. I need you to respect this part of me, okay?”

“Sure, sure…”

“I have to go meet someone. We’ll talk later.” He split in a huff, leaving Esmerelda to fester in the shock and anger that she didn’t get the chance to express to him before. It was the strangest thing, all the time he was fuming, she thought as though she could see steam rising off him. She made a mental note to not forget this feeling, the rawness of her state, and to savor it and keep it bottled up for later, to use. She picked up the butt off the ground, holding it up to her eye level. When she got a better look at the cigarette, she noticed the remnants of a glittering shine, light reflecting off unexpected fragments, a strange hue of color, all in the contents that were rolled in the paper. Esmerelda was tired.

Yorick pushed the argument to the back of his mind, trying to walk with a little more confidence down the hallway. Even though he had been attending the school for a little over a month, the building’s layout still stumped him. It had gotten to the point where he had to make a mental map using landmarks, going over it in his head during his free time. Take a right at the leaky water fountain, follow the hallway with the unfinished mural that was started 10 years ago, stop at the door that had a mysterious stain in the grain of the wood. He took a deep breath, sucking the air through his teeth. The sudden coldness of the hall made him shiver. Or maybe the cool temperature was from his clammy hands, or his forehead that broke out in a cold sweat. His stomach hurt. His knees locked in place. Was the room spinning? Oh no, he could feel himself shaking as he raised his hand up to knock on the door. Just do it. Just do it. Just do it.

“I don’t see what the big deal is.” Scarlet sallied, laying on his bed so his head was hanging off the side, making it look like Queenie’s furious pacing was taking place on the ceiling. “I’ve seen the other teams in action, there’s not much competition. It’ll be a piece of cake!” His tail swished behind him as he offered a coy smile to his partner, who was looking over a new dress in the mirror. If someone had offered a guess that Rettah couldn’t possibly fit any more bows and ribbons on her person, they would be sorely mistaken. She held the lace monstrosity against her body, doing a little twirl in the mirror and shaking a few sequins onto the floor in the process. Queenie was unamused. She crossed her arms and stood over the redhead, glaring daggers at him. “Our goal isn’t to win the tournament, remember. The mission is set on Yorick. Sable wants him alive, and articulate.” Scarlet blew a buff of air to move a strand of hair out of his face. “You’re no fun today.”

Queenie was an experienced fighter, she wasn’t worried about their chances against the others. When she lifted her arm to run her hand over her shaved head, the muscles in her bicep rippled under her dark skin. “Buck, can you knock some sense into him?” She turned around to address the pale boy hunched over a desk, tinkering away at something. His stark white hair was shaped in a bowl cut, so his bangs were easily out of the way as he funneled some kind of dark sand into a cylinder. He pulled his heavy, striped scarf up to cover his nose and mouth before he shaped a pile of the material into a thin line on a small piece of parchment. When he spoke, the thick fabric muffled his monotone voice. “No Yorick means no intel. No intel means no profit. No profit means Sable gets mad. Sable getting mad means we get hung by our toenails.”

There was a knock at the door, silencing their conversation. On the other side, Yorick talked through the crack between the frame. “Rettah? Are you in there? It’s Yorick, I, uh….I w-wanted to ask you something.” Everyone turned their attention to the blue haired girl, who stared at the door in confusion. Rettah was quick at thinking on her feet, so she hollered back to him, “One minute! I’m getting dressed!” She shushed her teammates and pushed them into the bathroom and shut the door, frantically fixing her hair.

As the door creaked open, Rettah pushed her head out to fit snugly between the frame and the door. “Well hellooooo there!” The second he made eye contact with her, Yorick melted where he stood. He stuttered, desperate for words that refused to leave his mouth. In a final bid, he just closed his eyes and thrusted the corsage in the plastic box out in front of him. He kept his head down when Rettah took it, curiously. “Oh….is this for me?”

He nodded quickly.

“You….want to take me to the dance?”

He nodded again.

“....Okay! Cool!” She smiled brightly and let the door open all the way, slipping the flower onto her wrist. Yorick looked up in surprise, quirking a brow. For a moment he thought it was a joke. “Wait, seriously?”

Rettah’s grin was infectious, forcing the boy in front of her to lighten his expression. “I would love to”, she said. They both giggled and exchanged shy jokes until Yorick waved goodbye. When she closed the door and called out to her friends to tell them to come out, Rettah held up her arm to show off the tacky accessory and smirked. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Queenie. I have a whole new way into Yorick Navyn.”

The arena that the festival was being held in was the same that Nico and Yorick had been training in for weeks prior. It was strange to the two of them to see the building all lit up and full of people, banners hanging on the walls where there weren’t any before. As everyone took their seats on the cement bleachers, Miss Pearl strutted out into the center of the ring. She looked smaller now since the actual field was 10 feet lower than the first row of seats. She clicked her heels and stopped dead center under the skylight. A microphone hanging from a connected electrical chord lowered down from the ceiling into her hand. She tapped the speaker with her finger to test the audio and the crowd went mute.

“Dear students, fellow professors and faculty, it is my honor and pleasure to introduce the 6th annual Grail Academy Prom! I know that you’re all excited for the dance, and how hard this year’s competitors have trained for this night. But before we start, a quick rundown of the rules. I’m sure you all know how this works, all the teams that are competing separate into pairs of two, each participant will take part in 2 rounds of 4 person fights in the preliminaries, then separate again for single fights in the finals. Whoever is left standing’s team wins the Prom, and will be crowned Kings and Queens!” She raised her fist in the air with enthusiasm, and the audience of students cheered and clapped. Miss Pearl chuckled, “Settle down now. Let’s see our first entrants of the night….” A short man with a bushy mustache and a green suit, a teacher most of the hunters know as Mr.Kismet, stepped into the arena carrying a glass bowl filled with slips of paper. Reaching into it, Miss Pearl pulled out two sheets and thanked Mr.Kismet. A hush fell over the crowd, everyone was waiting anxiously on the edge of their seats for her to read the names.

“....Oh my! This ought to be interesting, team BRVI and team SPIA! Choose the pairs you want to represent your teams, and come on down to the field!” The onlookers fell into an uproar of cheers and hoots, sending some feedback to the microphone as it was wheeled back up to the ceiling. A few students sitting in the row behind him grabbed Vert by the shoulders excitedly and ruffled his hair, which annoyed him a little, but not enough to take away from the surge of pride he and Beau felt entering the ring.

Standing on the other side of the arena was Inigo and his partner, Aliz, who were psyching each other up by slapping each other in the face. They were raring to go, Inigo loosening the handkerchief tied around his neck and Aliz pushing his hair back with a headband. It looked like Beau and Vert were in for a fight. “You ready, big guy?” She looked up at her partner, who had already unclipped his weapons from his belt and was holding two metal, spherical canisters in his hands. Vert narrowed his eyes at their opponents, and Beau could already see the outcome of the fight. He would throw them off with a couple of smoke bombs, giving her enough cover to rush Inigo with her shephard scythe, the two of them would clash for a bit and Aliz would knock her down with a sweep of the legs. She would bounce back up, Vert would catch Inigo before he could make another move and set off another bomb to blow him sky-high out of the ring, then they would team up to corner Aliz and claim the first match as theirs. And that is exactly what happened. Miss Pearl shouted from the sidelines, and the crowd joined in until the countdown resonated in their chests.

“3….2….1….FIGHT!”

[mcfrey]

something I wrote about BigHit on my phone at 2am to try and organise my thoughts that nobody asked for or has to agree with, but I just thought some people might find interesting to think about (it seems over dramatic with the layout but I swear that's just how I punctuate stuff in my phone sorry)

it finally happened

and by that I mean I'm gonna talk about something that's been bugging me

SO ANYWAYS

yeah

it's bighit

I felt it with answer not having all the songs on. they only left 2 songs and skits off of HYYH so like... to leave what was it like 6 songs off of answer?

sea, pied piper, paradise, love maze, 134340

okay that's the only 5 I could think of but it still applies

and it's like they chose those ones so that people have to buy all 3

I know I'm biased because those were literally my favourite ones and im still salty but

it feels like they chose to put in the ones with American producers and writers over prioritising fan favourites?

bighit

WYD

then came

burn the stage the movie

which didnt really bug me

lowkey just made me really happy but also really sad

although to have a YouTube series and a movie??? like I get that it costs a lot to make but if felt a bit weird

I got over it once I saw it though

but I still feel like their money making is hardly subtle

someone mentioned how bighit effectively make money off of overworking the boys through things like burn the stage and that's the upsetting truth. it raises awareness for what they do, but then they'll just have more fans so there will be more pressure and it will just get worse

okay wait part 2 should have been bon voyage

like yeah it's cute but breaks that are semi scripted with cameras in your bedroom shouldn't be classed as breaks

and then we watch it

we purchase it

it works

so they do it again

sometimes you get things which are meaningful out of those videos like when they were on the boat

or when they read letters on run

but are they actually meaningful? probably, but not compared to what happens off camera because

that's all we see

we dont know what goes on the rest of the time

how many actually genuinely meaningful moments there have or havent been

it's hardly news that we're not really a part of bts' story as individuals. not truly. so why fake it? why not embrace what it is?

next we have LY in Seoul screenings

kind of chill because not everyone gets to see the tour, plus even if there was a DVD it would be region locked

and it's just a nice chance to see them on a bigger screen and meet other armies so I cant really complain. nobody's making me go and for some people it's a really good thing.

but also kind of not chill because renting it on YouTube would be like 3£ and a cinema ticket is like 15£

*edit: and to do it when the tour is still going on feels strange to me? someone pointed out that some people couldn't go because it spoils it

and bighit push all this stuff about the boys overworking which we already know and feel guilty about but then they overlap this with their schedule when it makes so much more sense to promote and release this at a time when they're either on a break or working in the shadows so that we can get prerecorded content whilst they're resting*

bt21

cute and wholesome, but the collaborations with everything?

wait, this can apply to just bts themselves too

here's the thing, bighit, you may profit a lot from all these things but at the end of the day it's the partner who wins because people buy things they never wouldve thought to buy before bts' face was on it because that's just how consumerism works. bts are under your contract and by accepting every single deal presented to you one could argue that you are in fact damaging their image by contradicting the message of their music. we know that the members arent sincere in their promoting without even having to ask them. there is nothing spiteful about it. the members arent in the wrong or trying to deceive us. they're just doing their jobs. the problem is that people support bts because of their music, lyrics, and speeches which are all, just to name a few, anti capitalist, anti consumerist, and anti racist, and you make money off of them because they show those traits, and it's because it's all clearly sincere.

but you also make money off of them through their advertising campaigns with luxury products, fast fashion designs, and uninclusive makeup lines.

you cannot show two sides of BTS to the world without making one of them emotionally worthless.

and if I were you, I would not for a second risk losing the quality and sincerity of the message in bts' music that got you where you are today.

what makes it hurt more is that bts are still so passionate.

they make songs and remixes in their own time.

why arent they incorporated into the discography? why is the discography simultaneously over saturated and lacking? rushed yet milked?

their performances are still so strong, but they collapse at the end

is it really worth it in your eyes? why cant they simply perform less and better? is their hardworking image being abused for further popularity, exhibiting their sleep deprivation like its part of what attracts people to them?

and this stadium tour

now this is different

because it's not bad at the moment, just confusing

what I think it means is that bighit wasnt brave enough to try for stadiums the first time, then realised their mistake when every arena sold out in minutes or even seconds?

or worse, he knew they would sell out and wanted them to so that the show could be labelled as Sold Out

which is fair enough, and clever

but it's also really not

like there are hundreds of thousands of people missing out on the tour who want to give you their money but the venues were too small or there were too few dates

or you avoided their state, country or continent altogether

and now you could argue you're fixing that by going back with a larger capacity and giving them a chance but why with 9 days notice?

look I get that nothing can be perfect but this has just been piling up recently and I think it's the deals and tours that bothered me most

dont get me wrong, I'm much madder at the way *edit: i put a company name here* capitalizes and could probably be even more mad if I actually learnt about it rather than just using instinct (get it it's funny)

and I'm even more mad at *edit: I put a different company name here* for their poor management and neglect of what people actually want

but bighit really have bts

The BTS

and that gives them so many choices

yet they seem to make some really irrational ones

and now its 2:39am

and we'll end it on that beautiful negative note

*edit: please dont hesitate to let me know what you think about this or if you think it's just going to stir up something and I should take it down

and thanks for sitting through this whole thing*

[sylvasthesnowfox]

18. fate

Naomi is obviously thrilled to be accompanying Rei to explore the far tower, so much so that she bounds several steps ahead of Rei on the balcony and right up to the tower's enormous double door before she thinks to turn back in confusion. "Wait," she says, "isn't this place supposed to be - "

Rei assumes that the next word was meant to be 'sideways', but Naomi's seized by vertigo and too disoriented to finish, and turning back, Rei doesn't blame her. From here, the world is very strange. Gravity is pulling them the way it seems like it should be, relative to the tower itself, but it's not as simple as a mere perspective shift; the shading of the clouds seems backwards from here, like the light is coming from below or behind the clouds somehow, and the clouds themselves have not turned to match the orientation of the tower. Rei has never imagined what a "sideways" cloud looks like before, but now she doesn't really have to imagine.

"Oof," says Naomi, clutching her head. "Boy, that's a trip."

"It's unsettling," Rei agrees noncommittally. Safe to say that she is distracted at the moment. "Let's get inside."

In contrast to the tower where Gwen and Naomi are waiting - which Rei is tentatively calling the "old tower" - the far tower is cold and lifeless. There are no plants on its stone balcony. When they push open its doors they open into an impenetrable darkness. Rei's first steps inside echo in a seemingly infinite void. She's walking - she doesn't feel comfortable using her Spark here without knowing what lays ahead of her. She's not sure what effect it might have on her surroundings.

Not that that's any comfort against the inky black infront of her. She remembers, against her will, space ripping open into an unfathomable maw of eyes and legs and rocky darkness, swallowing her reality. It's not hard to refocus on her surroundings, but she can't ignore that it's left her shakier than before. "Naomi," she says, as evenly as she can manage, "could you - light things up a bit?"

"Of course!" Naomi's undeterred. She fires several rounds from her handgun - they turn to flares, casting brilliant red light against stone walls around the central room. Sure enough, this tower's layout seems to mimic the old tower, opening up into a huge cylindrical room and some kind of glass monument in the center. "Looks kinda like the monitoring room," Naomi observes, mirroring Rei's thoughts. "Wanna check out the console up front then?"

"If it turns on," Rei hums. She advances slowly, cautiously, feeling the static humming of the Spark around her hand. The flares continue to cast their dancing light, shadows reaching up from the floor and rippling against the far walls all around her. She still hasn't entirely cast off the feeling that she's dangerously close to that numbing void again, and it's hard to deny how uncomfortable the feeling makes her.

To her surprise, though, the console does turn on. A single panel alights as Rei tampers with the nearby controls; a dim electronic glow illuminates her face as Naomi draws near to her again, and violet monospaced text appears on the screen:

CONCEPTUAL SIMULATION ENGINE [MAINTENANCE CONSOLE] v.0.1.597.463.0.0.7

FATAL - ILLEGAL INITIALIZATION PARAMETER 0x00000000000000000000000000000000

CHECK YOUR PARAMETERS OR PROVIDE A NEW CATALYST, THEN PRESS [ENTER] TO TRY AGAIN.

"This seems important," Naomi hums, whipping a phone out of her pocket and taking a picture of the screen. Rei stares at her dumbfounded, and Naomi glances back, innocently confused. "What?"

"Where did you get that?" Rei says hoarsely.

"What do you mean, where did I - I've always had it!" Naomi pouts. "I mean, it obviously ran out of battery back at the remnant, and I couldn't ever find another charger, but when we got here it was full charge!"

"You had a phone all this time," Rei sighs, "and you never told me or showed me because it was out of battery?" Naomi shrugs theatrically, looking only further distraught.

"What did you want me to do?" she cries. "I didn't know it would matter! I just kept it on me cause - I just - I felt sentimental, or something. Shut up."

"I'm not upset at all," Rei laughs, raising her arms. "I'm just - "

"Hey, shh - "

Naomi's gasp silences them both. The room is quiet, except for the hissing of the flares; neither of them are breathing.

"I don't hear anything," Rei breathes. Naomi scowls.

"I could swear I..." She shakes her head, stepping away from the console and raising her gun. "Whoever you are, step into the light, now!"

come here.

"Okay, that I definitely heard," Rei gasps, her heart suddenly pounding. "What was that?"

"Outsider," Naomi mutters darkly, and Rei can't help agreeing with her. If she were to try to place the sound, it would sound like steel cable rubbing against sandpaper, maybe? Like something soft and yet terribly heavy, straining against something coarse and firm, a sound on the edge of ripping into pieces. But it's not hard to believe that such a sound has no real source. It's her imagination trying to parse input it was not designed to interpret.

And despite that, somehow, Rei cannot shake the feeling that she's heard this sound before.

"Last chance!" Naomi bellows. But she's answered with another distant rustling. It seems to be coming from several directions at once, but all leading deeper into the tower. Naomi glances back at the Curator. "Maybe we should leave," she murmurs.

"Maybe," Rei murmurs, a hand over her chest as she tries to calm herself down. Maybe they should. But maybe they shouldn't?

The doors to the tower slam shut. Both Naomi and Rei whirl around - one or both of them yell in alarm - but Rei's eyes are swiftly drawn back to the console, which has changed color. The text is now gold and it now reads:

NOT YET.

"Show yourself!" Naomi roars, now raising her gun and pointing it into the shadows. "Whatever or wherever you are, come out, let me see you if you're brave enough to threaten us!"

Rei looks up again. The room seems somehow darker than before, but just as she's wondering if she should say something, the darkness recedes - whipping away all at once from the walls and through the seam of a door at the far end of the room, which until then she hadn't noticed somehow. "Something's here," Rei gasps, as the door lazily swings open - showing only gaping dark beyond. "Yes, something is definitely here."

"I saw it," Naomi growls, swiftly putting herself between the door and Rei. Rei glances back at the console, but it's blank now. The flares behind them, closer to the huge doors to the balcony, are burning low. The darkness is overtaking them from behind, and as it draws in, that familiarity of the void grows only stronger...

"Okay, we should leave," Naomi urges her, but Rei shakes her head slowly, standing fast.

"There's no need to panic," she replies, raising her hand. She can still feel the Spark. The assurance is aimed at herself as much as it is at Naomi. "I have control over the Seed, don't forget. I can get us out whenever we need to. If there are Outsiders here, we should investigate. They could be Spirits, or otherwise important to recreation."

"Yeah, what with how they're threatening us," Naomi growls.

"I'm not threatened," Rei replies imperiously, crossing her free arm over her chest. "Let's go."

The flares behind them quickly recede into darkness once they pass through the doorway. Naomi fires more ahead of them, but they fade into the black void immediately. Even when they turn as though to fire them at the wall, the hall seems to turn with them. Rei's vague discomfort is starting to take a more definite shape. Naomi is growing more and more tense. They are reminded of Outsider attacks in the remnant. They are reminded of the Outside itself. Reality is breaking down around them.

"We should go back," Naomi says, slowly and firmly, trying to hide that her voice is shaking. But Rei shakes her head. She can see movement ahead of her. It's hesitant, and it's making that noise that is so uncomfortable and yet so familiar to her. Like she's heard it in a dream somewhere before. Maybe she literally has!

"I can still get us out any time," Rei whispers. "Let's play along."

"It's not that I don't trust you," Naomi murmurs. She doesn't have to finish her sentence. Rei admits, she understands how Naomi feels.

They keep advancing. It's hard to tell they're in a hallway. It's hard to tell they're inside; it feels more like they're walking on a stone path through an impossibly dark night, but Rei has never experienced a night so dark before. Her old world was full of light and color, even at night, so that one never lost themselves. But she knows that sort of thing used to exist in ancient history, when people didn't have electricity. You could walk into a field without a lamp on an overcast night and lose any sense of direction except Down. She tries not to dwell on how lucky she is to still have that frame of reference.

Naomi stops. "I feel like we're not in the tower anymore," she says, her voice a bit louder than before. But only a bit.

"Me too." At least it's not just her. What Rei's feeling isn't exactly... fear, or at least she doesn't think it is. But it's certainly true that she feels better for having Naomi at her side. And yet, as she thinks about that, at the same time... she wishes Naomi wasn't here. She wishes Naomi was not facing this danger, and the thought that a threat might appear that Naomi might throw herself into again is...

No... no, the more she thinks about it, the more she wishes Naomi was not here. Her skin's crawling at the thought. This place is dangerous, this journey is dangerous, in a way that Naomi might not fully understand. Maybe they really should go back, just so that Naomi is somewhere safe...

Naomi fires a flare straight up. Rei gasps as she does it - she didn't think of that! The hall can't turn and orient itself upwards without them falling, right? As they follow its arc overhead it flickers and flashes, but nothing catches its light; it's a solitary gleam like a shooting star rushing further and further away... at first.

But then there are other flashes all around it. Rei mistakes them for enormous glass panes, light rushing through them in bands as the flare passes by at the right angle to reflect that light back at them. But that's not what is happening. Suddenly what was one flare, traveling straight up, becomes a dozen, and then a hundred and then more, streaking past each other in many directions like a firework. And illuminated by their baleful light are hundreds of humanoid figures in a great distance above them, standing in pairs, watching the display just as Rei and Naomi are.

"What the fuck?" whispers Naomi, because this is an unbelievable thing to see, and the lingering light of the flares allows her plenty of time to take it in. But Rei knows what this is, or at least she understands what it is symbolically. What it represents. What do you see when you look into a void where there is nothing but yourselves to see?

"Close your eyes," she instructs. Her voice is more bitter than she expected. She glances over and sees that Naomi is looking back at her like she's crazy. "I mean it," she says impatiently.

So, Naomi closes her eyes. Rei threads her fingers through Naomi's and tightly clasps her hand, then closes her own eyes, too. The flares fall silent, because they are too far away. Rei thinks of the remnant. She thinks of the top of the apartment building where she and Naomi caught their breath after many fights, held each others' hands after many arguments and shouts of hopeless frustration, shared little kisses and smiles while talking about what they might do with the future they would build for their new world.

"Open your eyes," Rei instructs. She opens her own. Beside her Naomi screams.

"How are we back here?!" she cries. Rei stares into the abyss surrounding the apartment rooftop with a dull resignation. She knows what this is. She understands where they are. "No," Naomi continues, horror filling her voice, "no, this isn't - there's nothing else here. What happened to everything else?"

"It's just this building," Rei murmurs, "becuase this is all I thought about." She turns around; there is no skyline, no skyroad, no other towers crumbling after two years of decay, no shimmering barrier between the end of the world and their tiny bubble of existence. There is nothing shielding this place from the void. Or rather, there is no separation from 'this place' and the 'void'. They are the same. "Hold on," she says, "I'll get us back."

And she does. She doesn't even have to use the Spark; it's just a matter of remembering where she wants to be, and demanding that she is there. They walk back along a stone floor, through a hallway they can barely see, until the faintest glimmers of dying flares finally comes into view on either side. Rei doesn't even wait long enough to take them through the door; the spark rips through the world and they are standing on the balcony, Rei shielding her eyes from the light while Naomi sputters and blinks in desperation to recover.

"Okay, well, we're back," Naomi says blankly, turning back to her with a sigh of relief. "Man! That was... pretty spooky, huh? It felt kinda like we might get attacked by something in there, you know?"

Rei doesn't answer. She's deep in thought. It's supposed to be very hard to reach the Outside. Even in the remnant Rei could only get there by dreaming. How did they simply... walk into it?

What does it mean that they could walk out of the Seed if they wanted?

[myhoroscopesblog]

Life path number 8

In Numerology, People with the Life Path Number 8 are overwhelmingly associated with being standard and titanic pioneers. They have stunning connection limits and are from a general point of view up to achieving something affecting, especially when related with financial or business matters. There is clearness in their impression of the physical and the material world which makes them at the most boss spot of their game. They will all around see what may really work through their inspirations. They are here to serve a more key vision and a higher motivation to accomplish something which is epic in its significance.

If your Life Path Number is 8, as shown by life course, a couple get-together see. In any case, when you do endeavor to give your issues with a specific perspective that people will unremittingly more by then no need be not set up to react, you push them to move out of their standard degrees of shared brand name to offer more levels of energy to show up at that reasonable, which is a key brand name found in a pioneer. You are an improvement worked with individual, and that is the explanation people search for power, strength and some motivation from you, to keep giving their best as you are the individual who rouses them the most. They need you to furnish them with a little push so they can endeavor truly and show how they are upsetting other than. In like way, you may wind up being the best monetarily meandered from some other Life Path Number, at any rate notwithstanding, ensured endeavors may be relied upon to achieve something from a general point of view the same.

Life Path Number 8 Characteristics: Positives and Negatives

As we have fulfilling kept that you hold stunning impact and potential to change into a pioneer, especially in ensured cash related issue, you other than need to see the value in that with overpowering power comes standard commitment and that you need to focus in on how such power can end up utilizing to mankind inspecting everything. It is major to see the value in this since, in such a case that you don't, by then there is a probability that you may end up being particularly pulled in and materialistic when everything is said in done, which may not be a sensible sign.

In case your Life Path is 8, It may get you far from getting understanding the kept up significance of having a goliath store of abundance and impact and using it in a central manner. There is other than an opportunity of losing everything by importance of the degree of energy you may hold where you may risk everything to get some more. In like way, it very well may be key for you to hack down the getting a kick out of the chance to get back from central issues like a lion and select the goliath course rather than concerning impact, wealth and impact. There is other than a probability that you may run over beast crushed constructions for the term of standard presence, nearby it may not be as hard for you to return strong like a contender and fix things. In like manner, it is head for see the value in these things before it is too far to even think about evening consider evening consider evening consider evening consider evening consider turning as you hold the negative idea towards being others sharp and reformist in your substance. There is other than a probability that you may experience a breakdown in your married life which may wind up being odd and odd for you. In like way, be mindful! For extra nuances, consider your marriage numerology.

Life Path Number 8: Career and Business

Vindicating going toward a titanic store of bewilderments, you will be influenced for the target concerning getting more money and getting more abundance and impact, which is key for you. The level of the money related standard issues like Business, Real Estate, Law, Science and get-together goliath and saw affiliations can be something to expect. You will what's more be gotten towards positions which can be overwhelming and can hold stunning power. There are a monster store of various decisions like a particular Government work, social work, Politics, etc where you can offer your hands a chance as they all go with a stunning level of money and power other than. In like way, in these cases you will convince an opportunity to liberal, keeping up and a focal impact on others.

Life Path Number 8: Love Life

Being a torment and a fit soul, you are truly fit at getting people. It helps you with showing up at the OK kind of people who can be in completed synchronization with you. You give a titanic store of importance to impact and money, and you will in standard win with it, at any rate you ought to guarantee that you don't make a sensible undertaking. Since there is a slight line between being certain and vainglorious. Another focal piece in people with 8 as their life way numerology number is that they are not expressive of their affiliation, relationship for others. For extra nuances, consider your numerology love looking at. You may see that its difficult to give your examinations to others pulls out from spending a titanic store of money on them which should be avoided.

Inspecting everything, In Numerology Life Path Number 8 goes with some risk in like way which people should be ready for. You can add up to an astounding ground on which you can interface with more people who can keep up you at the hour of need. In any case, it is more head to see that you don't use your plenitude and impact for an overwhelmed explanation or your advantage. There are chances that you may get bound toward you and looking at your affinities with a particularly beast store of get-together over your impact and bounty. It isn't that difficult to change into sensibly influenced, haughty or sound with this much cutoff. Starting now and for a titanic time frame outline layout outline design outline setup diagram plan technique graph chart framework format approach plan structure system plan period, keeping a check and getting mindful of what you do is the single viewpoint through which you may not maltreatment the power you have.

This may in the end make you lacking, ricocheted in with and less regarded which isn't something that you may require. You may end up hurting the ones closest to you. In like manner, being careful, sensible and aware of your exercises is the staggering thing that you should consider rather than all around focusing in on your plenitude and picture. Make the goliath strides not to get sorting out, plotting or astoundingly vain as there are chances of you changing into really upsetting, unafraid and vainglorious if you don't see enough to see this. Else, you are someone we need in this world for the progress of the human headway. Both of you or three plans concerning Numerology Number 8

[clockworkfromspace]

The Book v2 Chapter 8

-the twins head to their Ultra Being class-

Chris walks there

*jeff’s already in his desk, playing with some water floating above it*

-Jolly Johnny and a beat up girl with tears in her eyes appear in front of the class-

Chris: zoey?

-Jolly Johnny turns to their teacher- "Hello there Mr. Taio. This girl here needs a favor from you."

Mr. Taio: Huh!? Who are you!?

"Zoey....McChevy...sir"

Mr. Taio: McChevy.... Related to Chris McChevy?

She nods

Mr. Taio: If you want me to release another spirit, you'd need to give me something in return.

Jolly Johnny: Life for a life?

"N-not him someone else"

Mr. Taio: That will do.

-Jolly Johnny uses Jeff's power to teleport Neon here-

Jolly Johnny: Hi brother.

Chris looks at the girls confused

Jea: What's happening? -she falls asleep-

-Jolly Johnny stabs Neon-

"Ok then"

-he takes out the knife then slits his throat-

-students in the class look horrified-

"WHAT THE HELL"

Jolly Johnny: there ya go.

"Could i see cyberblast please?..."

Mr. Taio: The Cyberclad who recently died? Sure.

"Yes"

-Cyber blast appears as a phantom-

"C-cy?...."

Cy: Zoey? -he looks at his hands- I actually died?

She nods

Cy: Have you told Cheenato and Kelly yet?

"T-they know"

Cy: How well are they taking it?

"V-very well actully..."

Jenifer: Anyone else extremely confused?

sorta

Chris: yes

*popcorn appears in his hand*

-Neon's body vanishes along with Jolly Johnny-

-Jea wakes up-

Mr. Taio: Do the two of you mind? I wish to return to my lesson.

Cy: Where are we Exactly?

keaton city

*pops over to him* i’m jeff

you are?

Cy: You live in Keaton City and you don't know who I am?

no

Jea: That's Cyber blast. One of Skull City's most famous heroes and that girl is Foxy Clockwork. His girlfriend and one of the members of his team.

Jea: They helped fight off the cyberclads years ago.

Jea: But... Why do you look like a ghost?

-she gets a worried look-

Cy: My jobs dangerous enough on it's own. That with the fact that I'm seen as a traitor to my own planet meant I had a high chance of being killed. Guess I couldn't beat the odds.

Jea: A cyberclad did this? There's still bad one's on this planet?

Cy: There's at least one thanks to that guy in the fucking bow tie. (Jolly Johnny)

-Mr. Taio looks at Jeff and Zoey with glowing white eyes-

Mr. Taio: Both of your souls are blinking. One of you will become the Divine Guardian of teleportation at some point.

Mr. Taio: At the moment. Jeff... You are in the lead.

"WHAT"

what?

-he turns back to Zoey- "It's either because he is better or because your other powers are getting in your way"

Mr. Taio: a Divine Guardian's soul is different from most. Their soul glows brightly. Both of yours are slowly fading between a normal soul and a Guardian soul.

"Cy can you teleport as a ghost"

well how do i become one?

Mr. Taio: He cannot. He can vanish, fly quickly, and phase through solid objects but he cannot teleport.

"I protect skull city and i will coutine to do that!"

Mr. Taio: No one truly knows all the rules of becoming a Devine Guardian. I'd suggest you prove that you have better mastered your ability than Zoey has

Mr. Taio: Once you prove you're the best, I'm sure you will become a Divine Guardian. Though to be honest there's nothing that special about it.

still seems awesome

so who are the divine guardians right now?

Mr. Taio: Depending on your power, it will either become easier to control or more powerful. Divine Guardians also reincarnate after death. Their memories are blank at first but slowly come back during adolescents and adult hood.

Mr. Taio: I only know of a few current Divine Guardians.

Mr. Taio: There's me, that guy who was just here, a criminal who's currently locked away at a SCOPE facility, Blue Rebel, and Shadow Walker.

Cy: I'm going back to check on the kids.

-he flies away-

Zoey goes with him

well i guess we got out ultra beings lesson for today. *smirks* you want me to clean up this blood?

Mr. Taio: What blood? [Neon's blood vanished along with his body]

ummm... o-kay...

-the dismissal bell rings-

Chris runs home

-he twins walk to their bus-

*jeff pops into the seat behind the twins* hey

Jenifer: Hey.

that was crazy

why does johnny always put you to sleep *looks at jea*

Jea: How should I know

Jenifer: It's for the best. She's far too innocent to have seen what he did.

Jea: I've seen him do many horrible things in the book.

Jenifer: Seeing him kill some random person in your book is different from seeing him killing his own brother with a knife.

Jea: WHAT!?

Jea: Neon? Noooo he was my favorite character!

Jenifer: Probably shouldn't have said that.

-the bus get to their stop-

-the girls walk to the house but see their dad's car parked out front-

Jenifer: He's home already?

Jenifer: I just realized. Dude, Jeff, you could totally build your own house will your ability. Hell, you could be rich dude.

Jea: Think of what that would do to the economy.

Jenifer: It's just one guy doing it. The economy will be fine

sounds like fun

what should we do first?

-Jenifer pulls up google maps on her phone- We'd need to find a place to build it.

Jea: He'd have to own the land to legally build a house there and we're not old enough to buy property

Jenifer: Shit, she's right

Jenifer: you think that Jolly Johnny guy could help us?

i doubt it but he might

-Jolly Johnny appears looking like a phantom- "What's in it for me?"

i don’t know. whatcha want? he said i might be the divine guardian; is there anything i can do for you when that happens?

Jolly Johnny: Nope. Hmm.... I'll do it and we'll just say that you owe me one. Both of you

Jenifer: So long as it doesn't get me arrested, sure.

ok

already ripped a girl’s heart out so sure

Jolly Johnny: Look at you stealing young girl's hearts like a true lady killer

*busts out laughing*

-Jea walks home-

so... where do you recommend johnny

-he points out a spot near the edge of the city. Its about 40 miles from Skull City while still on one of Keaton High School's bus routes

ok

what now?

Jolly Johnny: I'll go and buy the land. I'll get back to you when I'm done.

-he vanishes-

*looks at jenifer* you gonna help me build it?

Jenifer: What do you expect me to do?

Jenifer: Mr. Godly teleportation

you could help me design the layout

Jenifer: True

Jenifer: Alright.

-Jenifer walks into her house-

Mr. Kon: Hey sweetie, who was that guy you were talking to outside?

Jenifer: a friend from school. Mind if he comes in?

-Mr. Kon looks out the window and examines him- "sure."

-Jenifer walks out onto the porch- "Come on in."

ok *follows jenifer*

Jenifer: Him and... His god father are having a new house built and he asked me to help designing it.

Mr. Kon: Oh cool. A buddy of mine is an architect. I could give him a call if you want.

thanks, but we’re doing it as kind of a family project

Mr. Kon: oh, okay.

Jenifer: Hey dad. How come you're home so early?

Mr. Kon: Day off.

Jenifer: Oh. Okay. -she turns to Jeff- ready to get started?

sure

-the next day-

-saturday-

Jolly Johnny: the land is all yours kid.

awesome!

where would you recommend for me to get the resources?

Jolly Johnny: Sheldon Forest is full of pre-chopped lumber. Some Ultra being goes there whenever he's upset and kills off trees left and right.

that’s no fun

i could just steal a house

or pieces of some and fuse them together

Jolly Johnny: You could do that too I suppose.

Jenifer: What about SCOPE? Surely they'd notice.

Jolly Johnny: SCOPE's anti-teleportation devices are handy but I doubt they'd be much use against Jeff.

Jolly Johnny: Anyways, I'll leave the building to you guys. I own this place but as far as I'm concerned, its all yours.

this is gonna be fun... thanks johnny

Jolly Johnny: No problem. -he walks off-

so... what’s first jenny?

Jenifer: Game room.

oh yeah!

you know... since ur helping, this’ll be ur place, too.

Jenifer: In that case, I'd like my room to have a view of the back yard where we could have a pool.

Jenifer: I guess I could come here during nights that my dad is out late.

if you want, you can just tell him you’re going to bed and then signal me somehow. then i could teleport ya up here

I guess that could work.

Jenifer: *

just call me whenever you have time to come up here

Jenifer: Alright.

-looking at what's already been completed- "This place'll be great for parties."

Jenifer: Best part is, no neighbors.

hell yeah!

-Jea calls Jenifer-

oh i got an idea

Jenifer: Hello? Hold that thought.

-she puts Jea on Speaker-

Jenifer: What were you saying Jeff?

Jea: You're with Jeff? Where are you guys?

i can shift this hill around a bit and make it steeper and we can get one of those infinity pools that looks like it goes forever

Jenifer: Were working on his new house.

yeah she’s with me. why, is that bad?

Jea: It's not bad. I just don't trust you.

oh... thanks. that makes me feel good. *smiles*

Jenifer: He's not gonna kill me or anything Jea. Relax.

Jea: Just keep your guard up

-Jea sends her a text reading "he likes you"-

-Jenifer returns a text saying- "he knows I'm into girls"

Jea [aloud]: does he?

do i what?

-Jea hangs up in a mini panic-

-Jenifer shows him her phone-

what, know you’re into girls? no i didn’t know that. thanks for informing me, i guess?

Jenifer: I've said it before

i don’t pay attention

anyway, about the pool idea

Jenifer: Sounds like a plan to me

nice

you might wanna stand back a bit. this is probably gonna cause a small earthquake!

-she hops up onto a branch of a nearby tree-

"Seems strong enough"

*puts his hands out and begins to concentrate. the hill begins to lose pieces, and then those pieces reform into a cliff, extending the hill about 100 feet, then dropping off*

nice. now we got more room to build.

Chris scratches on jea's door

-jea opens her door-

Jenifer: Sweet

Jea: Hey there Chris

jenny, you can get down now. we should make secret passages through the house that i can use when in snake form

-she picks him up-

Jenifer: Dude, that could lead to some great prankd

Pranks*

He licks her face

Jenifer: We could pretend to have a snake problem if we had any guests over and you could freak them out

Jea: What's with you and licking faces? -she laughs-

*there is a knock on the door*

ok so what else should we add. we got a game room, three bedrooms with bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room.

-Jea goes to answer it-

Jenifer: Mini gym?

Jenifer: I usually don't work out but we could have it just cause

A man pushes her aside and looks for Chris the man grabs him and runs out

sure

Jea: DADDY!

-Mr. Kon comes out of his room and runs after him-

Mr. Kon: HEY! THAT'S NOT YOUR DOG!

-Jea calls Jenifer-

-jenifer answers-

"hello?"

Jea: Some guy stormed into the house, pushed me, and grabbed Chris!

Jea: Dad's chasing him right now.

what’s wrong?

Jenifer: Some asshole pushed my sister and is trying to dog nap Chris

Jenifer: I need you to teleport me home.

oh shit. hold on... *grabs jenifers arm and they both teleport back to jenifers house*

-she looks around. When she spots her father she runs after him-

The man throws a knife at him

*jeff teleports in front of the attacker* boi put my friend down

He pushes him

-the knife barely scratches Mr. Kon's face-

Mr. Kon: the hell?

*teleports chris into jenifers arms and teleports the guy into the sky above jeff*

*jeff teleports up there too and they both just sit there*

excuse me sir

why did you take that dog?

Jenifer [shouting]: Thanks!

He shoots jeff and mr. kon

-she walks back home petting Chris-

Jea: DAD!

*jeff teleports the bullets away*

sir that’s not nice

-Jenifer turns her head-

Chris whimpers

-she looks back at Jea-

you see, if you hurt me, i stop keeping you here

Jenifer: Why'd you shout?

and you fall to your death

Jea: That guy shot at him.

He teleports down and shoots mr. Kon

"That dog is a person and beat up my family"

who are you

"Sam"

sam who?

chris wouldn’t hurt a fly so why would i believe you?

*teleports chris up there with them* chris who is this guy?

"You don't know his past"

Jenifer: 😐😑😐

"A friend from school"

why is he saying you hurt him?

ok well should i put him down or kill him? because he’s annoying the shit out of me

"Put him down"

*looks at sam* are you gonna try to shoot anyone else? if you do i will remove your kidneys and put them where your eyes go.

"O-o"

you can ask chris... that’s not a joke

so are you gonna refrain from shooting at people?

"Yes....."

ok... *they all appear back on the ground*

guys... this is sam

he said he won’t shoot anyone

He runs off

should i bring him back?

or kill him?

Jenifer: I say kill him

Jea: NO KILLING!

what do you say, mr. kon?

Mr.Kon: I don't support murder

ok

i guess i’m not killing him

*whispers to jenifer* yet

Mr. Kon: but you can bring him back though.

*sam appears in front of them*

sam stop running bro

eh i kinda wanna leave. *a metal cage appears in front of the house and sam gets teleported inside*

there ya go

jenifer wanna go back to working on the house?

Jenifer: Sure.

aight *grabs jenifers hand and they teleport back to the hill*

*a gym appears along with an infinity pool* what now?

Jenifer: Now, I guess we're done. Until we want to add more at least

noice, we have our own house now

Chris sleeps in jea's door way

-Mr. Kon texts Jenifer-

Jenifer: Gotta head home.

-Jea picks Chris up and brings him inside so she can close the door-

He groans

-she lays him down beside her bed before going to sleep-

ok. *teleports jenifer home and goes inside the newly constructed house*

He climbs on the end of the bed and sleeps

-the next day, Sunday-

Chris sleeps in

*jeff pops to the front door of the house and knocks on it*

-Jea opens it "Jenny, it's for you."

well, can i come in?

Jea: Oh yeah. Sorry, thought that was implied.

Jea: If I'm being honest, it's kinda strange hearing you ask permission to enter when you'd pop into my room unannounced.

i have some morals... jeez.

Chris groans

Jea: says the guy who literally stole a heart and put it in a girl's shirt.

that’s why i said some... duh... *walks inside*

He falls jea's bed

Jea: What was that thud?

Jenifer: Came from your room. Hey Jeff.

sup

-Jea goes to her room to see what she heard-

Chris groans in pain

Jea: Was that you Chris?

"Ya"

jenny, wanna head up to the store so we can pick out some shit for the game room?

Jenifer: Sure

*grabs her hand and they both vanish, appearing at a furniture store*

Jenifer: Follow me. The best games are in the back.

ok

*follows behind jenifer* we need a really big tv and some awesome chairs!

Jenifer: Indoor theatre?

i think we should go with that but also get a few flat screens

Chris calls jenny

-she answers-

Jenifer: Hello?

"Could i help design?"

Jenifer: Help design what?

Jenifer: Did you mean Jeff's house by any chance?

[simpleseo]

Posted by KameronJenkins When your target is constantly moving, how can you keep your clients informed and happy? Raise your hand if youҶe ever struggled to keep up with all the changes in our industry. Go ahead, donҴ be shy! Even the most vigilant SEOs have been caught off guard by an algorithm update, changes to the SERP layout, or improvements to the tools we rely on. It can be tiring trying to keep up with a constantly moving target, but it doesnҴ even stop there. SEOs must also explain those developments to their clients and stakeholders. Work at an agency? Your clients will want to know that youҲe helping them stay relevant. During my agency years, I canҴ tell you how many times clients emailed in with a link to an article on the topic of a new development asking, ӄo we need to be worried about this? How can we use this for our SEO?ԠKeeping apprised of these changes and informing your client how it applies to them is a critical component of not just campaign success, but customer loyalty. Work in-house? The main difference here is that your client is your boss. Whereas at an agency you might lose a client over communication lapses, in-house SEOs could lose their jobs. Thatҳ obviously the worst-case scenario, but if youҲe in a budget-conscious, SEO-immature company, failing to stay relevant and communicate those changes effectively could mean your boss stops seeing the value in your position. Anticipating changes and mitigating anxiety There are some changes we know about ahead of time. For example, when Google announced the mobile friendly update (remember #mobilegeddon?), they did so two months ahead of the actual rollout, and they had also been encouraging the use of mobile-friendly design long before that. Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal back in 2014 and had been advocating for a secure web long before that, but they didnҴ start adding the Ӯot secureԠwarning to all non-HTTPS pages in Chrome until July 2018. Big changes usually warrant big announcements ahead of the rollout. You need time to prepare for changes like this and to use that time to prepare your clients and stakeholders as well. Itҳ why Moz put so much effort into educational materials around the rollout of the new DA. But in order to mitigate the anxiety these changes can cause, we have to know about them. So where can we go to stay up-to-date? If youҶe been in the SEO industry for any length of time, these sources likely wonҴ be new to you, but theyҲe some of the best ways to keep yourself informed: The Google Webmaster Central Blog: Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index. The Keyword: Googleҳ main company blog נgood for staying up-to-date with company news and product updates. Industry blogs like Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal or local-specific SEO blogs like Mike Blumenthalҳ and LocalU (there are tons more). Paying attention to notices and updates from your SEO software/services providers. Experience! When youҲe in the trenches every day, youҲe bound to discover something new. If you know a change like this is coming, be proactive! Inform your clients of what the change is, how it affects them, and what you plan on doing about it. For example: Hey [client]! One of the metrics that we include in your reporting, Domain Authority (DA), will be changing next month, so we wanted to let you know what you can expect! Moz is changing how they calculate DA, and as a result, some DA scores may be higher or lower. Rest assured, weҬl be monitoring your DA score to see how it changes in relation to your competitorsҠscores. Here are some helpful slides for more information on the update, or feel free to call us and weҬl be happy to walk you through it in more detail. When youҲe able to proactively communicate changes, clients and stakeholders have less cause to worry. They can see that youҲe on top of things, and that their campaign is in good hands. What about the changes you didnҴ see coming? Plenty of changes happen without warning. What are SEOs supposed to do then? To answer that question, I think we need to back it all the way up to your clientҳ first day with your agency (or for in-housers, your first few days on the job). Even with unexpected changes, preventative measures can help SEOs react to these changes in a way that doesnҴ compromise the stability of their client or stakeholder relationship. What are those preventative measures? Give them a brief overview of how search works: DonҴ venture too far into the weeds, but a basic overview of how crawling, indexing, and ranking work can help your clients understand the field theyҲe playing on. Explain the volatile nature of search engines: Google makes changes to their algorithm daily! Not all of those are major, and you donҴ want to scare your client into thinking that youҲe flying totally blind, but they should at least know that change is a normal part of search. Prepare them for unannounced changes: Let your client know that while there are some changes we can see coming, others roll out with no prior notice. This should prevent any upset caused by seeing changes they werenҴ informed about. By setting the stage with this information at the outset of your relationship, clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust that youҶe got a handle on things when changes do occur. Just make sure that you respond to unexpected changes the same way you would prepare your client for a planned change: tell them what the change was, how it affects them (if at all), and what youҲe doing about it (if anything). Your communication checklist Whether youҲe an SEO at an agency or in-house, you have a lot on your plate. Not only do you have to be a good SEO נyou also serve as a sort of professional justifier. In other words, itҳ not only about how well you did, but also how well you communicated what you did. Like I said, itҳ a lot. But hopefully I have something that can help. I put together this list of tips you can use to guide your own client/stakeholder communication strategy. Every one of us is in a unique situation, so choose from the checklist accordingly, but my hope is that you can use this brain dump from my years in an agency and in-house to make the communication side of your job easier. Set the stage from the beginning SEO can be a bumpy ride. Lay the foundation for your campaign by making sure your client understands the volatile nature of the industry and how youҬl respond to those changes. Doing so can foster trust and confidence, even amidst change. Never be defensive Sometimes, clients will bring something to your attention before youҶe had a chance to see it, whether that be a traffic dip, a Google update, or otherwise. This can prompt a concerned ӗhatҳ going on?Լ/em> or ӗhy didnҴ I know about this?ԠDonҴ try to spin this. Own up to the missed opportunity for communication and proceed to give the client the insight they need. Be proactive whenever possible Aim to make missed communication opportunities the exception, not the rule. Being proactive means having your finger always on the pulse and intuitively knowing what needs to be shared with your client before they have to ask. Acknowledge unexpected changes quickly If you encounter a change that you werenҴ prepared for, let your client know right away נeven if the news is negative. Thereҳ always the temptation to avoid this in hopes your client never notices, but itҳ much better to acknowledge it than look like you were hiding something or totally out of the loop. Acknowledge the change, explain why it happened, and let your client know what youҲe doing about it. Always bring it back to the ӳo what?Լ/h3> For the most part, your clients donҴ have time to care about the finer points of SEO. When sharing these updates, donҴ spend too long on the ӷhatԠbefore getting to the Өow does this impact me?Ԋ Avoid jargon and simplify SEO has a language all its own, but itҳ best to keep that between SEOs and not let it bleed into our client communication. Simplify your language wherever possible. It can even be helpful to use illustrations from everyday life to drive your point home. Add reminders to reports Communicate with your clients even when youҲe not calling or emailing them! By adding explanations to your clientsҠreports, you can assuage the fears that can often result from seeing fluctuations in the data. Keep updates actionable and relevant Search changes constantly. That means thereҳ tons of news you could be sending to your client every day. Do you need to send it all? Not necessarily נitҳ best to keep updates relevant and actionable. Instead of ӈey there was an update [link to explainer post]Ԡitҳ much more relevant to say, ӈey, there was an update relevant to your industry and hereҳ what weҲe planning on doing about it.Ԋ Put changes into perspective As humans, itҳ in our nature to make mountains out of molehills. As the SEO manager, you can prepare for these types of overreactions by always being ready to put a change into perspective (ex: Өereҳ how this does/doesnҴ impact your leads and revenueԩ. Adapt your communication to your clientҳ preferences and the nature of the change We all work with different types of clients and stakeholders. There are the Ӄan you call me?Ԡclients, the Ӊ have an ideaԠclients, the clients who never respondŠyou get the idea. The communication method thatҳ best for one client might not be well received by another. Itҳ also important to cater your communication method to the nature of the changes. Was there a big update? A phone call might be best. Small update? An email will probably suffice. Practice empathy Above all else, letҳ all strive to be more empathetic. Because we know SEO so well, it can be easier for us to take changes in stride, but think about your clients or your boss. SEO might as well be a black box to many business owners, so changes can be even scarier when you donҴ know whatҳ going on and your business is at stake. Putting it all into practice If DA is one of your reporting metrics, or something your client/stakeholder pays attention to, then our March 5th update is the perfect opportunity to put all of this into practice. We have a great DA 2.0 resource center for you so that you can prepare yourself, and those dependent on you, for the change. Hereҳ whatҳ included: An explainer video A Q&A forum A slide deck A white paper Russ Jones will also be hosting an entire webinar on this topic to help you understand these changes so you can speak intelligently about them to your clients and stakeholders. Join him on Thursday, February 21 at 10am PDT: Save my spot! Communicating with clients and stakeholders is a bit of an art form, but with empathy and preparedness, we can tackle any change thatҳ thrown our way. Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you donҴ have time to hunt down but want to read!

[readersforum]

Communicating to Clients & Stakeholders in a Constantly Changing SEO Landscape

New Post has been published on http://www.readersforum.tk/communicating-to-clients-stakeholders-in-a-constantly-changing-seo-landscape/

Communicating to Clients & Stakeholders in a Constantly Changing SEO Landscape

Posted by KameronJenkins

When your target is constantly moving, how can you keep your clients informed and happy?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled to keep up with all the changes in our industry.

Go ahead, don’t be shy!

Even the most vigilant SEOs have been caught off guard by an algorithm update, changes to the SERP layout, or improvements to the tools we rely on.

It can be tiring trying to keep up with a constantly moving target, but it doesn’t even stop there. SEOs must also explain those developments to their clients and stakeholders.

Work at an agency? Your clients will want to know that you’re helping them stay relevant. During my agency years, I can’t tell you how many times clients emailed in with a link to an article on the topic of a new development asking, “Do we need to be worried about this? How can we use this for our SEO?” Keeping apprised of these changes and informing your client how it applies to them is a critical component of not just campaign success, but customer loyalty.

Work in-house? The main difference here is that your client is your boss. Whereas at an agency you might lose a client over communication lapses, in-house SEOs could lose their jobs. That’s obviously the worst-case scenario, but if you’re in a budget-conscious, SEO-immature company, failing to stay relevant and communicate those changes effectively could mean your boss stops seeing the value in your position.

Anticipating changes and mitigating anxiety

There are some changes we know about ahead of time.

For example, when Google announced the mobile friendly update (remember #mobilegeddon?), they did so two months ahead of the actual rollout, and they had also been encouraging the use of mobile-friendly design long before that.

Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal back in 2014 and had been advocating for a secure web long before that, but they didn’t start adding the “not secure” warning to all non-HTTPS pages in Chrome until July 2018.

Big changes usually warrant big announcements ahead of the rollout. You need time to prepare for changes like this and to use that time to prepare your clients and stakeholders as well. It’s why Moz put so much effort into educational materials around the rollout of the new DA.

But in order to mitigate the anxiety these changes can cause, we have to know about them. So where can we go to stay up-to-date?

If you’ve been in the SEO industry for any length of time, these sources likely won’t be new to you, but they’re some of the best ways to keep yourself informed:

The Google Webmaster Central Blog: Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index.

The Keyword: Google’s main company blog — good for staying up-to-date with company news and product updates.

Industry blogs like Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal or local-specific SEO blogs like Mike Blumenthal’s and LocalU (there are tons more).

Paying attention to notices and updates from your SEO software/services providers.

Experience! When you’re in the trenches every day, you’re bound to discover something new.

If you know a change like this is coming, be proactive! Inform your clients of what the change is, how it affects them, and what you plan on doing about it.

For example:

Hey [client]! One of the metrics that we include in your reporting, Domain Authority (DA), will be changing next month, so we wanted to let you know what you can expect! Moz is changing how they calculate DA, and as a result, some DA scores may be higher or lower. Rest assured, we’ll be monitoring your DA score to see how it changes in relation to your competitors’ scores. Here are some helpful slides for more information on the update, or feel free to call us and we’ll be happy to walk you through it in more detail.

When you’re able to proactively communicate changes, clients and stakeholders have less cause to worry. They can see that you’re on top of things, and that their campaign is in good hands.

What about the changes you didn’t see coming?

Plenty of changes happen without warning. What are SEOs supposed to do then?

To answer that question, I think we need to back it all the way up to your client’s first day with your agency (or for in-housers, your first few days on the job).

Even with unexpected changes, preventative measures can help SEOs react to these changes in a way that doesn’t compromise the stability of their client or stakeholder relationship.

What are those preventative measures?

Give them a brief overview of how search works: Don’t venture too far into the weeds, but a basic overview of how crawling, indexing, and ranking work can help your clients understand the field they’re playing on.

Explain the volatile nature of search engines: Google makes changes to their algorithm daily! Not all of those are major, and you don’t want to scare your client into thinking that you’re flying totally blind, but they should at least know that change is a normal part of search.

Prepare them for unannounced changes: Let your client know that while there are some changes we can see coming, others roll out with no prior notice. This should prevent any upset caused by seeing changes they weren’t informed about.

By setting the stage with this information at the outset of your relationship, clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust that you’ve got a handle on things when changes do occur. Just make sure that you respond to unexpected changes the same way you would prepare your client for a planned change: tell them what the change was, how it affects them (if at all), and what you’re doing about it (if anything).

Your communication checklist

Whether you’re an SEO at an agency or in-house, you have a lot on your plate. Not only do you have to be a good SEO — you also serve as a sort of professional justifier. In other words, it’s not only about how well you did, but also how well you communicated what you did.

Like I said, it’s a lot. But hopefully I have something that can help.

I put together this list of tips you can use to guide your own client/stakeholder communication strategy. Every one of us is in a unique situation, so choose from the checklist accordingly, but my hope is that you can use this brain dump from my years in an agency and in-house to make the communication side of your job easier.

✓ Set the stage from the beginning

SEO can be a bumpy ride. Lay the foundation for your campaign by making sure your client understands the volatile nature of the industry and how you’ll respond to those changes. Doing so can foster trust and confidence, even amidst change.

✓ Never be defensive

Sometimes, clients will bring something to your attention before you’ve had a chance to see it, whether that be a traffic dip, a Google update, or otherwise. This can prompt a concerned “What’s going on?” or “Why didn’t I know about this?” Don’t try to spin this. Own up to the missed opportunity for communication and proceed to give the client the insight they need.

✓ Be proactive whenever possible

Aim to make missed communication opportunities the exception, not the rule. Being proactive means having your finger always on the pulse and intuitively knowing what needs to be shared with your client before they have to ask.

✓ Acknowledge unexpected changes quickly

If you encounter a change that you weren’t prepared for, let your client know right away — even if the news is negative. There’s always the temptation to avoid this in hopes your client never notices, but it’s much better to acknowledge it than look like you were hiding something or totally out of the loop. Acknowledge the change, explain why it happened, and let your client know what you’re doing about it.

✓ Always bring it back to the “so what?”

For the most part, your clients don’t have time to care about the finer points of SEO. When sharing these updates, don’t spend too long on the “what” before getting to the “how does this impact me?”

✓ Avoid jargon and simplify

SEO has a language all its own, but it’s best to keep that between SEOs and not let it bleed into our client communication. Simplify your language wherever possible. It can even be helpful to use illustrations from everyday life to drive your point home.

✓ Add reminders to reports

Communicate with your clients even when you’re not calling or emailing them! By adding explanations to your clients’ reports, you can assuage the fears that can often result from seeing fluctuations in the data.

✓ Keep updates actionable and relevant

Search changes constantly. That means there’s tons of news you could be sending to your client every day. Do you need to send it all? Not necessarily — it’s best to keep updates relevant and actionable. Instead of “Hey there was an update [link to explainer post]” it’s much more relevant to say, “Hey, there was an update relevant to your industry and here’s what we’re planning on doing about it.”

✓ Put changes into perspective

As humans, it’s in our nature to make mountains out of molehills. As the SEO manager, you can prepare for these types of overreactions by always being ready to put a change into perspective (ex: “here’s how this does/doesn’t impact your leads and revenue”).

✓ Adapt your communication to your client’s preferences and the nature of the change

We all work with different types of clients and stakeholders. There are the “Can you call me?” clients, the “I have an idea” clients, the clients who never respond… you get the idea. The communication method that’s best for one client might not be well received by another. It’s also important to cater your communication method to the nature of the changes. Was there a big update? A phone call might be best. Small update? An email will probably suffice.

✓ Practice empathy

Above all else, let’s all strive to be more empathetic. Because we know SEO so well, it can be easier for us to take changes in stride, but think about your clients or your boss. SEO might as well be a black box to many business owners, so changes can be even scarier when you don’t know what’s going on and your business is at stake.

Putting it all into practice

If DA is one of your reporting metrics, or something your client/stakeholder pays attention to, then our March 5th update is the perfect opportunity to put all of this into practice.

We have a great DA 2.0 resource center for you so that you can prepare yourself, and those dependent on you, for the change.

Here’s what’s included:

An explainer video

A Q&A forum

A slide deck

A white paper

Russ Jones will also be hosting an entire webinar on this topic to help you understand these changes so you can speak intelligently about them to your clients and stakeholders. Join him on Thursday, February 21 at 10am PDT:

Save my spot!

Communicating with clients and stakeholders is a bit of an art form, but with empathy and preparedness, we can tackle any change that’s thrown our way.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don’t have time to hunt down but want to read!

[maryhare96]

Communicating to Clients &amp;amp; Stakeholders in a Constantly Changing SEO Landscape

Posted by KameronJenkins

When your target is constantly moving, how can you keep your clients informed and happy?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled to keep up with all the changes in our industry.

Go ahead, don’t be shy!

Even the most vigilant SEOs have been caught off guard by an algorithm update, changes to the SERP layout, or improvements to the tools we rely on.

It can be tiring trying to keep up with a constantly moving target, but it doesn’t even stop there. SEOs must also explain those developments to their clients and stakeholders.

Work at an agency? Your clients will want to know that you’re helping them stay relevant. During my agency years, I can’t tell you how many times clients emailed in with a link to an article on the topic of a new development asking, “Do we need to be worried about this? How can we use this for our SEO?” Keeping apprised of these changes and informing your client how it applies to them is a critical component of not just campaign success, but customer loyalty.

Work in-house? The main difference here is that your client is your boss. Whereas at an agency you might lose a client over communication lapses, in-house SEOs could lose their jobs. That’s obviously the worst-case scenario, but if you’re in a budget-conscious, SEO-immature company, failing to stay relevant and communicate those changes effectively could mean your boss stops seeing the value in your position.

Anticipating changes and mitigating anxiety

There are some changes we know about ahead of time.

For example, when Google announced the mobile friendly update (remember #mobilegeddon?), they did so two months ahead of the actual rollout, and they had also been encouraging the use of mobile-friendly design long before that.

Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal back in 2014 and had been advocating for a secure web long before that, but they didn’t start adding the “not secure” warning to all non-HTTPS pages in Chrome until July 2018.

Big changes usually warrant big announcements ahead of the rollout. You need time to prepare for changes like this and to use that time to prepare your clients and stakeholders as well. It’s why Moz put so much effort into educational materials around the rollout of the new DA.

But in order to mitigate the anxiety these changes can cause, we have to know about them. So where can we go to stay up-to-date?

If you’ve been in the SEO industry for any length of time, these sources likely won’t be new to you, but they’re some of the best ways to keep yourself informed:

The Google Webmaster Central Blog: Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index.

The Keyword: Google’s main company blog — good for staying up-to-date with company news and product updates.

Industry blogs like Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal or local-specific SEO blogs like Mike Blumenthal’s and LocalU (there are tons more).

Paying attention to notices and updates from your SEO software/services providers.

Experience! When you’re in the trenches every day, you’re bound to discover something new.

If you know a change like this is coming, be proactive! Inform your clients of what the change is, how it affects them, and what you plan on doing about it.

For example:

Hey [client]! One of the metrics that we include in your reporting, Domain Authority (DA), will be changing next month, so we wanted to let you know what you can expect! Moz is changing how they calculate DA, and as a result, some DA scores may be higher or lower. Rest assured, we’ll be monitoring your DA score to see how it changes in relation to your competitors’ scores. Here are some helpful slides for more information on the update, or feel free to call us and we’ll be happy to walk you through it in more detail.

When you’re able to proactively communicate changes, clients and stakeholders have less cause to worry. They can see that you’re on top of things, and that their campaign is in good hands.

What about the changes you didn’t see coming?

Plenty of changes happen without warning. What are SEOs supposed to do then?

To answer that question, I think we need to back it all the way up to your client’s first day with your agency (or for in-housers, your first few days on the job).

Even with unexpected changes, preventative measures can help SEOs react to these changes in a way that doesn’t compromise the stability of their client or stakeholder relationship.

What are those preventative measures?

Give them a brief overview of how search works: Don’t venture too far into the weeds, but a basic overview of how crawling, indexing, and ranking work can help your clients understand the field they’re playing on.

Explain the volatile nature of search engines: Google makes changes to their algorithm daily! Not all of those are major, and you don’t want to scare your client into thinking that you’re flying totally blind, but they should at least know that change is a normal part of search.

Prepare them for unannounced changes: Let your client know that while there are some changes we can see coming, others roll out with no prior notice. This should prevent any upset caused by seeing changes they weren’t informed about.

By setting the stage with this information at the outset of your relationship, clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust that you’ve got a handle on things when changes do occur. Just make sure that you respond to unexpected changes the same way you would prepare your client for a planned change: tell them what the change was, how it affects them (if at all), and what you’re doing about it (if anything).

Your communication checklist

Whether you’re an SEO at an agency or in-house, you have a lot on your plate. Not only do you have to be a good SEO — you also serve as a sort of professional justifier. In other words, it’s not only about how well you did, but also how well you communicated what you did.

Like I said, it’s a lot. But hopefully I have something that can help.

I put together this list of tips you can use to guide your own client/stakeholder communication strategy. Every one of us is in a unique situation, so choose from the checklist accordingly, but my hope is that you can use this brain dump from my years in an agency and in-house to make the communication side of your job easier.

✓ Set the stage from the beginning

SEO can be a bumpy ride. Lay the foundation for your campaign by making sure your client understands the volatile nature of the industry and how you’ll respond to those changes. Doing so can foster trust and confidence, even amidst change.

✓ Never be defensive

Sometimes, clients will bring something to your attention before you’ve had a chance to see it, whether that be a traffic dip, a Google update, or otherwise. This can prompt a concerned “What’s going on?” or “Why didn’t I know about this?” Don’t try to spin this. Own up to the missed opportunity for communication and proceed to give the client the insight they need.

✓ Be proactive whenever possible

Aim to make missed communication opportunities the exception, not the rule. Being proactive means having your finger always on the pulse and intuitively knowing what needs to be shared with your client before they have to ask.

✓ Acknowledge unexpected changes quickly

If you encounter a change that you weren’t prepared for, let your client know right away — even if the news is negative. There’s always the temptation to avoid this in hopes your client never notices, but it’s much better to acknowledge it than look like you were hiding something or totally out of the loop. Acknowledge the change, explain why it happened, and let your client know what you’re doing about it.

✓ Always bring it back to the “so what?”

For the most part, your clients don’t have time to care about the finer points of SEO. When sharing these updates, don’t spend too long on the “what” before getting to the “how does this impact me?”

✓ Avoid jargon and simplify

SEO has a language all its own, but it’s best to keep that between SEOs and not let it bleed into our client communication. Simplify your language wherever possible. It can even be helpful to use illustrations from everyday life to drive your point home.

✓ Add reminders to reports

Communicate with your clients even when you’re not calling or emailing them! By adding explanations to your clients’ reports, you can assuage the fears that can often result from seeing fluctuations in the data.

✓ Keep updates actionable and relevant

Search changes constantly. That means there’s tons of news you could be sending to your client every day. Do you need to send it all? Not necessarily -- it’s best to keep updates relevant and actionable. Instead of “Hey there was an update [link to explainer post]” it’s much more relevant to say, “Hey, there was an update relevant to your industry and here’s what we’re planning on doing about it.”

✓ Put changes into perspective

As humans, it’s in our nature to make mountains out of molehills. As the SEO manager, you can prepare for these types of overreactions by always being ready to put a change into perspective (ex: “here’s how this does/doesn’t impact your leads and revenue”).

✓ Adapt your communication to your client’s preferences and the nature of the change

We all work with different types of clients and stakeholders. There are the “Can you call me?” clients, the “I have an idea” clients, the clients who never respond… you get the idea. The communication method that’s best for one client might not be well received by another. It’s also important to cater your communication method to the nature of the changes. Was there a big update? A phone call might be best. Small update? An email will probably suffice.

✓ Practice empathy

Above all else, let’s all strive to be more empathetic. Because we know SEO so well, it can be easier for us to take changes in stride, but think about your clients or your boss. SEO might as well be a black box to many business owners, so changes can be even scarier when you don’t know what’s going on and your business is at stake.

Putting it all into practice

If DA is one of your reporting metrics, or something your client/stakeholder pays attention to, then our March 5th update is the perfect opportunity to put all of this into practice.

We have a great DA 2.0 resource center for you so that you can prepare yourself, and those dependent on you, for the change.

Here’s what’s included:

An explainer video

A Q&A forum

A slide deck

A white paper

Russ Jones will also be hosting an entire webinar on this topic to help you understand these changes so you can speak intelligently about them to your clients and stakeholders. Join him on Thursday, February 21 at 10am PDT:

Save my spot!

Communicating with clients and stakeholders is a bit of an art form, but with empathy and preparedness, we can tackle any change that’s thrown our way.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

http://bit.ly/2RSs7jN

[christinesumpmg]

Communicating to Clients &amp;amp; Stakeholders in a Constantly Changing SEO Landscape

Posted by KameronJenkins

When your target is constantly moving, how can you keep your clients informed and happy?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled to keep up with all the changes in our industry.

Go ahead, don’t be shy!

Even the most vigilant SEOs have been caught off guard by an algorithm update, changes to the SERP layout, or improvements to the tools we rely on.

It can be tiring trying to keep up with a constantly moving target, but it doesn’t even stop there. SEOs must also explain those developments to their clients and stakeholders.

Work at an agency? Your clients will want to know that you’re helping them stay relevant. During my agency years, I can’t tell you how many times clients emailed in with a link to an article on the topic of a new development asking, “Do we need to be worried about this? How can we use this for our SEO?” Keeping apprised of these changes and informing your client how it applies to them is a critical component of not just campaign success, but customer loyalty.

Work in-house? The main difference here is that your client is your boss. Whereas at an agency you might lose a client over communication lapses, in-house SEOs could lose their jobs. That’s obviously the worst-case scenario, but if you’re in a budget-conscious, SEO-immature company, failing to stay relevant and communicate those changes effectively could mean your boss stops seeing the value in your position.

Anticipating changes and mitigating anxiety

There are some changes we know about ahead of time.

For example, when Google announced the mobile friendly update (remember #mobilegeddon?), they did so two months ahead of the actual rollout, and they had also been encouraging the use of mobile-friendly design long before that.

Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal back in 2014 and had been advocating for a secure web long before that, but they didn’t start adding the “not secure” warning to all non-HTTPS pages in Chrome until July 2018.

Big changes usually warrant big announcements ahead of the rollout. You need time to prepare for changes like this and to use that time to prepare your clients and stakeholders as well. It’s why Moz put so much effort into educational materials around the rollout of the new DA.

But in order to mitigate the anxiety these changes can cause, we have to know about them. So where can we go to stay up-to-date?

If you’ve been in the SEO industry for any length of time, these sources likely won’t be new to you, but they’re some of the best ways to keep yourself informed:

The Google Webmaster Central Blog: Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index.

The Keyword: Google’s main company blog — good for staying up-to-date with company news and product updates.

Industry blogs like Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal or local-specific SEO blogs like Mike Blumenthal’s and LocalU (there are tons more).

Paying attention to notices and updates from your SEO software/services providers.

Experience! When you’re in the trenches every day, you’re bound to discover something new.

If you know a change like this is coming, be proactive! Inform your clients of what the change is, how it affects them, and what you plan on doing about it.

For example:

Hey [client]! One of the metrics that we include in your reporting, Domain Authority (DA), will be changing next month, so we wanted to let you know what you can expect! Moz is changing how they calculate DA, and as a result, some DA scores may be higher or lower. Rest assured, we’ll be monitoring your DA score to see how it changes in relation to your competitors’ scores. Here are some helpful slides for more information on the update, or feel free to call us and we’ll be happy to walk you through it in more detail.

When you’re able to proactively communicate changes, clients and stakeholders have less cause to worry. They can see that you’re on top of things, and that their campaign is in good hands.

What about the changes you didn’t see coming?

Plenty of changes happen without warning. What are SEOs supposed to do then?

To answer that question, I think we need to back it all the way up to your client’s first day with your agency (or for in-housers, your first few days on the job).

Even with unexpected changes, preventative measures can help SEOs react to these changes in a way that doesn’t compromise the stability of their client or stakeholder relationship.

What are those preventative measures?

Give them a brief overview of how search works: Don’t venture too far into the weeds, but a basic overview of how crawling, indexing, and ranking work can help your clients understand the field they’re playing on.

Explain the volatile nature of search engines: Google makes changes to their algorithm daily! Not all of those are major, and you don’t want to scare your client into thinking that you’re flying totally blind, but they should at least know that change is a normal part of search.

Prepare them for unannounced changes: Let your client know that while there are some changes we can see coming, others roll out with no prior notice. This should prevent any upset caused by seeing changes they weren’t informed about.

By setting the stage with this information at the outset of your relationship, clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust that you’ve got a handle on things when changes do occur. Just make sure that you respond to unexpected changes the same way you would prepare your client for a planned change: tell them what the change was, how it affects them (if at all), and what you’re doing about it (if anything).

Your communication checklist

Whether you’re an SEO at an agency or in-house, you have a lot on your plate. Not only do you have to be a good SEO — you also serve as a sort of professional justifier. In other words, it’s not only about how well you did, but also how well you communicated what you did.

Like I said, it’s a lot. But hopefully I have something that can help.

I put together this list of tips you can use to guide your own client/stakeholder communication strategy. Every one of us is in a unique situation, so choose from the checklist accordingly, but my hope is that you can use this brain dump from my years in an agency and in-house to make the communication side of your job easier.

✓ Set the stage from the beginning

SEO can be a bumpy ride. Lay the foundation for your campaign by making sure your client understands the volatile nature of the industry and how you’ll respond to those changes. Doing so can foster trust and confidence, even amidst change.

✓ Never be defensive

Sometimes, clients will bring something to your attention before you’ve had a chance to see it, whether that be a traffic dip, a Google update, or otherwise. This can prompt a concerned “What’s going on?” or “Why didn’t I know about this?” Don’t try to spin this. Own up to the missed opportunity for communication and proceed to give the client the insight they need.

✓ Be proactive whenever possible

Aim to make missed communication opportunities the exception, not the rule. Being proactive means having your finger always on the pulse and intuitively knowing what needs to be shared with your client before they have to ask.

✓ Acknowledge unexpected changes quickly

If you encounter a change that you weren’t prepared for, let your client know right away — even if the news is negative. There’s always the temptation to avoid this in hopes your client never notices, but it’s much better to acknowledge it than look like you were hiding something or totally out of the loop. Acknowledge the change, explain why it happened, and let your client know what you’re doing about it.

✓ Always bring it back to the “so what?”

For the most part, your clients don’t have time to care about the finer points of SEO. When sharing these updates, don’t spend too long on the “what” before getting to the “how does this impact me?”

✓ Avoid jargon and simplify

SEO has a language all its own, but it’s best to keep that between SEOs and not let it bleed into our client communication. Simplify your language wherever possible. It can even be helpful to use illustrations from everyday life to drive your point home.

✓ Add reminders to reports

Communicate with your clients even when you’re not calling or emailing them! By adding explanations to your clients’ reports, you can assuage the fears that can often result from seeing fluctuations in the data.

✓ Keep updates actionable and relevant

Search changes constantly. That means there’s tons of news you could be sending to your client every day. Do you need to send it all? Not necessarily -- it’s best to keep updates relevant and actionable. Instead of “Hey there was an update [link to explainer post]” it’s much more relevant to say, “Hey, there was an update relevant to your industry and here’s what we’re planning on doing about it.”

✓ Put changes into perspective

As humans, it’s in our nature to make mountains out of molehills. As the SEO manager, you can prepare for these types of overreactions by always being ready to put a change into perspective (ex: “here’s how this does/doesn’t impact your leads and revenue”).

✓ Adapt your communication to your client’s preferences and the nature of the change

We all work with different types of clients and stakeholders. There are the “Can you call me?” clients, the “I have an idea” clients, the clients who never respond… you get the idea. The communication method that’s best for one client might not be well received by another. It’s also important to cater your communication method to the nature of the changes. Was there a big update? A phone call might be best. Small update? An email will probably suffice.

✓ Practice empathy

Above all else, let’s all strive to be more empathetic. Because we know SEO so well, it can be easier for us to take changes in stride, but think about your clients or your boss. SEO might as well be a black box to many business owners, so changes can be even scarier when you don’t know what’s going on and your business is at stake.

Putting it all into practice

If DA is one of your reporting metrics, or something your client/stakeholder pays attention to, then our March 5th update is the perfect opportunity to put all of this into practice.

We have a great DA 2.0 resource center for you so that you can prepare yourself, and those dependent on you, for the change.

Here’s what’s included:

An explainer video

A Q&A forum

A slide deck

A white paper

Russ Jones will also be hosting an entire webinar on this topic to help you understand these changes so you can speak intelligently about them to your clients and stakeholders. Join him on Thursday, February 21 at 10am PDT:

Save my spot!

Communicating with clients and stakeholders is a bit of an art form, but with empathy and preparedness, we can tackle any change that’s thrown our way.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

http://bit.ly/2RSs7jN

[conniecogeie]

Communicating to Clients &amp;amp; Stakeholders in a Constantly Changing SEO Landscape

Posted by KameronJenkins

When your target is constantly moving, how can you keep your clients informed and happy?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled to keep up with all the changes in our industry.

Go ahead, don’t be shy!

Even the most vigilant SEOs have been caught off guard by an algorithm update, changes to the SERP layout, or improvements to the tools we rely on.

It can be tiring trying to keep up with a constantly moving target, but it doesn’t even stop there. SEOs must also explain those developments to their clients and stakeholders.

Work at an agency? Your clients will want to know that you’re helping them stay relevant. During my agency years, I can’t tell you how many times clients emailed in with a link to an article on the topic of a new development asking, “Do we need to be worried about this? How can we use this for our SEO?” Keeping apprised of these changes and informing your client how it applies to them is a critical component of not just campaign success, but customer loyalty.

Work in-house? The main difference here is that your client is your boss. Whereas at an agency you might lose a client over communication lapses, in-house SEOs could lose their jobs. That’s obviously the worst-case scenario, but if you’re in a budget-conscious, SEO-immature company, failing to stay relevant and communicate those changes effectively could mean your boss stops seeing the value in your position.

Anticipating changes and mitigating anxiety

There are some changes we know about ahead of time.

For example, when Google announced the mobile friendly update (remember #mobilegeddon?), they did so two months ahead of the actual rollout, and they had also been encouraging the use of mobile-friendly design long before that.

Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal back in 2014 and had been advocating for a secure web long before that, but they didn’t start adding the “not secure” warning to all non-HTTPS pages in Chrome until July 2018.

Big changes usually warrant big announcements ahead of the rollout. You need time to prepare for changes like this and to use that time to prepare your clients and stakeholders as well. It’s why Moz put so much effort into educational materials around the rollout of the new DA.

But in order to mitigate the anxiety these changes can cause, we have to know about them. So where can we go to stay up-to-date?

If you’ve been in the SEO industry for any length of time, these sources likely won’t be new to you, but they’re some of the best ways to keep yourself informed:

The Google Webmaster Central Blog: Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index.

The Keyword: Google’s main company blog — good for staying up-to-date with company news and product updates.

Industry blogs like Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal or local-specific SEO blogs like Mike Blumenthal’s and LocalU (there are tons more).

Paying attention to notices and updates from your SEO software/services providers.

Experience! When you’re in the trenches every day, you’re bound to discover something new.

If you know a change like this is coming, be proactive! Inform your clients of what the change is, how it affects them, and what you plan on doing about it.

For example:

Hey [client]! One of the metrics that we include in your reporting, Domain Authority (DA), will be changing next month, so we wanted to let you know what you can expect! Moz is changing how they calculate DA, and as a result, some DA scores may be higher or lower. Rest assured, we’ll be monitoring your DA score to see how it changes in relation to your competitors’ scores. Here are some helpful slides for more information on the update, or feel free to call us and we’ll be happy to walk you through it in more detail.

When you’re able to proactively communicate changes, clients and stakeholders have less cause to worry. They can see that you’re on top of things, and that their campaign is in good hands.

What about the changes you didn’t see coming?

Plenty of changes happen without warning. What are SEOs supposed to do then?

To answer that question, I think we need to back it all the way up to your client’s first day with your agency (or for in-housers, your first few days on the job).

Even with unexpected changes, preventative measures can help SEOs react to these changes in a way that doesn’t compromise the stability of their client or stakeholder relationship.

What are those preventative measures?

Give them a brief overview of how search works: Don’t venture too far into the weeds, but a basic overview of how crawling, indexing, and ranking work can help your clients understand the field they’re playing on.

Explain the volatile nature of search engines: Google makes changes to their algorithm daily! Not all of those are major, and you don’t want to scare your client into thinking that you’re flying totally blind, but they should at least know that change is a normal part of search.

Prepare them for unannounced changes: Let your client know that while there are some changes we can see coming, others roll out with no prior notice. This should prevent any upset caused by seeing changes they weren’t informed about.

By setting the stage with this information at the outset of your relationship, clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust that you’ve got a handle on things when changes do occur. Just make sure that you respond to unexpected changes the same way you would prepare your client for a planned change: tell them what the change was, how it affects them (if at all), and what you’re doing about it (if anything).

Your communication checklist

Whether you’re an SEO at an agency or in-house, you have a lot on your plate. Not only do you have to be a good SEO — you also serve as a sort of professional justifier. In other words, it’s not only about how well you did, but also how well you communicated what you did.

Like I said, it’s a lot. But hopefully I have something that can help.

I put together this list of tips you can use to guide your own client/stakeholder communication strategy. Every one of us is in a unique situation, so choose from the checklist accordingly, but my hope is that you can use this brain dump from my years in an agency and in-house to make the communication side of your job easier.

✓ Set the stage from the beginning

SEO can be a bumpy ride. Lay the foundation for your campaign by making sure your client understands the volatile nature of the industry and how you’ll respond to those changes. Doing so can foster trust and confidence, even amidst change.

✓ Never be defensive

Sometimes, clients will bring something to your attention before you’ve had a chance to see it, whether that be a traffic dip, a Google update, or otherwise. This can prompt a concerned “What’s going on?” or “Why didn’t I know about this?” Don’t try to spin this. Own up to the missed opportunity for communication and proceed to give the client the insight they need.

✓ Be proactive whenever possible

Aim to make missed communication opportunities the exception, not the rule. Being proactive means having your finger always on the pulse and intuitively knowing what needs to be shared with your client before they have to ask.

✓ Acknowledge unexpected changes quickly

If you encounter a change that you weren’t prepared for, let your client know right away — even if the news is negative. There’s always the temptation to avoid this in hopes your client never notices, but it’s much better to acknowledge it than look like you were hiding something or totally out of the loop. Acknowledge the change, explain why it happened, and let your client know what you’re doing about it.

✓ Always bring it back to the “so what?”

For the most part, your clients don’t have time to care about the finer points of SEO. When sharing these updates, don’t spend too long on the “what” before getting to the “how does this impact me?”

✓ Avoid jargon and simplify

SEO has a language all its own, but it’s best to keep that between SEOs and not let it bleed into our client communication. Simplify your language wherever possible. It can even be helpful to use illustrations from everyday life to drive your point home.

✓ Add reminders to reports

Communicate with your clients even when you’re not calling or emailing them! By adding explanations to your clients’ reports, you can assuage the fears that can often result from seeing fluctuations in the data.

✓ Keep updates actionable and relevant

Search changes constantly. That means there’s tons of news you could be sending to your client every day. Do you need to send it all? Not necessarily -- it’s best to keep updates relevant and actionable. Instead of “Hey there was an update [link to explainer post]” it’s much more relevant to say, “Hey, there was an update relevant to your industry and here’s what we’re planning on doing about it.”

✓ Put changes into perspective

As humans, it’s in our nature to make mountains out of molehills. As the SEO manager, you can prepare for these types of overreactions by always being ready to put a change into perspective (ex: “here’s how this does/doesn’t impact your leads and revenue”).

✓ Adapt your communication to your client’s preferences and the nature of the change

We all work with different types of clients and stakeholders. There are the “Can you call me?” clients, the “I have an idea” clients, the clients who never respond… you get the idea. The communication method that’s best for one client might not be well received by another. It’s also important to cater your communication method to the nature of the changes. Was there a big update? A phone call might be best. Small update? An email will probably suffice.

✓ Practice empathy

Above all else, let’s all strive to be more empathetic. Because we know SEO so well, it can be easier for us to take changes in stride, but think about your clients or your boss. SEO might as well be a black box to many business owners, so changes can be even scarier when you don’t know what’s going on and your business is at stake.

Putting it all into practice

If DA is one of your reporting metrics, or something your client/stakeholder pays attention to, then our March 5th update is the perfect opportunity to put all of this into practice.

We have a great DA 2.0 resource center for you so that you can prepare yourself, and those dependent on you, for the change.

Here’s what’s included:

An explainer video

A Q&A forum

A slide deck

A white paper

Russ Jones will also be hosting an entire webinar on this topic to help you understand these changes so you can speak intelligently about them to your clients and stakeholders. Join him on Thursday, February 21 at 10am PDT:

Save my spot!

Communicating with clients and stakeholders is a bit of an art form, but with empathy and preparedness, we can tackle any change that’s thrown our way.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

http://bit.ly/2RSs7jN

[fairchildlingpo1]

Communicating to Clients &amp;amp; Stakeholders in a Constantly Changing SEO Landscape

Posted by KameronJenkins

When your target is constantly moving, how can you keep your clients informed and happy?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled to keep up with all the changes in our industry.

Go ahead, don’t be shy!

Even the most vigilant SEOs have been caught off guard by an algorithm update, changes to the SERP layout, or improvements to the tools we rely on.

It can be tiring trying to keep up with a constantly moving target, but it doesn’t even stop there. SEOs must also explain those developments to their clients and stakeholders.

Work at an agency? Your clients will want to know that you’re helping them stay relevant. During my agency years, I can’t tell you how many times clients emailed in with a link to an article on the topic of a new development asking, “Do we need to be worried about this? How can we use this for our SEO?” Keeping apprised of these changes and informing your client how it applies to them is a critical component of not just campaign success, but customer loyalty.

Work in-house? The main difference here is that your client is your boss. Whereas at an agency you might lose a client over communication lapses, in-house SEOs could lose their jobs. That’s obviously the worst-case scenario, but if you’re in a budget-conscious, SEO-immature company, failing to stay relevant and communicate those changes effectively could mean your boss stops seeing the value in your position.

Anticipating changes and mitigating anxiety

There are some changes we know about ahead of time.

For example, when Google announced the mobile friendly update (remember #mobilegeddon?), they did so two months ahead of the actual rollout, and they had also been encouraging the use of mobile-friendly design long before that.

Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal back in 2014 and had been advocating for a secure web long before that, but they didn’t start adding the “not secure” warning to all non-HTTPS pages in Chrome until July 2018.

Big changes usually warrant big announcements ahead of the rollout. You need time to prepare for changes like this and to use that time to prepare your clients and stakeholders as well. It’s why Moz put so much effort into educational materials around the rollout of the new DA.

But in order to mitigate the anxiety these changes can cause, we have to know about them. So where can we go to stay up-to-date?

If you’ve been in the SEO industry for any length of time, these sources likely won’t be new to you, but they’re some of the best ways to keep yourself informed:

The Google Webmaster Central Blog: Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index.

The Keyword: Google’s main company blog — good for staying up-to-date with company news and product updates.

Industry blogs like Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal or local-specific SEO blogs like Mike Blumenthal’s and LocalU (there are tons more).

Paying attention to notices and updates from your SEO software/services providers.

Experience! When you’re in the trenches every day, you’re bound to discover something new.

If you know a change like this is coming, be proactive! Inform your clients of what the change is, how it affects them, and what you plan on doing about it.

For example:

Hey [client]! One of the metrics that we include in your reporting, Domain Authority (DA), will be changing next month, so we wanted to let you know what you can expect! Moz is changing how they calculate DA, and as a result, some DA scores may be higher or lower. Rest assured, we’ll be monitoring your DA score to see how it changes in relation to your competitors’ scores. Here are some helpful slides for more information on the update, or feel free to call us and we’ll be happy to walk you through it in more detail.

When you’re able to proactively communicate changes, clients and stakeholders have less cause to worry. They can see that you’re on top of things, and that their campaign is in good hands.

What about the changes you didn’t see coming?

Plenty of changes happen without warning. What are SEOs supposed to do then?

To answer that question, I think we need to back it all the way up to your client’s first day with your agency (or for in-housers, your first few days on the job).

Even with unexpected changes, preventative measures can help SEOs react to these changes in a way that doesn’t compromise the stability of their client or stakeholder relationship.

What are those preventative measures?

Give them a brief overview of how search works: Don’t venture too far into the weeds, but a basic overview of how crawling, indexing, and ranking work can help your clients understand the field they’re playing on.

Explain the volatile nature of search engines: Google makes changes to their algorithm daily! Not all of those are major, and you don’t want to scare your client into thinking that you’re flying totally blind, but they should at least know that change is a normal part of search.

Prepare them for unannounced changes: Let your client know that while there are some changes we can see coming, others roll out with no prior notice. This should prevent any upset caused by seeing changes they weren’t informed about.

By setting the stage with this information at the outset of your relationship, clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust that you’ve got a handle on things when changes do occur. Just make sure that you respond to unexpected changes the same way you would prepare your client for a planned change: tell them what the change was, how it affects them (if at all), and what you’re doing about it (if anything).

Your communication checklist

Whether you’re an SEO at an agency or in-house, you have a lot on your plate. Not only do you have to be a good SEO — you also serve as a sort of professional justifier. In other words, it’s not only about how well you did, but also how well you communicated what you did.

Like I said, it’s a lot. But hopefully I have something that can help.

I put together this list of tips you can use to guide your own client/stakeholder communication strategy. Every one of us is in a unique situation, so choose from the checklist accordingly, but my hope is that you can use this brain dump from my years in an agency and in-house to make the communication side of your job easier.

✓ Set the stage from the beginning

SEO can be a bumpy ride. Lay the foundation for your campaign by making sure your client understands the volatile nature of the industry and how you’ll respond to those changes. Doing so can foster trust and confidence, even amidst change.

✓ Never be defensive

Sometimes, clients will bring something to your attention before you’ve had a chance to see it, whether that be a traffic dip, a Google update, or otherwise. This can prompt a concerned “What’s going on?” or “Why didn’t I know about this?” Don’t try to spin this. Own up to the missed opportunity for communication and proceed to give the client the insight they need.

✓ Be proactive whenever possible

Aim to make missed communication opportunities the exception, not the rule. Being proactive means having your finger always on the pulse and intuitively knowing what needs to be shared with your client before they have to ask.

✓ Acknowledge unexpected changes quickly

If you encounter a change that you weren’t prepared for, let your client know right away — even if the news is negative. There’s always the temptation to avoid this in hopes your client never notices, but it’s much better to acknowledge it than look like you were hiding something or totally out of the loop. Acknowledge the change, explain why it happened, and let your client know what you’re doing about it.

✓ Always bring it back to the “so what?”

For the most part, your clients don’t have time to care about the finer points of SEO. When sharing these updates, don’t spend too long on the “what” before getting to the “how does this impact me?”

✓ Avoid jargon and simplify

SEO has a language all its own, but it’s best to keep that between SEOs and not let it bleed into our client communication. Simplify your language wherever possible. It can even be helpful to use illustrations from everyday life to drive your point home.

✓ Add reminders to reports

Communicate with your clients even when you’re not calling or emailing them! By adding explanations to your clients’ reports, you can assuage the fears that can often result from seeing fluctuations in the data.

✓ Keep updates actionable and relevant

Search changes constantly. That means there’s tons of news you could be sending to your client every day. Do you need to send it all? Not necessarily -- it’s best to keep updates relevant and actionable. Instead of “Hey there was an update [link to explainer post]” it’s much more relevant to say, “Hey, there was an update relevant to your industry and here’s what we’re planning on doing about it.”

✓ Put changes into perspective

As humans, it’s in our nature to make mountains out of molehills. As the SEO manager, you can prepare for these types of overreactions by always being ready to put a change into perspective (ex: “here’s how this does/doesn’t impact your leads and revenue”).

✓ Adapt your communication to your client’s preferences and the nature of the change

We all work with different types of clients and stakeholders. There are the “Can you call me?” clients, the “I have an idea” clients, the clients who never respond… you get the idea. The communication method that’s best for one client might not be well received by another. It’s also important to cater your communication method to the nature of the changes. Was there a big update? A phone call might be best. Small update? An email will probably suffice.

✓ Practice empathy

Above all else, let’s all strive to be more empathetic. Because we know SEO so well, it can be easier for us to take changes in stride, but think about your clients or your boss. SEO might as well be a black box to many business owners, so changes can be even scarier when you don’t know what’s going on and your business is at stake.

Putting it all into practice

If DA is one of your reporting metrics, or something your client/stakeholder pays attention to, then our March 5th update is the perfect opportunity to put all of this into practice.

We have a great DA 2.0 resource center for you so that you can prepare yourself, and those dependent on you, for the change.

Here’s what’s included:

An explainer video

A Q&A forum

A slide deck

A white paper

Russ Jones will also be hosting an entire webinar on this topic to help you understand these changes so you can speak intelligently about them to your clients and stakeholders. Join him on Thursday, February 21 at 10am PDT:

Save my spot!

Communicating with clients and stakeholders is a bit of an art form, but with empathy and preparedness, we can tackle any change that’s thrown our way.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

http://bit.ly/2RSs7jN

[mercedessharonwo1]

Communicating to Clients &amp;amp; Stakeholders in a Constantly Changing SEO Landscape

Posted by KameronJenkins

When your target is constantly moving, how can you keep your clients informed and happy?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled to keep up with all the changes in our industry.

Go ahead, don’t be shy!

Even the most vigilant SEOs have been caught off guard by an algorithm update, changes to the SERP layout, or improvements to the tools we rely on.

It can be tiring trying to keep up with a constantly moving target, but it doesn’t even stop there. SEOs must also explain those developments to their clients and stakeholders.

Work at an agency? Your clients will want to know that you’re helping them stay relevant. During my agency years, I can’t tell you how many times clients emailed in with a link to an article on the topic of a new development asking, “Do we need to be worried about this? How can we use this for our SEO?” Keeping apprised of these changes and informing your client how it applies to them is a critical component of not just campaign success, but customer loyalty.

Work in-house? The main difference here is that your client is your boss. Whereas at an agency you might lose a client over communication lapses, in-house SEOs could lose their jobs. That’s obviously the worst-case scenario, but if you’re in a budget-conscious, SEO-immature company, failing to stay relevant and communicate those changes effectively could mean your boss stops seeing the value in your position.

Anticipating changes and mitigating anxiety

There are some changes we know about ahead of time.

For example, when Google announced the mobile friendly update (remember #mobilegeddon?), they did so two months ahead of the actual rollout, and they had also been encouraging the use of mobile-friendly design long before that.

Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal back in 2014 and had been advocating for a secure web long before that, but they didn’t start adding the “not secure” warning to all non-HTTPS pages in Chrome until July 2018.

Big changes usually warrant big announcements ahead of the rollout. You need time to prepare for changes like this and to use that time to prepare your clients and stakeholders as well. It’s why Moz put so much effort into educational materials around the rollout of the new DA.

But in order to mitigate the anxiety these changes can cause, we have to know about them. So where can we go to stay up-to-date?

If you’ve been in the SEO industry for any length of time, these sources likely won’t be new to you, but they’re some of the best ways to keep yourself informed:

The Google Webmaster Central Blog: Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index.

The Keyword: Google’s main company blog — good for staying up-to-date with company news and product updates.

Industry blogs like Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal or local-specific SEO blogs like Mike Blumenthal’s and LocalU (there are tons more).

Paying attention to notices and updates from your SEO software/services providers.

Experience! When you’re in the trenches every day, you’re bound to discover something new.

If you know a change like this is coming, be proactive! Inform your clients of what the change is, how it affects them, and what you plan on doing about it.

For example:

Hey [client]! One of the metrics that we include in your reporting, Domain Authority (DA), will be changing next month, so we wanted to let you know what you can expect! Moz is changing how they calculate DA, and as a result, some DA scores may be higher or lower. Rest assured, we’ll be monitoring your DA score to see how it changes in relation to your competitors’ scores. Here are some helpful slides for more information on the update, or feel free to call us and we’ll be happy to walk you through it in more detail.

When you’re able to proactively communicate changes, clients and stakeholders have less cause to worry. They can see that you’re on top of things, and that their campaign is in good hands.

What about the changes you didn’t see coming?

Plenty of changes happen without warning. What are SEOs supposed to do then?

To answer that question, I think we need to back it all the way up to your client’s first day with your agency (or for in-housers, your first few days on the job).

Even with unexpected changes, preventative measures can help SEOs react to these changes in a way that doesn’t compromise the stability of their client or stakeholder relationship.

What are those preventative measures?

Give them a brief overview of how search works: Don’t venture too far into the weeds, but a basic overview of how crawling, indexing, and ranking work can help your clients understand the field they’re playing on.

Explain the volatile nature of search engines: Google makes changes to their algorithm daily! Not all of those are major, and you don’t want to scare your client into thinking that you’re flying totally blind, but they should at least know that change is a normal part of search.

Prepare them for unannounced changes: Let your client know that while there are some changes we can see coming, others roll out with no prior notice. This should prevent any upset caused by seeing changes they weren’t informed about.

By setting the stage with this information at the outset of your relationship, clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust that you’ve got a handle on things when changes do occur. Just make sure that you respond to unexpected changes the same way you would prepare your client for a planned change: tell them what the change was, how it affects them (if at all), and what you’re doing about it (if anything).

Your communication checklist

Whether you’re an SEO at an agency or in-house, you have a lot on your plate. Not only do you have to be a good SEO — you also serve as a sort of professional justifier. In other words, it’s not only about how well you did, but also how well you communicated what you did.

Like I said, it’s a lot. But hopefully I have something that can help.

I put together this list of tips you can use to guide your own client/stakeholder communication strategy. Every one of us is in a unique situation, so choose from the checklist accordingly, but my hope is that you can use this brain dump from my years in an agency and in-house to make the communication side of your job easier.

✓ Set the stage from the beginning

SEO can be a bumpy ride. Lay the foundation for your campaign by making sure your client understands the volatile nature of the industry and how you’ll respond to those changes. Doing so can foster trust and confidence, even amidst change.

✓ Never be defensive

Sometimes, clients will bring something to your attention before you’ve had a chance to see it, whether that be a traffic dip, a Google update, or otherwise. This can prompt a concerned “What’s going on?” or “Why didn’t I know about this?” Don’t try to spin this. Own up to the missed opportunity for communication and proceed to give the client the insight they need.

✓ Be proactive whenever possible

Aim to make missed communication opportunities the exception, not the rule. Being proactive means having your finger always on the pulse and intuitively knowing what needs to be shared with your client before they have to ask.

✓ Acknowledge unexpected changes quickly

If you encounter a change that you weren’t prepared for, let your client know right away — even if the news is negative. There’s always the temptation to avoid this in hopes your client never notices, but it’s much better to acknowledge it than look like you were hiding something or totally out of the loop. Acknowledge the change, explain why it happened, and let your client know what you’re doing about it.

✓ Always bring it back to the “so what?”

For the most part, your clients don’t have time to care about the finer points of SEO. When sharing these updates, don’t spend too long on the “what” before getting to the “how does this impact me?”

✓ Avoid jargon and simplify

SEO has a language all its own, but it’s best to keep that between SEOs and not let it bleed into our client communication. Simplify your language wherever possible. It can even be helpful to use illustrations from everyday life to drive your point home.

✓ Add reminders to reports

Communicate with your clients even when you’re not calling or emailing them! By adding explanations to your clients’ reports, you can assuage the fears that can often result from seeing fluctuations in the data.

✓ Keep updates actionable and relevant

Search changes constantly. That means there’s tons of news you could be sending to your client every day. Do you need to send it all? Not necessarily -- it’s best to keep updates relevant and actionable. Instead of “Hey there was an update [link to explainer post]” it’s much more relevant to say, “Hey, there was an update relevant to your industry and here’s what we’re planning on doing about it.”

✓ Put changes into perspective

As humans, it’s in our nature to make mountains out of molehills. As the SEO manager, you can prepare for these types of overreactions by always being ready to put a change into perspective (ex: “here’s how this does/doesn’t impact your leads and revenue”).

✓ Adapt your communication to your client’s preferences and the nature of the change

We all work with different types of clients and stakeholders. There are the “Can you call me?” clients, the “I have an idea” clients, the clients who never respond… you get the idea. The communication method that’s best for one client might not be well received by another. It’s also important to cater your communication method to the nature of the changes. Was there a big update? A phone call might be best. Small update? An email will probably suffice.

✓ Practice empathy

Above all else, let’s all strive to be more empathetic. Because we know SEO so well, it can be easier for us to take changes in stride, but think about your clients or your boss. SEO might as well be a black box to many business owners, so changes can be even scarier when you don’t know what’s going on and your business is at stake.

Putting it all into practice

If DA is one of your reporting metrics, or something your client/stakeholder pays attention to, then our March 5th update is the perfect opportunity to put all of this into practice.

We have a great DA 2.0 resource center for you so that you can prepare yourself, and those dependent on you, for the change.

Here’s what’s included:

An explainer video

A Q&A forum

A slide deck

A white paper

Russ Jones will also be hosting an entire webinar on this topic to help you understand these changes so you can speak intelligently about them to your clients and stakeholders. Join him on Thursday, February 21 at 10am PDT:

Save my spot!

Communicating with clients and stakeholders is a bit of an art form, but with empathy and preparedness, we can tackle any change that’s thrown our way.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

http://bit.ly/2RSs7jN