miercuri, 13 iunie 2012

Interview with Danny Sullivan - Whiteboard Friday-ish

Interview with Danny Sullivan - Whiteboard Friday-ish


Interview with Danny Sullivan - Whiteboard Friday-ish

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 01:59 PM PDT

Posted by randfish

In this week's Whiteboard Friday Wednesday, we have something different in store for you. Last week, during SMX, I had the extreme pleasure in having Danny Sullivan come into the MozPlex Studio for an interview. Luckily he let me ask him all kinds of fun questions. I should warn you, this is another long one, but believe me, it's well worth it!

By the way if you missed Danny's epic rant about link building from last week, you really should go listen to it (right after you watch this video, of course). Also, you can keep up with him on his personal blog as well. Now, without further ado, let's chat with Danny Sullivan.



Video Transcription

Transcription coming soon. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com


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21 SEO Leaders Share Their Best SEO Career Advice

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT

Posted by Sparkplug Digital

One of the best ways to achieve your goals in any field is to learn from those who have achieved success in your industry. I asked some of the top professionals and leaders in the SEO field to share their best advice for being successful in the SEO field. Here are their responses:

"90% of the information you need to know about SEO is available online and in books. Once you have figured out that much (you will know because you will start to feel like you aren’t learning anything new from reading and attending conferences) spend the rest of your time innovating and trying out completely new tactics. That last 10% might be findable through the right connections but honestly your time is better spent coming up with your own ideas."
-Danny Dover, writer at LifeListed.com, a bucket list blog.


"Intellectual honesty. Which is somehow different from plain honesty. Intellectual honesty is what makes you say no when no must be told... and not just in the case you are dealing with a pushing client, but also - and maybe especially - when you don't say 'No' to yourself and accept deals that you maybe you should have not have taken. That is an horrible mistake I did and I wish to not do again.
 
Intellectual honesty, and humbleness, is what makes you stay with your feet on the ground, even though you maybe are living your 15 minutes of fame. 'I know that I don't know', I like to repeat to myself, and that is why I try to learn one new thing every day and that is why I consider everyone in the field as a potential teacher.
 
But Intellectual honesty is also what makes you defend your values, also in this field. And defend your point of views... maybe that is what should be called 'ethical SEO'."
-Gianluca Fiorelli, SEO Specialist at I Love SEO.
 

"Don't just learn by reading what other people write. Learn by doing - test tactics out on your domain; test new things, not just what people are talking about. Try to take a tactic and do it better or try to scale it. Have test domains to try out tactics that may have an adverse affect on your site."
-Geoff Kenyon, SEO for Distilled.
 

"Never stop learning. Data visualization, language processing, search in general, writing skills and your general marketing savvy have to continuously mature and improve. The best SEOs I know are mental sponges - they soak up information, all the time."
-Ian Lurie, Founder and CEO of Portent.


"Run a number of projects & test what works. To learn the algorithms does not make one a tainted person (it is ignorance that is bad, not knowledge). Do not allow others to influence what you are willing to test by inserting suggestions aligned with their own business models as though they are moral clauses/code."
-Aaron Wall, Founder of SEO Book.


"It depends how you define success. If you want to be a financial success then similarly to any other industry the name of the game is scale; get yourself a public persona, set the PR machine rolling and get as many bums on seats to grow your operation. Oh and do a decent job on a couple of clients so you've got a case study or two to use.
 
If you want to be well-known (and probably financially successful) then spend plenty of time blogging, go to as many conferences as you can and answer all the questions under the sun in any and all of the forums. Occasionally get involved in real client work but not too much because that would be wasting time that could be spent 'inbounding' :-)
 
If you want to be well-known and financially successful then get good at SEO; don't take what you read at face value, try everything for yourself, read blogs but spend an equal amount of time doing, be selective at taking on projects that fit your skillset so the client gets good value (SEO is quite a broad job title and you're bound to gravitate toward and likely specialise in a specific area) and above all be transparent and honest with the client. Really educate them on what you're doing and what they can expect from you - I don't care if you're black or white (hat!) just so long as the client doesn't think they're paying for one thing but ends up getting another...long term you're doing yourself and the industry no favours.
 
There's nothing wrong with making loads of money (I love money) and I actively encourage you to do things like blogging, helping others in forums, sharing your knowkedge and expertise at conferences and growing a team of employees- just make sure you have the substance to back up your style."
-James Agate, Founder of Skyrocket SEO.
 

"Always be transparent and honest in all your dealings--both with your clients and the search engines. Don't take on work that you don't know how to do (unless the client knows this). Remember that in SEO what works for one site may not work for another as they are all unique and have different needs. Take responsibility for your actions (or of those who work for you). Under promise and over deliver. Set goals on things that really matter to your clients' bottom line and measure success accordingly. Always educate your clients so that if they eventually want to take their SEO in-house, they will have a good understanding of the process."
-Jill Whalen, CEO of High Rankings.
 

"My best advice for being successful in the SEO industry is twofold. First, make friends. You'll be much more successful in SEO if you can admit that you don't know everything and have smart friends to lean on when you are out of your element. We all have our own weaknesses, so admitting it and seeking to learn is foremost.
 
Second, be curious about everything. If you see a site ranking and you don't know why, dig into it. Figure it out. You'll learn more by being curious about what you see in the SERPs than just reading content that comes out and watching SEO videos. You can learn a lot about those, to be sure, but digging in and doing the work and investigation will teach you the most the fastest."
-John Doherty, SEO Consultant at Distilled.
 

"Intellectual curiosity. Our field changes all the time, and not just in response to algorithm updates from Google. People are constantly finding new ways to search the Web and new tools to use. So as SEOs, we need to be curious about emerging trends, new ways of doing things, and the general goings-on in other fields outside of our own. The best SEOs keep up with practitioners of user experience design, information architecture, content strategy, web development, and several other disciplines. Yeah, it's hard, but that also makes it fun and challenging -- and that's why you love SEO, right?
 
A willingness to share knowledge and learn from others. I come from the nonprofit world, having spent almost half a decade doing web development, Internet marketing, and strategy at The Nature Conservancy. Amongst nonprofits, even amongst competing organizations, data-sharing is common because there's an understanding that we can only achieve our goals by working together. Now take a look at some of the best SEOs in our field and I think you'll see a similar approach. Whether its on their blogs, on #SEOchat, or at conferences, the SEOs I look up to the most are the ones who give back to -- and ask for feedback from -- our shared community.
 
Be quick to laugh, slow to anger. We all go on rants from time to time, and why not? With Google's algo updates, Firefox hiding keywords, 'negative' SEO, it feels like everything's always in flux and it's hard to find any stable ground in our industry. But whether we call ourselves 'inbound marketers' or 'Internet marketers', there's simply more to life than arguing about SEO. The best SEOs are real human beings -- they play, they spend time with their families, they go outdoors, and they laugh more than they rant. This makes them more approachable, easier to learn from, and more fun to hang out with. All those traits are marks of success.
 
Build a reputation for using data. Why? Well, the numbers usually speak for themselves and their message is usually more powerful than yours.
 
Be a good storyteller. Except that data doesn't speak for itself. Neither does a business case, I've found. Even ROI figures are open to interpretation. So the most successful SEOs add elements of human connection, drama, and creativity to the way they tell their stories. Humans evolved to share and consume stories -- it's part of the way we learn new information -- and good SEOs are aware of that trait and use it to grow their success."
-Jonathon Colman, Agile SEO and Inbound Marketing at REI.
 

"I honestly don't think I even qualify as a successful SEO professional, but from what I've seen in the few years I've been in the industry, exceeding expectations is the most essential part of being successful. Whether it's for my clients or on my blog, when I do more than what is expected of me, the results are usually much greater than the extra effort I put in. So if you're really looking to impress, go out and get those extra few links, touch up and add some images and video to your next company blog post, and when you have someone's attention, take full advantage of the opportunity and make sure they leave impressed knowing you were more knowledgeable and personable than they could ever have expected."
-Jon Cooper, Link Builder at Point Blank SEO.
 

"Start reaching out and getting involved in the SEO community sooner rather than later. Whatever your current skill level, you'll find a large number of people that can geek out on link building tactics with you over coffee or a beer, and it's a smart career move regardless of whether you're currently agency, in-house, freelance, or moonlighting."
-Kane Jamison, SEO and Linkbuilder at Hood Web Management.
 

"As my business has grown I think about this question a lot in hiring. My situation is unique in that I am running an agency from a small town in Idaho. I hire people that largely have not worked in any tech job nor do they have any idea what SEO even means. I have been fortunate to see people start with zero understanding and literally become extremely competent SEO professionals in a very short amount of time. There is one common theme with those that are able to accomplish this. It's passion. Passion for success, for the people in the industry, for new information, for testing, for making clients happy. I personally don't think that there is a specific SEO passion bug. Passionate people excel in usually whatever they touch. So, my best advice is that this industry changes too much, is too complicated, and too important for people that don't have raw passion. If you do have it then you will want to read, test, and network in everything you do and I can promise it will lead to industry wisdom and success. Thought leaders in this industry have stopped looking at SEO as a job and literally eat, drink, and breath this stuff well after clocking out of the office. That is exactly what it takes."
-Mike Ramsey, Owner of Nifty Marketing.


"Never stop learning. The SEO game is constantly changing and you have to be open to testing new things out to figure out to best achieve the rankings your customers are looking for. 2012 has made it vary apparent that the search landscape is changing... you can see so with all of Google's algorithm updates."

-Neil Patel, Co-Founder of KISSMetrics.


"Love what you do, do it with integrity, keep learning every day and use that learning to help your clients."
-Mike Blumenthal, author of Understanding Google Places and Local Search.
 


"Get some skin in the game. It's easy to offer clients advice and then go home at the end of the day, but when you build something you care about and watch those traffic numbers rise and fall, that's when you learn what it's like to live and die by the algorithm. It makes you a better SEO, and it makes you understand what webmasters go through when their businesses are on the line. It's not just about education and empathy, though. If you succeed, you'll have something to show the rest of the industry, and that's when people start to notice you."
-Dr. Peter J. Meyers, President of User Effect.


"Work a lot. Work hard. Be patient. Too many people quit before they see any results. Too many people never stop looking for 'easy ways.' But the truth is, there's no an easy way. You need to take it seriously: read a lot, comment a lot, write a lot and test a lot. You need to build websites from scratch. You need to take over already established sites and see what you can do that. You need to work for free before you can make money!"
-Ann Smarty, Owner of MyBlogGuest.
 

"Find a particular niche within the ever growing world of SEO and master it. If you do provide general SEO services, I strongly recommend working as part of a team. There is far too much to learn and understand for any single SEO consultant to properly service clients and stay abreast of the rapid changes related to SEO. There is too many varied skills required of a SEO for a single person to do everything at a high level. Site analysis requires a basic understanding of designing websites which is one particular skill set. Google Analytics and other methods of performance tracking requires working with spreadsheets, graphs and mathematics which is another skill set. Writing content requires extensive use of English, research and creativity which is yet another entirely different skill set. Lastly there is promoting websites through link building and social media which requires marketing and networking skills."
-Ryan Kent, Director of Vitopian.


"I think that you have to be willing to set your ego aside and both continue to learn AND continue to teach, whether it's through educating your employees and clients, participating in and/or moderating forums, networking offline and online, writing industry articles, and generally just becoming an approachable resource for others."
-Julie Joyce, Director of Operations at Link Fish Media.


"Form your own opinions. Don't just naively believe everything you read or hear about SEO unless it comes straight from the search engines or is proven beyond a doubt. Keep an open and objective mind.
 
Consider searcher intent. Are you providing content and calls to action (above the fold) to satisfy the different types of intent that a searcher might have (to engage and convert them) or are you just writing content based around a keyword?
 
Consider the client: It's easy to just say 'here's the problem.' But also take the time to provide the solution with your client's level of understanding in mind. Speak their language and make sure they can walk away knowing exactly what to do."
-Laura Lippay, President of How's Your Pony


"Be honest at all times and with everyone."
-Debra Mastaler, President of Alliance-Link.com



"Learn your craft. Consider getting training like the SEMPO Institute’s Insider’s Guide to Search Marketing. Read the blogs of SEO industry experts. Follow the SEO experts on Twitter and read the content in the links they post. Attend a conference or two. Join a user group (like the Seattle SEO Network). Study the available SEO tools and learn how to use them and understand what they do. Check out a great list of SEO resources I’ve collected on these very items.

Push your comfort boundaries. Make yourself uncomfortable by asking questions of industry experts, tweeting about your lessons learned, writing blog posts to help others learn, and speaking at events when you have learned valuable information to share (depending upon the audience you’ll address, if they are not SEO-savvy, such as typical webmasters, developers, designers or business owners, you could do this pretty early in your career development process). The work you’ll want to do to be prepared for these efforts will help you learn more quickly. Ask, write, and speak!

Volunteer to help a non-profit. There are non-profits galore on the web who are barely scraping by, if that, and nearly all of them have websites in desperate need of optimization. They will likely be grateful for any volunteer assistance you can offer, and you’ll get a chance to learn new skills earlier in your career that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do in a paid job you might not yet be qualified to get. You’ll be doing a great thing for a needy cause, and you’ll be learning on the job! Best of all, if you spend any money on PPC campaigns in behalf of a 501c3, these are likely charitable contributions for you!

Just do SEO. Optimize a site you own (create one if necessary, so if you screw up, there’s no harm done). Earn your reputation through high-quality, white-hat SEO work. You can also ask if you can help with the company website at work (it could lead to a great career move). Look for opportunities to do more, and eventually become a resource for others who will follow in your footsteps."
-Rick DeJarnette, Website Optimization, Search Engine and Social Media Marketing, & Content Development at The SEO Ace


I want to thank everyone who contributed for being so generous with their time. Hopefully you can take away some insights to help your career. And if you have advice to share for being successful in the SEO field please add it below in the comments.

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!

Photo: A Hug from FLOTUS

The White House

Your Daily Snapshot for
Wednesday, June 13, 2012

 

Photo: A Hug from FLOTUS

Photo of the Day

First Lady Michelle Obama greets White House mentees in the Cross Hall of the White House before an event celebrating their graduation, June 12, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

In Case You Missed It

Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog:

Federal Reserve Data: More Work to be Done, But Household Wealth Up Every Year Under Obama
Household net worth grew by 15 percent between 2009-Q1 and 2010-Q3, following the extraordinary range of actions in economic recovery, housing, the financial sector, and the auto industry. Household net worth has increased another 6 percent since 2010-Q3 for a total increase of 23 percent since President Obama took office.

Unleashing Innovation & Deepening Democracy Through Prizes
Yesterday in Washington, hundreds of leaders from the White House and Federal agencies joined their peers from the Nation's most recognizable companies and organizations to develop strategies to use prizes and competitions as a key method to spark innovation and deepen citizen engagement.

Disability Employment App Challenge: Educating Employers and Job Seekers with Disabilities
The Department of Labor is challenging entrepreneurs and developers to create apps, using government data, that improve access to job training and transportation resources for those with disabilities.

Today's Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

12:30 PM: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney WhiteHouse.gov/live

1:30 PM: The Vice President chairs a regular meeting of senior officials to assess progress in Iraq

3:20 PM: The President and The Vice President hold a bilateral meeting with President Shimon Peres of Israel

4:40 PM: The President attends a campaign event

5:00 PM: The Vice President hosts a reception for the Motion Picture Association of America and Administration officials at the Naval Observatory

7:10 PM: The President awards Shimon Peres the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a dinner at the White House; The President and President Peres deliver toasts; The First Lady and the Vice President also attend WhiteHouse.gov/live

8:30 PM: The President, The First Lady, and The Vice President attend a reception with President Peres WhiteHouse.gov/live

WhiteHouse.gov/live Indicates that the event will be live-streamed on WhiteHouse.gov/Live

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Google Introduces ‘Hot Searches’ in Google Trends

Google Introduces ‘Hot Searches’ in Google Trends

Link to SEOptimise » blog

Google Introduces ‘Hot Searches’ in Google Trends

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 10:16 AM PDT

It’s no secret that in today’s modern age, we’ve embraced a “search” based culture. Whether it’s a new artist you’ve heard of, a recipe you’ve read about, or even a news report you’ve just seen on TV; we’ve become more inclined to search about those subjects to find out more information to such a degree that our collective thoughts can actually correspond with what people actively search. As highlighted in the graph below, people tend to aggressively search for the keyword phrase “english premier league” during the month of August corresponding with the cut off date for player transfers:

 

In fact, you could even make educated guesses about who’s going to win a presidential election based on searches; the graph below are for the keyword phrases “Barack Obama” (blue line) and “John McCain” (red line).

Therefore, it is safe to assume that we could gauge what’s on people’s minds by measuring what’s been searched at any given time. For this very reason, Google have just announced an update to their feature in their ‘Google Trends’ product offering called “Hot Searches” which “let you see a list of the fastest rising search terms in the US for a snapshot of what’s on the public’s collective mind”. The Hot Searches list is updated on an hourly basis with an algorithm analysing searches to determine which queries are being searched much more than usual.

The lists appear with an image, an estimate of the number of searches and a short description with links to relevant news articles to help you find out more about why these topics are “trending”:

 

So why wait? Check it out for yourself at Hot Searches and let us know what you think of it.

© SEOptimise - Download our free business guide to blogging whitepaper and sign-up for the SEOptimise monthly newsletter. Google Introduces ‘Hot Searches’ in Google Trends

Related posts:

  1. 30 Web Trends for 2012: How SEO, Search, Social Media, Blogging, Web Design & Analytics Will Change
  2. SearchLove 2011: Top Trends
  3. Using Social Media to Create Topical Content Around Trends

Seth's Blog : Seven marketing sins

Seven marketing sins

Impatient... great marketing takes time. Doing it wrong ten times costs much more and takes longer than doing it slowly, but right, over the same period of time.

Selfish... we have a choice, and if we sense that this is all about you, not us, our choice will be to go somewhere else.

Self-absorbed... you don't buy from you, others buy from you. They don't care about your business and your troubles nearly as much as you do.

Deceitful... see selfish, above. If you don't tell us the truth, it's probably because you're selfish. How urgent can your needs be that you would sacrifice your future to get something now?

Inconsistent... we're not paying that much attention, but when we do, it helps if you are similar to the voice we heard from last time.

Angry... at us? Why are you angry at us? It's not something we want to be part of, thanks.

Jealous... is someone doing better than you? Of course they are. There's always someone doing better than you. But if you let your jealousy change your products or your attitude or your story, we're going to leave.

Of course, they're not marketing sins, they're human failings.

Humility, empathy, generosity, patience and kindness, combined with the arrogance of the brilliant inventor, are a potent alternative.



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