We’re all guilty. You been posting, tweeting, liking, subscribing, following, adding to your circles and handing out plus one votes.

Then one day, a post of yours gets some attention. Maybe someone well known in your industry links to your article. Maybe some internet influencers like your post. You might even get some people to comment on whatever it is you composed.

Feels good, right?

But does that help with your groceries or utility payment?

I can already hear those who would take this social activity as a way to earn brandability, likeability which could lead to someone picking you over someone else.

While I agree 100% on that, I’ve yet to hear of someone’s story where they were chosen because they were liked “X” amount of times.

So, with that out if the way, let’s get back to the point.

In today’s up to the minute know everything society, many people are translating Likes and Followers as some kind of currency. Some people are seemingly addicted to the attention they get from this activity. Hey, who am I tell you what keeps life interesting for you, but I will take the quick email from a client who says “thanks” for the work that I’ve done for them over various mentions of some article I wrote.

Better yet, the conversation that takes place when conversions are much better because we spent the time to look at the important items that actually make an impact on business.

Because of this always on lifestyle, it seems that many professionals are getting distracted by these social activities that really don’t have an impact on your bottom line.

But, I’m not here to change the mind of those people. I’m glad they are out there since it leaves me more room to do something important for a client. I’ll gladly let others talk about how some video of theirs went viral and now they have 10,000 subscribers to their Youtube channel.

I’ll always ask the same question: That’s nice, but how much money did you make?

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Yeah, that’s right, I purposely used improper English.

But it got you here, and so the story begins.

If you listen closely to those spammy emails you get from India, it would be hard to think that getting ranked takes any effort. According to those compelling emails, for a small amount of moeny every month, your site will soon be soaring to the top of the search rankings.

They promise to get you directory lsitings, create compelling articles and get links at a guaranteed rate that is absolutely startling for what they charge.

And to think, here I am “wasting” my time creating something entirely original.

I’m often contacted by people who have been brainwashed into thinking that all SEO professionals offer the same service, and that the only difference is the pricing.

Unfortunately, I am also contacted by those who have sent way too much money to India in the hopes of getting those quick rankings.

Many times you can determine the thoroughness of the SEO provider by the questions that they ask.

Are they only asking about the keywords you want to rank for? Yes, that is an obvious start, but what about other critical items to determine if the property will stand a chance to get ranked?

For example:

Are they asking about your ability to create and post content?
Are they looking at your social presence?
Are they asking to see your analytics?
Are you willing to share any information about what optimization methods were used previously? (Good and Bad)

If someone is asking about an seo audit of an e-commerce site, will they be looking at it from a sku level? categories? converting pages? All of previously mentioned items and more?

The point is, Good SEO takes time to analyze, strategize, execute, report and then respond to.

Anyone telling you they can “take a few steps out” is like telling the airplane mechanic to quickly inspect the engines before the next flight. Nevermind the strange noise that it’s making…

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You know who you are.

The one who thinks all those Indian SEO companies can get you links that are worth anything.

The one who thinks the next WSO will “finally” crack that elusive ranking that you want.

The one who thinks that spending $500 a month is enough to get you ranked, paying someone to do all your work.

The one who thinks that a top ranking in Google will be all you need, nevermind the low quality of your site.

The one who thinks that “likes” and “followers” have a real ROI.

The one who thinks that all you need is links to rank your low quality content.

The one who thinks that SEO is “free”.

The one who thinks that social has no impact on rankings.

The one who thinks that by doing what everyone else is doing will get you ranked too.

The one who thinks that your $5 a month hosting fee for your website is a good bargain.

The one who thinks that you can hire an SEO freelancer for a month or two, “show you the ropes” and then you can do it yourself.

The one who thinks that by writing great content, Google will just catapult your site to the top of the SERPs.

The one who thinks that an evaluation of your site and competitors isn’t an important part of the process.

The one who thinks that as long as you do everything Google tells you to, that you will never get in trouble with them.

The one who thinks that all your competitors are playing “fair and square”.

The one who thinks that your nephew who just got out of college knows more about SEO than someone who does it for a living.

The one who thinks that creating a profile on every social network is enough.

The one who thinks that your branded traffic is all that matters.

The one who thinks that just doing it is better than not doing it right.

I’ve heard all of these in my time working in search. You can’t fix stupid so I don’t bother to even try to change the path of people who think this way. I just kindly tell them “Thank You” and politely decline services for them.

If you are not one of these people and recognize that effective seo is a long term commitment and you are ready to get some real results, contact me today to get started.

That way you won’t end up on this list.

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I saw an article that says that one of the qualifications of a “real” SEO firm is to be transparent with all their activities that they take part in. This also means sharing any knowledge with respected SEO communities. By doing this, I am now part of the “good” group of SEOs.

F THAT.

I have a technique that I’ve been using for about seven months now that gets my site on the first page of Google with every post. Do you think I am going to SHARE that with the world? Just so that they can use it and knock me and my clients out of position?

NO FREAKIN WAY.

My clients keep me because I get them ranked in Google and get them exposure on social media. They don’t care if I tell the SEO world about my strategy. All they want to see is the NUMBER OF CONVERSIONS my efforts got them. How much MONEY they made because of WHAT I DO. They don’t pay me because I am a respected member of the SEO community. They pay me because I MAKE THEM PROFITABLE.

Share that method? Sure, if you want to deposit 10 million in my bank account so I don’t have to work again, and I will spill the beans.

I need to provide for my family and there is no way I am revealing that information to anyone. Even when I help my friends, I don’t tell them everything to do. Most times, I will do it for them so that they get the benefits, but didn’t learn what to do.

I KNOW THAT I AM NOT ALONE.

Do you really think the best SEO’s out there are really sharing EVERY technique they use? The “special sauce” or the techniques used to get those top rankings?

HELL NO THEY AREN’T.

So, continue on your way of being a sheep to the SEO flock and listen to everything that Google tells you to, and all the “respected’ SEO people and companies out there. I’m sure you’ll be happy with your first page ranking at #7, while your expert holds onto the #1 spot.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great people out there who are sharing, and it’s great information. There are also seo companies that do excellent work and should also be noted. But there is not a fantastically ranked seo company/person who is sharing with the “common folk” all their SEO techniques.

And if you’re tricked into thinking that a SEO firm is more reputable because they talk a good game, do some research on some of the more well known SEO companies that got busted by Google for violating their guidelines and in turn, tanked all their client rankings.

SEO as an industry has evolved to a place where there are true experts, “SEO rock stars” and then there are the rest of you. Yes, you the constantly reading updated post from Matt Cutts’s webmaster world videos, as you wait like a drooling dog to get a morsel of information from him.

And you buy it hook, line and sinker.

Who the hell is Google to tell me I can’t monetize from my site? Why, am I interfering with their Adsense revenue? Oh wait they just scrape my content, and if I am a good boy and do everything I was told by them I *might* get ranked for a SEO related keyword.

In case you’re curious, my site ranks for nothing seo related in Google. Yet, here I am, six years later, chugging along just fine. I used to give a shit about being ranked in Google. But then when I did, it took away from working on my client work. Why would I want to lose PAYING customers so that I can heed to the whims of a corporation that has thousands of millionaires whose are already financially set and don’t have to give two shits about a mom and pop going under because they want to reward spam injected content crap sites?

So, go ahead and follow your shepherd, little lamb, he’s calling for you to listen. Heaven forbid you venture off and think for yourself to learn the truth – and that’s what Google is doing. By having those tiny little morsels of information presented to you, most SEO’s have stopped experimenting on what really works to get ranked in the search engines.

And that’s exactly how Google wants you to act.

When you are ready make money with your online presence, contact me. I’m the wolf feasting on all the sheep who are too timid to think for themselves.

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Why?

Do you have a Facebook page?
How about Twitter?
Google Plus?
A YouTube channel?
How about a LinkedIn page for your company?

Are you making new content on a regular schedule?

Are you really serious about getting found?

Are you committed to what’s needed to earn rankings?

Do you understand how the process works?

Are you patient enough to see the efforts realized?

Do you understand that rankings aren’t the most important metric to worry about?

Are you more concerned about “likes” or conversions?

Do you want to build brand awareness?

Do you recognize that this effort is not “cheap” or “free”?

Are you willing to let me speak on your behalf as your brand?

Are you ready to accept that there are conversations going on about your brand without your permission?

Do you know how to respond to those conversations?

Do you want to respond to those conversations?

If you aren’t willing to even consider any of these questions, then there’s no way I can help you. In order to get conversions in today’s online world, you must create and engage with your potential customers before and after they make a purchase. If you aren’t willing to do this, it’s time for you to choose another business to get into.

Good news is that I can help you with all of these efforts. Contact me today to see how we can get started.

**Sorry! logo is not owned by me.

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So, I have to admit that I stole this idea from Rick Schwartz and his post found here.

If you don’t want to read the article, it essentially talks about how those companies that are smart enough to realize that an important part of owning a market is to own the domain names found in that market.

Keep in mind that for some companies that will amount to just a few category killers, and for others, it might take thousands of domains to lock up that market.

SO WHAT IS A DOMAIN STRATEGY?
Everyone already knows to keep their brand safe online and registered for many years. Then you have those people who buy domains thinking that “one day” they will develop that domain and turn it into a business. Others collect domains based on nothing more than a “hunch” or maybe they just like the way the domain sounds (I am guilty of this one).

I’m sure you’ve seen the Godaddy commercial promoting the “Your Big Idea” and the mad rush to get a friggin DOT CO extension. I’ve already shared my thoughts on that, and still believe them today.

If you listed to the media “experts” they will tell you that the next “whatever” domain extension will be huge. Just like they said about .mobi and .me.

Huge, aren’t they?

Point is, the .COM extension is the King, and will most likely will remain that way for the rest of our careers.

So, what exactly would someone with this position do?

• Look for the category killer domains that have type-in traffic
• Negotiate with the domain owners to acquire said domain

It’s a simple strategy – Buy a dotcom domain name that truly means something then share that name using various media and let social media butterflies spread free word of mouth advertising and drive copious amounts of free traffic to your site.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that their brand name + service/product will send traffic. That’s partially correct, but you still spend money educating that person to learn about the brand name. Compared to owning a category killer and by way of perception, the leader of that industry.

Take A&W as an example. They own “rootbeer.com”. Guess who is now perceived as the leading Root Beer maker?

LEASING AS AN OPTION
Sometimes the owner of the domain doesn’t want to sell. Don’t fret. The role of the domain name strategist is to negotiate with the owner on a solution. If they don’t want to sell the domain outright, they would probably be willing to let you lease the domain. (Especially if the domain isn’t developed).

Leasing is the latest domaining trend, and I say it’s about damn time. No human on Earth can possibly develop and maintain more than 100 domains. Sure, you could plan to build them out, but not many domainers are willing to put the proper amount of money into a site to really turn it into a high quality site.

Not only that, but just making a site isn’t enough anymore. One needs to continually offer new content and be active on the web. Another failing point for most domainers. I can’t blame them. If I was making 50k a month just for parking my sites, I wouldn’t want to bother with all the work needed to do a site right.

COUNTRY EXTENSIONS
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect in the role of the domain strategist is to consider all of the country extensions. For worldwide companies, this is a no-brainer. But what about retailers who can only offer their services to a certain region? There are other opportunities for those players as well, if they really want to dominate their market.

As you can see, the domain strategist is a business and brand builder for the company.

GET STARTED TODAY
When you’re ready to leverage someone with this experience, contact me to get started, and let’s explore and conquer the opportunities that wait for us!

EXTRA CREDIT:
Companies and generics they own

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Ask ten people what growth hacking is, and you will get a variation of answers.

Some say that it’s knowing how to code. Some say it’s just a new name for SEO. Others say it’s measuring proven methods and then repeating and increasing efforts on a massive scale. Some say it’s growing all departments of a company at once. Some even say that Growth Hacking is a fad that will quickly fade away.

SO WHO IS RIGHT?
Truth is, all of them. Somewhat.

Growth hacking is essentially what big brands have been doing for ages – they attack (advertise) on all mediums at the same time to build brand, earn new customers and make current customers spend more.

Sure, some of the methods have changed.

Now you can pay that influential blogger to talk about your product or service. You can contact radio stations to get free publicity. Make your video on Youtube go viral (it’s really not that hard if you are willing to spend the money).

Don’t forget about the old adage that says “It takes money to make money”. Growth hacking isn’t cheap or for the faint of heart. It doesn’t always work.

GOALS
Many people set goals and then wonder why they weren’t reached when they only invested 100k into an effort. Listen up people. If you want someone to visit your site and use your product, it needs to be EASY, and it HAD BETTER WORK when the user arrives.

You only get one chance to impose your will on the reader. If ANYTHING goes wrong during their site experience, it’s OVER FOR YOU EVER HAVING A CHANCE TO EARN THEIR BUSINESS.

You might get a second chance if somehow your marketing convinces them to try your site again. Most times that won’t be why they come back. It will be because a friend of theirs convinced them to try it again.

RISK
Don’t even bother contacting someone like myself if you don’t understand what you are getting into. Your company might dump 5 million into a growth effort and will get nowhere close to your goals. You have to be ready to accept that from the start.

No matter what targets you are chasing, or methods you decide to use, you must know that it won’t work every time.

REWARD
The good stuff. This is where you meet or exceed your goals. Time to pop the cork and celebrate, right?

WRONG.

You hit your goals? Good, now raise the bar by a multiple of 100. There’s 7 billion people on the planet and over half of them have an internet connection. This means your cap is currently at 3.5 billion subscribers. Facebook isn’t even halfway there and they are the leader.

SEE THE POINT HERE?

Growth hacking is fast acting, accelerated, data driven growth that will grow your consumer base by leaps and bounds and never stops.

If you’re ready to achieve this, contact me to get started.

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I’ve seen so many places now offering these services and I have to wonder why?

There are many tools that deliver data now – Google, ahrefs, seomoz’s Open Site Explorer, Domain Tools, Social Mention, FollowerWonk, and many others that can provide some various ways to see what your site is up against in regards to online competition, and how the web views your site.

There are tools out there for any kind of audit you might need:

• Traffic
• Social Media
• Brand reputation
• Conversions
• …And just about anything else you can think of

So why does anyone need to get an audit when all these tools provide the answers?

The reasons:
1.) Knowing what the data means for your site
2.) Analysis of your site with the data returned
3.) Expertise – Having someone who lives in the space, your efforts should be put forth to the proper items to improve your site

That is why you pay an expert to do the audit for you. Not only will they provide a snapshot in time of where your site stands compared to the competition, but they should also deliver an action plan that tells your precisely what the next steps are to take.

Pitch time:
Performing an SEO Audit can give you a current view of your site, and what needs to be done next, and in what order.

Click here to see what all’s included in the audit. Feel free to ask any questions you might have in the contact form.

Let’s get started today!

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In today’s world it seems like that it’s more about “keeping up” rather than “getting ahead”.

I have to admit that sometimes it’s much easier to just “get it done” instead of taking the time to pay attention to all the little details.

Think of the carpenter who uses a good piece of wood for the back part of a dresser. Is anyone going to see it except for the carpenter and the people who use the dresser? Probably not. But the carpenter knows that using the good piece of wood makes for a better dresser instead of the thin-pressed particle board.

It also adds to the overall structural integrity of the dresser, which means it will last longer, be more durable, and hold up to the wear and tear of time. Will the people who use the dresser ever recognize this fact? Most likely no. But the carpenter knows the importance of paying attention to this detail, and in turn, is the reason why their work becomes known for quality work and craftsmanship.

It’s attention to the small details that separates the good from great. This also applies to SEO.

In order for a client to have success, there has to be an audit of what how the site currently stands from a search perspective. How else will I know what social presence they already have? Content to support the words they want to rank for? Resources to work with?

You don’t build a house without a plan, why would you craft a search strategy without knowing what’s already taking place?

Then there is the “coding” element. Not just on the site, but all the social profiles. There are many companies that think they have an optimized profile, when all it really contains is a logo and link. Why would someone want to follow that?

Then, the biggest differentiator comes into place. It’s know thing the *right* thing to do instead of just doing some “seo work”.

That is where experience and expertise start to emerge and show off. This is where the battle will be won and lost. Having someone with little experience will be cheaper, but will it be worth it when your site gets blasted by Google in the serps? Willing to find out?

Doing it right is not about having more money, it’s about caring enough to make an effort.

Like anything worth doing, it’s not easy at first and the ones who care aren’t going to get any awards from those that are merely phoning it in. The lack of caring in the service business is so rare.

Which is precisely what makes it valuable.

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There are many schools of thought around this topic and quite frankly, most of them are correct. There are Pros and Cons to both situations.

Let’s take a look at the In-House SEO first.

They get a deep sense of the company brand and how they want to portray themselves online. Typically, the in-house gets full access to all data and is involved with all marketing decisions that are tied to SEO.
They can help provide insight as to why certain things happen on the site, and provide strategy on next steps.

The SEO consultant can provide all of the above and more. While the In-House focuses on one brand, the seo consultant is exposed to many industries and helps to solve the various challenges they are met with.

SEO Consultants need to stay on top of current trends. They have a network that is probably much broader than the In-House SEO, which means they can contact other experts who can fix any issues that might be at hand.

The consultant is a monthly expense. If they don’t provide value, you can part ways and cut your losses. With an employee, there is HR and unemployment issues to potentially deal with.

The In-House seo might get too comfortable in the role and let things slide. The SEO Consultant needs to stay on their toes and constantly prove their value every month, and every time they talk with you.

The choice is yours. Where it makes sense on some levels to have the In-House SEO as the answer to your problems, in most cases, keeping the consultant also means having access to the latest techniques and strategies for success.

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