Business Management Consultant - Stuntdubl Search and Marketing Consulting

This started with a little list of things I thought had changed between 2005 and 2006 and turned into a large list of brainstormed ideas of things to keep in mind for the upcoming year. The first 30 I tried to compare the evolution somewhat. The rest didn’t quite fit anything, and the whole thing turned out a bit random, but ended with the nice round number of 40. Not so much predictions, as simply things I will think will be more important and/or prevelant in the world of search engine optimization and internet marketing. Click here if you’d prefer to see the “head to head match-up” between 2005 vs. 2006 SEM trends.

SEO 2005

1. 1.text link brokerages
2. 2.purchased content
3. 3.buying pagerank
4. 4.on-page optimization
5. 5.any links
6. 6.lots of links
7. 7.link exchange
8. 8.geo-targeting
9. 9.community discussion
10. 10.url rewrites for spiderability
11. 11.sandbox
12. 12.directory submission
13. 13.press release links
14. 14.blog optimization
15. 15.SEO-friendly copywriting
16. 16.information architecture
17. 17.gut feel and split testing
18. 18.Algorithm variable testing and threshhold identification
19. 19.rise of tagging
20. 20.discussion of google
21. 21.blog spam
22. 22.blackhat vs. whitehat ethical debates
23. 23.real business principles once again matter to online business valuation
24. 24.tagging and rss search
25. 25.blog readers for seo blogs
26. 26.shopping feed optimization
27. 27.affiliate ppc arbitrage
28. 28.3rd party ppc tools
29. 29.click fraud auditing tools
30. 30.lots of new google and yahoo acquisitions and products

SEO 2006

1. 1.viral link attraction - “under the radar” text link purchase
2. 2.user generated content
3. 3.bashing pagerank
4. 4.on-page naturalization
5. 5.”non-seo” links
6. 6.trusted links
7. 7.content with links exchange
8. 8.geovertical targeting
9. 9.community reviewed content
10. 10.url rewriting for user appearance and viral distribution
11. 11.trustbox
12. 12.article submission
13. 13.media distrubution communication
14. 14.blog community outreach
15. 15.web-copy language synonymy substitution
16. 16.information architecture and strategic deeplinking
17. 17.gut feel and multi recipe conversion tracking
18. 18.algorithm variable hedge betting
19. 19.rise of user tagging and bookmarking incentivization
20. 20.discussion of online media
21. 21.parasite SEO
22. 22.sandbox existence debates
23. 23.real marketing principles actually start to matter again
24. 24.automated mass tag distibution
25. 25.reputation management through the blogosphere
26. 26.one box optimization
27. 27.affiliate content network based sales generation
28. 28.SE based PPC tools
29. 29.SE click fraud tools in response to increased advertiser pressure
30. 30.lots of msn acquisitions and products
31. 31.vertical niche specialization
32. 32.page view maximization
33. 33.page view duration optimization
34. 34.usability and standards compliance
35. 35.content contribution incentivization
36. 36.mobile content optimization
37. 37.fictional users
38. 38.”trust spam”
39. 39.improved tracking capability
40. 40.personalization manipulation

Thanks to everyone who has helped to make 2005 a great year for progress in search and SEO. This has been an amazing year, and 2006 promises to be even better. I think we’ll see a polarization in the “hat color” of SEO’s in 2006. The folks that apply real marketing principles will be seperated from those that use technical tricks. The “tech tricks” will continue to work with a limited window of opportunity and increased difficulty. Choose one or the other and start studying or find a new occupation. Happy New Year!

2006 SEO Posts

• 2006 search predictions
• SEO/SEM tactics for 2006
• WMW post of the year nominations *supporter’s forum thread
• SEOMoz - Evolution of SEO
• Donna’s 2006 SEO predictions
• Kim Krause-Berg’s 2006 predictions
• Google acquisitions by Bill Slawski
• Google blogoscoped predictions
• Danny’s “best of sandbox 2005 roundup”
• Linda’s list of 2006 predictions and affiliate marketing predictions
• John Battelle’s 2006 Predictions
• SEW best threads of 2005
• 2005 in review: top search industry stories
• Web Professor’s 73 things about SEO
• 10 webtrends that should die in 2006

Tags: SEO predictions, Search Engine Optimization, 2006 predictions, Internet marketing predictions

I owe a big thanks to Search Engine Journal - the source for fair and balanced SEO News, and all the wonderful folks who gave me favorable votes in the SEO blog contest. I’m honored and humbled to have been mentioned among such a fine bunch of my industry peers. Thanks to those who participated and nominated my site. My apologies for being such a procrastinator.

Bulk class C checker
Header checker
Copyright checker
Text Browser checker tool
Neighborhood checker
Spiderablity checker
Visibility checker
Lynx checker
Age checker
Top 10 checker
Bid checker
Host checker
Banning checker
robots.txt checker

I haven’t seen too many (any?) sites from 2005 in the wayback machine until today, and I do tend to check it quite often.

Jim mentioned a while back that he had not seen it update since November 2004. Maybe they were reading his site, because it seems to have a a bunch of 2005 entries now. I had actually noticed it on a much less high profile site.

This must be a question every blogger asks themselves in their blog lifetime. If I just dropped seemingly sagely one liners and a link from time to time, would that be more valuable than long-winded articles? Would I get called out if I was wrong? Would I get more links to what I posted if I WAS wrong?

Do you ever wax philosophically about YOUR blog? What is your blogger theory?

When I wander off in blogger philosophy land I think to myself:
-who reads my blog?
-what was the purpose?
-what is valuable to readers who care?
-what would be valuable for me to write about for easy future reference?
-WIIFM (what’s in it for me - and the reader?)
-when is this most valuable?
-when is the best time to blog?
-where can i gain blog readership?
-why do I enjoy blogging?
-why are links and viral marketing so important?
-how can I be viral?
-is SEO too narrow a niche for the future or not narrow enough?

Now that near everyone I never though I’d see blogging including: Matt, Oilman, Greg, and even Brett has a blog I think I can more comfortably embrace being a “blogger” (yes, it still makes me shudder just a little bit). Blogs are like decentralized forums. They’ve become bilateral communication in a decentralized location. Everyone gets to pitch in their .02 when they are ready. They can ignore the conversation, start the conversation, drift from the conversation or participate in the conversation. They are our soapboxes. It’s the place I can ALWAYS be right (I control comments lam-o’s). We can choose to offer as little or as much as we like as often or as infrequent as we choose. We just have to remember in humility, that it’s only a site that is only as good as the people paying attention to it (so thank YOU if you’ve actually read this far).

Hmmm…It’s good to link to people and spark debate in the interest of advancement I’d think. Perhaps I should start balking on my blog more periodically? How can I manage to get an extra hour in a day? How can start I start a new niche occupation of viral marketing optimization or community development training?

Can you ask too many questions in a blog post? Where is the Zen in the Art of Blog Theory and Maintenence? Is it ironic to have a community discussion about community discussion? Yes, I to have crazy SEO dreams like Matt, though I would certainly never fess up too them;) Perhaps I will start running with more stream of conciousness type posts in the new year though.

I went wild on Amazon for future reading. In deference to GrayWolf’s post on his library and because I’m excited about havin’ a bunch of new books, I thought I’d post my new found future reading list. I like to build nice long lists on recommendations that I receive from people who I respect. It keeps me away from reading only what I’d like (which I still do as well), and allows me to maintain a fresh perpspective (so thanks to anyone who recommended a book on the list).

I tend to try to review most of the books I read all the way through and find the application to SEO (if there is one) for writing here, but you can always check out the books section to catchup. Perhaps I’ll go back someday and do a quick review of some of the other favorites on my bookshelf. Thanks for the tips on the PHP books Michael (among others). Definitely on my wishlist of things to learn for 2006. For now I’ve got a nice long list of choices for “spare time”. What should I read first and why?

In no yet particular order:
-Crossing the Chasm by: Georffrey A. Moore
-Think and Grow Rich by: Napolean Hill
-Armchair Economist by: Steven E. Landsburg
-More Than Human:
Embracing the promise of biological enhancement by: Ramez Naam
-The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
-The Worldy Philosophers:
The lives, times, and ideas of the great economic thinkers by: Robert L. Heilbroner
-Innovation and Entrepreneurship by: Peter Drucker
-Dreams from My Father by: Barack Obama
-Nickel and Dimed:
On (just) getting by in America by: Barbara Ehrenreich
-What Color is Your Parachute ‘06 by: Richard Nelson Bolles

Book: The Search by John Battelle

Subtitle: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture

Here’s the scoop: I really was excited when this came out. I purchased it, and waited a long time, and was ultimately quite pleased with the read. I think I’ve re-read most every single piece of google news SOMEWHERE in the last 2 years, so I wasn’t too psyched about reading more about the big G, but it was still quite interesting.

Interpreted Thesis:
Google is a large beast of a company that has “crossed the chasm” by evolving in as short a period of time as any company in history. They have not experienced much failure as a company and have demonstrated and acheived tremendous growth. They will have to make difficult decisions regarding new media in the future. Google tries to base decisions on artificial intelligence and technology with less demonstration of human intervention this being a fundamental difference between them and their seemingly largest competitor Yahoo who views themselves as a media company. Validation that Google is branded as Search since the time they became the verb for it.

Topics:
-Search evolution
-Search business models
-Search philosophy
-Search definition
-Sociology
-Communication
-Statistics
-Google

Quotes from dogeared pages:
“The search all starts with you: your query, your intent - the desire to get an answer, find a site, or learn something new. Intent drives searcch…”

“Arguably, there is no greater act of creativity than the formation of a good question, and every day the wired world asks hundreds of millions of questions via search.”

Brilliance on the key distinction between Google and Yahoo:
Yahoo is far more willing to have overt editorial and commercial agendas, and to let humans intervene in search results so as to create media that suppports those agendas. Google, on the other hand, is repelled by the idea of ecoming a content or editorially driven company.

Wonder how AOL will effect that, if at all.

Favorite part:

I really enjoyed reading about the interpretation of how Google is a technology company and Yahoo is a media company. This point shined through and brought me validation on why I have preferred Yahoo at times since G had become the media darling.

Favorite portions:
-Reading about Bill Gross and how Goto turned into a multi-billion idea
-Bill Gross selling vertical search distribution to the point where he could become his own destination
-Bill Gross fighting spam by putting a price on a commodity
-Reading someone else’s account of the dreaded “florida update”

Application to SEO:
If you don’t understand history, you are bound to repeat it’s mistakes. The history of Google and other topics in this book are fundemental to understanding SEO. Either you were there and it was entertaining (for me about half the book), or it’s downright enlightening because you weren’t.