Business Management Consultant - Stuntdubl Search and Marketing Consulting

• The Search Engine Marketer’s of Portland have a cool event coming up March 7th - Rebecca has a bit more commentary on it. If you’re in the area, I’m sure it’s worth checking out.
• SoloSEO has launched a new competitive report - very cool stuff. If you’re a solo shop, this is a really handy tool (and I didn’t even get paid to say this:)
• Brad gives more great insight on Adwords quality score
• Jim tells us why humans do it better
• Jason shows us the ABC’s of SEM (Always be converting - inspiration provided by Glengarry Glenross)
• Greg tells us why we shouldn’t pick on Dave Pasternack (He has a point, but I’m only linking because I want to go to Esca)
• Brian gives a great interview with VC Jeremy Liew
• Clicktracks (who is probably the coolest analytics company on the planet) - has a bet running with Avinash Kaushik of Occam’s Razor, about whether they should add some of the better features to their free product "appetizer". It’s stuff like this, why I’ve always been a huge fan of their company and product. Be sure to check out the webcast with Avinash, and get the free software that right now has the site overview features enabled (it’s really great USABLE info).
• Problogger is having an NYC meetup which should be pretty cool - Catchup with Darren, and the fine gents of TLA
• Aaron tells us why hiring people for $20/ hr to create your marketing ideas is not a great idea
• Shoemoney got the boot from Mybloglog - I can’t blame them on some level, but I’ll be pulling MBL too (Yes, I’m a lemming, but I think Andy has the right idea - and the $20M fad is over for the SEO savvy - there’s still the myspace crowd now that the early adopters see that there’s little real value - it was fun while it lasted) The only value I saw, was putting a face with names, though I’m sure there are, and will be other better options for this shortly.
• Neil (who has a cool new design) - announces a social media conference in conjunction with SMX/ SearchEngineLand - cool.
• I really like Skittzo’s letter, and Michael fuels the fire a bit, but I learned myself, it’s better to just have thick skin to the haterz most the time, and focus on commonality - or just stay focused on things that really matter. Defending SEO to the unconverted is the new blackhat/whitehat debate (*tinfoilhat - perhaps it’s concocted by a brilliant mind at google to keep us from actually WORKING /tinfoilhat:)
• RC is a cool guy, and understands seo history better than most - if you don’t know what directhit is, read up on the history folks
• Brian asks, What is Google getting out of Checkout? - you don’t think it’s a completely humanitarian effort to help business everywhere Brian? Such a skeptic;)

The “SEO being bad” debate is almost as tired as the blackhat/whitehat debate now. I’m not real excited about defending the virtues of SEO - I know how fantastic it can be, and to explain it properly, it would require a proper understanding of the history of search, and mainly unwritten history of the dynamics between optimizers and engineers. I told a friend today that I will now forever be marketing consultant from the SEO school of thought. I consider practicing SEO an honor, and while I’m sure there is probably better terminology, I’d rather be working than addressing folks that don’t “get it”. So for those that do - here’s some ideas of things to watch, and poke at if you’re not already. I’d call it SEO 2.0 - but that would defeat the concept of staying ahead of the curve on things.

1. 1. Onebox optimization
   There is a lot of opportunity for folks to jump to the top of the SERPS in local, product search, and other niche areas. I have really been lackadaisical on this myself, but there is plenty of opportunities to poke at the onebox. See Brian Mark’s site for inspiration.
2. 2. Social media marketing
   SMM is NOT social media manipulation - it is learning what social communities online are looking for and giving it to them… (…so hard that they BLEED) - quoting DaveN
3. 3. Video promotion
   There’s this little site called youtube that 90% of corporate drones waste 50% of their 40 hours per week on. There not ALL watching drunken litesaber fight videos - okay, well maybe they ARE - but if that’s what they want - GIVE IT TO THEM - just put your URL in as a watermark.
4. 4. Community participation
   Everybody is looking for answers on the web. Find where you’re the expert, and become more so. Credibility is not a commodity, and there is a LOT of value to it.
5. 5. Reputation management
   The new public relations - Google is the new http://, and everyone’s got MINIMUM 5 spots to defend. Those that are proactive will not be sorry. Knuckleheads that buck the trend probably will be (best free advice ever given).
6. 6. Media piggybacking
   Not seeing urls on superbowl ads makes me cry. Search traffic may still only be a small percentage of overall exposure - what old school marketers still don’t get is that it’s the GOOD percentage of the exposure (the BEST customers that are interested and take action) - Someone with lots of patience has gotta continue to explain this.
7. 7. Ideas and execution
   As Aaron says - ideas are the currency in our economy, and executing on them is the next best thing to creating them. There is a lot to be said for being the first to market. Okay, you caught me, this one isn’t really an opportunity, it’s more of a philosophy and a reminder to pick something and run with an idea that you have confidence in, and see it through to fruition. Don’t pick an idea that sucks.

Each one of these areas has a ruleset to play by. The SEO school of thought teaches us to learn the rules, and cater our content, site, or product for the most optimal results within the given ruleset. SEO’s are the folks that push the limits, and force the rules to evolve (think of athletes like Shaq that dominated so much the rules had to change). SEO is more than a process. It is understanding what OPTIMAL really means to the point of perfection, and knowing when striving further towards that perfection has hit a point of diminishing returns.

I missed last week (My laptop started with the “laptop death rattle” - so it was a scramble to do data backups, find and migrate to a new machine). One of the worst parts of being a solo shop is being your own IT guy. Excuses aside - here’s twice the friday favorite goodness for this week.

• Brad discusses how the thank you page is the most under-utilized page on the web, tips us off to Google’s retail specific knowledge base for adwords, and how to find your quality score.
• Matt disects Google local’s algorithm
• Jim talks about why new sites suck for search
• 11 Ways to increase your conversion rate - great stuff from T-bo
• 5 ways to promote your local biz for $888 a year - plus a local gold mine from Mr. Gray. He also asks - are you a baiter or a flasher?
• Is the world out of good ideas? - if you haven’t found this yet, Brant writes some nice stuff including posts on valuation for an exit, and how to handle an NDA
• Jarrod drops his definitive guide to blogging
• Joe has a nice roundup of Google filters
• Darren Dalasta tells us how to know if your friend is an SEO
• Brian coins the Paris Hilton rule, shows us how to drive traffic without SE’s, and illustrates competitive webmastering (aka SEO) for Jason Calacanis
• Andy explains how to escape Google’s supplemental results
• Shoemoney is a genius, and provides the goods with the Adwords arrow trick
• How social media impacts SEM from one of the guys who would know best.
• Searchviews and reprise media gives us the superbowl ad scorecard (curses to whoever dropped Rand’s ad)
• Muhammad Saleem has joined up with Pronetadvertising, and is writing some fantastic stuff on social media including a post on digg narcissim among others (see ego hook)
• Loren’s guide to link buying rocks
• I could probably link just about anything Kathy Sierra writes - favorite recent post - Inspiring your user-evangelists
• Brian Clark advises differentiate or die, and gives his usual great ideas on titles (note to self - listen to his podcast with Neil and Cameron on Rush Hour)
• Aaron talks about using scraper to improve relevance and probably some other awesome stuff I didn’t read:)
• Congrats to Duane on an SEO book deal (please educate the masses!!) - hat tip to Bill
• 50% off Reviewme -sweet! (no aff)
• Everyone involved in search marketing should thank their respectful Gods that we have Danny around to defend the reputation of SEO (cause the rest of us are too damn lazy or busy to try to convert those who don’t "get it") - Thanks Danny!

Neil, Cameron, and I discussed this a bit today on their new show “Rush Hour”, which will hopefully bridge a gap in the two likeminded online communities.

10 Things Diggers have in Common with SEO’s

1. The run websites
2. Many have blogs
3. Willing to forego anonymity to participate in a discussion
4. Enjoyment of tech
5. Enjoying cool ideas
6. Both should agree that the Saginaw Stephen Colbeagle’s ROCK
7. Diggers appreciate links and their value
8. There are ethical and political differences within the community that make for good discussion
9. Diggers nor SEO’s will click on irrelevant ads
10. They’re not afraid to express an opinion

12 Reasons Diggers Hate SEO’s
1. Too many ridiculous acronyms and fast talk
2. Good SEO’s won’t take your money, and bad ones will bleed it from you.
3. Cold calls, and unsolicited mail.
4. Anonymous posts
5. Driveby blog and commmunity spam.
6. Affiliate arbitrage and economic theory can be ugly
7. Irrelevant results
8. Moral, cultural, policital, and ethical ambiguity
9. They don’t know or understand the foundations of the community, and the people that realized that search marketing was a school of thought 12 and 13 years ago.
10. We’re always right, and can’t agree on anything.
11. Comments out of context.
12. MFA FTW!

Why Diggers Really hate SEO

some stuntdubl self promtional spam

For all you other SEO’s who have already come to terms with self loathing - what do you think the reason a majority of diggers don’t post to my siteyour site, or your favorite SEO communities? Alternatively, what do the two communities have in common?

Okay REALLY - don’t digg my site unless I write something like this

If you can’t figure things out with Andy’s guide to linkbaiting, then you’re probably not gonna catch on. Notice it is not a guide - it is an ULTIMATE guide. The only thing I would argue in the article is that his link baiting service is probably 2nd best. Just to be fair - check out Brian P’s linkbaiters vs. linkninjas post too.

My good buddies Neil Patel and Cameron Olthuis must be working overtime these days. They’ve just recently become “evangelists” for Text Link Ads, and are also doing a new show called “Rush Hour” on webmasterradio.fm - tune in for the first show which will be held weekly Wednesdays at 4:00 pm. I’m honored to say that I’ll also be their first guest on the show, if there’s anything social media related that you’d like to hear covered, feel free to post it here, and we’ll see about putting it on. My only worry for them is that they cover too much of the REALLY good stuff that is working well these days. These guys are sharp, and it should be a great show to listen to for all you webheads out there. Be sure to tune in!

• Neil and Cameron join Text Link Ads as evangelists, launch serph, and discuss the importance of digg titles
• I think Dustin is right - SEO *IS* like baking a cake - and Michael has given the best free advice I’ve seen in a long time
• I keep forgetting to link here, so ISOS is a great place for a laugh
• Trust will indeed set you free
• I agree with SEOblackhat - stop asking questions, and just execute
• Marc has a cool new plugin
• Matt rounds up January’s month in search
• Cool - the NY library will answer questions for you
• Tony gives some nice tips for SEO for ruby on rails
• Brian aka copyblogger (who was interviewed on SEObook) is a genius - Immutable laws of persuasive blogging
• I should just link to most everything Aaron writes - Among my recent favorites: How to get good seo clients, and how to waste authority links with poor internal linking structure
• Brian Provost explains why the best offense is a good defense for building website traffic
• Todd Mintz explains how most job hunters blow it - since I’ve been sifting through resumes lately, I totally agree
• Digg does away with top users list and digitalgopher discusses the effects
• The Oneboxer aka Brian Mark discusses the one box as SEO (yes, finding good traffic sources is ALWAYS SEO)
• Cameron has 30 great blogger questions - and I also owe an apology - using Lee’s great search marketing blogger list for custom SEO search was his idea first (though I hadn’t seen it)

What else was good that I missed?