This post was inspired by Rand. If I'm honest, I'm not sure how many of my posts aren't inspired by Rand... Specifically however it was this tweet which set the wheels in motion (if ever so slowly): The link that Rand twittered was ...
This week, I'd like to make suggestions for a 'reading list' to help SEOs, and others who work online, particularly with website strategies. But this list isn't going to be blogs, post and online articles, oh no. These suggestions are entirely offline. We're going into dead tree mode with eleven books and two magazines. Some of these suggestions you may want to flick through, some you may want to read cover to cover. Others will be suitable for suggesting to other people within your organisation.
Moving domains makes a tremendous impact on search engine rankings and usually leads to a temporary loss in traffic. But Why? This is because the major search engines use metrics on both the domain level and the page level to determine rankings. When a webmaster decides to switch to a brand new domain, they are resetting their domain metrics to zero whether they know it or not. Luckily, there are steps one can take to minimize the affects of this.
Disclaimer: This post doesn’t include SEO advice or tactics. Instead it is a request for input on a book I am writing. If you are looking for actionable SEO content, please skip this post and read the other search related posts on our blog. About three months ago, I was fortunate enough to be contacted by Wiley Publishing and asked to write a book a...
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I recently read Nudge, a book that got quite a bit of press coverage here in the UK after inspiring some political decisions on both sides of the floor. Its core premise is that human decisions are not taken on pure economic terms but rather are susceptible to 'Nudges' or changes in what they call 'choice architecture'. I wanted to present a few ways the core subjects of the book can be applied to SEO and business.
Personal branding is the art of showcasing your experiences, accomplishments and perspectives. Like many of you, I knew the importance of this but had always put building a personal branding website on the back burner because I didn't think it was very important and because I felt uncomfortable talking about my accomplishments in such an obvious and self-serving fashion. Recently, my view co...
My good friend, Aaron Kahlow, posed an interesting question during the Online Marketing Summit yesterday afternoon in Portland, OR. Aaron asked:
Dear 2007 Rand Fishkin, Hi there - it's me - your 2009 self. I know it's highly unlikely you'll ever get this email, but who knows? The flow of time could chaotically spasm and somehow drop a printed copy of this on your lap - stranger things have happened. And, in that unlikely event, here's a few quick things you should know:...
I can always pick out a fool when I hear someone claim they fully get the internet, whether it be a social media snake-oil salesman or a Twitter user with too many followers. The fact of the matter is that while it’s possible (and exciting) to understand one sub-sphere of the internet, there are simply too many spheres for one person to really understand all of them. I simply don’t think it is possible.
Dear Startup CEOs, CPOs (Chief Product Officers) & Founders, I know your time is valuable, so I'll be brief. If you currently have or are in the process of developing a business/marketing plan that includes the phrase "traffic from search engine," do yourself a favor and peruse the following diagram: ...
One of my strategic objectives this year is to get Distilled access to decision-makers closer to the boards of some of our large clients. It should be clear to all of us in search that the companies winning the search game are those prepared to think about it most strategically. I believe that in 30 years' time, the people running large companies will those who understand the unchecked flow of information - the marketers - and more specifically that technically-inclined breed of marketers currently only found in search.
This post is a little different than what you might be used to. Instead of talking at you, I would like to talk with you. I would like to propose a blogging outline, not actually blog on the given subject (yet!). First, allow me to explain myself. I have been under-utilizing my blogging privileges the last three months and I would like to try to make this up to you. I have made the ...
There's no doubt about it - being a startup in any economic condition is rough, and in the current tumult, mind-bending challenges aren't out of the ordinary. However, I, like most other entrepreneurs I've encountered, am a staunch optimist and thus, even in the face of hardship, seek the silver lining. Tonight, I'd like to share a few of the diamonds in the dung pile that are closest to my heart.
I couldn't help but love Chris Yeh's Outline of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions. It's a fascinating look into the surprisingly predictable psychology that powers human actions and reactions, and I think there are some definitive lessons we can take away from the piece and apply to web marketing. Let's run through the list: