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Yesterday I Turned 33

Thanks to everyone who has expressed concern and offered support. I appreciate it!

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As many of you may know, I left Jacksonville this morning headed to Nashville to be in the audience for a “CMT Invitation Only” concert with Reba McEntire that will air sometime later this spring or summer.  I was VERY excited when I was chosen to be in the audience, as Reba is (and always has been) one of my favorite people – famous or otherwise.

As soon as I hit the Tennessee state line, it began to rain…no big deal.  It’s just rain.  I’m a road warrior.  I’ve driven thousands of miles in the rain.  That said, I’m not one of those idiots that drives 100 mph on wet pavement.  I’ve seen the results of hydroplaning and I never wanted to experience it for myself.  Alas, the universe had other plans for me today.

I was in the slow lane on I-24 W about 100 miles outside Nashville.  It wasn’t raining much…sprinkling just hard enough to require me to set my windshield wipers on the slowest intermittent setting.  I was in the right hand lane traveling 70 mph – the posted speed limit for that stretch of Interstate.  I was going straight.  There was no standing water on the pavement.

Suddenly, my car began to slide.  The back end of my car began to slide to the right.  I steered into the slide, like I have a million times before – having  grown up in Central Indiana, I am familiar with slick pavement and how to attempt to pull a car out of a slide – though never at 70 mph, which appears to have been the most important variable today.

I quickly realized that there was no way to stop it and despite everything I was doing with my accelerator, brakes and steering wheel, I was merely along for the ride.  As many have said, time literally slows almost to a stop.  I remember thinking to myself as I was spinning in slow motion, “Oh, shit…shit, shit, shit…this is bad.  This is really, really bad…”.

Before I knew it, my car was completely sideways sliding down the Interstate, now taking up both lanes.  My spin continued to complete a full 180 degree turn and I was still sliding – now backwards and in the fast lane – as the cars that were previously behind me, now in front of me, were hurdling toward me at highway speed on wet pavement.  I was pretty sure I was going to die.

I continued to slide backwards for what seemed to be an eternity when my front tires finally grabbed – luckily I’d turned the wheel so that the back end of my car would head toward the guardrail in the median, rather than back across the two lanes of traffic.  The back passenger’s side of the car hit the guardrail first and I proceeded to screetch to a halt as the guardrail grazed the side and then clipped the front passenger’s side of the car.

There was only a half shoulder in the center median, so once I realized I wasn’t dead, I slammed the car into reverse and backed it across into the shoulder on the other side of the slow lane.  Luckily the cars behind me had stopped and I had just enough time to get out of their way without causing a massive pile up of cars behind them that were unaware of my Nascar-like spin into the guardrail.

I hopped out of the car, walked around to the passenger’s side expecting to see two flat tires and an utterly undrivable vehicle.  Astonishingly, despite the damage to the back end, the scrapes down the side and the headlight that was pulled out when the front of the car swiped the guardrail, the tires were fine.  There was no significant damage to either wheel well and nothing that I could see that led me to believe the car wasn’t drivable.

So, I popped the headlight back in, hopped back in the car and started slowly down the shoulder listening for any rub, knock, shake or shimmy…nothing.  It was as if nothing happened.  I took it surprisingly well, to be perfectly honest.  It wasn’t until about 10 miles down the road that it dawned on me what had actually happened…and how unbelievably lucky I am that I’m not dead right now.  I am clearly some sort of cat and today I used up 8 of my 9 lives.

Ironically, it didn’t rain another drop until I pulled into my hotel here in Brentwood.  There are hundreds of songs on my iPod…only a small percentage of which are Reba’s.  And as I pulled into the my parking space, this song began to play (no, I’m not kidding…I kind of wish I were because this REALLY freaked me out):

Now, if you’ll excuse me…I must go shower and get ready for Reba’s concert.  Oh, and I might go ahead and throw up first.  That remains to be seen.

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This seemed like a good time to provide a little bit of history about SEOAly and how it has evolved to its current state. I started this blog merely as an information resource for small business owners. I spent more than two years providing SEO consultation for one of the largest small business marketing companies in the United States. Being that it was such a large company, you can imagine my frustration being repeatedly told that only “approved information” was to be shared with our customers.

The world of search marketing is simply too fast-paced to fit into that kind of corporate structure. By the time the powers that be finally get around to approving changes to our SOP, the winds of change had blown through again. I was equally frustrated by some of the company’s standard operating procedures, which included touting “submission to over 400 search engines…” as a major part of their service offering – a task that we all know is futile and pointless in today’s world of search marketing.

An Outlet For Frustration

During that time, however, I learned an enormous amount about SEO and the search marketing landscape as a whole. I also took advantage of the opportunity to build some online relationships with many of the best minds in the search marketing world today. At the risk of going off on a tangent, I must note that Twitter is an invaluable resource.

I would venture to say that I have learned more and gained more search marketing insight through my interactions on Twitter than through any other single source. I’ve also made some great online friends and I’m excited to meet many of them at IMBroadcast’s upcoming search marketing conference, IM Spring Break.

Now, returning to the topic of my frustration consulting for a large corporation…I may not have been able to share my new-found information with the clients I provided consultation to, but that wasn’t about to stop me from continuing the learning process. I found myself in need of a platform to share the findings of my research and testing…a platform that my employer wasn’t about to provide. Thus, I launched my own blog: SEOAly.

SEOAly’s Evolution

I left the company for an in-house SEO position with a small software company in November, 2008. I was let go from that position just over a month later. While being self-employed was my ultimate goal, being thrust into the ranks of the unemployed with millions of other Americans with the global economy in such a precarious state was certainly never on my to-do list…especially after having been recruited and hired for the in-house SEO position under false pretenses to begin with. At that point, the focus of SEOAly changed.

I elected to not only continue to publish SEOAly as a free source of information for business owners, I decided to provide those small business owners with useful and affordable SEO services that would help them identify the issues currently plaguing their sites and better understand how to build more search engine friendly websites for their businesses.

As our economy continues to struggle, getting the most out of a small business marketing budget is becoming more and more important. Wasting money with companies and services that don’t work is no longer an option in this economic climate. And with the number of scammers and charlatans that exist in the search marketing industry, a small business owner’s best defense against falling victim is information!

I currently provide SEO audits and keyword research services for small business websites. It’s not glamorous and I’ll likely never get rich doing it, but that’s okay – both are essential steps toward all small business websites being able to take full advantage of the opportunity that today’s world of search marketing provides. I am a firm believer that small businesses and an entrepreneurial spirit are truly essential to America’s future. Providing small business owners with affordable services that help them to develop a successful SEO strategy is the least I can do.

I also provide WordPress site and blog development, as well as basic services related to carrying out a Social Media strategy – such as setting up accounts on popular and niche Social Media sources, like Digg, StumbleUpon and Twitter, on the small business owner’s behalf. These services are currently offered on a limited basis, as my schedule permits.

So there you have it – the evolution of SEOAly from a ranty, information blog to a full-fledged small business website. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you find the information here useful…and if not useful, perhaps at least amusing or entertaining. Don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed!

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Seriously, though…my excitement about attending the event isn’t just because I now get to go for free. Don’t get me wrong – for a poor girl, that’s pretty sweet. However, I wanted to go and had every intention of whoring myself…er, uh…I mean scraping together the money to go, even if I hadn’t won. The conference is sure to be three days of learning from some of the best minds in search marketing today. No, really – considering the speakers scheduled to appear, the affordability of the event is mind-boggling, to say the least.

Scheduled to appear:

Jeff Quipp
Chris Winfield
Brent Csutoras
Todd Mailcoat aka Stuntdubl
Rae Hoffman aka Sugarrae
Brian Chappell
Wil Reynolds
Kenny Hyder
Carolyn Shelby
Rhea Drysdale
Michael Streko
Aaron Chronister
David Szetela
Brandy Eddings
Frank Watson
Chris Hart
Pamela Lund
Neal Rodriguez
Loren Baker
Jordan Kasteler
David Snyder

At $1000 this conference would be a bargain. At $500 this conference was insanely affordable. At the recently announced stimulus pricing of just $379…well, anyone even mildly interested in any topic even remotely related to Internet marketing would be completely INSANE to pass this up. I have a feeling that Rae Hoffman’s link building keynote alone is going to be worth the price of admission. It’s gotta be good to warrant having to sign an NDA, right? HELL YEAH!

In short, you’d be a fool to pass up three days of camaraderie and exchanging wicked awesome information that will help you do a better job of marketing on the Internet. That’s right…I said it – A FOOL! Oh, and let’s not forget that it is being held in south Florida in April. Does weather get any more beautiful than Boca Raton in April? I’ll answer that question for you – no, it doesn’t.

Now, go register for IM Spring Break. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

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Nevertheless, I’ve not given up hope of getting to meet some of my favorite SEO/SEM pals in person. And thanks to IMBroadcast’s contest – you may have heard about it already – that hope is alive and well. I’m totally throwing my hat in the ring to win it! If you aren’t familiar with the contest, read this post: “Go to IM Spring Break, and stay on the IMBroadcast team’s tab“.

Now that you’re up to speed on how it works and know what you need to do, here are the 7 things that I think will happen at IM Spring Break:

1) The $500 spent on the conference will pale in comparison to some attendees’ bar tabs.

2) People will come away from this conference thinking, “DAMN! That’s the best $500 I’ve ever spent…”

3) Those in attendance will sign the NDA and they will do so with a smile on their face – period.

4) A lot of people who have formed online friendships will get to meet face-to-face instead of just being “online pals”.

5) People will love that the conference is smaller and more intimate – allowing for more one on one networking and individual interaction with attendees and speakers alike.

6) Members of the staff at the Hilton Deerfield Beach will, at the very least, know what SEO stands for before the three days are up.

7) Rae Hoffman and I will participate in a cage match – perhaps involving mud – to close out the event (I’m totally kidding…she’d kick the crap out of me – no doubt about it). Hi, Rae…please don’t hurt me! ;)

So, now what should you do? It’s simple: write a post at your blog highlighting 7 things you think, or wish, or expect, or hope will happen at IM Spring Break. Make sure the post includes a link to Go to IM Spring Break, and stay on the IMBroadcast team’s tab and this post. That’s it! See…it really couldn’t be easier to help me win the contest, eh? ;)

Now, on to who gets tagged to pingback to this post:

Kim Krause Berg
Rae Hoffman
Monica Wright
Josh Garner
Matt Crouch
Tad Chef
Jim Connolly
Debra Mastaler – THANK YOU, DEBRA!
Joe Hall – THANK YOU, JOE!
Claire Hawley
Dave Snyder
Matt Webb
Cat Pickett
Jonathan W Thomas
Donna Fontenot
Eric Werner
Kyle Reddoch
Kevin Eklund
David Leonhardt – THANK YOU, DAVID!
Brian Chappell
Meg Geddes
Eric Lander
Joshua Sciarrino
Geoff Jackson
Eric Gehler – THANK YOU, ERIC!
Mike Tekula
Michael Martine
Levi Wardell
Steve Seeley
Chase Granberry
Jeff Selig
Jack Leblond
Stuart Foster
Badi Jones
Julie Joyce – THANK YOU, JULIE!
Melanie Nathan
Kyle Wegner
Rick Galan
Brent Nau
Sri Nagubandi
Lisa Weinberger
Taylor Pratt
Chris Estes
Ann Smarty – THANK YOU, ANN!
CK Chung
Hjortur Smarason
Michael Gray

I think I may have gone a little overboard with tagging people. Oh well! Can you tell I have no money and REALLY want to go to IM Spring Break??

Now, the rest falls to you – write your own blog post about the 7 things you anticipate will happen at IM Spring Break and DON’T FORGET TO LINK THE POST BACK TO THIS ONE! Come on people…help me out, would ya??

BIG thanks to these guys, who I didn’t tag originally but are awesome enough to help me out anyway! :)

Frank Watson
Barry Welford
Communibus Locis
Steve Vandergriff
Matt Leonard

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It seems that more and more corporate bottom line revenue goals depend on taking advantage of people’s ignorance – not just in search marketing, but in relation to products and services in general.  I find myself drowning in a sea of dishonesty and marketing propaganda, much of which is designed purely to mislead, misinform and misdirect.  As such, I decided a long time ago that I would never intentionally mislead or misinform to turn a profit for myself or for anyone else.  One can’t profit from the ignorance and misfortune of others and honestly expect Karma not to come back and bite you in the ass.  Sales in general is about manipulation, in a way…even if all you’re doing is manipulating someone into buying an identical product from you, rather than your competitor.  It is the intent with which you manipulate them that really matters.  Selling a product or service that holds genuine value to someone who would truly benefit from it doesn’t exactly qualify as “manipulation with malicious intent”.

“Spot-A-Hack” Tip #1:

A company having “telemarketers” is a sign of its lack of commitment to providing great service.  That’s not to say that every company that telemarkets is out to scam you.  I’m sure there are some out there with only the best of intentions – I’ve just yet to be called by any of them.  Companies that provide great service are able to rely heavily on their customers testimonials and word of mouth to “spread the news” and help to sell their service – leaving them more time to concentrate on serving their current customer base, rather than whoring themselves for business by cold-calling all the numbers on a phone list.  While I’m at it, let’s establish a working definition of “telemarketer” for today’s purposes – a “telemarketer” is anyone who initiates contact with the intent to sell any product and/or service…it doesn’t have to be over the phone.  Period.

If you’re a new small business owner and some dude calls saying, “You need a website…”, immediately hang up the phone.  I’m not kidding.  You should realize that he’s absolutely right – you do need a website.  However, the fact that he called you proves you don’t want a website from him.  If he (or the company he works for) was any good, they’d be too busy taking care of their current customers to be calling to tell you “we’ve built sites for tens of thousands of small business owners…” and “it’s free for a month and you can cancel anytime…”.  Any charming schmo can con someone into buying something once…and when it’s free, well…then the schmo doesn’t even need to be charming.  The real key to sales is generating repeat business and referrals.  I wouldn’t think telemarketers get too many referrals.

We’ve Got A BUDGET To Hit People!

I’ve simply never been a “sell, sell, sell…we’ll figure out how to actually produce it later…” type. I am an “under promise and over deliver” type.  I am the proactive voice saying, “hey, let’s prevent the problem rather than figuring out how to deal with it once it becomes a problem…”.  Why wait for the wheel to fly off?  Hey…let’s go ahead and tighten those lug nuts BEFORE the wheel flies off, shall we?  I’m very much a big picture girl and I refuse to set myself up to fail.  Ironically, because of that I also tend to be a thorn in the sides of those willing to sacrifice a company’s long-term reputation in favor of reaching short-term bottom line revenue goals.

Need an example?  Here ya go…I was working for a lawn care company when I uttered the following statement during a staff meeting the week before Easter:

“Uh, yeah…I understand that we’ve got a budget to hit next week, but I’m not the genius who created this budget without realizing that Easter comes around about the SAME TIME EVERY YEAR.  Treating lawns the Saturday before Easter might NOT be the best idea.  Granted, we’ll probably hit our budget this week if we do it…but hundreds of people will be calling in on Monday to fire the bunch of fools who don’t recognize that it is stupid to spray chemicals on a lawn that will likely be the stage for Easter egg hunts less than 24 hours later…”.

People actually looked at me like I had lost my mind…as if it never dawned on them that doing something so blatantly greedy and possibly dangerous to children flies in the face of common sense.  It never entered their minds that it might lead people to believe that the company cared more about money than about children’s safety.  Duh.  While they clearly did, and likely still do, value the bottom line above all else, at least I made my point that day.  Those rules of conduct have followed me from company to company and industry to industry and have remained true no matter what rung of the corporate ladder I found myself standing on.  It is simply part of who I am and not something I am willing to sacrifice for any reason.

Scams Abound

One of the first things I learned is that there are a lot of scammers in the SEO industry, but probably no more per capita than in any other industry.  There are a lot of unscrupulous individuals all over the world willing to capitalize on the general public’s ignorance.  In search marketing, for every ethical professional, there are many hoping to profit from unsuspecting consumers looking for instant gratification.  Inevitably, there is a price to pay for opting for a “quick fix solution” to search marketing…but most site owners don’t learn that lesson until it’s too late.  They read “page one in Google in 7 days…”, picture money falling down from the sky and never stop to think, “Hey…if it’s this easy and this cheap to get to page one of Google, I wonder why everyone isn’t doing this…oh…maybe I should think this through…”.

So, there you have it – a bit of history that helps to explain the evolution of the phrase “Professional Ethics Proponent” as it applies to SEOAly.  It is my own personal commitment to creating a culture of honesty, integrity and trust among my colleagues and clients.  While I typically describe myself a rather cynical, I also choose to live on with the delusion that more people than not have the best of intentions…they just don’t get the kind of press that the “bad apples” do.  I think my e-mail signature sums it up best:  “Real integrity is doing the right thing regardless of whether or not anyone will know you did it…”.

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