"The horror of that moment," the King went on, "I shall never, never forget."
"You will though," the Queen said, "if you don’t make a memorandum of it."

Lewis Carroll, Through The Looking Glass

So, I would like to have a do-over on this old post that I wrote.  Not that I think the post was wrong or bad…I actually think quite highly of it.  But, it wasn’t really what I wanted to say given its inspiration.

Here’s the backstory:  I communicate with lots of different people as part of what I do for a living.  Certainly, I like to know who I’m dealing with so with some of these people, I do a little “background Googling” to glean insight into them or their business.  I did this with one such individual and followed a trail of documents that lead me down a wholly unexpected, surprising path and, when read together in the sequence that I read them painted an amazing cohesive narrative (though none of the pages were remotely exceptional when looked at individually).

In the post I wrote based upon the experience, I said the following:

“Google does not return a fully realized illustration of each query, leaving the searcher to instinctively complete the picture that Google starts and from that, draw their own conclusions from the information presented. Different people will finish their portraits in their own way… people do not process information the same plus there always is distinct differences as to how deep in the SERPS each person will look and in how many / which documents are clicked on and examined in detail.”

I still feel this is correct…the documents examined by the searcher are small portions of the(ir) “story” and the searcher will fill in the (frequently large) missing gaps in order to complete it based upon their personal point of view.  But, then I go off and talk about Online Reputation Management instead of developing the point I should have made back then…

Search is a narrative. 

Why are top search engine rankings important?  Because higher ranked documents are more likely to be included in the searcher’s narrative and ultimately lend influence to a decision or action made by the searcher.

A new quest for information begins Page 1 of your story.  Each search query you make, each document / image / video / post you examine, and each hyperlink you click pushes the plotline along.  It can have plot, protagonists, antagonists, different points of view, drama, comedy…well, any type of form or content that can be contained in any fiction or non-fiction.  The story is live and in real time, playing out in the mind of the searcher.

But the most fascinating part of the whole process is the relationship between the searcher and the group of results.  When you overlay an individual’s humanity onto a web search, you’ll get as many different narratives as you have people making the same search.  Not every narrative is compelling…probably most are routine, dull stories containing rudimentary plot lines.  However, following the breadcrumbs laid out by Google / Bing / Yahoo can take you down an unexpected compelling path.

I’m sure that most of the people that made my “memorable” query wouldn’t have walked down the path that I did.  Many might have seen nothing compelling in their narrative returned by Google.  My perceptions of the story can’t be mistaken for truth…it’s only my point of view based upon my interpretation of the documents presented to me (and could actually be far from the ultimate reality of the situation).  However, the narrative felt true to me and it has certainly colored my view of the individual in question. 

Search As A Narrative is a post from: SEMpdx

“Only one is a wanderer; two together are always going somewhere…” Kim Novak, Vertigo

So last week, some of my fellow SEMpdx Board Members and I got together for a SearchFest 2010 planning meeting.  We discussed many relevant topics (date, venue, topics, speakers, etc.) and at the end of the meeting, I was tasked with inviting a group of speakers, most of whom I consider some of my closest friends in our industry.

Writing a “formal” invitation email to your friends is a bit awkward.  It’s tempting to write something along the line of:

SEMpdx Wants U 4 SearchFest 2010.  Can U Speak?  LULZ.

Most of my friends would understand this messaging but I’d be lacking some of the specifics they need to make their decision.  So, I settled on the following:

Hello…,

SEMpdx is officially inviting you to speak at SearchFest 2010, taking place next (…sorry, not announcing the date publicly yet).

We’ve done some preliminary matching of speakers to topics and we’d like you to speak about…(on the same panel as…).

Please let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions.

The responses I received fell into two different camps. 

love to, will check schedule and be back to you Todd .  Thanks, always means a lot to me to be invited to semPDX.

Sounds great – count me in.

Sounds cool, thanks for thinking of me

Sounds awesome, I’d love to speak at SearchFest again – and with…, that’s like icing on the cake!!

Hi Todd…I’d love to be part of SEMpdx again. I accept your invitation and will plan on attending.

Then I got the following two responses:

Hey Todd!

How are you? I hope things are going well for you

I would love to be part of SearchFest again this year! Thanks for thinking of me & keep me posted on anything you may need from me moving forward…

Can’t wait! Hope all is well mister, and talk to you soon

Hi Todd hope things are good on your side of the PNW. I think I could do that….

Still casual responses but a bit more formalism built in.

So, where am I going with this?

All of us are in (social media) relationships with others that encompass varying degrees of depth and complexity.  I see myself “in” close social media relationships with 50-100 people or so (including the folks I quoted above) meaning I read some or all of what they write; I make it a point to follow what they say on Twitter (and tweet back and forth with them); and generally treat them in the social media sphere as I would treat a close friend outside of social media.  Though I don’t know for sure, I believe everybody that I quoted above follows at least a portion of what I tweet / write about online.

In my closest social media relationships, all pretense falls away in favor of direct expression.  Since me and the others are part of a continual conversation, long periods of silence cease to be uncomfortable…people can go away for a while without notice and that’s perfectly OK…and they can pop right back into the group without missing a beat.  Even when the conversation switches to a more private medium such as email and I reach out to the folks I’m closest to for interpersonal conversation, frequently, I dispense with the “Hi …” and immediately delve into the reason for the contact. Sometimes I just find the last email they sent me and hit reply (even if the topic isn’t relevant to the current communication).  Now, for in-person meetings, this wouldn’t fly (we haven’t evolved quite this far yet)…however, I believe that anyone who knows me well doesn’t read the directness of my communication as anything other than my attempt to present my thoughts and ideas in the most expedient way possible.    

I think 5 of the 7 people I quoted were on the same plane as I was in dispensing with any and all formalism and continuing our ongoing conversation, while 2 were on a slightly different wavelength.

Or perhaps, they were just trying to be polite…

The Infinite Conversation is a post from: SEMpdx

If you do any sort of email prospecting for your business, you’ve likely come across a “hard ass” prospect like me who likes to try to have a little fun at your expense. If you encounter such a person, this woman’s response to me is the absolute correct way to handle the situation. Even though I really didn’t have a clue about her and the company she worked for, she definitely earned a bit of my time (and my respect as well).

And, if you have a naughty streak like I do, feel free to try this with your email sales inquiries :.)

—–Original Message—–
From:
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 6:49 AM
To: Todd Mintz
Subject: The beginning of Fall…

Todd,

Hopefully you were able to get some time off from S.R. Clarke, Inc. and fit a little vacation time in as the summer comes to an end. It’s the beginning of fall and I’m currently really busy closing out our quarter. I was hoping to get sometime on your calendar and wondered if you had anytime available the week of October 12th. I will be in your area and figured this was far enough out to get on your calendar (she assumed incorrectly I was in Virginia which is her location).

Let me know of any specific day and time that we can come meet you. I look forward to speaking with you soon and have a great Tuesday!

Cheers,

——————————————————————————–
From: Todd Mintz
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:55 PM
To:
Subject: RE: The beginning of Fall…

A pretty interesting message to get from somebody I never communicated with before :.)

—–Original Message—–
From:
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 2:53 PM
To: Todd Mintz
Subject: RE: The beginning of Fall…

Todd,

I have heard worse, I will take interesting!! In all honesty, what do I need to do to get 30 minutes on your calendar? I am sure that you are extremely busy and I’m not looking to waste your time. I am not looking to say why *** is the best and you should remove everyone else for us. I am looking to briefly discuss what we do really well and see if we can help S.R. Clarke. Let me know what your calendar looks like, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Best Regards,

——————————————————————————–
From: Todd Mintz [mailto:tmintz@SRClarke.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 1:34 PM
To:
Subject: RE: The beginning of Fall…

1) Fly to Portland where I live.
2) Buy me lots of drinks and an expensive dinner.

Anyone who does this will get my undivided attention.

Thanks,

Todd
——————————————————————————–
From:
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 10:48 AM
To: Todd Mintz
Subject: RE: The beginning of Fall…

Is that all?

Just kidding, thanks Todd. Next time I am out that way, I will hold you to it.

Best Regards,

How To Punk An Salesperson via Email (and The Best Way To Respond) is a post from: SEMpdx

Adapted from Wallace Stevens

I
Among twenty snowy mountains,
The only moving thing
Was the eye of mesothelioma.

II
I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three mesotheliomiacs.

III
Mesothelioma whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.

IV
A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and mesothelioma
Are one.

V
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
Mesothelioma whistling
Or just after.

VI
Icicles filled the long window
With barbaric glass.
The shadow of mesothelioma
Crossed it, to and fro.
The mood
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause.

VII
O thin men of Haddam,
Why do you imagine golden birds?
Do you not see how mesothelioma
Walks around the feet
Of the women about you?

VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That mesothelioma is involved
In what I know.

IX
When mesothelioma flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles.

X
At the sight of mesothelioma
Flying in a green light,
Even the bawds of euphony
Would cry out sharply.

XI
He rode over Connecticut
In a glass coach.
Once, a fear pierced him,
In that he mistook
The shadow of his equipage
For mesothelioma.

XII
The river is moving.
Mesothelioma must be flying.

XIII
It was evening all afternoon.
It was snowing
And it was going to snow.
Mesothelioma sat
In the cedar-limbs.

So it’s been a while since I posted something here…

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Mesothelioma is a post from: SEMpdx

“I’m a model you know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah
I do my little turn on the catwalk”…Right Said Fred

So, the other day, I got this very interesting email from a domain seller:

I am the owner of ______ . We are now offering our domain name www.______.com for sale to companies. with "______" in their company names who would benefit from the simplicity, elegance and ease of use of this single-word domain name. As you may be aware, there is only one such address available, so that if it is purchased from us by another "______" company it is unlikely to become available again, as with most corporate domain names. The value of the domain name ______.com could be quite significant, depending on your ability to use it as part of a branding program, and to benefit from making your corporate website and email addresses more memorable and more easily recognized and accessible by your customer base. We have received a bid for the domain name which we are considering now. However, the bid is slightly below our price threshold. Please let us know by return mail if you may have
an interest in acquiring www.______.com at or above our threshold price of
$$,$$$. If you prefer to speak in person, please feel free to call me . With
best regards, xxx

Now my initial impression of this domain seller was extremely favorable. This was probably the best domain sales email pitch message I’ve ever seen. He was marketing a one word, common last name dot com domain that certain would be worth a five figure sum to the correct company. He realized he had a unique and intrinsically valuable asset and wanted to cash it out since he didn’t feel it to be necessary for his business.

So why do I ultimately think this guy is a F’ing idiot? Because he owned a prized asset and shamefully neglected it. A little research shows that he bought the domain 15 years ago and over those 15 years, he only generated (according to Yahoo Site Explorer) 13 inbound links to the site (and all the strong links to his URL appear to be accidentally confusing his site with better known companies that shared the same name). He isn’t ranked in the top 100 results in Google for his own name despite owning the dot com domain (domain name in URL likely the strongest SEO signal of them all). Even a minimal amount of SEO work should have achieved a top ranking for his keyword (and related search terms) and would have added a considerable premium to the prospective sales price.

Being blessed with a category-killer domain name is like being blessed with great genes. Before maturity, the owner probably might not recognize the intrinsic value of what is possessed. But at some point, when the person could perceive the social and societal value of what they have, whether it be a killer domain name or a killer body, great care is definitely needed to be taken to maximize the value and longevity of that asset.

For people, it’s nutrition, exercise & style / fashion. For domain names, it’s content and links. Those at the top of the gene pool might have to work less to achieve optimum results…but if they don’t work at all, they negate any and all inherent advantages of what most folks would see as blessings.

The gym is full of people who were pretty average in the gene pool but through hard work and effort, have made themselves look pretty hot. Similarly, despite any and all obstacles thrown at them (e.g. Vince), sites with B & C quality domain names can get top search rankings if they put the time and effort into earning them.

One of the worst things that can be said about a woman is that she has a “pretty face” because the implied message is that the rest of her is unattractive frequently due to her own self-destructive behavior. I can’t think of a better phrase to describe the domain that was offered to me. I see the domain owner trying to sell me 15 years of wasted potential…a platform upon which he could have sold and marketed himself to a top position in his industry. I do think the ultimate purchaser will see the value of the asset and position it accordingly and since the domain is almost as virginal as it was back when originally purchased, the new owner won’t be getting sloppy seconds.

The Domain Sales Catwalk is a post from: SEMpdx

“I ain’t sayin’ I beat the devil, but I drank his beer for nothing…Then I stole his song.” Kris Kristofferson

1 In the beginning (God / Tim Berners-Lee / Al Gore) created the World Wide Web.
2 And the web was without form, and void; and chaos was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the net.
3 And God said, Let there be online properties and domain names were born.
4 And God saw that domains were nothing without associated content so he created web hosting and the ability to post content online via FTP.
5 And God called this process web publishing. And this was the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a way to organize content so that people can find it.
7 And God made the web directory where human editors could post links to websites.
8 And God called the firmament Yahoo. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let there be a way to organize websites in such a way so that users can make queries in order to find their information..
10 And God called these new information portals “Search Engines”.
11 And God said, Let the Search Engines send forth spiders to seek out, index, and categorize all the websites throughout the land.
12 And the spiders allowed the Search Engines to map out and index the web for web surfers and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the primary web from the secondary web:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give enhanced visibility to web surfers: and it was so.
16 And God an important distinction; dot com domains to rule the day, and other lesser domain extensions to rule the night: he made the subdomains also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the web,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the Search Engines create a way to link websites and visitors in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created algorithms which decided which websites would rank well for user queries: and God saw that it was good (and since Google did the best job of this for God, God blessed Google with most of the marketplace).
22 And God blessed website owners saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill web with beneficial sites that meet the needs of the public (and make money for the webmasters).
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 And God said, Let the website owners adjust their sites so they are more likely to be ranked well by the search engine algorithms: and SEO was so.
25 And God said, Let the website owners who wish to pay their way to the top of the search engine have the ability to do so: and God saw that Paid Search was good.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness: and let man (and woman) communicate with other online in furtherance of relationships and online commerce (and Social Media was born).
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and communicate, and replenish the web, and subdue it: and have dominion over the commercial web, the social web, and over every living thing that goeth online (and ICANN was born).
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every possible tool from which you can create and run online communities and commerce (plus the ability to endlessly innovate to suit the collective purpose).
30 And to every man and woman on earth, I’ve given them the ability to get onto the web and use it in such a way to enhance their life (and the life of their loved ones).
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

1 Thus the World Wide Web was finished, and all its infrastructure was in place.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

And then lots of smart men and women attempted to game the system that God created…

Pictures from the Cinematic Masterpiece “Days of Heaven”. Please note that I’ve done similar posts before.

Online Genesis: Chapter 1 (And Part Of Chapter 2) is a post from: SEMpdx

“His soul had approached that region where dwell the vast hosts of the dead. He was conscious of, but could not apprehend, their wayward and flickering existence. His own identity was fading out into a grey impalpable world: the solid world itself which these dead had one time reared and lived in was dissolving and dwindling.” James Joyce, “The Dead”

So, I watched the John Huston movie version of James Joyce’s “The Dead” today. I’d read the story and seen the movie a long time ago, recalling it to be a masterpiece of a film but not quite remembering why. After seeing it again, I now realize why I found it to be so compelling.

The movie consists almost entirely of dialogues by a large number of mostly indistinct characters…most of which take place at a dinner party and, until the very end of it, come across as almost entirely superficial. I believe that Joyce wanted to create a story where much of the action takes place in the minds of the characters which are locked away from the audience’s eyes except (in the movie version) for the expressions they make and their actions performed in the context of the ongoing plot.

What struck me poignantly as I was watching the “dull” party dialogs is how repressed were the actions and behavior of each character, and how rudimentary were their interactions with each other. I think Joyce wanted to hide away the most interesting bits of the story and have the subsurface mood of repression permeate the narrative with only bits and pieces of the characters feelings percolating to the surface from time to time (until the very last scene). It crossed my mind how much richer the party would have been if each of the characters tweeted, not only during the party, but had developed and followed each other on the microblogging platform prior to the event.

Twitter could have made those characters not only more accessible to the audience but to each other as well. There is an incredible backstory present in “The Dead” that Joyce never lets the audience in on. It would have been fascinating to see the pre-party and party tweets from each of these characters to provide depth to the mostly stilted action…alas, that wasn’t in the cards for Joyce’s / Huston’s audience.

Only at the end of the story / movie do the true feelings of a couple of the characters surface. They’re incredibly moving and sad not only because of the sentiments expressed but because of how the repression of those feelings has influenced their lives. Unfortunately, Gabriel and Gretta lacked the outlets (social media and otherwise) to sublimate their grief and unhappiness that are readily available to folks today.

If Social Media existed in Joyce’s Dublin, perhaps everyone would have had a less troubling existence.

Twitter Could Awaken “The Dead” is a post from: SEMpdx

“Lemme here you say…fight the power…we’ve got to fight the powers that be.” …Public Enemy

So, I just got back from a Royal Caribbean Cruise. My father purchased berths for 4 families, including mine, to sail in the Caribbean for 7 days. I suppose I shouldn’t complain since my family got a complimentary vacation but since this is a blog post, you gotta know I’m gonna complain about something :.)

People in our industry know there are two types of hotels…those that offer free WiFi and those that charge a small daily fee for the privilege. As much as we grumble about paying for WiFi, most travelers have pretty much accepted the charge as a necessary evil.

Royal Caribbean does things differently. It charges 55 cents a minute for WiFi.

55 Cents a minute for WiFi.

55 Cents a minute for WiFi.

Charging 55 Cents a minute for WiFi is the equivalent of giving somebody the middle finger and slowly waving it in their face. It’s true that you could pre-purchase bulk minutes but no deal they offered drives the cost lower than 32 cents a minute.

Not only is the WiFi expensive, due to the necessary satellite Internet technology on the boats, it’s considerably slower than conventional broadband.

I clearly know that Royal Caribbean makes a high margin on upselling services above and beyond the basic cruise cost and I have no problem with that. And, I noticed that people were paying 55 Cents per minute to screw around on Facebook (…no sympathy for hosing those folks with a big bill). However, for those people such as me who need continual Internet Access 24/7 as part of their livelihood, a Royal Caribbean (and other companies) Cruise is not a feasible option for a vacation.

I did have some issues while on vacation that I needed to deal with. Fortunately, within 4 blocks of where the ship docked in San Juan, I found a Starbucks where for the price of 1 drink, I was able to get 3 ½ hours of free WiFi that enabled me to get my necessary work done.

If Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines care about attracting dedicated online professionals on their vacations, they need to offer reasonably priced unlimited Internet Access. I paid almost $70 for doing little more than checking my stats & my email for a week and I’m F***** P***** off about it. I will never set foot on another cruise ship unless and until I can get the quality and quantity of Internet Access to which I am accustomed.

F U Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (Internet Access) is a post from: SEMpdx

“Step inside my mind for a moment…” Robin Williams from “Reality, What A Concept”

When I saw this Tweet from John Andrews, I knew I had to question him about it…and here’s how the conversation went:

Just from this brief exchange that has nothing to do with search marketing, I have learned a tremendous amount about John and the traits he has as a search marketer.

• He is extremely observant and perceptive.
• He learns from experience.
• He’s a planner and always thinks several steps ahead of where he is.
• He is very careful.

If I were looking for a search marketing professional and were considering John, even if I hadn’t had much interaction with him or looked his blog, reading this exchange alone would almost be enough for me to decide to work with him because he has exhibited many of the top traits of search marketers while speaking in a relatively unguarded fashion away from a professional or sales situation.

I have spoken to John in several conference settings and I’ve never gotten the indication he’s any better at the technical aspects of SEO than the rest of us (likely because he’s never talked of such things). However, he has told me stories of his experiences and within each story, if I am savvy enough to see it, exists nuggets of information that I can (and have) applied to my online activities and profited from that insight.

Plenty of search marketers write solid functional articles about search marketing that inform us about what they know and these people do a decent job positioning themselves as “experts” in the field. Sadly, many of these articles are bereft of something much more important…how these people think and perceive the world around them. Because once somebody has maxed out on the “nuts and bolts” portion of the SEO learning curve (and many of us have), their success in search will directly correlate to their ability to perceive the unobvious and act upon that knowledge.

So, when I read Aaron Wall’s interview of Fantomaster, I can see how smart Ralph is by seeing how he thinks and reasons, knowing that if I ever were in the market for cloaking, I could trust that he’s put out a product that would likely work for me even if I were incapable of evaluating the offering. Similarly, people like Aaron, Brian Provost, Adam Audette, and Neil Patel have offered deep enough glimpses into their way they think and view their online environment so that I would feel comfortable working with them professionally even if I knew little else about them besides what they wrote.

There are a few reasons why I rarely write “actionable” SEO articles. I think they expose my Achilles Heel as a writer (writing in the neutral third person). I think many others do a much better job at it. But most importantly, I think that any competitive advantage I might have in the marketplace relates directly to my unique way of thinking and communicating. To show myself in the best possible light, I need to be real and present the unfiltered thoughts in my head in the most honest manner possible. If the public knows I am a search marketer and feels that I offer insights they find valuable, hopefully they’ll realize that I can use the same thought process to help them with their online marketing issues…or so I hope.

Bellwether Brains is a post from: SEMpdx

“Keep your eyes on the prize…hold on.”…Bruce Springsteen

Many of the paid search accounts that I’ve worked with contain a geographical component and I have a well-used spreadsheet that contains the names of the biggest U.S. Cities, States, and State Abbreviations for those accounts. I often combine this list with my “core” keywords so that my ads can reach the geographical paid search long tail.

But, as I was examining the conversion keywords on one particular account, I had the following paid search epiphany:

“IN” is not only the abbreviation for Indiana but is also a very common adverb / preposition.

“OR” is not only the abbreviation for Oregon but is also a common conjunction.

I was getting conversions with “Keyword + ‘in’” or “Keyword + ‘or’” that had nothing to do with geography. Instead, these were unique long tail searches that I not likely would have captured but for my inclusion of “in” or “or” with my keyword. The remainder of the queries weren’t accounted for in my campaign and I would have had a much lower chance of landing the visitor except in the unlikely event that I would have captured them with my much more competitive generic keyword.

When I do searches in AdWords that contain “Keyword + ‘in’” or “Keyword + ‘or’”, I notice that my ads are in higher relative positions vis a vis my competitors.

Therefore, if you are looking to get some additional long tail exposure with your paid search campaigns, try combining your core keywords with prepositions and conjunctions. I think you’ll find the additional ad exposure to be quite worth it.

A Minimalistic Paid Search Tip is a post from: SEMpdx