The Search Ninja

Yesterday, I was scanning my spam folder to see if anything useful was unfairly filed as such. This was an exceedingly wise decision (aren’t they all though?) as my invitation to test drive PageOnce (Beta) was in there.

After completing a simple registration process and adding some personal data I was up and running. My start page (pictured below), featured information from multiple Internet based accounts allowing me to conveniently track everything from one interface.

I have only added a handful of accounts at this point; Gmail, Yahoo, Banking, POP3, but it is already apparent just how useful the common interface is going to be. One major benefit is that I don’t have to lookup my login information to check my various accounts. Or worse, rely on my browser to remember for me. It’s all stored in one simple, secure common interface.

PageOnce allows you to add just about any type of Internet based account; financial, travel, shopping, social and of course email.

The core benefit of using PageOnce is obviously saving time by reducing browsing and login activity. Accordingly the service is probably best suited for frequent business travellers and online business professionals.

Recently I’ve taken an interest in compiling case studies of past SEO campaigns that I have directed. My goal is to compile a history of sorts which details my professional accomplishments in terms of campaign performance.

One particularly interesting aspect of this has been studying the various types of goals that each campaign was focused on.

Notable examples include:

• Raw Traffic Increase: The client wishes to generate inbound search traffic.
  

  Very little attention is given to focus/targeting. The client just needs to see big numbers and couldn’t care less about what those numbers mean or how to monetize the traffic. One’s first assumption might be that the client doesn’t understand monetization concepts such as conversion, and equates traffic with success. Surprisingly this was not always the case; in fact this type of campaign often served a very strategic (even surgical) role in the client’s big picture.

• Sales Improvement: The client is seeking (improved) revenue from online sales channels.
  

  This type of campaign always appears to be pretty straight-forward on paper, but quickly evolves in complexity and scope when the campaign is being hammered-out. Comprehensive analytics solutions, clever market research, industry-specific intelligence and a novel testing platform are just part of the arsenal required to see this type of campaign to success.

• Reputation Repair ( i.e. “Make it go away”): The client is generally suffering a bad run of negative PR.
  

  The SERPS are populated with not-too-flattering opinions/information related to the client’s brand/product/officers, etc. Making the bad PR go away (or rather making the bad PR invisible) and replacing it with more favorable resources and information is the name of the game.

• Image Destabilization (Smear Campaign): The client has an interest in damaging a competitor’s image.
  

  Summary Description: The opposite of reputation repair. In practice its not quite that black and white and there are a multiplicity of factors to consider when planning your attack, or rather, your “public enlightenment initiative”.

• Branding: The client is seeking reach, impressions and brand recognition.
  

  This type of campaign is usually composed of multiple strategic initiatives each of which addresses a specific critical target or market segment.

There are many more campaign types that could be classified and perhaps when I find the time I will explore a campaign type classification system further.

In real-life SEO campaigns, it is rare for a campaign to focus its aim so narrowly that it can be classified exclusively within a particular campaign type/goal. As the campaign evolves, it is common to see multiple directions and goals emerge in response to the changing needs of a maturing web entity.

Why am I such a sucker for these things?

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This was my second choice after Optimus Prime:

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There seems to be quite a buzz about Google’s now “official” policy which bans reciprocal linking.
The policy has not been well received by SEO’s and Webmasters alike.
A campaign has even been suggested which recommends adding the rel=”nofollow” attribute to any hyper-links that point to Google properties.

Additional suggestions include using the phrase “Web Apartheid” in any content which discusses Google.

Personally I think this is a case of (well-intentioned) bullying on Google’s part.
That is I believe Google’s motives are not “evil”, in as much as they are trying to clean up the quality of the Internet Link Graph.
I believe that they are operating under the assumption that “Google knows Best” and are instituting a policy that they believe is for the greater good of the web (despite the kicking and screaming of the SEO community who have reacted as if they were given a sound ‘over the knee’ paddling by Google).

This of course does not make the decision necessarily “right” if such an evaluation can even be made, as the bottom line is that Google is simply a service and has no “official” obligation to appease the web at large.

One could also argue that reciprocal linking (as is practiced by the SEO community at large) serves no purpose other than to manipulate rankings (and offers no real value to visitors).

There does (or should) exist however a certain responsibility to not abuse the awesome power that the search giant wields. Handing down decisions such as this and operating under the “Father Knows Best” policy just may be an abuse of that power, at least in principle.

Personally this does not affect my work at all and is therefore a non-issue in my eyes.

If however the new Google policy affects you or your clients please do the following:

• Click here to download your PDF Dunce Cap.
• Print the PDF and follow the instructions for building your Dunce Cap.
• Go home and stand in a corner.
• Place Dunce Cap on your head.

You should be ashamed of yourself: You have done your clients a disservice and mis-represented yourself.

If you are relying on reciprocal links for SEO, then you are not an SEO.

In a bold and festive (April Fools) gesture, the Dark SEO Team appears to have hacked Matt Cutts blog. You can click the image below for a full screenshot that I took just minutes ago.

This is my personal blog on which you will find posts related to my experiences and thoughts within the realm of search, the web and SEO.