Why? He knows a bit about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — he increased organic referrals for #1 women’s site iVillage by 30% in one year.
Plus, he and I used to work together at a then-amazing company called CMP Media; and he said he was looking for his next adventure (job).
If you know anything about SEO, you know that good SEO people are hard to find! Plus, I look out for CMP alumni!
Dan’s perspective on SEO is made all the more interesting because he has 30 years of experience in content (offline and online).
This is Dan Rosenbaum, feeding us SEO tips
I decided to pick Dan’s brain on some basic SEO stuff and share it with you.
If you’re interested in hiring Dan, then check out Dan on LinkedIn.
Ok, so here are my questions in bold — the rest is pure Dan!
Ok, Dan, so what type of SEO professional are you?
There are three types of SEO professionals.
There are some people who are very code-based about it. They see things through a lens of technology. There are some who see it through a lens of analytics.
My lens is a lens of content.
None is better than any other. I like mine (content) because I spent 30 years in content, so I come to SEO on a content basis.
What’s a surprising thing about SEO that most people don’t know?
Ranking in the SRP (Search Results Page) is meaningless. Anyone can get to the first page for something.
What I always watch for is traffic, and changes in traffic.
I care about the conversion of what happens once someone hits my page…clicking the buy button or the ad.
I can rank #1 on a search of “cellphone”…but if they come to my page and don’t convert, all I’ve done is cost my company money.
If I can generate meaningful traffic to my reader, to my customer…that’s the win.
As it happens, Google is helping that. They are working very hard to eliminate the concept of the importance of the first page of results.
Such as with Universal Search.
What’s Universal Search?
Universal Search is searching not just Web pages but audio, video, user reviews — which is a new thing.
So instead of having ten Web pages on the first page, you’ll have four Web pages, two videos, a little blurb about shopping sites, a blog post and a user reviews.
And the result for the user in San Francisco is different from the result of a user in New York.
And, further-more, the results may differ based on what’s in your Gmail Inbox.
A sufficiently-targeted ad is not an ad, it’s content. They’re as valuable, if not more valuable, than what the room full of editors is churning out.
It becomes even more important…and Google helps that along by lumping more information on the SRP that isn’t necessarily in control of Google or the Content provider.
We believe Google rolled this out a couple of weeks ago.
What changes did Google make a couple of weeks ago?
It used to be that a Content guy can control what was on the SURP (aka SRP or Search Results Page) — not so much now. It used to be that it was 156 characters — there’s the page title, two lines of text (maximum of 156 characters) and then the URL — you can’t dictate what that will be any more.
Google is in control of what’s on that page — Google will present whatever serves its user better.
This makes publishers and big e-commerce companies completely nuts — cuz they’re in the business of controling their message.
Until a couple of weeks ago, you could be reasonably sure based on how you coded your page of what would show up in your listing.
To an increasing degree, Google is no longer listening to that suggestion.
It’s actually going into the page and saying these two sentences are the most relevant and showing the Google user that.
Google used to show what was in the description meta text of a page.
Was there an announcement about these new Google changes?
Google admitted they were doing this a couple of weeks ago…at Searchtopia…a glorified news conference.
If you look at a Google results page, at the top left, you’ll see a link that says “Show options.”
You click that and it flies out a whole column of options that didn’t exist last month — it controls how much you see, what content you see and how long the snippets are that you see.
Google is pretty invested in making that [Show Options] link as prominent as they can.
What are other secrets about SEO that most people don’t know?
That SEO is not rocket science.
SEO isn’t an event, it’s a process. If you’re going to do it right, it has to involve every department in the company — the tech staff, the marketing, the research, ad and ad ops, metrics and, especially, executives.
The reason that there are so few good in-house SEOs, and that they bail for agencies all the time, is that people involved in SEO don’t have the management experience to come into a company and do that.
The difficulty of [SEO] agency work, is that it is kept at arms-length — and it doesn’t work that well.
As for companies who hire SEO internally, too often the employers aren’t emotionally equipped to understand what SEO really is — it’s a quality process…that involves the entire company.
When Toyota decided they were going to out-quality Detroit, they didn’t hire a quality guy and stick him in a cube.
They hired someone who would come in and look at the operations of the entire company and build a process that baked quality in.
And the best companies that do SEO, bake SEO in.
Thanks for sharing, Dan. What’s your ideal next gig?
My job is to help people build great sites with great information that serves appropriate readers.
I want to get elbows- and knees-deep in the next thing. If there’s a company committed to that and SEO, that would be a good fit.
So I got enormous pleasure from watching the Spike Lee Documentary “Kobe Doin’ Work” on ESPN the other night (good for ESPN to make it advertising-free!).
As much basketball as I watch, I was amazed at how excellent a leader Kobe is…I think he’d make a great CEO.
Below are video clips of the entire documentary along with bullets that I think we can all borrow from Kobe to make us better leaders.
Being Nervous is Good!
Kobe: “I still get goose bumps every time I go out (on the court)”
When I heard Kobe say this, I was reminded of a mentor of mine who once asked me if I was nervous before a big speech. I said I was. She said: “Good, if you weren’t a little nervous I’d be worried about you. Nervous energy can be good energy.”
Respect the Competition
Kobe on San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili: ” That’s a bad boy right there. I have so much respect for his game. He’s an incredible competitor. I enjoy playing against him. He’s a fantastic tw0-guard”
“I enjoy playing against Tony…He’s so quick.”
Preparation & Execution
“You’re thinking about all the execution, all the things you gotta do, the preparations you’ve made.’”
Kobe says he knows where his teammates will be on plays from watching film of his own players. “You don’t want to be guessing,” Kobe says.
“You don’t build a house without blueprints…you gotta know what you’re doing coming in.”
Acknowledge Competition
Kobe on Tim Duncan: What can you say about Tim…He’s the best power forward to ever play the game. Period.”
Kobe later mentioned that he stole a jump shot in which he banks it off the backboard from Tim Duncan when he played him one-on-one before an All-Star game weekend.
Kobe on Playing Other Great Players: “A lot of guys when they match up against other great players, there’s a fear of embarassment. Fear that they might make you look bad. I really don’t care. It’s just fun going up against them. If you’re playing a great player, of course he’s going to make you look bad sometimes. It’s just part of the game.”
Kobe on who’s the best at the two-step move: “Nobody does (the two-step) better than D-Wade (Dwayne Wade) and Manu Ginoboli…and then probably Tony Parker.”
Communication
“I don’t think a lot of fans understand the amount of communication, execution that goes on in a game.”
“You have to emotionally be invested in the game, play hard, play with a lot of energy. But you gotta execute. We talk about execution all the time. We can’t stress that enough.”
Self-Honesty
On a blown layup: “That was doing too much…That was just a dumb play by me.”
A lot of times when my shot is off, it’s cuz my shot is flat. When I put arc on my ball, I’m a much better shooter.”
On watching himself in the documentary: “This is funny watching cuz I didn’t think I talked that damn much.”
Kobe on Kobe causing an offensive foul: “You idiot (about himself)…you know that’s what he (Kurt Thomas) is gonna do…and, then, I blew it.”
Take the High-Percentage Opportunities
That’s all you an ask for…you just want…high-percentage opportunities.”
Be Positive About Your Teamates
When Sasha Vucajic pushed Ime Udoka of the Spurs, Kobe said “That’s my man, Sasha, doing what he does. Feisty kid.”
Kobe on Derek Fisher: “I love that guy. What a warrior.”
“We’ve got some great passers on our ballclub.”
Kobe on Lamar Odom: “Lamar is just an incredible player…his versatility is what makes us go.”
Kobe on Luke Walton: “Luke is a much better shooter than he gives himself credit for.”
Kobe to Teammate Pao Gasol: “I’ve never played with a center who can pass like that!”
In fact, I didn’t hear Kobe say a negative thing about any teammate or opponent.
Kobe on Great Competition
“A lot of guys when they match up against other great players, there’s a fear of embarassment. Fear that they might make you look bad. I really don’t care.”
“It’s just fun going up against them. If you’re playing a great player, of course he’s going to make you look bad sometimes. It’s just part of the game.”
Kobe About Recharging (at Half-Time)
“Now’s the time to collect ourselves, and talk about what we’re doing and what we’re not doing.”
Kobe on Coach Phil Jackson
“We both love basketball…Phil and I can talk about the game, non-stop, all the time. That’s made me such a better player.”
“Phil doesn’t call plays. He draws up sequences of options and then it’s up to us a team to figure out what’s the best option at that moment in time.” “He [Phil] doesn’t want to hold your hand and walk you through it…he wants you to figure it out. That’s when you become a great team.”
Kobe on Finding his Role on the Lakers Team
“In the past I would have to score 35 or 40 points just to keep us competitive. Now I don’t have to do that. You see me directing more. I’m more of a compass, making sure we’re going in the right direction. Making sure we’re executing. Because I have the personnel [now] to do that.”
Speak The Other Guy’s Language
It was cool to watch Kobe speak Italian to teammate Sasha Vucajic to make some points…it both kept the information a bit more confidential from the opponent and also seemed to form a bond between Kobe and Sasha.
Kobe on Failure (i.e. Missing his Shots)
“You gotta forget about it…move on to the next play. I don’t dwell on missed shots at all. I don’t think about that stuff. I’m very optimistic.”
“If I miss 5 in a row, that means I’m good for the 6th one. If I miss the 6th one, that means that I’m definitely good on that 7th one…If I miss that 7th one, that means that 8th one is going in.”
Kobe on Making Sure to Love What You Do & Have Fun
“It’s such an intense game, you have to have fun. Tease one another. This is the stuff we were doing when we were kids. ”
“You rib each other, you tease each other. It makes things fun.”
“This game is such a beautiful game.”
Be Thankful
“You have to give your thanks…We’re all blessed to be in this position to do what we do.”
The Enneagram Personality Types is an effective tool to understand the tendencies of yourself and others; including how you can work and play better together.
A Two-Choice Question Enneagram Test from the Enneagram Institute (this test is more rigid in that you have to answer one of two choices…you have to scroll down the page on this site to see the test
I took both so I could confirm my type.
When you’re done with the test, you should print out or copy the results and then return here to Nine Enneagram Personality Types to learn more about your type, including famous people (including business-people) who share your type!
Enneagram 9 Nickname: “The Peacemaker” or “The Mediator”
Enneagram 9 Strengths
Caring
Friendly
Balanced
Loyal
Enneagram 9 Challenges or Weaknesses
Anger Management
Selfless
Passive-Aggressive
Enneagram 9 Careers
Accountant
Human Resources
Famous & Fictional Enneagram 9s
Abraham Lincoln
Alex Guiness
Andie MacDowell
Anjelica Houston
Annette Benning
Art Carney
Audrey Hepburn
Belinda Carlisle
Benicio del Toro
Billy Bob Thornton
Bing Crosby
Bruce Babbitt
Carl Jung
Charles Bukowski
Chris Isaak
Dalai Lama
Dame Joan Sutherland
David Beckham
Dean Martin
Desdemona
Dwight Eisenhower
Edith Bunker
Edward Norton
Garrison Keiller
Gary Cooper
Geena Davis
Gerald Ford
Grace Kelly
Henry Fonda
Hugh Downs
Ingrid Bergman
Janet Jackson
Jeff Bridges
Jeff Daniels
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jerry Seinfeld
Jim Henson
Jimmy Stewart
John Cage
John Goodman
Joseph Campbell
Keanu Reeves
Kevin Costner
Kevin Spacey
Kris Kristofferson
Lady Bird Johnson
Lisa Kudrow
Luke Perry
Lyle Lovett
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Marc Chagall
Marge Simpson
Matt Damon
Matthew Broderick
Noah Wylie
Norman Rockwell
Patricia Arquette
Perry Como
Peter Falk
Placido Domingo
Queen Elizabeth II
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Renee Zellweger
Ringo Starr
Ronald Reagan
Rosalynn Carter
Rose Kennedy
Sandra Bullock
Selma Blair
Sophia Loren
Stan Laurel
Tim Robbins
Uma Thurman
Walt Disney
Walter Cronkite
Whoopi Goldberg
Willem Dafoe
If you like Personality Types, you can also check out the Myers Briggs Personality Types at these two links:
