A friend of mine on Twitter @utahseopro sent me these questions to answer and post on my blog which he is also posting on his blog, Utah SEO Pro Blog.
1. How long have you been working in Organic SEO and Internet Marketing and what attracted you to it?
I started in Web Development in 1999, doing lots of ASP.NET coding. And sometime 2001/2002 some of the people I was doing dev stuff for, started asking for help with their internet marketing. I kind of did it as a side service for a while, then figured hell why not jump in feet first and really do it full time. I like this side of stuff a little more cause I get to use my creative side, I still <3 development stuff and writing code; but getting to do creative stuff has always been a passion of mine.
2. In your opinion, what's the measure of a good SEO/PR/Blogging professional?
Looking out for the clients best interest, making sure that they are doing what they need to do to succeed. Not doing shady underhanded things in their name & being a good part of the community.
3. Whose Blog do you read the Most?
Wow that's a toughie, I have been so busy that I haven't been reading much of anything consistantly but I still check the @SEOMoz blog the most.
4. What's your best "SEO secret" or blogging tactic?
As you can tell from my own blog I am not the model blogger, I do it all wrong and don't write enough content; but something that I tell all of our clients to do is check up on Google Trends and find trending keywords that relate to their industry and blog away :) Cause at the end of the day content is still king or atleast a high ranking member of the kings court.
5. Search engine algorithms are getting smarter, and a lot of people predict Organic SEO services will become obsolete. How do you plan to adapt?
No matter how the algorithms change, they are still an algorithm and still can be gamed steered in the right direction of content :) I will make sure that I help my clients stay at the forefront of what's going on, incorporating emerging technologies into their marketing plan.
6. Please Describe the biggest challenge you face in your current job.
Not having enough time to do some of the stuff I really want to do. I stay really really really busy (i know judging from my twitter stream most would say I am lying =P ) and don't get enough time to do all the testing and experimenting that I want to do. Also getting clients to buy into my crazy social ideas, that's a pretty big challenge too, alot of people are afraid to put their brand out there - afraid someone might say something bad.
7. Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in Organic SEO, Digital Communications/Digital PR and ORM, but doesn't have a background in it, on how to get started in this field?
Read, Read, Read and read some more. Practice writing, watch emerging trends, study viral memes, goto conferences, network, tweet like there is no tomorrow :)
8. If you could rank for any keyword phrase you don't currently rank for, what would it be?
I am thinking Zima cause it would still be pretty sweet to see my self top 10 for Zima
9. Assuming you had never gone into (what you do now), what would you be doing now (professionally)?
I would like to pursue some type of acting or comedy. Maybe even get back into pro wrestling :)
10. Do you have any interest in politics?
I am a political junkie, I love all things political. I like reading Howard Zinn & Noam Chomsky, love watching Bill Maher, Keith Olberman & Rachel Maddow. I'm as wonky as they come with out being a total political insider :) And as you can tell am a little left leaning :)
Thank you to @MelaniePhung for writing the questions.
Thanks to the following for their participation:
@almacy - A Digital Strategy Expert.
@melaniephung - A DC SEO Strategist.
@martinbowling - A lover of Zima.
@utahseopro - A Utah SEO Consultant.
@fairminder - A Boston Website Design and SEO specialist.
@cyandle - A Google Adwords Professional.
@melanienathan - An Edmonton SEO specialist.
@jackleblond - A VP of Internet Strategy.
@djpaisley - A Digital Communications Strategist.
@vinceblackham - A Utah SEO specialist.
@researchgoddess - A Staffing Social Media Specialist.
@monicawright - A Maine SEO professional.