How do you get to be a
big voice in SEO (define)?
A series of blog posts offer advice,
which I'll recap below. I'll also offer
my thoughts on the topic.
Some Blogs' Advice
"5
Tips to Make it in the SEO Community"
from Andy Hagans at Search Engine
Journal puts it down to sucking up to
the right people, getting a good niche,
publishing, blogging, and befriending
rivals (i.e., saying you love something
even if you don't). All this guarantees
you get a speaking slot at one of our
Search Engine Strategies (SES) shows
within 20 years. OK, he's sort of
joking.
Andy's advice prompted
Todd Malicoat over at Stuntdubl to do "SEO
Community Advice from Andy Hagans - 2nd
Generation SEO." It's basically a
thank-you to the first-generation search
optimizers who gave the second
generation a start.
Rand Fishkin gets in on
the act with "SEO
A-Listers & B-Listers." He discusses
how to move yourself onto a list: have a
sense of humor, be self-depreciating,
even-tempered, friendly, and thoughtful.
OK, so Rand puts me on
his A-List, plus I'm entering my 10th
year of actively writing about SEO. So
I'll chime in with some of my thoughts.
The Generations
I think we're into a
third, if not fourth, SEO generation. I
place myself in the first. When I first
began covering SEO and search in 1996,
there weren't many others. WebMaster T
was out there, I think John Heard did
stuff for Planet Ocean, Northern Web had
a now-defunct set of search engine tips,
and maybe
Fredrick Marckini had his e-book
going then.
Not long after, maybe
1997, we had the I-Search mailing list.
Detlev Johnson certainly made a name for
himself moderating it, as did Marshall
Simmonds.
Shari Thurow was a regular
participant who grew through that. Cat
Seda, too. I think both Jill Whalen and
Heather Lloyd-Martin were also active,
but kicking off their RankWrite
newsletter helped grow their stature.
And
Chris Sherman in his pre-Search
Engine Watch (SEW) days was plugging
away at the Mining Co/About.com.
I'd lump all these people
into the first generation. The second
generation probably came about with the
emergence of search engine forums, such
as JimWorld and
WebmasterWorld, around 1998-2000.
Many active forum members were
developing names for themselves based on
the quality of their advice.
Brett Tabke, the founder
of WebmasterWorld and a long-time search
optimizer, is a great example. His voice
came out as his forums grew. Moderators
such as Greg Boser or Todd "Oilman"
Friesen are just two of many.
Note some
second-generation people may actually
have done SEO in 1995 or 1996. They may
have been first-generation optimizers,
but they were second-generation SEO
commentators or educators. Forums made
it easier for anyone to publish.
But that wasn't the only
way how people got going.
Mike Grehan jumped in around then
and grew his rep through his e-book and
newsletter. Andrew Goodman did Traffick
and his e-book on Google AdWords.
The third generation
sprang from blogging. Like forums, blogs
made it easier still for people to
share, comment, and get noticed in the
process. Andy Beal's a good example. He
started blogging early. Earlier, he
really wasn't regarded as a search
commentator.
Barry Schwartz is another
good example, as is Philipp Lenssen.
John Battelle, while not really an SEO
commentator, developed his reputation in
search by blogging about search issues,
not through his book which only
published recently year.
The Many SEO
Communities
It's also important to
remember if we do have A lists, B lists,
and so on, no one will ever really agree
on them.
Some people at
WebmasterWorld look up only to those in
that community. Pick another forum and
you'll find the same. An "A lister"
wading in won't necessarily carry the
A-list reputation earned elsewhere.
She'll either earn it anew, or gain it
because some in the new community will
talk her up to others.
Beyond this, there are
people who have never visited a search
forum at all, yet are successful search
marketers. Life doesn't revolve around
forums. You've also got people who
haven't attended to a single search
conference or read a particular blog,
newsletter, or whatever.
Overall, there are a
variety of SEO communities and leaders
within each.
My Advice
My advice on getting
noticed as an SEO commentator? Share.
Share interesting, unique things
especially. Share however you like: on
forums, in newsletters, and especially
in blogs. Surfing that wave remains very
effective.
Suck up, as Andy says?
I'm sure that helps in some quarters.
But it's not a foundation for success.
I'd say reach out instead. If you're
doing interesting things, don't think it
they'll naturally be discovered. Reach
out with some of your best stuff to
those who read. Give a heads up.
Get a niche? Great
advice. If you get a niche and write
about it, stick with it. Too many blogs
over the past year promised to do good
niche search coverage and stumbled. You
get one or two chances to make an
impression. Make it a good and enduring
one.
As for befriending
rivals, I completely believe in that. I
could run a site on which I never link
to anything but
Search Engine Watch and
ClickZ material. A better site is
inclusive. It points people to the best
stuff, wherever it is. Being a good
guide in pointing is as important as
being a good guide in doing your own
content. Only a fool believes he knows
it all.
Bad advice is scratching
someone's back for something that
undeserving, and figuring "dumb readers"
won't know it. I think, or at least
hope, many readers see through that type
of stuff. Those types of patterns are
glaringly obvious to me. When I see it
happening, my respect for those doing it
begins to drop.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Danny Sullivan
left Search Engine Watch as of Dec. 1,
2006. To contact him, please go
here.
