What is SEO? How a Holistic Marketing Approach can Optimize Digital Experience

Finding useful information on the World Wide Web is something many of us take for granted. To do that, you have to optimize the digital environment for search engines to properly crawl and index the data. 

However, there is much confusion and misconception in Enterprise Business today about what strategies, techniques and tactics are actually used in the SEO process. One of my directors recently described SEO as "sprinkling keywords on a website to make it rank for Google."  Yikes! 

Statements like that prove the need for Enterprise environments to learn more about the value of including SEO as the bedrock of any digital project and how to incorporate SEO into a Holistic Marketing approach. 

I recently pulled from my favorite SEO blog, Search Engine Land, some information to build an SEO Guide for my office to help Enterprise business better understand how SEO is about many things, all at once: Content, Communications, Technical Development, and Elegance in Coding, Usability, Linking Strategy, Social and Mobile. 

In this series of blogs, I hope to help bring a better understanding of the SEO process, the cross-functional roles involved, and the need for technical understanding at the enterprise level to better engage SEO at the right time when implementing any new digital project. 

What is SEO?

At its very base, SEO is defined as: Search engine optimization (SEO) is a methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in the search results page of a search engine (SERP) -- including Google, Bing, Yahoo and other internal site search engines. 

This definition needs so much more detail to explain all that SEO entails. It's juggling content, technology, analytics, UX, social relationships, linking strategy and so much more! 

My initial crude chart to the right, trying to break SEO strategy into digestible pieces, doesn’t quite give the full picture of what SEO's juggle either. 

Optimizing Search can mean optimizing many different digital platforms including:

• External Search Engines – External search engines crawl the entire Internet to provide relevant information based on keyword searches: Google, Bing, Yahoo

• Social Media Search - Social Media specific search engines provide optimized content on sites like: Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter

• Internal Search Engines – Internal search engines provide domain-specific search results: SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Pivot, Salesforce, Endeca, etc. 

To further illustrate all of the various strategies used in the SEO process, Search Engine Land has a wonderful comprehensive  Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors, which shows all of the various factors that play into search optimization. 

Holistic Marketing

Holistic Marketing is the latest way to define SEO in the article, The Only Way To Be Successful At SEO: Take A Holistic Approach, shows how SEO has grown from a simple strategy into an all-encompassing digital bedrock.

 In today's Enterprise Business and the world of Digital Experience we all live in, there is a need to properly curate data in technologically sound ways so that others can find that source of knowledge, that information, not matter what the platform.

"Having synergy between your different marketing channels will not just help SEO, but it also will boost your overall marketing efforts by allowing you to capitalize on all opportunities. It will also allow you to better tailor your marketing efforts toward building a brand that is strong regardless of how any single marketing channel performs." - Tony Edward

Today's SEO's are much more than simple keyword generators who “sprinkle keywords” willy-nilly on a site to make it rank for Google. We know how to organize site architecture, how to inspire elegance in coding practices, how to create online relationships and build on those connections with linking strategies, how to analyze data and build meaningful dashboards to present that data.....and yes, we still know how to boil down content to its essence and listen to the audience to understand what people want when searching and how to get them there.

Pandas, Penguins, and Pirates! Oh My! - How Search Filters Work

Much has been made about the latest update to the Penguin algorithm that Google launched in Oct 2014. Mostly because it's the first update in over a year to this algorithm filter that catches spammy links and link farm sites.  

It does look like Google is upping it's game on poor content, bad link building practices and online piracy this fall with the overlapping updates of Panda, Penguin and Pirate algorithms.

This begs the question of how these updates to filtering algorithms work. From the article from Search Engine Land below, they explain how these updates work like filters to catch offending websites as the search bot crawls the web.

What Is The Pirate Update?

The Pirate Update — similar to other updates like Panda or Penguin — works like a filter. Google processes all the sites it knows about through the Pirate filter. If it catches any deemed to be in violation, those receive a downgrade.

Anyone caught by this filter is then stuck with a downgrade until the next time it is run, when, presumably if they’ve received fewer or no complaints, they might get back in Google’s good graces. We don’t really know how that works yet, though, because Google has never rerun the Pirate Update filter.

That also means that anyone who might be in violation of what Pirate was aimed to catch has escaped any penalty since it first launched. Since it has never been rerun until now, it has never caught any new violators

For more information on the Panda, Penguin and Pirate Updates, check out links about the slow roll-out updates here: http://searchengineland.com/18-days-later-google-penguin-3-0-continues-slowly-roll-worldwide-207339

Enrich Your Life With a Positive Attitude

In my recent post on 8 Rules for Creating a Passionate Life at WorkI explore ways to enrich the work experience to find passion in what can be a frustrating environment.  Finding solutions to life's annoyances and difficult problems can be a challenge.  But when you solve the puzzle and find the motivation of the issue, any challenge can also bring you joy.  You may learn to understand other people better and find truths within yourself to meet those challenges which will ultimately enrich your life.   


Yvetta Fedorova


Today I read an article that explores the benefits of having a positive attitude towards life's struggles.  A Richer Life by Seeing the Glass Half Full - NYTimes.com  In this article on Personal Health by Jane Broday, she discusses that it's "Not Just About Being Positive"
Yvetta Fedorova

"Murphy’s Law — “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” — is the antithesis of optimism. In a book called “Breaking Murphy’s Law,” Suzanne C. Segerstrom, a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, explained that optimism is not about being positive so much as it is about being motivated and persistent."

This idea that a positive experience can bloom from a rotten seed just by putting your mind to finding a solution and working at it persistently rang true to me.

In business, as in other aspects of life, the times I've felt the most accomplished are the times when I have overcome an especially difficult challenge by finding a solution to what seemed like an insurmountable problem.  The times when I've been challenged by annoying people or difficult situations that refused to cooperate with my plans would frustrate me to no end and cause me to be anxious or unhappy.  

But i have learned that when I stop judging and approached the challenge with curiosity, I find that  instead of being frustrated, I become energized to solve the mystery of why this person or this situation is acting the way it is, what is their motivation for the disruptive action, and what I can do to manipulate it to reach my ultimate goal and achieve success.  

This persistence of will and quite literally an attitude adjustment, to stop complaining and being negative and start thinking of positive solutions, is making a huge the difference in how I perceive challenges in at work.  These challenges are mere stepping stones to my own inward journey of learning how to better relate to the world around me.  This lesson, of course,  applies equally to my work life as it does to my personal life.

Treating others with the perspective of love rather than hate is the goal in all of life's challenging situations. 

The Buddha teaches us to thank your enemy for challenging you to seek inward for the Dharma.  

'Compassion and love are not mere luxuries. As the source both of inner and external peace, they are fundamental to the continued survival of our species.' His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama

Likewise, Jesus teaches us to, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you, and persecute you;”  Matthew 5:44

In this way, I can face my work and all other challenges in life with a positive perspective, seeking the truth within to find solutions to my problems and face each challenge with an open and loving heart.

I hope this may motivate others who are faced with difficulties that seem insurmountable and unpleasant - to strive to keep trying to find a solution to the problem by simply changing your mind about how your perceive it.  When you think positive, you do positive actions, and your life will become a positive experience.

That is my goal.  Wish me luck in achieving it today!  

8 Rules for Creating a Passionate Life at Work

Today I read an article on Fast Company's website titled 8 Rules for Creating a Passionate Work Culture and it got me thinking about how to optimize my daily work environment.  Then I read another blog written by Manish Gupta entitled "Work with Passion" and found even more inspiration.

Lately I've been struggling with settling into a new job and getting used to new co-workers, a new boss, using new databases and trying to work with new vendors.  Add on a new commute and working in a new cubicle after 6 years of working from home and I'm left with a whole new work life.  It's a lot to adjust to and lately I've felt less than passionate about my work life.


PAUL ALOFS' article helped me realize that it takes a real commitment to create a passionate work place environment.  He references Ken Thomson and this very wealthy Canadian businessman's commitment to value the simple things in life as well as in business.  "He bought off-the-rack suits and had his old shoes resoled. Yet he had no difficulty paying almost $76 million for a painting"  He knew the value of things and spent his money on things he was passionate about (investing, art, business) and saved his money on things that just got him from A to B (groceries, shoes, suits).


This level of commitment to invest in your passion is not just for the employer, but also for myself as the employee to optimize my work space and invest in things that I am passionate about in my own life.  


In this way, I've devised a list of my own 8 Rules for Creating a Passionate Life at Work

1. Surround yourself with the right people

Befriend co-workers with passion and commitment first, experience second, and credentials third. You should try to find people who are interested in the same things you are. You don’t want to be simply a stepping stone as someone works their way up the corporate ladder, but rather a true colleague who you both find mutual benefit from working together.

2. Communicate

Once you have surrounded yourself with the right people, meet with them regularly and discuss your projects.  Knowing what team members are working on and discussing projects builds a level of trusted community and is crucial in developing mutually beneficial relationships at work.  Ask for what you need from others,  adjust to issues that are identified, discuss ways to rectify problems and find solutions together - whether it be over a casual lunch or in a regularly scheduled business meeting. 

Listening is an equal part in communication.  Listening to what your co-worker's needs are, hearing what frustrates them about business processes, understanding their pain points is so important to discover how to find solutions to alleviate those problems and create harmony in the work place.

3. Tend to the weeds

Sometimes you run across co-workers who's passions are not your own.  These people may create frustration and stress on your work day.  Try to understand their motivation for the unpleasant behavior.  Are they insecure and threatened by your work?  Are they generally unhappy people that have a tendency to whine and complain?  First, try to distance yourself from interacting with these negative people as much as possible.  Second, try to feel compassionate towards them and show kindness to them in the face of their troubles.  Third, realize that there are usually a few bad apples in  almost every bunch and part of a healthy work life is learning how to work around these "speed bump" people.

4. Work Life Balance

A good work ethic should be coupled with a good play strategy.  I tend to do my best work under pressure and will work long hours when necessary.  Conversely, I also need to schedule in in several play breaks during my day to play a round of scrabble on Words with Friends or hit the gym after an especially strenuous day at the office.  Remembering to unwind after giving 100% mental effort during the day is so important to remind me why I do it all over again the next day.   

5. Be Inspired & Ambitious

Keep striving to be better, do better, see more, learn more.  Having dreams and goals to work towards help push you along in those dreary, boring times in the office.  Being inspired helps you see the bigger picture, knowing that you have what you need to achieve your passions.

“Oh, it's delightful to have ambitions. I'm so glad I have such a lot. And there never seems to be any end to them-- that's the best of it. Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does make life so interesting.” 
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

6. Diversify & innovate 

Shakespeare said it best, "Variety is the spice of life".  Interacting with people in different departments who work in different fields from your own is part of what stimulates the learning centers in the brain and causes Dopamine to release, where you get those "feel good" vibes.  Meeting new people, discussing new projects, learning new methodologies can excite the everyday mundane existence that many people often tire of in their own little cubicle at the office.  Get out of your own little space and meet some people, join a work sporting group, participate in a volunteer effort, go to a conference.  You never know who you'll meet that could stimulate you on to greatness!  Innovation stems from learning, and communicating with those who know different things from your own knowledge base can be just the nudge you need. 

7. Attitude Adjustment

Happiness is a choice one makes everyday.  Not happy with your job?  Feeling frustrated with your co-workers?  Is your boss not supportive?  Changing all that can be as simple as changing your mind to think positive.  Bring some cheerful flowers to your office to remind you of the life outside the office.  Remember how many people are unemployed and out of work and would do anything to have the job you have.  Be grateful for the benefits your job offers you both financially and professionally and remind yourself of all the good things that come from hard work.  Make this attitude adjustment and decide to be happy and find ways to solve the things that annoy you in the work place.  And if it truly is an abusive work environment with no real hope for change, then YOU make the decision to change your work situation.  Find a new job, change departments, go back to school to learn a new trade.  The way that you perceive the world will be reflected back at you.  If you give the universe a positive attitude, it will respond with positive experiences.     

8. Play the long game

Like great wine, true passion takes time. An article in The Telegraph points out that "Good things come to those who wait, Scientist Say" may well be true.  Recent research has found that a "person has the ability to resist an on the spot reward and delay it for months or even years if it means a better return in the future..."  Simply by vividly imagining a better future one can delay impulse choices and which can then lead to better well being in the long run.  Hoping for a better work life is one thing, having faith that it WILL HAPPEN if you give your best is quite another.  Realizing the difference in having Hope vs. having Faith can lead to a lifetime of peace both at work and in your everyday life.  Read Hope vs. Faith in this Gaiam blog by Cynthia James.     

Education Revolution: Optimize the Interactive Experience

Last week, MIT and Harvard announced a joint online education project launch called edX and was heralded by David Brooks on the NY Times as how schools envision their futures.  


This effectively raises the bar for the reputation of online education with the participation of some of the nation's top universities.  Everyone is now able to benefit from low cost, high level education courses from some of the smartest people in the world.



Watch the edX Press Conference

This may well be the biggest advancement in human history since the Industrial Revolution....an Educational Revolution changing the way whole generations of people advance in their careers and in their life choices.   Learning, collaborating, and discussing advanced concepts in large and diverse groups can bring a new level of understanding to people who never before were exposed to high level education participation. 


Interactive education offers a tailored environment to people everywhere and can enrich the larger educational environment for all by continually improving the process that we impart knowledge to one another.  This is a great example of optimizing the educational experience in a digital environment.


Who knows what this huge exposition of creating and transmitting knowledge will bring to humanity.  I envision collaborating and problem solving for some of the world's greatest challenges, jobs for those who are jobless, purpose and direction for those who could never envision a better life before.  


Congratulations edX!  I'm excited to see if my ideas for your high quality educational courses prove true.     

SEO for Everybody - In Blogging and In Life

Recently I searched for the term" everyone is an seo" and stumbled upon an interesting article entitled WordPress SEO for Everybody.  This article lists basic strategies for optimizing your blog, greater link building and stronger communication opportunities with your blog readers.  


Links to detailed SEO strategies are listed:

WordPress SEO for Beginners

• Beginner WordPress SEO (Part 1): How to Optimize Your Blog Posts
• Beginner WordPress SEO (Part 2): 9 Ways to Optimize Your Blog for Search Engines
• How to Optimize Images for Better Search Engine Rankings

Advanced WordPress SEO Topics

• How to Interlink Your WordPress Articles the Right Way
• How to Make Your WordPress Category Pages Search Engine (and People) Friendly
• The Secret to Getting More Links and Social Media Love
• How to Optimize Your WordPress Archive Pages for SEO

As a blogger, I can understand and appreciate these tactics and hope to employ them here myself.


But when I review just the titles listed above, it makes me interested in the broader communication strategies at play here.  Most of these tactics are teaching bloggers how to organize their thought process and how to properly categorize and label content.  This is Librarian School and Creative Writing classes all-in-one! 


I love SEO and I'm so happy that I work in this field that celebrates rational thought and organization as well as creative expression.  It just still always strikes me as funny that SEO is really at it's core, a communication strategy.  When you employ all the technical analysis and code your page correctly and label things properly, it really all boils down to making yourself heard - clearly and succinctly.


Isn't it funny how bloggers still need help to organize themselves, to rationally think through the user experience and make their pages function in a rational and easy to use manner?  If only we all properly communicated our ideas in clear and rational ways.  Wouldn't life be less complicated and easier to understand? 


But life is not so simple....and maybe all the incorrect communication that goes on in the world today between people, politics, and religion only serves to keep life interesting.   Yes, the world would be a more peaceful place if we learned to organize, label, and communicate effectively....but where's the fun in that?  For now, learning a few helpful lessons to better organize and communicate online will serve the bloggers purpose.  Next we need to learn to organize and communicate with each other in more personal and meaningful ways.  

SEO's Use BOTH Sides of Their Brain

I recently viewed a photo on Facebook published by the Missouri Institute of Natural Science showing how the different hemispheres of the brain influence different personality traits.

The text for the left brain reads:

“I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.”

And for the right brain:

“I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feat. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.”

As an Search Engine Optimizer (SEO), I have often told people I use both sides of my brain on the job.  The technical analysis needed for keyword modeling, HTML coding, taxonomy and usage tracking utilize the left hemisphere where logic and reason reside. The creativity, interest level, usability, common sense and visual flow of a site kick the right hemisphere into gear.

It's a fine thing to realize that this industry has so many facets that require so many different skills and offer an endless variety of specialization: cross-channel optimization, keyword research, link building, web development, reporting analysis, usability coordination, social media, video, mobile, etc.  How exciting to live, work, and breathe this dynamic industry and be rewarded not just for thinking clearly, but for emotional impact and influence, as well.

This photo lead me to want to test my skills and natural inclinations to find out which hemisphere of my brain is most dominant.  I Googled "brain hemisphere dominance test" and came up with the following test: http://www.web-us.com/brain/braindominance.htm.  This turned out to be a ridiculous test that always told me I was left brain dominant no matter how I changed the answers.  I'm guessing just by taking the test and answering all the questions, it could be assumed I am left brain dominant.  

I wanted a more serious evaluation and kept searching and was satisfied when I came across this test published by the International PcE Netword, Biofeedback Training Made Simple:  Brain Dominance Test.  This test gave a more thorough explanation, grading each answer as to which hemisphere related and giving me an overall evaluation that was much more plausible.

Regardless which side of the brain is dominant, it's exciting to find an industry that engages both hemispheres of communication, logic, reason, creativity, and emotional response.  Cheers to all the SEO's out there thinking and feeling and making better digital communication experiences for all.