I was looking at the videos of a few recent interviews about Optimize that I’ve done and came across this video shot in 2007 and posted in 2008 of me speaking (pre-goatee!) at a High Rankings workshop in Minneapolis. The topic of my presentation? “How to UnGoogle Your Search Engine Marketing”. The focus for the presentation was on:
- Blogging
- Social Media
- Press Release Optimization
- Content & Distribution Networks
The idea was to focus on driving traffic to websites through channels that matter to customers first and foremost, without obsessing over Google. The irony of course, is that if you do that properly, search visibility should continue to do well.
Clearly an integrated approach works best because we must fish where the fish are. Ignoring Google optimization as mutually exclusive of Customer optimization would put a brand at a disadvantage. It’s the art/science combination of both that has helped so many progressive companies succeed.
So 5 years ago, the seeds of what went into Optimize were planted. It’s funny that it took me that long to decide to write a book about it!
For comparison, here’s an excerpt of a video interview done via Skype with Kevin Hunt, Social Media Manager at General Mills: