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Women of Internet Marketing Series: Interview with Sarah Goodwin

By Julie Joyce

Welcome to the latest installment in the Women of Internet Marketing Series, where I talk to Sarah Goodwin, otherwise known as Yoshimi_S. Whether she's making Lisa D. Myers speechless, rescuing homeless rats, or smoking one of those weird USB-ish cigarettes whilst wearing a giant shawl she knitted herself, she is truly one of the most fascinating Brits you'll ever meet.

Q: Give us your background, if you'd be so kind.

A: I'm a university drop out (which is easily explained when I say I was studying accounting) who wandered into sales and then carried on wandering until I fell into SEO about three years ago. Last year I started sticking my head out of the trenches & participating in the SEO community, giving me some great opportunities such as writing for LeedsSEO, and best of all SEO Chicks, and most recently going to work with the wonderful folks at Bloom Media!

Q: How did you find yourself working in the SEO industry?

A: Completely by accident. I was working in sales, doing HR consultancy. One of my clients was an SEO company and they asked me to help them develop a job spec for a sales manager they wanted to take on. Well after I left the meeting I thought, "I've just described my perfect job" so I called them the next day and asked if they would mind if I applied. I started a week later. From there I learnt about SEO and moved from just the sales and account management side to managing the SEO campaigns, and that was that really.

 

Q: You've just begun a new gig at Bloom Media. What will you be doing there? Any differences in responsibility from the previous job?

A: It's very different. In all my previous roles my main focus has been strategy and account management, here I'm getting the opportunity to get a lot more involved in the link building, and while I'm still going to be working on a lot of the strategy, I'm going to have a lot less client involvement and a lot more hands on work to do. I get the feeling that that's back to front from how most people do things, but I'm really looking forward to getting my hands dirty!

Q: You've recently joined us at the SEO Chicks, and we're thrilled to have you! What can we expect to see from you there, in the coming months?

A: Being the ridiculously organised person that I am I actually already have my next three or four posts planned, and one already written (I'm a freak I know). I'm going to be doing a lot on the new SEO 101 series, and a lot of, what I think of as culture commentary. The culture of the SEO industry fascinates me, as it's so full of big personalities it works differently to any industry I've worked in or with before. So it's my favourite thing to write about.

Q: What are your must-read industry sites? Who are your must-read bloggers? Other than the Chicks, naturally...

A: Oh lord, where to start. there are so many great blogs and bloggers in our industry, I think it goes back to that big personality thing again. For astute observations and industry predictions I love seobook.com, I think SEOmoz is great for beginners & networking, searchcowboys.com is fantastic for news, and I love Huomah.com for really juicy technical information.

Q: What, exactly, is Leeds SEO?

A: We're not really sure at the moment. Stu & Stephen started the blog about 9 months ago, and it's not really settled into it's own niche yet. I think for now it's just a place for the three of us (and a few others who blog there occasionally) to say the things that are too long for twitter, whether that's actual blog posts or just random made up songs. It's a fun place for us to hang out I guess.

Q: How have you found the industry to be, in terms of welcoming you as a relative newcomer? I ask this because I read a lot of people saying it's an unfriendly industry for newbies, but I never felt that myself.

A: I never found the industry to be unwelcoming at all. There were a few comments at times that you couldn't be a real SEO unless you were around since the birth of Lycos, but I disagree with that, and I've never been scared to say so. I think I maybe found it easier than others because I watched the blogs & forums for so long before joining in. I only joined SEOMoz a year ago, so for two and a half years I was watching and learning. But I think that's the key to joining any community. You would have to be stupid to join a new art class and tell people they're doing it wrong, but people do that online all the time. That's where the animosity to newbies comes from I think, rather than the fact that they're new.

Q: Where do you see us heading with social media in the next year? Do you think that microblogging platforms like Twitter have the potential to change the entire landscape of presenting information to the public?

A: They would if the public were on them. I think as an industry we overestimate the effect that things like twitter have on the general public. A perfect example is wave, I posted on facebook to offer out invites and all I got was questions about what it was, with most people just thinking it sounded really complicated. I think we need to be careful not to mistake the uptake of our peers, for the uptake of the "public". There is a long way to go yet before social media use becomes truly mainstream.

Q: What are your thoughts on attempts to label certain SEO practices as unethical?

A: I don't really have any. When I do my campaigns I want them to be useful and relevant for the end user, I want them to generate income for the client. Those two things drive what is ethical for me, what's ethical to do for one client may not be for another. If someone else's line in the sand is drawn differently from mine then that's their business (literally). There are some things that I do find unethical, but they're not restricted to SEO, taking advantage of clients, taking advantage of customers, not providing what's promised, I think those are far more pressing issues than what counts as a paid link.

 

Q: Link buying seems to be the big bad target right now with Google. Any thoughts on what they (or other engines) will try to crack down on next?

A: I'm kind of hoping they go back to making more on page judgements. To my mind there are too many sites that are providing a crap user experience, or providing dud or copied or regurgitated content, that are ranking well because of the links. I'd like to see them crack down on poor usability and poor informational content. It may be wishful thinking on my part, but the increase in people using no follow, and going to content through social media may (I'm crossing fingers and toes) force them to re-assess how they look at on page factors and assign them more importance.

Q: Have you noticed any differences between SEO in the UK vs. the US? I know you're an active participant in several online communities...anything stand out as being vastly different?

A: Not really, I think that Americans tend a little more towards the dramatic, but that's what makes the forums so interesting. I also get the impression that there's less general SEO awareness with small US businesses, but that really could just be a size thing

Q: Speaking of online communities, which ones have been most valuable to you?

 A: The ones that aren't about SEO. Seriously I would recommend to anyone wanting to work in social media in any way, and even to SEO's go and join a community that's about something other than SEO. See the people in the forum help areas asking how they send a message, see how people really communicate online (and by that I mean people who don't spend their lives thinking about the internet). Some people in the industry seem like they have only ever seen customers in the zoo, they need to get out there and see how they behave in their natural habitat.

Q: Ever been involved in any ethical dilemmas in the industry?

A: I don't think so, although I may have, and just steamed on ahead on my own course without noticing.

 

Now, the fun questions...

Q: You're given a free pass to spam the ever-living heck out of one social media platform like Twitter,  Digg, etc. for a client. Which do you choose, and why? Put on your black hat, maybe even one that you've knitted.

A: Ha, I never knit in black, too difficult to see the stitches! You know even with my blackest hat on I can't think of any reason to spam other than to irritate a whole lot of people, so I think I would spam 4chan, because they always like an excuse to be outraged about something.

Q: At the risk of stereotyping anyone here, with whom would you rather have dinner (and pick his brain in a non-zombie fashion): Matt Cutts or Fantomaster?

A: Fantomaster, no Matt Cutts, no Fantomaster...this is the hardest question yet. Don't make me choose, how about I take them both out together, we'd make a cute threesome.

Interviewer's note: I can guarantee you Ralph has better taste in music.

Q: Tell us about the rats. Do you knit them sweaters? How many do you have? Do you give them silly names or proper names like Reginald? Do you knit them hammocks? Do they ever bite you? Do you cook for them?

A: Woah there, one question at a time! I have 8 pet rats, Freya, Hnoss, Saga, Sagatoo (they're twins) Dita, Bullet, Strike & Hel (mostly names of norse goddess Dita was named by her first owner, after Dita Von Teese, and bullet & strike are maniacs, so norse godesses didn't seem appropriate). I don't knit them hammocks, because they might get their little feet stuck, but both Hubs & I sew them hammocks with pretty fleece. I've been bitten quite a few times, but only by 2 of the 15 rats I've owned. I like taking on "problem rats" and rehabilitating them, so the bites were my own fault really. And finally, yes I do cook for them, often they get a little of what we're having or some fresh greens, I did once make little individual lasagnes for them which was quite fun!

Q: Favorite zombie movie, and why? Also, do you really think zombies would move as quickly as they do in certain films? I picture them moving about quite slowly, not darting about.

A: Now you see, you're opening up a whole zombie debate there. George Romero, the king of zombie films says no, they couldn't move that fast, and I would have to agree with him, all that rotting flesh couldn't support that kind of impact (ok I know I take this far too seriously, I'm just glad you didn't ask me about zombie attack plans or I would have been here all day). As for favourite zombie film, I'm going to have to go top 5, because there's no way I can narrow it down to just one, so in ascending order it's, Resident evil, 28 days later, Diary of the dead, Dawn of the dead, and Day of the dead.

Q: You did a truly amazing Southern accent when you were mimicking me. Damn you for that. OK seriously, have you either used it since then, or do you plan to? Like to explain something stupid you've done, or pick up a jockey? Usually works for me.

A: I've tried doing it since and I failed miserably, so either it's something I can only do with you or something I can only do when drunk. So my plan is to come over to visit you and spend the whole time pissed and talking with a southern accent.

Women of Internet Marketing: An Interview with Ayima's Jane Copland

By Julie Joyce

Q: In the unlikely event that anyone reading this doesn't know who you are, can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you're currently doing, workwise?

A: The short version is that I'm a twenty-five year old SEO consultant, relatively fresh off the boat from the United States, living in London. I began my career in SEO at SEOmoz in Seattle and I now work for Ayima Search Marketing here in the UK. I'm 100% organic-SEO focused (PPC sounds like something people take at the club around the corner from my flat) and I'd far rather chase down a stellar link profile than attempt to converse with people and engage in the "conversation". The technical aspects of SEO interest me far more than the social, which is odd since the social side was what I first worked on.

Q: Your entry into the world of SEOmoz is a fascinating story. Can you tell us a bit about how you came to work at Ayima?

A: My road to working at SEOmoz was literally the result of replying to a job listing on Craigslist that wanted a junior SEO, experience not a factor. I almost didn't click on the ad: it was about midnight and I'd been replying to job ads for hours. The title of the ad, however, was "Do you use your powers for good or for awesome", a Homestar Runner reference, and I couldn't really go past that, even though I wanted to go to sleep. I read the job description and decided it sounded like something I could do. I was always meticulous with cover letters and resumes, so I was up for another few hours making sure the application was right. Three interviews, a public blogging contest and a lot of hoping later, I had the job.

I came to work at Ayima after deciding to leave Seattle in the winter of 2008. It was time for a lot of changes, and Rob Kerry and I basically came to the conclusion that me moving to work at Ayima might work. It turned out that Rob's partners at Ayima weren't adverse to the idea either. It took me exactly a month from deciding to move to leaving Seattle. I've actually been in the UK for seven months today.

Q: What is your role at Ayima?  

A: I'm a search marketing consultant, meaning that I work almost exclusively on client-facing projects, managing / completing both on and off site work. We focus on traditional organic SEO. I love this. There is so much less bullshit in SEO than there is in this buzzy world of back-patting called social media. I can't even stand the term anymore. It makes me wince, it's such a fluffy catch-phrase.

Q: Describe a typical day for you. Leave out the part about living near my favorite pub please. No one likes a braggart. 

A: I get up at 4:50am and run six miles. I do this at this time because I like to run in an area of London that is packed with morning commuters come 6:30 or 7am. If I get this done before the day really begins, I also get to take another nap before work. I live very close to Ayima's Clerkenwell office: it takes me less than five minutes to walk to work. I unfortunately have to sit next to Dean all day, which results in a constant battle as to whose computer / keys / mobile phone / glass of water is on whose section of the desk. It's making for an incredibly hostile work environment ;)

As oppposed to when I worked in Seattle, all of my clients are based in the London area, so I travel across town for meetings far more now than I did in Seattle. However, it's still pretty much your standard nine-to-five day. After fighting off requests to go to the pub after work (unless it's Friday, at which point it's game on), I go swimming after work at a pool five minutes in the other direction from where I live. I'll be there for a couple of hours, go home, eat dinner, maybe do some contract work and go to bed. It sounds like a lot of activity and not much downtown, but it makes me happy and I have learned in the last seven months that it's very necessary to do things that make you happy, even if they involve constant activity.

Q: You've done a lot over the past few months... moved from Seattle to London, moved from working at SEOmoz to working at Ayima, etc. How have all these changes affected your perception of the industry? Have you seen that there are any notable differences between the US and the UK?

A: I do notice the difference in culture between having consultants and companies spread over a huge country, and having a lot of them in a select few towns. If there is competition for a contract, you likely know the other companies pitching for it. You likely know the people who worked with a client before you did, and you likely know who's doing the SEO for your clients' competitors. This presented the UK industry with the option to become very nasty and childish, or for its members to develop a mature level of mutual respect for each other. Due to the calibre of people we have working over here, the vast majority chose the second option. Business is business and a LondonSEO piss-up, a birthday party, a dinner date with industry friends or whatever, is just that. That isn't to say that nastiness doesn't occur, but it appears to be less of a problem than it can be elsewhere.

The practice of SEO isn't terribly much different, although of course you need to put yourself through a crash course in a country's culture when you arrive in it to practice marketing. Imagine walking into a meeting about getting some entertainment-niche website ranking, but never having seen the magazine or television show or pop group that they're most interested in at that time. I had to learn a lot fast about a myriad of small cultural nuances of British society. You don't know what you know about a place until you're required to use it in everyday marketing decision making. On the flip side, I come in handy when United States culture needs to be referenced, as I lived there for seven years.

Q: In addition to all of this, you're also an amazing swimmer and you've recently gotten back into it on a fairly big level it seems. That seems to be a very competitive sport. Notice any similarities between it and the SEO industry? 

A: There are certainly some, but the differences are becoming more interesting. In SEO, all of our work relies on a third party--usually Google--agreeing that that work was worthwhile. In swimming, standards are made a lot clearer than they are in search. If you have a qualifying time you must meet, you know what that time is before you attempt to achieve it. Rarely (although it does happen) does someone decide after the fact whether your work or performance was good enough. I like the differences more than the similarities, in fact. SEO is a bit of a cat-and-mouse game where we're always trying to be one step ahead of a third party. That's fun. In swimming, the responsibility for a positive outcome is far more within my control, especially now that my attitude towards it is so different to what it was when I was younger. I used to swim for a range of reasons: to get out of my town in New Zealand and to the US, to pay for college, and sometimes because I didn't value myself terribly much if it wasn't backed up by some achievement in a pool. Now, I truly do it because I want to. There is no other motivation, and that has been very freeing.

Q: You and I have talked privately about the current trend of bully blogging. What are your thoughts on that? Is it becoming fashionable to establish yourself in the industry by being mouthy? Sometimes I think some people never got out of high school when I see the fights on Twitter. 

A: There is currently a false perception in this industry that it's okay to badmouth people directly, and that if you do not agree with the loudest bloggers, they could end you in one way or another. This perception has been created entirely by the bloggers themselves. A few of them actually find it acceptable to call people whores, fat, ugly, and a range of insults on Twitter and on their websites. The worst (best?) example of this is someone who literally went on a mission to destroy the reputation of a woman he'd apparently never met. It stuns me that collectively, we don't turn around and say "You are acting in an objectionable, horrible way. We don't tolerate that sort of behaviour, let alone celebrate those who engage in it." And these same people are asked to speak at conferences and are heralded as industry leaders.

I used to blog fairly often, but I do not believe I engaged in the nasty bullying that passes for 'snark' and wit right now. If I did, I have definitely learned a lot about respect and humility and I would never be as downright rude, either directly or indirectly, in writing anymore. Can we please finally stand up and say "no, it's not all right to take a snotty, snide tone and be celebrated as clever. It's not okay to bash people you don't like in posts or comments or tweets. You can keep doing it; that's your prerogative. But we will no longer squeal "Great post!" when it's nothing short of bullying."

I know that I'm far from alone in thinking this. Many people recently emailed me and told me that they fully agree. All it would take for this trend to no longer pass as acceptable and popular is for all of us who find it objectionable to say so when we see it in action. Because inaction is what currently allows it to continue, and it only makes all of us look as childish as some of us.

Q: There is always the argument about what background best prepares one for doing SEO. You and I have the much-maligned English degrees, yet I can say for myself that it's served me very well so far. Based on what you've learned so far, what type of skills do you think people need to be successful in this industry?

A: I think too much effort goes into analysing who has what degree, or who has no degree, and talking the abovementioned smack about it. Two of the most successful, brilliant people I know in search didn't finish university. I have a degree in English, as do you. I could have used some more computer science knowledge when I began, but most of the really important skills I've learned, I couldn't have been taught in a classroom. I could have spent those four years learning what I've learned on the job as an adult, but then again, there are many things I learned in college, in and out of the classroom that help me daily.

To do well here, you have to be willing to accept that what you knew to be true a short time ago isn't true anymore. That can be more difficult than it sounds. You have to love learning, but be prepared to learn things over and over again as they present themselves in different ways. And I believe you have to love the technical side of SEO because if you don't understand it, or aren't willing to learn everything you can about it, you're at a severe disadvantage.

Q: Since this is the Women in Marketing series, I need to ask a girl question here. How do you think women are viewed in the industry overall? Any really good or really bad personal experiences? 

A: Well, aside from the usual comments about being young and female and working in tech, I have certainly not found it to be a disadvantage or an advantage, save for the fact that women writers in this field get more attention than their male counterparts overall. That's an advantage.

There are one or two gross problems in SEO that revolve around gender and sex, but this isn't the time or place to get into them. That's a battle for a different day.

Now the fun ones: 

Q: How do you tolerate working with Rob Kerry every day? 

A: Sound canceling headphones ;)  (inserted Li comment her - Jane -- I do have a karaoke video of Rob singing the Spice Girls somewhere!)

(I adore Rob.)

Q: If you could get snowed in at the Fox and Anchor with any 5 SEOs, who would they be and what drinks would they all be having? Since I am the interviewer, make sure you mention me here please. 

A: Ugh, I'm going to end up NOT naming people I love in this industry if I'm reduced to five!

• Ciaran Norris, who'd be drinking Guinness and still looking posh about it.

• Lisa and Jon Myers. Lisa would've bought a bottle of wine becasue there's no way we'd not get through it, and Jon would be drinking Peroni.

• Rob Kerry and Mike Nott who'd be drinking London Pride

• Dean Chew, who'd be drinking what we tell him is Foster's, but is in fact just some regular, awful lager.

• Kate Morris and Kalena Jordan, who'd be drinking Sauvignon Blanc.

• Stephen Pavlovich and Michael Motherwell, who'd be drunk and asleep in the corner.

• Rand Fishkin, who'd be talking too much to drink.

• You, Julie Joyce, and you'd be having a Bakewell Tart martini from the bar next door.

Q: Favorite ridiculous conference anecdotes? 
 
 A: 1) Walking back to Liverpool Street station during SMX London last year, while I still lived in Seattle and had no thoughts of leaving, right past the building I now live in, the supermarket I now shop at and the pool at which I now swim.

2) Trying desperately to hold in laughter on stage during SMX Sydney last year as Rand and Geraldine abused the text-in-a-question feature, asking Ciaran "Is that a tie or did a monkey die on your shirt?"

3) Being dragged to an establishment in Vegas by you, Julie Joyce, whom I had only really just met, called "Slots A Fun". They had 99c hotdogs and similarly-priced margaritas. The carpet was appalling. The bartender appeared to know you all very well, and his name was Blaze. The lights were too bright and I was scared. Where have these nutty North Carolinians taken us? Ciaran and I made our way back to the plush comfort of the Wynn before something terrible could happen.

Women of Internet Marketing: Mary Bowling

By Julie Joyce

Welcome to the latest installment in the Women of Internet Marketing Series, featuring the (obviously) adventurous Mary Bowling from Blizzard Internet Marketing. Blizzard conducts marketing for hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals and has quite an impressive team of talent...with Mary being one of their senior SEOs and, most likely, the staff member most likely to climb Everest or dive with sharks.

Q: 2003 must have been a good year for SEO. That's when you and I both became involved in the field...ahem. What drove you to take the job at Blizzard?

A: I was bored, needed a new challenge and stumbled on the opportunity.

Q: What are your day to day responsibilities at Blizzard?

A: I specialize in Search Engine Optimization, not only optimizing client websites, but establishing best practices and processes and training others.

Q: You teach online courses, speak at conferences...where do you find the time to stay so involved?

A: I am so intrigued by SEO that I can’t help but do it.

Q: What did you do before becoming involved in SEO? Did you ever see yourself doing online marketing, or, like many others, did you simply kind of fall into it from something else?

Women of Internet Marketing: Stephanie Weingart

By Julie Joyce

Welcome to the latest installment in the Women of Internet Marketing Series! It's not even Wednesday but we're throwing caution to the wind...

This is my first interview for the series and I am incredibly honored to have spoken to the loveliest social media minx out there, my fellow SEO Chick and friend Stephanie Weingart. She's adorable, she does yoga, and she happens to be a fantastic writer (check out her blog, Frozen 2 Late) who is very clued into the latest in social media. What's not to love?

Stephanie and I first "met" online when she baited me, quite successfully, into doing an interview with her. I was a bit flabbergasted by her methods until I realized that, well, she'd achieved her goal...then I realized that this woman seriously knows what she's doing. It was nice to turn the tables on her for a bit.

Q: How did you become involved in the search industry?

A: There has always been something intriguing about this industry.  I have always been interested in social media and wanted to learn more about it when I started blogging in 2001. 

Q: How can you use social media to benefit smaller clients?

A: It is important to remember that social media is as valuable as real estate.  Big and small clients need to buy up land before somebody else comes and builds condos on their territory.   Social media is the best tool for smaller clients; it gives them a voice in a crowd they would never have reached before.

Q: Do you think it's more difficult to keep up with industry trends in social media than it was a year ago? Why or why not?

A: I don't find it difficult to keep up with industry trends in social media because it is my job to know everything that is possible in social media.  However, with so much going on and the day to day changes in social media, it would be rather hard to keep up with the trends if it was not your main agenda. It is important to try to stay on top of the social media game as best as possible though because you never know when the next Twitter is going to pop up.

Q: Tell us about a successful social media campaign that you've run…what made it work? What made it fun? How did it benefit the client?

A: At Morpheus we work with a lot of fun clients who allow us to really come up with and implement creative campaigns.  I'm very thankful for the opportunity because there are very little restrictions as far as what we can and cannot do.  The greatest campaigns I have been a part of thus far are a few blogger events, where we create opportunities for bloggers to interact with clients in special ways.  It benefits everyone because bloggers should be taken seriously (no matter how big or small) and when they get the respect they deserve, they are so grateful to the clients.

Q: How important is it to be "visible" in the industry these days?

A: Well for marketers, I think it is important to be visible but not to show off.  I see too many marketers really making fools of themselves. There is a really thin line between Social Media professional and over-exploited clown.  Clients, brands, and companies should be very visible in the industry, however they should also be active.  Just buying social media profiles and parking in spaces does not make a brand effective in social media. 

Q: How does link building fit into social media? Does PPC fit in at all with what you do? 

A: Link building and social media are best friends. Link building definitely prospers when blogger outreach is conducted.  Building the right relationships will also build the right links.  PPC is not a part of what I do, but it is all interconnected at some point.

Q: Have you used any "questionable" techniques in social media?

A: I chose to use a really holistic approach to social media tactics.  I actually maintain relationships that are built based on social media. I really dislike when I get random IM's and "random" social media type requests from people who don't really take the time to maintain a social relationship with me. I understand it is the nature of the business but I think that everyone would benefit from taking a more organic approach. The only downfall is that really putting in this type of work is time consuming but fun!

Q: What industry trend leaves you cold and why?

A: There is so much that leaves me cold.  As I said before, I am really sick of marketers who brag and exploit themselves.  I think that if you are a marketer and your work is good, you will be complimented.   Also, I am a little bit turned off by industry blogs lately.  It is getting really difficult to come up with fresh posts and it seems like people are getting really desperate and will post pictures of their babies with Danny Sullivan's head photoshopped on just for link bait.  A lot of value is being lost.

Q: What is the best part of your workday and why?

A: The best part of my workday is definitely being creative and brainstorming ideas for crazy and fun social media campaigns for my clients.  I also enjoy lunch.

Q: What advice would you give to young women trying to make a name for themselves in SEO right now?

A: My best advice for young women to try to make it is to work really hard and accomplish great things in SEO or social media first before you go out and talk a lot of nonsense.  Also, try to find other SEOs who inspire you and ask them for advice or to be their intern.  It is a constant learning process; the game never ends and we can all learn from each other.

 

..Now for the fun ones...

Write a poem about your favorite SEO Chick, who is obviously Julie Joyce. Ahem.

Before I really knew about SEO
I did my research, just so you know
I read a blog written by hot chicks
And subscribed to the feed to get my fix

But one chick stood out
She was more awesome than the rest
Her name, Jule Joyce, SEO Goddess

After learning and idolizing, I chose to reach out
Not knowing what I was doing, I gave her a shout
and blogged a funny post on my little blog

Julie was flustered, who was this little minx?!
I got her attention and she started to think
It was no time at all
She invited me in the group!

The chicks let me post and share my voice,
But I could not have done it without Julie Joyce!

Q: Which do you prefer, men in kilts or men in khakis?

A: I am not a fan of either! I like guys who have style that represents their personality.

Q: If you had to choose 5 female SEOs to do a pub crawl with, who would they be and why?

A: If I could only chose FIVE amazing SEO women to do a pub crawl with, they would be Lisa Ditlefsen, Jane Copland, Julie Joyce, Danielle Winfield, and Judith Lewis.  I would probably need more than 5 Female SEOs to party with!!!

Q: If you could take the job of any high-profile SEO, forcing him or her to work at Denny's, who would it be and why?

A: This might sound lame but I wouldn't trade my job for anyone else's.  I really enjoy all of my clients and my work and wouldn't want to ever have anyone else's work.

Q: Why does Lisa Ditlefsen always look so amazing in photos?

A: Lisa DItlesfsen emits an aura of happiness at all times.  I have never seen a bad picture of her.  When people are genuinely happy in their photos they will look great...and It doesn't hurt that she is also stunning.

Well there you have it, with only a TINY bit of arm-twisting on my part, really. Thanks to Stephanie for letting me interview her! (Like she really had a choice...)

Fun Photo Fridays: Jennifer Yuan of 1000 Times No Hangs Out at PodCamp Philly

By Li Evans

Yes, it's Saturday morning, seems my last two Fridays escaped me rather quickly!

None the less, I do have a photo this week.  Timely in the fact of our announcement about SearchCamp Philly working with PodCamp Philly to bring an affordable online marketing conference to Philly!  This week's picture is of Jennifer Yuan hanging out at PodCamp Philly last year.  Jennifer is one of the extraordinary people who help to organize PodCamp Philly, she also has her own podcast called "1,000 Times No".

If Jennifer's name sounds familiar, it should for the folks who read SMG on a regular basis.  I interviewed Jennifer for the Women of Internet Marketing series last year.

If you like this photo of Jennifer Yuan of 1000 Times No Hangs Out at PodCamp Philly, feel free to comment and favorite it on Flickr, Sphinn or Fetch this photo as that's how we'll be judging the photos at the end of the year! Check out the rest of the fun at PodCamp Philly, there's just over 40 photos in the set.

BlogHer '08: Elisa Camahort Page Interview, BlogHer CoFounder

By Li Evans

For the past view days I've been in San Francisco at BlogHer '08.  It's been a spectacular time, and it's really amazing to meet so many, intelligent, super charged up women bloggers.

Over the course of a few months I've gotten to know the founders of the BlogHer community.  These women are just spectacular.  Smart, savvy women who care about bringing knowledge and community together.  Never more apparent was that, than at the community keynote.

Elisa Camahort Page, one of the BlogHer Co-Founders, agreed to do an interview with me.  She speaks about one of the major highlights of the event being the Community Keynote, as well as the new BlogHer Reach Out Tour (this I'm really excited about!).

We'll be adding more videos throughout the week to the SMG YouTube channel, so subscribe to get the latest videos there, as well as checking back to SMG for the interviews as we post them.

Full Video Interview Transcript After the Jump....

Building Communities in Social Media

By Li Evans

Wendy Piersall started her blog as a hobby, the blog was an extension of her business, a tool to compliment it.  Within three months, Wendy’s eMom's at Home blog became its own full time job.  She had to rethink her strategy about the business.  Within 2 years Wendy had a thriving community on her hands, with thousands of readers and subscribers. How did this happen?

Conversation.

Communities thrive on it, we humans crave it.  Unless you are a hermit or a person on a religious quest that requires seclusion and not speaking, we seek out human interaction.  We want to hear other people’s thoughts, we long for interaction to know if our own thoughts are in line with common thinking or if we are out of line, or are we rebels (with or without a cause).

Communities are nothing new.  Communities bond upon a single or a few commonalities.  It was how this nation (the United States) was formed, a common bond of the wish to have freedom of religion.  Later on for immigrants coming through Ellis Island, the bond was the dream of a better life.  It is no different even with all of our gadgets, speed and technologies, we as humans still need to bond, and it is why we seek out communities online.

Wendy’s community grew and thrived because she fostered a great conversation.  She listened and she also conversed with her audience – she never spoke "at" them.  She constantly listened and she participated in the conversation, always keeping in mind “what would her audience get” from each conversation she would invoke with her blog posts.

Wendy was also wise enough to realize the conversation wasn’t just going on, on her blog.  There were other blogs out there having similar conversations that she felt helped or contributed to the conversation.  Wendy wisely not only sought them out and commented about on their blogs she included them in her own conversation as well.  By doing this,  she was eventually pulling in their audiences to participate in the conversation.

Now a little over 2 years later, realizing that what started out as her “hobby” has grown into this enormous community and her original thoughts for the blog my limit the potential for the conversations growth, Wendy reached out to her community.  Wendy asked and the community overwhelming responded and now eMoms at Home is opening to an even wider community by becoming SparkPlugging, focusing on the entrepreneurial community.  Wendy's own blog is getting renamed to Sparkplug CEO, as well.

When you recognize that a conversation is happening and you embrace it and foster it, a community can grow around that conversation.  Hard sells, preaching a message, and advertorials just don’t work, those methods do not foster and grow communities.   You really have to have a love, a passion for your conversation, you have to care about it, if it is going to even have any shot at succeeding in this new online social world. 

It’s why companies who really do care about what people think about their brands, or their products or services succeed in overwhelming ways in social media.  If you only care about selling a soda (think Sprite Sips on Facebook ), or getting people into your store (think Walmart Flogs) you likely won’t get very far since your conversation is only one way and isn’t really genuine.  However, if you are like Wendy, or BlendTec or even Lionel Menchaca from Dell, your community grows at astounding rates.

The key to building communities?  Conversation and realizing that as much as they involve speaking to someone, building communities involves a lot more listening and understanding.  So, stop and think – are you preaching or are you conversing?

I said yesterday that Mack Collier inspired me to love Blogging again.  Wendy also inspired me about communities and she made me excited about the potential of building a great community. To read about Wendy's presentation at SEG's Unleashed Conference for Small Business Marketing, check out David's take on Wendy's session.  Hop on over to SEG to get all the coverage of what happened at SEG's Unleashed Conference in Houston.

You can also find Wendy on Twitter, Mack on Twitter and even me on Twitter, too. Why not start a conversation with us?  :)

SES NYC - 3 Women Spotlighted at Search Engine Strategies

By Li Evans

As SES attendees, we've had the delight of having Marissa Meyer of Google keynote, but before that, I can't readily remember when a woman was really a spotlight at any sort of search conference.  My how things have changed!

Next week at SES New York City, not one, not two, but three women have been "spotlighted".  How's that for progress?  I think that says a lot for how this industry really respects women and is going beyond "gender lines".

The three women are Kendall Allen, Erica Schmidt and Lyndsay Menzies.  These three women are playing key roles in both the companies they work for and it's great to see them getting the spotlight shined in their direction.

So what do we know about these three great online marketers?

Kendall Allen is the Managing Director at Incognito Digital.  During the three years preceding her joining the team at Incognito Digital – Allen presided over regional Client Services operations for two Search Engine Marketing firms, first as founding executive team member at Fathom and then industry pioneer, iCrossing. It is during these years that Allen met the founding partners Gray and Hoydich of Incognito Digital, collaborating to serve the marketing needs of VOOM HDTV.

With critical periods of her career spent in the SF Bay Area and now on the East Coast in New York, Allen has consulted with, launched and staffed engagement teams against the digital marketing efforts of marketers including Ask Jeeves, SF Examiner, Chandon, Intel, Intuit, VOOM, American Express, Fairmont Hotels, McGraw-Hill and Colgate-Palmolive. Allen now has teamed with her partner, Elizabeth Bleser, to truly evolve the agency Incognito Digital and the brands it serves.

Erica Schmidt is Global Director of Search for Isobar.  Erica is primarily responsible for helping Isobar search agencies across the globe increase their revenues from search engine marketing, and she assists Isobar agencies in launching iProspect-branded search engine marketing practices. Schmidt also ensures that each agency is delivering their services according to the best practices developed at iProspect in the U.S. Prior to joining Isobar, Schmidt was client services director at iProspect, responsible for overseeing a number of client-facing search teams, and focused her attention on delivering superior strategies and proactive account management to iProspect’s clients.

A polished speaker, Schmidt has presented at various conferences around the globe, including Search Engine Strategies. She has also authored articles for industry publications, including Pharmaceutical Executive   Magazine and Direct Magazine.

Lyndsay Menzies is Managing Director of Big Mouth Media. At bigmouth since 1999, and with 100 bigmouths under her watchful eye, Lyndsay's remit can be summed up as 'Responsible for developing and keeping the happiest clients and teams in the industry', whilst growing bigmouthmedia UK into the clear leader in its field.

Lyndsay heads up the 3 UK offices, as well as the NY office. Bigmouthmedia has the highest client and staff retention in the industry, and is a 2007 FT 'Best Place to Work'. A real 'people person', Lyndsay is a pioneer in integration of search within marketing strategy, offering a no-bull, can-do attitude crucial for the success of her clients in a fast-changing medium.

I found her bio on the Big Mouth Media site really funny too (this company certainly has a sense of humor!):

Bigmouthmedia's much loved Managing Director. Complete workaholic. Once went to have her wisdom teeth taken out over lunch and went straight back to work. Finalist in "Scotland's Most Eligible", when asked what her unique fact was, Lyndsay disclosed that she once spent 12 hours in the back of a truck in Cambodia with a dead pig... like we said, she's been working very hard.

Wow, these are some really impressive resumes aren't they?  All three of these women are "take charge and get it done" and that attitude has propelled them to the top of not only their companies but this industry as well. 

I got curious as to why SES & Kevin Ryan selected to highlight not just one, but three women and asked him these questions:

Li:  Kevin, could you tell me why you have them featured?
Kevin Ryan:  They are incredibly talented people that possess thought leadership characteristics along with and “feet on the ground” knowledge.

Li:  What’s their role for this conference (SES NYC)? 
Kevin Ryan:  Women at SES take on a number of roles. From Orion panels to day one’s strategic thought leadership to our week-long tactical sessions. We have a number of nationalities represented and they represent multiple levels in the companies they represent.

Li:  Why were they chosen?
Kevin Ryan:  SES does not discriminate or select speakers on the basis of race, creed, gender, social media platform usage or socio-search engine alignment. Sincerely, the selection process was very simple; they were the most qualified candidates. 

Kudos to Kendall, Erica & Lyndsay, and thanks to Kevin Ryan for selecting to spotlight them at SES New York!

Women of Internet Marketing Series - So What's Going to Happen

By Li Evans

Before I jump into what's going to happen to the Women of Internet Marketing Series, I want to take a few moments and thank all of you who emailed, messaged and spoke to me directly.  All of your encouragement and support is very much appreciated by me.  I had been feeling very jaded, very skeptical and didn't want that to influence my decision to end the series if it had come to that.  All of you had wonderful words of encouragement, insight, support and true enlightenment for me, and for that I'll be forever thankful.

I feel at this point I need to set a few things out there to the audience so you can understand where the decision to have a survey came from.  I mentioned that I'm dealing with family issues and since some where along the line "some" were skeptical of this I'll explain. 

Specifically, my father has a tumor in his esophagus which is cancerous and needs to be removed.  For anyone who's dealt with a family member with cancer, it's a scary thing - a lot of wait and see, but also a lot of urgency.  When you deal with that, and then you get insults about a series you do - not for yourself, but to highlight other people and their accomplishments, and those insults and negative comments are mean spirited and really rather rude, it makes you want to take a step back and think.  It makes you wonder, "Is that the majority opinion?  If it is, why should I bother with all this on my plate?"

Women of Internet Marketing Series - Last Chance to Take the Survey

By Li Evans

Just an FYI, if you thought about taking the survey and haven't yet, you have until 9 p.m. EST to let your feelings known on the Women of Internet Marketing Series.  The survey is pretty simple - 3 yes/no questions and two "optional" type - if you want to add some information questions.

If you like the series, or if you don't like the series.  If you like the questions, or you want to see different questions asked.  If you think the series should remain weekly or go bi-weekly and if you have a women to suggest to be interviewed.  Now's the Time to Speak Up!

Tick... Tock. :)