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Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:33:52 -0800

SEO Lessons Reinforced By A Toddler

This morning, my son Nicholas, who will turn three in May, was his usual rambunctious self and running around the house. He is a very high-energy little boy and sometimes he gets so focused on going fast, he forgets about his surroundings. This morning he was running full speed ahead and realized much too late that the French doors were coming up on him fast. He tried to stop, but it was too late. BAM! Face first into the French doors and the tears flowed. But, thankfully, Nic’s at that age where a Band Aid® can make almost any boo boo feel better.
After the Backyardigans Band Aid was applied and the pain had subsided, Nic was running around again, but this time he was a little more cautious, slowed down and was more aware of his surroundings. That got me thinking (scary, I know) - learning search engine optimization (SEO) is a lot like being a toddler. To often, people first getting started with SEO learn a couple of things (title tags, alt tags, h1 tags, etc.) that build their confidence and they take off running, full speed ahead without paying much attention to their surroundings and all of the other factors that go into SEO.
Let’s be honest, SEO is not something you can part time and do consistently well. Algorithms changes, strategies evolve, keywords and phrases must be continually monitored, link building never ends, tactics that work today may not work tomorrow and if you aren’t staying on top of things, you’ll have a tough time keeping up with the Joneses.
Today, my son learned the hard way that even though he knows how to run fast, he must slow down and be aware of all of his surroundings. Learning SEO requires a similar strategy. There is a lot of information on the Web about SEO, some good, some bad. Find trusted sources, learn, test your new knowledge, learn soe more, test again and network, network, network.

http://gjcope.stumbleupon.com/review/17519416/

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:32:42 -0800

Fighting the Lazyphere in the Butter Room

And here I was thinking Friday couldn’t get any better! I have been asked to join the blogging team over at The Butter Room! The Butter Room is built to spread original, compelling, and entertaining content from a team of thirty-something tech professionals. They are comprised of a Senior Systems Analyst, a Media Strategy Director, an Operations Director, a Chief Scientist, and a Small Business Owner and a former TV Sports Anchor-turned-Web and SEO professional (that’s me).

What is the Butter Room you ask? Well, read on my friends…

From the Butter Room:The Butter Room is an experiment in writing, teamwork, marketing, and technology. There is no mission statement, business plan, or road map. Our one goal is to produce entertaining and interesting content that is well researched and a tad opinionated. Therefore, we are committed to fight the Lazysphere as Steve Rubel puts it:

Somewhere circa 2006 the tech blogger mindset shifted - at least among the majority. People who used to work hard creating and spreading big ideas resorted to simply regurgitating the same old news over and over again, often with very little value add. It’s almost like we stopped the real work of reading, thinking and writing in favor of going all herd, all the time.

There you have it - the Butter Room in a nut shell. For my first feature article, I plan to interview an SEO colleague of mine who is, in my opinion, a rising star in the SEO world, especially on the in-house side. Check out my profile over at TBR and stay tuned Grasshoppers!

http://gjcope.stumbleupon.com/review/17397595/

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:41:32 -0800

Maroon and Black?

Thanks to Mr. Tony for the Column Writing 101 lesson on Monday.

Maroon and black? Seriously? Maroon and black?

New Washington Redskins' Head Coach Jim Zorn had a 5-1/2 hour flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., before his first press conference and in that time, he was unable or unwilling to do some research on the team that is paying him a ton of money.

If you have not heard, Coach Zorn announced that he was proud to be wearing the maroon and black of the Washington Redskins. Huh? Maroon and black? C'mon, coach. Are you serious? The Redskins aren't Roanoke College, they're the Burgandy and Gold and anyone who follows the NFL with any regularity knows this.

I am just dumfounded that Zorn, 54, who has been around this league for most of his life, did not know the colors of the Washington Redskins. Now, I can forgive the fact that he didn't know about the Burgandy and Gold before he was hired, but once the Redskins announced him as their new head coach, he should have read the complete history of the team either before, or during his flight to the East Coast.

Zorn should know why the Redskins and Cowboys hate each other so much. (Cowboys' founder bought the rights to "Hail to the Chief" and used it as leverage to convince then Redskins owner to vote the Cowboys into the NFL as an expansion team - click here for more details.) He should know the names of the famed Hogs by heart. He should be able to tell all Redskins fans which years the team won their Super Bowl titles. And at the very least, he should know the colors of the team he is coaching.

Inexcusable, coach. Inexusable. Your tenure is off to a rough start, but all will be forgive if you win some games. Now get to it.

Maroon and black? Geez.

http://gjcope.stumbleupon.com/review/17397574/

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:40:52 -0800

Dan Snyder Caved to Redskins' Fan Outcry? Ha!

There is speculation the Washington Redskins' owner Daniel Snyder, a.k.a. "Danny Boy," did not go through with the hiring of Jim Fassel because Redskins fans were expressing their displeasure at the possible move. Huh?

It's funny to think that Danny Boy may have somehow caved to the fans' reaction to possibly hiring Fassel. Since when does Danny Boy give a crap about what the fans think? He sells season tickets behind pillars, he charges your first born for tickets and parking, tried to prevent fans from walking to the stadium in an effort to make and extra buck, and charges $8 for a beer. The fans have always railed against him and he continually gives them the finger. So, I have a hard time believing that fan outcry was the reason he didn't hire Fassel.

In fact, I think he hired Zorn to give the fans the double finger as if to say, "You don't want Fassel? Oh, OK ... how about ... THIS! Ha ha! I hired Jim Zorn - what do you think about that? Never heard of him? Me either! That's why I hired him, just to piss you off!"

I'm quite convinced that's how it played out, but don't quote me on it.

http://gjcope.stumbleupon.com/review/17354452/

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:03:28 -0800

ESPN released it's "way-too-early" preseason college football top 25 poll today and the Hokies are ranked No. 11. OK ... first, it is entirely too early to have a preseason college football poll of any kind, but I give ESPN's Mark Schlabach credit for admitting as much. That being said, it is the off-season and college football junkies are already going through withdrawals. So, releasing a preseason poll gives us something to talk about and debate.

I was listening to Greg Roberts Live on WFIR this afternoon and he was incredulous that Virginia Tech was ranked so high. He also said that he thought the Hokies would have to scratch and claw their way to get seven or eight wins next season. I like Greg and I respect his opinion, but I think he's missed the mark here.

I boldly - some would argue foolishly - predicted the Hokies to go undefeated next season in my Feb. 9 blog post and part of me really believes that they can. But, I am also a realist and understand just how difficult that would be, especially with road games against Boston College, Florida State, Miami and Nebraska. I'm not backing off my prediction, but if the Hokies drop two or three games, I will not be surprised. But to struggle to win seven or eight game? I think that's a bit of a stretch.

Roberts, who is a Virginia Tech grad and former punter for the Hokies, pointed to the huge personnel losses on both sides of the ball as his main arguments for his prediction. Yes, Tech loses three defensive linemen, one all-conference corner and two all-conference linebackers. But this is not the first time Tech assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Bud Foster has had to reload his squad. Remember, Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi saw considerable playing since their freshman years because Foster lost his linebackers from the previous season. Hall started 12 of 13 games as a redshirt freshman and Adibi played in seven games, but missed six because of a torn tendon in his right biceps muscle. Those guys had immediate impacts and the players waiting in the wings have the same potential. Sure, they may not been as good as Hall and Adibi, but Hall and Adibi weren't just good, they were great. The guys replacing them are very good and have the potential to be great.

As for the offense, I addressed the loss of personnel in an earlier post, but again, all four of the receivers came in at the same time because Tech lost guys to the NFL or graduation. We have two 4-star and two 3-star WRs coming in, plus two better-than-average TEs in Sam Wheeler and Greg Boone, so as far as the passing game goes, I'm sure it'll take some time to gel, but I think it'll be just fine by the middle of next season. Hmmm, let me rephrase; it'll be as fine as it can be under Bryan Stinespring.

The offensive line is another year older and they are monstrously big, and scary strong. I think this will be a much-improved group. The running backs should be one of our most reliable and cert