Zeph Snapp was going to speak at SearchFest, but had to drop out. Still, he gave us a good interview, so we decided to publish it. For more information or to purchase tickets, please click here.
1) Please give us your background and tell us what you do for a living.
First off, this is my third straight year speaking at SearchFest, and my fourth attending, and it is always one of my favorite places in the country to go. The weather reminds me of my home in Mexico, and the food in this town is amazing. If I was ever to move back to the US, Portland would be at the top of my list (if I can still afford it then!).
I’m so thankful for the opportunity to come back to this conference again, and am really excited about my presentation, as the topic is super interesting, and way out of my comfort zone!
My background? I’m a bilingual, bi-cultural entrepreneur who is attempting to run two businesses at the same time. The first is a digital agency called Altura Interactive, that works with US companies (usually in the SaaS or virtual products space) reach Spanish speakers in the US and LATAM. The second is a startup project called Altura Auto, aimed help US Auto Dealers translate their websites (including their inventory) into Spanish in real time.
In my “spare” time I like to watch the Spurs play basketball, especially this new guy we have named LaMarcus Aldridge, who is just a great post player, defender, and overall a joy to watch (too soon?).
2) I’ve read stats about the large amount of mobile time spent within the app environment. Should non-app businesses be worried?
This is such an interesting question. Before I answer it directly, I absolutely think that digital agencies should be concerned. Creating content for the SERP’s, optimizing for search engines and the like have been our bread and butter for years. There are companies that I know of who are specializing in optimizing for the App store, and in app advertising, but some of us will not adapt, and that will eventually be very, very bad for business.
As far as non-app businesses, It has become all the rage for every business to want to build an app. But the think is, regular folks generally only use five apps! So if you aren’t in someone’s top five, you are barely relevant at all. Now, if you are in a vertical where people will use your type of service sporadically, like a landscaping company or a plumber, you don’t need an app, but you do need to be controlling your image on the apps that people are most likely to use, like Yelp or Google Maps.
On the other hand, if you work in a vertical where people are more likely to use your app if you reduce friction (like a pizza chain), then an app can absolutely be an excellent strategic decision.
3) I have B to B clients where mobile is great for getting the lead but terrible for closing the sale because people don’t think to make a business purchase on a mobile phone. Do you think this will ever change?
Yes, because eventually mobile will be the majority of the web. It is just like the beginnings of eCommerce, where we were afraid to buy online. The more we become comfortable with buying things on our phones, the closer we will get to that moment.
Todd Mintz knows PPC…knows Social Media…knows SEO…knows Blogging…knows Domaining…and knows them all real well. He runs growth marketing for )and is also a Director & Founding Member of SEMpdx: Portland, Oregon’s Search Engine Marketing Association, and he can be found here on Twitter and Facebook.