Rand is the founder and CEO of SEOmoz, a search marketing consulting firm based in Seattle, WA. Rand’s best known for his work on the SEOmoz.org website, a resource that serves tens of thousands each month in the field of SEO/M. Like all good businessmen, Rand dropped out of the Univ. of Washington’s business school to pursue his dream of running a small company and has never looked back
1) Please give us an overview of your Searchfest Presentation.
Originally I was thinking of covering linkbait, but I believe that a better presentation will actually be a roundup-type piece. I believe I’ll call the presentation “Six Delicious Morsels from the World of Search Marketing.” It will cover each of the following in brief detail:
How Personalization Will Impact Search Marketers
Why Wikipedia is So Successful in the SERPs
The Anti-SEO Mindset Online
The Power of the Widget
The Biggest Mistake in Linkbaiting
Freemium – The Best Revenue Model in “Web 2.0”
2) If you are “linkbaiting” for a client, how much client participation is typically necessary to facilitate optimal results? Are you able to achieve excellent results for minimally involved clients?
We are able to achieve very good results, even when (and in many cases especially when) the client is less involved. It would be unfair to say that linkbait is easier without a client, but it’s certainly made more difficult by clients who have high editorial controls or other barriers. A great client for viral marketing, on the other, can make the process incredibly enjoyable and far more successful, by providing data, adding to conceptual ideas and supporting the effort with in-house teams and high-levels of integration with existing marketing materials.
3) Does one need an extensive online network in place in order to successfully linkbait?
No, not necessarily. However, when you’re paying for linkbait services, you should absolutely seek someone with an exceptional online network – this is a major part of the value proposition that viral marketers offer to their clients.
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.