As humans we all need
certain things if we wish to survive. We NEED food and water. We are driven to
seek heat when we are cold and shelter when the elements threaten our well
being. And as far as I’m concerned, a little whoopee from time to time ranks right
up there with the shelter stuff at least. All right all right, so maybe I’m not
being completely open here regarding the whoopee. I should of said a LOT of whoopee from time to time. OK ? Life is good.
What we don’t need is to waste our precious time
being led down one more primrose path. We don’t NEED to invest another minute
into any more regurgitated drivel that exists for no other purpose than to bait
one more link. And we don’t NEED to watch another attention starved glory hound
Fonzi-izing his hair in the cyber mirror of self adoration. Blogging just to
hear himself type. I’m not referring to you or me of course, I’m talking about
those “other” guys. We both know who they are.
Outside of the basics, needs are subjective. We all
make comments like, “I NEED some new shoes”, or “I NEED to check out Sphinn (http://www.sphinn.com) today,” but those are
much closer to desires than needs. You don’t actually need shoes to survive but
you do need them IF your objective is to walk faster or be more comfortable or
to impress someone with your unique sense of fashion and style. <- mental of
Rand Fishkin’s yellow loafers pops into head http://www.aimclearblog.com/2007/04/12/rand-fishkins-yellow-shoes
You don’t NEED to check out Sphinn today unless you
have an interest in the SEO industry and realize that it is probably the one
place to get the most news with the least effort.
If you make your living, (or would like to), from
some type of online marketing, but that making a living thing greatly reduces
your spendable minutes available for endeavors that don’t produce direct
revenue, then you NEED to be selective in where you go and who you listen to,
when it comes to increasing your chances of making more revenue. Makes sense
huh?
If you’re an old hat at this online marketing thing
then you already have a list of those you pay attention to and those you ignore
because experience has taught you where to find the value. If that’s the case
you may be questioning your own judgment even as you read this now.
But if you are struggling with your online venture
and you’re here because you’re trusting the Guru to help you see the light,
then today you hit the jackpot. I can’t do your digging for you but I’ve been
doing this long enough, I can certainly point you to where the gold is.
If you enjoy just hangin out at seo forums, or if
reading seo and marketing blogs is just a way to eat the clock until quitting
time, then you don’t NEED to listen to people like Dan Theis, http://www.seoresearchlabs.com, John
Andrews, http://www.johnon.com/, or Ed
Purkiss, http://www.me3inc.com/.
But, if you have a desire to master your craft and
actually become better tomorrow than you are today, then you very much NEED to
be reading, listening to and learning from these three very smart men.
I’m by no means implying these are the only three
people who are worth listening to. Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are a LOT
of very smart SERP(search engine result pages), jockeys who are in the trenches
everyday and who could teach you a lot. Even for those who deserve little note
based on merit, even they could say something that could have real value. I
mean really, it could happen. Even a blind hog finds the occasional
acorn.
AND, I fully intend to continue recommending the
people I think you can count on for quality information, but I mention these
three today because in this last week each of them have done or said something
to remind me of how impressed I am with them each time I do read their stuff.
This past week I read a post by Dan debunking keyword
density http://www.seofaststart.com/blog/lies-about-seo-statistics.
As I read, I was grinning from ear to ear and I
realized that Dan has built a name for himself in the industry by focusing on
an important niche. I say focusing on because he does a lot of things in the
SEM arena but he has become an expert at keyword research by actually doing the
work. He deserves the reputation he has because he is deeply involved with the
topic on a daily basis and has proven himself time and time again. He knows
this stuff like I know better than to stick my wet tongue on a frozen ice tray
--- again.
If you are going to put anyone on your list of NEED
to listen to, he belongs right there at the top.
Then there is a guy who started blowing me away with
his posts two years ago at the now defunct, (sadly), Threadwatch.org. From my
first read of his, I was instantly impressed with not only his intellect
and command of the written word, but more so by his unique perspective and
insight into the world of search engine marketing. Very smart guy.
This past week he raised the bar on what I consider
really great posts with this commentary on Google.
http://www.johnon.com/391/seo-whiners.html
Understanding the Google
As I read it, it knocked me out how someone this
smart could see something so obvious and yet so overlooked by an entire
industry and still be willing to share his observations with anyone who would
take the time to listen. In my opinion, this is the single most helpful post of
2007, (so far). If you do not read it, think about it, understand it and apply
it, it is your loss and I’ve done all I can to help you.
Then there is Ed Purkiss. http://www.me3inc.com
I’m going to do a top 10 reasons why I’m not a
blackhat soon and one of those reasons is that I’m not technically competent
enough. I have never had any desire, ( or aptitude), to learn any type of
coding. I’m a salesman and I’m comfortable in that skin. I’ve worked hard at
learning to apply my skills to the web but only to the extent of enabling
myself to hit my numbers, which luckily, was without me having to actually
learn much of anything tech related.
However, I’ve always had respect for those who were
into that stuff and I also can see that maybe it won’t be the meek but rather
the geeks that shall inherit the earth.
Ed reigns supreme over any one else of any technical
skill level that I have ever read, spoken to or even heard about. AND he
constantly blows me away with how much of his exceptional knowledge and insight
he is willing to share with anyone who will ask.
Whether you are a budding script kiddie or a
senior developer wanting to learn to use your skills to make more money online,
you do NOT want to miss the opportunity to interact and learn form this guy. http://www.perkiset.org/forum/
I have no deal with any of these people. I have not
made any prior arrangements with them and they don’t have any idea I’m even mentioning
them. I don’t even have any ulterior motives other than to point out how smart
these men are because it makes me look smarter just by mentioning them and as
always, I’m trying to use this medium to teach you how to do more with less
effort without shoving anything down your throat or talking down to you.
So, if you are satisfied with your present income and
satisfied with your online marketing skills, then you don’t NEED to listen to
people like Dan Thies, John Andrews or Ed Purkiss.
But, if your time is precious and you are wanting to
earn more with less effort, wanting to service your clients better and wanting
to learn from real experts, then you NEED to pay close attention to these
people and seek out people like them that can teach you, guide you and inspire
you with no more effort on your part than sitting in a comfortable chair and
paying attention.
These men definitely understand the concept of the
internet Golden Rule. The more you give, the more you get. They give a LOT.
If you have someone you would like to see mentioned
as worthy of the time, feel free to list them in the comments as long as it’s
not yourself.
Peace
The SEO Guru