Interviewed on SEO Study.ru

Russian search engine marketing expert Alexey Iakovlev asked if he could interview me this week for his SEM education site SEO-Study.ru.

During the interview, we discuss the early days of Search Engine College, the state of the SEO/SEM market in Australia and the amount of time required to keep up with the search industry.

Alexey has posted an English version of the interview for me to share with you.


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Podcast Interview

I did my first podcast interview yesterday. I was invited by Mike Taylor of Jobs in Search to talk about Search Engine College and what role industry certification plays in getting a job in search.

I was pretty pleased by how well it turned out and how enjoyable it was. I'm hoping to introduce podcasts on this blog soon and it was a good practice run for that. So if you want to learn more about how I got started in search, or where the idea for Search Engine College came from, or if you just fancy hearing a guy with a strong British accent interviewing a girl with a strong Aussie drawl, check out the podcast.

Thanks again to Mike for the invitation. Perhaps I can return the favor when I get around to setting up podcasting on this blog.

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Interview with Jessica Bowman of Business.com

Jeff Behrendt of Aviva Directory wanted me to share with you his interview with Jessica Bowman of Business.com this week. I agreed to blog it because not only is it a great interview, but Jessica provides a discount coupon giving readers a 20 percent discount on paid directory submissions to Business.com. Thanks for the heads-up Jeff!

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Ignore the Box

There's a new secret to gaining traffic on the web. Rather than thinking outside the box, staff at the popular Craigslist site have a different motto:

"Ignore the box completely"

An interview with Craigslist's CEO Jim Buckmaster reveals the company are too busy focusing on usability to worry about what anyone else is doing. They don't even want to make money. Heck, they try NOT to make money.

Their unusual approach is working. The site publishes nearly 15 million classified ads every month from users who clearly enjoy contributing to a site without ads.

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LookSmart shareholder can't take a joke

Seems I annoyed a LookSmart shareholder with my little joke in the Pandia interview today. Check out this email I received shortly after it was published:

I look forward to the day so called pundits in the SEO/SEM crowd stop bashing LookSmart at every opportunity. I suppose it's trendy or posh to take a stab at a company with a poor past but people who do, like you did should reconsider the snickers and backhanded commentary as you did in the Pandia interview.

It's old school, childish and rude to "pile on" a company who has over 100 employees and numerous shareholders who maintain a faith they company will not only survive but thrive in the growing sector they share with the big guns. Have you stopped to take a look at LookSmart lately? I doubt it because if you had you would know it is no the same company that it was the day Microsoft dumped them.

Finally, I did respect your knowledge and reputation more before I read you slight than I do now. You have lost the desire to be objective and still play to the SEO "old school" crowd and that shows sadly little desire on your part to evolve.

Regards,
M, Looksmart Shareholder

My response? I probably should've ignored it but I couldn't resist:

Hello M

Thank you for your email. It might interest you to know that I have looked at LookSmart lately, as they are considered one of the more popular Pay Per Click services behind the big three and as such, I thoroughly reviewed their offering in our latest Pay Per Click training course offered to Search Engine College students. My inclusion of them in the course material was unbiased and factual and I provide a summary of the service offered, despite my own disinterest in using it.

My personal opinion of LookSmart does not stem from a desire to appeal to the SEO "old school" crowd. It is based on my poor experience with them since I signed up as one of their original customers back in 2000 and paid their "one time fee" only to be forced to rollover to a different service than what I paid for. I used to be angry at LookSmart, very angry. Then I became frustrated and took my frustrations to their Australian CEO via a published interview with him. Now I can at least joke about it. I might have the memory of an elephant, but I have the right to my opinion and I certainly have the right to express it in a personal interview.

I don't need someone whose own bias about a company is financially motivated telling me that my personal bias is childish and rude.

Kalena

Funny how some people can't take a joke.

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Interview on Pandia

I was interviewed by the delightful Per Koch of Pandia this week about, amongst other things, Google's Universal Search and how it will impact the future of this crazy industry. We even discover a mutual adoration of Kate Bush. Check out the interview here.

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SEC Interview at Cre8pc

The unstoppable Kim Krause-Berg has published an interview she recently did with Jerry and I about life since the launch of Search Engine College and the many phases of growth we are undergoing.

Thanks Kim!