The Power of SEO – I’m now a believer
Go to Google right now and type in the word “Publicity” without the quotes. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Notice the second item that comes up in search? NOT in the Google ads, but in actual organic search?
Here’s a photo, in case you didn’t.
Yes, that’s HARO right there as number two, right behind Wikipedia, and in FRONT of a domain with the word “Publicity” in it.
Thank you Evan, at First Page Sage.
I was never a real believer in SEO, thought it was too much math, and figured it better to get people to link to us, which would help grow our ranking in Google. I still DO believe that – no doubt. But I also have been converted. Search Engine Optimization WORKS, and if you’re not including it in your marketing plan, you’re not truly marketing.
Then Evan, a HARO member, and founder of First Page Sage, emailed me – “Hey, can I do some SEO for you? If I can do it right, mention it, ok? I met him for coffee – He’s like – eleven years old, I think. But he’s brilliant. And he’s already started and sold a bunch of companies.
He’s a younger me. So I gave him a chance. And he proved it. Man, did he prove it.
I don’t know all the details as to why it works – but I do know that Google is essentially nothing more than one giant algorithm, waiting to see what sites are playing the game the right way. At the end of the day, I’m talking about “Good” SEO – not “Evil” SEO. Google is smart. Doing “stupid” SEO will be pointless – but doing “smart” SEO, “Good” SEO, where you’re using industry approved techniques to help grow your company, should be part of any marketing plan.
We’re number two on a WORD. A WORD! That’s insane.
Give Evan a shout at First Page Sage. I RARELY give recommendations in my blog. This kid deserves one.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Great example! So, where were you in the rankings before Evan worked his magic?
-Rachel (@BostonMarketer)
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Totally using this for a blog post, but I agree with you Peter.
SEO gets a bad rap, often considered a necessary evil but it’s not good or bad, it just IS. (Now evil SEO scams, bogus spam links, etc. are crap but I digress.) Search is growing, will only continue to grow, and the right, smart SEO is a MUST for marketing and business. FWIW.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:32 pm
I agree..
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:17 am
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February 3rd, 2010 at 8:00 am
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February 3rd, 2010 at 1:53 pm
[...] The Power of SEO – I’m now a believer | The Home of Peter Shankman – Shankman.com“I was never a real believer in SEO, thought it was too much math, and figured it better to get people to link to us, which would help grow our ranking in Google. I still DO believe that – no doubt. But I also have been converted. Search Engine Optimization WORKS, and if you’re not including it in your marketing plan, you’re not truly marketing.” [...]
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:01 pm
THANK YOU!! I am so tired of hearing how SEO is a scam. SEOs who are white hat and work on a strategy with a client are hugely beneficial. I saw the note in HARO when First Page Sage offered to do it for you. I am glad you did it and I am VERY glad you are letting people know it works!
February 4th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Keep in mind that Google customizes results for every user, based on a bunch of factors:
- What you’ve searched for in the past
- Sites you’ve visited with Google plug-ins (AdSense, Search, etc.)
- What browser you’re using
- Tracked links
- Google desktop applications you have installed (Toolbar, Sidebar, etc.)
Your results will be different from mine and everyone else’s. HARO is #2 for you, and it’s #14 for me.
February 4th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
it showed up #2 for me too! and #3 was the dictionary definition for publicity.
Way to go!
February 4th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
I agree with Jeremy (#1) However how Haro got this position? I did not see any keywords in page’s meta, description doesn’t contain word “publicity” so I’m assuming is due to many inbound links (about 769) that helped this site out. And true: that’s important part of any organic SEO
February 4th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Congratulations, Peter on making the first page of Google results for the term publicity!
HARO is a great resource, so I’m glad to see this happen.
February 5th, 2010 at 6:26 am
It;s #2 for me.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
It’s #2 for me and #2 on Google universal search too. Try logging out of your g-mail account and making sure no customizations are on.
February 6th, 2010 at 4:08 am
It came up #2 for me. Well done. This is from the formerly #1 result for Josh Morgan until another one of me was drafted by the 49ers. Need to up my SEO game to stay on that front page.
February 11th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Hi
Great information in this post and Google is essentially nothing more than one giant algorithm, waiting to see what sites are playing the game the right way.
April 19th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Thx for the sharing. I’ll try your advice about seo. I’ll come back to read more!
August 4th, 2010 at 12:19 am
It’s August, and HARO is back down to number 15 for [publicity]. You can’t go napping with SEO.
http://WWW.pedestrians.org had been stuck at number 3 for over a year, but I finally did some badly needed updates with 50 new pages with embedded video and it moved up to number 2 for [pedestrian]. A while back I had been at number 1 for years, but wikipedia seems to have developed a knack for grabbing that top spot.