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Web Analytics – Looking in the Mirror – Illusions and Maya

In a blog post by Michael Brewer of VitalOne Health, a researcher in the health insurance market, he mentions that ComScore claims that there is a large increase in online searches for Health Insurance. I’d like to pause for a minute on this topic and reflect on something that was brought to my attention recently, purely opinion of course, some would say backed by sound logic and experience with health insurance online market data. The industry is looking in a mirror, and creating numbers out of that vanity and constant concern about their online presence. Imagine the amount of people working in Health Insurance every day…sitting at their computers searching for theirs and their competitors websites. Constant queries flying across the internet to see what the next biggest player is doing in order to keep up with the technology. As technology improves, as web design becomes more creative and standardized, so does the need to keep up with the rest of the web. Companies are learning that to lag behind in online presence is detrimental to their business, but this creates this illusory effect of a growing industry. Its not that the American people are more interested in shopping for Health Insurance online, but American business is more interested in selling Health Insurance online. Mind you, the market is still great, and very very promising to health insurance companies, both established and new alike. Just don’t let these numbers fool you into delusions of grandeur. Non-specific analytics data from an ambiguous web where nothing can be truly tracked with any sort of concrete accuracy is the Maya of technology. The grand illusion that veils the truth and keeps us living in a world that is indeed not as it seems, no matter how hard we believe it to be so. If you must, take a percentage of that chunk of traffic and consider it the real value of all those searches. What’s the magic number (%)? It’s …  

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Technomancer Tools – Tenacity and Research

One of the most difficult things you must do to qualify as a true technomancer is to troubleshoot and debug issues outside of your own field and experience. Where does this ability come from? The tenacity to preservere and the ability to research via keywords. With SEO and technology, you cant quit. You must keep moving forward and destroying the obstacles that lay ahead to ensure your manifestations are complete. There are resources all around you, advice, snippets of code, forums, support and even instructional video. The point is that most of the time you can solve every issue yourself when someone gives you the responsibility for a task that has failed. Do not drop it yourself, fix it where no one has been able to fix it. It is not easy, it is stressful and full of personal responsibility, but it allows you to manipulate the world in a way no other can. Think in keywords. Your questions are not questions but statements full of nouns with extra fluff words ready to remove and be typed into a search engine. It amazes me how quickly and easily professionals run away from a problem and leave a bandaid that is easily and quickly removed when things start getting dirty Never settle, your projects are yours no matter who youve contracted and no matter who works for you. The bottom line is you, the technomancer. That one man army. People will be jealous, spiteful, blame you, take things the wrong way…but the technomancer has what it takes to make magic out of technology.  

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ABC’s of SEO

Articles, blogs and content. These are the essential components of SEO. Without these in the proper combination you will not rank in any search engine. The larger your site the better, organization is key, critical. You must have a plan for growth…it must be robust, and you must follow it day by day. Authority on the internet refers not so much qualiry, but non spam appearing quantity. Make your site make sense. Link it properly. Articles bring in backlinks, house them somewhere, syndicate them, give them away for free! Blogs are the bread and butter to new site content, besides static content itself. Use your blog to link to your internal pages with proper anchor text. Content is where you lay the foundation for a proper link strategem. This is where the secret is. The is where relevancy is of utmost importance. Do it right the first time, stick to standards and patterns.  

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ESO / SEO – A Cosmic Twist of Fate Toward a Career Niche

Updated: 5/11/2011 Now a fully operational Internet Marketing Firm, I look back on the words I said here last year and smile. I continue to move forward into the SEO world with confidence (not so much arrogance) and pride. This year has been amazing, Esotech has grown so much…the future is looking ever brighter as well. I have jumped deep into coding, Technical SEO, information architecture and site design and I have not led myself astray. Every day my coding arts get better, my tactics get stronger, and the results my clients see get better and better. I am doing something right, perhaps my arrogant methods from long ago are just finally starting to prove themselves instead of being just talk.  I sympathize with the companies I have dealt with before however, SEO and Web Design is not an easy business. One is always pushing every projects deadlines and hoping to have enough time to take on the next, or the funds to hire help to do so. This cosmic twist of fate I wrote about a year ago has only gotten stronger, it is amazing how far strong focus on your career and ideals can take you. Old: 1/14/2010 For the past few years I have been working exclusively on Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. Before that I ran a computer repair and web design company named Esotech Inc., short for Esotechnology. Esotech is a word combining the latin Eso, which means hidden and technology. This was a play on the word Esoteric which refers back to my previous training in Esotericism, Mysticism and Spiritual academic topics. The point being that there is mystery and hidden ways to manipulate and understand technology. In some cosmic twist of fate, I realize years later that ESO is an anagram of SEO, which is exactly what I have become to specialize. I say specialize with all the arrogance in the world, while aware of it. I will admit, I am not humble in my operations as I encounter day by day myself as a novice of old in those SEO professionals I held in such high regard. It looks like it’s about time I started talking to the community about SEO. I’d love to hear your ideas, converse with you, and overall learn from you if there is anything valuable to learn. Consider this a public forum where you can express yourself and discuss without worry. Hide your identity if you must.  

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SEO In House

In my experience, SEO in house is a must. There are a few critical things you need. PHP/mySQL, HTML/CSS, or equivalent Web Programmer. Someone able to code creative designs to look exactly as their pictures in both static and dynamic environments. Someone who knows open source CMS’s, dynamic data, databases and WC3 Compliance standards. Creative Designer. Someone whose sole job is to come up with creative pictures, and photographic/videographic content. This person works closely with the programmer. They must have an eye for the users perception of the website and be able to analyze the effects of his own designs based on testing methods. Content Writers. Content writers need to be proper professionals who are eager to do the work and maintain keyword integrity throughout all of their documents. they also should have experience in general marketing and preferably academic writing. The SEO Professional. The one who knows about everything, programming, creative design, content writing, marketing with the addition of SEO Best Practices and tactics. This is preferably you, the SEO Implementor reading this blog. You MUST delve into every field. You need to know how to work them, how to suggest answers to your team members questions. You bring everyones expertise together with your jack-of-all trades nature. With these 4 key components in house you are bound for success. Create the plan, test the landing pages, optimize the site and write the content. Get your site out there and known. This is not for the unskilled or weak minded. This is serious business. It is hard and tedious but the rewards can be tremendous. A 5th component that can help but is not required for pure SEO rankings and traffic, is the general marketing expert. The one who knows how to build your brand, pull a traditional lead, make a real-life news or business contact and play the role of affiliate manager. This is an important role for your businesses success but not key to SEO specifically.  

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