Practical Digital Marketing Advice (and Occasional Rants) from the Experts
Let this be a cautionary tale. A tale about what happens when you don't follow your own advice.
In the past six months, I have lost over 40% of my traffic. It was remarkably easy; much easier than increasing my traffic by 40%. I really didn't have to do much. In fact, I did nothing at all.
David Veldt"It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission." - Grace Hopper
These words have given innovators, entrepreneurs and visionaries across the world the justification (not that they needed it) to take bold risks and test new waters with relative uncertainty. Originating from a legendary programmer, few industries lean on this mantra more heavily than tech. For the most part, it is this mindset that has enabled the world of web technology to evolve at a blistering pace.
David VeldtDisclaimer: The following method is one I use on occasion to reach out to industry thought leaders and the like for non-spamming purposes only. Use this information as you will, but please, use it wisely and respectfully.
Whether you're a job candidate that wants to open a direct line with human resources, a link builder that wants to get in with the marketing or IT departments, or you simply misplaced the email address of someone you just met, chances are you've wished for a little black book full of all the most elusive email addresses.
The good news is that you can easily find these email addresses relatively easily and quickly.
David VeldtI was always taught to play it cool when something great happened. When wide receivers dance in the end zone, I still scowl "C'mon, act like you've done it before!" at the TV like an old, grumpy man. However, last Thursday, I had a post on LinkedIn privacy absolutely blow up and dammit, I'm excited.
David VeldtOne of the biggest challenges in SEO is measuring success in a way that both the client and the marketer agree on. As recently as five years ago, this wasn't a challenge at all. Back then, we had these wonderfully reliable, ironclad numbers called rankings. The marketer would do their keyword research and the client would sign off on X number of keywords.
David VeldtLast fall, I had the pleasure of speaking at an industry conference full of passionate, like-minded people. I can honestly say it was a wonderful experience.
Before I gave my presentation, no one at the event knew who I was. Between sessions, I was approached by a very young, highly energetic man. When he asked what my particular interest in the conference was, I informed him that I would be speaking on SEO shortly. Upon hearing this news, he immediately became 10x more interested in me.
David VeldtIn the world of digital marketing, there is no shortage of facepalming moments. Among these is explaining why we don't use the keywords meta tag, or finding out someone made a boo boo in the robots.txt file and kinda...sorta...you know...deindexed the entire site.
However, towards the top of this list is when I'm days, weeks or even months into a project with a client and I stumble across a separate site that seems to be affiliated with them. I dig a little deeper. There's another one. And another. OH GOD WHERE DOES IT END!?
David VeldtWell, it's that time of year; when I get to kindly remind person after person that I don't really care for basketball. Surprisingly, I still have to follow that statement up with "Yes, that also means I don't want to participate in your bracket pool." Besides, it's Spring Training, and it should be of no surprise that baseball is a much higher priority to me.
David Veldt
Why Can't Anyone Figure Out A Great Comment Platform?
There's no doubt that one of the greatest challenges of internet technology has been emulating the experience of in-person interactions. Whether it is meeting, dating, playing games, socializing or simply conversing; there are countless "naturally human" cues that control and direct these interactions.