On most Wednesdays, I take a quick look at what the blogosphere has had to offer in the preceding week. This speedlink usually offers some pretty varied content and I think it’s a good way to give back to the online community that has already given me so much.
This week, I’m trying something a little different. Instead of linking out to a number of different blog posts that I’ve been reading, I instead asked my Twitter followers and Facebook friends to ask me a question. About anything. And I promised to answer it. Here are the queries posed to me and my responses. Enjoy!
Joey Fong asks, “How are you changing SEO for Google Instant now?”
I still think it’s important to target your preferred keywords and keyword phrases. I still think it’s important to seek the “long tail” keywords too, as well as get as many legitimate backlinks as you can using the anchor text that you desire.
The one difference that you may want to consider with Google Instant, though, is an increased focus on the first few words in a target keyword phrase. This way, you can show up earlier in the search query as the user types in his or her search keyword phrase.
For instance, you may have more “how to” or “how do I” bits in your site content than you may have had otherwise.
Derek Semmler asks, “When starting out, how do you balance jumping at any client no matter the pay with holding out for what you feel you’re worth?”
That’s a tough one. In the beginning, you are going to feel more desperate for work than what you are better established in what you do. Speaking for myself, I did find that I was more inclined to take on lower-paying opportunities when I first started than the kinds of projects that I consider today
If you feel that you are being grossly undervalued by some of your early offers and you don’t feel that the project will grant you any major extra benefits, like huge exposure or networking opportunities, it’s probably in your best interest to turn it down. It’s hard, but saying no is also very powerful.
Interestingly enough, I still write for my first ever (paid) freelance writing client. The pay scale, at the time, was on the low end, but I saw an opportunity for long-term potential. That has definitely paid off and has helped to establish my career for sure.
Bob Buskirk asks, “Here is my question. How do you think the Canucks are gonna do this year?”
There’s two parts to this question. One half of me is speaking as a Canucks fan and the other half of me is speaking as a logical realist.
On the one hand, I think Mike Gillis has made some really good moves, bringing in guys like Dan Hamhuis. It’s also good that Kesler is coming into his own and Luongo can take some pressure off his shoulders by relinquishing the C. Major rivals, like the Blackhawks, have lost some key players too. That’s a good thing for the Canucks and I have high hopes.
On the other hand, I’ve seen far too many seasons where we have high hopes for the Vancouver Canucks, only to see them fall apart in the playoffs. If you see ten white geese in a row, what are the chances that the next one is black? We’ll find out.
What do you think of this different format for What’s Up Wednesdays? Do you like the Q&A style as above or do you prefer the speedlink sessions that I normally do? Maybe I’ll mix it up and swap between the every so often. Sound good?
First of all I really liked your answer to the Google Instant, but I think people shouldn’t worry as much about it just yet… I mean it’s brand new.. and there’s still the uncertainty if Google will keep it or not.. If anything I just say just keep doing the best you can, and in the end no matter if Google leaves their Instant program up or not by default, you will be in a good position!
Till then,
Jean
Michael,
Thank you for including my question. As I am just getting a WordPress / Thesis consulting business off the ground this has been a situation that has come up a few times already.
So far I think I’ve been doing a decent job of finding that balance between the long-term potential and the near-term payment. Appreciate your input as I know you’ve been there and done that with your freelancing.
Thanks,
Derek