Is this a good idea – The SEO Blog for Shaun Parker

I wondered if this would be a good thing to do, I always wanted to be blogging and not with the usual industry orientation that most other SEO people have themed their blogs on. With other learned people such as Dave Naylor they have a following who look to them for tips advice and industry info etc.

As I said at the start I didn’t want to take that line, its quite possible that nobody other than me follows my blog but I am OK with that, I spend much time advising in SEO forums and so that is where I am happy to ply my main industry knowledge. This was always going to be a more personal affair but still linked into my career path through subjects that perhaps are quirky or maybe when I get a bee in my bonnet.

The downside is that my position at H.P. demands huge amounts of time and blogging is not that easy on an everyday basis, I am a dedicated family man too and so evenings are not easy either. This week I hoped to blog on Monday but was in london all day for a meeting with Mediacom and then Tuesday I was in Brussels at Sony’s main European office, leaving at 5am and arriving home at 9pm and feeling lazy.

Friday I was in hospital for follow up tests which sadly didn’t bode well and today I am finally working in the office in my managenment capacity but also sorting out arrangements for my forthcoming wedding. Who said blogging was easy?? The weekend was spent with my children including four boys all ratting around my paddock in brightlingsea on Motocross bikes which means lots of bike maintenance, feeding of starving teenagers and transportation of machines etc so not much blogging time there either.

Finally today I am in here and researching a pitch for a large potential client and troubleshooting their website which is what I love doing the most. I love to get a complete handle on the state of the website or website portfolio on any major pitch, that gives me a complete insight into their current state, previous SEO activity and then also the extent of the problems that will be presented should we win.

I then carry out a very indepth analysis of the market place and the competitors, this means that the potential client is unable to ask me a question that cannot be factually answered. I am pretty forthright in my dialogue when in the pitch and do not believe in the ‘tell them what they want to hear’ ethos, I believe that any potential client should know exactly what they are up against and how good or bad their website is.

In the last six months there is only 1 pitch for a major client account that we did not win so the above analysis then also lets me keep track of progress in a non winning pitch situation. I am following the one we missed in earnest as there are some massive and fundamental problems that prevent any real progress in search for this corporate and all the meta data and heading tags and linking will not fix it.

So far 6 weeks on I can see no real changes and the straight talking part of me watches a complete lack of progress in search and in site improvement with an almost uncontainable fervour that make me want to name and shame both the company who won the pitch and the people responsible for appointing them.

Anyway I will follow this in earnest and see if I can continue to stifle my compulsion to whistleblow!!!

Finally for today I see my pet project is still stuck at the foot of page 1 after its rapid rise from page 10 for the most competitive generic term- children’s toys, that said we have initiated the first steps in usability and will now learn what people are doing as they visit, the product feed is now also optimised and there are other improvements ongoing such as content etc that will make a difference soon. When we get a bit further on the Early Learning Centre will have to look over its shoulder………..