Benjamin Beck

Features V.S. Uses – Which To Focus On When Selling Your Product?

beckjamin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:49:02 +0000

I’ve been reading a great book called “Call To Action” that SEER Interactive encourages all its clients to read, so i made sure to pick one up and start reading it.

One of the biggest “aha” moments I’ve had so far while reading this book is when they discuss how a company should emphasize a products “Uses” and instead of trying to explain all of it’s “Features”. This is such a small distinction but as I started thinking about some of my favorite presentations I realized that this is exactly what they did. They focused on a few features and then emphasize on all the different uses of those features, and the big impact that those will have in the person’s life.

Steve Job’s Example Of Focusing on Uses

One Feature Unlimited Hilarious Uses

This is one of my favorite examples of the concept of focusing on the products usage and not features. Think Geeks’ Shirt Plate has only one feature, a plate on a shirt, but that doesn’t limit the amount of “Uses” they show in the video.

Your Thoughts?

Do you agree that people don’t want to be all the features of a product but rather told all the ways that those features will improve your life? Either way i’d like to hear your thoughts and opinions!

What I Wish I Would of Known in College to Get My Dream Job Faster!

beckjamin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:20:07 +0000

I am writing this post as I am in the middle of unpacking from my move out to Philadelphia to work for one of the top SEM agencies in the country, SEER Interactive. It is still a bit surreal and I find myself reflecting back to see how I got to this point only after graduating couple of years ago from BYU-Idaho and started a job in a completing different field.

I have learned a lot on what it takes to discover and go after my dream job and I’d like to share to help those who are still looking.

Find What You Love

Passion is the key, the secret, the special sauce to becoming successful and finding your dream career! If you are not passionate about what you do it doesn’t take long for you to become unhappy, burnt out, and move onto the next job.

People who are passionate about their work do not dread going into work every morning and even enjoying doing it in their spare time. It’s hard to discover a job that you can be passionate about, won’t grow tired of, and can still pay the bills.

My friend Melissa Joy (Former Editor for StudentBranding.com) gave a great presentation on how to discover and live your passion at Hamilton College. If you are still trying to find your passion, this is a great video to help you do that. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of doing what you love and are passionate about. We are talking about the rest of your life here!

The Nitty Gritty Of How To Network

The rest of this post is about DOING. So if you are expecting not to do anything after reading this you can stop now and I wish you luck on your career.

You’re still here? Great, lets get started!

Today is the age of ”if you want a job with us please apply online”. This hands off approach makes it very difficult for you to stand out from the thousands of other online resumes. So why are you going to get the job? Because you’ve already networked with the president of the company! I wish I could give you some cool computer hack to have your application show up on top of all your favorite companies radars but I don’t have one, and it would not be nearly as fun as real networking! Like I said the rest of this post will be about DOING, and networking takes work and is a necessity in business especially when you are job hunting.

Again it really helps when you are doing what you are passionate about, it will make it easier for you to connect with industry leaders. Why? Because its hard to be the best at something you hate! Industries leaders emerge because they love what they do, and if it is something you are passionate about it makes it much easier to connect with them.

So in the words of the wise Nacho Libre “Lets get down to the nitty gritty”. Here are some of the tactics that I have personally used to connect, talk with, and interview some of the top SEO experts in the country!

Nacho Libre Nitty Gritty Networking

Required Networking Skills

Asking The Right Questions

I’ve learned that asking the right questions is one of the most important parts of networking. One of the best ways to sabotage a good networking opportunity is to ask a bad question. To help train you in asking appropriate questions this video by networking masterminds Tim Ferriss (Author of the 4 hour work week) and Ramit Sethi ( Author of I will teach you to be rich) explain how to meet and talk with big names like Oprah.

My Main Highlights From The Video

Do your homework before you meet or contact them.
Establish your network before you need it!!! Don’t try to push something on them the 1^st time you meet.
Be specific! In asking questions or requesting help.

Offer To Help

People are always busy with their own problems and don’t have enough time to talk to you. That is unless you are part of the solution to lighten their load. Following people on social networks like Twitter or Google+ you’ll often find that people asking for help. Pro actively helping others opens doors for conversation and to connect in real life.

Case Studies: How helping people helps in networking

1) A great example of this is Rand Fishkin (CEO of SEOmoz) who frequently asks for help in doing tests. This is a simple and easy way to help him out and can open the lines of communication with him.

2) I’ve also personally used my SEO skills to do site audits for people of interests websites, to look for ways to improve their rankings. This doesn’t work very well in connecting with other SEO’s, but it works great when I want to connect with social media, PPC , or email marketing experts.

Be A Doer

One of the most commonly asked questions is “what do you do?”. Besides your day job it really sets you apart if you have something you do in you spare time to show off. The following are

Blog -Personal or Professional
Volunteering
Self Learning – Coding, Link building, or building a site
Creating – a site, book, or product

Case Studies: How doing helps in networking

1) My brother Dave is a student studying electrical engineering and came to me asking what he should do to get internships. My answer was to make a blog where he posts about what he is learning in his engineering classes. He created his engineering blog and then put links to his blog in key places like on his Linkedin account, email signature, and even on his resume.

When I talked with him the other week he told me that every company that he interviews with has made a comment about his blog. It has proven to be a great way for him to stand out among the other applicants

Find Similar Hobbies

Networking again is finding influential people with similar interests. We are not all one dimensional we all have lots of interests and sometimes those unprofessional interests are the best ways! Music, travel, Star Wars,and sports are just some of the topics that people get really into.

Case Studies: How similar interests create great networking opportunities

1) My friend Blake when he was an intern at Walgreens had the Area Manager calling him to come and play basketball on the weeknights. It was crazy that my friends name and number was on the Area Managers speed dial, right next to the managers of all the stores he managed.

2) My brother Nate Beck, was asked to play on the weekly Halo team with a group of MySpace developers, this was back when MySpace was cool. He to this day still plays video games with several of these top developers who have moved on to other big companies like Adobe.

Always Always Always Thank and Follow Up

No matter what it is, be it a skype interview, meeting for lunch, or just talked to someone at a networking event. Always thank and follow up! You can do it with a email, tweet, or even snail mail. Anytime someone gives you of their time be sure to thank them! When write these thank you notes it is also a great time to follow up. In my industry we usually get onto a topic where we have a question on a SEO strategy and I will make it a point to find an article that will answer the question and then tweet it to them.

Case Studies: How following up helps in networking

1) One of the deciding factors at SEER Interactive to hire me was based on that I sent each of the 3 people that interviewed me personal thank you emails after our interview. The company prides themselves on having the best clients and so the need the best customer service to take care of those clients. The personal thank you note kept my name in the front of their mind, and showed that I would be able to take good care of their clients.

Where and How to Network

Interviewing The Experts

Now that we’ve learned from Tim and Ramit how to approach and talk to industry leaders it’s time to DO IT. The best way I’ve found to approach industry experts (especially if you are a student) is to interview them! In fact that is what got me an interview and ultimately the my dream job at SEER Interactive!

Case Study: How I got the Top SEO consultants to give me the answers to getting hired with them

What I did is I emailed the top SEO consultants and asked them each 4 questions. What were the questions? They all revolved around what they look for in hiring a SEO ! I was shocked how easy it was to get ahold of and that nearly all of them responded back with answer.

The Perks of Interviewing Experts:

This opened the lines of communication between me and some of the top experts in my industry
Experts gave me the questions and answers to their own interviews
I had great content to create several articles, one per a question, that was published on a major SEO blog

Taking People To Lunch

This can me a little bit more tricky because there are a lot of weirdos out there that people want to avoid, but if you have a good online presence like a blog, twitter, and linkedin people can get a good sense of who you are before meeting. If you are connecting with them through email at first make sure to include your blog and social networks in your signature.

The Perks of taking people to lunch

People don’t make time for meetings, but they do to eat
It’s easy to forget an email, but hard to forget a face
Opportunity to ask questions to someone else who loves and is an expert at your dream job

Networking Events

When I first got into SEO I heard about all these huge events like SEOmoz, SMX, SWSW, LinkLove and the list goes on. These are amazing events to learn from the best for networking, but they can do some damage to your wallet. I’ve come to find out that there are so many other networking event opportunities out there.

Local Networking Event Sites ( Meetup, Event Brite, Tweetups )
Local Industry Groups ( Ad2 Tucson, SLCSEM )
Linkedin Groups (Local / National)

Perks of going to Networking Events

Best bang for your buck to network with lots of people
People are there to network
In the sessions you get the latest industry tips and strategies

Build Your Online Brand Through Social Networks

Having a strong online reputation makes it so much easier for you to approach and connect with people. You can find out what interests you have in common, see if you are going to similar events, and can even connect with them directly. I strongly suggest you at least be on the following social networks

Perks of Social Networks for Networking

Find how they like to communicate on and offline
Look for opportunities to connect with them.
I got to interview Jay Baer because he posted a tweet of an interview he did with someone, in which I responded “How do I get a 15 minute interview with you?” We exchanged emails and I got to talk with him for almost an hour!

Resources I Wish I Knew About In College

Ramit Sethi Dream Job Kit (Free) – Great advise on finding your passion and getting a great job
Personal Branding Blog & Student Branding Blog
Linkedin Account (Free) – It’s the only thing I use for my resume and allows me to connect with almost anyone in my industry.
Rapportive for Gmail (Free) – Gives you rich content on the contact you are emailing.
Boomerang for Gmail (Free) – Schedule emails or set up fast email reminders.

Successful Guest Blogging Tips With Kristi Hines

beckjamin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:14:44 +0000

Pro Blogger Kristi Hines

I had the opportunity to interview Kristi Hines, who really needs no introduction. In fact you’ve probably read one of her many articles posted on Search Engine Watch, Unbounce, or Kiss Metrics. When she isn’t blogging for these websites she is refining her craft by posting on her own blog Kikolani.com, which was chosen as one of Social Media Examiners Top 10 Social Media Blogs of 2010.

As an aspiring guest blogger myself I was excited for the opportunity to ask Kristi what it takes to become an outstanding online blogger like herself. This is what she had to say.

When choosing a blog topic, how do you know what the reader will like?

When I’m looking to pitch a guest post to a blog, I subscribe to their site first to see the topics they typically write about. Then I check the blog out on PostRank to see what topics are the most popular based on social engagement.

Many say the title is the most important part of a post. How do you make your post titles stand out?

The title is definitely the most important. It’s usually the only thing you see in a tweet and the first thing you see in search results, shares on other social networks, in your RSS reader, and so on. I try to think about what will lead to the most clicks both on social networks and in search results.

In your opinion what does a “perfect post” look like?

The perfect post has a lot of valuable content broken up with great headers, a bulleted list or two, and some awesome images – either screenshots or just visually appealing images, depending on the content.

Can you tell us what is in your guest posting tool kit?

I’m not sure I have much of a toolkit outside of using a combination of Google Reader and PostRank to determine what topics to tackle on a particular site. Sometimes I will also check out the Google AdPlanner to see the traffic stats on a site I might want to post upon to see what kind of traffic they have. Granted, the stats aren’t right on, but it can give me a general idea if the site is bigger than mine or not.

How do you introduce yourself and maintain a strong relationship with big blog sites?

There are different ways to go about pitching a guest post. With Social Media Examiner, my blog was listed in their Top 10 Social Media Blogs of 2010. I followed their Facebook and saw an update that they were looking for writers shortly after they listed me, so I contacted them. If the blog happens to mention you for any reason (listing, link to one of your posts, etc.), that is a great time to strike. If that isn’t an option, then I see if I know one of the other previous guest bloggers on the site to make an introduction to the blog owner / editor. If none of those work, then it never hurts to spend a little time commenting on a blog, tweeting some of the posts, then approaching the blog owner for a chance to post.

Whats the biggest mistake that you see guest bloggers make?

One of the biggest mistakes I see guest bloggers make on my site is not reading the guidelines. Some I don’t think even read my blog – I have received some strange article pitches that don’t even fit my niche. If a site offers guest post guidelines, make sure to follow them as closely as possible.

Personal Side Of Kristi Hines

Where does the name of your blog Kikolani.com come from? What does it mean?

The name Kikolani is a combination of my middle name and grandmother’s first name. I thought it was a pretty cool creation until I discovered it was a first name used in Hawaii.

Mac or PC?

PC, although I use a Mac keyboard with it.

Iphone or Droid?

Droid for my phone, iPad for my tablet.

Hootsuite or Tweetdeck?

HootSuite all the way!

Favorite YouTube Video?

This is one of my recent favorites.

Want More Guest Blogging Tips?

Kristi Hines is a phenomenal blogger and has even written a book to help wannabes like myself to become the caliber of blogger she is. If you are interested in becoming a better blogger I would definitely follow Kristi’s posts and if you really want to improve check out her book “The Ultimate Blog Post Promotion Guide Book”. If you must know, I am not affiliate and don’t get any money if you buy her book. I just think its great for those who want to get serious about blogging.

5 Great Resources For Landing Your Dream Job As A SEO

beckjamin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:15:22 +0000

I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity i’ve had to work at Anchor Wave in Tucson Arizona. They are a great company and have sparked my enthusiasm for seo and online marketing! The time has now come for me to move on to my next adventure, and I’m looking to land my SEO dream job. What that is i’m not exactly sure yet, but I do know it won’t be simple! To best prepare for tests and interviews i’ve been doing a lot of research and here are some of the best articles and videos i’ve found. I hope they help you like they’ve been helping me.

Articles To Help You Prepare To Get A SEO Job

Great Videos To Help You Land Your SEO Dream Job

Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz outlines what questions every SEO should be able to answer in an interview.

Danny Dover when he was back at SEOmoz shows how to get more SEO experience. Great tips!

*BONUS* Blast From The Past Video

Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz outlined in 2008 how to get an SEO job. A lot of this information and strategy still applies to getting a job today.

SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday-How to Get an SEO Job from SEOmoz on Vimeo.

Who’s Hiring Right Now For SEO?

I had the opportunity to interview some of the top SEO experts in the industry to see what they look for when hiring a SEO. 4 out 5 of the experts I interviewed are currently hiring! To be able to work for any of these companies would be a privilege. Would love to hear back from anyone who applies with them.

SEO.com Jobs
Seer Interactive Jobs
Portent Inc Jobs
Distilled Jobs

Help Me, Help You

I’ve come to know that the best way to learn and grow is through helping others. I’ve been helped by so many SEO’s that I would like to pay it forward to others. To all you aspiring SEO’s let me knowhow I can help you. The best way to get ahold of me is through my Linkedin Profile

Make The Most of 2012 With the Top SEO & Social Media Articles and People

beckjamin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:42:28 +0000

2012 is here! What does the next year hold for us in search marketing and social media? I don’t have a crystal ball that works, but I have collected some of the top articles from the experts on what 2012 will be like for SEO and Social Media Marketers.

I also included some of the best people to follow on Twitter to stay on top of SEO and Social Media trends through this year.

2012 SEO Predictions

18 SEO Experts On How To Do SEO in 2012 – Edgy SEO

2012 SEO Tips For Google Instant – Search Engine Round Table

Key SEO 2012 Trends in North Asia – Search Engine Watch

MarketingSherpa 2012 SEO Benchmark Report – Top Rank Blog

SEO Playbook For 2012 – Search Engine Land

2012 Will Divide SEO Practitioners Into Two Camps – Business 2 Community

My Top SEO Experts To Follow in 2012

These are in no particular order, they are all awesome. Who am I missing? Let me know in the comments

2012 Social Media Predictions

What 2012 holds for Social Media - The Next Web

30 Social Media Predictions for 2012 From the Pros – Social Media Examiner

Top 5 Trends for Search & Social Media Marketing 2012 – Search Engine Watch

What Will 2012 Mean for Social Media ? – Time

My Top Social Media Experts To Follow in 2012

Again these are are not in any particular order, they are all awesome. Who else in the Social Media space should I follow? Let me know in the comments

What Do You See For 2012

I’m excited for 2012, its going to be a huge year! Do you have a idea of what’s going to happen in 2012 or of great people I should follow on Twitter in the space of SEO or Social Media? Let me know in the comments, I look forward to your input. Have a great 2012!

LinkedIn’s Holiday Card Easter Egg

beckjamin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:21:57 +0000

I woke up this morning and was checking the usual social networks before I head into work. I did a double take this morning when I came across this interesting character who viewed my LinkedIn Profile.

This is definitely not the typical person that views my account and I was curious of course to find out more about Snow E. Mann’s resume. When I clicked on it to open it up instead of a resume it was a simple holiday greeting card from Linkedin.com.

Holiday Easter Eggs

I don’t know if this is something they did to everyone or if I stumbled into some Linkedin holiday easter egg. If your confused at what an “easter egg” is you need to check out eeggs.com. You can thank me later. Another popular easter egg this holiday season is googling “let it snow”. I won’t ruin the surprise by telling you.

Check out your Linkedin profile and let me know if you got a holiday card as well. Also if you know of any other holiday easter eggs out there please leave them in the comments.

Meaning Of (Not Set) And (Not Provided) In Google Analytics

beckjamin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:57:53 +0000

Video Answer: Difference of (not set) and (not provided)

If you prefer to watch then to read (like i usually do) then please enjoy this video I found by Rosamond Haden-Chomphosy who eloquently sums up the difference between (not set) and (not provided) in Google Analytics.

Written Answer: Difference of (not set) and (not provided)

Not Set- Has Been Around Awhile

Up until now Google has had a (not set) identifier in its Analytics. Not Set means that the user didn’t come to your site through a keyword. They came to your site directly or through a referral site.

Not Provided – New Kid On The Block

If you look at the picture below you’ll see several (not set) identifiers from several sites. There is also a new identifier labeled (not provided). This new identifier came about because Google recently announced that they are encrypting peoples searches. So the not provided search volume is from Google organic search, but could be for several of your keywords.

Analytics" width="506" height="359" />

Remembering The Difference Between (Not Set) and (Not Provided)

(Not Set) = Not Search Engine, Referrals and Direct links

(Not Provided) = Protected by Google encryption

Is Social The Future Of SEO? Interview with Jesse Stay

beckjamin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:00:03 +0000

I had the pleasure of talking with Jesse Stay of SocialToo and author of Google+ For Dummies and Facebook Application Development For Dummies. It was such an amazing conversation that I wish I would have skyped and recorded it to be able to share with everyone instead of my bullet point notes. He is a truly amazing author and knowledgeable social media pro that I had the pleasure of speaking with. ( You can tell by my picture how excited I was to talk with him)

What makes someone stand out to you in this industry?
There are a lot of “Self Proclaimed Experts”

* People who have truly based decisions off of research or what other people have accomplished

* Someone who has a lot of clients and experience to back up what they are saying

* They look at the whole picture. Not just getting people to the site, or to follow or like, but rather the full experience of the user

* Mass following is easy, but the questions is whats the goal? Whats a conversion? Its not always just money

With SERP’s getting so personalized where do you see SEO’s playing a role?

* Social is the new SEO
* SEO still has a place, don’t give it up, and make sure to optimize your pages. But look towards Social
* Trusted friendships and an identity tells you a lot more than keywords and links, which is why I see Social becoming more valuable

Worth it for small biz owners to be on FB, Twitter, G+?

* Prioritize (audience = which network) then decide
* Embrace social media, you can get alot of feed back from your visitors
* Allow people to see and identify with your company (who the CEO is, how you work, pre-views of what your working)

Who do you look upto?

* Jeremiah Owyang of web-strategist.com
* Scott Monty director of Ford Social Media
* Brian Solis author of Engage and The End Of Business As Usual

Your Comments, Where’s The Future Of SEO?

Would like to hear from you what you think about the future of SEO. Will on site and off site still be highly relevant compared to social signals or voted on web results?

Hulu Puts Commercials Back In Users Control

beckjamin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:45:54 +0000

What Is the New Hulu Ad Swap

I love Hulu because it keeps me up to date with my comedy staples like The Office, Modern Family, and Community. This week when i was getting caught up I noticed that Hulu has changed how it does commercials. Before I would have to sit through whatever ad they had scheduled and if i got bored i could click on the button that asked “is this ad relevant to you?”

Now Hulu has given viewers the option to “Swap” commercials. So if you are really sick of seeing Viagra or tampon commercials you now have the power to swap it to something else. The picture below shows what Hulu’s new ad swap looks like.

What Hulu’s Ad Swap Means For Viewers

Able to choose commercials/products they actually want to watch
Avoid awkward gender specific products
New variety of commercials, instead of the same one played over and over during the show

What Hulu’s Ad Swap Means For Advertisers

Can have commercials seen across several different shows
Better analytics of which shows that have viewers most interested in there products
Need to produce better commercials that viewers will actually want to view

What Is The Future Of Commercials?

Does this mean that all commercials are going to have to evolve to Super Bowl status so that people will select and watch their commercial over their competitors? Will people be able to find a way around the commercials, like a online Tivo which decreases the effectiveness of the commercials?

Where do you see brands pushing commercials in the future?

Are People Blocking Your Site On Google?

beckjamin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:27:27 +0000

Google is always trying to improve the experience of the searcher by getting them the best search results as possible. As amazing and complex as the mystical Google algorithm is, sometimes it doesn’t give the best results. To help remedy this Google provides searchers with tools to make their searches better. Thats why they developed tools like search wiki, stars in search, and now Google +1.

Back in March Google introduce another search tool that you might not of heard about, which was the ability for searchers to block certain urls from their search results. Google said its a way to help searchers find more of what they want. I think that the idea is good, but also i think that people might over do it.

Questions About Google’s Block A URL Filter?

My biggest question is what triggers Google to prompt someone to block a URL?

Even though the article appeared earlier this year I hadn’t seen this in the search results until recently, and it was prompting me to block a popular and reputable site. Are they basing it off of the sites bounce rate, time on site, other factors?

If your site is blocked are you acknowledged?

If my url is getting filtered out by dozens of people I want to know about it, but again the article didn’t mention if the site owners are notified of being filtered.

Can this be abused by my competitors?

This is the next question that pops into my head because i start thinking of a way for people to use Mturk to get mass amounts of people to find and block my url for 2¢ a click. I assume Google’s algorithm doesn’t like to go to sites that have been blocked from search results by hundreds of people.

Your Thoughts On Google URL Filtering?

Do you think this is a good idea or A train wreck waiting to happen? Have you seen these as well or are my eyes playing tricks on me again?

Would like to hear your comments and feedback!