Kimberly Bock (Spostareduro) and Her False Accusations
If Kimberly Bock’s name is unfamiliar to you, you may be more aware of her moniker, Spostareduro.
Up until last week I could not tell you three things about Kimberly Bock. Today, I know through repetition that she’s engaged to KeyRelevance’s Bill Slawski (blog) and apparently likes to make stands against anyone with an opinion other than hers. Disagreement is certainly encouraged, but some of Kim’s rants including those pointed at Li Evans (blog) of KeyRelevance are worthy of some head scratching.
So lets dive into Spostareduro’s most recent character attacks, shall we?
I am a nobody. I enjoy that. I have work to do and clients to help out and sites to optimize. I don’t get to write many articles these days, despite the fact that I’ve been an SEO article author for more than 7 years now.
When I do have time to write I do it for Search Engine Journal.
Loren Baker is a great friend of mine and last year extended Associate Editor status. While completely unnecessary the title alone makes me care about the best interests of Search Engine Journal. I owe it to him, Ann, Julie, Arnold and everyone else contributing there.
Part of that care involves introducing others to articles SEJ publishes. Once in a while, we even try to facilitate a positive discussion on topics where we hope others in the space will contribute.
So when Loren posted How to Combat Complaints Sites in Google : Open Discussion yesterday, I took it over to Sphinn.
There is a number of great people using Sphinn as their gateway to the best articles and discussions. I know because I learned that from someone I hold in high regard, and mimic that behavior when I’m busy.
It’s these people who should be introduced to these articles and invited to join the conversation. That’s exactly what I did with the following submission note on Sphinn:
Complaint sites continue to litter the SERPS for a number of major brand names and the problem is quickly growing out of control. This morning, Loren Baker introduces us to an open discussion on how to combat these negative brand influences.
For Kim though my message was apparently lost. She was fueled enough to post Consumer Rights Violated By SEOs and Marketers on her own blog yet weak enough not to provide any hyperlinks back to the referenced articles or discussions.
There were a number of actions Kim could have taken to benefit the conversations. She could have:
- Sphunn / DeSphunn the post
- Provided a comment on Sphinn as to why she disagreed with the nature of the post in general
- She could have also emailed Loren and/or myself
- Comment on the SEJ post as we intended
But she didn’t. In a classic Tom Smykowski moment, she jumped to conclusions. Rather than participating in a healthy discussion about these sites - claws came out and rants ensued.
Charged with using manipulative tactics to deceive consumers, Loren and I were both effectively compared to serial killers. Here’s the kicker, most SEOs who double as reputation management consultants were too.
What’s worse is that Kim tries to use my current role as the Organic Search Manager for a Fortune 500 firm against me. I’m sorry Kim but the industry I work in, Automotive, is in pain. I’m not going to ask anyone to play the pity card on auto manufacturers or dealers though. They make a lot of money and contribute to a lot of problems for consumers. I not only understand that, but I applaud consumers who exercise their right to share experiences with resources on the Internet.
If Kim had taken the time to research more about me she may have learned that I’m actively involved in Local Search topics and have strong interests in using Local Search providers as a socially driven resource for the evaluation of businesses.
But she did not. Just like she either failed to forecast or simply ignored the impact of trying to throw Lisa Barone, Li Evans, Kim Krause Berg or Jill Whalen under a bus through twisting their words.
And that’s really the most unfortunate part here.
In a tight knit industry like SEO Kim should be careful not to confuse the herd mentality with camaraderie.
The people who Kim has accused of banding together are not protecting their own kind. They’re being true to themselves while extending respect to those who have been seasoned with years of similar practices.
All I would like for Kim to do is take a moment before posting comments directed at someone else. The repercussions of her words surpass the individuals involved. They are already impacting the organizations tied to those people.
Her relationship with others is also in play here, particularly when it’s harped upon as it has been in the past week. The negative feelings that people are expressing towards Kimberly Bock are already impacting the people she’s close to as well as the organizations that employ them.
I’m not suggesting anything other than the practice of awareness and some common sense.
And with that, I’m out.
Testing Some Plugins…
This is just a new post created to test a couple of plugins…
:) Nothing to see here, move along.
Matt McGee Joins KeyRelevance
Earlier today Matt McGee made an announcement on Small Business SEM indicating that his two month stint as an independent contractor has come to a close…
This is just a quick post to say that I’ve accepted a position as Director of Strategic Search with KeyRelevance. I’ve known Christine Churchill, Bill Slawski, and Li Evans for years and consider them friends. Now, I get to work with them and the rest of the terrific KeyRelevance team! Very, very cool. (More)
M2 is one of my favorite people. Ever. Just look here in case I haven’t described Matt’s impact on me both personally and professionally. Underneath this great news for Matt and KeyRelevance though comes another newsworthy item… Christine has assembled one of the best SEO teams in the industry. While it’s still early, I’d lean in favor of KR for having one of the most seasoned and talented SEO teams out there.
Earlier tonight I was talking about this move by M2 with Search Engine Journal’s Loren Baker. He simply stated what many have been thinking… “What a line up!” What’s more scary is that with the team in place, there’s no weak link or obvious gaps to fill. Li, Bill and Matt clearly know their stuff and can easily put KeyRelevance in a market leading position.
Original Photo via M2s Flickr Photostream
As one of the best SEO people I know, I can say confidently that Matt deserves the absolute best. Christine Churchill summed it up best with comments found in today’s press release:
“In addition to being a first class SEO, Matt is one of the most positive people I’ve ever known,” added Churchill. “He infuses the element of fun into the workplace.”
Well said Christine and again, congratulations Matt!
My Home Office: Where the Magic Happens
At work, I don’t get to play with fun things. I’m restricted to being on the phone, playing with one of two CMS platforms, or simply navigating the monotony of Microsoft Office products.
Welcome to being an in-house SEO, right?
Enter my home office… Many people think I’m absolutely nuts to log a good 3 or 4 hours a night into some fun projects after my wife and son go to bed. But, when you’re seriously passionate about search marketing - can you afford not to?
Our space changes so rapidly that I honestly fear having normal sleeping habits. I just can’t see it working out well for me. To keep me entertained and productive, here’s a glimpse of my home office.
It’s nothing special really, but it works very well for me. From left to right is my trusty filing cabinet, monochromatic laser printer, antiquated iPod mini, Dell D620 running Ubuntu (Hardy Heron), Westinghouse 21″ LCD, eMachines M2350, Blackberry 8700g and of course… the XBOX360.
Rounding things up is the bookshelf Sony stereo which is really only used when the Red Sox or Celtics games are unavailable online.
So there you have it… My home office. The #1 reason I love to work from home.
Happy Birthday to Chris Winfield & Lisa Barone!
Now that it’s officially Saturday, I want to wish two fantastic people in the industry a Happy Birthday.
Lisa Barone from Bruce Clay Inc. and 10e20’s Chris Winfield are both celebrating their birthdays today so wish them well. :) Both Lisa and Chris are awesome in their own right. And here’s why.
When I was stuck hanging in a hotel bar in NYC after day one of SMX Social, Chris and Cameron Olthuis were gracious enough to have me pull up a chair and burn a few hours away. Since then, I’ve realized that if there were ever a social media and optimization guy you needed to know, Chris was your guy. He’s always watching out for you and willing to share some great ideas, stories and news as it happens. Solid cat.
That’s no knock on other social marketers either — Chris just brings it all together, is semi-local by industry standards and is always in a great mood. Honestly, I’ve never once seen him where he wasn’t in a completely great mood.
Besides, dude owns USA Today.
Lisa’s a bit different. While she’s the best SEO Blogger in the space, I’d go so far as to say that along with Matt McGee she knows me better than anyone in the industry (and perhaps out of it too).
She gets Boston as well as anyone, can live-tweet a Lakers’ ass kicking at the hands of the Celtics with the best of us, and appreciates great free beer. Her musical selection is impeccable and at conferences, it’s tough not to want to hang with The Lisa.
And seriously, if you can’t appreciate her Friday Recaps - you don’t deserve to exist.
So, without any more gushing… Happy Birthday to you both. You’re awesomesauce. Maybe even Awsomesauce with Cinnamon.
Using Sphinn as a Resource on Busy Days
Since I’ve criticized Sphinn in the past, let’s give credit where it’s due… It’s still a great resource for those looking for an aggregated list of our industry’s current events.
Right now on Sphinn there are a few stories that catch my attention as the lunch hour fades to an end…
First is Jane Copland’s contribution to the SEOmoz blog yesterday. A Very Unfortunate Error For Farecast and Live explores some problematic page loads that Jane and Rob Kerry (evilgreenmonkey) had noticed while cruising the Google SERPs for “cheap flights”.
The situation got hairy when repeated page loads yielded different content served back to the user. (See Jane’s post for screenshots) Understanding a likely DNS issue was at fault, Rob was then able to have some more fun while diagnosing the situation.
The point of the story is pretty simple.. Stay on top of your sites and be sure that your sites are performing as they should. They need to be up to date with all their server settings. Letting an isolated DNS issue to distribute itself to multiple sources is unacceptable…
Likewise, letting something this simple lapse can create a major snafu at your own expense. As Jane pointed out, they should be happy they took ther high road on the situation rather than having too much fun at Live’s expense.
If you’re interested, Sphinn the article that Michael Dorausch submitted.
Next was a post from Jennifer Osborne of Search Engine People. Her article called Website Transition Planning Critical When Making Changes tackles a problem that SEOs have known for a long time… Site redesigns ansd how they’ll jack up your SEO and make your life hell.
The great thing about her post is that Jennifer takes the time to cover most of the important bases without being verbose. Here’s what she touches upon:
- What to do with your URL’s
- Content Changes
- Internal Link Structure
- Timing
- The plan doesn’t end once the changes are implemented
She also recommends looking into your server logs… Something that far too few SEOs are doing these days. If you’re looking to learn more about site redesigns and their impact on potential search performance - check it out.
Again, if you like the story, Sphinn up the entry that Shana Albert submitted.
Lunch is already closing out, so I’ve got to wrap this up. Seriously though, there’s a lot of value in having a resource like Sphinn available. If you don’t have time to read your RSS feeds throughout the course of the day - try relying on Sphinn. While the articles and sources may be skewed a bit based on the active members — it’s still easy to stay on top of the bigger news.
Vote for Me as Best Up and Coming SEO
The search industry has changed so much since I got started and I’m noticing articles I wrote back in 2001 for sites like SEOToday are literally dropping out of the index and going offline. I know that Gerhart and I wrote weekly for about three years, accumulating hundreds of articles from 2001 through 2005 on Search Engine Guide, SitePoint, SEOToday.com (dead) and more…
But, perception is reality.
It’s cool that most of what I’ve done in the space has been forgotten. It was for organizations and topics that were great at the time but perhaps not the best representation of what I’m all about now. That’s okay though because I’m enjoying a career resurgence even if it’s only in the eyes of new contacts that I have… And a few judges in a new poll going around.
Chris Hooley’s running an SEO Industry Superlatives Survey — and on it — I’m a candidate for “Best Up and Coming SEO”. If you have some interest in the industry, be sure to check it out: SEO Superlatives Poll
The judges include Captain Thundercock himself, Lisa Barone, Melanie Nathan, Michael VanDeMar, David Temple, Taylor Pratt, Zak Nicola, David Harry… and perhaps others?
So yeah… Get over there and vote!
Are all SEOs About Marketing Without Morals? No Way!
Big time props are in order to John Carcutt of Applied SEO.
John participated in the Search Engine Journal blogging contest, and today was announced as the winner. Here’s what he won because of his efforts:
- $1,000 in Blog Reviews &; Links from SponsoredReviews.com
- 6 month free subscription for SingleFeed’s Data Feed Management and Optimization service : $1,074 value
- $500 in free advertising from Text Link Ads
- 6 Month Free Subscription for Adapt Paid Search Management Software (a $1,194 value)
- One Year Subscription to Keyword Discovery (a $599 value)
- $500 from Pepperjam Search
- 3 months free at SEOBook (a $300 value)
- SEO Audit & Site Makeover from TrafficBlend & Search Engine Journal Services (a $5000+ value)
- Submittals of up to 4 sites to Aviva Directory Network (a $400+ value)
Most SEOs would take that and run with it, right? Not John. In a classic case of being a great guy, John is donating the majority of his prizes to a Mexican orphanage as he describes on the Search Engine Journal Announcement:
“Thank you so much Loren and big thanks to Richard Burckhardt for making the whole thing even funner. One of my best friends growing up recently moved to a remote area of Mexico to build and operate an orphanage. I plan on donating a majority of the prizes to him and his orphanage. He has a simple site at www.faceofmyfather.org and with these prizes I think we can get him a very nice donation generating machine online. Thank you again Loren from me, Face of My Father and all the Mexican orphans your contest is going to help.”
Everything that you need to know about the contest can be found on SEJ… But for those who felt slighted by comments at SMX Advanced earlier this month, this is the kind of feel good story that proves there are SEOs out there who actually care about morals a bit more than marketing.
Finally, check out John’s winning post: Are SEO Forums Still Needed?
Richard Burckhardt’s post 25 Blog Optimization Tips Even Dear Old Dad Could Ace (Plus 10 More Tips for Mom!) was the runner up in the SEJ blog off competition.
Congratulations John and Richard, and thanks for keeping the industry in good light.
David Mihm’s Local Search Ranking Factors
Back in February I spoke on a panel with Gab Goldenberg and Chris Silver Smith on Local Search and Blended Results. SMX West was a fantastic show - and while I know a lot about local search marketing - I realized that there’s always another angle to view things from.
I chalk that up to being jaded into a routine where I’m working within a specific niche of local search listings. Trends and ranking criteria that I view (and sadly get accustomed to) don’t always apply the same way across all categories and verticals of local search.
At SMX West Matt McGee introduced me to David Mihm. David struck me as a great guy who was eager to learn new ideas… but it was also clear he knew what he was talking about too with the quiet confidence he possessed.
Fast forward from February to June 15th, and David Mihm simply owns local search. Citing “SEOmoz’s biennially-published Search Engine Ranking Factors” and relying on people like Bill Slawski, Mike Blumenthal and seventeen other contributers — Local Search Ranking Factors, Vol. 1 was introduced. (See David’s blog post for his take on the document as well as reader discussion.)
David indicated that:
It is my hope that this study will help small business owners confused by Local Search, or those strapped for time, to prioritize their marketing efforts.
Umm, yeah dude. Success.
There are forty one elements and then six negative listing factors included in David’s guide. All of these are listed in order of importance using the contributors’ collaborative thoughts on each element while being conscious of Yahoo! Local and Google Local.
So, call up Matt McGee and the Semmy judges and hand one over to David now. If you need me, I’ll be sitting at the kids table waiting to get served. Again.
Amazing job David - and thank you for putting thing in perspective. There’s always more to learn, and this guide does an amazing job of documenting everything in play.
BOTW Local Launches Beta of Local Search & Social Platform
Yesterday I posted a small review of BOTW Local on Search Engine Journal and referenced the Beta launch they announced on June 18th.
It’s worth recapping here as well because frankly, the system kicks ass when it’s responsive. I’ve noticed a few delays in using the system today, but this is a Beta service right now, so I’m willing to forgive BOTW.
The most important thing here though is that it’s a free resource for those who don’t have a website up and running. In my article I made reference to the fact that there’s only limited markets (Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and Austin) being fully spidered, right? So, I started little test to see if these pages are ranking yet, but I couldn’t find too much. Still, with the clout that BOTW carries in our space, it should be little to no time at all before these pages are being indexed prominently.
Once that happens, we should assume BOTW Local profiles will become a larger part of reputation management campaigns too. So, get familiar with the system now. You know how early adopters always profit from their engagement and familiarity with social tools.
Oddly, with more than 16 million listings - the service is in beta. It’s scary when you think of just how many establishments there are out there that need to be properly represented. Go get started with their Jump Start program which includes free listings and upgradeable profiles.
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About Eric Lander
I'm an organic search engine optimization professional with nine years of professional experience. Please review my resume or LinkedIn profile for additional information. -
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