I’m an animal person. I’m not implying that I’m something off of The Island of Dr. Moreau. That would just be silly. What I mean, of course, is that I am fond of animals. We have four cats, a dog and a guinea pig. My girlfriend likes to refer to it as “Wild Kingdom”. Among our menagerie is a cat named Ferman. I have never had a cat that was as sweet and lovable as Ferman. We like to say that he is needy, and quite frankly, it’s the honest truth. You see, Ferman has a handicap that leaves him very vulnerable. He has only one eye.

There isn’t a day that goes by that Ferman doesn’t put a smile on my face. He walks with an uneven gait due to his impaired vision. He lacks the depth perception that gives most cats their amazing agility, gracefulness and balance; Ferman is never quite sure of his surroundings. When he wants to jump up on the couch, he shoots up twice as high as needed and plops down gracelessly.

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I've been fighting the growing peer pressure for quite some time. Sure, it starts out all innocent; all fun and games. They say, “You should try this, its fun!” But after a while it starts to feel like harassment. “Everybody is doing it!”… “You’re not cool if you don’t try it!” Maybe you've felt pressured in a similar way. I’m reminded of the old Dr. Pepper® commercials:

“I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper, She's a Pepper, we're a Pepper, Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?” (Click Here to view the Commercial)

“No!” I said defiantly. "I don’t want to join the masses. I don't want to become one of the sheep being lulled by this craze." However, like most things in life, it was my girlfriend who finely cracked my defenses and I gave in to the insurmountable forces at work. I joined Facebook!  Even worse… I’m hooked!

A revolution has been brewing on the web for years. I remember when it was confined mainly to services like AOL with its chat rooms and instant messaging, but it has finely exploded...

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When I was growing up my mother would make a ham and egg casserole for special occasions. It was one of my favorites. Everyone who tried it fell in love with the cheesy delight and wanted the recipe. However, in a bizarre echo of “Soylent Green”, there was a deep dark secret that no one was talking about. You see, it wasn’t ham in the casserole. It was a tasty processed meat product known to the world as…Spam®! When I was young, I never understood why it had to be such a big secret, but as I got older I began to notice the look on people’s faces change when they found out that what they were eating was not ham.

A few years later while I was attending Youngstown State University, some local radio station DJs held a contest called “Toss the Spam®”. I played and I can tell you that I have never looked at my mother’s casserole the same way!

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I hope everyone is as excited about the New Year as I am. 2008 was a bit rough and while we can’t expect things to magically improve over night there are a lot of things to get excited about in 2009. Besides, I personally don’t like to spend too much time fretting over the things I have no control of. Instead, I want to focus my energy on those items I can make an impact on. 

I made this comment to my girlfriend over the weekend and she laughed at me. I asked her what was so funny and she replied, “John, I’ve never met anyone who can brood over spilt milk like you can!” At that moment I decided to make a resolution not to be overly concerned with the unavoidable, be anxious about the inevitable, or lose sleep over the unforeseeable. In other words, I resolved to not sweat the small stuff. But as soon as that earnest aspiration was voiced, I found myself worrying about my ability to make good on this resolution. Foiled again Batman… oh well, there’s always 2010.

So, it’s funny and a little ironic...

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I was at my girlfriend’s aunt’s house on Christmas Eve, and I asked for some Figgie Pudding. Everyone looked at me with blank stares… so I repeated: “bring me some Figgie Pudding”… and I then added: “I won’t go until I get some!” I was apparently very, very mistaken as I left without getting any. I’m not quite sure if I’m getting invited back next year… maybe I should send them a nice sticky fruitcake or maybe a Chia Pet!

As you can see I’m still trying to recover from last week’s holiday festivities, yet I’m going to try and give this issue of Web Marketing 101 my best shot.

That’s right, friends; it’s time for another fun-filled issue of Web Marketing 101. This week, I’ve decided to switch gears a bit and discuss a topic I hope you’ll all take to heart.

Since posting Issue 4, I have been reflecting on what I learned during the course of writing it! First: I can confirm that I am in fact a Geek (I suspected that I was and am now quite proud of it). Second: Not everyone automatically considers this a good thing (Very disappointing). And finally: I should never use my girlfriend as a sounding board for blog ideas. (She thinks it’s a good idea too!) Having come to terms with these facts, I felt confident to write this Issue of Web Marketing 101.

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I’m sure most of you, much like I, have been waiting with extreme anticipation for this week’s sequel to Shedding Light on a Dark Art. In fact I have spent the last week talking about it to anyone who would listen. It got to the point last night when my girlfriend lovingly called me a dork. I quickly replied with all seriousness, “No, I’m a GEEK. There’s a difference.”  Well, really there is… isn’t there?

Anyway, it was then that I realized not everyone shares my zealous interest in this topic, and I decided to save it for those who it can really have a benefit… you!  So, that being said, without any further ado, let’s begin.

In the last Issue of Web Marketing 101 we discussed 10 things anyone can do and everyone should do for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I’m positive everyone completed those optimization tips. Well, if you didn’t it’s never too late to start. Those of you who did may be sitting around thinking that your site is now optimized and that your work is done. Unfortunately, SEO isn’t...

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Over the years I’ve had many customers ask me, “How can I get my web site in the top 10 of a Google search?”, and my response has traditionally been to first say, “Why, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), of course”, and then to hastily add that “it is indeed a bit of a black art”.

However this isn’t really quite true; in fact SEO is a science. There is no magic involved, no smoke and mirrors, no abracadabra or hocus pocus. SEO is simply proven techniques and practices to make your web site more presentable to the search engine and more specifically its web crawlers.