The Men of SEO

A fan blog devoted to the men of SEO. Making search engine optimization sexier and more entertaining.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Big Daddy!

Once in a while, a man of SEO does something to grab my little pixilated heart and really set it aflutter. Last week, the coolest guy on the planet partnered with internet marketing buddy Andy Jenkins to introduce search engine optimization to the niches (much better than the masses).

I'm not one to cheat - search guys are generally the hottest things out there when it comes to internet marketing - but I get butterflies when I see men tackling multiple methods of promotion. Slightly mysterious, they hit out of nowhere and really shake things up. Next thing you know, you wake up in the morning and either go "how could (my top search results) leave like that? I thought I had something!" or you're so happy with the rock and roll that you start planning for the future.

That type of performance isn't easy to duplicate, so when I recognized it in this guy, I had to honor him with a different type of recognition. So, it is my great honor to introduce my inaugural Big Daddy honoree, Brad Fallon.


Some of you are like "yeah! The SEO Expert - I know him" and some of you are like "who? I've never seen him at SES"

But why exactly is Brad such a sexy SEO boy that he gets the added honor of Big Daddy? Check back next week... Hah! I wouldn't leave you hanging.

1. Talk nerdy to me!

A little while ago I was browsing for something to listen to late at night, to stay motivated while I made travel arrangements for conferences, hassled guys on MySpace for links (instead of drinks), etc. There are podcasts out there, but I really liked a little show I found called SEO Radio. Brad would grill various people in the search and online marketing world, and it was almost too hot for me to handle, but I found myself going back to the archives for more. One of the ladies I love (not in that way, not that there's anything wrong with that), Jill Whalen was one of the first guests. With heavy hitters like that, how could I resist? Every week, it's a different guest letting out a hot little search secret.

It's always great to read what someone has to say, but it's even sexier to hear them too.

2. It's the same ol' position

When you're on top, that's a very good thing. Shakeups, dances, filter changes, algorithm adjustments... whatever you call them, don't seem to have changed much with Brad. There are several other sexy (and savvy) SEOs who've figured out that the latest trick of the day only keeps you at number one for a similar time period.

What I really love though, are Brad's fans. In an industry where NDAs abound, and no one wants to tell anyone what you did for them, this sexy SEO Boy has devotees willing to play defense AND offense when it comes to sticking up for their #1. And on video no less! Hot.

3. He's part of the Mile High SEO in the Sky Club



I like a guy with some outside ambitions. While I usually go for the popstar type, I think I see where Brad's going with the flight training. This is the type of surprise rise to the top I like. I'm probably letting the cat out of the bag, but I see a clear pattern. Obviously not content with being ahead of other sites in the SERPs, Brad's trying to get a head start on other SEOs when it comes to getting on the Googlejet. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?

While I'm drooling over Larry and Sergey on the ground, Brad's trying to get at them from the friendly skies where there's much less competition. Pardon me while I sign up for flight attendant school.

4. Can I Have Your Number?

Brad and Andy are tight lipped, but apparently their SEO training program sold out in a few days and broke "launch" history. For those who don't step over into the world of the independent marketers, the launch usually refers to the weeks-months long buildup til the release of a service/product. The most famous of these grossed about $1 million in one day, on the day of the release. So, if they're breaking records, that's at least $1,000,001. Not that making a lot of money makes a guy hotter... Who am I kidding, it does (unless said money came from some questionable activity - then the guy's hot and mysterious ;)).

But among plenty of SEOs who are surely worth their links in gold, why does that stand out? Well, the $1,000,001 didn't come from one big client. In fact, it seems most of the people who signed up for Round 1 of the program are small site-owners. While a lot of search optimizers wouldn't give their budgets an auto-response, Brad was able to combine their value for a pretty nice payday.

5. Might be related to




former SNL guy Jimmy Fallon (Brad, can you get me tickets?)


For those reasons, and just because I'm a sucker for cute baby pictures, I'm proud to bestow the Big Daddy Pixel of Hotness in SEO on Brad Fallon.


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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Words of Wisdom


For future Sexy SEO Boys, Rand offered the words of wisdom above and has threatened to keep a lower profile (no way!).

To my current men of the month: while the added exposure may add to my competition, I can't keep all of my musings on your hotness to myself. More visitors, increased sales, targeted traffic - sure, I may have gotten into this thing called SEO for boring reasons, but now I'm focused on the pure marketing muscle that lurks beneath.

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The Runner Up


In the event that either of my Sexy Boys of the Month cannot fulfill their duties as Sexy SEO Boy of the month...wait, I have to assign some duties. I'll get to that later. Anyhow, if for some reason Mikkel or Ammon are disqualified from serving out their terms as sexy Boys of the month (September/November, October respectively) Matthew Foster of ArteWorks will take the coveted lipstick print.

In a campaign that would make a Texas politician proud, Matthew established a platform and rallied his supporters. Alas, even after stalking out MySpace, I couldn't find enough pictures to properly scrapbook an example of why Matthew's so hot. In his favor, the poetry and offers of free drinks (is that offer still good?) did convince me that Matthew's SEO sexiness is worth keeping a close eye on.

He's also generous, and will be matching donations to his friend, Kim McSpadden's (warning: MySpace page with music - it's pretty good though) efforts to walk for a cure for ALS. Kim's cool for lots of reasons, but anyone who can type impressive campaign emails with one hand gets my suppport. If you know someone diagnosed with ALS and want to chat with others about ongoing research, fundraisers and more check out this community. Click here to throw your support behind Kim

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Sexy SEO Boy of October

Ammon Johns

is October's Sexy SEO Boy of the Month

Anyone who's hung around the cre8asite forums is familiar with this search stud. Recently celebrating his fabulous fortieth birthday, Ammon's search strategies can only get sexier with age and experience.

But as you know, it takes more than a little experience to make SEO Sexy. It's time we stop viewing these guys as just search objects and appreciate their broader appeal. To do my part, I present 3 reasons why Sir Johns is October's stud of the month.

1. He's open to interns

For readers who know my background, I’m sure you can appreciate my excitement. I have spent a decade supporting and mentoring new talent in forums and via private communications. My years as an unpaid administrator at Cre8asite, trying to help webmasters, marketers and new SEOs get the same passion for SEO that I have, make this feel like the culmination of my efforts, and my joy in teaching.

While US politicians are busy getting in trouble for offering different kinds of hand on experience to interns, Ammon seems to have developed a program with real value. For an entire month, interns have the chance to eat sleep, sleep and breathe search. How to become a hot optimizer isn't mentioned as an offering, but do you really think that won't be picked up after some time with Ammon?

And while I don't think there will be any lurid emails detailing secret cloaking fantasies, or any other kind of inappropriate behavior with impressionable interns, I can always hope.

2. Has some pretty cool partners in crime


Okay, crime if you count stealing into the top 10 a crime, but it sounds cooler than partners in search. I saw this picture and couldn't help notice a resemblance to a certain on screen ensemble. It's like Ocean's 11 for net nerds. I'd totally be the first one in line if Hollywood ever made this happen on screen for real

3. Star Style

Once you get past the substance - well planned long term marketing results, recommendations for linkable content, generous advice to new and experienced optimizers alike - you realize all that stuff is good, but it isn't what gives Ammon that je ne sais quoi. For that, you have to swim towards the shallow end of the pool and ask yourself "but what makes him hot?" For me, this picture answered the question. I immediately thought of George Michael in the pre-Idon'thaveaproblem,I'mjustsleepy days when everyone had a lot of Faith in his sexiness. Despite the similar star styles, Ammon seems to have steered clear of anything that would cause him to nod off at the wheel of a campaign.

:in my best Marilyn Monroe voice: Happy Birthday Mr. Black Knight!

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