In the ordered way of things in which everything which is online happens HelpMySEO is developing into a place where you can find timely information on SEO, find out about SEO Help and Online Marketing Help and see what new trends affect your online marketing, right?
Well, kind of, almost. The domain name was registered back in 2007 when the idea for SEO Help came about and I talked to my agent who talked to a gazillion publishers who promptly rejected it as being too technical and arcane (I know, publishers in 2007 had just heard of the internet and SEO was a three letter acronym to them). As the rejections mounted I thought of turning the website into a subscription-based resource which would allow those who wanted to help their websites choose a subscription level and join the site.
That fell through for two reasons: first, I personally abhor subscriptions. For me the magic of the web has always been the fact that it made the ‘free lunch’ truly available. Back in 1995 (yeah, I know it’s last century) the fact that I could find information, download tools which helped me work better and get drivers which enabled my computer system to talk to my printer which routed documents in an office of four, all without paying a dime seemed magical. Second, a subscription model appeared quite limiting. I was not even sure myself that I could generate enough material to make a subscription system viable for the end user, and that thought, on its own, was a deal-breaker for me.
As I was trying to decide one brave publisher came through with a contract. That effectively put a stop to the site’s development for about a year as I ironed out my first book on SEO, tried out its content in extensive field trials and worked it from the feedback I received so that it could work with a minimum of effort from the part of the reader.
When SEO Help was published, HelpMySEO became the main focal point for the book. I did think of changing the domain at the time but I had grown fond of HelpMySEO, which I referred to to friends as HMS, and it did work in terms of optimization anyway, so I kept it. The example illustrates that even with the best laid plans in the world and expert knowledge of marketing and optimization things happen in the online business world and you need to just roll with them and adapt.
As the book became a success and I was asked to write a follow up in the series on Online Marketing and then a follow up on SEO for total beginners the site began to change. It covers news and trends, offers advice and explains what you can do to help your business improve. In the process of blogging almost every day (there are currently over 400 separate pieces of writing on the site) I found that it also became my digital home. The place where I explore new ideas and promote the initiatives which I like and which will actually benefit those who run a business or work online (like my piece on Truth Marketing).
While the SEO Tips section of the site lives up to its name by offering tips and advice which will help you market yourself better online the SEO Blog is beginning to look a little of a misnomer. Certainly I cover SEO topics there but it has also become the place for my own musings and occasional pet hates and likes.
I guess I should consider myself lucky in that I do something I love, I can do it almost from anywhere and it allows me to set my own hours (a little more on that later). It has also become the place where I interact with some of my readers and get to answer some of their pressing questions (mostly in video posts).
If any moral can be drawn from this it has to be the fact that any business is part of an organic process. It doesn’t take place in a vacuum where it is the only thing happening. It is subject to the development of circumstances (like for instance the fact that my SEO book was ahead of its time for publishers and required two years before they were ready for it and said yes), obstacles which crop up (my adversion to subscriptions), unforeseen swings in the market and even limitations imposed by personal factors (in addition to blogging I need to spend time with my partner, see a few friends and even go to a movie or two once in a while).
In order to grow and succeed you need to be able to roll with whatever comes your way. Resilience is one of the greatest strengths you can have in business.
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I’ve led the discussion on how social media and SEO are changing the processes we use to work and live, online, with the publication of my book ‘The Social Media Mind’. I combine experience in journalism and blue-chip corporate management with a penchant for explaining complex issues in simple terms. Contact me for media interviews, presentations and panel discussions
