SEO Madness – What it is and How To Avoid the Hype
Welcome to all , this is my first entry and boy is it a doozy . In this post I will try and demystify SEO , and The Madness behind it . For Starters , what is SEO ? This is what the wonderful , all knowing peopleat wikepeid had to say : "Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" ) search results. Typically, the higher a site's "page rank" (i.e, the earlier it comes in the search results list), the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. " Alot of people ask me to help them increase the traffic on there page . With SEO , there is no such thing as " A Quick Fix " . There many things that can be done to increase your visibility on the web , as well as ensure that your page pops up when it needs to ( when doing a search on google, yahoo, etc ) there is no *guarantee that your website will pop up on the first page when doing a search .. ( well actually there is , but I'll get to that later ) You may also come across alot of websites that claim that they can get you ranked within 48-72 Hours . If you have the money to burn with the way this economy is going , then be my guest , just expect a reoccurring charge the following month when your website is back to where it started . SEO is a very broad topic of discussion , so for now I will just focus on one , which is the method that I use the most and that is "Organic SEO " . Organic SEO in a nutshell is basically doing everything by the book . Dotting all your i's and making sure that everything is meets web standards . Alot of things determine your page rank , and the likelihood of you coming up first on google ( or alteast on the first page ) . Let's say for example that you have a company that creates dog collars made of licorice and you are based out of Lawton Oklahoma . ( yes mthat is very far fetched but just follow along with me ) . If you type in Licorice dog collar and Oklahoma , chances are , you will be the only person coming up on that search ( unless you know of any other people that make licorice dog collars , lol) . Licorice dog collars is not a common thing , and so coming up in first place on a google search or a yahoo search would be no contest becasue that is unique content . Now let's take the same company , same location , and you sold regular dog collars .You would more than likely not be in first place , or even on the first page . The reason for that is becasue you are now competing with other people that are doing the same thing as you . So you ask , " What can I do to increase my visibility ?" . Here are some basics for you to get started .
- Writing posting quality material on your website that is relevant to what your website is about .
- Using Keywords that are relevant to your site
- Meta Tags ( this is somethign that is debateable among web designers , but personallly I implement them because I feel that it is better to have and not need , than not have at all )
This is a picture of what meta tags are exactly . ( this is also a demonstration of what not to do when using meta tags ) 
- Sitemaps ( very important )
What keywords to use ? Meta Tags ? That is a completely different blog , lol … I'm out like 3 strikes . Christian
10 Different Types of Clients
After having worked with a number of clients as well as listened to my colleages talk about companies and folks they've worked with, I thought I'd draft up a handy list identifying the various types of clients you may run into. I've found that this list is extremely official and scientific, so you should be able to refer to it and instantly identify a potential client. 
Enjoy!
1. The Gabbo Client The name for this client stems from the episode of The Simpsons titled "Krusty Gets Kancelled." In the episode everyone in Springfield sees commercials and billboards saying "Gabbo! Gabbo! Gab-bo!", but nobody knew what the heck Gabbo was. A Gabbo Client is someone who hires you to help out with their site, and when you take a look at the site you have no idea what the hell they're selling, what the site's purpose is, what it's focusing on, or why it even exists. You: "What…is this?" Client: "We've got videos!" You: "Yeah…I'm still not getting it though. What's the site's purpose?" Client: "Check out this funny article about marshmallows! We've got another one about Jay-Z!" You: "Uh, so…you're selling…rap s'mores?" 
You're gonna like me! You're gonna LOVE me!
2. The Lumbergh Client You've all seen Office Space, so I'm sure you're familiar with the boss, Bill Lumbergh. A Lumbergh Client is someone who is unfazed by your efforts and instead needs you to "go ahead" and make a bunch of ridiculous changes to their site, even if you're only providing consulting work. Client: "Yeeeeah, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and manage our paid search account." You: "I don't do paid search." Client: "Greeeeat. I'm also gonna need you to redo our landing pages and increase clickthrough rates by 110%." You: "I'm only providing consulting. Don't you have a team or a staff to handle these–" Client: "Greeeeeat. We'll touch base at the end of the week." [hangs up] 
Yeeeeahhhh…
3. The Flatterbut Client Flatterbuts are people who flatter you, then follow it up with a "…but…" Client: "This site design is really incredible." You: "Why thank you! I'm glad you like it!" Client: "Really, this is just great work." You: Aw, well thanks." Client: "I just love it…buuuuuuut…I really want the whole thing to be in Flash." You: "Again, I really appreciate your–wait, what?"
4. The Jessie Spano Client For all you Saved By the Bell fans out there, I'm sure you remember the infamous episode where goody goody Jessie Spano gets addicted to caffeine pills and freaks out: A Jessie Spano Client is someone who initially is "so excited" to work with you but ultimately gets overwhelmed by all the changes that you recommend and has a massive freakout from the stress of having to do a complete site overhaul. Most Jessie Spano Clients don't end up implementing any of your recommendations because they're afraid of a) losing rankings (even though you repeatedly tell them it's temporary at worst), b) confusing customers with the new "confusing" design, c) making the site more complicated, or d) all of the above.
5. The BTJ Client The BTJ Client (or Bigger Than Jesus) is someone who is obsessed with getting a PR9 or PR10 site, no matter what you tell them or how hard you try to convince them that Page Rank isn't something they should obsess over. Client: "I really want us to get a PR10 ranking." You: "Um, for your wool socks site?" Client: "Yes. It can't be that hard, right? Lots of sites have PR10s, yeah?" You: "Well, there's Google.com…" Client: "Okay, maybe a PR10 is a bit of a lofty goal. How about a PR9? I think we're PR9 material. Which sites have a PR9?" You: "Uh, Yahoo.com…"
6. The DEFCON 1 Client We've all had a DEFCON 1 Client. They somehow manage to freak out over everything. Client: "Did you get my 24 emails?!" You: "I saw them in my inbox and thought I'd call. Is something wrong?" Client: "YES! It's terrible! I don't know what to do! How do we fix this?!" You: "What's wrong?" Client: "When I check my site's rankings from home it says we're at #5, but then when I'm at the office it says we're at #6!" You: "Uh…" Client: "Also, Yahoo! Site Explorer said we had 312,947 links last week, but this week it's only reporting 312,522 links! How'd we lose 400 links in a week?!" You: "Oh dear…
" 7. The H8tr Client (aka The Haterade Client, aka The Negative Nelly Client) You know how it goes with these guys: You: "What did you think of my recommendations?" Client: "Hated them. Can't execute any." You: "Uh…well, what about our design mockups?" Client: "Not one is remotely feasible." You: "Well, did you at least get my holiday gift basket?" Client: "I'm allergic to nuts. Also, I hate Christmas." 8. The T-800 Client This quote from The Terminator sums up T-800 Clients quite nicely:
It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.
Well, maybe not dead. More like "it will not stop until you've gotten it top rankings."
Client: "I want #1 rankings." You: "Well actually it looks like you're getting great clickthrough and conversion rates from the position you're currently at, so I don't know how much moving up a couple spots will help you out…" Client: "I want #1 rankings." You: "I mean, if anything, you could focus on usability and worry more about the customer experience on your site…" Client: "I want #1 rankings." You: "Sigh. Okay, I'll see what I can do." Client: "I'll be back."
Either looking for Sarah Conner or top rankings…
9. The Brainy Smurf Client
This type of client fancies himself an expert on Internet marketing despite actually knowing very little. He usually latches onto a buzz word he's just heard and spouts nonsensical information in a smug, know-it-all fashion:
Client: "We're really angling for a holistic social media approach, because, you know, content is king and we need that link juice!" You: "What do you mean exactly?" Client: "Well, you're supposed to be the expert, but I'll tell you what I think. Basically, we really think that canonical long tail latent semantic indexing is what's going to put our site over the top…blogosphere." You: "Is that even English?" Client: "Linkerati!"
Jerk.
10. The Holy Grail Client
Finding a Holy Grail Client is like finding a $20 bill in a six-month old Christmas card that you were going to throw away. It's like stepping on the scale and discovering you've lost 10 lbs. It's like trying something for the first time and discovering that you're a natural. While the perfect client isn't quite as elusive as unicorns, leprechauns, or unicorn-riding leprechauns, they're nonetheless tough to come by. Nonetheless, once you do work with a Holy Grail Client, you remember how satisfying client work can be. These are the folks who are excited to work with you, trust your recommendations, appreciate your hard work and efforts, understand your reasoning and are able to grasp various concepts, and genuinely love everything you've done for them. Holy Grail Clients make me happy. 
I wish they were all like you… What types of clients have I failed to mention? Got any good ones to share?
Luv Jawn by Ackryte
I am a Senior Web \ Mobile Developer residing in sunny Orlando Fl. I love developing awesome mobile apps, fresh web designs, playing my bass guitar and watching Robot Chicken ( Adult Swim rocks lol) .Uber Twitter addict, and leopard gecko owner.
-Christian Martell
