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Posts by Rand Fishkin:

Marketing Moz Startups

Mixergy Interview On Startup Marketing, Reaching Early Adopters, Burnout, & More

Rand FishkinBy Rand Fishkin
A few weeks ago, Andrew Warner of Mixergy interviewed me on a number of topics. We started by talking about launching a startup marketing strategy, got deep into the tactical process of earning an audience, and ended discussing some of the challenges I’ve had at Moz this year. (Andrew via Extra Pack of Peanuts) Andrew is one of the best…
Moz Personal Psychology

Can’t Sleep; Caught in The Loop

Rand FishkinBy Rand Fishkin
During the worst weeks of this year, I’ve had this weird mental cycle that, despite being incredibly exhausted, keeps me awake. In my head, I’ve taken to calling it “The Loop.” (photo credit: Geraldine in Paris) The Loop starts out with something small. I’ll be lying awake, in bed, trying to fall asleep, and thinking (as I do most of…
Moz Personal Team

Swapping Drivers on this Long Road Trip Together

Rand FishkinBy Rand Fishkin
2013 has been a really hard year for me. In many ways, it’s been harder than even the 2002-2006 era when my Mom and I went deeply into debt and worried about paying the rent and being chased by creditors. Some of that is attributable to the less-than-what-I-hoped-for results the business achieved (mostly because we artificially constrained our acquisition funnel…
Product Startups Team

Launching Adventure Teams at Moz

Rand FishkinBy Rand Fishkin
Like many software companies moving from the early to growth stage, we’ve experienced our fair share of challenges and pains. At the start of 2012, there were ~50 Mozzers, a very flat management structure, and things like process, communication, and planning were fairly simple. But over the next 12 months, we more than doubled to nearly 120 (today 130+) and…
Marketing Startups

How Can a CEO Lead Social Media Efforts for Their Company?

Rand FishkinBy Rand Fishkin
One of the best parts about Foundry’s investment in Moz last Spring was the incredible access to other CEOs, founders, and companies in their portfolio. I’ve had at least a half dozen phone conversations, more than a dozen in-person chats, and a few invaluable get-togethers with my Foundry cousins and learned a tremendous amount every time. It’s something I hope…
Marketing

The First Existential Threat to SEO

Rand FishkinBy Rand Fishkin
There have been thousands of articles over the years proclaiming the “Death of SEO.” The topic is usually just a punching bag for page-view hungry publications with no interest in facts. But, this past week, with Google’s indications that keyword (not provided) would be headed to 100%, I wondered whether the next “SEO is Dead” article might actually have some…
Hiring Marketing

The T-Shaped Web Marketer

Rand FishkinBy Rand Fishkin
There’s been a good amount of talk on the web about the “T-Shaped” marketer becoming a model for the future. Several articles will go into more depth than I can, but I did want to share my thoughts on the topic and an illustration I made for a recent presentation.…
Startups

7 Unlikely Recommendations for Startups & Entrepreneurs

Rand FishkinBy Rand Fishkin
If you’ve been reading this blog much, you know I’m something of a contrarian. One of Moz’s core values is, in fact, to be the exception to the rule, and a big part of that comes from my personal ethos of going against the grain. I love the startup world, but I really love the weird, atypical, non-Valley, non-20-something-Ivy-Leaguers-trying-to-be-Zuckerburg startups.…

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