Preface: This is a hard post to write, and one that’s taken far longer than I hoped to publish. Never before have I been so challenged to walk the line between empathy and transparency. Never before have I had to get a blog post approved by my boss, board, and legal team. And so I…
What Are the Most Powerful, Mind-Expanding Ads You’ve Seen?
This year at Mozcon, we’re doing something new — featuring some of the most unique, creative, and mind-expanding advertisements of the last few years during the breaks (just before we introduce the next speakers). e.g. this praise-garnering Deutsche LA Volkswagen ad from 2011 But rather than just editorially select the ads, we’d love to have…
What I’d Change, Keep the Same, & Don’t Yet Know
The older I get, the less sure of myself I become. Certainty, it seems, diminishes with age. Hopefully, that’s part of the “wisdom of the aging brain” as Nautilus described it. This week, at Business of Software Europe, I was asked to give a talk on this topic, and created a short, visual set of…
SEO Consultant/Agency Pricing, Structure, & Services (US & Canada Survey Results)
In late November/early December of 2015, I ran a survey of consultants and agencies asking deep questions about their structure, fees, employees, projects, and more. Thanks to responses from over 400 folks around the world, I’m able to share what I hope will be some of the most useful data from that project. Survey takers…
It’s Official: I’m Writing a Book that Will Be Published by Penguin/Random House’s Portfolio
Last week, I went to New York to pitch a book about transparency, startup struggles, and the last 15 years of Moz’s story to publishers. It wasn’t dissimilar from the VC-pitching process; lots of nervousness, waiting, hoping, and tension. But, midday Wednesday, after meetings on Monday and Tuesday, I received a phone call from my…
My Complicated Relationship with No Longer Being CEO
It’s been 22 months since I stepped down as the CEO of Moz and turned over the role to my longtime Chief Operating Officer and close friend, Sarah Bird. Since then I’ve recovered from depression, traveled to and keynoted dozens of events, started (and now nearly completed) a new product with a small team at Moz, and kept…
What Do Attendees Want from Marketing Conferences?
Over the course of a few days in mid-December, I ran a survey asking folks about their experiences at conferences and events in the marketing world. 248 people replied, primarily via Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. Despite the small number of questions, I found the responses immensely valuable and quite interesting. A few even caught me…
A Look at the Keyword Research Tool Universe in 2015
In 2015, I’ve been pretty obsessed with keyword research and the tools web marketers are using to do it. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m working with Russ Jones (after our SERPscape acquisition) and a small team at Moz to build something in this space (and it’s now live! Moz’s new keyword research…
Does Making a Website Mobile-Friendly Have a Universally Positive Impact on Mobile Traffic?
From October of 2004 to April of 2015, Moz’s website remained entirely mobile-unfriendly. The experience on mobile, tablet, and desktop devices was the same, and if your screen was small, you had to pinch and zoom. Many of our readers complained and many more wondered why a technology company in the web marketing field would…
How to Cheat at Creating Great Presentations for Tech & Marketing Audiences
I speak a lot. I make a lot of decks. Heck, I’m even on the board of presentation software startup, HaikuDeck. In the last 3 years, I’ve given nearly 80 unique presentations at 100+ events in the technology and marketing fields. A good percent of the time, I get scores back from the organizers telling me how the…