I’ve been following my friend, Ryan Kelly’s company, Pear Analytics’ progress over the last two years in their approach of what I would call the democratization and self-empowerment of SEO.

While I know SEO is important, I’ve always had a problem with the notion that being forced to use certain key word, and sometimes certain phraseology, could possibly compromise the quality of my writing and more importantly, my voice.

New Year’s Resolution #1:  Being Found

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to improve my SEO and be found.  As a High Tech PR consultant I work in a very competitive field and wanted to improve my search results not only through better writing, but writing that could be found.

Pear Analytics offers a variety of services, and as a start, I tried their Keyword Research offering, which at $249.00 is a great value. For a little more, Pear can provide the keyword research, competitive analysis (reverse engineering your competitors rankings), and a full site audit on their Starter Plan for just $899.

Upon receiving the initial report (see 2 samples here), I also had a 30-minute phone consultation that helped me understand and focus what I should be aiming to write about in the context of key words.

While most of this turned out to be common sense, the real benefit of this particular service was that it shed light on a ranking of priority of search terms I should be using, and how, without compromising my writing style and voice, I could benefit from their research methodology.

30 Days Later…It’s Working.

I took my Pear Analytics Consultant’s advise and I’ve already seen a difference:  I’m on page one on certain terms, and in some cases page two;  a dramatic improvement of what I was experiencing before.

At the end of the day, this is a combination of common sense, good writing, and on-going publishing. 

 And therein lies the real challenge for many of us:  finding the time and having the focus to write quality, helpful, relevant and searchable content that can be found.

It’s the later where Pear Analytics came through.

Highly Recommended.

Artwork courtesy of Pear Analytics

Even though I do PR, I'm also a journalist and blogger, often winding up in various media databases.  I really don't mind getting pitches for story ideas, especially when they are relevant to the subjects I cover such as  Wired Home Networking, the G.hn industry standard, IPTV and Israel's technology economy.

If you are going to pitch story ideas, don't blindly spam journalists.  

Do your homework first...

1.  Before you start spamming away, it's probably best - and makes tons of sense to research what the prospective journalist covers.  

2.  When I am pitching for a security client, I pitch security related media.  I don't approach (nor do I spam) journalists who cover databases, semiconductors, or consumer electronics.

3.  Do a historical search on articles they have written and make a compelling case for why your pitch fits and how it's relevant.   Even though I might be considered a "tech or social media journalist," do an articles search on me and see what I am writing about.  

4.  Even if you believe the journalist / blogger you are pitching is the right one, send a VERY short query and ask something to the effect of - "are you the right person to propose a story to about ______?"

Follow these steps.  It will increase your chances of meaningful coverage and most of all, won't tarnish the reputation of PR people who are trying to do a good job.

Photo by Alan Weinkrantz - shot on location at a Mercado in Juanajuato, Mexico.  Share but please credit. 

As I travel, attend trade shows and industry conferences, I often get a chance to meet the authors whose books I review. In this case, I've known author and management consultant, Winslow Swart for a little over 15 years. Winslow is a friend, but from a far, I've seen him work with NBA superstars and corporate executives work through the ups and downs of economic change.
Winslow's approach is to take what he's learned in being a leader and organizational Sensei who has mastered several martial arts in the dojos of Japan, offering his consulting expertise through Winslow Consulting.

In his new book, The Resilient Leader, Winslow shares those same insights, helping you draw forth increased levels of focus and resolve, transform obstacles into opportunities, and become the calm in the eye of the storm.

The Resilient Leader distills the core ideologies of the eastern martial arts disciplines into an effective curriculum for developing leadership capabilities and increasing human performance.

This is the perfect book for the perform storm we're in.

Supporting clients primarily in the technology sector involves identifying spheres of influence amongst journalists, bloggers, thought leaders and industry analysts. Within each sphere communities evolve much like the ones illustrated below. The illustration was well done by TheNextEngine.com Give them a shout out on your networks for a job well done.

Yes, you are what you Wordle - or rather what you write.   This free site that lets you create beautiful “word clouds” from text that you provide.  Or in the case of using Posterous like I do, it will automatically scan the contents of your site, and generate a word cloud like the one below.  

Give Wordle a whirl.  

And see what comes up - and what Wordle helps you illustrate the editorial fabric of your blog.