SEOmoz has been in the media more than most firms in our industry, and that’s spurred some curiousity from readers. How did SEOmoz achieve its media connections? Why did the stories include our quotes? How can a small firm achieve media visibility?
One of the first keys to understanding my perspective (and, thus contributions) on this subject is to get a background on our media involvement. Here’s a short history:
- In June of 2005, Mick Sawyer (aka EarlGrey) and I had a public, online debate about black hat vs. white hat search spam techniques
- In September of that year, Brad Stone, who reports for Newsweek and occassionally contributes to Wired magazine, was assigned a story by Chris Anderson (Wired’s editor-in-chief) that would cover the white hat and black hat sides of the SEO industry
- Brad was skyping online with Earl (not sure how that started), and Earl referred Brad to our debate and to me, specifically.
- Brad interviewed me twice over the phone, flew out to Seattle and met with me here, and wrote a lengthy piece on Earl and me – this piece was twice rejected by Chris Anderson (for reasons unknown to me)
- Brad took the piece to his editors at Newsweek, who liked it and published it in an issue just before Christmas of 2005. This was our first media coverage outside the search sphere.
- SEOmoz’s Web 2.0 Awards were released in March of 2006 and were mentioned briefly in publications including Business Week, the Seattle PI, and hundreds of other publications (primarily online), most of them outside the SEO world. We had hired a PR pitch person for this job who had spoken with many contacts at business and technology journals about the awards. We were very nearly picked up as an exclusive by the Wall Street Journal, as several journalists showed interest, but this coverage was nixed by editors, who felt the story wasn’t backed by “big” names/companies.
- Our next coverage came through a phone call from Leslie Walker at the Washington Post while I was speaking at SES in Toronto. We spoke on the phone from my hotel room – she was directed to me through several contacts in the search field, which she didn’t specifically name. Leslie wrote about SEO and SEOmoz on April 27th.
- Jefferson Graham of USA Today was the next to pick us up. Mr. Graham, from my understanding, heard about us from Barry Schwartz & Danny Sullivan (and possibly others). He’s written about us (or mentioned us) three times – here, here, and here.
Obviously, along with this offline, mainstream media coverage, we’ve gotten a significant amount of attention online as well. I’ve tried to describe, in brief, those items which I believe have contributed most to this phenomenon:
- Personal Relationships – Sharing time, drinks, experiences, and a professional relationship with people like Danny Sullivan, Chris Sherman, Mike Grehan, Lee Odden, Barry Schwartz, and dozens of others were the catalyst for much of our media exposure.
- Industry Events – Without participation in events like SES, Pubcon, & others, the relationships and industry profile we’ve built would have been impossible. Press writers are also in the business of reviewing contacts’ accomplishments and resumes, and public speaking is a great way to get in front of potential press and to show them you’ve earned your place in the industry.
- Shareable Stories – Being able to give Brad the names of 3 of our clients that he could contact and write about probably cinched the deal. In an industry where it can be hard to find consultants who give out their client list, this makes a big difference.
- Brand Recognition – Press research, like any other kind, will start with broad searches and get more narrow; being listed in the top results for industry-related queries and having mentions at major industry portals will go a long way towards getting the right people to find you.
- Engaging Website – Every member of the press who’s ever contacted me has noted that they browsed around the website and directed specific questions about items they picked up (most often, they ask me about working with Gillian, my mom).
- Phone Skills – Being able to make an emotional connection and speaking eloquently about your expertise/industry is critical to landing a piece. This isn’t just important for landing press that calls; it also builds the connections that can land you coverage ahead of time.
Obviously, there are dozens of other elements that go into a press piece, and luck (or good timing) is a big part of that puzzle. In my experience, however, the above six were the most significant factors that helped us to receive coverage. There are people who could address this to a much better degree, so Danny, Bruce, and Greg, I’m calling on you to help spread the word.
p.s. I’ll be out of town (in Guelph, Ontario) until Thursday, so expect light posting, commenting, and email 🙂 Hopefully the SEOmoz crew can help to pick up the slack.
