Ranking for Ed Tennant

I read a great blog post that motivated me to work on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Neil Patel's post, The Secret to Learning SEO, reviews Free SEO Report and explains the result very well. I tried it myself and the report is impressive. In my case it was also disappointing. I am Ed Tennant but this web site did not rank well for my name as a keyword. In fact www.webitty.com was not even on the first page of Google results for Ed Tennant. My LinkedIn profile and my Twitter profile both ranked near the top but my blog was nowhere to be seen. Truth be told my other blog, All the Way to the Beginning, was at the bottom of the first page of search results but I'd like this site to be at the top.

The # 1 Ed Tennant

My goal is to be at or near the top of Google search results for my name. I hope that doesn't sound too conceited. My ego isn't the driving factor. This is a way to learn how to rank well in search results for a keyword. My name is one keyword with very little competition.

Moving On Up

The short term results are encouraging. I have seen www.webitty.com on the first page of search results already. Since my name isn't a very popular keyword I picked a good example. Once I learn more about this subject I'll revisit the topic and report my overall results.

Slippin' Sliders is Delicious

If you happen to be in the Triangle area of NC keep an eye out for the Slippin' Sliders food truck. You can't miss the bright blue truck and you don't want to miss the great food. You can check out the Slippin' Sliders website for some of their small sandwich creations but to find where the truck is parked you should probably follow @slippinsliders on Twitter.

Webitty Goes Mobile

A new mobile template has been enabled for this blog. Check out how great it looks on your Android powered phone. At least it does on mine. Did I mention I have a new Samsung Galaxy S phone? So far I am really happy with it and hope to do more in the mobile space now that I own an Android phone.

Premonition of Despair

A week ago I flipped my Demotivator® calendar over to the new month. For December the wise people at Despair, Inc selected “Worth”.

The next day my closest colleague, and a couple hundred more, lost his job due to a reduction in force.

Getting Personal

This blog started as a place to record my discoveries in the area of Social Media. At work I was helping to establish an internal social network. I was a great project. Then it stalled. So the role of community manager that I was looking forward to filling never happened. This blog sat idle for some time. Recently I realized a need to renew my professional networking activities. I hope this site will function as an online view into who I am and what I am about.

There was a time I tried to hide from Google. I didn’t want my business on the web. Every site was a separate profile and disconnected from any other. At some point I came to believe that almost everyone is going to have a web presence whether they want it or not. I set out to feed what I wanted to the Internet. My goal was to provide enough information to satisfy the pre-interview Google search. “Who is this guy and why should we bring him in to talk with us in person?” Now it is likely that when you find me online you see multiple accounts because the LinkedIn profile points to the blog that links to Twitter that refers to this site.

What I haven’t added is the personal side. I’m not on Facebook. Imagine that. I may join one day but I may not. So how do you know what football team I like? Heck, when I say football do I mean the game played with a round ball or a pointy one? So this site is going to become less worried about professional appearances and more willing to express personal opinions.