Blackbird e-Solutions

Can SEO Help Your Personal Brand In a Crisis?

November 4, 2020 By Bryan Coe

When faced with a crisis many people think SEO can save them from bad press. The truth is, it is not a silver bullet and can’t be turned on when you face a problem. However, there are things that you can do to help protect your online image that will help protect it if you do face a crisis.

SEO Can Help Your Personal Brand (Long Term)

Back in 2008, I had a crisis with my personal brand. Someone with the exact same name (Yes, they even spelled Bryan with a Y instead of an I.) was accused of manslaughter. I was horrified. What if I was going to meet with a potential new client and they Googled me and the story came up!

It took time but was able to flood the search results with properties I controlled, which included my personal blog, company site, and social media profiles. Even today I hold 6 or 8 of the top 10 when you search my name.

This post over on my company site explains how to secure your foothold before a crisis and ways to build your online reputation (personal and corporate) after a crisis. Check it out.

Can SEO Help With A Crisis?

Google in 2012 What’s New

January 25, 2012 By Bryan Coe Leave a Comment

I recently started a series of post over on my company blog about the changes that Larry Page and Google have recently made. They are doing some very interesting and in some cases scary things. Check out the excerpts from the first two posts in the series.

New Google Search Ad Placement

The first update you may have noticed as you were using Google Search is a redesign of ad placement. Ads that previously appeared on the right side of search results will in some cases be moved to below search results.

If you want to know if your ads are performing better in the top positions as apposed to all other positions, you’re in luck. Google will soon be launching a custom “Top vs. Other” segment. All placements on the side, at the bottom are labeled and other experimental placements will be labeled as “other”.

Read the full post: The New Google. Does “Don’t be Evil” Still Apply? – Part 1

YouTube Homepage Makeover

The new redesign, which YouTube describes as the biggest redesign in history, is a move to personalize the user experience on the site as well as better integration with social media services. Plus if that wasn’t enough, Google has changed the focus of the site to a channel centric experience, which puts them in competition with broadcast and cable tv.

When you first log in you’ll notice that the homepage is focused around channels and the “homepage feed.” The feed contains the channels that a user is subscribed to, which can contain channels such official music from the Warner Music Group, video hobbyists or branded channels. Users can control what is in their feed with the navigation bar on the left and recommended videos and ads populate the right column. It looks very similar to social media sites such as Facebook.

Read the full post: YouTube Update: The New Google. Does “Don’t be Evil” Still Apply? – Part 2

Is Customer Service a Dead Art?

May 18, 2011 By Bryan Coe Leave a Comment

I’ve been working on a project for a client where I’m correcting someone else’s errors and omissions. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate the work, but I’m amazed at the poor service that the other company has given my client.

The other company (we’ll call them MasterPortal) has a software package that can be integrated into websites. So, essentially a web portal running on their software for the back end. To create the web portal, MasterPortal slapped some aspx code together, crudely mashed it up with my clients current site and said their part was done. My client in turn asked me to make it look good and make it functional. By “functional”, I mean so it can be used the way I imagine MasterPortal said it could be.

Since, I’ve been working with it I found many problems including misspellings, code errors, css errors and generally sloppy design.

The point I’m trying to make here is; I just can’t imagine ever doing something like that. If I’m selling a product to someone I want it to look,feel, and act the way I promised. Sometimes I’m just amazed at how lazy people and companies can be. Plus, what further amazes me is how companies like MasterPortal stay in business.

Oh well, back to serving my client with the best service I can.

Keep Plugging Along

May 4, 2011 By Bryan Coe Leave a Comment

Ah, the trials of being an entrepreneur. It’s not the easiest path, but there are many things that make it worthwhile. Sometimes you find encouragement in unexpected places. Like my horoscope for today:

“Sometimes the road you’re traveling on gets shrouded in fog. If that happens, don’t pull over and wait for the weather to clear. Time is not to be wasted — keep going, slowly but surely, on the same path. If you let little things stop you from where you want to go (or what you want to accomplish), your confidence will take a beating. Soon enough, you’ll see a clear sign that will put your fears to rest and your mind at ease. You were on the right path the whole time.”

Today, one of my clients gave a glowing recommendation to someone that found them online. After speaking with my client this person called me about doing some work for them and we’re meeting next week to discuss it. It’s always nice when your clients become your best salespeople!