Info From SMX Advanced, plus Update on the Dude
I am not sure if anyone commented on this yet. I tried a quick search but didn't find anything, which seems a bit surprising. Maybe my search skills are just sub-par. At any rate, for the article I was recently asked to write (further comments on that below) I had to read up a bit on the SMX Advanced conference in Seattle this past June, and it was pretty interesting.
As I mentioned, some or all of this may have already been pointed out multiple times, but if I managed to miss is, maybe others did as well.
So, according to a discussion with Gary Illyes, a Google webmaster trend analyst, Google will be moving from a desktop-first index to a mobile-first index, starting next year. This may take four or five years to complete, but it goes to show how much mobile is taking over. When he commented on speed (saying again that anything over 5 seconds load time is just too long to rank effectively), he said Google doesn't really care about desktop speed anymore.
Other considerations for ranking obviously include user experience, and he mentioned that he is a fan of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), though he cautioned that they can be used incorrectly, hurting your search visibility. He reiterated that there is a boost in having https, and suggested that your conversion process should be optimized to 3 clicks or less.
Things to avoid included keyword stuffing (over using the keywords or using them in illogical, unnatural ways) and buying links.
I was actually completely unaware of these PMX conferences, but will try to follow them in the future, as they offer perhaps a bit of new information, or just reinforce what is being taught here.
As for the other stuff that has been occupying my time this week...
Yesterday was nuts. As I mentioned previously, after a brief chat with the Dude, I found myself with 4 job interviews yesterday, and it was weird. Good, but weird.
So the first two interviews went quite well, I thought. As I was on my way to the third one, I found myself running late. Part of me wasn't too worried, since I felt really good about the previous interviews, but I still wanted to make a good impression and be professional, so I commented to the Dude "it would be really nice if you could help me out here."
Well, I wound up being late anyway. I almost ran to the meeting place, arriving about 8 minutes late. When I got there, I saw no sign of the person I was meeting, which was pretty annoying, as I figured she must not have waited very long. Then my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was the interviewer, apologising for being late, and would I mind waiting for her?
At that point, with how well everything was going and the simple fact that I had these 4 interviews, plus the online work I'd been offered, I felt like nothing could go wrong. The Dude totally had my back.
That third interview went well, as did the fourth. As I left the final one, I received another phone call. This time it was from the very first company I had ever worked for, which I had decided I would like to go back to. I had applied for a job-- without exaggeration-- about 12 times, and now they were finally calling for an interview, so I said yes. When I hung up, I realised I had a voicemail message from a number I didn't recognise, When I listened to it, it was from another employer, whom I had been applying to for over 4 years, calling for an interview.
The past couple of days feel almost like a joke.
When I arrived home, I received a call from the first interviewer,offering me a position and asking if I could start tomorrow (Thursday). About an hour later, the second interviewer called, offering me a job and asking if I could start tomorrow (Thursday)...
I also received an email from the guy whom I wrote the article for. He liked it, wanted to send me more work, and add me to the "About Us" section of his website. I am also now able to official say that I am a paid writer....
Normally, I would be looking over my shoulder for a hidden camera, or something, because this seems way too crazy to be true. I've been working on my attitude, however, and don't want to sabotage myself with negative thoughts, so instead, I am laughing, smiling, and thinking yet again that the Dude has one heck of a sense of humour, because after months of trying to find work, I asked him for help and ended up with 6 interviews and 3 jobs. Now I just have to decide what to do about them all.
Life... you are crazy sometimes.
Recent Comments
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You always knew the Dude has your back. Choose the job that you'll be happiest in, not necessarily the highest paid.
Thanks.
I have to walk the middle ground though; my wife has been paying literally everything for quite some time now, so I need to pay back her lost savings and get everything back on track, at least until my site takes off. I'm getting the Dude on that one next. ;)
It's kind of funny writing about this stuff. I had this weird vision of things turning into an 80's-style buddy show, with me and the Dude travelling along the highway, going town to town, helping people. Ha ha!
I don't know if you saw my comment about my traffic, but I didn't really do anything with my site over the past few days while this was playing out. This morning I figuredI should takea look at things and discovered that yesterday-- that crazy, wonderful day-- saw a big spike in traffic.
Now admittedly, my traffic is generally pretty low, so this isn't quite as impressive as it sounds, but yesterday it was 5X higher than my next best day from the past two weeks.
If some sales or referrals were to come way, I'd be all set.
WOW!!!! I am so happy for you Craig! You are such a good guy you really deserve this!
So what will you do? Which job will you accept???
Jessica
Well, the two jobs thatI am most interested in, I haven't heard from yet, so I took one that involves sales and, unfortunately, a bit of travel, which will complicate the home life.
Still, is a job and I'm super grateful. And if one of the really desirable ones makes an offer I'll probably switch.
Or maybe my site will take off? Lol. It's funny because I didn't even look at site over the past few days, but with all the other good stuff I thought I should.
My traffic yesterday was 5x higher than the next best day of the past two weeks.
That is truly awesome Craig. I am really, really glad to see your success. It is a much needed ray of hope. I had a terrible day yesterday since it was the anniversary of my Dad's death, and that of my best friend's brother who died in a car accident and I learned of two more deaths...all yesterday.
I woke up to learning that I am an Ambassador now. It helps me be positive seeing your success!
I'm sorry to hear about that. It's strange how everything-- good or bad-- always seems to come at once.
Congrats on the "promotion" though, that's pretty cool!
I'm a firm believer (even more now than before) that things work themselves out eventually so long as you tough out the difficult moments.
I hope you get nothing but positive news from here on.
Thanks Craig. I was ok yesterday but the day ended with finding out about the last death and seeing that one of my old friends is depressed and suicidal...hard to stay upbeat with all that!
I am feeling pretty good about my situation here though.
You are on a roll. Congratulations. Go with the flo and your best gut decision on which offer will take you the farthest and that you will like doing the most. Awesome....... Donna
Thanks. Well, my ideal positions are ones that haven't responded yet. I don't really want to put off the ones that are guaranteed in favour of ones that aren't.
We'll see.
Wonderful, fantastic news. Positive attitude comes through. Choose wisely. Have a great week.
You reap what you sow...even if its not always immediate. Life often has a laugh (normally at our expense).
Paul.
I recently heard of it myself and this is my first time going. Its SEO and SMO based. Social Media Optimization as well as mobile marketing. I was informed via an affiliate marketing advertiser freeeats
That is amazing. You have been persistant and it all pays off in one moment almost. Congrats and hopefully things are going in the right direction now.
Dale
It's crazy. What's funny too, is that I almost forgot about my sites during this, so when I went to look at it this morning, I saw that my traffic on one of them took a huge upturn, with 5X the visitors yesterday compared to my best day in the past two weeks .
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That's amazing, Craig. All the good vibes you have sent out are coming back to you. That is actually quite inspiring. Continue smiling and enjoy the ride.
Thank you. I'm loving things right now.
I want to see everyone else feel this way....