I’m going to make an effort to update a bit more often, however.

The same is true of in-house SEOs, in my opinion. The magic of a lot of in-house positions, [...]]]> A study has found that cats sort of domesticated themselves because human granaries became a source of food, followed by the humans themselves encouraging the cats to stick around (because the cats ate the rats in the granaries).

The same is true of in-house SEOs, in my opinion. The magic of a lot of in-house positions, or ‘near’ in-house positions, is that it guarantees the search marketer a number of advantages: the paycheck always clears, the medical benefits resemble something at least ok, and it can be more stable than even a position at a large agency. While a large agency generally has the paycheck and the benefits, they also have a long tradition of dumping a lot of creative staff on the streets during lean periods or large account turnovers. Corporations are a little less prone to that, even if the marketing budget seems to be among the first against the wall when a revolution comes.

Beyond that, many SEOs just aren’t suited for freelance work. This is as true in search marketing as in other disciplines with freelance potential, like copywriting. Managing one’s own business development, client relations, and billing can be a drag, and sometimes just not in someone’s skill set. Sure, much of that can be developed, but not everyone wants to go to the bother.

Still, learn from the domestication of the cat: Your SEO team in-house is only so domesticated as you keep them fed and give them a warm place to nap.

What makes a real estate developer say, “Let’s name all these streets for trees?”

And why do they always choose the same trees? Why not a round of ‘Black Locust Lane’ or [...]]]> How many ‘Maple Streets’ does any one county, state or country need? I saw no fewer than two in a 28-mile bicycle ride last night.

What makes a real estate developer say, “Let’s name all these streets for trees?”

And why do they always choose the same trees? Why not a round of ‘Black Locust Lane’ or ‘Poison Sumac Street?’

If I were to build a subdivision, I think I would name streets after exotic and tasty greens. ‘Take a left turn at Arugula Avenue and go up Endive Lane to the cul-se-sac, which is Escarole Court. I’m the green house, in the middle.’ If I wanted to really make a niche, all the houses would be ecologically friendly ‘green’ houses.

As it is, I think I may re-name my server namespace so that each machine and node is named for a leafy green. Yum.

1. To Sarah Bernier, aka Sarita, for her debut at Search Engine Strategies Latino Edition. Her session was blogged over at Search Engine Roundtable.

2. To the legend known as David Temple, who has accepted a position as Region Head of Search, Asia Pacific Region, at Neo@Ogilvy. It seems like only yesterday when [...]]]> A few shout-outs:

1. To Sarah Bernier, aka Sarita, for her debut at Search Engine Strategies Latino Edition. Her session was blogged over at Search Engine Roundtable.

2. To the legend known as David Temple, who has accepted a position as Region Head of Search, Asia Pacific Region, at Neo@Ogilvy. It seems like only yesterday when I was in a conference room wondering if David was nuts — toughest interviewer ever!

In a truly funny note, when David left his job at FindLaw the first time, Sarah took over his cube. I hope this doesn’t mean she’s going to move to Singapore next.

SEOing is hard. Good thing he’s a professional.

I did, in fact, get married Saturday. More digital mayhem to come.