Corey Smith's Random Thoughts

As we grow up, we learn skills and form opinions based on our experiences and personalities. We define ourselves by our thoughts, assumptions and actions.

One of the challenges that we have is that we naturally assume those around us think the same way we do. In fact, it's amazing how often we seem surprised when those around us think differently than we do.

The real difficulty comes when we are faced with hard choices that challenge our assumptions. Some of the hardest choices arise when we are asked to choose between what is right for us and what is right for others.

In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), link building is an important part of getting to the top of the search engines. When you are developing your link building strategy, it is important to be very proactive in your approach rather than just allowing it to happen naturally.

As you are considering the myriad tactics to gain links, you'll want to look at building efficiencies in your approach. It can be time consuming and ineffective if you take more time than necessary looking for links in all the wrong places.

My company, Tribute Media, has been building websites and marketing them online for better than six years. We've had clients of all sorts. Those that are spectacular to work with and those who are, well, not so much.

Sometimes we have clients that forget that mistakes happen and it's no use sweating bullets over. They will flip out if there is a pixel out of place. They will struggle to realize that just because something isn't perfect on their website, it doesn't mean that the world has to come to an end.

This week I had the opportunity to take a morning to do some fly-fishing with a good friend, Jordan Allen. This was only my second time and, last year, the same good friend took me for my first fishing trip.

Since I was no longer in my rookie, year, I performed much better. What I noticed, more than anything, was the fact that it didn't wear me out like last year. I found that I didn't have to work as hard to get the fly to go where I wanted. I think that I did so well I figure I'm pretty close to being promoted to amateur.

Shameless self-promotion is what gives network marketers a bad name. You know the ones I'm talking about. It's the neighbors that are always talking about the next get-rich scheme or the new business opportunity.

You see the same thing in certain people in your circle of friends. They are always talking about what they are up to. They are always pointing out the cool things their kids do or talking about how great they look. They are the ones that are always giving advice but never want to hear what you have to say.

You see this behavior in subtle ways, too. Sometimes it's as simple as too many selfies on their Facebook page.

The Internet is certainly known for a gathering place of information. It's a challenge to sift through all the information and know exactly how to use it. As more information becomes available more opportunities are created for consumers to choose from in regard to services and useful platforms. The overabundance of companies currently operating on the Internet has led to large amount of services all vying for your business.

Dear Smith,

This is not an automated message. I am sending this message directly to you because I have taken some time to review your website and think that I can probably help you in getting ranked in the search engines.

I've noticed that your website is not getting ranked for the terms it should be and with our unique approach, I am confident our company can help you get found in the search engines.

I just need a little bit of your time to discuss some options. I'm sure you'll be happy. I look forward to talking to you very soon!

Sincerely, A Spammer

You hear them every day. The words that mean nothing but are used to describe the services you buy. They have become jargony (that's a word, right?). They are used to describe things that we don't really understand how to explain.

Personally, I think that "space age technology" is the worst offender so I'm going to start my rant there. Let's think back to when the space age started. Let's look at Sputnik 1.

I am a firm believer that content, especially on your website, is king. It is what sets you apart from the other, boring companies that compete against you.

While pretty design is important, your content is what can give you the substance you need to attract and keep quality website visitors. You don't want to be a pretty face with nothing inside that is of any worth.

Aside from communicating with your website visitors, the content on your website also serves as a very important component of your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Content is what allows your website visitors to find you when performing a search on a search engine.