Michael Gray - Graywolf's SEO Blog

Interview with Nick Stamoulis of Brick Marketing

Posted: 05 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT

The following is a sponsored post

For this post we’re going to be talking to Nick Stamoulis of Brick Marketing, for my readers who might not know you can you tell us a little about yourself, and your company.

Thanks Michael, I really appreciate you taking the time to ask me these questions. I am the President and Founder of the full service boutique search engine marketing company, Brick Marketing and the writer of the Search Engine Optimization Journal. I also publish the Brick Marketing SEO newsletter 2 times per week and share some of the most helpful Search Engine Optimization Journal blog posts that I have written.

I have also contributed to the following other industry websites: Search Engine Journal, Promotion World, Talent Zoo, Marketing Pilgrim, Add Me, Website Magazine and many more. On the personal side of things, I live in the Boston area and am a diehard Red Sox and Beatles fan.

You also publish a blog on your company website at http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/, can you tell me about some of your favorite or most popular posts.

I started the Search Engine Optimization Journal in early 2007 as a way for marketers, web designers, and business owners to learn more about the basics and mid-level SEO topics. Many of the other industry sites out there are so advanced or are positioned as industry news sites. I have created an SEO/SEM blog that offers real "nuggets" of useful information for all types of people out there.

Some of my favorite Search Engine Optimization Journal posts are ones that are a bit edgy and controversial. It seems that everyone these days is a self proclaimed SEO "expert" so it is nice to see other SEO folks bring up good topics.

Here are some of my favorite posts on the Search Engine Optimization Journal:
http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2010/01/14/google-ranking-factors/
http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2010/01/08/link-building-sources/
http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2010/01/04/bad-seo-client/

Let’s start talking SEO, if I was a business owner who didn’t have a lot of free time or a staff to devote to SEO what are some things you would suggest right away, that would give me the biggest return on my time investment.

Sure, I would first start by reading the webmaster guidelines at each of the major search engines. Then I would read the Google self starter guide and several other SEO 101 books. At that point I would make a decision, do I hire an SEO consultant or firm or do I decide to really learn it on my own. If a business owner has time and an open mind, then they can be taught over time. SEO is something that you really need to learn by doing, but unfortunately, it is tough for a business owner to learn and make mistakes when it comes to their business and internet marketing efforts. As a business owner myself, there are aspects of running and building a company that I enjoy (like building the Brick Marketing online presence!); but there are many other tasks that I am not good at (and don't like, such as accounting!). So it comes to a point that all business owners and marketers need to make a decision to take a leap either way.

Now let’s try the opposite case, client work, what are some of the biggest opportunities you see, on the web right now, and what are some ways you see that businesses can take advantage of these opportunities.

Overall, I think the biggest opportunity for businesses right now goes well beyond search engine optimization and social media marketing. I think the biggest opportunity is that there is still much area for improvement for most businesses with their online marketing as a whole. I personally believe that the biggest area of growth (other than the typical answers, SEO/SEM) is mobile search and mobile app marketing. I can foresee the mobile arena really make its way more into the b2b area as it continues to grow in the b2c marketplaces. Mobile is an area that I continue to learn, but I know I will always stay true as an SEO and SEM marketer – these forms of web marketing do indeed work!

I notice you talk about social media, what are some key tips for people who want to play in the game, and how would you suggest companies work social media into their overall market strategy.

The biggest thing that I think small businesses and marketers really should understand about social media is 2 basic concepts:

#1 It Take Time, #2 You Get Out What You Put In

Let me explain these a bit. Over the past several years many business people and marketers have relied on social media marketing to grow their businesses. But for every success, there are many more failures. Social media is the type of outlet that should have its place within each business. I think some people sometimes don't take the time to develop a solid strategy, execution plan and ongoing measurement, so sometimes they tend to not give it the right amount of time to build or they waste time on social outlets that don't produce results for them.

The second point on social media I mention is some people still think social media is a quick thing that will generate lots of fast results without doing any work. The reality is social media marketing takes time to build and requires a tremendous amount of efficient work to succeed long term.

People have been saying this is going to be the year mobile search takes off, every year for the past few years. Do you think that year will ever come? What do you see as the future for mobile search, and what are some ways people can get the most out of mobile.

As I mentioned above that, I think mobile search and mobile app marketing are the 2 next big areas of growth over the coming years. I believe that both will really blossom over the next 2 to 3 years as more of population has their "smart" phones as the norm. I do think that certain b2c businesses, such as restaurants, night clubs, retail, etc should be all leveraging the power of mobile search now, if they are not. Again, I am not an expert in mobile, but I do look forward to continuing to learn how to integrate SEO, PPC, Social Media and Mobile into the mix.

Let’s take out the crystal ball what sort of things do you think Google other search engines will start to pay more attention to in the future? How do you see things being different in 3-5 years.

Wow, I wish I had a real crystal ball…I might be sending this to you from a tropical island on a beach J
I personally think Google is the best search engine, from a user experience and from a marketing perspective. I do think though that people's search patterns will continue to evolve. For instance, the Yahoo!/Bing search relationship should be very interesting to see how it plays out in the coming year. Other than that, I am not going to predict (as it is unpredictable) but I will say I hope that there is much more real competition in search and people have more and better choices. I think of it this way, 15 years ago search engines did not exist, who could have imagined back then that they would dominate as much as they do.

Last question … I see that you run an online newsletter, what kind of content can readers expect, and why should people subscribe?

Currently the Brick Marketing SEO newsletter is read by thousands of people from throughout the world. As I mentioned, anyone who wants to aggressively or passively learn more about SEO, SEM topics should subscribe to learn more good "nuggets" of SEO information.

To sign up to receive the Brick Marketing SEO newsletter, please visit:
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001ytzJgXCdPi4Q2q-O89FnEw%3D%3D

To learn more about Brick Marketing, please visit:
http://www.brickmarketing.com/

Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

The preceding has been a sponsored post. Find out more information about sponsored posts.

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This post originally came from Michael Gray who is an SEO Consultant. Be sure not to miss the Thesis Wordpress Theme review.

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