10 Things I Learned In The ‘DK is a Street Performer’ SEO Challenge • 05.27.09
It’s Wednesday night, and tomorrow Dennis Karganilla will log into Google and type in the phrase “DK is a Street Performer,” at which point he’ll pick the winner of the dkisastreetperformer contest.
A few weeks ago, Howie Schwartz decided to challenge the members of Dennis Karganilla and Jimmy Davis’ “90 Day Challenge” marketing group. The question was, who can rank on the first page of Google multiple times – as many times as possible – for the long keyword phrase.
Personally, I took massive action, and remained consistent throughout the month of the competition. Here are 10 things I learned about SEO, challenges, and what it takes to rank on the first page of Google multiple times.
1. Quick action gets you on page one fast.
When the challenge began, there were no results for the given keyword phrase in Google. Acting quickly got me on page one, where I immediately owned at least six of the 10 sites.
2. A good blueprint is essential.
I used a marketing strategy I learned from Howie Schwartz. Without this strategy, the competition would have been a big game of “who just posted last.” But using a specific link-building trick, I was able to give my websites authority that helped them stay high on page one.
3. Consistency is a must.
Because I promoted consistently for 3 weeks, I was able to monopolize page one, getting as many as 9 out of 10 choices on the first page of Google, but more often getting 8 out of 10. Even when my competitors tried to catch up after taking a break, they couldn’t.
4. No automation = time suck.
I managed to automate a few of my processes. Had I not, I would have spent at least 10 more hours each week trying to promote my sites. Or I would have had less substantial results.
5. Outsourcing is a necessity in the real world.
One keyword phrase is easy. But when it comes to really ranking on Google – in normal situations – you need to rank for multiple keywords. That’s why you need more than automation. You need someone – or a group of people – who you’ve trained and can take over the day-to-day tasks.
6. In a new niche like this one, Google lets you decide.
Yep – that’s right. YOU decide what goes in Google. But it’s more complicated than that. Google consistently optimizes its search pages. And it wants to know, what are people clicking on, and what are the media related to this new niche. In the beginning, many competitors were using blogs and videos. So for a long time, Google placed two videos, side-by-side, on the first page of search. Towards the end, most of the marketers leaned towards press releases, and today, as I write this, there are 3 press releases on the first page of Google.
7. Google gives new sites the benefit of the doubt.
So when you create a new webpage, Google throws it on the first page of results – just to see if people like it. It’s a good way to get quick rankings. Follow this up with a good marketing campaign, and you can stay on top of the results.
8. Social marketing has a strong influence in several ways.
Tweets on twitter actually can rank on the first page of Google. But that’s not the really important part. What’s really incredible is how much social media – twitter, facebook, etc., can influence success in a new market. When videos were on the first page of search results, the videos shown were ones that had been visited the most and had some ratings. Someone with a good following on any networking site can post a link and have immediate rankings on YouTube or other video sites.
9. Challenges help people take action – especially when there’s a prize.
You may be wondering what the point of this challenge was. Other than bragging rights, the winner gets an Amazon Kindle from Howie Schwartz. The possibility of receiving a prize gets people in motion. Good thing to remember if you’re trying to motivate a team.
10. The only way to really learn about something is to do it.
I thought I knew a lot about ranking on Google. And I did. But now, after being “intimate” with Google for one keyword phrase, I know even more. And when Google introduced a new tool, I was one of the first people to see it.
So…
That’s what I learned in the DK is a Street Performer SEO Challenge.
Do you think you could use some of these tips to help you in your marketing?
Leave a comment below – I’m curious to know what you think!
