Bear with me for a moment, okay? I have to go backwards to go forward. I swear I have a point.
While the rest of the SEO community was buzzing about SES San Jose and the crazy trapeze people they met at SearchBash, Jim Boykin was quietly planning an industry coup. The man literally went on a hiring spree and began tricking SEO types into trading in their December flip flops for the charm of “historic Troy, NY”.
And it worked! One by one they moved to historic Troy from Hawaii, Florida and Southern California.
Who did he hire in his happy delirium?
- Pat Sexton: An all-around good guy and a Google Quality Guide champion.
- Rhea Drysdale: A white hat SEO who thinks free links are the way to go.
- Lisa Barone (me!): That damn blogger known for preaching white hat, calling for SEO standards, and for blasting people who cross the line.
If we’re being honest, there were some eyebrows raised when Pat, Rhea and I all announced we had joined We Build Pages. I know because I got emails and the others did, too. People wanted to know why I’d leave Bruce Clay, Inc. to join Jim. Why Pat Sexton, someone who believes smart sites shouldn’t have to rely on search engines, would join a company notorious for buying links. Why Rhea Drysdale would trade her white hat for one a few shades darker.
I think it’s important to let people know that we haven’t changed hats. We joined a thriving company that is evolving into something even more powerful. A company that’s adding on new services because we love our clients and know that this will benefit them, both in the short term and the long term.
If that sounds like nothing but marketing, it’s not. I wouldn’t be here if it was. I have no interest in engaging in behavior that could hurt our clients. And neither does anyone else at We Build Pages. They never have.
Let’s be honest, though. In years past, We Build Pages was a link building company. The tactics used were very effective and helped clients to rank amazingly well and earn a lot of money for their targeted phrases. And the tactics used continue to work and continue to provide value for our clients. However, we know that the search engines are getting smarter and that there is much more to Internet marketing than just links. The future of search and Internet Marketing is evolving and so must we. To address that, we’re excited to announce a whole new line of services to help our clients.
While we’re not ready to divulge everything just yet, we can tell you that Pat Sexton is here as We Build Pages’ SEM Manager, and along with Rhea Drysdale, is strengthening the SEO department to compete with the best in the world. Bringing on Pat, also gives us a leader in the wonderful world of widget creation. We believe these types of tactics help make the Web more useful and drive relevant traffic to relevant resources, even if you don’t put links in them! And of course, we’ll be diving in social media and building out a menu of services for our clients there, as well.
With me, Jim gets a never-ending headache, the brand new We Build Pages blog and a new way to communicate what we’re working on to a community that we love. I’ve also been tasked with doing some community building and that’s something I can’t wait to jump into.
If you haven’t been able to tell, we’re all really excited about the stuff going on over here in historic Troy, NY. It’s why we’re all running around giggling and giving each other high-fives. It’s why Pat and Rhea are Twittering from the office at 2am. There are no chains on the desk here. We’re just excited. Everyone on the We Build Pages team is working their butts off to build something amazingly great…and we couldn’t be more stoked to do it.
Of course, I don’t expect you to take my word on that. I don’t expect this measly blog post to change your mind or to rewrite history. Instead, we’re going to prove it. And this blog is the first step in doing that. I know Jim has missed being part of the community, so hopefully this will be his return, as well. [I asked if I could put him on a blogging scheduled. He said YES€¦as long as he didn't have to follow it. Don't worry, folks, I'll get him!]
So again, we hope you’ll stick around for awhile. Jim didn’t get three of this industry’s most dedicated white hats to move from various corners of the country for nothing. There’s something big going on here in historic Troy, NY and we can’t wait to tell you about it.
[I heard that if you keep saying the phrase [historic Troy, NY] it makes the seven months of winter here more bearable. And you become less angry that the entire town shuts down on Sundays at 3pm. I’ll keep you posted.]
