Kudos to the Boston-Cambridge SEO meetup organizers for not just another great presentation, but a riveting speaker.
Ryan Abood took what he knew from his parents’ floral business in Manchester NH and created a multimillion dollar David among the Goliaths of the gift-basket realm: Harry and David, Wine Country.
On Monday he revealed how and how GourmetGiftBaskets.com got burnt by Google for some unsavory tactics: paid-for links.
His strategy now — besides delivering the best quality goodies in the baskets, with lowest-cost shipping — create events and find strategies that reach beyond SEO.
And, so we will soon witness the results of his (just) monthlong quest to obtain the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s largest cupcake, to be baked and unveiled in Detriot in just a couple weeks.
Why? Not just to create an “international sensation, you can’t can’t buy that publicity,” but also because “I want to be the guy who holds the world records for the most world records,” Ryan said, rousing quite a response from the normally serene crowd of optimizers, link-builders, eMetrics-centric folk.
Aside from his quips, though, Ryan had some serious insights to take home:
- “Conversion has everything to do with trust”
- “Building credibility, conversion has to do with that and only that”
- “Link-building has to have consumer interest in mind”
- and “Vanilla rises better, travels better.”
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Susan: What really hit home for me was the “trust factor” for conversions. When you think about it it makes all the sense in the world. No one asked if he was going to have someone pop out of the cupcake….did they?
Hi,
Ryan delivered an impressive speech in the midst of his vacation. Very informative and thought provoking for people interested in SEO. Personally, I learned a lot of Business nuances from him.
Thanks,
Hari
CEO
Trinay Technology Solutions
Manchester, CT
That’s the beauty of social media, particularly a blog: People can read about the company from others who are like them.
Why didn’t I think of that? They should make another one for Letterman and drop it off the roof or something!
Thanks for your comment!
Hi Hari,
Thanks for your comments. I found Ryan to be inspirational, too. Another quote: “You have to think really big.”
Peppered in to Ryan’s extremely compelling personal style and energy, and obvious love of aggressive tactics and gimmickry is a clear dedication to high quality business practices and delivering real value to his customers.
That is an impressive and rare combination, so it is no surprise that he’s been phenomenally successful. A great story all around.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your thoughts! Was there a particular gimmick that surprised you?
I completely agree: Ryan taught himself how to find the low-hanging fruit, and now that it’s picked (or removed) he’s on to bigger and better things.
Impressive indeed!
I admit, I have not been on this webpage in a long time… however it was another joy to see It is such an important topic and ignored by so many, even professionals.
Also I want to know that how can we remove no follow tag from the blogger,
Thanks for the comment, will consult my experts on the no-follow and report back.
Great overview. Your style of writing is really a joy to read.
Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media at the Boston SEO Meetup
Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media
October meeting of Boston SEO Meetup
Food sponsor CookieOutlet.com, coupon offer code: BostonSEO
Backbone Media, started 1996, didn’t realize were doing content strategies
Content strategy
Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media at the Boston SEO Meetup
Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media
October meeting of Boston SEO Meetup
Food sponsor CookieOutlet.com, coupon offer code: BostonSEO
Backbone Media, started 1996, didn’t realize were doing content strategies
Content strategy
Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media at the Boston SEO Meetup
Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media
October meeting of Boston SEO Meetup
Food sponsor CookieOutlet.com, coupon offer code: BostonSEO
Backbone Media, started 1996, didn’t realize were doing content strategies
Content strategy
Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media at the Boston SEO Meetup
Blog and content strategies with Stephen Turcotte of Backbone Media
October meeting of Boston SEO Meetup
Food sponsor CookieOutlet.com, coupon offer code: BostonSEO
Backbone Media, started 1996, didn’t realize were doing content strategies
Content strategy
Credibility and trust – absolutely. Every website needs these to get ANYWHERE.
Hi there and thanks for your comment! Just wondering how this blog rates in terms of credibility.
What are your thoughts? And please everyone join in.
Thanks again,
Suzanne