The Tight Five: Episode 5 – Aaron Katz, Owner, Search Maven Marketing - Video & Full Transcript
The Tight Five: Origin Stories from The Second Row
NOTE: The initial post of this episode was edited for brevity, in the spirit of offering more to those that are interested, this post includes the video and full transcript of my conversation with Aaron, ENJOY!
The Tight Five: Origin Stories from The Second Row is a series of conversations with smart, thought-provoking folks who are doing great things in ‘The Front Row’ of work, mental health, marketing, service and technology and how they came to their personal and professional path in life. The series is named after the moniker of the combined Front Row (two props and the hooker in the middle) and the Second Row in the rugby scrum.
Episode 5 of The Tight Five is with Aaron Katz, Owner of Search Maven Marketing and an expert in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing), aka how to help people and companies get noticed on Google. A fellow resident of Beverly, Massachusetts and a massive maven of all thing’s music, Aaron is a tremendously thoughtful and kind individual and a heck of a guitar player.
We talk about how the Y2K bug and comparative religion lead to a successful career in search marketing. Aaron also reveals how public relations and social media augment his SEO and SEM wisdom, as well as the successful acquisition of his first business and what the heck those initials actually mean and do. We take a bit of time to get to the answers, but it’s worth the journey and it ranks as one of the top conversations I’ve had this summer, ENJOY!
Matt Landry
Aaron, thank you for accepting my invitation to participate here on the Tight Five, Origins from The Second Row.
Aaron Katz
Thank you for, yeah, thank you for inviting me. Happy to do it.
Matt
All right, we'll start off with the hard one. Immediately. In simple terms that anyone can understand, including me, especially me, what is search engine optimization and what is search engine marketing?
Aaron
Sure. So, at the simplest level, it's a set of processes for optimizing a web page and collectively webpages make up a website. But optimizing webpages in order to increase visibility within organic nonpaid search results either in Google, Bing even Duck Duck Go and other search engines. The ultimate goal is generally to bring more organic traffic or visits to a website, through organic placement or ranking of the webpages. It is something that's always evolving. There are certainly tried and true best practices that work and it's an opportunity for anyone who has a website to rank prominently for relevant search queries. That's really what it comes down to.
A large part of it these days is also messaging. So, you may rank really well organically, but what is that ranking? What does it actually say? What's that messaging? I spent a lot of my time trying to optimize that messaging and take control of it wherever we can within search results, because oftentimes it's not just a web page that shows up in search results. It could be a business listing. It could be a social media property.
Matt
A media article or blog post.
Aaron
Exactly a media article. So, it's a set of different processes that people like me focus on. In any given day, it could be technical. I could be actually looking at code behind a web page and seeing what is it that's preventing this page from showing up in Google or from being crawled by Google? It could be a day of creating content and just sort of writing page titles and page descriptions or actually editing on page content. It could be image optimization. I could optimize images that are then embedded on a on a web page. I could be working on, acquiring backlinks to a website and putting out correspondences to doing research to find relevant websites and then corresponding with appropriate sites that they might be interested in, having a link to one of my client sites.
So, in theory, it doesn't cost anything. You know, you can do it, but clearly there's expertise involved.
Matt
When you use the word organic. What does that mean?
Aaron
So organic basically means non-paid. So, if you go to Google and you type in a search query, you will see paid search results at the top of the page and usually there might be 1, 2 or 3 paid search results and then underneath that would be the organic listings, which could be web pages, they could be videos, could be PDFs, could be lots of different assets that show up organically.
It is kind of a blanket term, search engine marketing or SEM. That’s more of a blanket term, than SEO or search engine optimization. SEM tends to denote paid search marketing, so you would pay for placement within search results and that can take place of sort of keyword bidding where, you are bidding on relevant keywords for a client and trying to get them to go up at the top of the page, for Google search results.
It could also be called remarketing, when those ads that follow you around the web after visiting a certain website and then it could be display advertising. Where we work with a client to create banner ads and we place those ads on highly relevant websites that are relevant to whatever the client's goals are.
Matt
One of the services you offer in terms of helping people understand the places they should be seen or that what's relevant to whatever business that they are in, it may be plumbing or some type of consumer electronics or a beverage or snack or candy.
Aaron
Correct. I subscribe to a number of different tools that help me determine where an audience is essentially. Once we've defined that audience, where are they? Where do they go? What do they read? What do they listen to? Then we can use that information and data to then pull together a strategy and execute on that.
Matt
Okay. How the heck did you become an expert in this SEO, SEM thing? How did this happen?
Aaron
Oh boy. All right. All right. This might take up the whole 20 min, but, but I think it's kind of a fun story to tell.
So, I have to go back to when I was in grad school, in the late nineties. I was at Boston University and, and I was in a master’s program in comparative religion, and I had a focus on what are called apocalyptic and millennium movements. Those are movements, both religious and secular, of groups of people who believe that changes are happening within the world that could be cataclysmic or significant types of changes. It was a very timely time to be studying that at that time, with the approach of the millennium and year 2000 or Y2K. Strangely enough or maybe not so strange, I worked very closely with a pretty prominent medieval historian at Boston University whose specialty was the year 1000 and what Europe was experiencing around that time.
So, I connected with him, and my focus in our research was on contemporary movements. Together we sort of co-founded, or perhaps I was part of the founding of what we called the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University. While I was writing my master's thesis I became somewhat of an authority on these apocalyptic and millennium movements. I did a lot of media interviews, and as I was writing my thesis, I was noting every place that this type of thinking was occurring and what people were saying. What really got me interested was the sort of the technology of the time and this is way before social media, way before cell phones or cell phones were just coming onto the scene…
Matt
… and they were the size of a football back then.
Aaron
But I've always been I've always been kind of a geek and I've always been fascinated by technology and as part of my archiving process we would discover that these very disparate groups, whether they were Christian focused or Jewish focused or secular types, green type of movements and their messaging had a very similar undertone to it, and they were beginning to find each other online. Mostly through bulletin boards and websites essentially. So, to me it was really, really fascinating to see what was happening with regard to technology at the time and it was certainly a precursor to what we're seeing these days.
I mean, this was, I mean, Google had just started. I think Google started in 98.
Matt
Yeah, Yahoo was much further ahead of them at the time.
Aaron
So, I got my master's degree from Boston University and comparative religion and where does one go from there? You either go for a PhD or you don’t, and I decided that academia wasn't the track that I wanted to be on. So, I went back to school for, for another master’s degree in strategic technology management.
I decided that I really wanted to sort of formalize my interest that I had in technology at the time and there was a program that was really ahead of its time it was called the Graduate Technology Center at Marlboro College in Vermont, which was my undergraduate alma mater.
This was a really intensive one year master’s in science program. We met once a month on site in Vermont for 3 day weekend sessions and then we met online, way before zoom or any of that.
Matt
So, it was almost part of the program, being able to do it right?
Aaron
Yeah, exactly. The program was called strategic technology management and it was an integrated technology and marketing type of program, that was kind of ahead of its time. We were studying web design, online marketing, email marketing, legal and ethical issues, copyright, IP issues, the whole gamut of things. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was very intensive, but I came out of there with lots of experience working with really talented people. It involved a capstone project which was the equivalent of a thesis defense.
So, after that program I got a job with a nonprofit educational institution, and I was the director of technology and marketing for a couple of years. And then, I was on Craigslist and found an ad for a search marketing specialist at an agency called Charles River Interactive.
Matt
So what year is this?
Aaron
No, no it was 2006. It sounded interesting, but I didn't really know what it was, and I knew big things are happening on the internet and I wanted to be part of it.
So, I ended up getting hired and I worked really closely with just an amazing woman who just knew everything there was at the time about search marketing. It really was an apprenticeship. I just spent a lot of time just, listening and observing. She was very much into the Socratic method where she said, ‘All right, here's the problem. What do you think?’ and I would say, ‘I don't know, it could be this, it could be that…’
That's where my career started, and it was great. So, I was with Charles River for a couple of years and then I moved on to Ziff Davis Enterprise, a technology publisher, as a marketing specialist.
Again, it was very early days, but I knew it was going to be big. So, I was with Ziff Davis for a couple of years and then it was laid off, like so many people are, and I decided that I was going to start a business and I called it Search Maven Media.
Matt
This is around when the.com bubble head burst
Aaron
Yep. So, I just took my unemployment earnings and fed that into my business and slowly over time it developed and I added clients, but it was very much part time. So after a year or so I reached back out to Charles River and I ended up returning there, while keeping my business going, which was part time and Charles River was full time, where I stayed for another couple of years, honing my skills and taking things to them to the next level with them and then it just got to a point where, the commute was not great and I said to myself, ‘Hey you know I've got this business on the side…’
It was in a different place than I was when I started it and I wanted to see what I could do with that, I really thought that I could grow it. So, so I left Charles River and threw myself into Search Maven, full time.
Matt
Okay, so that’s about 2010…?
Aaron
Yeah. So I built up a clientele over those 5 years. I did lots of networking, Chamber of Commerce talks and presentations and a little teaching. I taught an intro to search marketing class, which was you know a great way to keep your skills honed but also to prospect you know for new prospects who were taking the course.
Matt
Right. Yep.
Aaron
So, I loved it. But then out of the blue I was propositioned by an agency in Newburyport called Matter Communications.
Matt
I know that place!
Aaron
I think you've heard of them. Yeah. They found me online. Imagine that.
Matt
A good proof point for SEO
Aaron
So, I guess I was doing something right!
Honestly, I wasn't too keen on joining an agency, I was kind of happy doing what I was doing. But it was a very unique opportunity that was presented to me at the time.
Matt
What grabbed you about the opportunity to join Matter?
Aaron
At the time Matter was really focused on PR, creative and a little bit of social media, but they had nothing to do with search. That's why they wanted to acquire me. They wanted to have search be an offering that they could bring into their agency. But the big thing was that of all of the elements that go into a successful search program, Matter had. They had PR, they had creatives, they had content and a little bit of social media and all of those elements are what we needed from the search side to be successful.
So, I joined them in 2015. Officially I was acquired, or my business Search Maven Media was acquired by Matter and I became their director of search marketing services. Immediately I was tasked with bringing in new business that connected with current clients that Matter had, and I went through the process of letting them know that ‘hey, we, now have search marketing services if you're interested!’
Most of my clients came with me. So, I brought my book of business, to Matter and they became Matter clients, and it was great. I don't regret it at all. It was one of the best moves I've made in my career. I was with Matter for about seven years and what was great was grew a team over that time. When I started, it was just myself, actually I think I had one search marketing associate at the time, but over time I grew the department, and it was one of the most profitable departments that Matter had. I grew it to six people.
Matt
So, you recently left Matter behind and decided to become your own boss again?
Aaron
I did! Crazy, huh?
Matt
How come? What the hell were you thinking?
Aaron
So, I did everything that I'd set out to do when I joined Matter. At first I was a bit hesitant, but I knew why I was joining and I had goals. I wanted to build and manage a team, which was something that I really hadn't done as a solo entrepreneur. I had a network that I used to bring people in as needed, but as a more formal team. I hadn’t really done that in my career. So, that was a great experience.
It's tough once you've been your own boss, as you know, you never forget what that's like. So, I left Matter in March of this year when leaving became a viable decision.
Matt
How's it going so far?
Aaron
It's been great. I already have a steady slate of clients and I'm glad I did it. It's a very different experience than the first time. Many of these are clients that I brought with me to Matter, originally. Some of them have been with me for 12, 14 years.
Matt
Everybody talks about the benefits of being your own boss. What are a couple of benefits and what are a couple downsides?
Aaron
So certainly, taking responsibility for all the decisions is one. Yeah, that's a key one for me.
Matt
Yeah.
Aaron
Delegation is one thing, but being responsible for the decision both good and not so good is hard, but I like that. But just the freedom and the autonomy of choosing who you want to work with and who you don't want to work with specific to clients.
I’ll tell you a couple of quick stories.
So, a little while before I left Matter. There was some transition going on within the search department and so I had to take over an account that had kind of been in flux, which meant they really didn't have a full time person on the account.
So, within a couple of weeks, I had a status call with the client and she said, ‘I don't know what you've done, but my sales team is crushing it right now. They can't keep up with the leads that are coming in from what you've done from the search marketing program.’
And, you know, that's just it. It forced me to kind of pause. Because it had been a while since I had actually worked directly with a client on that level, and you know it's a good feeling when you can positively impact something like that. And it can be attributed to specific things that you've done and, especially when that client has worked with other search agencies in the past and hadn't really experienced that before. In fact, they had experienced the opposite.
So, that was something that probably pushed towards going back out on my own.
Another story… I have a long-time client who is a very successful high end architect, featured on This Old House and I was in a meeting with him and some other and he really kind of put me on the spot and he said, you know if it wasn't for his search marketing skills we would not be where we are today.
You know, I really thrive when I’m helping people with their websites who don't necessarily have the resources of a huge agency to be able to make that kind of an impact and they may not have the type of budget that a large agency really kind of requires, but why shouldn't they be able to take advantage of the benefits of their own search results essentially.
Matt
I’ve found that when you are your own boss and you have your own business, you're doing a bit more of the work and by doing some of that work you gain deeper understanding the impact of what you're doing.
Aaron
Exactly and I think I missed that. I think I didn't even realize I missed that until I was unexpectedly in the situation where I was having that one on one content with the primary client contact, and I was affecting things myself.
Matt
Yeah, you know, sometimes returning back to the forest to do the work can be more fulfilling than the work at a high level, when you’re seeing the entire forest.
Aaron
Yeah. Well, put. That’s definitely where I am at this point.
Matt
So, we're 3 plus years after the world shutdown because of COVID. What are some of the impacts you're seeing, from the people you've worked with, with current and past clients, but also while you were with Matter, what are some of the things you've seen.
Aaron
Yeah, I mean during the height of COVID, I was at Matter. So, I wasn't on my own then, but honestly, we probably saw a positive impact from the pandemic.
Matt
Yeah, from a business perspective?
Aaron
Yes. With regard to business things really took off, people were now home and online all the time. What would a better time to reach people than that. So, from a business perspective it was very positive. From a professional development standpoint, I would say it was rough. Of course, networking events were all canceled. I'd say within the last 6, 8, 9, 10 months that they've started to come back. They tried to transition to Zoom Meetings and all that which were okay, but certainly nothing like in person meetings when you can really connect with other colleagues who are doing the same thing you're doing.
Matt
If I remember correctly, your team was virtual anyways. Right?
Aaron
It was, yes.
Matt
So, you were almost prepared for the virtual environment versus people who are used to being in the office all the time with the same team and so on.
Aaron
Yeah, that's true. I remember one of our new hires when we were building out the team and he was in the office on his first day and the second day was when COVID hit. It has been strange times, that's for sure.
Matt
Oh wow, yeah. Okay, last but not least. What a book or author or thinker has been a touchstone for you in your career.
Aaron
There's so many. So many search marketing thinkers that I follow up, but I'd have to say probably at the top of the list would be Rand Fishkin. He's one of the original founders of Moz, which is an SEO management platform tool. Then he left Moz and started another company called Spark Toro which is an audience engagement tool for data and analytics. He's great.
I follow his musings online and he's usually pretty right about many of the challenges and changes within the marketing space and he wrote a really good book called, Lost & Founder. That was a pretty intense book about his journey building up Moz and then losing Moz essentially and what that was like to go through funding and then VC funding and all that, it's a good read.
And then there's another book. It's probably dated. But I remember reading it and I loved it. It's called the Art of Innovation by Tom Kelly, have you heard of it?
Matt
I have it. Yeah, it’s on my bookshelf upstairs.
Aaron
Yeah, yeah, I love it. I just remember reading it. It's written by one of the founders of, IDEO, which is an industrial design agency that I think is in Palo Alto, California and IDEO is just this amazingly cool, creative place.
Matt
Oh yeah, there's so much larger today.
Aaron
I think they're still around. I don't know if it's the same place, but IDEO. They designed the first or one of first versions of the mouse for Apple, the Palm Pilot 5. I don't know if you had any of the Palm Pilots back then, but they were all plastic, kind of ugly things and the 5 was metal and it was just a really cool thing.
Matt
They had a connection with Xerox’s PARC lab. They're in Silicon Valley.
Aaron
Yep. That's right.
Matt
They brought the UI to brilliant technology.
Aaron
So, the book takes you into the rooms where these strategy meetings happened, and you learn how new ideas take shape and produce tangible functional things. It's just fascinating.
Matt
I use that book occasionally when I'm doing messaging work with clients, for ideas, inspiration and different exercises.
Aaron
Yeah, awesome. Great minds, Matt.
Matt
That's funny. Great minds. Alright. I'm going to add a sixth question.
Aaron
Oh, okay.
Matt
First time I've ever done this. Who is your favorite musician? You have to pick just one.
Aaron
That's an easy one. Velvet Underground.
Matt
How come?
Aaron
It’s just a feeling. I don't know. Just a feeling you get when listening to their music.
Matt
It is a feeling. They are a feeling.
Aaron
Yeah, it's great. You could ask me to list 20 more musicians and we could create a tree from the Velvet Underground that corresponds to all the musicians that I love.
Matt
You and I could lose at least an afternoon doing this. I know.
Aaron
Yeah.
Matt
Well, hey, I appreciate you doing this. I really enjoyed it. Thanks a lot. Alright, talk to you soon.
Aaron
Yeah, it's been fun. Thank you. Well, yeah, we'll be in touch.
Matt
Cheers.
Aaron
Take care. Bye.