Sacramento, CA - July 28, 2006 - SACRAMENTO, CA - 14th Colony, a marketing and web development firm, has interviewed several professional search engine optimizers to learn more about the industry and posted the results at www.14thc.com. The result is an interesting cross section of industry insiders, from solo “black hat” operators that make their money from Google Adsense returns to established business owners that have extended their efforts online to consultants of fortune 500 companies.

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of making a web page perform well in search engines like Google, Yahoo! or MSN. There is a growing niche of consultants and firms who specialize in this and many independent web site owners are now applying SEO tactics to their sites.

"The interviews have been amazing," says Randall McCarley, founder of 14th Colony. "The answers were very insightful. Most of these people I’ve known for years but it wasn’t until I took on this project that I really got to know them or their take on the industry. An industry that is much broader than I thought."

Choosing people to interview was a tough process. "I wanted people from the industry that have very different tactics and outlooks. I got what I wanted."

Topics cover SEO tactics, philosophies and the direction of the industry.

"What was so interesting to me is how diverse the responses were," says McCarley. "I expected some kind of consensus for the direction things are going or what drives everyone nuts… but even those answers were different across the board."

And some of the interviews are with people that use SEO but specialize in other services. For example, Doug Holland, owner of Branson Critic Magazine who offers advice on sales, "if you can involve people at their root desire they will participate with full vigor and vim."

Or James Cook, founder of studioJMC a design firm based out of St. Louis who quips, "you’ll need your children to support retirement. Be good to them." And then continues with "learn what you can, follow your interests, be flexible and occasionally decide with your heart rather than your brain and things should work out."

On the dark side of SEO, Nintendo writes, "try black-hat…and hope you don’t get banned!!"

SEO tactics have picked up in other circles as well as in the case of John Rothra, a pastor in Fort Worth, Texas who has implemented SEO tactics into his site to help spread the word of God.

Additional interviews are still in progress but the first round is available at www.14thc.com/seo-interviews.html.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Randall McCarley

14th Colony
916-248-9988
www.14thC.com
rmccarley@14thC.com