Herndon Hasty, Senior SEO Leader
Do you remember Pierce Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair? How suave and cool and rich he was? Well, Herndon Hasty’s not quite that awesome, but he does head up the SEO department and regularly contributes to Search Engine Watch, so that’s alright too.
Herndon Hasty's Recent Articles
1st & 10
by Herndon Hasty on 09/09/2009 at 6:30 pm in Commentary, Within Range
Picture this: You’re calling a huddle. It’s the 4th quarter, you’re on the opponent’s 40 yard line with 20 seconds left to play on a first down. You’ve got one time out left, and the other team’s out. The running game’s been less than stellar, but their defensive line is worn out, and your rookie slot receiver’s been hot for the last two passes, having just come off a catch-and-run for 30 yards to get you where you are right now. Communications with the booth are down, so it’s your call what the play is.
Full StoryThe Long Tail: Not Just for Paid Search Anymore!
by Herndon Hasty on 06/25/2009 at 3:45 pm in Online Strategies, SEO, SEO Best Practices
I started my life in search engine marketing on the paid side of the search equation. With ROI being at the bottom line of every decision made from keyword selection, match type strategies, campaign organization and, of course, bidding, amassing wins using long tail keywords was one of my favorite approaches. Good paid practitioners are constantly fighting to find ways to get those one or two keywords that drive huge traffic a little more efficient, but there’s really nothing like coming in to see a line like this in the previous day’s results.
Full StoryAre You Ready for the Next Big Th(b)ing?
by Herndon Hasty on 06/15/2009 at 11:35 am in Industry News, Opinion Editorial, SEO
If you’re looking for news about the next big engine change that’s going to destroy Google, set fire to Facebook and (my recent favorite in the tech-or-information-replacement-genre) render Nielsen obsolete…you won’t find it here. For all the hype behind MSN’s new incarnation in Bing, it’s not much of a change from current search options and probably won’t change search engines…or decision engines, whatever they want to call it.
Full StoryIt’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
by Herndon Hasty on 05/29/2009 at 2:48 pm in Online Strategies, SEO, SEO Best Practices
Getting winded trying to keep up with Google’s latest and greatest offerings? Well, don’t take your Nikes off just yet. Google recently announced a slate of updates and new developments, including ways to make your search results prettier and a new emphasis on fresh content. For those who’ve been encouraging clients to add microformats to their pages, you should feel a little vindicated, because these should be right up your alley. If that’s not enough, MSN also announced that they’re updating and rebranding Live Search, naming the concept Bing (previously known as Kumo) and gearing it towards behavioral search. If it works like they say it will, then we’ll have something to celebrate before July 4.
Full StoryOn Bluebonnets & Branding
by Herndon Hasty on 04/24/2009 at 2:35 pm in Online Strategies, SEO
While it’s tougher to get shoppers to buy than before, the bar for being able to reach customers and to put your brand in front of new faces is lower than ever. Finding ways to make the most of your branding opportunities and ways to reach new customers through targeted and low-cost methods online – especially through SEO and paid search programs – will not only help you to find new customers to take the place of those that aren’t buying right now, but will help establish your brand in the minds of consumers at a time when everyone else is pulling back their efforts to do so.
Full StoryWire Your House Before the Wallpaper Goes Up
by Herndon Hasty on 04/09/2009 at 2:11 pm in SEO, SEO Best Practices, Webinars, Website Usability & Design
In Range’s recent Search Marketing Now webinar on SEO and Usability, we had a chance to discuss the ways that your site’s usability and natural search potential actually walk hand-in-hand. For anyone who couldn’t attend or can’t listen in to the on-demand version the main takeaway is this: your natural search potential and conversion potential are, in many ways, the same thing. They’re often controlled and helped – or hindered – by the same elements, so don’t be willing to trade one for another.
Full StoryTop 9 Facebook T&C Changes You Didn’t Hear About
by Herndon Hasty on 02/20/2009 at 10:38 am in Industry News, Performance Marketing, Social Media
Facebook this week caught heat for changes to its Terms & Conditions, which noted that even though you drop content from your page, it may hold on to archived versions – and that the content you produce would remain archived even after you cancel your account. Enough heat that prominent bloggers called for mass cancellations of accounts in protest – that’s right, protesting what happens to your account when you cancel it, by cancelling it. Sensible protests or not, Facebook retracted these changes later in the week.
Full StoryHerndon Hasty to buy Microsoft. Maybe.
by Herndon Hasty on 05/20/2008 at 10:34 am in Industry News, Within Range
Dude, I’m in. With the news that Microsoft is back to the negotiating table to buy Yahoo (with Carl Icahn and Google waiting in the wings for a piece, and the ill-fated AOL talks still fresh in our memory), I’d like to announce my intention to acquire Yahoo. The details are still hazy and the financials are tough; it would probably have to be a on a swap of stock for impatience, or some other non-monetary basis, but with the rest of the known universe pursuing this, I figure that I’ve got as good a shot as anyone. See you at the press conference.
Full StoryOf Flying Saucers and Affiliates
by Herndon Hasty on 04/04/2008 at 3:39 pm in Commentary, Industry News, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
If you missed this, basically, the Doubleclick deal is done, and Google has further tightened its primary-colored fingers around SEM. Or not. According to Phillips’ Wednesday afternoon post to the Googleblog, the search giant’s3 Doubleclick intentions are not as nefarious as everyone feared. So what, exactly, is Google planning to do with the SEM side of its shiny new toy?
Full Story