Author: davecriswell

I’ve come across some real gems from TED.com, but there is one that was posted this month that has really peaked my interest.

It’s a short talk by Simon Sinek in which he discusses the ideas around his book – “Start With Why”. I haven’t even read the book yet but just from the video and reading his blog titled Re:Focus, Simon has a great perspective that I don’t think is necessarily new, but presented in very clear and inspiring way.

Can’t wait to get my hands on the book. Enjoy the video from TED.com

Funny video from CNN that follow’s John Leguizamo on a bike around NYC

A Change to the search results page

As Google can sometimes do, they introduced an “enhancement” to their search results page that could have a major impact for many businesses. Google termed it “Brand refinements in search results” which in Google’s words would “make it easier for you to find the brands other people consider useful for popular product searches.”  What this means is that on certain product types, the brand names of what Google determines would be helpful are displayed at the top of the search page. Below is a search for “bicycle” which yields several bicycle brand names at the top of the results page.

Brands vs Online Business

There is a good discussion going on about this in a blog post titled “Google Just Killed Your Online Business” on the CenturyHouse.net blog.  This post focuses on the businesses selling the brand, and products within the brand category, versus the brand itself. For example, a search for “electric blanket” will yield electric blanket brands at the very top of the page in addition to the typical results that Google returns including online shopping, retail locations and social circle results.

The commenters on this post have some great ideas around how to deal with this, but there is an important group that is affected which I haven’t seen discussed yet. That group is the brand names that don’t make “the list”. For instance, using our example above, there were 5 bicycle brands displayed that Google deemed through their algorithms that would be the most useful.

At first I thought the list at the top would mirror the order of the brands in the search results – but that’s not the case. In our same example, Giant is in the 2nd brand position but is in the 8th position on the organic results. Another brand at the top, Huffy, isn’t even on the first page of the organic results and one of the biggest bike companies in the world, Specialized isn’t on the brand list at all!

So, What’s a Marketer To Do?

My suggestion is two fold.

First, watch and observe.  Google loves to test things and what we are seeing now may not be the final incarnation of the feature.  For example, when clicking on the brand names at the top of the page you are not directed to that brand’s website. Rather, you are directed to a new search results page using the brand name as the search term. It’s probably a foregone conclusion at this point that the user will then click on the brand name, but, understanding how visitors to your site get there using an analytics tool and walking through the process yourself is always a good idea.

Second, continue (or begin!) creating compelling, outstanding, relevant content that is keyword rich and SEO optimized.  Then, use your business outposts to syndicate that content. Regardless of what new feature Google bakes into their search results, it is a safe course of action to assume that a major factor in Google’s (and other tools) search algorithms will be relevant on-page content and inbound links from authoritative sites.

Photo Credit: Go GratitudeI’m a big fan of Macolm Gladwell’s book by the same title as this post in which he described what the tipping point means as they relate to a group’s momentum toward something – an idea, trend, etc – until it reaches the “tipping point”. Until the momentum in a way becomes self-perpetuating because a critical mass has developed.

Over the course of this spring I’m noticing a lot of similarities with the tipping point in how I was approaching my training. I’ve been participating in various types of races for a long time and after discovering triathlon have turned up the volume on the amount of training I do each year in preparing for goal races.  For the past several years, even though I’m not a competitive athlete in the sense that I’m trying to make the podium, the idea of beating my best time or moving up the rankings in my age group has been an important motivator to keep training consistently.  I’ve approached the calendar year like a true competitive athlete by staying fit in the off-season and following a periodization plan in an effort to build, peak, recover and do it all over again for the goal races I establish.

One definitive trend I’ve noticed from year to year is that my motivation level changed significantly after signing up for a race. Even if I was planning on a race but hadn’t yet signed up yet, the act of clicking submit on the race entry seemed to trigger a physiological reaction that brought me right from early spring until the end of the season. This annual process had become so routine that I never put much thought into it until now.

Why now? It’s now almost May and I have yet to sign up for race. I have some plans and goals but haven’t clicked the submit button on any of them yet.

Despite this I trained all winter, to the point where I over trained and injured myself forcing me to take several weeks off.  I rode the trainer in the basement and got more than my money’s worth from my Netflix subscription, I got to the pool to keep my swim stroke consistent and I ran, a lot, always outside. I ran in blizzards, sub-zero temps, freezing rain, you name it.  I hadn’t signed up for a race. I hadn’t done that kind of off-season training unless there was an Ironman in the near future. Why the disciplined schedule? 

My conclusion after having lots of time to ponder the question during many hours or training over the past several months is that I reached an internal tipping point. Call it a critical mass of experience or a desire to stay fit or even just the joy of exercising. At some point it became more important to me to just experience swimming, biking and running than to use them as a vehicle to reach some destination (finishing the race). Maybe it was my first DNF last year, maybe it’s reaching a birthday with a zero in it this year. Frankly, I’m not sure of the reason and maybe it’s a combination of several.

I do still have goal races I want to do this year and in the future (and it will be interesting to see how I react after actually signing up for those races), but for now I’m grateful to be in a place where I train to have the experience and not just to get ready to race. 

I raced in the Bobcat Bolt last year and the race director, volunteers and sponsors did a great job, especially considering it was a first year event. I’m re-publishing a letter below from Robyn Gault from Gault Builders, one of the race sponsors. It has a great summary of the Hardy brothers which were the inspiration behind the Bobcat Bolt.

If you will be in the Durham, NH area the weekend of May 15th, consider racing, volunteering or just stopping by to enjoy the festival and activities!

 

Hi Everyone, 

I know that many of you are runners or walkers and wanted to let you know about the Second Annual Bobcat Bolt (5k/10k), which will be held in Durham on Saturday May 15th (www.bobcatbolt.com). 

The Bolt was formed by Oyster River Alumni to honor the Hardy brothers, 2 wonderful men who lost their lives at a very young age. Josh Hardy lost his 18 month battle with brain cancer in 1993, when Andrew and I were in High School. Over the years, his brother Nate became a good friend. Nate dedicated his life to his country and served as a Navy SEAL for 10 years. In February 2008, he was killed while conducting combat operations in Iraq . On Saturday May 15th we will run in honor of these 2 amazing brothers. Proceeds from the Bobcat Bolt will go directly to The OR Alumni Association. This non-profit organization will donate proceeds to The Durham Youth Initiative for the construction of a youth center in Durham in the names of Josh and Nate Hardy.

Last year we had 300 registrants and were able to raise $5k for the cause, we hope to double that this year! The run is followed by the Oyster River Festival which is a fun day of local live bands, artists, food, sports and more! It’s a great time for the family.

Gault Builders is proud to be the presenting sponsor for the event , and we would love nothing more than to see your faces on May 15th!

Take Care,
Robyn