Thanks for the thoughtful comment and yes, it is pretty amazing to realize how simple the solution to prominent search rankings is: creating content that impacts people enough to link. Simple eh?

My only regret about this piece is that I may have diminished blogging a little bit. I find that people just get a bit too enamored with blogging as a way to generate huge traffic (and passive income). I see blogging as much more powerful when it comes to building influence and reputation - which works well if you want to get more clients and bill at better rates perhaps, or get access to new opportunities in your field.

So I should do another follow-on piece at some point on what blogging can accomplish…but I’m always surprised how many so-called SEO experts claim that blogs can be the key to SEO, when it’s clear that well organized content in book format on static pages is far more powerful. One example of that would be wikipedia and how dominant it has become in search results.

- Jon

I also sometimes find myself having to clarify what meta tags are and aren’t. A few people still nurture the misconception that they’re a quasi-secret way to trick search engines. I think this view is a relic of the pre-Google ’90s — back then, you *could* fool certain search engines with spammy meta keyword sets. One popular strategy was listing movie star names (especially female ones, with important additional keywords like “nude”).

Sorry for the delay responding to you, I have been wrapped up trying to prep my book for publication.

Thanks for reading the material and sharing your comment. I’m glad to have a comment on here from self-described “average folks” who are living debt free, you should be commended for that effort. One of the themes of my book is the importance of not living beyond your means and managing expenses and credit carefully.

At the same time, I do have some different perspectives on the extent of this crisis as well. It’s true that irresponsible use of credit and irresponsible lending is part of the reason for our current economic crisis, but a major factor that spread this fire was the packaging of these sub-prime mortgages into investment vehicles by so-called “Wall Street.”

One of the big themes in my book is that even with the best effort to manage your debt, bad things can happen sometimes. I know hard working people who have lost jobs or had brutal medical bills and no amount of responsible financial practices prepared them for that moment. Suddenly they found themselves in debt. So, when you find yourselves debt free, it’s not just good practices, but good fortune, that brings you that life. Those who have it have plenty to be grateful for as well as proud of.

To better prepare folks for such situations, a big part of my book talks about the importance of creating income-generating assets so that even if a job is lost, there is another source of income that can carry you.

Thanks for chiming in, there are a lot of aspects to these issues, and I enabled commenting precisely to create this type of conversation.

- Jon Reed -

This crisis was a long time coming. The credit bubble burst under the weight of consumer ignorance of the reality of life - Someday you have to pay what you owe!

America has lived on credit ever since Lee Iacocca invented automobile financing and showed the bankers that money was to be made charging interest to gullible consumers.

The “I just have to have it now” generation bought lots of stuff they couldn’t really afford and started paying back the debt with credit cards thus piling up more debt.

Gordon Gecko in the flick “Wall Street” was a cinematic warning that the sharks were in control of the financial ocean, having consumers for lunch. It was a prophetic movie.

My wife and I are average folks who live a good life and who have never felt the effects of “recession” because we use credit sparingly. In fact, in spite of having several credit cards, we have not paid credit card interest these past 14 years. Not one dime! And, our credit score puts us in the top 5% of all Americans.

The secret is in asking a simple question before we spend: “Do we need this?”

It’s time for a leveling of the American economy. Not bailouts. Rather, let the poorly run companies go under and see what happens. It will be painful for many but, I believe, we will be better for it financially.

Thanks for the good word. You’ve done a terrific job of applying these approaches to your situation, I tip my hat to you. Thanks also for the encouraging words, the book is in a final stage that is pretty labor intensive so it’s always good to get that enthusiastic feedback from the outside.

- Jon -

I have invested a lot in this web site and in the content that’s been created here. I’ve made an effort to be comprehensive but also selective. Feedback like yours makes it all worthwhile!

- Jon -