A summer interview with… Rand Fishkin (@randfish): “Double check the most linked-to pages”

There are many great search-experts out there. We decided we wanted to give some extra attention to some of them. Therefore we will be interviewing some of these experts. During the entire summer you will be served with short interviews with influential people in the industry. You will be seeing interviews with the likes of Joost de Valk, Marcus Tandler, Chris Sherman, Mike Grehan and Danny Sullivan, and off course our bloggers! Be aware that some interviews will be published in the newsletter!
Today: The guy who seems to be everywhere in the world at the same time: Rand Fishkin.

1. Can you introduce yourself in one paragraph?

I am the CEO & Co-Founder of SEOmoz, a leader in the field of search engine optimization tools, resources & community. In 2009, I co-authored the Art of SEO from O’Reilly Media and was named among the 30 Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs Under 30 by BusinessWeek. I have been written about it in The Seattle Times, Newsweek and the NY Times among others and keynoted conferences on search around the world. I am particularly passionate about the SEOmoz blog, read by tens of thousands of search professionals each day. In my minuscule spare time, I enjoy the company of my amazing wife, Geraldine.

2. What are you doing this summer?

Building new products for SEOmoz. Stay tuned this August

3. What is the most hottest subject in search at the moment, what should every SEO be looking into?

I think social media marketing is getting a ton of attention and press these days, but great SEOs might want to make sure they’ve covered their bases on the fundamentals (accessible pages, unique content, the right keywords, solid link building) before pushing the envelope into new tactics.

I’m also a huge fan of conversion rate optimization, and I think more businesses on the web need to invest effort here (whether it’s “hot” or not).

4. What do you think is the “state of search” at the moment, is the industry doing good?

Search is certainly growing more popular, reaching more people and providing better results. I think there’s always room to grow, but the last decade is certainly something to be proud of.

5. What is your favorite website, apart from your own?

I really like Hacker News (http://news.ycombinator.com)

6. Can “social marketing / media” and search survive apart from each other?

Conceptually they could, but I don’t think any marketer would want to fully ignore one or the other – they’re highly complementary in both motivators and results.

7. What’s your search tip for the summer?

Double check the most linked-to pages on your website (e.g. top pages for StateofSearch.com) and make sure nothing’s broken or redirecting improperly. A lot of sites lose link juice without realizing it!

Related posts:

1. A summer interview with… Greg Jarboe (@gregjarboe): “Conduct a search on YouTube”
2. A summer interview with… Barry Adams
3. A summer interview with… Nichola Stott (@nicholastott): “Stop chasing the algorithm”
4. A summer interview with… Marcus Tandler (@mediadonis): “Infographics – they work pretty well these days”
5. A summer interview with… Jane Copland: “noticing a lot more over-optimisation penalties and filters”