Throughout my career in digital marketing, I have had moments of clarity—epiphanies that have reshaped how I approach strategy, execution, and leadership, as well as led to two distinctly different approaches to my previous companies. These weren’t just fleeting insights; they were game-changing realizations that helped me pivot and navigate the complexities of search, organizational dynamics, and business growth.
I recorded over a dozen as a free course at International Webmastery, aptly named Epiphanies in Search. It started with a voice-over to answer questions about some statements for a few people who came across an old keynote I gave at SES Atlanta in 2015. They and a few others suggested I do them justice by expanding them beyond the hour-long keynote. Most people don’t have the time or attention span to listen to me pontificate on these insights, so I am trying to capture some of the highlights in a series of posts.
In the coming weeks, I’ll share a series of posts detailing these epiphanies—lessons that have shaped my approach to digital marketing and can hopefully help you refine yours. From leveraging force multipliers to amplify results to corporate judo tactics for navigating internal roadblocks to showing clients love, these posts will cover the frameworks and mental models that have had the most impact. I’ll also delve into demonstrating economic value, calculating employee contribution, and strategies for winning as an agency—all while staying grounded in fundamentals and root causes.
If you’ve ever struggled with getting buy-in, standing out, or proving the value of search, I think you’ll find these insights helpful. Stay tuned for the first post in the series, and let’s explore the strategic shifts that can make a real difference.
The following is a list of articles on various epiphanies and insights. At the bottom of each article is a link to the lesson with more information and visuals.
- Epiphany 1 – Leverage Force Multipliers
- Epiphany 2 – Leverage Corporate Judo
- Epiphany 3 – Over Communicate
- Epiphany 4 – Understand Searcher Intent
- Epiphany 5 – Employee Contribution Value
- Epiphany 6 – Demonstrate Economic Value
- Epiphany 7 – Fundamentals and Root Causes
- Epiphany 8 – Showing the Love
- Epiphany 9 – Don’t be afraid to be different
- Epiphany 10 – The Search Maturity Cycle
- Epiphany 11 – The Winning Agency Strategy
- Epiphany 12 – Building the Dream Team
- Epiphany 13 – Embrace the Founder’s SuperPowers
- Epiphany 14 – Enable and Encourage Innovation
- Epiphany 15 – Respecting the Real World Power Triangle