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A Little Confession…My SEO Job aka Why I’m Not a “Real” Backpacker

26 January 2010 64 Comments

I feel like a cheater in the RTW traveler club. You see, members of the RTW traveler club share some key qualities: most save up over the course of several years, they quit their jobs, and they (mostly, aside from travel blogging) single-mindedly backpack the world.

I didn’t do that. Not any of it actually.

I worked steadily from the road my entire RTW trip.

My Travel-Enabling Job

DIY SEO 3D E-BookSo here’s my confession to you: I perform freelance SEO (search engine optimization) work and I worked from the road every single week of my trip –it’s the sacrifice I made so that I could leave immediately (and I’d do it again in a heartbeat!).

So, loyal readers, you might ask, “Shannon, why have you never shared this before?!”

Well, it never seemed necessary and I’ve always alluded to the fact that I work remotely from the road. Plus, admitting it now is a pretty ideal time for me to confess since I’ve already gone public with my job via a new DIY SEO guide I co-wrote with Andy Hayes!

Yep, Andy and I worked together over the past several months to put together a DIY guide to search engine optimization. Don’t know what SEO is? Most simply, it’s the process of improving your site’s organic search results in the major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc); that’s precisely what this guide is designed to do, help small businesses with SEO.

And here’s the thing – I really hate the “hard” sell. Instead, I’d love for you to take a moment to understand a few highlights of the guide, and if you like what you read, head over to DIY SEO at Travel Online Partners (Andy’s site) for a much more thorough review and an opportunity to purchase the SEO guide if you’re interested.

This DIY SEO guide:

  • covers all of the essential aspects of search engine optimization and how to augment your site to place better in organic search results.
  • is specifically designed for small businesses in travel and tourism industries (and yes that most definitely includes travel bloggers).
  • provides clear, step-by-step instructions implementable all in one push, or gradually over time.
  • includes a spiffy accompanying worksheet to keep all of your search engine research organized and help you through the process.
  • is incredibly necessary if your site is a monetized business (or if you hope to make it one).

DIY SEO E-book BannerSo there you have it! I’m pretty proud of the guide and I know there are numerous bloggers looking to monetize their sites; this Do It Yourself Search Engine Optimzation guide is one piece of the process.

And while I can’t promise you that you’re going to become a millionaire and die happy by using our guide (umm, that’s pretty much up to you), I can say that our SEO guide has a ton a value and will increase your search rankings if you’ve never optimized your site before.  :-)

  • http://www.everywhereist.com/ Everywhereist

    Ah, there's nothing wrong with supporting your travel addiction with an SEO-career. Seriously. Just ask my hubby. :)

    • ShannonOD

      Excellent, I'm thinking he likely finds it as enabling to the travel
      addiction as myself, that works out well for you too that he's able to
      travel with you sometimes and work from the road! :-)

  • http://www.flipnomad.com/ flip

    congratulations on your ebook :-)

  • http://www.flipnomad.com/ flip

    congratulations on your ebook :-)

    • ShannonOD

      Thanks Flip! It's fun to have a product out there for the world :-)

  • ShannonOD

    Thanks Flip! It's fun to have a product out there for the world :-)

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  • http://maiden-voyage-travel.com/ Emily @ Maiden Voyage

    I don't think you are any less of a traveler for working while traveling! I'm sure you were able to spend more comfortably and travel sooner by earning money as you went. Sure, you can save up for years and then go travel for a while, but it can take a really long time and you can run out of money, or come home with no money. This way you are still bringing in some income. I have a day job and several freelance gigs, so if I decided to do a big RTW trip, I would definitely keep some of those freelance gigs going to supplement my travels. I think there is nothing wrong with that!

  • ShannonOD

    You're right about that Emily – I would have had to spend a lot more time
    saving up before I left if I hadn't worked from the road…and I was too
    impatient to go explore! It worked out incredibly well and I would
    definitely recommend taking any freelance gigs on the road with you, it's
    liberating to have that extra flow of income. :-)

  • ShannonOD

    Thank you and I truly think that it's pretty perfect for travel bloggers (me
    being one myself and all ;-) Cheers and let me know how your optimization
    efforts go!

  • brookevstheworld

    I worked directly with the SEO guy at my previous job in Sydney, and I can say that SEO is a big pain in the arse and takes a lot of work – bleh. But, I do enjoy that you don't make any promises about results; SEO is constantly evolving. Having said that – KUDOS on being able to work remotely! Good luck on the ebook as well!

  • ShannonOD

    Thanks Brooke – I appreciate the encouragement, the ebook is exciting and
    have high hopes for it – as for SEO, you are so right about no promises, I
    would have felt like a skeezy person if I went that route :-)