Two years ago, around this time, when I was working from home and going for my runs in the morning, I got a call from the webmaster of an organization I was part of and was helping them with the website and the IT management (yeah, I've done that also) - the website was down, and she specified the error.

I stopped for a few seconds and recommended an easy fix:

Log into the hosting account and ask support to restore yesterday’s backup!*

I continued my run while enjoying the entire situation for a minute. The nice early morning sun was warming the left side of my face.

When I got home, I saw a text from her telling me everything was working fine.

So, I went along with the other million tasks I had on my plate that day.

I am better off today than I was at that time in every aspect (economic, health, relationship, career, etc.), but certainly, it doesn't feel that way.

If you ask me today, many times I feel overwhelmed, always behind on tasks, and not moving as fast as I wish.

But when I draw a line - and I tend to do this every week, I am amazed at how many things I’ve accomplished in the past few days.

And I’m also extremely grateful for the feedback I’m getting from some of the people I work with - they are happy with my services and the results they’re getting.

As I realized two years ago when I got that phone call during my run, I’m telling myself:

You’re in it!

That’s it!

That’s what you work for!

This is the journey, and you’re in it for the journey - the result is nice, of course, but the journey matters most**.

Take a moment to reflect on things and realize that this is it - it can get better, it can get worse, but it’s part of the game.

The game you’re playing.

You’re in the field - so you can’t see it as a spectator.

The next How About Some Marketing? Webinar is happening on July 11th, 2024, starting at 7 pm EST, and it’s going to be something special, never done before - a discussion panel with three guests, moderated by yours truly - also marking the one-year anniversary of these webinars. Stay tuned for more updates.

The topic? SEO and Digital Marketing in the Age of AI.

You can register here.

Enjoy the ride. It's probably the most important thing to remember, but it’s also the easiest thing to forget.

Things go up and down as they have always done and will.

But they are always in the spiral form, and the lowest point at this moment is, most likely, higher than the highest moment in the previous iteration (hope that makes sense).

I got this concept from Ray Dalio’s book Principles (which I have mentioned many times in this newsletter).

Source https://www.principles.com/assets/34769216-21d3-4547-bd4b-e4fd38a00fa5.png

*I kind of knew this was going to happen, I’ve anticipated - but hoped for the best - not a good idea in this case.

**Most people say - I haven’t gotten to the destination yet.

Here's the short of the day.

Song of the day - Heroes Del Silencio - La herida. There are a few songs that contain a part I consider to be the best in the world; there’s no one great song but multiple songs with different elements - and this is one of them. Superb vocal interpretation. It appeared randomly in a playlist; I had my headphones on, waiting for a friend while reading my email. When he arrived, as I was removing my headphones, I heard what I consider the best part (min 1.53) and had to instantly come back to listen over and over.

The following news is still relevant, although it will not qualify as news anymore :)

​Secrets from the Algorithm: Google Search’s Internal Engineering Documentation Has Leaked​

The article of the moment in SEO. This is a must-read as much as the Search Rater Guideline. So, if you want a summary (of what to do to rank well on Google), “The bottom line here is that you need to drive more successful clicks using a broader set of queries and earn more link diversity if you want to continue to rank.”

​JavaScript SEO in 2024 Q&A with Martin Splitt from Google (Issues, Mistakes, Tips, Facts, & Myths) 😱​

Take everything anyone from Google says with a grain of salt - remember, they don't actually do the SEO. If you need proof, read again the first article. That said, there’s still a lot of value in this podcast episode from Olga Zarr’s SEOSLY.

​Google API Leak: SEO Insights & Expert Perspectives​

May 2024 Google API Leak – A few more industry experts and I shared a few thoughts on these Google leaks in the SEO community and how we do SEO.