ERIQ "The Assault" PERRAULT vs. "MR. HANGTOWN"

Yesterday, my dad was trying to find the outcome of an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts... think UFC) Fight that our friend Eriq "The Assault" Perrault fought in Placerville a week earlier. Eriq (Also known as Eric or Erik "The Irish Headache", but who we affectionally call Eriq "The Prodigy") is a Muay Thai fighter from Lincoln, CA (25 miles East of Sacramento, CA). Winning his first professional MMA fight a little more than a month ago, he came into last Saturday's Cage Fight with a 1-0 record.

Dad typed "Eriq Perrault" into Google's Search Engine and out of over 3,190,000 results on the web, he found MY picture next my Tweet from that evening as one of the top results. The reason this cracks me up, is the brilliant simplicity to how Google's WhiteHat SEO techniques reward us for taking the Small Steps! In other words, my website and name came up in a search for "Eriq Perrault" simply because I uploaded a simple, 1 line status update to my custom-linked Myspace / Facebook / Twitter / etc accounts from my iPhone just before the match began. Yes, there is a ton of initial setup work. Yes, creating the Online System for Your Brand can be quite the task to take on... but once you do, it's all about simple and consistent maintenance! In other words, once your Website, Social Networks, Blogs, and iPhone/iPad Apps are in place, all you need to do is Create Compelling Content! Write articles about the things you Love. Link your site to those of your peers and idols, and request the same from them because this will effectively "tie you together" in the internet.

I've been working on computers since I was 8 years old and building websites since I was fourteen. Two years ago, I began studying SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Techniques and Online Social Networking Marketing Strategies. Though it sounds complicated, and can be quite technical in the sense of working with HTML code, it basically boils down to a few simple steps:

1.) Sign up for EVERY social network available.

Define your Brand and Create an artist page on the social networks, upload photos/music/videos/blogs/etc, and keep a good record of your paper trail.

2.) Do as your Elementary School Math teacher used to say: "SHOW YOUR WORK".

I like to email a copy of everything I do to a unique email address (such as "Ideas" or "ToDo@(your url).com")

3.) Get your website Linked Up, Looking Professional, and Paying You Money!

You can even setup a Direct Deposit into your bank account ($$$!!!)

4.) Create Compelling Content

Post Photos, Videos, Blogs, Articles, Reviews, Music, and more! Update and promote these within everything you do online.

5.) Google anything you don't yet know how to do.

...Yeah... it's pretty much that easy. Beyond that, let me know if I can help with anything! (www.MatthewJDoughty.com/web/)