Brad Gibala

Archives for November 2013

My Cab Ride In Northern Ireland

- Updated

Cab Ride Northern Ireland
One eye on the road. One eye in the rear view mirror. One hand steering. One hand texting. One hand shifting. Impressive.

After taking the 2 hour ferry ride from Troon in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland we hired the only cab waiting there to get us to Belfast which is 40 minutes away. This is where we met Ray. From the second we got into the cab Ray was texting and calling people trying to find somebody to pick up his kid in 15 minutes from school all while shifting gears. He had to call another cab company which forced him to write down the number, shift, and hold the cell phone. I offered to help but he turned me down. Impressive how he was able to do all of that while not putting us into the guard rail.

You Americans?

“Yes. From Detroit, Michigan. Here on a two-week backpacking trip. Started in London, then Scotland, here for one night, and then Dublin.”

After the formalities are out of the way is when it gets fun

Ray brings up politics. I am not sure on how I want to approach responding yet as he gives me a back history about “The Troubles” of Northern Ireland and being apart of the UK. There was a very “Governmenty Feel” the second we got off the boat so I had a feeling where this was going.

Everybody gets welfare

Ray: Every person receives £2,000 ($3,200)  a month to cover living expenses as long as they are looking for work.

Me: Define looking.

Ray: They have to fill out a piece a paper and turn it into the Government saying they are.

Me: I bet there is a 100% honesty guarantee rate too.

Ray: (Deer in headlights)

Me: Ray, if you gave me that much money a month I’m sure I can find a room to rent out with a couple of friends for £400 a month including utilities. Probably spend another £400 on food and entertainment. Kick in another £300 for cell phone and miscellaneous items. That leaves me £900 a month for whatever. Do you know how much traveling you can do with that kind of money? I could travel the world slowly and cheaply with that kind of money every month. If this isn’t the first thing coming to your mind at the age of 18-24 then their lying. And then to know that it continues on forever. Why even look for real work?

**The way Ray explained their welfare was it was given to everybody (like healthy young adults w/o kids) indefinitely. Not like here in the U.S where you get unemployment for 6 months (indefinite now I guess) or you’re a single parent.

Everybody get’s free healthcare

Ray: Our system is so much better than yours in the U.S. We don’t pay for visits. Let’s say I nick my knee playing rugby with my mates. I call up the Doctors office and they give me an appointment IN SIX MONTHS.

Me + Andrea:   HHHHOOOOOLLLLLYYY SSSSHHHHIIIIITTTT!!!!!!!!!

Ray: (Deer in headlights) If I say it’s really bad they bump me up TO THREE MONTHS.

Me + Andrea: OOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!

Me: Ray, that is not a better system. You think your leg is bad you go to the Drs. that day. Waiting 6 months is not better. Geez. How is this system funded if its free?

Ray: Well, our taxes on gasoline cover the cost. Money collected goes into a coffer and its paid that way.

Me: Like – how much taxes?

Ray: It’s basically double the cost of a gallon of gas from what you pay in the U.S.

**Avg gas prices Nov 11th in Northern Ireland are £1.35 per liter X 3.78 Liters (1 Gallon) = £5.103 per gallon in Northern Ireland. Avg. gas prices per gallon in U.S for Nov. 15th is $3.20. Taking current exchange rates £5.103 = $8.22. It would appear they pay 2.5 times as much as we do for the same gallon of gas. ( I think my math is right there.)

Me: HHHHHOOOOOOLLLLLLLYYYYY SSSSHHHHHHHIIIIITTTTTTTTT!!!!! (Could explain why we did not see one truck in the U.K. Not even on a farm). Do you like paying double for gas? I mean, since you’re a cab driver it must eat into your wages.

Ray: Its easy with the Government running the healthcare system so I don’t mind.

Me: (Facepalm) Are there any private Doctors? What happens if they can’t see you in six months?

Ray: There are private Doctors but you have to pay to see them. If the NHS can’t get to your appointment then they pay to send you to one of the private Doctors.

Me: So all the Doctors work for the NHS.

Ray: (Deer in headlights) No – the NHS only pays them if they can’t get to you.

Me: If they accept money from the Government then they are no longer a “private Doctor.” They are Government employees. Ok, maybe you can call them “semi-private.” I can picture some private Doctors who don’t even try to bring in patients but just wait around to take care of the ones who can’t be seen by the NHS.

Much like many Americans he did not understand the concept of who a Government employee really is. After politely telling him how the NHS system was not even close to being a better system then the system we have here Ray decided to move onto…

The 2nd Amendment is outdated

Ray: There is no need for the average person to have guns. The police are there to shoot the bad guys. And look at all the massacres that go on in the U.S.

Me: Most – if not all – of those massacres happened in Gun Free zones. This means Ray that no one is allowed to have a gun. Even security. If you were going to commit a massacre would you risk walking into one of the 50 million or so homes in the U.S that have guns or would you instead go after areas that you know for a fact do not have guns?

Ray: (Deer in headlights)

Me: I keep a couple of guns in the house for protection. The thing is Ray that if I do need the cops to shoot the bad guys it is already too late. If you could protect your family would you leave it to chance? I’ve never really felt threatened going out and I live two miles away from the third most violent city in the U.S. Would there be less massacres if security in the gun free zones were allowed to carry guns? Maybe.

Ray: (Deer in headlights)

Me: But the real question nobody is asking is lets say the 2nd Amendment is revoked and nobody besides the Government is allowed to have them. Do you honestly think 50 million gun owners are just going to walk up to the cop shop and say “Hey, here are my guns.” Come on Ray.  The 2nd Amendment was not put into the Constitution to give us a chance to protect us from bad guys. It was put in to protect us from the Government.

Ray: (Deer in headlights)

At that time we pulled up in front of our hotel and I ended it with this.

Me: The federal Government running anything (besides military) is not allowed in a free society. None. It’s never easier or convenient to have the Government run anything.

I told him we enjoyed the ride and asked him for some ideas on what to do In Belfast. He gave us a couple of ideas and we parted ways. Ray was a very nice guy and at no time did he raise his voice or tell me I was wrong. I think most of the things I said he was hearing for the first time.

In closing:

Later that night I was thinking about how crazy some of the things Ray said were. Double the price for gas. Up to 6 months to be seen by a Doctor. Welfare for everybody. Illegal to own a gun. I mean, crazy, right. Nobody would ever fall for that stuff here in the U.S.

It then occurred to me that gas taxes aren’t that high here…yet. Medicare and Medicaid are already in place and are a huge CF on the Federal Budget and on taxpayers. With Obamacare passing its merely a matter of time before our entire health care system turns into theirs. I don’t think the U.S Government will have any luck de-arming the citizens as they are far outnumbered and you can’t do it electronically.

Here I am thinking everything Ray said is crazy (it was) but the groundwork for the U.S Government to get taxes raised or additional laws passed is already in place. While a majority of people aren’t in favor of the federal Government running everything right now they are however ok with it running somethings. Its only a matter of time before the majority starts to think like Ray.

Housekeeping Items

I couldn’t find firm #’s  regarding Ray’s welfare statement or what % of gas taxes go to funding the National Healthcare System. Everything I found said they were funded by “general taxes.” (Bonus –  European Governments have been frauded (LOL) $4 billion in taxes due to black market gasoline.) I knew British citizens were not allowed to have hand guns due to the 1997 Firearms Act. 57,000 people (.01% of population) did turn over their guns to the cops. There are 130k people that still own shotguns. Going back to my point though. It would be easy to convince .01% of the UK population to give up their guns rather than the 50% of Americans.

How To Win The SEO Game

- Updated

SEO War Games
The secret to winning the SEO game is not to play.

When it comes to Search Engine Optimization I’m reminded of that scene from the movie War Games with Matthew Broderick. If you haven’t seen it yet it’s about how a kid hacks into the USAF mainframe and finds games which include Chess, Poker, Desert Warfare, and Global Thermonuclear War. Of course he chooses Global Thermonuclear War because who doesn’t want to play that game. He ends up starting the launch sequence for our nukes and gets arrested by the government. He cleverly escapes and finds Professor Falken who wrote the program. They end up un-doing what he did and save earth from World War III.

Does This Sound Like What’s Happened In SEO The Past Three Years?

SEO gurus gaming the Google algorithm by finding out how to get their sites ranked higher to only get their sites blown up when Google dropped the Panda, Penguin, and most recently Hummingbird updates. Everybody went into full panic mode trying to un-due the past couple years of work to save their site.

I’ve been doing internet marketing since 2008 and have had a lot of success. When I first started building websites there was little mention about SEO from the people I followed. Most of what was being taught then focused on creating exceptional content and clearly defining what your site was going to be about.

Along the way I kept getting notifications of SEO courses and best SEO practices from followers of the internet marketers I followed. Before I knew it I was spending so much time trying to learn and apply these additional techniques from 2011 and on that I didn’t realize I was making a cardinal mistake in internet marketing. I had stopped creating content.

Optimize Schmoptamize

The one thing I kept on hearing over and over from all of these SEO wizards was the need to optimize posts and pages so Google could figure out what my site was about. What I forgot to realize was the sites I had already built were ranking on page one or two in Google for a bunch of high trafficked keywords at the time without following any of these latest and greatest SEO techniques.

Bold this, underline that, keyword density % this, H1 and H2 and H3 usage this, begin and end your post with your keyword that. It was turning me into a robot. If I was trying to recommend products to robots then I was well on my way to ridiculous fortunes. Unfortunately, it was people who were my demographic and what they needed was well researched content delivered in a way that answered their questions. I focused so much on optischmizing for Google that I forgot about connecting with my peeps.

All The SEO Guru’s Really Want Is…

Your money. That’s it.

Listening to what the smart people were saying set me back a year or two in the growth of my business. Probably spent $2k on “traffic getting courses” and SEO WordPress plugins during that time. None of them improved any rankings of mine. It never occurred to me to see if these people had sites that were ranking for terms that actually made money. Before I started *learning* SEO from these people I was nearing 6 figures in earnings my second year by only creating content. If anything I should have been teaching them.

When The Panda and Penguin Updates Rolled Out From Google

Many of my sites that I went back and optimized to the SEO guru’s standards took major hits in search engine rankings. I’d say up to 50% traffic loss in a year. What’s funny is a number of my small niche sites that I didn’t get around to optimizing per the guru’s standards were not affected at all. How could this be?

I’m Not Trying To Bash The SEO Gurus

Like SEOMoz or a number of other high-profile SEO pros but what is it that they really do? Well, their trying to sell you tools and services that *they think* will help you rank your site better in Google, Yahoo, and Bing. What’s funny is when you see an article on one of their sites saying some SEO tactic that used to work is no longer working.

Don’t Think Google Isn’t Watching Either

Every time a new SEO course or service is released you can bet somebody at Google has bought the service and tracked the results on a dummy website they run. They backtrack what was done to artificially rank that site and determine if those tactics deliver the best results for Google users. From there they go back to the über secret Google algorithm and tweak it ever so slightly to make sure those tactics don’t work as well or at all anymore. Wouldn’t you create fake accounts on BlackHatWorld.com or SEOMoz and stay up to date on what people are trying to do to game your system? I would.

The gaming of search engines is a flawed business model. If you’re betting on building a long-term sustainable online business by gaming Google then let me be the first to tell you that it’s not going to happen. And to be honest, its tiring.

“It’s A Big Club And You Ain’t In It” – George Carlin (American Dream)

You and I do not work for Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Why is it that the search engines don’t come out and say exactly how to rank a site in the #1 spot for any keyword? My best guess is they want to rank for the #1 spot for all (money) keywords.

Go to Google right now and type anything in. Notice how the first two or three results are Google Ads along with the five or six running down the right sidebar? So in all actuality Google is ranking #1-#3 for your keyword and there’s nothing you can do about it. Correct that. You can be #1 if you’re willing to pay for it.

“There Are No New Fundamentals. Be Weary Of The Man Who Manufactures Antiques” – Jim Rohn

After reading just about everything you can in regards to SEO I find myself just about right where I started when it comes to building websites on the *hope* of getting most of my traffic with search engines.

  • Write good content for people. Not search engines.
  • Title your images with your keyword.
  • Clearly define what your site is going to be about.
  • Write great titles with clear descriptions.
  • Link to your best posts and others too.
  • Connect with other sites in your niche and ask to guest post.
  • Be consistent with posting.

Those are the best SEO secrets I have learned. It’s so easy to get bogged down with info over load from the SEO guru’s that you might lose track of why you started the site in the first place. I’d advise not looking into it too much until Google comes out and tells the world how to rank #1. My best guess is it’s never going to happen.

The Old Course at St. Andrews

- Updated

Swilcan Bridge St Andrews

Checked off a bucket list item on our two-week backpacking trip through the UK when I played The Old Course at St. Andrews. It still doesn’t feel real to me. We’re talking about St. Andrews. The birthplace of golf. The British Open. The ultimate “I played there” course amongst golfers. This guy – he played there.

1st Tee Box at St.Andrews Old Course
Fairway Bunkers
17th Tee Box. The Road Hole.
Famous Road Hole Bunker
18th Hole Tee Box
Some hot guy on the 18th fairway.
The Himalayas Putt Putt Course
The Jigger Inn
Old Course Goodie Bag

Did I Even Have A Chance To Play?

Single golfers are not allowed to make tee times. The website said single golfers with a handicap under 24 can show up in the morning and the starter would put you on a waiting list. They post tee times and I saw 9 openings on the day I planned to golf some two months out so I figured I had a chance. Good thing I joined a golf league this year. You have to show the starter a print out of your handicap to play.

Upon Arriving In St. Andrews

The lady (Fiona) who ran the Bed & Breakfast we stayed in said she heard people were waiting in line before 6am to play and I’d better walk down to the starter. Luckily it was just a 5 minute walk to the course. Everything started to set in now. We were standing in front of the buildings I remember seeing near the 18th hole on TV. Pretty cool.

We made our way over to the starter where I asked him about getting on tomorrow. My best chance of getting to play was to show up before 6am. That morning there were 20 people waiting in line before 7am and he was only able to get 10 of them out. If he could not get me on The Old Course then I would be be able to get onto The New Course or Jubilee Course. Both of which are right next to The Old Course.

The good news is I was going to get to play one of the St. Andrews courses but I was there to play The Old Course. I’ve had 8am tee times before but never had I woken up before 5am to stand in line for 2 hours to maybe get the chance to be told I was going to play some hours later. I set my alarm for 4:55 AM and went to bed early.

5:30 AM

I made my way through the darkness to the starters building. A guy approached me and said “Hi, I’m Larry. You’re #4.” Larry was #1. He had shown up at 3:45 am. The other two showed up 20 minutes before me. For the next hour and a half the same greeting was passed on to the remaining people who showed up. I believe 12 people were there waiting before 7am. We passed the time talking about politics (of course I was the idiot Libertarian who knew nothing) and of course some golf.

7:00 AM

The starter shows up and takes down our names. He informs us that there is a very good chance we will all get to play but to hang tight for 30 minutes. We all head over to the putting green and the starter motions for Larry and #2 that their playing in 15 minutes. He then approaches #3, me, #5 and #6 and informs us a foursome cancelled their 9:45 tee time and he’s going to pair us up. YEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!! In the mean time he tells us to get something to eat and come back at 9 am.

7:30 AM

I dart back to the room, run up the stairs, kick the door open, wake Andrea up from a dead sleep and inform her of the most awesomest news ever. I get to golf St. Andrews. Yah. Wake up. Get dressed. Lets go eat some of Fiona’s food and get down to the course. Yah.

9:30 AM

Its time to break the game of golf. It was a little intimidating standing on the 1st tee box knowing all the history that’s gone done there. Andrea was recording me. There were the 3 guys plus caddies in my group and the 40 or so people on the street watching. Plus, the caddie I hired for the day wasn’t there yet. Figured a 3 wood would be a good play. It was, but I didn’t know how far the creek was down the middle right hand side of the hole was. Just wanted to get off the tee and be in play. My shot went 235 yards with the last 40 or so rolling into the creek. Crap. My caddie, Luke, showed up while I was walking down the 1st fairway and told me I probably should have taken a 5 iron.

Without Getting Into Every Little Detail

Playing The Old Course was the coolest golf experience of my life. It was unlike anything I’ve ever played before. Very few trees so everything kind of looked the same. Greens were huge and usually two holes shared the same one. The course wasn’t long but accuracy and imagination were needed. Almost got a hole in one on the wrong hole. Sprayed my tee shot on one of the par 3’s that shares a green with another hole. Ball landed 4 feet from the wrong hole. Caddies said they’ve never seen that happen before. Reminded them I’m here to break the game. Sent a 125 foot lag putt back to the right hole and made bogey.

Shot a 97 with 7 penalty strokes. Couldn’t keep the drive straight and the pro blade irons were unforgiving. Still can’t get over how I 3 putted on the 18th hole from 30 feet out.

Fairways and greens were cut about the same length. Bunkers were deep and plentiful. Only hit into one in which I had to hit out sideways. The rough was brutal. It grabbed the club like something fierce. Must have putted from 100 feet out at least 6 times through a maze of bumps. The 17th and 18th holes were my favorite. You get to experience what the greats see. Plus, you get to hit over a hotel.

My Best Tips For Golfing St. Andrews

Lodging – Town is small. 10 minute walk to everything. Bed & Breakfast worked for us.

Golf Is Not Cheap – Greens Fees (£155) + Club Rental (£30) + Shoe Rental (£10) + Caddie (£65) + Golf Balls (£15) = £275 or $442 U.S Dollars. The currency conversion is brutal.

*Golf balls are half price in town. Tees come with the goodie bag from St. Andrews.

Caddies – Its custom to tip £20 pounds on top of the £45 fee. Never had a caddie before so I figured why not. Luke was in his mid 20s so we had enough in common to talk about. If he wasn’t there telling me what bush or TV tower to aim at or when to lay up it probably would not have been as much fun. I’ll probably pass on getting a caddie next time. Found myself getting tunnel vision through out the day as I was listening to him more often than trying to picture how I was going to hit the shot. They were hilarious though. A number of times I heard “Where were you at on that one dip-shit” (Happy Gilmore) said with a Scottish accent.

Show Up Early – If you’re a single golfer like I was then be ready to stand in line by 5:45 am at the latest. The starter told us the people who have tee times do not have to let you play with them. Picture a dad and his two sons making a tee time a year in advance and wanting to enjoy it just the three of them type of scenario. It rarely happens though.

Whiskey – Bring a pint. I didn’t. Wish I would have.

Check For Tournaments – Make sure there are none going on the day you want to play.

Golf Clubs + Shoes – Reserve ahead of time. Research golf stores in St. Andrews for cheaper prices. St. Andrews rents Callaway RAZRX Fit Extreme woods, Callaway X Hot Pro irons (which were impossible to hit) and an Odyssey putter.

Attire – It rains a lot in Scotland. Bring something you can swing in. I Under Armoured it up.

That’s about it. Can scratch golfing at St. Andrews off the bucket list. Don’t know if I’ll ever get back there but it would be cool to do three days of golf and play The New and Jubilee Courses along with The Old Course.