Ross Barefoot got his start in small business managing an importing company in the bicycle industry. While there, he tried his hand at programming to find more effective ways to track, market and sell his company’s range of bicycle parts. He loved the web marketing side of things so much he became a professional web developer in 2001, starting a website design business in Western Colorado. He took his first SEO certification course from the Search Engine Academy in 2002, followed it up with another in 2004, and decided to jump full time into SEO training and consulting in 2011, becoming a Master Certified Instructor with the Search Engine Academy, where he continues to serve on the Board of Directors. Today, Ross is CTO, trainer and chief SEO strategist at Horizon Web Marketing (www.horizonwebmarketing.com), a full-service digital marketing agency based in Las Vegas.
https://www.horizonwebmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/mistake-3019036_1920-e1554410591154.jpg8471280Ross Barefoothttps://www.horizonwebmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/horizon-web-marketing.pngRoss Barefoot2019-04-04 13:45:022019-04-05 11:00:40Brutal Reality: SEO is a Process that Guarantees Frustration
My friend Erin Pheil (owner of Followbright, a web design company) and I were discussing splitboarding, a passion of hers, and how she views another passion, web design.
First of all, “What is a splitboard?” I asked. She explained that a splitboard is a special type of snowboard designed to be split in two lengthwise, to form two separate planks. When special skins are attached to the two planks the splitboard (now in two pieces) can be used to climb ascending slopes.
Why would one want to use a splitboard? Answer: to do back country snowboarding which in recent years has taken off in popularity. It is in the back country where pristine powder is more likely to be found. (Note – Wikipedia: snowboard sales are declining in recent years, while splitboard sales are rising.)
In order to better understand snowboarding vs splitboarding, here are some differences between them:
SNOWBOARDING
SPLITBOARDING
Location
• Ski resort
• Anywhere, especially back country
Ski lift
• Required
• Not required
Fresh powder
• Limited access
• Virtually unlimited access
Downhill route
• Pre-defined by ski resort
• Self-defined
Prep Needed
• Minimal
• Fair amount
So, how do you prep for splitboarding?
Splitboarding requires a fair amount of preparation and planning. Erin explains some major considerations.
Ascending a hill on splitboards, almost like uphill cross country skiing
Successful and safe splitboarding requires that you must:
Have the understanding that you just can’t show up and go wherever you’d like, like you can at a ski resort
Plan your route
Inform people of your whereabouts, and always let people know where you are going
Check weather conditions
Check avalanche conditions
Have avalanche certification (preferably Level 2)
Understand your group’s dynamics
Be highly knowledgeable in back country safety and rescue
Constantly assess the situation at all times
Watch Erin enjoy the goods after a two hour long skin on her splitboard in the backcountry of Colorado.
Splitboarding and Web Design
Interestingly enough, Erin thinks of her web design business in splitboarding terms. What does this mean?
Erin feels that a special type of client is a good fit for her business. Her best web clients tend to have a splitboarder (not snowboarder) mentality, as explained below.
An ordinary snowboarder might be satisfied with a very basic experience, at any ordinary ski resort. Similarly, an ordinary business might be satisfied with an ordinary website design. A client with a splitboarder mentality might be looking for a special experience, on fresh powder away from the tourist crowds. Such a client might be seeking a special website to do special things.
ORDINARY CLIENT
(Not a Good Fit for Followbright)
DISCERNING CLIENT
(Good Fit for Followbright)
Considers website as an electronic brochure, full of pretty pictures
Views website as a 24/7 salesperson who never sleeps
OK with simplistic website, developed by ordinary web developer with “one-size fits all” mentality
Requires complex website with many moving parts that work well together by customized programming
Lowest price = primary motivator
Budget = an investment yielding an ROI that will pay for the web project many times over.
Understands that a larger investment will be involved.
Typically in a great hurry, having treated web marketing as an afterthought
May be in a hurry, but willing to allow enough time to get the job done right the first time
Not coachable
Coachable
Not willing to listen
Willing to listen, has intellectual humility
May hem and haw, often delay a decision, may have second thoughts afterwards
Decisive, confident.
Interested in expediency over all else, not appreciative of the subtleties of a job well done or best web design practices
Appreciates a job well done and expresses that appreciation
OK with cheap copywriters and mediocre content
Understands that well written content is critical to search engines and to web visitors
Splitboarding Approach Yields Results
Splitboarding uphill, forging your own path
Some of Erin’s results can be seen on her website and include:
Sales increase of 29% to 100%, often within one month to six months
Gross revenue up $400K in 20 months for one client
190% new clients in 12 months for another client
CEOs testimonials saying “You saved our business” and “I can sleep for the first time in months because of you.”
Horizon Web Marketing is a digital marketing company.
https://www.horizonwebmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Followbright-uphill-splitboard-x-country.jpg593593Horizon Web Marketinghttps://www.horizonwebmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/horizon-web-marketing.pngHorizon Web Marketing2016-09-14 22:16:272019-03-06 22:11:40Splitboarding and Web Design
Profiling New Business Partner Shock Blocker/ American Innovative Inventions
Visit the Shock Blocker Website
Horizon Web Marketing is proud to be working alongside American Innovative Inventions, creators of the Shock Blocker home safety product. With an innovative new design, the Shock Blocker is a tamper-proof outlet cover guaranteed to protect your children and pets from unwanted electrical shocks. No more accidentally sticking mom’s keys into the outlet! The patent-pending shutter technology ensures that nothing but an approved electrical plug can be inserted into the outlet.
This is the debut product of American Innovative Inventions, a firm dedicated to helping up-and-coming inventors establish their products. For parents looking to childproof their homes, there is no better solution than Shock Blocker. There are more than 6,000 incidents of children being electrocuted in the U.S., many of them due to unprotected outlet covers. The Shock Blocker offers an utterly tamper-proof design which, once installed in homes, schools, and businesses across the country, aims to reduce this number significantly.
With the launch of the Shock Blocker website, American Innovative Inventions wishes to reach out to retail distributors and individual customers alike, offering the chance to purchase their product. Distributors and customers can order the product directly from the website through a dedicated, secure e-commerce system ensuring safe transactions and privacy for their information. In this way, you can rest assured that both your personal information and your children are safe when you buy Shock Blocker.
My friend Erin Pheil (owner of 
