Recently I dropped in to visit my favorite Las Vegas furniture store (also a client), Vizion Furniture, and a poster on the wall, entitled “The Burial of a Viking Queen,” caught my eye. The poster described the recovery and restoration of a Viking burial ship dating back to around 800 AD. The ship contained the remains of a Viking queen and her attendant.
What is unusual about this particular ship is that 90% of the original wood was still intact, preserved and hermetically sealed from decay by the clay in which the ship had been buried. Usually when Viking ships are recovered, only the iron rivets survive. However in this ship wood, metal, leather and even woolen materials were preserved. Artifacts found in the ship included two small axes, kitchen equipment, a small wooden chest, with hinges that still worked, beds, sleds, wagons and a small vertical loom.
Paul Mikkelsen, owner of Vizion Furniture recommends a visit to the reconstructed vessel, called the Oseberg ship, which is on display in the Viking ship museum at the University of Oslo Museum of Cultural History. He has considerable world knowledge and we have spent many enjoyable moments discussing Viking ships and various aspects of Danish culture. Visit the museum website to read more about the story of the Oseberg find as well as other Viking artifacts.
Vikings and SEO
The recovered Viking burial ship, also known as “Dragon Ship” because of the dragon carvings on the prow, reminds us that something that is built well will stand the test of time. Like the Viking ship, great SEO is a building process that will establish your website with a solid ranking presence for the long term.
Viking warriors were well known for their ferocity and ability to conquer wherever they landed. They were more than that, of course, and had a rich culture with its share of poets, lawmakers and artists. They were feared and admired throughout their 200 year reign over the Northern seas.
Like all great organizations, Vikings had their own code of ethics represented in the Nine Noble Virtues:
- Courage
- Discipline
- Fidelity
- Honor
- Hospitality
- Industriousness
- Perseverence
- Self-reliance
- Truth
As in all great endeavors, one can say many of these virtues are needed for long term success. And this can be applied to SEO as well. Great SEO requires, among other virtues, discipline, industriousness and perseverance. An SEO program can require months of dedicated work, sometimes up to a year or more, before the full reward is obtained. Ranking well in organic search is the result of a combination of factors that are carefully crafted by Google in their famous algorithm to provide its clients with the highest quality organic search results. Like with your real world business, your Google ranking requires you to build a solid reputation online with, among other things, interesting, original and relevant content, a wide-reaching and positive online reputation, effective landing pages, a solid, healthy website, and the recognition of your peers through relevant backlinks to your page content. Remember the Vikings as you embark on your website, SEO and Internet Marketing odyssey.
Roy Nakamura is the founder and CEO of Horizon Web Marketing. Before becoming an Entrepreneur, Roy spent 25 years in Silicon Valley corporate finance, holding the position of CFO with multi-national corporations. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA in finance and also has passed the CPA exam. Additionally, Roy holds a BS in engineering and a Masters degree in journalism, and has board-level experience with United Way and Financial Executives International. In 2008 Roy was named “Business Person of the Year” by the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce.
Roy, that is a great summary about the Vikings! Thank you very much for taking the time. Paul Mikkelsen