John Doherty | Johnfdoherty.com Authors

03 Jun

John Doherty Posted in Search Engine Optimization 3 comments

Why Enterprises Should Not Guest Post for SEO

I’ve often been asked about guest posting for SEO purposes. I always said that it was less than ideal, but when at an agency I couldn’t really say that it shouldn’t be done.

After being in-house for a year and a half now, I’m putting my stake in the ground.

I do not think that enterprises should be guest posting for SEO purposes.

Before we get going, allow me to draw a distinction between “amplification”, which is spreading the word about content you’ve produced or something you’ve launched, sometimes via guest contribution, and “guest posting ” as most SEO’s think of it, where you write content specifically for a site for the purposes of a link that hopefully will pass some link equity.

Here is why I think “guest posting for SEO” for enterprises is a waste of time and better-used resources. Read more about Why Enterprises Should Not Guest Post for SEO …

22 May

John Doherty Posted in Entrepreneurship 2 comments

Manager Mistakes

Have you ever managed anyone? Then you could probably write this post too. Have you ever been managed by someone? Then you could write this post as well.

I’ve managed people in a few different companies and roles now. Like any position, management is learned skills that you have to both figure out and be trained on. Unfortunately, making mistakes in management skills directly affects people as opposed to simply business metrics.

Here are some management mistakes I’ve made and am seeking to learn from. Read more about Manager Mistakes …

03 Mar

John Doherty Posted in Search Engine Optimization 7 comments

The Curse Of Being A 10x Manager

When I became a boss I never really thought about the fact that the way I’m put together and tend to be day-to-day could end up being a liability for me in some ways. I mean, the same is true of marriage (I’ve been married just over a year), but in a professional sense it feels different.

I have always considered myself a 10x professional. I get a lot done and pride myself on that. I can have 8–10 things in my head and on my mind at once, and I can pretty well hold all of them in tension and somehow get them all done. I don’t say this to brag; it’s simply a reality of who I am.

16 Dec

John Doherty Posted in Entrepreneurship 5 comments

Learning To Say No

Today I tweeted something that seemed to resonate with others. This was the tweet, with an embedded quote from this post (h/t Joel):

Don’t accept the deadlines of others as your own. H/t @joelgascoigne pic.twitter.com/vF2oo8gZ80

— John Doherty (@dohertyjf) December 16, 2014

This was the quote:

“You can only go so fast for so long. You have natural output limitations. Other people rarely consider that when they ask for stuff and set deadlines. In fact, they rarely consider anything. Most times, I find the expectations that other people have around time are arbitrary. They don’t *really* need that thing right now–and if you gave it to them tomorrow, the world will go on.

Don’t be afraid to say, “It’s not going to happen by that time. Here’s when I can have it for you.”

There’s really no way to argue against that. If you draw lines and say no, they’re just going to have to figure out an alternative and accept. ” Read more about Learning To Say No …

11 Nov

John Doherty Posted in Marketing 4 comments

Lessons Learned Scaling The HotPads Marketing Team

A little over a year ago, I joined HotPads.com as their online marketing manager. I was the first marketer at HotPads in a while, hence the team was me and I was doing everything (though nothing super well). One year later, I have a team of eight marketers (including myself) spanning SEO, email, and content. We’re […]

07 Aug

John Doherty Posted in Entrepreneurship 3 comments

My Manager Hack: Relentless Transparency

In my role at HotPads, I manage an ever-growing team of smart marketers. My job is to hire, train, and retain the best and smartest, with the goal of removing roadblocks that keep them from both working together and succeeding at their individual jobs.

I’ve had managerial positions before, but never this direct and I’ve never been able to build my own team. Building your own team is quite different from inheriting a team, which is a whole different topic I’ll explore at some other time. Read more about My Manager Hack: Relentless Transparency …

05 Aug

John Doherty Posted in Entrepreneurship 8 comments

I’m Not A Good Employee

Have you ever heard someone say “I’m just not an employee” or “After working for myself, I can’t imagine ever working for someone again”. I’ve often felt this way, even though I don’t work for myself (well, there were those two weeks).

When I started my job at HotPads back in October, I told my then-boss “I have to be honest with you – I’m not a good employee”. What I meant by this is that I hate to be managed by others. I want to explore this a bit more, because not everyone who hates to be managed can work for themselves. Sometimes, we must learn how to succeed as we are, where we are. Read more about I’m Not A Good Employee …

18 Feb

John Doherty Posted in Marketing 21 comments

The Difference Between Agency and Inhouse Marketing

Last October, as many of you know, I made the move from search marketing agency Distilled to become the Online Marketing Manager at hotpads.com, the nationwide rentals brand of the Zillow Rental Network. I’ve been at the job for four months now, and a recent conversation with Jonathon Colman (another Bay Area transplant) has made […]

11 Oct

John Doherty Posted in Miscellany 2 comments

On Deep Work and Space to Breathe

Many of you don’t know this, but I’ve burnt myself out a few times. I hustle really hard for a long amount of time, then I hit a point where I cannot go any further. I’ve recently come across some awesome quotes that I want to share to encourage you to take time and space as you need it, and your work will be better for it. Personally, I plan to do this more in San Francisco by riding my bike, going skiing in Tahoe and climbing in Yosemite, and being outside as much as possible and off the Internet on weekends. Read more about On Deep Work and Space to Breathe …

11 Oct

John Doherty Posted in Entrepreneurship 6 comments

I was an entrepreneur for two weeks. Here’s what I learned.

A month and a half ago I took a new job as the Online Marketing Manager for Hotpads.com, the nationwide apartment and condo rentals subsidiary website of leading real estate website Zillow. I gave my notice at Distilled and finished out three and a half weeks there. I start my new job Monday. In between […]

24 Sep

John Doherty Posted in Marketing 7 comments

Why I’ve Stopped Freelance Consulting

Quick note: this post was written in 2013. It is now 2016 and I am indeed doing consulting. Contact me through my profile on GetCredo.com. During the fall of 2011 and the first half of 2012, I did a lot of freelance consulting. I did it because I was saving for trips abroad and knew […]

16 Sep

John Doherty Posted in Marketing 2 comments

Non-SEO Content Marketing: Email

Newsflash: a blog is not a content strategy. Brands in today and beyond are increasingly moving away from blogs to content on other parts of their website that will better drive conversions and traffic. In a phenomenal read over on Hubspot, the author talks about how marketers these days are increasingly buying into the age […]

09 Sep

John Doherty Posted in Marketing One comment

Becoming A Better Marketer

I’ve been in search for a few years now. I just realized recently that I graduated high school and started university a decade ago. While this seems like forever in some ways, in the perspective of life it’s not. After all, I don’t think people really figure out who they are and what they want […]

04 Sep

John Doherty Posted in Miscellany 31 comments

Time For Fresh Adventures – I’ve Joined Hotpads in San Francisco

In 2011, I created a playlist called “Brooklyn” in Spotify. This was because I had just moved to Brooklyn to join Distilled and songs like “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”, “Brooklyn Bound” by The Black Keys, and “Brooklyn Go Hard” by Jay Z felt like they defined my life. On my first day of work at Distilled, I listened to “Empire State of Mind” as I walked into the building. And yesterday, September 3rd, I created a playlist called “SF”.

You see, I didn’t think I’d be writing this post for quite a while. Since I moved to New York two years ago and joined Distilled, I’ve been very vocal about my love for Distilled, for New York, and for the life that I’ve been able to have here. It’s been an amazing adventure, but at some point all great things come to an end and we realize that it’s time to let some things go in order to embrace the future. Therefore, I have to announce that:

I’m leaving Distilled in New York City at the end of September and have accepted the position of Online Marketing Manager for HotPads, the fully owned rentals subsidiary of Zillow based in San Francisco, California.

This is a big announcement, and let me tell you that no one is more surprised than myself. Let me explain why I’ve made this decision. Read more about Time For Fresh Adventures – I’ve Joined Hotpads in San Francisco …

01 Aug

John Doherty Posted in Marketing 8 comments

Leveraging Editorial, Self-Placed, and Owned Content for Marketing

Marketers produce content. We produce a metric ton of content every day, actually. We’re told to create great content and to keep producing great content.

*cue the parody “Great content is killing me”*

Not only do we produce content on our own sites, we also produce content and put it on other sites (which some deem pretty insane). Let me get this straight – We’re creating high-quality content, that takes up our own creative energy and time, so that someone else can put it on their site. And we’re doing it for a freaking link??

If you’re just doing content for the sake of a link, let me say that you’re doing it wrong. Yes, I’ve worked in SEO for a while now. Yes, I know the value of a link. Yes, I can put the monetary value on a link, and I have. Yes, I still think about links first when I scan a piece of content.

BUT. What if I told you that you can still get all of this and more? Read more about Leveraging Editorial, Self-Placed, and Owned Content for Marketing …