Comments on: Fame Trumps SEO in Battle of David Leonhardt Rankings

By: Mitch Mitchell

Mitch Mitchell — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 06:21:59 +0000

Let me join the club. Imagine trying to promote Mitch Mitchell when the guy who used to play with jimi Hendrix has the same name. I at least compete to a degree with him, but he’s in the top spots and there’s nothing I can do about it.

By: Vitaliy

Vitaliy — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:22:15 +0000

Cool post David! This actually touches on a question I remember asking at the V7 SEO forum. I was trying to figure out if I should get a site with my name on it being that I don’t have a typical name and it would be cool if people would search ‘Vitaliy’ and found my SEO firm or other endevours I might be in at the time.

Thanks for the post.

By: Deducta

Deducta — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 19:46:06 +0000

That is a funny but sad story. Your first and last name combination is not really that ordinary… unfortunately you just had someone with the exact combination as yours. AT LEAST… he is not wanted by the FBI or worse… Interpol for various heinous crimes. Now that would be a super messy situation that I would not wish on anyone.

By: Angel / Consume Electronics

Angel / Consume Electronics — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 02:28:28 +0000

Good story, David. It seems I know more about SEO and have idea about how to do SEO

By: Alkaline Water

Alkaline Water — Mon, 30 May 2011 18:53:13 +0000

I share the same name with a couple doctors and It’s certainly difficult to outrank their bio pages on the more reputable/authoritative medical journals. However, my personal Twitter account seems to be in the works of outranking these pages for “my brand” term. Personally, I think the social signals are the key to owning “Your Brand”.

By: Corey

Corey — Fri, 27 May 2011 17:44:23 +0000

Sucks but soooo true. There are sites that rank ahead of some of my clients that have zero SEO structure but because of a name or being notorious for something they rank ahead.

By: Jay Chang

Jay Chang — Mon, 23 May 2011 23:52:22 +0000

Vance – HA that totally goes to show that the best SEO is not trying to do SEO – just writing well for the sake of writing.

By: Vance Miller

Vance Miller — Mon, 23 May 2011 23:33:49 +0000

Fame completely trumps SEO. I own an SEO company and I don’t show up until page 2. An English gangster who is involved with Kitchen products dominates all listing for Vance Miller. HA! And he’s not even trying to be online.

By: {Bruce|Espresso Machines| http://espressoagogo.com/}

{Bruce|Espresso Machines| http://espressoagogo.com/} — Mon, 23 May 2011 18:28:21 +0000

I wonder if the NYT David Leonhardt is wondering about his rankings. Seriously. Since he has an online blog, is there someone at the Times that provides some in-house linking?

By: Sathish | Make Money Online

Sathish | Make Money Online — Mon, 23 May 2011 09:21:16 +0000

Great Article, David. I never really had a clue about the fame and Google factor till now. It seems now without getting famous by doing things, there will be no way for anyone to reach the top of the google rankings.