Sometimes I get bogged down with the frustrations I have with Google. Exploiting its power and lack of transparency are a few that come to mind.

I was reminded of the positive interactions it can drive when looking for a newborn photographer one week after my son Jake was born. Lizzie asked me to look for someone, so I went to Google. Being a new dad of course I was on the go so I did a search for “newborn photographer near me” on my mobile. I checked out results in the Local Pack and did some price comparing. Once I got over the prices for newborn sessions, I finally sent a few options to Lizzie.

We reached out to and ended up going with Cara Soulia Photography. I was reminded of the human to human commerce that Google can help drive. We were new parents looking to document our sons first few days, and Cara runs a small photography business looking for customers.

As long as Google still drives connections like this, I will continue to be happy working on the internet.

While Cara was doing the shoot, I told her I worked in SEO and how I found her via Google. She then told me about how she started The Front Steps Project at the start of Covid and that resulted in a lot of backlinks from major publications and other photographers around the world. A truly great example of a serendipitous cause-marketing campaign that ended up driving high value links too.

Here are a few photos from the shoot:

Have you ever discovered and bought something via an IG ad? It happens maybe once per year in our house, and I always find the story entertaining. Of course there is retargeting after viewing something but I am more referring to the first view of the product being an ad itself. 

I pulled my back in early January and was quite uncomfortable sitting at my desk, so I was looking for standing options. I was considering the makeshift box strategy, because I didn’t want to overspend and have anything too clunky.

I stopped my search and continued just trying to stretch and soften my way to comfort while I still worked sitting down. 

Then, I was hit with an ad on IG for Harmoni standing desk. The ergonomics looked solid and it was something I could disassemble easily if needed. A few other tactics I believe they did well: 

• One follow up ad provided an additional $20 off. 
• I lost the code for the discount so I had to DM Harmoni and they still provided it. 
• Videos showed a few different takes (1) working at the desk (2) setting up a home office with the desk.
• The landing page doesn’t just sell a standing desk. It sells a healthier way to work, more creativity, and more productivity. 

So this is how I am working these days. The desk has definitely provided a more optimal way for me to work. Being on my feet the first 2-3 three days took some getting used to but right now I am in a great groove.