SEO? PQO!

I have learned a lot about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) from SEO Book, but I still only know just enough to get myself in trouble.  At any rate, I’ve been using the things I’ve learned in my latest web design job, and I think it’s going rather well.  It will be a definite improvement over what they have, and I’m sure they’ll have no problems letting me watch their Google Analytics for a while to see how effective I’ve been.

But I didn’t apply any of my new fangled Optimization techniques yesterday at work, which was Insanity², also to be forever known as The Worst Day This Month.  (Not “The Worst Day Ever”, because nobody was fired or diagnosed with a terminal illness - those days have already been claimed.)

Yesterday, I had a project for one of my Associates.  This person had made me aware of the project on Monday, went through the requirements on Tuesday, and then promptly left town.  I was promised critical pieces of the project on Wednesday morning, but didn’t receive them.  I sent proofs (a very important part of my job, in my opinion, because there is always something I don’t see because I am not a real estate agent, and I don’t have the 20+ years of experience as some of my Associates do), but did not receive back any approvals because where my Associate was, she could get online but not open PDF files.  (Hmm.)

To make a long story short, I started my day early yesterday so I could get the 400 pieces of mail out in time to be delivered today.  Around noon I finished the final two pieces, and sent them both to a printer which is also a copier in our office.  But I sent the very large and slow to print postcard first, and then the larger quantity but easier to print letter.

That was my mistake.  My postcard spent four hours holding up my queue, and there were four hours where nothing was stuffed, stamped, cut or mailed.  At four o’clock I finally had to give up on the hope that any minute now the postcards would be ready to go, and clear the queue (by which I mean turn off the copier by yanking the cord).

I spent the next two hours frantically redesigning, cutting, labeling, stamping, and folding, and the postcards that had urgently time-sensitive material made it out on time.  The letters did not, however they will make it out today, and still be delivered before they expire.  I used my BROKEN button, stayed late, and we got it done.

But it shouldn’t have come to that.  I learned through this experience that when it looks like it’s going to take more than thirty minutes, it’s time to redesign.  Just cut it off before hours are wasted that could have been productive.  Like the arm that gets stuck in a bear trap when you have no water and no food, I should have just chewed the thing off and got back to the process of living - or in my case, folding, stuffing, labeling and stamping.

That was my little lesson in Printer Queue Optimization.  Cut out the huge stuff, put the quick, but possibly less time sensitive information through first, and make the huge stuff smaller.  I’m a designer - I can do that.

Filed under Marketing |