Rand Fishkin

Founder/Wizard of Moz

SparkToro CEO. Author of Lost & Founder. Feminist. I love underdogs, cooking, & helping people do better marketing

I'm the cofounder and CEO of three companies: SparkToro, software that makes audience research accessible to everyone, indie game maker Snackbar Studio, and the vastly superior alternative to Google Alerts: Alertmouse. I'm also the author of Lost and Founder: (2018), prev founded & led Moz (2001-17) and am a frequent keynote speaker on marketing and entrepreneurship topics. But, I'm probably best known as the amateur chef husband of renowned author, Geraldine DeRuiter.

Cofounder & CEO

I co-founded SparkToro (with Casey Henry) to enable high quality audience research for marketers, PR folks, entrepreneurs, and product builders without the need for expensive, time-consuming, inaccurate surveys or impossible-to-scale manual research.

AI responses aren't lies; they're rarely dead wrong. But they're also nowhere near consistent. If you're using Google AI, ChatGPT, or Claude to get lists of recommendations (products, brands, etc.), or if you're trying to track if your own brand/product/entity in their responses, please arm yourself with this knowledge first.

Yesterday I published a heap of charts, graphs, dataviz, and stats... but for some people those don't land. So I made a short video attempting to sum up the painstaking AI consistency research that went near-viral after yesterday's launch (30K views in the first 24hrs!). Thanks to everyone who helped share it, and 🤞 this will help even more to wrap their heads around it 👇

Cofounder of SparkToro, Alertmouse, & Snackbar Studio. Author of Lost & Founder. Feminist. I love underdogs, cooking, & helping people do better marketing

NEW research: https://lnkd.in/gwyQz_wg

How consistent are AI tools when asked for a list of brands/products?

And do the answers mean those AI tracking tools are selling you a boondoggle of snake oil chicanery?

Oh my goodness, buckle up, because the answer took 3 months, dozens of surveys, thousands of AI requests, and more than a dozen graphs, charts, and visuals to uncover. Below, I've pasted just a little taste (3/15) of the data visualizations in this research, and, apologies, but for the full findings, including the conclusion, you're gonna have to read the post. 😎

p.s. Huge thanks to Patrick O'Donnell from Gumshoe AI for being my research partner on this. Couldn't have done it without him.

Nobody knows how to hate like LinkedIn's algorithm. They hate links with a passion, so much so that the classic "link in comments" workaround is now failing, too. LinkedIn's process? Just hide the comment, too!

But, for y'all who wanna get clever and are willing to put in a bit of work, it's still possible to drive traffic/signups/motivated visits with the right techniques, and that's the focus of this week's #5MinuteWhiteboard 👇

Me: "our brand positioning is audience research for marketers."
Google: "ha ha ha... your brand is whatever we say it is."

My advice:
Step 1 - monitor your search console ratio on branded terms, keeping a special eye on those where clicks:impressions is <65%.
Step 2 - set up brand mention alerts (because what others say about you on the web is how AIs decide what to say about you)
Step 3 - when a mention comes along that says great things about you and fits your positioning... QUOTE IT. CITE IT. LINK IT. SHARE IT.

👇👇👇

When your inventor friend is laid up after surgery, but already paid for a demo slot at CES Unveiled, what do you do?

DAMN RIGHT. You offer to fly to Vegas and present to hundreds of journalists in their stead. (even though you're more than a bit nervous 😅😅😅)

So, friends, especially #PR friends -- we could really use any advice on how to talk to journalists and influencers in the CES tech world.

Mi6 Agency

The Mi6 Value Proposition is designed exclusively for small business owners and entrepreneurs. It's built around three things: 1) Empowerment; 2) Support, and 3) Freedom.

We empower small business owners to achieve business growth and market leadership by providing strategic leadership and tactical marketing, sales and business development campaigns.

We support entrepreneurs through our services, solutions, networks and communities, to address the unique challenges they face, from creating and retaining customers to maximizing revenue and contributing positively to the community. 

Our goal is for small business owners to gain the freedom to focus on what they love, secure financial success, and enjoy a positive, stress-free business environment, all while leveraging our marketing, sales and business development expertise to generate leads, sales opportunities, and impactful business outcomes.

Partner & Founder

AREA 81

AREA 81 is obsessed with the development, acceleration and success of rural entrepreneurs, the starting and scaling of innovation driven ventures and development of rural markets. AREA 81 will evolve into an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Grey Bruce creating and accelerating world class entrepreneurs and innovation driven ventures. AREA 81 will also be a gateway for global entrepreneurs seeking to develop rural markets in North America. | More: https://www.mi6agency.com/area81

Founding Member, Startup Coach and Lead Analyst

Futurpreneur Canada

Mentoring a new entrepreneur and his lead generation startup.

Business Mentor 

Silicon Halton

UPDATE: Sold my shares and exited in April 2024.
Silicon Halton is a technology community with over 1500 members in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. We are dedicated to connecting people and companies in hi-tech together through networking, learning and engagement experiences. The short term goal is to build a strong and engaged community of Hi-tech companies AND professionals in Halton Region. I founded this grassroots groundswell movement with Rick Stomphorst and Reema Duggal.

Co-Founder

Tech Under Twenty

Tech Under Twenty (TU20) was hatched in 2016 by a high school student who's Dad was a member of Silicon Halton (SH). She wanted local high school students to have a voice and relevant opportunities in the technology space. Since it started up until 2019, as the co-founder of Silicon Halton, I supported and encouraged and helped local youth in Halton on this initiative including her successor.

Supporter, Coach, Judge

UNIS LUMIN

Update: Unis Lumin was acquired by Softchoice in 2011

- Key member of leadership team that grew company from $10M to $40M
- Implemented B2B business development program that achieved a 25:1 return on investment and generated $3M plus in bookings and $4M in pipeline in less then two years from implementation
- Ran all marketing and demand generation events including tradeshows and custom "Box Events".
- Applied marketing framework and unique "4 R's" of marketing to generate revenue and build company brand based on reputation and references
- Led joint promotional ventures with Cisco and Microsoft
- Integrated social media/web 2.0 into traditional marketing tactics
- Implemented various integrated marketing promotions packages consisting of radio advertising, telemarketing, social media and special events.
- Started and led inside sales team that generated $2.7M in net new revenue over 18 month period.
- Developed marcom package and initiated first ever special events and demand generation campaigns for the company
- Created formal reference program and process resulting in high profile case studies being published in Canadian Healthcare Technology Magazine and promoted on Cisco.com.

Director of Marketing, UNIS LUMIN

Update: Unis Lumin was acquired by Softchoice in 2011

Responsible for new business development from net new accounts. Booked over $871K in revenue.

Business Solutions Manager, UNIS LUMIN

Cisco I-Prize Competition

Led a virtual team and reached the finals of this global innovation contest. Developed business and product line concept for Consumer Market. Over 1100 ideas were submitted during this contest. Our idea made it through each due diligence phase and was picked as one of the 12 finalists by Cisco's Emerging Technologies Group.

Team Captain and Finalist

American Computer Experience

- Increased online registrations from 15% to 40% of gross sales through re-design of eCommerce site
- Led development team in the enhancement of extranet to allow real time access to critical camp information. Reduced cost and complexity by moving paper documentation and information online.
- Led development team in the architecture, design and implementation of ACE virtual camp, an elearning and collaborative system for camp participants
- Participated in Agency of Record selection process with CMO and Director of Marketing, Camps
- Established workflow process for the ongoing content management of web site portfolio
- Conducted market and competitive research

VP, Marketing & eCommerce

Squash Ontario

- Introduced the concept of one to one marketing to association in order to strengthen relationship with key stakeholders
- Re-branded the association to make it more current and appealing to consumer channel and strengthen relationship with clubs
- Launched individual membership program as a new source of income in order to increase revenue and reduce reliance on Government funding
- Member of Board of Directors

Vice President, Marketing

TLC Laser Eye Centers

- Contributed to the development of business model, marketing plan and budget
- Participated in fundraising and pre-IPO related activities
- Led team of web/graphic designers, developers and marketing managers
- Co-led cross functional teams for client and product development projects
- Launched with VP of Technologies a vertical market portal prototype targetted to eye care professionals and consumers.
- Maintained and managed web site portfolio including an extranet that serviced 15,000 eye care professionals and a national retail chain of eye care practices
- Created new corporate identity and branding strategy for eyeVantage.com
- Led marketing team in the architecture, design and implementation of an interactive web site for parent company TLC Laser Eye Centers.

Director of Marketing, Vision Corp (subsidiary of TLC)

If you'd like to connect on LinkedIn:  send me a direct message on LinkedIn introducing yourself and why you'd like to connect. I'll respond and let you know my thoughts and next step. 

25 years as Entrepreneur and Professional Marketer | Founding Member of AREA 81 | Founder of Mi6 and Silicon Halton (exited) | Husband, Dad and Papa | Home is #greybruce

Chris Herbert is a seasoned entrepreneur, strategist, and content creator with a proven track record of empowering businesses to achieve growth and success. 

As cofounder of Mi6 Agency, he has been instrumental in helping startups and ventures achieve significant milestones, including taking a startup to market that was acquired, preparing and promoting a venture for acquisition on behalf of a venture capitalist, and driving a company's growth from $15M to $40M, leading to its successful acquisition. 

A former cofounder of Silicon Halton, Chris built a thriving tech community of 1500 members and hundreds of events, before selling his interest in 2024 to focus on AREA 81, a rural entrepreneurship accelerator program offered by Mi6 Agency. 

As a Level 1 Leanstack Coach, Chris applies methodologies like Running Lean to help entrepreneurs scale effectively. His insights on entrepreneurship, marketing, and SDGs are featured on Mi6agency.com, along with his 7Q Series on startup funding. 

Why Chris Herbert? Because his expertise transforms ventures into success stories.

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Rand Fishkin

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The Battle

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Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Rand Fishkin's LinkedIn Performance

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