Justin Parks is one of the old school SEO`s, he is as quick to adapt as the rest of us so don`t let that stand as a statement. You can read more about Justin on JustinParks.com.

As an Irishman living in Spain, an SEO/Social Media Consultant, a developer of some nifty twitter scripts and a devout Guinness drinker. How do you describe yourself?

Damn.  That summation is pretty comprehensive. If it included something related to “moaning old bollocks”, and a “pessimistic optimist” it would be 100% on the money I reckon.

To clarify on one point though I don’t develop scripts I discover them most of the time (when im not hacking them up). I know loads of guys who mess around on coding stuff and who are not natural English speaking or who don’t reach the English speaking sector so I love getting their work out there.  Doesn’t happen often but its fun when it does.

I also love a good argument and I tend to swear… a lot.

You have been in SEO for 10 years now and back when we first began we had very few forums and mailing lists, where is your first port of call when you need answers?

10 years ago I didn’t need answers.  It all worked.  It was perfectly idyllic.  At least until the Florida update.  Then it went to hell.

Honestly, ten years ago i remember seeing things happen in a much more instant, much simpler and much more intense way. Launching a site meant loading the Metas up and making databases churn out pretty URL pages and no problem at all.  We had a site getting visits and producing enquiries.  Testing was simple and easy.  You didn’t actually need to ask anyone anything.

Then it changed. By that stage the forums had boards being loaded with questions and observations and it became essential to “get sucked” or “stuck in” I guess, whichever one suits you, to see what all the SEO changes were, what others had discovered and how you could apply that information for yourself.  Things just went from there!

There are quite a few things that annoy me when I see them, for example continuous blog/forum/scraper spam. What winds you up?

Hot Air and wasting my time. I fucking hate it. We have all manoeuvred ourselves into a very awkward position today in the SEO industry (and beyond I guess).  Everyone’s out to get the “scoop”, be the first on the SERP and get that traffic influx… Google demands we create content, small good, large “lots of it” thank you very much and we oblige.

This means we see plenty of hot air on blogs and sites.  Regurgitated crap.  The same stuff over and over again, rewrote and reworded but essentially with the exact same point or message or observation just to try and get that extra couple of visitors, bait some more links or whatever.

Waste of time… my time… and that’s what really makes me mad.  Just write something well, make it researched, make it observant, make it thoughtful and it will do you more good than churning out loads of fluff every single day of the week, and I might even end up liking you for it (not guaranteed though).

Small business is slowly becoming aware of the power of SEO and combining that with a Social Media voice. How do you translate that to your clients?

I think breathlessly is the best way to describe it.  I talk to small business a lot and have a hard earned reputation of giving honest advice, even if they don’t want to hear it. Here in Spain though, they are a serious hard sell and slow to be convinced, no matter the evidence you confront them with.

On one side there is a long standing tradition resisting the advances in technology and on the reverse there are those who grasp it with both hands… just in the wrong way (or they go with some more, shall we say “less scrupulous” companies) and blow loads of money on it and see nothing in return. Not an uncommon tale I believe.

To help Small business I find the hands on approach is best. Currently I run small group workshops that focus on social media and help to train and educate people on the tools available out there to manage their social profiles which inevitably also touches on their web presence and seo. My hope is, that this will develop more confidence and trust in these small business people in the technology and that it will also prevent them getting ripped of in the future.

Who are your “must read” sites, the sites you find yourself visiting on a regular basis when it comes to SEO reading?

It has to be the SEO Training Dojo and Search News Central as the central point. Previously I would have read ten or 12 other sites and been involved in the forums and this and that.  Now I don’t have time… did I already mention how much I hate wasting my time? I did?  good.  That’s why I love the dojo and the members there. Aside from that I do monitor (and admire) many people on twitter who work in the industry, and not just in SEO.

To drop a few names there is Rishi, SEO Mofo, Tim Nash,  Terry Van Horne, Barry Adams, Andy Beard and of course David Harry …. in fact sod this… if you want to know more just check my list here: Search Engine Optimisation Crew.

Anyone on it is definitely worth checking out… and if your worth checking out and your not on it…then get in touch with me and we will see ;P.

I tend to find that a well managed list of these folks gives me all the latest news, the most relevant stuff and the most up to date stuff that ultimately saves me a shed load of time.

Being out in Spain is there an SEO scene, conferences or meetups that other SEO`s out there should be aware of?

No.  There was. Its dried up.  I think the sun simply destroyed the pasty white skin of any coder, developer or webmaster brave enough to step onto the beach. There is a bit of a Spanish scene here but I really don’t move in that circle as I don’t focus on the Spanish business sector so much. I’m also talking specifically about the Provence I live in which is Andalucia.  In Madrid and Barcelona it may be (and probably is) much more active for this type of thing.

For me, the main scene still requires I return to the UK (believe it or not) and that’s exactly why I booked my tickets for Think Visibility (http://www.thinkvisibility.com)  just today. With the cheap flights between the UK and the Costas its actually more cost effective (and beneficially) for me to get there and stay for a few days than it is to get the train to the north of Spain!

If you had the opportunity to mentor a trainee SEO, what would be your first words of wisdom to him/her to describe our industry?

Don’t believe everything that you read. Ever.

With so many factors influencing everything we try to nail down with any degree of accuracy, what does “SEO testing” mean to you?

SEO testing regularly involves me saying “What the hell just happened to that traffic”…

No, seriously. I find SEO testing to be a bit of a misnomer. I just “do SEO”. I think testing has become something I can’t differentiate from the other processes of sorting out the SEO side of things. It’s one and the same. I make it and then work on it, check it, change it, check it again, change it and go from there. SEO should just be renamed “website placement testing”. Much more simple.

Since SEO seems to die every year and has done since we learned how to walk, what do you say to these “influencers”?

Shut up. (And maybe go and read question 3).

2011 for SEO is the year of ….. ?

I have this sneaking feeling that local will dominate this year and as such mobile will get a massive boost. I think the rise of all the local, GPS, geo-location type services will be addressed and affect SEO in a big way (it already is happening).

With Facebook places, googles reinvestment in local and Google maps and of course Gowalla and Foursquare becoming more popular if it doesn’t happen it will definitely be something to watch.

Thanks Justin for adding to what is turning out to be a great series of “SEO Questions” I am going to be buying a few too many beers at this rate when Thinkvisibility comes around. Make sure you catch me at the free bar