James Bond 007 is the master spy working for the British Government, battling the enemies of freedom. Over the years, Ian Fleming’s character has been portrayed by numerous actors, from the heights of Connery and Craig, to the lows of Lazenby. However, which incarnation of James Bond would make the best SEO expert, and all round Internet marketing professional.
Let’s have a look at the candidates:
Sean Connery
Connery was the first, and some would say the best, James Bond. While Connery may have played Bond long before the Internet was even thought of, he knew the power and importance of links. Connery’s Bond cut a swathe through most of Europe in his pursuit of SPECTRE, but he always had contacts on hand to help him out and point him in the right direction – contacts such as Felix Leiter in the CIA.
Connery was link building way before the term ‘anchor text’ was even considered.
George Lazenby
Lazenby only ever appeared as James Bond the once, thankfully some might say.
His outing in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ was one of the best of the Bond films, despite Lazenby, rather than because of him. During the film, 007 didn’t really get involved in any type of technology, and indeed actually got married – which is something that true geeks would never have the time to do.
Lazenby therefore is probably the worst of the Bonds when it comes to Internet marketing, which is fitting we feel considering he’s also the worst of the Bonds… period.
Roger Moore
Roger was the ultimate ladies’ man. His suave, sophisticated manner meant that women fawned over him, even when he wasn’t playing James Bond. Roger even managed to woo an enemy agent in ‘The Spy Who Love Me’, even after he had killed her husband!
This shows that Roger was an expert at reputation management. He relied on his reputation, traded on it, and knew that whatever he did in his line of work, he could get away with it because he was so good at talking people round, and controlling his own reputation.
Timothy Dalton
Dalton was the least successful Bond, largely due to his arriving at a time when PC ruled the world. No, not personal computers, political correctness. The existence of a character like James Bond was at odds with everything that society was heading towards, which meant bad news for the Welsh Bond.
What Dalton did do well however was his pursuit of the drug dealer Sanchez, turning his back on his own government in the process. Dalton made it so that everyone was either after him, or Sanchez, which is a great example of viral marketing. Dalton used his own anger to ensure that everyone knew what was happening, and followed his progress – a great viral campaign on his part.
Pierce Brosnan
Brosnan appeared as Bond in a time when gadgets and gizmos were at their peak, and he knew how to use them. Brosnan used electronic items ranging from remote controlled cars, to invisible cars.
However, Brosnan did make use of his computer skills in ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ when he took on the newspaper mogul played by Jonathan Pryce. Brosnan’s efforts at going up against a major news industry showed that he knew how to handle content, and he understood its power. In Tomorrow Never Dies, Brosnan even learnt about the importance of a good headline, showing he was the master of content.
Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig is the current holder of the licence to kill, and as such is the James Bond working in the most Internet savvy age. This should give him an advantage when it comes to Internet marketing, you’d think. However, Daniel doesn’t have Roger’s charm, Pierce’s gadgets or Sean’s link building abilities. Thankfully, he doesn’t have Lazenby’s ‘forgettableness’ or Dalton’s bad timing either.
No, what Daniel does have is persistence and intensity. How does this help in SEO? Quite simply, if Daniel find something isn’t working he’ll change his angle, he’ll keep at it and he will never, ever give up. This trait was shown in ‘Quantum of Solace’ where his thirst for revenge saw him fight on until the bitter end, something that good Internet marketers have to do.
So which Bond is the best at Internet marketing? Why, they all are of course (except for Lazenby). They are one character, and each of their abilities combines to make the sum of their parts greater than their individual talents.
After all, nobody does it better… du-du-du.. du-du-du… du-du-du
(If you were wondering where David Niven and Bob Holness were, shut up)
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[…] search engine optimisation work to have full power, they need to take on some of the qualities of James Bond. Obviously not all of Bond’s qualities apply to SEO, as those who watched him power a […]