List of top SEO experts

[Chunkford]

Hey peeps,
I am wondering if there is something like a UK top 10 list of SEO experts somewhere on the internet?
Something like the Forbes richest men etc

Thanks in advance

[webpromoterservice]

never heard of one.
Google search results will give you a good a number of the best companies

[Eagle]

It would be a very subjective list though! It'd also be a bit like listing the UK's top ten logo designers - the other nine woud be very hotly contested! ;) :p

I can recommend a few SEO's who I think do good work. :)

[Chunkford]

It would be a very subjective list though! It'd also be a bit like listing the UK's top ten logo designers - the other nine woud be very hotly contested! ;) :p

True, just thought there might of been one.
I just wanted to see what a 'friend' of mine was saying was true - That he has teamed up with 1 of the top 5 SEO experts in the UK.
Don't really want to say his name for obvious reasons.

[OldWelshGuy]

True, just thought there might of been one.
I just wanted to see what a 'friend' of mine was saying was true - That he has teamed up with 1 of the top 5 SEO experts in the UK.
Don't really want to say his name for obvious reasons.

Top 5 according to who? How and who is defining the list is the question. :)

[-Will101-]

It would be a very subjective list though! It'd also be a bit like listing the UK's top ten logo designers - the other nine woud be very hotly contested! ;) :p

I can recommend a few SEO's who I think do good work. :)

Agree, good post :)

[AndersenSoft]

But may be in this job also should exist some objective assessment criteria?
I mean first positions in search engine results.
Please, correct me if I'm mistaken.

[OldWelshGuy]

But may be in this job also should exist some objective assessment criteria?
I mean first positions in search engine results.
Please, correct me if I'm mistaken.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes ?

[sirearl]

a 'friend' of mine was saying was true - That he has teamed up with 1 of the top 5 SEO experts in the UK.


I could tell you who the other 4 are but it will cost you.;)

Earl

[OldWelshGuy]

I could tell you who the other 4 are but it will cost you.;)

Earl

Don't listen to Earl, he can't count to five as he can no longer bend over to get his socks off and needs 1 finger for pointing :D

[eventdomain]

UK top 10 list of SEO experts somewhere on the internet?


Yeah, their called Web designers. If you get a good one, they'll do the SEO for free as part of the site design fee.

'Expert lists' don't exist, and wouldn't pay attention to one if it did :D Its a waste of my good money.

[SEO-Doctor]

topseos dot com have list of agencies and attempt to rank them - does does not mean much tho. You still will not find the top uk SEOs here, like my good friend DaveN.

[sirearl]

topseos dot com have list of agencies and attempt to rank them - does does not mean much tho. You still will not find the top uk SEOs here, like my good friend DaveN.


blimey there all yanks they can't even speak english let alone do SEO.

and a mere 5 million turnover small stuff.;):)

Earl

[SEO-Doctor]

there is a uk page too...uk. topseos dot com, they seem like paid listings to me.

[stunews]

Google has list of the top 10 seo experts!!

You find the most competitive keyword for seo - which unsurprising is 'SEO' (673,000 uk monthly searches) and you plug it into Google.co.uk, I'd say those ranking in top 10 are the top 10 experts -
the proof is in the pudding as they say!

I doubt your friends 'expert' will be anywhere near the top for the term 'SEO' but that depends on if he has tried to get there I suppose! A good SEOr will pick the niche terms rather than compete for such competitive general terms! You could look at how his website fares in spyfu dot com, it will tell you what keyterms his page ranks for, if these terms are reasonably competitive (use google's keyword tool) and strategically chosen then he has to be pretty good...

[Eagle]

Google has list of the top 10 seo experts!!

You find the most competitive keyword for seo - which unsurprising is 'SEO' (673,000 uk monthly searches) and you plug it into Google.co.uk, I'd say those ranking in top 10 are the top 10 experts -
the proof is in the pudding as they say!
That's not the way Google now works.

[I, Brian]

topseos is indeed a paid list which is email blasted periodically.

The most accomplished SEO's rarely if ever try to rank for the keyword "SEO" - because they don't need to, as their reputation already carries.

Only the most sales-focused companies are hell bent on ranking for "SEO" as a keyword, but it's a very poorly converting term. Seems most people searching for "SEO" on Google are SEO companies and Google anti-spam team. :)

[allthingsgifts]

The most accomplished SEO's rarely if ever try to rank for the keyword "SEO" - because they don't need to, as their reputation already carries.

If the experts don't target seo then how do people find them and know about them? as a small business i would have thought that people on page 1 are the best but most are scammers!

[sean.browne]

I wouldn't dream of calling myself an SEO expert if I could not have my own site rank well in search engines for relevant generic search terms.

If I did call myself an expert I would expect to get laughed out of the room.

I disagree that a web designers job should cover your SEO needs. Sure, they can make a site SE 'friendly' but SEO is a complete subject in itself, it is a dynamic subject and something that is not only done at development stage.. it is an ongoing process.

[seedstotal]

Gotta be an ongoing process, and how possible any1 can SEO a highly specific site??
Ok you can do things to a site in general, but whatabout the unique content? Is that not part of a good SEO? You gotta do research and more research and much more research if you wanna know about a specific field, to be able to optimize it!
Am i right or not?? Or i just have no idea??

[Upshot Media]

Hi,

OK here goes: In my opinion and experience and as others have said, Top SEO companies and individuals don't rank for "SEO", they have managed to get business in other ways and their business is now based on referrals, recommendations and carries itself.

Web Designers can make SEO friendly sites (we do) they will do some of the on-page SEO and some will help with off-page SEO, however it should always be looked at as a separate piece of work and is an ongoing process, done correctly is not cheap, it’s an investment like any other marketing and should be measured for ROI.

There are some situations in certain Niche's where you can rank highly for a few terms and do well, I have done this for single product sites, ranked No1 and made money, generally short term product lifecycle over Christmas, I repeat and move on when the product sales slowdown, even when the site remains at the No1 slot.

Although SEO should be taken seriously and companies should invest in this as part of their strategy, there are so many factors that need to be considered, some sites if unique enough and well built will naturally rank without much effort. A few (not a full list) of things that help are:

- Unique, on topic and useful content
- URL structures (and Domain name)
- Website structure and layout
- Clean code
- Correct use of Tags (Heading, Title, Meta, Image Alt)
- Correct use of keywords within content (Bold words/sentences, links)
- Breadcrumb navigation (not just for SEO) helps with user navigation
- On-topic and relevant Link building

Design and write content for your visitors/customers and many of the SEO factors will happen naturally, this is not saying you should not pay for SEO but designing and writing useful sites for your visitors is a good starting point

Regards
Stuart

P.S the above does not cover all aspects but it should help

[sirearl]

Design and write content for your visitors/customers and many of the SEO factors will happen naturally,



Oh you mean by chance.?:|

Well in the world of SEO we tend not to leave things to chance.;):D

Earl

[Upshot Media]

No I don't mena by chance but if you have a unique site, useful and informative content then (as an example) you'll get other sites linking to your site naturally, which helps

[Tin]

Hi Upshot, good comments and a well thought out post with useful pointers but I'm well and truly with Earl on this one.

if you have a unique site, useful and informative content then (as an example) you'll get other sites linking to your site naturally, which helps

This is a comment frequently banded about on forums but when is the last time you saw a "unique site"?

I've done seo for lots of clients and, as I never work for two clients in the same market space this means all my clients offer something different to the next client but...... every one of my clients has loads of competitors because ultimately, they aren't selling anything unique whether it's a product or a service. In almost 14 years of work I've never had the urge to say to a client "Wow, I've never seen that product before"! Maybe it's just me, maybe my clients sell boring products and services because they're not unique.

Neither can I remember the last time I saw something "unique" on the web, something which stood out and made me feel inclined to link to it and tell all my friends.

I think if you're trying to make some money by selling your products or services online then it's going to be extremely unlikely that Joe Public links to you (and starts putting the word around) because they have to find you first, and that for the most part, begins on a search engine. If I told my clients that they don't need any seo, all they need is to write something unique about their product they're selling 'alongside a few more thousand competitors' then I don't think it'd go down too well.

In my opinion, seo kickstarts a site into visible view and from there it depends on whether you've got something of interest which will encourage Joe Public to link to you. This "write for your visitors and not for the search engines and the traffic will come" malarky doesn't sit right with me I'm afraid... where do your visitors come from if you haven't written for the search engines in the first place? You need to write for both at the same time, it can easily be done! Write just for your readers and you're likely to be waiting quite a while and, if it's a business that's behind the writing, then don't count on any income stream anytime soon.

Writing for the search engines, won't, if done properly, intrude on the user experience and can be done with almost complete transparency.

Just my 2c worth

Ray

[Upshot Media]

Hi Upshot, good comments and a well thought out post with useful pointers but I'm well and truly with Earl on this one.

This is a comment frequently banded about on forums but when is the last time you saw a "unique site"?

I've done seo for lots of clients and, as I never work for two clients in the same market space this means all my clients offer something different to the next client but...... every one of my clients has loads of competitors because ultimately, they aren't selling anything unique whether it's a product or a service. In almost 14 years of work I've never had the urge to say to a client "Wow, I've never seen that product before"! Maybe it's just me, maybe my clients sell boring products and services because they're not unique.

Neither can I remember the last time I saw something "unique" on the web, something which stood out and made me feel inclined to link to it and tell all my friends.

I think if you're trying to make some money by selling your products or services online then it's going to be extremely unlikely that Joe Public links to you (and starts putting the word around) because they have to find you first, and that for the most part, begins on a search engine. If I told my clients that they don't need any seo, all they need is to write something unique about their product they're selling 'alongside a few more thousand competitors' then I don't think it'd go down too well.

In my opinion, seo kickstarts a site into visible view and from there it depends on whether you've got something of interest which will encourage Joe Public to link to you. This "write for your visitors and not for the search engines and the traffic will come" malarky doesn't sit right with me I'm afraid... where do your visitors come from if you haven't written for the search engines in the first place? You need to write for both at the same time, it can easily be done! Write just for your readers and you're likely to be waiting quite a while and, if it's a business that's behind the writing, then don't count on any income stream anytime soon.

Writing for the search engines, won't, if done properly, intrude on the user experience and can be done with almost complete transparancy.

Just my 2c worth

Ray

Hi Ray,

Thanks for the comments and good post.

I'll try and clarify what I was trying to get across (badly), Unique can means lots of things to lots of people, I had a site last Christmas promoting a single product (a Wii Game), I wrote the content myself (did not steal it from other sites) and did some keyword/phrase research and had a good domain, the site was and still is No1 and made lots of sales over Xmas, the game is old now so less sales.

So it's not a unique product but the content was unique (or at least worded differently) than other sites, this is what I meant by unique, not duplicate content that appears on hundreds of other sites and what was written was informative and useful to my site visitors and for SEO purposes.

I agree you have to be found before natural links happen and I would never suggest that you don't need SEO, I was simply saying that over time with the right site, right content and so on, then natural links can happen, all helping SEO and rankings...

I shot myself in the foot by saying "Design and write content for your visitors/customers and many of the SEO factors will happen naturally

By the above comment I mean certain things can happen over time, like natural linking, “of course once your found”, people do link to sites they like but you should not be 100% reliant on this happening, it takes time and there is no guarantee, companies/individual should still look at using SEO services, any extra links gained naturally will be a bonus.

So yes people need SEO, and should be long term/ongoing strategy

Thanks
Stuart

[eventdomain]

Unique can means lots of things to lots of people

The word 'unique' is misunderstood, and bcos of that - many new things aren't created.

So it's not a unique product but the content was unique (or at least worded differently) than other sites, this is what I meant by unique


Putting a slant on exisiting products or services isn't unique. Ideas are a pleanty, unique ones are not.

The word unique means 'Never been done before', but thats too general a definition and people think that by changing something minor will suddenly make a copied idea into a unique idea - it won't and won't be accepted as unique either.

Unique means the entire concept must be totally different, brand new, never been done by anyone else - ever, as that's the true meaning. What do I mean by this? well, one example is Youtube, that is a true example of uniqueness in its entirety, a use of current offline technology, but designed for the web (a new medium), that captured a huge user base and audience. But Youtube is a one-off, like the Alex Tew idea MDH, so if anyone can just come up with such quality/inventions we'd all be billionaires, but that will never happen. Hence, the word Unique!

Unique only happens for the few, sometimes just luck plays a part, you think of that one idea, and it just works, it's perfect etc - but this isn't the case for most and much brainstorming is involved in this, from the idea, right down to the perfect domain name, to idea longevity, expansion plans, possible media interest, investment opportunity and exit strategy etc.

Many try and force ideas, which is the biggest mistake going, and the wrong way to brainstorm - true entrepruneurs solve problems or make lives easier for the masses. And where unique ideas are concerned, I can tell you that making money is the minor incentive here - it goes far deeper than that.

[sirearl]

In almost 14 years of work I've never had the urge to say to a client "Wow, I've never seen that product before"!


Stop me and buy one.

http://www.atvquadshop.co.uk/spyder-images.htm

Big WOW please.:p:):D

Earl

[Tin]

Nice one Earl, don't suppose you do discounts?:D

Ray

[sirearl]

Nice one Earl, don't suppose you do discounts?:D

Ray

We can usually accommodate anyone with an opening wallet.;)

Earl

[JustOneUK]

Big WOW please.:p:):D


WOW! ......... That's a terrible looking webpage :redface:

[JustOneUK]

Back to the original question...

If there WERE a list of top SEO's the majority of people wouldn't be able to afford them anyway :)

[sirearl]

WOW! ......... That's a terrible looking webpage :redface:

People come to look at goodies not webpages.End of.:rolleyes:

I suppose you don't like an oriental associates web pages also if so your slightly out of step with the majority.;)

Earl

[sitejuicer]

I would also recommend DaveN, he's definitely one of the World's best SEO's

[eventdomain]

People come to look at goodies not webpages.End of.:rolleyes:


Must disagree with you Earl, - people look for websites for the information, then maybe it will turn into a sale. But, information on it's own isn't enough - a website must attract/nice design style etc to draw people in! - and is what aids the decision-making process. The plain text-only website won't work.

Attractiveness is everything. SEO helps, but the majority of big-names were established years before the web got invented, so they already had the massive super following, thus any sales were already assured for years to come. Majority of sites don't have this advantage, and its such a big disadvantage.

[sirearl]

I would also recommend DaveN, he's definitely one of the World's best SEO's

Afraid young david spoils his pitch a tad with statements like this:

"David's main motivational driving force is the belief that there is no point having a site if it doesn't rank No 1. His dedication to giving clients great ROI has lead to the constant development of new optimisation techniques and the ability to see algorithmic changes before most other SEO's. David Naylor has the reputation of being one of the best SEO's in the world, who has a proven track record of successes in the most competitive markets."

Plus no examples of any actual client results is always a bit sus.

besides a low forehead does not bode well.

Also everyone knows all the best SEO's are over 65.:rolleyes::)

Earl

[allthingsgifts]

Can people give any actual examples of seo companies or individual people who they would actually recommend and have used and seen results for etc?

[sirearl]

Must disagree with you Earl, - people look for websites for the information, then maybe it will turn into a sale. But, information on it's own isn't enough - a website must attract/nice design style etc to draw people in! - and is what aids the decision-making process. The plain text-only website won't work.

Attractiveness is everything. SEO helps, but the majority of big-names were established years before the web got invented, so they already had the massive super following, thus any sales were already assured for years to come. Majority of sites don't have this advantage, and its such a big disadvantage.

Yes of course your quite right,I forget I am mainly interested in people who come to buy products from us.

In which case I would stand by my statement.:)

Earl

[sitejuicer]

Earl, I believe he uses non disclosure agreements with all his clients - so he can't say who they are, but I know he's got top rankings for many competitive industries and works with many big brands. He has been recommended by two people in the same post for god's sake! I don't see any other SEO's getting recommended like that...

[RickyRoma]

Jim Boykin and his team (webuildpages [dot] com) is one of the industry's pionieers.

[Ali-v-8]

Jim Boykin and his team (webuildpages [dot] com) is one of the industry's pionieers.

How do you come to that conclusion.

Pioneers refers to a person who does it first.

when i was first introduced to SEO I picked the head of a guy called Barry lloyd.
Had a company called make me top if i recall. Now he was a very good at seo and i learned a lot from what he said.
Aint seen much of him around page one but i will class him as one of the best i knew.

[sirearl]

Jim Boykin and his team (webuildpages [dot] com) is one of the industry's pionieers.

not quite I been going since 1975.:)

This guy charges $5,000 for a report.:eek:

pretty pointless recommending a company unless there results and the companies they work for can be cited in order that people can assess there true abilities.

The non disclosure clause is the normal get out of jail Bullsh1t in the industry.

why would a company want anyone to know they were No1 on google.?

unless they did not want visitors.:D

From my experience most companies want as high exposure as possible and pay vast sums ro get it.

so I smell a rat.:rolleyes:

as for not wanting to let the competition know what your doing,best to stay on page 100 if thats the case.:eek:

any competent SEO can look at a site and see what that site is doing SEO wise.

signing something that says you will not work on a competing site makes some sense but little else.

I simply would not work for a company that would not let me brag about my achievements.:D

Earl

[JustOneUK]

Yes of course your quite right,I forget I am mainly interested in people who come to buy products from us.

In which case I would stand by my statement.:)

Earl

You're so easy to wind-up! :p hehe

[RickyRoma]

How do you come to that conclusion.

Pioneers refers to a person who does it first.

when i was first introduced to SEO I picked the head of a guy called Barry lloyd.
Had a company called make me top if i recall. Now he was a very good at seo and i learned a lot from what he said.
Aint seen much of him around page one but i will class him as one of the best i knew.

I'm not going to argue who's better: guy x or guy y. All I say is that Jim was recommended by some of my friends, did pretty good when working for them and have been in the industry for some time.

www [dot] webuildpages [dot] com/jim/
www [dot] toprankblog [dot] com/2008/01/internet-marketing-ninja-interview-with-jim-boykin/

I'm sure he's not the only one and there are many other pros around.

[I, Brian]

I wouldn't dream of calling myself an SEO expert if I could not have my own site rank well in search engines for relevant generic search terms.

If I did call myself an expert I would expect to get laughed out of the room.

SEO's are focused on helping clients, but usually have time to work on their own commercial projects where they can leverage their knowledge, not least in affiliate marketing.

In both instances, the ROI on time available is much higher than trying to target "SEO" for a SEO business site.

The ones who are targeting it often do so at client's expense - ie, backlinks for "SEO" from client sites, which is unfortunately common.

Another pointer - experienced SEO's try not to draw too much attention to themselves and their work. Looking at the .com and .uk rankings, I only know a couple of names, and they target it specifically because they are major sites with large subscriber bases, where talking about SEO is a major part of their branding strategy.

Re: Dave Naylor and Jim Boykin - both great people and very accomplished - giants of the industry. More targeted at a the corporate end of the market so perhaps not so accessible to SME's looking to offer only a small budget.

Barry Lloyd is another giant, but doesn't really do SEO these days, instead focusing on PPC software and management.

[Mark-UK]

All the best SEO's work for themselves on their own projects, I reckon.

[sirearl]

All the best SEO's work for themselves on their own projects, I reckon.

Yep your right there .Why share the loot with the proletariat.;)

Most of the guys I know have there own projects.

working for sniveling greedy little people is not the way forward.:D

Earl

[rubycon6]

Hi there is an independent body which moniters seo companies on a monthly and annual basis. Please click the link for last years overall winners. Top seos.com

[OldWelshGuy]

How do you come to that conclusion.

Pioneers refers to a person who does it first.

when i was first introduced to SEO I picked the head of a guy called Barry lloyd.
Had a company called make me top if i recall. Now he was a very good at seo and i learned a lot from what he said.
Aint seen much of him around page one but i will class him as one of the best i knew.


My old Mate Barry 'alright me old coker' Lloyd A Londoner in Ireland. I moderated on Highrankings with Barry, and you are right he knows his eggs many a happy hour spent with ale and barry . he is a bit of a black bugger though, or as we onced joked he is an 'Elegant Spammer ' :D

[Ali-v-8]

Hi there is an independent body which moniters seo companies on a monthly and annual basis. Please click the link for last years overall winners. Top seos.com

Sorry but i had my bubble burst with that listing
Great publicity but all about how much you pay them
£1500 a month and topseo's will say your the greatest.

I was impressed but not anymore.

Good for showing clients

[Ali-v-8]

My old Mate Barry 'alright me old coker' Lloyd A Londoner in Ireland. I moderated on Highrankings with Barry, and you are right he knows his eggs many a happy hour spent with ale and barry . he is a bit of a black bugger though, or as we onced joked he is an 'Elegant Spammer ' :D

he once proved to me how good he were by saturating 2 whole page on on google and every search engine i knew at that time with just his listing.

The thing is everything he predicted and said would happen has happened so yes long live Barry Lloyd

[OldWelshGuy]

Hi there is an independent body which moniters seo companies on a monthly and annual basis. Please click the link for last years overall winners. Top seos.com

Sorry but that is SO wrong it is unbelievable, topseos isn't what you say it is, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Explain independent, Explain how they monitor SEO's etc monthly? it is just a paid membership club for self promotion.

[Ali-v-8]

its a good sales tool and believe me i used to believe it until i found out how much was paid
its like OWG said paid promotion.

[BeorGar]

Hey peeps,
I am wondering if there is something like a UK top 10 list of SEO experts somewhere on the internet?
Something like the Forbes richest men etc

Thanks in advance


Mate... It's very simple:
1. Go to Google.com
2. Type: SEO or Search engine optimisation
3. Follow first 10 links.
4. Find out who did it.

[Tin]

Sorry but that is SO wrong it is unbelievable, topseos isn't what you say it is, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Explain independent, Explain how they monitor SEO's etc monthly? it is just a paid membership club for self promotion.

In complete agreement with OWG. It's paid promotion and doesn't necessarily mean the top seo's are any good. Buyer beware!

[sirearl]

Sorry but that is SO wrong it is unbelievable, topseos isn't what you say it is, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Explain independent, Explain how they monitor SEO's etc monthly? it is just a paid membership club for self promotion.

Well that proves there not SEO's.

I have never known an SEO pay for anything.:|:p

Earl

[chapelman]

Mate... It's very simple:
1. Go to Google.com
2. Type: SEO or Search engine optimisation
3. Follow first 10 links.
4. Find out who did it.

So does that mean the 12 man SEO team who get to number 1 with £30,000 per month to play with is better than the lone knight who gets to number 4 with £1,000 per month and a can of lager?

And what if you haven't got £30,000 per month:rolleyes:

[Ali-v-8]

So does that mean the 12 man SEO team who get to number 1 with £30,000 per month to play with is better than the lone knight who gets to number 4 with £1,000 per month and a can of lager?

And what if you haven't got £30,000 per month:rolleyes:

Well put.

Bringing us back to a conversation about how much you charge for seo.

Different horses for different courses.

[SEO Positive]

To be honest, i think most people type into google what they want.

If your looking for an seo company, you type "seo" or "seo company" and when looking for a website design company, you type "website design" or "website design company".

Now if you find a company on page 1 for them keywords, then they know how to do SEO.

Now, all you got to do is get them companies who know what to do to work on your site, and when i say work on your site, i mean really optimise it, like their own.

The bigger the company, I find, the more money they want to dedicate their time and resources on your site.

[YODspica]

SEO can be a black box, full of unpredictability. Partly because no-one seo expert owns search engines.

[QVA - Emma]

Well that proves there not SEO's.

I have never known an SEO pay for anything.:|:p

Earl

Lol and look at all us SEOs who pay for nothing with links in our sigs from a paid subscription....:eek::D:p

Anyway who cares about the top ten for SEO - if you do your job and do it well clients will come..oh yes they will!:rolleyes:

SEOs are like chefs and there are so many kinds from Commis to Executive, Michelin starred to Pub Grub packet chefs and as always you pay for what you get but there is always a little star there in the making just waiting to break into the limelight:cool:

Emma

[sirearl]

you pay for what you get but there is always a little star there in the making just waiting to break into the limelight:cool:

Emma

well I'm a superstar cause google says so.:|

A knackered worn out dim superstar but still with a tiny glimmer of hope.:)

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&hs=vvS&q=sirearl+superstar&btnG=Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK|countryGB

Earl

[tradedemon]

Quick Tip: I don't want to over generalise but most SEO experts are cowboys.. There you go, got it off my chest :) but seriously be careful who you go with and do your own research about how SEO really works, you can then account your so called SEO expert by asking them exactly what they've done.

[sirearl]

Quick Tip: I don't want to over generalise but most SEO experts are cowboys.. .

Me and Tonto are going to consult our legal team about your post.:|

Earl

[Ali-v-8]

Me and Tonto are going to consult our legal team about your post.:|

Earl

kemo sabe want an whooping if he be calling me and indian :cool:. cowboy is fine by me :D. then again indian's are the worst cowboy in seo are they not. :D

[VinceSamios]

"SEO Experts" are nothing without their team and resources.
The best "SEO TEAMS" are collaborations between experts with varied & overlapping skills/knowledge.
Decent "SEO TEAM"s are generally frying bigger fish than the SEO market. Or frying the SEO market while frying a bunch of other markets at the same time.
No decent SEO Teams focus solely on the SEO market.
Every "SEO" thinks he/she is "The ****!" - truth is SEO is still relatively easy and its the level of efficiency achieved which ranks the good over the bad. 95% of SEO's are charlatans/quacks with pregnant egos.

[chapelman]

Oh dear, I think somebody must have had a nasty experience with an SEO consultant when they were little

It's certainly very new, and the relative experience of a lot of "experts" is pretty low. However the upside of this is that in the main SEO's are paid on results. Doesn't matter who your parents are or where you went to school.

However I would disagree about frying fish. The best SEO consultants work in one of the fastest changing environments of any sector of business. Sad beasts that they are, they live and breath the internet, if they're not working then they're stuck to the iPhone laughing at each others cock ups (it's a bit of a closed world because no decent people even know what they are talking about).

On the job front, It's often a case of show me what you have done so far, tell me what you can do for us, you've got 6 months if you can do it great, if you can't you're out :eek:

I suppose that's why not many civil servants become SEO consultants, lots of smoke and mirrors and no final salary pensions. It's a bit like the internet version of working on the north sea oil rigs.

I'm not one by the way, and I don't think most little firms really need one, but you know what they say "if you don't like SEO consultants. The next time your £10,000,000 web comparison site starts to slide down the rankings, phone a hippy" :D

[sirearl]

"SEO Experts" are nothing without their team and resources.
The best "SEO TEAMS" are collaborations between experts with varied & overlapping skills/knowledge.
Decent "SEO TEAM"s are generally frying bigger fish than the SEO market. Or frying the SEO market while frying a bunch of other markets at the same time.



Listen mate me and the cat got the best chippie in town.

I do the frying and he is the chief taster.

we don't need no team cause we ain't of a nervous disposition .

Earl

[VinceSamios]

Oh dear, I think somebody must have had a nasty experience with an SEO consultant when they were little

Somebody (me) rates himself pretty highly and is amused by all the quacks in the industry :-)

[sirearl]

Somebody (me) rates himself pretty highly and is amused by all the quacks in the industry :-)


you really should try and remember your own posts Vince.:)

"95% of SEO's are charlatans/quacks with pregnant egos."

Earl

[VinceSamios]

you really should try and remember your own posts Vince.:)

"95% of SEO's are charlatans/quacks with pregnant egos."

Earl

I'll embrace the pregnant ego statement with open arms (and legs) :-)

[chapelman]

I can't speak for anyone else but I'm always really impressed when somebody rates themselves "pretty highly".

I'm probably marginally more impressed with someone rated as "highly pretty", but I'm just a sexist imbecilic Northen peasant, and not really rated at all.:)

[sirearl]

I'll embrace the pregnant ego statement with open arms (and legs) :-)

So come on Vince me boy lets see a few results that will make me go whoooopeeee.

or ya just one of these fellas that talk the talk.:rolleyes::)

Earl

[loredan]

there is a uk page too...uk. topseos dot com, they seem like paid listings to me.

topseos is indeed a paid list which is email blasted periodically.

Sorry but that is SO wrong it is unbelievable, topseos isn't what you say it is, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Explain independent, Explain how they monitor SEO's etc monthly? it is just a paid membership club for self promotion.

I'm on that list...never paid a penny to be there...sorry lads, you're wrong on this one

Afraid young david spoils his pitch a tad with statements like this:

"David's main motivational driving force is the belief that there is no point having a site if it doesn't rank No 1. His dedication to giving clients great ROI has lead to the constant development of new optimisation techniques and the ability to see algorithmic changes before most other SEO's. David Naylor has the reputation of being one of the best SEO's in the world, who has a proven track record of successes in the most competitive markets."

Plus no examples of any actual client results is always a bit sus.

besides a low forehead does not bode well.

Also everyone knows all the best SEO's are over 65.:rolleyes::)

Earl

...some people talk the talk while some others walk the walk...guess you know where Dave is :)

To answer the OP...there is no such real list of SEO experts...for the simple reason that there are no experts in this business.

Who claims to be an expert is an idiot... This industry changes so fast that even the biggest "expert" if goes on a 3 months holiday and comes back he feels like being a newbie...

I agree there are people with experience, some with more experience than others but there are no experts...just my 2c...

[eventdomain]

You gotta do research and more research and much more research if you wanna know about a specific field, to be able to optimize it!

Or have expert knowledge of the industry to be SEO'd, and they won't have that. Basic research won't help them.

.......which is why seo is a load of hocus pocus. There's no way some consultant dude knows more about my industry than me, no friggin way.

It drives me nuts when these guys ring us up and offer SEO. When I ask them how they will do this, the reply is always "We take your main keywords and run them through our keyword tool blah blah"

Or it's "We write text into your site, and you rank for it"

Yeah, I bet they don't even own this tool, they probably use Overtures or Adwords keyword tool most likely.

These guys annoy me big time :rolleyes:

[sirearl]

Or have expert knowledge of the industry to be SEO'd, and they won't have that. Basic research won't help them.

.......which is why seo is a load of hocus pocus. There's no way some consultant dude knows more about my industry than me, no friggin way.

:rolleyes:

Industry how does handing out a few party popper and having a dozen people visit your site qualify it as an industry.?:D

Earl

[OldWelshGuy]

Or have expert knowledge of the industry to be SEO'd, and they won't have that. Basic research won't help them.

.......which is why seo is a load of hocus pocus. There's no way some consultant dude knows more about my industry than me, no friggin way.

It drives me nuts when these guys ring us up and offer SEO. When I ask them how they will do this, the reply is always "We take your main keywords and run them through our keyword tool blah blah"

Or it's "We write text into your site, and you rank for it"

Yeah, I bet they don't even own this tool, they probably use Overtures or Adwords keyword tool most likely.

These guys annoy me big time :rolleyes:

Any Web marketer worth their salt will not be cold calling or touting for business.

[FunkyBears]

I for one am fed up with all these SEO Experts waffling on. Now is the time to put up or shut up . Let's see examples of what you have achieved. I know there are number of SEO experts on here who can talk the talk and walk the walk and have real SEO success, for the others let's see what you have done. If you are an expert then let's see the proof.

[VinceSamios]

So come on Vince me boy lets see a few results that will make me go whoooopeeee.

or ya just one of these fellas that talk the talk.:rolleyes::)

Earl

I sure as sh!t talk the talk - but you'll have to look out the window to watch me walk... (seriously, any skips in your street?? Google "Skip Hire" #1 & 2 - Google "Asbestos Removal" - #3 & 4 (work in progress) behind direct.gov.uk and arca.org.uk, above mendip.gov.uk, yell.com, wikipedia & the guardian... many many more works in progress ranking very highly.)

Search for "repossession" - #2 (repossession.net - the site has since been taken down) & bankcharges.com (google "bank charges") - All seo done on either project was done by myself, nothing has been done on either for 6 month since I had a falling out with a former (clueless) business partner who walked away with both projects - from there you can find a bunch more projects we're working on (including the entire top triangle set of companies), but you won't find the cream of the crop :p

You can even come and see me talk the talk at "The System UK Intensive" (Ken McCarthy)

Now stop asking for credentials you cheeky old bugger :p I simply won't share any more results and if that's not good enough for you, nothing will be :p.

I'm preparing a report on no-follow links which will be posted to my blog in the coming weeks - I've been involved with automated seo software, including automated bookmarking/rss submission etc, automated article marketing software, rank checking software, twitter spamming software, drop catching software, website generation software. I've posted a passive income strategy on my blog utilizing inlinks for monetisation and created automated wordpress installation scripts to install 500 blogs at a time on auto pilot, including automatic content posting.

Satisfied? ;-)

[VinceSamios]

.......which is why seo is a load of hocus pocus. There's no way some consultant dude knows more about my industry than me, no friggin way.


Sorry mate - but there are SEO's that know the SEO requirements of your industry way better than you do instinctively within a few seconds of checking out the competition.

[sirearl]

I sure as sh!t talk the talk - but you'll have to look out the window to watch me walk... (seriously, any skips in your street?? Google "Skip Hire" #1 & 2 - Google "Asbestos Removal" - #3 & 4 (work in progress) behind direct.gov.uk and arca.org.uk, above mendip.gov.uk, yell.com, wikipedia & the guardian... many many more works in progress ranking very highly.)

Search for "repossession" - #2 (repossession.net - the site has since been taken down) & bankcharges.com (google "bank charges") - All seo done on either project was done by myself, nothing has been done on either for 6 month since I had a falling out with a former (clueless) business partner who walked away with both projects - from there you can find a bunch more projects we're working on (including the entire top triangle set of companies), but you won't find the cream of the crop :p

You can even come and see me talk the talk at "The System UK Intensive" (Ken McCarthy)

Now stop asking for credentials you cheeky old bugger :p I simply won't share any more results and if that's not good enough for you, nothing will be :p.

I'm preparing a report on no-follow links which will be posted to my blog in the coming weeks - I've been involved with automated seo software, including automated bookmarking/rss submission etc, automated article marketing software, rank checking software, twitter spamming software, drop catching software, website generation software. I've posted a passive income strategy on my blog utilizing inlinks for monetisation and created automated wordpress installation scripts to install 500 blogs at a time on auto pilot, including automatic content posting.

Satisfied? ;-)

Thats more like it Vinnie now come on show us the big ones,don't be shy.:)

Earl

[Ali-v-8]

hey hold on
what are you on about repossessions.net

You claiming you did that work vince

[VinceSamios]

hey hold on
what are you on about repossessions.net

You claiming you did that work vince

repossessions.net doesn't have a single backlink - but... repossession.net

.. yes...

Absolutely!

As soon as the partnership on the project fell through the site was taken down and this holding page has only gone up in the past few weeks. As far as I know, no further SEO has been done on the site (since there was no site hosted...)

To that end - all the SEO on that site was done solely and completely by myself.

[VinceSamios]

Thats more like it Vinnie now come on show us the big ones,don't be shy.:)

Earl

I will humour you no longer earl ;-)

[Ali-v-8]

repossessions.net doesn't have a single backlink - but... repossession.net

.. yes...

Absolutely!

As soon as the partnership on the project fell through the site was taken down and this holding page has only gone up in the past few weeks. As far as I know, no further SEO has been done on the site (since there was no site hosted...)

To that end - all the SEO on that site was done solely and completely by myself.

So let me get this 100% correct.
You single handly got a website called repossesion.net and from no where and got it to page one of google.
I would love to hear more if that is ok.
What was your part it the Seo work.

[VinceSamios]

So let me get this 100% correct.
You single handly got a website called repossesion.net and from no where and got it to page one of google.
I would love to hear more if that is ok.
What was your part it the Seo work.

I can't help but sense suspicion... either you buy it or you don't - the domain name was bought just over 18 months ago, the website wasn't completed until November 08, the domain had very few backlinks when it was bought and no website at the time (I believe there was "a website" in '04/'05) - since the domain transacted 18 months ago the only linkbuilding work was done either by myself personally, or under my personal direction. I haven't had anything todo with the site since the beginning of March...

So yes - essentially in 3-4 months (plus a few months waiting) I got that site to #2 for "Repossession" which, its worth pointing out, is a mega competitive and hugely high value keyword. Not to mention the plathora of longtail rankings prior to the site being taken down.

[sirearl]

So yes - essentially in 3-4 months (plus a few months waiting) I got that site to #2 for "Repossession" which, its worth pointing out, is a mega competitive and hugely high value keyword. Not to mention the plathora of longtail rankings prior to the site being taken down.

Interesting so how do you make money out of it.?

and would you like it to be No1.?

Earl

[eventdomain]

Industry how does handing out a few party popper and having a dozen people visit your site qualify it as an industry.?:D


Well, you wouldn't know as you're not an Event Organiser - stick to SEO Earl.

[OldWelshGuy]

There is a distinct lack of Sensumas here of late. Methinks some people take life too seriously. :D

[sirearl]

Well, you wouldn't know as you're not an Event Organiser - stick to SEO Earl.

to true I could not organise one in a brewery.:)

although we do have events when we put certain stuff out that gets our sites bombarded.;)

Earl

[OldWelshGuy]

to true I could not organise one in a brewery.:)

although we do have events when we put certain stuff out that gets our sites bombarded.;)

Earl

I can vouch for this, have you seen any of Earls sites, they REALLY ARE someplace a bomb has gone off :D

[sirearl]

I will humour you no longer earl ;-)

Oh come on Vinnie I thought you Bruce's had a sense of humor.?

In fact I thought you had to have one.:|;)

Earl

[OldWelshGuy]

Oh come on Vinnie I thought you Bruce's had a sense of humor.?

In fact I thought you had to have one.:|;)

Earl


Jeez tell me he isn't a Michael baldwin is he :(

[eventdomain]

to true I could not organise one in a brewery.:)

although we do have events when we put certain stuff out that gets our sites bombarded.;)

Earl


Ahh, well there you go. How does anything become an industry, time, effort and acceptance by the public. Just look at those Voucher sites, who would have thought those as successful :eek:, but you can bet 2 of those owners are millionaires..

[I, Brian]

Search for "repossession" - #2 (repossession.net - the site has since been taken down) & bankcharges.com (google "bank charges") - All seo done on either project was done by myself, nothing has been done on either for 6 month

Google has a filter in its algo that gives preference for keyword domains - been running for a couple of years now.

[VinceSamios]

Google has a filter in its algo that gives preference for keyword domains - been running for a couple of years now.

yes - indeed... ten points to badger troop!

[Ali-v-8]

What ???
You are now telling me that if you buy a domain with lets say www dot chicken dot com google will give it preference over another.
Not at all true.
If what you say is true then repossession.net would be number one would it not.

[VinceSamios]

What ???
You are now telling me that if you buy a domain with lets say www dot chicken dot com google will give it preference over another.
Not at all true.
If what you say is true then repossession.net would be number one would it not.

Its only a .net, in a uk market, not a .co.uk or .com - and its a bloody competitive niche - give it time, it will hit #1 regardless of further seo (the stuff done so far will get it there over time)

[chapelman]

I don't think anyone is saying that. What I,Brian is saying is that if you have completely 2 identical sites in respect to links, composition, and everything else. If these sites sell chickens, one of them is called "eggmachine.co.uk" and the other "london-chickens" if anyone searched on Google for chickens the latter would come out tops because it has the word chickens in the domain.

When MSN first started, their search engine this used to give a massive weighting to a site but I don't know if that is still the case.

One question I would like to ask our resident SEO experts is "can anyone say what difference it makes in percentage terms" ie does it make the site 5% more Googleable (if this is a new word I claim it) or 10% more Googleable, or is it just 2% or something even smaller?

[sirearl]

What ???
You are now telling me that if you buy a domain with lets say www dot chicken dot com google will give it preference over another.
Not at all true.
.

afraid it has been true for quite a while now ,which makes a mockery of all the fine and noble work us poor old SEO do.

all things being equal the keyword rich will win.

Earl

[Ali-v-8]

omg !!!!
I have always ignored the url.
I must add I have always got to page one when the url has nothing to do with the keyterms.
May be i am misunderstanding the original point.
repossession.net. without a doubt should be position 1 if optimised correctly.
But against a website that has been deliberately optimised for that term and repossession.net wasnt then surely that statement doesnt apply.
Maybe it helps but not to the extent that it would get higher preference.

And before its said, yes i know the new google algorthm is looking at the .co.uk and .coms now and actually looking at the location of the company.

[sirearl]

omg !!!!
I have always ignored the url.
I must add I have always got to page one when the url has nothing to do with the keyterms.
May be i am misunderstanding the original point.
repossession.net. without a doubt should be position 1 if optimised correctly.
But against a website that has been deliberately optimised for that term and repossession.net wasnt then surely that statement doesnt apply.
Maybe it helps but not to the extent that it would get higher preference.

And before its said, yes i know the new google algorthm is looking at the .co.uk and .coms now and actually looking at the location of the company.

you don't beat Wiki without a little help from your URL.:)

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wind+farm+explained&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

Earl

[Ali-v-8]

Again i am being seduced by the darkside.
Sir Earl i Bow in defeat and humble say " @ @@ ' ' @' ' ' '' @@ @" Lol

Ok i take your point but still feel url its not neccessary

[sirearl]

Again i am being seduced by the darkside.
Sir Earl i Bow in defeat and humble say " @ @@ ' ' @' ' ' '' @@ @" Lol

Ok i take your point but still feel url its not neccessary

No way is the URL going to get you the top spot in a competative area.

But we run a Tesco policy "every little helps";)

Earl

[Ali-v-8]

No way is the URL going to get you the top spot in a competative area.

But we run a Tesco policy "every little helps";)

Earl

Thank god for that.
I was packing away my blue light saber and getting my red one

I almost looked into it.

[awebapart.com]

Google has a filter in its algo that gives preference for keyword domains - been running for a couple of years now.
I agree. For anyone wanting to find out more, search for exact match domain names (http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=exact+match+domain).

We experimented with this a couple of years ago setting up some exact match domain sites using 123-reg's free 1 page instant site sitebuilder and we were able to rank higher than some web designer's websites and directories who were specifically targeting the terms, and they are still outranking some sites (e.g. webdesignnorthampton.org.uk currently 11th on google but has in the past been in the top 3, and webdesignwellingborough.co.uk currently 1st on google).

We also performed some SEO experiments (http://www.seo4uk.com/home/seo_tests) to see why this might be so, and concluded that it wasn't inbound link benefit for multi-word domains (at least not for domains without hyphens in them, but for one word domains there would be this benefit) so there must be other onsite seo exact match domain algorithms kicking in at google. This thread (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=115535) has some other related discussion on this inbound link issue.

[Ali-v-8]

I agree. For anyone wanting to find out more, search for exact match domain names (http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=exact+match+domain).

We experimented with this a couple of years ago setting up some exact match domain sites using 123-reg's free 1 page instant site sitebuilder and we were able to rank higher than some web designer's websites and directories who were specifically targeting the terms, and they are still outranking some sites (e.g. webdesignnorthampton.org.uk currently 11th on google but has in the past been in the top 3, and webdesignwellingborough.co.uk currently 1st on google).

We also performed some SEO experiments (http://www.seo4uk.com/home/seo_tests) to see why this might be so, and concluded that it wasn't inbound link benefit for multi-word domains (at least not for domains without hyphens in them, but for one word domains there would be this benefit) so there must be other onsite seo exact match domain algorithms kicking in at google. This thread (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=115535) has some other related discussion on this inbound link issue.


See theres the problem 24months and you think google is still doing the same thing .

As the song goes " change change change"

[awebapart.com]

See theres the problem 24months and you think google is still doing the same thing .

As the song goes " change change change"
The results I am mentioning are results now, not 24 months ago, and the sites themselves haven't been actively promoted since they were set up, and they are competing with older sites so ever-increasing age isn't keeping up them up there. The sites in question overall have maintained fairly good rankings for the whole of that period, sometimes they have fluctuated.

I am still seeing this effect happen with clients who have set up new sites in the past few months.

One of the articles you find if you search for exact match domains is an article from hobo-web dated a few weeks ago (14 Aug).

[QVA - Emma]

I set up my own mini experiment with the keywords in domain for a localised seo search term.

Interestingly enough the domain i used has "seo" in, no backlinks, is 1 year old (6 months less than primary domain name), one page site with very little content and yet sits ten positions higher than the primary site. Now I know it is a very miniscule experiment but it's part way to confirming for myself that indeed the keyword rich domain takes presidence over the company name.

It's one of those things you need to work out for yourself via research and testing I think. Obviously there are so many other factors that come into play I don't think it will ever be conclusive.

Emma

[sirearl]

It's one of those things you need to work out for yourself via research and testing I think. Obviously there are so many other factors that come into play I don't think it will ever be conclusive.

Emma

well I would say it is conclusive that at this point in time keyword URL's are a big boost.

The evidence I have seen is overwhelming.

Earl

[QVA - Emma]

well I would say it is conclusive that at this point in time keyword URL's are a big boost.

The evidence I have seen is overwhelming.

Earl

Yes at "this point in time" but that could all change tomorrow.... what happened to Google moving towards "branding" taking presidence was that just a red herring or will we see that come into play next and keyword rich domain plummeting?

Anyway completely off topic sorry - back to list of top SEO experts...:D

[sirearl]

Yes at "this point in time" but that could all change tomorrow.... .:D

Staying off subject.

The idea that google can change everything tommorow is not my experience with them.

In all the years I have been doing SEO I have used the same techniques and they have stood the test of time for the sites I have done .

So apart from a few things like buying links e.t.c. I really have not seen google change much in its basic algo.

I do wonder if its a bit of PR hype on googles part rather than an actual implimentation.

Earl

[awebapart.com]

Yes at "this point in time" but that could all change tomorrow.... what happened to Google moving towards "branding" taking presidence was that just a red herring or will we see that come into play next and keyword rich domain plummeting?
Yes it all could change, for various reasons. (e.g. if I was improving the google algorithm, making it more relevant and less open to manipulation, I would change it so that it doesn't treat domain name url links - where the url is displayed - as normal anchor text, which would then reduce the value of one word keyword domain inbound links and hyphenated keyword domain links).

Branding, well my understanding of google branding (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=795714) (as it relates to SEO and google speak), is not directly about domain names - do I go for a brand domain or a keyword domain - it is about website usage, how busy a website is due to the owners promoting the website or company in different ways so there is public awareness of a company, product or site (the same as you do with a branding exercise) and that public awareness translating into more website visits. That's my understanding anyway (which could be wrong).

[chapelman]

omg !!!!
May be i am misunderstanding the original point.
repossession.net. without a doubt should be position 1 if optimised correctly.
.

But can a site ever said to be optimised correctly?

Isn't SEO too complex and changing, more like a game of football rather than following a recipe. Obviously the site above repossession.net is optimised better, but isn't that usually just a case of somebody chucking more money at it, buying more links, bigger SEO team, top talent, whatever?

[Ali-v-8]

But can a site ever said to be optimised correctly?

Isn't SEO too complex and changing, more like a game of football rather than following a recipe. Obviously the site above repossession.net is optimised better, but isn't that usually just a case of somebody chucking more money at it, buying more links, bigger SEO team, top talent, whatever?

I understand your point but that is maintenance not optimisation.

initial first steps are the always the same.

301 redirect
clean urls
non repeating pages
meta title, keywords and descriptions.
then content
then internal linking.
then external linking

This is an optimised website the way google would like it.

Other optimisation as i would put it is bending the rules or may be you could say fine tune.

[VinceSamios]

Sometimes it doesn't matter what your domain is if the market is highly competitive...

[QVA - Emma]

Sometimes it doesn't matter what your domain is if the market is highly competitive...

Example of that Vince?

Emma

[OldWelshGuy]

Example of that Vince?

Emma


http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GPTB_en-GBGB290GB290&q=insurance

not a single domain with the word 'insurance' in it. All about the anchor text and semantics etc.

[QVA - Emma]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GPTB_en-GBGB290GB290&q=insurance

not a single domain with the word 'insurance' in it. All about the anchor text and semantics etc.

Thanks OWG,

What they do all have in common though is they are all big brands and don't rely on the SEO - they all spend millions advertising off the net as well as on - does that not also play a small part in that they get gazillions of visits which in turn assists in ranking higher?

Trouble is with "insurance" it's not specific and if you don't see what you are after your refine and elongate the search if you go a step further and type "travel insurance" it's a whole different kettle of fish

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GPTB_en-GBGB290GB290&q=travel+insurance&revid=303727433&ei=rVWqSsbeL-KgjAea2fCACA&sa=X&oi=revisions_inline&resnum=0&ct=broad-revision&cd=2

Emma

[OldWelshGuy]

I really shouldn't have picked that phrase as now I can't debate it :( Bugger de bugger.

But I agree, that the less competitive you get, the more it changes. Don't forget though that many of those insurance companies have HUGE SEO budgets, and they also have huge networks of websites that drive traffic and link juice.

[sirearl]

now should I tell a certain SE that a Certain insurance site offered to buy links off me.?:|;)

http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/gocompare-suffers-big-google-penalty/

Earl

[OldWelshGuy]

now should I tell a certain SE that a Certain insurance site offered to buy links off me.?:|;)

http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/gocompare-suffers-big-google-penalty/

Earl


Indeed Earl, they certainly put a 'spanner' in the 'works' there :D

[Ali-v-8]

Indeed Earl, they certainly put a 'spanner' in the 'works' there :D

You dont know half of it.

nice little 3 figure fee to fix them was offered.
And all it took was nice apology and passing the buck onto an seo and google forgave them.
If i remember rightly they then went after everyone who also used them links. my BMW was very very sorry but retaliated with Trademark infringment. Damn those germans are good.:D:D:D

[awebapart.com]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GPTB_en-GBGB290GB290&q=insurance

not a single domain with the word 'insurance' in it. All about the anchor text and semantics etc.
According to google adwords stats, the number of searches (exact match, local search August) for the main insurance searches goes in this order:

1. [car insurance] 673,000
2. [travel insurance] 450,000
3. [insurance] 135,000

So insurance alone might not be the most popular insurance related search term.

The current google results for car insurance (http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=car+insurance) are similar to those for insurance, in that there are no domains with keywords in them on page 1, however the current google results for travel insurance (http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=travel+insurance) (a search term over 3 times more popular than insurance alone) do have 3 domains with keywords in them on page 1 (travelinsurance.co.uk position 5, direct-travel.co.uk position 8, aatravelinsurance.com position 10).

[asa.distribution]

The top ten seo companies can be found on google.

[FunkyBears]

Where can they be found and what qualifies them as Top SEO companies? We have already seen guys saying they have got this site or that site to page 1 on google (sometimes they no longer work on that particular site). I would like to see some examples of sites that the so called experts have worked on and continue to work on maintaining top position over a period of time. Surely SEO expertise should be measured overtime?

[Delicious Webdesign]

The top ten seo companies can be found on google.

There some very ruthless SEO companies out there that are willing to sacrifice their clients website for their own SEO. In time cream always rises to the top though.

[Ali-v-8]

Where can they be found and what qualifies them as Top SEO companies? We have already seen guys saying they have got this site or that site to page 1 on google (sometimes they no longer work on that particular site). I would like to see some examples of sites that the so called experts have worked on and continue to work on maintaining top position over a period of time. Surely SEO expertise should be measured overtime?

look at results.

another thing is that a companies staff make a company good.
ask for the person who made the campaign successful not just the company.

[TomUK]

Ok whilst in this thread, can anyone recommend a performing SEO, and give guidelines on what to expect to pay for 30-40 keywords in a medium competitive marketplace (per month that is)

[eventdomain]

it is conclusive that at this point in time keyword URL's are a big boost


Wish my company could confirm such results, but cannot. We have never seen any significant help from our keyword domain.

Too many non-keyword brands beat us by at least 50 spots in the serps.

To be successful and maintain this for any length of time, other factors come into play. Paid and one-way votes links are likely a main factor, Public relations next, closely followed by paid advertising.

Perhaps masses of content is key also, but unsure this works having gone this route before, and would love to report on huge success, but not seen any. :( But I know that paid links work, advertising works and can see the trend of pricey SEO services declining bcos of cheaper ad options becoming available, epsecially in the specialist sectors.

The major search engine will have a massive battle on their hands, if they don't already, and many sectors they will never control. There are loads of companies out there with millions, and smart people working for them.

[Ali-v-8]

I would like to say that I have in the last few weeks got a number of website (7) to page one of google. Some are worth bragging about because they are there for generic single word phrases like "doors" and "forex".
Those of you who know me know I am capable of results but my company website is no where near page one (yet).
I have been classed as a good Optimiser by my clients which I feel is the best type of reference.
Everyone on here must be aware that google results are trusted by the naive. They believ that what google tells them is the best out of everyone out there.
If the search cheap flights then number one must be the cheapest.
Then there is people like us who know better.
But the point is page one of google is the goal of every seo. Conversions is the goal of every client.

Giving them what they want makes you the best nothing else..

[chapelman]

I agree entirely. All that being number 1 in Google proves is that your site is currently best optimised for google. This proves nothing about the product, whatever it is, but I bet there aren't many of the general public who realise that.

Which is why I don't object to top SEO's driving around in Porches and I have a second hand bike (rusty, with a buckled wheel, and one flat tyre) :D

[SEO Positive]

I agree entirely. All that being number 1 in Google proves is that your site is currently best optimised for google. This proves nothing about the product, whatever it is, but I bet there aren't many of the general public who realise that.

Which is why I don't object to top SEO's driving around in Porches and I have a second hand bike (rusty, with a buckled wheel, and one flat tyre) :D

I got a puncher repair kit if you want to borrow it? and some WD40 for the rust. Unfortunatly there is nothing I can do with the buckled wheel. :D

A good SEO is an SEO who is able to prove that their clients are on page 1 for their desired key terms. An excellent internet marketing expert is someone who is able to prove that their clients are making considerably more from their website than they were before signing up to the SEO.

There are so many ways of measuring the success of a good seo, sem, internet marketing geek etc etc, and everything else were called (hu hum) it would be almost impossible to judge who is the best, and who is second and so on..... Thats why it has never been done.

[Ali-v-8]

i can put a number of websites to page one easily for terms that are easy.
I can put a number of website to page one for generic terms.

Can I charge the same for both jobs. NO I cant.
I quote for a what I class as time spent.

If i'm likely to spend loads of my valuable time on a project and be subjected to calls 8 hours a day then so be it, but i will compensate it by increasing the cost.

The main problem with SEO is cost and the difficulty in quantifiying how much work will be involved ahead of time.
Yes you can estimate to apoint.
And heres the most important bit. "EXPERIENCE"
I hope earl and OWG agree with me here, Experience allows you the luxury of judging how long and how much to quote. But even for us we can still be bambozzled by unexpected changes.

[TomUK]

Ali, experience? a couple of pages ago, you didn't even know that google adds weight to keyword rich domains....

[Ali-v-8]

Ali, experience? a couple of pages ago, you didn't even know that google adds weight to keyword rich domains....

Read the post.....

But just incase your on the same subject and wish to clarify. My point is below.

I have in my "experience" always optimised regardless of what the URL is. I have never put weight on the name of the website.
I would not tell a client who sell ford cars that the only way to get to page one is if he bought ford dot co.uk.

My experience tell me that the URL is not important to achieve page one.
I think that the google algorythm has surpassed just clocking the URL or do you know something I dont Tomuk.

And as for my comment with sir earl i believe he and others would agree that i was a long time ago when URL was the most important thing.

[TomUK]

I never said it was the main thing, and never implied that, or implied that you need keywords in your domain to rank, I simply stated google adds weight to it, which is widely regarded as true...

All I was stating is that from your posts you were oblivious to the fact it made any difference. And as earl said every bit helps...

[Ali-v-8]

its not oblivious but was surprised it seems to still carry as much weight as it used to.
And if you read the post I point out that "almost looked into it"

By that i mean i still wont waste my time holding it in importance.

MY EXPERIENCE means i dont need to worry about the URL.

But should as Sir earl Said "every little helps"

[PhilipHeath]

I am surprised that there aren't more SEO people in this thread actually identifying the sites/clients that they have helped. Vince has mentioned more than anyone else from what I can see.

[OldWelshGuy]

I am surprised that there aren't more SEO people in this thread actually identifying the sites/clients that they have helped. Vince has mentioned more than anyone else from what I can see.


I replied via Pm to the person who asked for proof :) I am not about to give competitors a shopping list of money phrases ;)

[FunkyBears]

OWG PM'd me with some very, very impressive examples of his work. I respect his reasons for not making these public.

[FunkyBears]

Ali's assumtion that Keyword rich URL's carry little weight is naive. I took advice from a member of these forums and registered a keyword rich domain and set up a one page site will very little content. It has and continues to outrank my main site and I am in the process of converting the keyword domain to a full e-commerce site (overtime it will save me a fortune in PPC).
It may not work for all or even many search terms but for me those small words of advice
have been invaluable. I owe that guy a nice bottle of Veuve Clicqot!

[PhilipHeath]

I replied via Pm to the person who asked for proof :) I am not about to give competitors a shopping list of money phrases ;)

I wouldn't expect you to compromise your business at all. But if you were willing to give some evidence etc by PM that would be great. To those of us that don't know this apparently dark art, it all seems very shrouded in mystery - even on a specific thread like this.:)

[Carboy]

Hi Guys
I wonder if anyone of you could answer me a question that has been bugging me , If i owned say 40 sites with different urls ie 1 word different (in a three word url) , but most of the content , functionality of the sites were similar and all optimised in the same way how would google view that ?

[insidetheloop]

I think my favourites are the ones that can get you into number one position in Google if you type in your own full company name... genius. I can't believe the old rope some people make money from. I'd not have the brass neck.

And the customers who stare blankly when you suggest that the traffic they need aren't the ones who know their name already ... but those that don't.

It's either the world, or me, that's mad. I like to think it's them.

[Ali-v-8]

Ali's assumtion that Keyword rich URL's carry little weight is naive. I took advice from a member of these forums and registered a keyword rich domain and set up a one page site will very little content. It has and continues to outrank my main site and I am in the process of converting the keyword domain to a full e-commerce site (overtime it will save me a fortune in PPC).
It may not work for all or even many search terms but for me those small words of advice
have been invaluable. I owe that guy a nice bottle of Veuve Clicqot!

Not Naive, its experience.
I can prove it to. In fact it has already been mentioned in this thread.
Search insurance as key phrase and the first time insurance gets mentioned in a url is on page 3.
Now if what you say is correct then insurance should be in someones url on page one or atleast page two.

Like I said tried to point out I focus on what google wants. I wont ask a client to change his/her URL to help the SEO.
As you can CLEARLY see its not holding much weight on page one.

Please be aware i am not saying it doesnt help, I am saying it now only plays a small factor.
As some of you SEO's will also know google has been bouncing the results all over the place. This is to do with URL's (.COM .CO.UK).
The fact that google is now going to ignore them as companies are being left out of the index.

[officeruler1]

ali

ive saw plenty of posts from you and it is naieve of you to say such a thing ,people have tried and tested using keywords in domains and as an seo i find it so much easier to rank well for a word thats included in the domain .Its crazy to think otherwise for example if you bought www.cheapinsurance (http://www.cheapinsurance). com your are going to rank very highly for cheap insurance without any seo so how can you say that if someone wanted to rank for cheap insurance that it wouldnt work .

Please show me where you are getting this info from .

I hope you are not charging people for this advice that you give out !

[VinceSamios]

I am surprised that there aren't more SEO people in this thread actually identifying the sites/clients that they have helped. Vince has mentioned more than anyone else from what I can see.

If you've got chops - you aren't going to worry about folks knowing what you're doing...

That said, if you're doing well and I hear about it, I'll cream you at it :-)

[PhilipHeath]

I was waiting for you to pick up on my comment :D

[sirearl]

If you've got chops - you aren't going to worry about folks knowing what you're doing...

That said, if you're doing well and I hear about it, I'll cream you at it :-)

Something about empty,noise,vessels comes to mind.:|

But I can't think for the life of me what.;)

Earl

[awebapart.com]

Its crazy to think otherwise for example if you bought www . cheapinsurance . com your are going to rank very highly for cheap insurance without any seo so how can you say that if someone wanted to rank for cheap insurance that it wouldnt work .
I don't think that anyone else on this thread - those who believe that there is some SEO value in keyword rich domains - are saying that you could easily rank for a highly competitive term with just a new domain and no other SEO. It is just one of many factors, and the more competitive the area, the more you have to rely on other SEO factors too. Even if you do address other SEO factors, for a new domain targeting a competitive term, there is more chance that it might get caught by the google sandbox (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=713380) in the first year anyway.

[VinceSamios]

I don't think that anyone else on this thread - those who believe that there is some SEO value in keyword rich domains - are saying that you could easily rank for a highly competitive term with just a new domain and no other SEO. It is just one of many factors, and the more competitive the area, the more you have to rely on other SEO factors too. Even if you do address other SEO factors, for a new domain targeting a competitive term, there is more chance that it might get caught by the google sandbox (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=713380) in the first year anyway.


There is a point where it doesn't make much difference if you have the keyword domain or not. When every domain on the front page is pr5+ you have a huge mountain to climb, regardless of domain name.

[Ali-v-8]

There is a point where it doesn't make much difference if you have the keyword domain or not. When every domain on the front page is pr5+ you have a huge mountain to climb, regardless of domain name.

Finally you have also seen the light.

This is what bugged me.
Yes it is possible to get to page one just on the domain name, but only if the competion is low.

As soon as you get into a competitive industry Url is only a small tiny little inzy winzy miniscule microscopic atomic part of it.

Content
Layout
links

These are the most important factors.

now Location is aswell

[VinceSamios]

As soon as you get into a competitive industry Url is only a small tiny little inzy winzy miniscule microscopic atomic part of it.


I would hardly say its a tiny factor - you will only have to put about 10% as much effort in as your competitors regardless, but this only helps you for that one single key phrase.

Industry wide, thousands of keywords, it doesn't make squat of a difference.