Improving my organic results

[stva1]

Hi Folks,

Newbie here looking for some advice on SEO.

We have been using google adwords for the past 5-6 months. Results have been ok but I'm now looking to focus on improving our organic results for some specific phrases.

I get calls and emails regularly from different SEO companies chasing business and I just don't know who to trust or listen to. It's quite scary as they all say the same thing and slag each other off. Seems to be a cut throat market.

Anyone with a positive experience with a decent SEO company let me know. All recommendations are welcome.

Cheers

 

[mud-stx]

what is your website? you'll get more targeted advice then...

also have a read of this thread

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=133114

 

[stva1]

We are a specialist running shop called achilles heel.

 

[seo next]

A few points which can help you chose the right SEO company :

• Ask for methods they use to promote your website, make sure they dont use any shady techniques, link farms.
• Ask for Examples of work done, and also references.
• Do Not Sign a contract.
• Finally try and make sure they do not outsource their work, We used to work as the sole outsource partner to one of the biggest seo company in UK and clearly know that any company which is outsourcing would not give you the best value for your money.

 

[i3SearchWorx]

Hi there,

Here's an internal help page in Google which gives some good guidelines to choosing an SEO company - you can find this here - it will definitely help you quickly shake off the extremely shady characters that operate in this market.

It can be extremely difficult to whittle out the companies that are there to make a quick buck and those that are genuinely interested in helping.

That internal help page in Google should give some good tips though.

Thanks

 

[stva1]

Great stuff. I'll have a read and do a bit of research first before I go ahead with anyone.

Thanks for your help.

 

[mud-stx]

give Ali-V-8 a shout, he is on this forum, he knows his stuff and really comes recommended by a lot of people..

 

[scottdsmith]

If you want to PM me your site, I don't mind doing a free review for you, no strings attached.

 

[RedEvo]

I've mentioned this in other threads but The Art of SEO, 20 quid off Amazon, would give you all the info you need to either go DIY or to help you select a reputable company. It's an easy read and even a skim through it will arm you with enough info to pick the good from the bad and the ugly.

d

 

[cantona7]

It can be a bit of a minefield.
We were charged for nine months at £250 per month and not really acheived anything. As soon as we could, we got out of that deal.
After searching high and low, and taking recommendations, we came across our current chaps.
They're the only company I'm aware of that'll help you. They do seo on a performance basis, pay on results.
PM me and I'll fire their details across.

 

[JeanDee]

I tried google everything that some people advise in here, but I wish someone will put a step by step and basic LINK building tips for my blog. Thanks

 

[RedEvo]

Just post their details in here. No need for secrets, this is friendly place....

d

 

[James_Thompson]

When I worked in SEO companies, I realized the things they said just to get customers. For this reason you should look out for the following things when looking to hire SEO services:

1- If they cold call you, they are probably not that good. Customers should be able to find them instead, that's why they are marketers.

2- When they try to prove to you that they can get you to the Google number 1 spot and show you their website, it's a scam. They can invest in paid links and pass the costs of these links to you in fees and services.

3- Paid link driven optimization should not be the only method of getting to the n.1 spot.

4- Keep an eye out for companies who outsource their work to other nations. Although these people will probably do a good job, you cannot contact them directly, therefore you cannot monitor the quality of their work. There's also a lot of outsourced SEO techniques that Google disproves of, which means you will risk getting your website banned or hit with a penalty.

5- Talk to the person who will work on your SEO project. If you find that they are not speaking to you in plain English, they probably are memorizing something they read! If they truly understand SEO, it should be easy for them to explain their methods in a way you can understand. Don't let them confuse you with complicated jargon!

6- The only company that can give you the number 1 spot is the search engine. Do not trust guarantees. Only a limited amount of SEO techniques are in the domain of search marketers. Just be happy with their expertise and credible experience.

7- Stay clear of black hat SEO (practices that do not follow search engine guidelines and rules). In the long run they won't work, and you risk being penalized or banned.

At the end of the day, in my opinion, if you are a company that makes enough money you should have an in-house SEO specialist, who will take care of your SEO needs and will be easier to monitor. Maybe use the services of an SEO firm from time to time.

 

[herodigital]

Hi Folks,

Newbie here looking for some advice on SEO.

We have been using google adwords for the past 5-6 months. Results have been ok but I'm now looking to focus on improving our organic results for some specific phrases.

I get calls and emails regularly from different SEO companies chasing business and I just don't know who to trust or listen to. It's quite scary as they all say the same thing and slag each other off. Seems to be a cut throat market.

Anyone with a positive experience with a decent SEO company let me know. All recommendations are welcome.

Cheers

Take a look at this blog post which might help you get an insight into what constitutes good SEO: http://herodigital.tumblr.com/post/904550457/how-to-expand-your-link-profile

Matt

 

[DayTrader]

I think it's important that SEO company can rank well for SEO services in major search engines.

How do you expect them to rank your website if they cannot even do it for themselves?

I've heard some SEO companies come up with some stupid excuses why they don't rank well, but don't buy that rubbish.

 

[RedEvo]

I think it's important that SEO company can rank well for SEO services in major search engines.

How do you expect them to rank your website if they cannot even do it for themselves?

I've heard some SEO companies come up with some stupid excuses why they don't rank well, but don't buy that rubbish.

I don't think this is a particularly balanced view. SEO is labour intensive, I'd suggest most SEO companies would prefer to earn fees. I'm not being defensive, we rank for some decent phrases, but in a 50 hour working week I know where I'll be spending most of my time.

d

 

[DayTrader]

I don't think this is a particularly balanced view. SEO is labour intensive, I'd suggest most SEO companies would prefer to earn fees. I'm not being defensive, we rank for some decent phrases, but in a 50 hour working week I know where I'll be spending most of my time.

d

So you're saying you won't spend any time on your own business but will spend all your energy on promoting someone else's business????

WOW.

Don't you think SEO companies spend time and money to promote their own business so the can have more clients?
There're plenty of them who cannot rank their own websites (despite their best effords) and offer service to rank my site... why would I use them?

On DigitalPoint forum there has been a discussion about a SEO company who said that they didn't rank high in the search engines not because the had a problem but they didn't want to get business from their competitors... what a nonsense.

 

[MASSEY]

There're plenty of them who cannot rank their own websites (despite their best effords) and offer service to rank my site... why would I use them?.

But say you had just started an seo comapny.

Would you really try and rank for seo , or seo london etc it would take a lot of hard work and effort.

Its easier for them to achieve rankings for people and show those as examples.

 

[RedEvo]

So you're saying you won't spend any time on your own business but will spend all your energy on promoting someone else's business????

Not quite sure where I said that but hey, you twist it to suit your shallow thinking all you like

d

 

I've heard some SEO companies come up with some stupid excuses why they don't rank well, but don't buy that rubbish.

You mean like being overwelmed with dick heads wasting one's time.

Very few of the top SEO's by that I mean working SEO's not the good old boy brigade would bother about there own site except as a showcase for there achievements.

Earl

 

[DayTrader]

But say you had just started an seo comapny.

Would you really try and rank for seo , or seo london etc it would take a lot of hard work and effort.

Its easier for them to achieve rankings for people and show those as examples.

Massay, you're contradicting yourself, if they have just started where do the get examples from? They are brand new.

I agree it takes ages to rank for SEO or similar keywords but seo london is much easier. And I'm not talking about SEO companies on the first page but they still have to demonstate something they have done for themselves.

Not quite sure where I said that but hey, you twist it to suit your shallow thinking all you like

You said it's too labour intensive and there's enough time to promote own website.
You said you have done some seo work on your website and have decent rankings thus you have something to show to your prospective customers. Exactly my point.

 

[cantona7]

I'd subscribe to the point of view that Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't need a website to tell everyone how great he is, he lets his achievements speak for themselves.
Same for seo guys I reckon.
Why spend all their time telling everyone how great they are, having a page 1 number 1 ranking, when they could be out earning fees and success for clients?

 

[Ali-v-8]

Very true.
Thats why I am SEOtacus

I'd subscribe to the point of view that Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't need a website to tell everyone how great he is, he lets his achievements speak for themselves.
Same for seo guys I reckon.
Why spend all their time telling everyone how great they are, having a page 1 number 1 ranking, when they could be out earning fees and success for clients?

 

[FLAUK]

I think it's important that SEO company can rank well for SEO services in major search engines.

How do you expect them to rank your website if they cannot even do it for themselves?

I've heard some SEO companies come up with some stupid excuses why they don't rank well, but don't buy that rubbish.

Maybe you should look at how some of these companies ranking for 'SEO'. Several are adding pages and links to clients sites with no other reason than to promote their own.

 

[herodigital]

So you're saying you won't spend any time on your own business but will spend all your energy on promoting someone else's business????

WOW.

Don't you think SEO companies spend time and money to promote their own business so the can have more clients?
There're plenty of them who cannot rank their own websites (despite their best effords) and offer service to rank my site... why would I use them?

On DigitalPoint forum there has been a discussion about a SEO company who said that they didn't rank high in the search engines not because the had a problem but they didn't want to get business from their competitors... what a nonsense.

personally, i'm so swamped with work that yes, i do sort of neglect my own business (online, at least).

i spend a good amount of my time using twitter and this forum to build authority for hero digital, but of course the bulk of my time must goto my clients. i get clients from word of mouth or from networking - no offence to other SEO companies but i'm just not bothered enough about ranking for "seo company" etc to spend months working on it. if it happens, it happens. if it doesn't, i'm not particularly bothered about it because i have a loyal client base and i deliver results.

 

[MASSEY]

Massay, you're contradicting yourself, if they have just started where do the get examples from? They are brand new.

I agree it takes ages to rank for SEO or similar keywords but seo london is much easier. And I'm not talking about SEO companies on the first page but they still have to demonstate something they have done for themselves.




You said it's too labour intensive and there's enough time to promote own website.
You said you have done some seo work on your website and have decent rankings thus you have something to show to your prospective customers. Exactly my point.

:| I never said that.

In my opinion if someone showed me a load of sites they had seo'd and ranked well.

But the rank of their own site was bad....... I wouldnt care to be honest.

 

[marieluy143]

Learn Online... GOOGLE and YOUTUBE tutorials.. thats the best option..

 

[Ali-v-8]

I am working on a new side project website http://www.SEOmy.co.uk
Which as some of you who know me, has been a plodding along thing. (code for not finished)
I have way too much of a schedule to sit down and map and build my own website.
When you walk in your first job as an SEO is make sure your clients (42 now) are ok.
Analyse, the data that you have been provided.
Then you have to hand jobs out to staff : changes, article, links, PPC budgets,
Then you start work.
Meetings take up time as do phone calls.
Forums and blogs need to be addressed (hence i only focus on 3)

Then finally when you have time to look at self promotion your partner is tell you to switch off the laptop and come to bed.
Sorry but self promotion:| Vs Comfy bed with Girlfriend she wins hands down.

Point is that SEO's who are good will put clients interest before own.
I have been down the road where its promote your own website at all cost.
It does make it easy to get good business with little effort, but usually at the cost of retaining clients.

happy client referrals are much better.

P.s "organic advertising" is now page one

 

[RedTapeDoc]

If you want a good book, read this (get to #1 on Google) gave me lots of good tips and has helped me understand what SEO is all about

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I have had my site redesigned twice neither of which have gone live as I don't have the time nor inclination to do it. I am now having another redesign carried out but this one MUSt be made live as the site is now so out of date it is painful.

The site ranks though and brings in traffic, most of which probably thinks YUK!!!