Local Linkup

[DesignerNick]

I was not posting as a competitor but somebody with morals and a passion for what I do. I hate seeing people taken for a ride when it comes to web design as they don't know any better.

I would quite easily create a simple 4 or 5 page website for £300 and have done in the past for people who have been having troubles with companies similar to yours.

I think readers of the post would appreciate views from the fair few people who know their stuff in SEO and Web Design and it doesn't matter if they are competitors or customers of yours or not they are just stating the facts.

As said, results to you and me are 2 different things. When I do websites, the results are helping the business increase revenue by having a website that converts well and is optimised to rank in the search engines. To you it is simply getting them a website thrown together using a Microsoft Office template and getting it on Google for keywords that nobody will ever search for.

Fair enough if you charged for click throughs rather than just having them there, having them ranking for stupid keywords is not enough and the fact you only give the option for the user to choose the silly keywords.

Ranking for 300,000 stupidly long tail keywords is not a hard task, ranking for 300,000 keywords that mean something and get searched for is a different story.

 

[garlex]

As an aside and my concern regarding SEO is the amount of people that try and sell this service. I went to a seminar in Caerphilly in South Wales last week, it was pretty low level stuff, mostly for beginners.

There was a chap sitting in the front row asking the most basic questions, I assumed he was looking for help getting started with his 'new' site. Some people had exchanged business cards prior to the event and having got hold of his, I find that one of the things this guy is selling is, yes you've guessed it, SEO services and much more, making all sorts of outrageous claims.

What make my blood boil is that this guy, at sometime in the future, is going to entice some poor fool into placing their business with him and find they have completely lost out.

I'd better stop here or I might start ranting and swearing about these ********s!!!

 

[davezzr]

I really can't see how these people get away with it and actually get business....

Looking at Dave's page as an example here

1. As Ali says, you have duplicate content
2. Title tags are awful
3. H1 tags are non existent
4. Site is developed in tables
5. Has keywords for a description
6. Design has no call to action, you won't get any enquiries

That was what I saw with a 2 minute look. People refuse to pay £250 for a website that will rank and will convert and they will own but are happy to pay £40 a month because it is cheaper.

You could get something like this for under £300 which you would own and would get you enquiries. (that exact site paid for its self twice over last week)

So let me get this straight, they are charged for impressions on Google? It is so easy to get a site ranked for pathetic keywords.

Thanks for that and yes i know the site is naff to say the least.In my defence the alarms and cctv is an add on to the existing business of kitchen/bathroom sales and the handyman services.It was mocked up in about an hour as a tester to see the responce as an external link in my LLU page.I can build a much better website and as an example a few years ago i had a site selling motorcycle clothing and the site had a hell of a lot of content and interactive elements for the viewer to use.
That site was on the top two pages on google virtually perminantly although it was only marketed on relevent forums and link exchanges with other similar websites and reieved on average 1000 hits a month with sales of £40,000 in the first 6 months or so.Not to shoddy for something that cost me nothing but my time and a bit of flare to set up.
I appreciate a good well planned and engrosing site is a must as well as a high level of relevant interest traffic. I am happy to pay a monthly fee for the levels of traffic that i should expect and to make good percentage of conversions into sales.A site that pulls in window shoppers is pointless im sure everyone would agree.
You mention freeindex sites and i have used them,proberbly too many as i dont remember any of them.Surfice to say ive never had an enquiry from any freeindex listing EVER.
If your saying that LLU is indeed an index site then i think im going to be screwed and im being honest when i say after 2+months im still waiting for a single call or enquiry from my LLU page. The problem isnt LLU doesnt do what it says on the tin because they do and ive been high on google with my key phrases for a while. I think the problem is that LLU is just that,LOCAL
Ive made
a few comments on this thread about the appearance of the page and a few other points .The more i think about it the more i am convinced that it is an index site that uses my business(or lack of it) to promote itself at a cost to me.
So who would i go to for excellent seo at no upfront costs and a fixed low cost monthly out going for page one/two on search engines???

 

[Faevilangel]

So who would i go to for excellent seo at no upfront costs and a fixed low cost monthly out going for page one/two on search engines???

It will depend on the keywords you're targeting and your budget. I do work for an SEO Company who charge from £149 per month but going to freelancers you may be able to get it cheaper.

From looking at your site Dave (is the site in Smarter WD's post the LLU site) there has been NO onsite seo. It's hosted on Microsoft office live e.g. a free website. the code is ugly and the website content is poor.

I can immediately see why you haven't been getting any enquiries from the site as it's not been optimised to get people to buy from you. I am not an seo expert but even I know you need to give people a reason to buy from you.

There is no reason to be on Page 1 for keywords if the site doesn't convert the visitors. It would be like using a dog to cold call potential customers. The potential clients won't be able to understand the dog and be able to work out how to buy from the dog.

 

[SEO Lady]

It would be like using a dog to cold call potential customers.

That's a bit of a 'ruff' similie..

 

[Faevilangel]

That's a bit of a 'ruff' similie..

I must have been 'barking' mad when I wrote that

 

[holmewoodorg]

I think in these days of recession to get a number one page ranking in Google for something is perceived ranking. What lesson can be learned is that local link up have a good way of generating trade (for themselves) a business model in some parts is best to copy. I am sure some of their sales people at 17k starting and then upwards commission per sale etc, imagine what the company is making. Good work fellas.

 

[DesignerNick]

I think in these days of recession to get a number one page ranking in Google for something is perceived ranking. What lesson can be learned is that local link up have a good way of generating trade (for themselves) a business model in some parts is best to copy. I am sure some of their sales people at 17k starting and then upwards commission per sale etc, imagine what the company is making. Good work fellas.

Why does a recession change the value of rubbish keywords?

 

[OnlineMenusCornwall]

Does anyone else thinks it's wrong that LLU purchase the domain name, potential customers have chosen for their business BEFORE they have agreed to signing up to the service?

I think that's a bit sneaky and again Praying on a lack of knowledge of customers.

 

[Heritage]

Surely thats just business these companies should surely realise that the name was there , maybe 4years on they may still not have purchased that name so you could argue that LLU having made them aware of this are now producing results for that company that without that initial call would not be.

 

[OnlineMenusCornwall]

IF you call results a poorly designed website that doesn't produce conversions to enquiries.

The only business benefiting from this business model is LLU.

For £360 (£30x12mths), you could have a decent looking website with decent SEO... AND get some actual enquiries.

IMHO of course.

 

[Heritage]

I get 30 views a week approx on my main site cominng from one of thier sites not sure how many hits that thier site is having,I am also not saying that thier site is not perfectly optimised and could do better but the point is that £250 quid i payed has proffitted me £10k.
So like i said if they had not contact me my business would have made 10k less and it s not been 12 months yet.

 

[OnlineMenusCornwall]

Did you pay £250 for your website and do you pay a monthly payment for page 1 rankings aswell?

 

[Heritage]

I paid £250 no monthly costs not going to mention how many pages but do have multiple sites with them but results I have had are regarding the one we are talking about.

 

[OnlineMenusCornwall]

I think we're talking about a different LLU plan. This one has/did have an upfront payment off around £300 plus a monthly fee.

 

[Heritage]

i drive a hard bargain and had other work done and to be fair would still have paid £300 but do not pay a mothly fee.

 

[OnlineMenusCornwall]

Do you own the domain name or does LLU own it?

 

[Heritage]

I bought a load of domains not sure if that ones thiers or mine will have to check that out

 

[L Kay]

I am having a very bad experience ith local link up. Anyone considering dealing with them READ THIS FIRST. I am not a competitor but a customer.

They contacted me some time ago offering their services and said they would compile a list of keywords. I have three companies each with its own website. They suggested I give it a try with a free trial with my building website to which I agreed (and stupidly gave them my bank account details as they said I would be under no obligation but they needed it in order to set my account up).
When I recieved the keywords they were terrible and I said I will look over them and change them and to give me a few days. For the next few days they were calling me 3-4 times a day asking if I had looked at it yet and can they start thinking about keywords for the other websites I was building which is for solar products. I told them no because not only is the new website live but I do not have the products yet. I also cancelled their services for the building websites as I did not like their keywords and felt very pressured by them..
Since then I have been pesterd on the phone by them calling from all different numbers asking if my sites are ready yet and offering to build a facebook page ect ect. I keep telling them no and have even stoped answering the phone to them.
Then today I recieve a letter from them demanding £273.36 from me saying that they built me a site solarchargermobilephone.com I never agreed to this nor had any invoice for it. I have not even got the product yet so why would I buy a package from them for it?. They have stated that if I do not pay this by 12th September they will transfer it to a external debt collection agency. THIS IS A CON. I did not agree use thier services for mobile phones.
I had a look at this web adress and it is laughable. It has nothing on it!!! only advertising some other building company in watford on it (when I have my own)

 

[waynea]

Please do not use this company!! never give them any of your details.
they are nothing but CON-MEN. you have been warned, steer well clear!