OK
Since I get like a TON of Pm's a day about this and people have been asking I will try to explain my experience with the link building.
NOTE: I in no way am saying this is the end all be all for business, it has just worked well for me in my area.
Many of you know that I am also a teacher, middle school to be exact (yeah yeah I know it is a nightmare sometimes but this is my last year teaching so that is good). Anyway it came to my attention that the assistant principal at my school also does SEO work for companies and individuals. I approached him and he explained that I would have no problem getting a page 1 ranking on google/bing/etc. with at least 3 different keyword search phrases for my area. Ok.... I basically took a gamble and went through with it because I was not getting the referrals I needed anymore (higher prices).
He analyzed my site, made suggestions for keywords and also did market research for me to see what other competitors had and did for SEO stuff.
Eventually we settled on 3 keyword search phrases that he and I thought would work best for my area.
Something like "wedding photography columbus ohio" and variations of that etc.
I paid and then did NOTHING. Just sat back and let him do whatever it is he does.
Before I went through with it I talked to a few people here about it and asked some questions about how he would link building (it is complicated and I do not understand it really) but it seemed like my site would not end up sandboxing on google (moving to the bottom because of trickery that gets you caught).
Not a week later I was on page 1 and have been there for like 3 months now. At first I saw a few more inquiries coming in ... what I would call "cold calls" or people that just found me through a direct search.
My analytics also now shows that 70% of traffic to my site comes from direct search engine clicks. Site hits have gone up 10x. Before I got most of my traffic from friends on FB when I linked a blog post
At this point I am getting 1-3 inquiries a day and this past week got 31. Already met with 2 and booked 1. I have two more meetings next week. I am sure it is a combination of it being "engagement" season and also people being able to "see" me when searching.
All I can say is that I have made my money back already and this now has become the best business related expense I have ever had.
He can do the link building locally, nationally, or internationally. Does not matter where you are in relation to us here in Ohio.
I will not give any info out publicly because I am just here to speak about the benefits (that I have seen) of link building.
If anyone is interested please PM for details. I work everyday with this guy and trust him explicitly. He is a public figure in the community and is well respected. He has been getting busier so I am not sure how many clients he will take on because of time constraints but I would at least give him a call to find out if you are interested.
It has worked wonders for me that is all I know. Two other big time photographers in the Columbus area recently called me to ask "where I came from" etc. because I was all of a sudden amidst the "big timers" so to speak. Both of the people that called me admitted they throw a large sum of money towards link building as well in some form or another.
So that is that. I know I keep mentioning it in different posts but their really is no secret to it.
Hmm, wonder if you can google search for a local guy who does SEO optimization and not find 497,000 businesses who want a ridiculous amount of money lol
cbradio09 wrote:
Hmm, wonder if you can google search for a local guy who does SEO optimization and not find 497,000 businesses who want a ridiculous amount of money lol
Well I am pretty sure he wants to keep a low profile on Google because of his public persona. He is in a tough spot being the assistant principal etc. and does not want the public seeing him do other stuff.
If you Google his name his business does not even come up.
But then again he is not looking to market to everyone. His business was born out of a need to do SEO work for a couple companies and also for his brothers business. From their he started doing SEO work for other people. Like I said..not sure how much he actually wants to do because I am sure it is time consuming.
Doug, I wasn't even trying to find your AP, I just meant in a more general sense that if I googled columbus ohio SEO it would come up with companies charging outrageous prices for this service. But yea, I don't blame your AP for wanting to keep it small time either.
cbradio09 wrote:
Doug, I wasn't even trying to find your AP, I just meant in a more general sense that if I googled columbus ohio SEO it would come up with companies charging outrageous prices for this service. But yea, I don't blame your AP for wanting to keep it small time either.
Thanks as always.
Oh I know! I was just trying to give a little background on him I guess. He is in kind of a weird situation...more so that me even. No one cares what I do in general... with him I am sure it is a different story.
I started learning SEO about 6 months ago and really threw myself into it. 3-4 months later I was on page 1 of google for several keywords and I have been getting a lot more business because of it. Not to discount what Doug's guy can do, but SEO is something anyone can do if you put the time in.
It's not rocket science, but it is time consuming, so if you have the funds, hiring someone to do it can save a ton of time. Just make sure the person you are working with doesn't do any black hat SEO, or you could end up pissing off google and not even ranking.
But if you want to try to do it yourself, just work on the basics.
1. Optimize your site for your keywords. Add keywords to your title, H1 tags, and about sections.
2. Continue to create great unique content on your blog. Add keywords to your posts such as venue or city names.
3. Build links. Add your URL to any and every site you can. Directories, blogs, and forums. If your friends have a website, have them add your URL to their site. Any link can help.
Again, not to take away from Doug's experience, but if you want to start ranking better, you can do a lot of things yourself.
@Dan ... thanks! ... but I do think the SEO stuff helped haha
@TomH -- TOTALLY AGREE WITH 100% of what you wrote. I quite frankly have NO DESIRE to spend the time learning SEO. Easier for me to pay someone. Like anything if you can do it yourself then by all means. I actually wish I had the time to spend on it because it seems like a great skill set to have. Kudos to you for doing your own. It is WAY beyond me at this point!
@Joosay-- nice link!
To everyone that PM'ed me. I am trying to send replies back to everyone. They may seem general but I am just trying to stay on top of things and get info to people who need it.
hardlyboring wrote:
@TomH -- TOTALLY AGREE WITH 100% of what you wrote. I quite frankly have NO DESIRE to spend the time learning SEO. Easier for me to pay someone. Like anything if you can do it yourself then by all means. I actually wish I had the time to spend on it because it seems like a great skill set to have. Kudos to you for doing your own. It is WAY beyond me at this point!
Oh absolutely. I'm a huge believer in paying someone to do the dirty work if you don't have time to do it. I enjoy doing SEO, but not everyone does. I'm glad it's working for you.
I'm working on this right now, and have been for the last month. We're still between pgs 33 and 35 for our primary keyword. I've started blogging more frequently as of late last week, and will see if that makes a difference.
tobicus wrote:
I'm working on this right now, and have been for the last month. We're still between pgs 33 and 35 for our primary keyword. I've started blogging more frequently as of late last week, and will see if that makes a difference.
That should help a little but from what I have seen (at least in my area) most of the people on top are paying to be there. Unless you are getting a lot of links from VERY reputable sources their is no way you are going to be ahead of anyone who is link building/doing some kind of SEO work.
I am all about doing things on my own and LOVE that about having my own business but some things I just do not have time to learn or maintain. From what I can gather building the links and keeping yourself up on google is a job unto itself. I am happy to have someone do it for me.
I agree with hardlyboring, SEO does wonders. I paid someone as well to do my link building, and did amazing job in ranking me high on google and local searches.
Hey Doug, I'm glad you are seeing some results. I understand the value of good SEO way more than I understand SEO. I've managed to get my site on the first page in my local market, one search, the main keyword phrase I always use, lands me at number one. It takes time, consistency and a million other variables, but it is achievable fairly easy in the end. Good luck!
SEO can work when done the right way.Just don't spend a lot of money thinking it is easy to make back because you get on top of the search page.More people seeing the site also means more price shoppers.Good in the long run but can get you down knowing there is a large number of consumers only wanting cheap work or thinking XYZ is equal to your work. A mental game you can't fall into. When you get personal referrers they usually know the price range before calling and can afford you.
I have been doing my personal site SEO since the mid 1990's before they even gave it a name. While I am a full time photographer I have a couple of part time side business ventures and both are listed nationally right along side amazon and overstock.One makes money and the other URL is going up for sale.Like I said not every site can make money even when it is easy to find. A small one man opertion can be seen if you spend the time to work the site.
I know in my local market my photography site ranks on page 1 of all 3 search engines for at least 15 good keywords phrases and am sure there are more I don't know about. Actually have clients asking how to do it so I turned it into another part time business.
I wanted to thank everyone for the information in this thread. I used it plus what I know from a past life and 1 week later I am first page on google, bing and yahoo.
I have decided that this year I will try to build my SEO. My site is pretty pathetic when it comes to search ranking. Partly I am not sure what target location I should aim for.
We live in a small suburb of Vancouver surrounded by other satellite cities. I don't know whether should I even bother targeting the over saturated market in Vancouver and concentrate on the smaller cities.
