evilgreenmonkey

Do you rank for the term [seo]? If not, why not?

I used to hear this question from prospective clients around 3 years ago whilst heading up the SEO department at a London based marketing agency. The question was usually asked by SMEs, in the belief that either Google recommended the agencies in the top 10, or that a #1 ranking for [seo] meant that their website could also get a #1 ranking for a completely different search term with ease. This myth was happily spread by those already ranking for term, many of which were using very dubious link acquisition tactics to keep their sites on the first page at the time (and most have since dropped).

Fast forward to the present day, I now work at a Search Marketing consultancy called Ayima. Does Ayima rank for [seo]? Nope. It’s not because we can’t rank for the term, we just haven’t tried yet. The reason behind this is simple, our company isn’t looking to take on the smaller clients, and referrals from the term [seo] tend to be just that. The big brands that we’re lucky enough to work with, have all approached us through the reputation of those working at our company and referrals from happy clients. The Marketing Director or Online Marketing Manager at a large FTSE 100 would much rather gain recommendations from colleagues, friends and existing partners than open up a browser and hit “I’m Feeling Lucky”. Ayima currently ranks #1 for the term [search marketing consultancy] and top 10 for [search marketing] in the UK, thanks to our industry friends, bloggers and association memberships. The terms are searched for less frequently than [seo], although they’re more often used by people looking for a long-term managed solution rather than a quick fix “Submit your site to 10,000 search engines” or “Guaranteed Top 10″ approach.

Not everyone is looking to catch a big-fish client though, some agencies prefer to take on a large number of small clients, not to mention the many freelance SEO consultants out there. So how do you rank for the term [seo]?

The Risky Option
After creating a page of content on SEO or optimising your website’s homepage for the term, you could simply go out and buy a bunch of links from other Internet Marketing websites and blogs. You’d be surprised at how many SEOs sell links to other SEO companies for a relatively small amount of money. In the UK, you could probably get into the top 5 for the term with a link budget of just £5,000 – especially if your website has been around for a few years and has already built up some authority. It sounds tempting, although remember that your company’s website is part of your overall brand and reputation. Some SEOs are willing to stab their competitors in the back and could report you to Google, putting your website and existing search traffic at risk.

The Safe Option
If you’re willing to put in the hours, it wouldn’t be hard to get a top 10 ranking for [seo] using whiter-than-white tactics. Here are some ideas:

• Change Your Name – If you offer SEO and you want to target the search term [seo], make sure that everyone knows your company as Widget SEO, not just Widget. Change your logo, your copyright notices and every mention of your company name to ensure that people will only ever link to you as Widget SEO.
• Become A Member (of anything) – There are dozens of regional, national and global industry associations for online marketing, so join them. Also register your company on LinkedIn, Twitter, industry forums and anywhere with a profile. Each member will usually get a follow’d link to their company website. You often can’t pick the anchor text, but you’re already called Widget SEO anyway, aren’t you.
• Get Blogging – It’s an obvious thing to say, although a large proportion of SEO agencies and consultants still don’t have a blog or don’t use it effectively. Get yourseocompany.com/blog/ set-up, post regularly and don’t just talk about what everyone else is saying. With a bit of promotion and some links from industry friends, you’ll start building links into your site in no time. Most importantly, use your company’s main site template for your blog and keep the top navigation bar intact to ensure that your blog’s link-juice flows into the rest of the site.
• Attend Conferences – $1,000 doesn’t just get you new ideas at an SEO conference, it also gets you links. Most of the people you’ll talk to at one of these events will have a blog, an on-topic blog with lots of authority juiciness. Swap business cards, become friends, whore yourself out, tell them that you’re a big fan of their blog. A $1,000 conference pass, divided by 5 links from new friends, equals just $200 per link. Pretty darn cheap I’d say. If you consider yourself to be an expert in your field, apply to speak at an event. You’ll usually get your conference pass for free and can get even more links from the event website and your fellow panellists. Excluding travel costs, that means free links! Find your local SEO conference and get registering.
• Sponsor Events – There are literally hundreds of SEO gatherings all over the world, all looking to get someone to pay for their beer. I help to run one such event, called LondonSEO, which has struggled to find a sponsor on one occasion. Large events often have websites which are authority hubs, overflowing with potential link juiciness. Offer to sponsor a local event and it won’t just be a reputation and brand builder – their sponsor link to you is worth its weight in gold.
• Get Local – Geo-specific SEO related searches get a lot more traffic than you think. The people searching for these terms are often willing to pay more for a local SEO as well. Our clients like us to be on-site regularly for meetings, strategy planning and inter-department brainstorming. Why not rank for [seo london]? An agency called Sale Per Click has even managed to bypass LondonSEO for the term [london seo] by submitting their business to Google Local with a company name of just “SEO”! As Google Local splits search terms into Business and Location, you just have to set your company name as the term you’re looking to rank for. Local Search is big, so get learning about it or attend SMX Local in July.

The Muppet Option
Don’t be a muppet! Untargeted comment spam and spamming communities such as Sphinn won’t help when targeting SEO terms. You’ll get reported to the search engines, banned and your brand will be in tatters. Save the risky tactics for your affiliate sites and keep your company away from the mud.