Get A Kick Out Of SEO Phone Calls

MattCoops

I get a kick out of these so-called expert SEO companies (who seem to be mostly outsourced overseas for some reason) who call you up on the phone and claim they can get your website on the top of organic Google rankings.

I asked one today if they were so good at SEO, why aren't their company websites anywhere to be found in Google?
After some stuttering and flipping of script pages he said that there were so many other companies competeing for these spots it was virtually impossible.

I asked him "isn't it the same with any company? Won't any company be competing with thousands of other companies for any particular keyword".

Not only that, my tile contracting site already ranks high for several keyword terms.

And even moreso, I do web design on side for fun (and a little extra dough) and even that ranks high (currently #4 - cupan82) in Google organically for term: contractor web design

so if they're the experts, how come my little sites rank so high and there's are nowhere to be found?

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

cbscreative

Good question, Matt. I get a lot more emails than phone calls, and I have to laugh because they promise great ranking and I already have good ranking. SEO has so many snake oil peddlers that it's hard for most people to sort out the good from the bad.

I use a rule that makes it much easier to qualify SEO info. Just pretend you are Google. If you were Google, would you want it done to you? If the answer is no, then it's bad advice. I know people cheat and get away with it for a while, but the same people complain every time search engines change their algorithms. If you treat Google the way you would like to be treated, they won't want to punish you.

The ones making phone calls and sending spam emails are the same ones Google is looking to weed out.

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Steve Chittenden
Web/SEO Geek • Graphic Artist • Writer • Marketing Guy
One reason I know so much about the web and marketing is that I don't have to know as much about construction.

MattCoops

ahh, ask upon the GoogleGods

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

Mr. Mike

Heres the kicker, they get our number from our websites...lol

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Commercial Painter KY. Residential Painter Louisville Painting Photos Louisville

Ohio Painters

I've visited this site off and on for the past month or so. I am a painting contractor in Ohio and this is my first post. I'd like to find a decent company to tweak my current web page to allow for better SEO. However, I do not want to get burned. Do y'all have any suggestions or referrals. Thanks.

SquirrelNmoose

There are many company's/individuals offering SEO services. They are not all created equal and prices will vary greatly.

Find several and interview them. There are no secrets in SEO, ask them what they intend to do and any reputable person will tell you exactly how they achieve results. The information is freely available everywhere on the internet. It just takes work, some knowledge of SEO issues and time.

Here's an article with some tips of what to look for.
http://www.google.com/support/webmas...n&answer=35291

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Len,
"There is no charge for Awesomeness"
A view through the eyes of SquirreNmoose

cbscreative

There are a couple possibilities just in this thread alone. Matt who started this thread does web work, and for me, it's my primary business. I know there are others on this forum too. The tough part is making a choice with all the good canidates here.

Although I routinely get sites on page 1 of Google (which is easy for a contractor site), I would caution you about priorities. Since I've not seen your site, this is a general statement which you might already have covered. Being at the top of search results is useless if the site doesn't convert. If you're converting the visitors you get now, great, then getting you ranked is the next step. If not, then that is a higher priority than SEO. You can do both at once, and I would, I'm just emphasizing that SEO is too often given the wrong priority.

Since you can't post links or PM yet, just Google my name. I'd be glad to offer suggestions. You could also check out Matt's link above, or others here will probably have some good leads for you too.

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Steve Chittenden
Web/SEO Geek • Graphic Artist • Writer • Marketing Guy
One reason I know so much about the web and marketing is that I don't have to know as much about construction.

RidgeWalker

Matt,

I get those calls at least 3 times per month. I also find it very funny that they can't rank their own sites well, yet promise to rank mine.

They are just preying upon those who are not versed in how search engines work etc. etc.

And traffic mean SQUAT if you can't convert it!

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Restore My Home Construction
Atlanta Roofing Repair
My SN Profile

Ohio Painters

Thanks to all. I seriously appreciate the help and suggestions. I agree the priority has to be a site that converts and 2) SEO. I've got a general idea of how to do both but I do not have the time or the specific knowledge to apply. I would expect the same company, person performing the SEO work to perform the tweaking or major overhauling of my website. Again, I appreciate the help. My website is: freshcoatpaintersDOTcom/klawrence

tinner666

FC. You should get your own site. imho. Took me afew miutes to figure out your dot-com is somebody else's. You will never get any type-in traffic and all seo efforts, I think, will only lead to corp hq.

You can have your own site, your own seo, and still do franschise work.

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Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

tinner666

Here's the link in it's raw form. http://freshcoatpainters.com/Default....com/klawrence

Here's your title. House Painting & Business Painting-Local Professional Painting Contractor-Fresh Coat Painters

Title is OK, but does it point anybody directly to you?

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Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

Hammer_Nail

Not bad 3rd place for that key phrase, and considering the SERPS are 16,000,000

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Illinois Window Service

tinner666

Back on topic, I get lots of those calls. For some reason, they get the Rent-A-Roofer site which is showing up well on the first page for slate repairs, just a few spots below Albert's Roofing.

They then claim I don't need 2-6 sites!

A little deeper talk revealed they actually want to assure me #1 spot. Sponsored, of course. And all the keywords they say they are using for the area, show RaR at 7th., and Albert's Roofing in #1.

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Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

karunnt

Agreed.

Register a domain as soon as possible. Older domains rank higher. And the longer you have content the better it is. You can do 'SEO' all day long but you can't change your domains age or how long you have been indexed.

Have you seen http://buildit.sitesell.com/main/home.html ?

I've never used it but have heard lots of positive reviews. They have a big ebook somewhere there you can download.

You should learn about SEO even if you outsource it. Otherwise you won't know if you are getting good service and a bad optimization company can really damage your domain.

MattCoops

There are hosting companies out there that will give hosting for free and register your own domain, which is essential if you want to show up anywhere in search engine rankings. Free site pages and profiles don't do much for exposure.

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

Ohio Painters

I appreciate all of the responses. There is just not enough time in the day. I'll heed all of the advice and put together a plan. Man, CT is a damn good resource. Thanks, again.