Friday, May 30th, 2008
Being busy and having lots of work to do for clients has obvious benefits, but what are the drawbacks? In my line of work, there’s one big drawback…
You see, I’ve been so busy over the last 6 months that I have left myself no time to work on my own websites. No fresh content and few new incoming links has meant I’ve slipped a few places for various key phrases on Google. At this point in time, it’s a blessing in disguise – between the house move and several high-value contracts on the table I’m not in a great position to take any more on. However, if I wasn’t so busy I’d have cause for concern and this is something I’m now setting aside time to work on each week. Slipping from page 1 to page 2 for the phrase “web design” on Google.com led to a 70% reduction in traffic coming from Google.com for that phrase.
The lesson to be learnt here is that SEO is ongoing, and that resting on your laurels once you’ve achieved your target is a policy that will cause you problems in the medium to long-term.
Posted in google, seo, web design | 4 Comments »
Monday, February 25th, 2008
I have just spent the last 4 hours responding to 107 emails. Yes, over a hundred emails have piled up over the last 8 days, mainly web design and SEO enquiries. In the last 4 months, average daily page views of MB Web Design have trebled, presumably as I’m ranking on page 1 of Google for web design and for website design. I’m struggling to cope with demand, which leads to the next logical step – hiring. Well, hiring on a freelance basis, at least. I know that there are a few of you web design types out there who read this blog and/or know me personally, so here is your public invitation – send me an email with your portfolio and let’s see if we can do business together.
I seem to still be attracting a disproportionate amount of “I have the next eBay” messages, where someone wants me to design free or on the cheap in exchange for equity in an awful business model. I have a polite “thanks but no thanks” message that I copy and paste in response to such enquiries, which usually see them off, but I was a little taken aback by one person’s response. It was, in a nutshell, a request to go through their business plan, suggest how to make it foolproof for investment, and then they might consider hiring me once they have the money. Talk about singing for your supper!
The fact is: if the business model was any good, and if the ‘entrepreneur’ was serious about their concept, then they’d be able to find funding for it. And if they can find funding for it, then they can afford to pay me for my services. My mind is not completely closed to the idea of working for shares, but really, some of the ‘offers’ I get verge on the insulting. I remember an intensely patronising one I got from a student a few months ago, which asked me to design the next Betfair purely because “it would look really good for your portfolio”.
Anyway, onto better matters.
I’m about to start designing for a salon marketing consultancy run by Liz Ridley, who has an impressive track record of turning around health and beauty businesses into successful enterprises. She’s now turning her hand to helping other businesses achieve the same success via her marketing consultancy. Where I come in, rather obviously, is in successful Internet marketing and search engine optimisation for their websites and redesigning the sites themselves if they are, shall we say politely, below par. Liz is my kind of person – we discussed the venture over a Tyskie, a welcome step up from my usual client meeting beverage – an overpriced American-chain coffee.
Posted in seo, web design, work | 7 Comments »
Saturday, January 19th, 2008
Just a brief update for infrequent visitors to digest what is happening in my life right now. Business has boomed this month, fuelled primarily by a surge of businesses wanting new websites for a new year. Later this week, Louise finds out whether any of her applications for junior doctor vacancies in South Wales (via Wales Foundation School) have been successful. Fingers crossed that’s the case. If unsuccessful, there is a second round of choices from the hospital/course combinations left on the list.
A number of very exciting work prospects have presented themselves in the last week. My lips are sealed per NDAs but what I can tell you is that if either/both are successful then they could prove quite lucrative and a regular stream of work, which is very appealing given that I’ll be working freelance full-time as of April/May this year. A perfect start to my full-time freelance career. Much like Louise’s job applications, I mustn’t count my chickens.
Tags: business, doctor, nhs, wales
Posted in seo, web design, work | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
I’m pleased to report that as of this afternoon I’ve officially joined EnTrip as a part-time website design and SEO consultant. My good friend Nick set up a prototype app to track his two-month holiday around the United States, and the interest it generated has inspired him to take the project further. He’s recruited two guys to work on a full-time basis and we’re all hoping that we can launch the site, albeit in preliminary form, within the next six months or so.
I’m certain that the site has potential but I’m also acutely aware that the vast majority of start-ups – both on and offline – don’t succeed. That’s not to say I’m pessimistic; at best it could prove a lucrative investment of my time and at worst it will provide an interesting learning experience.
Posted in seo, web design, work | 1 Comment »
Monday, December 3rd, 2007
I hope this is some bizarre viral campaign, but it probably isn’t. A guy at a “world leading” UK-based web marketing firm – so “world leading” I’ve never heard of them – loses his rag after making what I’m guessing is one too many unsuccessful telemarketing calls to the U.S. If this guy was working for me he’d be fired and out of the door before he could think”George W. Bush” let alone say it. What makes this worse is that this isn’t some impatient jobsworth, he claims to be the director of the company! Absolutely shocking.
Have a listen.
Tags: cold calling, telemarketing
Posted in internet, seo, web design | 3 Comments »
Friday, November 9th, 2007
I’m receiving an ever-increasing influx of emails asking me to link to Site X in exchange for a link from some crappy subpage of Site Y – a twist on the old reciprocal linking model. I must get about 50 of these every day. Today, however, I’m in a bad mood (and a little bored) so I replied to one of them inline. Enjoy.
Hi,
I came across your website and was wondering if you would consider a link exchange with me. In return I am willing to place a link to your site on our PR7 site here: http://www.scienceonstage.net/top-hits.html (I can put your link in the perfect category match for your site)
YAY another generic directory. Doesn’t look like spam at all – sign me up!
I understand that you probably get 100’s of spam emails everyday asking the same thing, but I am a real person and not a spam bot.
“I understand that you probably get 100’s of spam emails everyday asking the same thing. Here’s another.” <- fixed.
If this is of interest to you simply reply to this email and I will put your link live first. (Please send me your link details along with a short description of your site)
Title: SEO Services
URL: http://www.doneseo.com
Description: DONE! SEO Services is a leading Search Engine Optimization Company based in California, USA. Call us at 1-888-372-8335. Founded by Internet Entrepreneur Ben Padnos.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Kind regards
You have got to be joking.
Firstly, your “Science on Stage” site is a dropped domain you’ve picked up. Smart move – toolbar PR still shows 7 and you still have backlinks from CERN and the European Organisation for Astronomical Research from back in the days when it was a legit, useful website and not another piece-of-shit spam directory.
Secondly, you expect me to provide link to your SEO company and in return I get a link from some crap linkdump, sharing a page with about 200 others? No deal.
Thirdly, thanks for the personal touch – addressing your enquiry to root@ rather than the email@ address I have posted on my site. Now I know you’re not a bot, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Keep wearing the ever-darkening grey hat.
Mathew
Irritating as this approach is and however questionable the ethics, it’s probable that – at least for now – this stuff passes under Google’s radar. Site A links to Site B, Site B links to Site C, no recriprocal link, everyone’s happy. It’s not an obvious paid link for Google to investigate either, which is how many of us fear Google is investing it’s time.
I’m really interested to know if Google have anything in the works to combat this sort of spammy approach. I’m looking at you, Matt.
Tags: bots, reciprocal linking, seo, spam
Posted in google, internet, seo | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
Google have been frustrating SEO watchers for a couple of months now by putting off updating toolbar PR for most sites, although they’ve annoyed a lot of pro bloggers by downgrading PR en masse for a whole heap of blogging sites.
Presuming you weren’t one of these unlucky few, I’ve found a way to check your current Pagerank, as long as your site is in the Google Directory. As most people realise, Google gets their data from Dmoz, so if you’re in one directory, you’re almost certainly in the other one. The difference between the two is that Google Directory sorts it’s directory listings by PR.
My web design business, MB Web Design, currently displays PR4 in the toolbar (and has done for months and months). However, check my listing in Google Directory and it shows PR6. I’ve seen a couple of other sites with different toolbar PRs versus their PR in Google Directory. So, go and have a look. You may be pleasantly surprised.
I think that Google’s sudden demotion of PR value for leading blogs is a way to deter such sites from selling links purely for the link juice. Some evidence supporting this theory follows:
Interestingly however, ProBlogger went from Pr6 to PR4, but according to Google Directory, has no PR at all…
Feel free to contibute any other discrepancies between Google Directory PR and toolbar PR.
Tags: andy beard, autoblog, engadget, google, pagerank, pr, problogger, search engine journal
Posted in google, internet, seo | 14 Comments »
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007
My web design business, MB Web Design, recently moved from position #3 to #2 on Google.co.uk for the term “web design”. Since then I’ve been inundated with enquiries and click-through traffic from Google has nearly doubled. Doubled! All because I’m one position higher, it’s really quite remarkable. How long I’ll stay at #2 is anybody’s guess – the top few contenders maintain constant and aggressive online marketing and link-building campaigns. For now, at least, it’s nice to feel like Mr. Popular.
Tags: google, internet, link building, seo, serps, web design
Posted in google, internet, seo, web design | 9 Comments »
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
A lot of search engine watchers have been getting twitchy because Google’s anticipated Pagerank update hasn’t surfaced. In turn, this has prompted many to speculate that Google are doing away with publicly available Pagerank data altogether.
I believe that it’s in Google’s interest to kill Pagerank, and here’s why: Google hates paid links, unless they come from Google themselves. Matt Cutts has been making a lot of noise about Google discounting the paid links they detect. (Paid links are fine of course, but only if they come from one of Google’s own programmes.)
Website owners typically pay for links for one of two reasons.
Paid links for PR. A large portion of the paid link market comprises website owners paying for high PR links in the hope that the PR will filter through to them. By killing Pagerank, the metric by which these links are bought and sold evaporates instantly, and the market with it.
Paid links for traffic. If website owners aren’t buying links for PR, then they’re buying links for traffic. Google already has this part of the market covered, under the guise of Adsense.
Call me cynical, but by neglecting their PR updates could they be scaring people away from Pay-for-PR link buying and into Adsense campaigns?
In any case, none of this matters because anyone who knows their onions realises that Pagerank is just one of many, many factors in determining one’s position in the SERPs. There’s certainly a positive correlation between PR and SERP placement but there are many exceptions to the rule. I wish website owners (and amateur SEOs) would worry about generating quality content rather than putting green pixels in a grey bar. But that’s another issue for another day.
Posted in google, internet, seo, technology | 1 Comment »