Can You Get Me Page One Google Search Results for My Keywords?

Since I started GNIDESIGN and got into the business of web design and search engine optimization in 1996, there is possibly no other question I have been asked more than the one in the subject line of this blog. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked the question "Can You Get Me Page One Google Search Results for My Keywords?" I could retire from the glamorous life of software architecture and become a prize Bass fisherman, partner with Bill Dance and focus on winning the Bass Masters Tournament.

But all kidding aside, the short answer is YES! Of course, I can get first page Google ranking results and you can see my results in the images to the left and at the bottom of this page. Page one, second position is pretty good considering I only used Organic SEO methods on this. But the reality is, depending on how much competition is competing for your targeted SEO keyword or phrase, page 1 Google results can take a lot of time and money. This is why it is important to first qualify your clients intentions and budget before wasting a lot of their time as well as your own.

What a client usually doesn't understand is that there are so many variables that affect search engine results. Even as an experienced search engine marketing professional, it is possible that I could perform perfect organic search engine optimization, research and pick the very best keywords and phrases for my clients target audience, and still wind up on page 99 of the search engines. Thankfully, I've never had this experience but it can happen!

For this reason, I never promise my clients that I will obtain 1st page SEO results on Google, Yahoo, Bing or any other search engine. Even clients that have been with me for 10 plus years will not hear me make that promise despite the fact that I HAVE been able to achieve those first page rankings for them (see below). In fact, I always advise my clients, should they have a firm that does promise them first page Google results, they should turn and run in the opposite direction because they're probably dealing in black hat SEO techniques.

So Why Do I NOT Promise 1st Page SEO Results?

Several reasons really, here are the half dozen that come to mind right away.

1. In the case of an existing website, there's no clear way of knowing what the practices of the previous webmaster or firm might have been. If they practiced black hat SEO techniques that resulted in the domain name being blacklisted I may never get the site indexed.
   
2. How saturated is the client’s targeted area with similar businesses competing for the same SEO keywords and phrases?
   
3. How old is the client’s domain name? Google definitely prefers domain names that have been around for a while. Preferably 2 years or more. So if you have a domain that was just registered last week, you increase the challenge of reaching page 1 in most of the search engines but it can still be done.
   
4. How much content is currently available and how much will be available on an on-going basis for the website? Content is KING! If the clients site consists of a single home page with very little meat and a contact form, there is going to be quite a lot of work to do and a price tag to match. This is especially true if you have to hire additional writers.
   
5. How much budget is the client willing to spend on a thorough SEO and SEM campaign? Are they willing to sign up for the long haul if need be or are they looking for an overnight fix? Getting to page 1 on Google requires a large commitment, can take several months, and cost thousands of dollars to get there. Granted, once you get high rankings the cost is irrelevant in contrast to the amount of profit coming in, but can the client make the investment?
   
6. Most importantly, does your client get it? Are they willing to listen to your expertise on the subject or do they have all the answers? I had a potential client tell me recently that NOBODY ever looks beyond page 1 on Google and was quite adamant about it. Frankly, he's missing the whole point of SEO. Search Engine Optimization is an ongoing process. It’s not like a newspaper ad you run once and hope customers come to the store on the day of the sale. You do your SEO work on the site and then you wait to see the results. That wait could be a few weeks or it could drag out a few months before you begin seeing your results. But results you will see.

So all of this and I finally arrive at a closing point. Hopefully to help you, the reader, unravel the mystery of SEO. If you have a website that has no search results at all, then you have to start somewhere. If within a few weeks of roll out you suddenly appear on page 10 of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), this is a big deal and cause to get excited. Then the real fun begins as you tweak and add content, you appear on SERPs #4, #3, #2, gaining ground on your competition? It’s very exciting to see with your own eyes that all of the hard work is paying off. These are advertizing dollars that are quantifiable. Using Google Analytics you begin to see the amount of traffic that your website is getting. Then finally one day you wake up and the phone rings. “Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring …” “This is Bill Kearns, What can I do for you?”

The rest is another SEO success story.

Here is a first page Google result for a client.

Another first page Google result.

Happy surfing!

Bill @ gnidesign

GET A FREE SEO ANALYSIS FROM GNIDESIGN FOR YOUR WEBSITE

Social Network Viruses Still On The Rise

Social Networking web sites like facebook and myspace are used by more Internet users than any other medium in the world today. In fact, 4 out of 5 of us internet users over the age of 35 are logging onto a social networking website at least once a month according to the latest CNET statistics. Facebook is the new leader this month registering over 1 billion users (yup 10 digits) so its no wonder that they continue to be the target of choice by internet evil-doers.

The Koobface virus is nothing new but it continues to be the largest threat to social network web site developers and their users. I recently had an experience where this Koobface virus was sent to me on facebook. Lucky for me, ethical hackers are always a step ahead of evil hackers so I recognized the game right away.

Still, I thought it would be a good chance to run the virus in a virtual setting and show my readers what to look out for whille having fun on FB. As a search engine optimization professional, social networking web sites are an essential part of ranking well on google. That said, I frequent many of these sites. While on facebook, I received an email message from one of my facebook friends that was clearly out of character for that individual. That was my first tip that something wasn't right.

The Koobface virus, once it has infected your PC, gains access to your facebook friends and emails each of your friends a message with a link leading them to a web page to innocently download the same virus. It also hijacks your web browser, email and creates a general hostile environment across your network. Viruses are self-replicating. Koobface is spread by a network or by transmission to a removable medium such as a removable disk, writable CD, or USB drive. It may also spread by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is shared by another computer. This is why the Internet and social media web sites are such a hot bed for this type of malware.

So enough chatter, here is what you're looking for...
You receive a facebook email message from one of your friends with a comment about "how great you look in this video" with a link to youtube .

You click on the link and then, whoops! The video has been moved? You are now being redirected to a hackers server.


Next you arrive at a web site that looks just like you tube but it isn't. You are then prompted to download and install the latest version of Flash before you can view the video.

The danger is that most people have been trained by now to only accept links in an email from people you know... well I know this person. So hopefully now you're a little smarter and a little wiser and I can go take care of my cold feeling like I've helped someone today :)

Until next time, happy surfing!

Bill @ gnidesign

The Future of Social Networking

It's been 10 years of developing the web since the first implementations of Web 2.0 began back in 1999. I can't even begin to count the number of web sites I've rolled out in that time. The number of technologies that I have been introduced to and added to my arsenal are enough to make my brain go numb. Interactive information sharing has indeed come a long way and its evolution still amazes me. We've seen dot-com's grow to mammoth proportions and then watched as they fizzle out. Still others thrive for reasons that we just do not have facts or numbers on. In early 2000 it seemed that the peer to peer giant Napster would take over the world and yet today they are lost in the shadows of iTunes and the Zune Marketplace. Some interactive web sites like SpotLife.com were on top for a fleeting moment and gone as quick as they came. Even MySpace has been steadily losing its edge for several years now.

So what's next for the web? I ask myself this question almost daily as it is after all how I keep the family fed and housed. Without a doubt, social networking is going to break through to a new plateau. Websites like Facebook and Twitter have moved beyond cult phenomenom now and have become the daily web diet of the average computer user. These site are not going away anytime soon as long as they keep us engaged with games like Mafia Wars and Farmville. Personally, I never play the games on facebook and most of my requests go unanswered not because I don't want to be bothered, but I just WISH that I had that much time in my life to play because it looks like fun. The little bit of gaming time I do have is spent on Xbox Live where you can find me as Corinthian06.

That said, I think we will see a new trend in these types of sites because the site owners are realizing that we cannot be bought with banner ads and PPC advertizing. We are abhored by pop-up advertizing and that includes innocent surveys. You might say that some types of online marketing are beginning to sour, perhaps losing its effectiveness. So where do large corporations go next to generate profits? Well... they're going to come to the end users. People just like you and me and leverage our network of friends.

You may recall all of the attention Barnes & Noble, Inc. received when they introduced their associate plan? The way it worked was you put some links to some of their products on your personal website and a user purchased that book by following your link you received a few pennies. That didn't work very well for you and me because the business model was terrible and the associate plan was eventually phased out. Now imagine this idea on steroids, with enough of a profit margin for social network junkies like you and me that it could be lucrative?

Enter blastoffnetwork.com. This is a genius blend of social networks aggregation and multi-tier marketing and frankly... I like it! This is good for people, good for the economy and what the heck, we're hanging out on facebook and tweeting on twitter anyway, so why not get paid for it right?

By the way, you can find me on right here on Facebook, or follow me here on Twitter, and if you are reading this I would be more than happy to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn!

If you are looking for additional information on BlastOff, sorry I can't help you with that but you can contact denisek@nc.rr.com with any sign-up type questions.

Until next time... Happy Surfing!

Bill @ gnidesign

Should I Offshore My Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Web Design?

The question of off-shoring search engine optimization (seo) and web design projects is one I am faced with on just about every initial client consultation that I walk into. Many business owners are attracted by the promise of first page Google results for very cheap, almost "too good to be true" prices. Being a fan of tongue in cheek clichés, I can tell you that if the prospect seems too good to be true, it probably is! That said, most business owners in desperate times are willing to take their chances on outsourcing their search engine optimization to overseas web design firms. There are many misconceptions with this practice and I do not think that the pros outweigh the cons. I'll touch on a few of them here.

Communication Breakdowns
I am an American small business owner. I conduct my business in the United States. Both my clientele and myself speak fluent English. We understand the inflections and spoken dynamics of the language like second nature and the use of current slang is never an issue. So why would I place my livelihood, my business, into the hands of someone that didn't have the same command of the English language as I do? Unless I have a very detailed, clear and concise Statement of Work (SOW) aligned with an overseas project manager who understands all of the nuances of the English language, -I am setting myself up for a lot of miscommunication, wasted time, wasted money, and probable frustration.

I know what you're thinking, "How can I say something so brash and politically incorrect in 2009?" I can... because I have worked in these scenarios for many years and it is a harsh reality. If you have ever called a large corporation for technical support and you were greeted by someone with a barely understandable accent. If you have ever ended such a conversation feeling like your issue remained unresolved, or if you were frustrated because the technical support person did not fully understand your issue; then you know what I am talking about. This is much the same way that you can expect your search engine optimization or web design project communications to flow.

Humanitarianism and Cheap Labor
I had an interesting meeting recently with a potential client who had a plethora of deprecated web design and software solutions to facilitate his business processes. My specialty is taking convoluted business processes, removing duplicated effort, and streamlining them by developing solutions that are scalable and affordable.

When the topic of search engine optimization came up, my client’s response was "Oh that's easy to do, I can do it myself or I can get some guy in India to do it for $5.00 an hour. Why should I pay you to do SEO?" At that moment I decided not to go down that road, but I completely disagree with this type of thinking for a couple reasons. First of all, submitting your website to 10,000 different search engines is very easy to do, however, that is not what natural or organic search engine optimization is all about. Sure, anyone can add keyword and description Meta tags to their web site and call it SEO, but true search engine optimization is a very well thought out process of website architecture. The overall web design strategy is developed with search engines in mind, not as an afterthought. Second, I happen to know several of these overseas programmers personally as I have worked with many of them from India, China and South America. They work very hard and they work long hours. They will often work 80 to 90 hours a week to support their families without overtime pay or additional compensation.

Then there is the case of pride and human decency. I would not pay any of my employees $5.00 per hour and I question the integrity of anyone who would. I would be insulted if someone asked me to work under those conditions for that amount of pay. How would you feel working all day and night for that kind of salary... fulfilled?

Keeping with Technology Trends
You also want to be careful because many of the fly-by-night SEO firms that are overseas are using outdated techniques like link farms and keyword stuffing. This was a popular approach to SEO rankings in 1998 but today is considered by most search engines as black hat search engine optimization or search engine hacking. Search engine algorithms are looking for these kinds of techniques and your website will be automatically banned and removed from their index. You do NOT want this to happen.

Face to Face Relationships
This is probably the most important aspect of any web development project. As a business owner, when I'm entering into a new contract with a vendor, I want know exactly who I am dealing with. Upon meeting every one of my potential new clients they get my face sitting across the desk from them. They get my hand extended outward for a hand shake. Furthermore, once a decision to do business has been made that client has my email address, home phone number, personal cell phone number and my instant messenger ID along with the freedom to contact me day or night. My clients, who I am very thankful for, appreciate that type of personalized service. To them, it shows that I care about their website and I do. I treat each and every one of their businesses as if it were my own. You will not find this kind of service overseas for any price.

Conclusion
In closing, things are tough with the United States economy right now and there are tens of thousands of web developers looking for work. Many are willing to work with you on pricing if given the chance and I think that we should first focus on putting our own people back to work. Employing people right here at home is what will get the economy pumping again. Then again maybe I'm just some geek with a website and an opinion, but there it is.

If you would like a NO OBLIGATION Search Engine Analysis for your website, I would be happy to let you know where you stand and what can be done to help your website get noticed on Google and all of the other major search engines. Just fill out our complimentary SEO Analysis form and you will hear from me shortly.

Happy Coding!
Bill @ gnidesign

Special note: To my programming friends overseas that I have had the honor and privilege to do work with. You know me, and you know that I have embraced cultural differences and consider you all family. My comments and opinions here do not reflect what we have accomplished and I respect you all with great regard.

I Started My Own Business and I Need a Website

I am seeing more and more people these days starting their own businesses. I suppose it’s due in part to the current state of the US economy. The folks who have been recently put out of work are stepping out and trying their hand as entrepreneurs. I love that spirit in the people I meet and their willingness to take risks. The question I am asked very often of late by acquaintances who know my line of business is "Hey Bill, I'm thinking about starting my own business; do you think I need a website?"

Do you want my professional response to this question? Of course you do, -and you should rush right over to our web design and hosting page and purchase a small business web design package (gratuitous plug) today! But seriously, yes, if you are considering a business venture, whether you're a business development professional, a garage mechanic or selling lemonade in front of your home with a cardboard sign; I firmly believe that your business needs a website and you should get at least 3 quotes for web design from 3 local web design companies. It is at about this time that most people who ask that initial question get that glazed look of trepidation in their eyes. Then the floodgate of questions opens up and I do my best to assess their business needs right there in the produce section of Whole Foods or wherever our encounter occurs!

More web hosting questions like...

Do you think I should host my site with ABC Company? They have a hosting package for $1.99 per month and they give me my domain name for free! Two thoughts immediately come to mind for me with this question. First "you get what you pay for" and second, "nothing is free in this world and what you do not pay for in unforeseen service charges you will pay for in frustration." That said, this is what I recommend to my clients. Choose a service provider that you either know and trust personally or will have the opportunity to develop a working relationship with at some form of personal level. When you have trouble with your website, and you will, you want to speak with someone who understands your needs. My reasoning is that nothing is more important to you than your business; it’s like having a child. You want someone who will respond to you and look after your website as if it were their own. I personally have been looking after websites for years and have developed real friendships with many of my clients.

I do not recommend that you register your domain name (www.yourcompany.com) through your web hosting company even if it is free for life! You should always make sure that you register your company website in your own name through Network Solutions. The reason for this is that if you become unhappy with your web hosting company, it can be extremely difficult to get them to release your domain name back to you. With some hosts it can become a very painstaking and bureaucratic process. You will most likely pay more through Network Solutions, I believe they're about $39.95 per year now, but you'll sleep a lot better too.