Many businesses fall prey to deceptive advertising and end up paying good money for poor results. With so many companies offering top 10 positions, guaranteed results and more we’ve listed 10 things to look out for before engaging an SEO company.

1. Be wary of self proclaimed “Number 1″ SEO companies. Such companies tend to use aggressive sales tactics to attract unwary clients. Their websites will display pages optimised for phrases such as “Number 1 SEO Company in London, Edinburgh, UK” etc. The simple fact is that there is no such thing as a Number 1 SEO company. There is no league table and these are nothing but deceptive advertising claims designed to hook you in.

2. Be wary of companies who publish deceptive number 1 results for their clients. Often these companies will display results for their clients on phrases that are very poor or required no SEO to achieve. These phrases often include brand names or product names.

For example:

“Acme company christmas candles” – this phrase requires no skill to rank number 1

whereas

“christmas candles” requires a lot of skill to rank number 1.

3. Be wary of the “big” SEO companies. Often they will have you believe that because they’re big they’re better. The simple fact is that size does not matter at all in SEO, it’s results that count!

Often, big companies are only interested in big clients and most definitely big fees. Big fees have to finance big overheads and big salaries. Big SEO companies also have high staff turnover and unless you’re a big client you can be just a number so service levels may not be what you would expect.

We have regularly produced better results for our clients, many of whom have had previous experiences with big companies. Our fees are on average 50% lower than the big SEOS so ask yourself – why pay twice as much for the same results?

4. Be wary of self proclaimed “original” SEO companies.

There are countless so called SEO companies claiming to have been doing SEO since 1995 so it’s safe to brush aside such claims. Google didn’t emerge in any capacity till around 1998 and the term Search Engine Optimisation wasn’t even coined till around 1997. In Scotland the internet was fledgling and very few companies were offereing SEO at all – we should know – we knew who our competitors were.

The fact remains that many of these self proclaimed original SEO companies were nothing more than web design companies who jumped on the SEO bandwagon around 2001 when SEO became popular. Bear in mind too, that some of these old hands are still using outdated SEO techniques.

5. Beware of SEO firms displaying awards, accreditations and other accolades. These are entirely deceptive and have nothing whatsoever to do with any professional standard. SEO is as yet an unregulated industry with no officially recognised body. Accreditations can be bought and even Google accreditation does not mean good SEO. Remember this – Google is still a commercial company with a secret algorithim. They are not an officially recognised institute such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants so Google accreditation does not mean quality SEO. Many of the best SEO companies have no accreditation whatsoever – they just get great results.

6. Avoid any company giving guaranteed results. No one (except Google, Yahoo etc) can guarantee a result.

7. Avoid any company claiming to know or have cracked the Google algorithim. No one except Google knows this.

8. Avoid any SEO company who guarantees you specific traffic. No one can guarantee you specific traffic.

9. Avoid any company who guarantees sales/conversions. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink as they say. No one can guarantee sales or conversions.

10. Avoid at all costs any SEO firm who offers you a set package. Even two companies selling the same product will require different levels of SEO.

Meta Descriptions and their uses.

Meta descriptions are special tags in the code of a web page. They are used to describe the contents of that web page and for the purposes of Google they should be approximately 160 characters long. Now…when we say for the purposes of Google it should be noted that Google does not use Meta Descriptions to rank pages. These are purely optional and Google “may” decide to use them in it’s listings when describing your web page. 

Clearly if Google doesn’t need them then what’s the point in using them at all? Some argue that use of the Meta Description tag can be used to “control” what Google displays about your web page and your click through rates will improve as a result of this. This stems from many claims that by adding your trophy key phrases in the Meta description it is more appealing to the searcher and they are more likely to click through to your web page – thereby increasing click through rates. There may be a very few instances where this may be true but in the vast majority of cases this is a mistake. Why? Because Google derives it’s descriptions from several sources – some information may be taken from the meta description, some from the page content and some from your dmoz.org listing (if you have one).

From these, its algorithim decides what the best description is for any given web page and it may include a description that includes elements from all three sources.

When it’s best not to use the meta description tag

Let’s illustrate things with this example for a plumber’s website.

Meta Description – “Acme Plumbers based in Mytown for 10 years. Best Plumbers in the area Call us on 0207 111 1111″
Page Content – “Acme plumbers are a long established award winning company.We fit boilers, radiators, gas central heating and are BS9000 registered. We work to the highest plumbing standards and all our time served plumbers are qualified to BS5750 and above. We serve in areas throughout mytown and the surrounding distrcts etc., etc.”

From the above web page, the forced inclusion of the meta description poses a problem in that it reduces the potential for longtail keyphrases to be included in the Google description. As mentioned before, the length of the meta description that Google reads is only 160 characters and it is extremely difficult to write an effective meta description that includes all your possible longtail phrases – impossible in the majority of cases.

By including the meta description in the above web page the plumber has also allowed Google to include this in its listings description so it may appear like below;

Acme plumbers – Mytown, My Country [Title]
Acme Plumbers based in Mytown for 10 years. Best Plumbers in the area Call us on 0207 111 1111 [Meta Description]

This effectively reduces the number of keywords;
plumbers mytown
Acme plumbers
plumbers mytown area

If however, you exclude the meta description you “force” Google to obtain a description from the page content and the result may look like this. This expands the potential for matching your trophy keywords with a large number of longtail query matches.

Acme plumbers – Mytown, My Country [Title]
Acme plumbers…boilers, radiators, plumbing to ISO 9000…plumbers throughout mytown and district. [Meta Description]

keyphrases for above would be;
plumbers mytown
Acme plumbers
plumbers mytown radiators
plumbers cerified iso9000
plumbing boilers mytown bs5750
plumbers to fit central heating
etc.
etc.
etc.

Remember, when Google displays results, it bolds the keywords and key phrases the user search for. Think longtail combinations and potential for click throughs based on the non meta description scenario. It’s also worth remembering that whilst it’s possible that Google’s algorithim may ignore your meta description entirely and scrape the content from your page, it’s not really something you should rely on.

Blogs, sites with hundreds of pages and shopping website that contain large product catalogs are the type of site that we would not recommend using meta descriptions. Such sites typically benefit from longtail searches. For example, product catalogs normally contain excellent snippets of information about the product in the first paragraph so why go and spoil things by including meta descriptions?

Times when you may wish to include meta descriptions.

Typically if you were targetting a 2-3 word key phrase then it may be that a meta description would work. If you don’t have any content relevant within your page or relevant to the search term then a meta description tag may also help. A single page website made in Flash would benefit from a meta description. Good examples.

A meta description may account for better click throughs if it is a “better” description than that of the other descriptions in the listings but this requires more evidence (eye tracking tests have shown the title tag to be the most effective in search engine listings).

Conclusion

If you’re hell bent on settling the debate for yourself you could always try split testing to see which pages give the best click throughs, but we feel it’s more effort than it’s worth. At the end of the day you’re after the best click through rates. Keywords can help this greatly but the problem is that you don’t always know what keywords people are searching on. Our feet are planted in the “leave them out” camp and let Google figure out the best descriptions. Good luck.

We’ve provided 25 great tips for natural linkbuilding which will go hand in had with the SEO of your website. The observant amongst you will spot the obvious

1. Get social media bookmarking icons on your web pages.(Just like the ones at the bottom of this article)

2. Add FAQs, Glossaries etc to your website – people can’t resist linking to these things and they can appear on social media sites like Digg.

3. Write a few “10 easy/top/best tips to help you…” type articles and post them on your site. Think how many people search for “wedding tips”, “dieting tips” and so on. People can’t resist bookmarking and linking to these.

4. Upload a page with loads of resources on a specific subject. People will link to this.

For example – on our website we have the http://www.breezemedia.co.uk/2008/11/13/wordpress-ping-blogging-list/
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5. Draw up a 10 popular myths list. People can’t resist linking to these things.

6. Post a list of the top 10 experts in a subject like “top 10 pizza chefs in Edinburgh”. Flattery alone can get people linking back to you.

7. Put a picture of you on an every article – it gives more trust.

8. Submit to article sites such as EzineArticles, GoArticles etc. NOTE: Place your own article on your own website for a few weeks before doing so. This allows search engines to index your site as the originator of the content.

10. Submit an article to a news site in your marketplace.

11. GIVE AWAY FREE STUFF. If you sell photographs, give away some free images for people to use with no restrictions other than a link back. If you sell websites – give away free templates – make sure they link back to your website. Add the creative commons licence at the footer.

12. Syndicate a news release. Make it exciting, compelling and email it to a reputable news reporter or journalist.

13. Offer an exclusive to a journalist, local newspaper.Track who picks up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content.

15. Sponsor an article on a university website, chambers of commerce, local government or tourism site. Dot gov, .org .ac.uk sites hold a lot of weight as authorities. A link back from one of these can be great for your site.

16. Write an article for websites like the BBC – very very difficult to get listed but if you can get a link back it can be great for your website. Say you are a great chef and have a great recipe then you never know your luck.15. Email a few friends when you have important relevant news asking them for their feedback and/or if they would mind referencing it if they find your information useful.

17. Conduct surveys on your website. This in addition to getting links back is also free marketing research!

18. Run a competition – win a prize etc.

19. Create a forum.

20. Create a directory.

21. Look at the other sites and  see what “gossip” is spreading – make comments, stir things up or contribute positively – all good link attractors. Your site may get listed from these authorities.

22. Run an affiliate scheme – whilst the links may not get much SEO value back they still expose your site to more traffic and you can get secondary links as a result.

23. Add stuff to craigslist.

24. Answer tech questions on forums,blogs and groups websites and provide a link.

25. Start all over again and never give up.

Did you spot it?

Some notes on links:

The Link
Equally as important as the back link itself is the actual content of the back link.

If your anchor text is “buy blue widgets” and the resulting page is a site about “buy red widgets” then think again. This type of “gaming” won’t do you any favours because search engine algorithims now eliminate in order to provide relevant and genuine results for the end user.

Use buffer keywords

Say my prime phrase was “blue widgets” the desire would be to create a back link that said “blue widgets”. The smart way is to use a buffer word such as “buy blue widgets” or “hire blue widgets”.

This can help avoid any potential “red flags” the search engine algorithim has in place and it also helps to a degree in SEO for longtail key phrases.

A great example would be (key words in bold)

“quality blue widgets designed” or  “Get cheap blue widgets now”

The UK Stag and Hen marketplace is fairly competitive so breaking into this market was serious challenge. Add to this the economic downturn which added to the difficulty but undeterred, we set the wheels in motion and started turning things round. In just over 3 months traffic increased to over 20,000 new visitors with 90% of this coming from Google organic results.

The Brief

• Target Stag & Hen Marketplace
• Increase visitor %
• Increase Google listing for selected Key phrases

The Campaign

• Social Media Bookmarking and seeding
• Google Local
• Onpage Optimisation
• Article production and distribution

The Results

Interim results for the first 3 months showed a dramatic increase in search traffic with considerable increase in enquiries.

What’s coming up

Redesign to new funky layout. Heatmapping and A/B split testing to fine tune the new designfor maximum conversion. PPC strategy and ongoing improvment.

Want more traffic and increased sales from your website? What are you waiting for? Give us a call on 0131 331 4649 or fill in our form below.

The old website was based on a 50’s style American classic cars theme.  It was considered to be unusual for a search engine marketing company to have a well designed website and it even surprised us how many people complemented us on the design . Whilst we loved producing the design we never thought it would attract as much attention – clearly we got something right.

We’ve now rebranded the web design arm of the company and if you are looking for web design then please visit our new web design website. It’s being developed slowly so excuse us whilst we tidy up. It should be fully fledged in the new year

Meantime, we hope you like the reintroduction of the old site.

Ceratinly, the SEO service industry, just like any industry has its fair share of scams and rip offs but this does not mean that all SEOs are ‘highway robbers’.

This article (we hope) should give a little insight into good SEO practices and help you avoid falling foul of the ‘masked bandits’.

The “scam” defined…

It works roughly as follows:

• SEO Company guarantees client a “Top 10 Position on Google”
• Client appoints SEO company to get their website listed on the search engines
• SEO ties the client into an optimisation plus monthly fee contract
• SEO optimises website for low level key words/low competition phrases
• SEO tells client they need to keep adjusting keywords each month
• SEO (sometimes) tweaks these keywords/phrases
• SEO sends monthly website report to client
• SEO charges monthly fees (e.g. £200 – £500 pm) for “updates and maintenance”

The SEO may have performed the optimisation and obtained the “guaranteed” result on Google but has most likely used low competition key phrases to achieve this. For example they will use keywords such as the owners business name (the most common keyword mistake) or esoteric inhouse terminology such as “widget model v1.1 repairs”. Easy meat.

By ranking the site for phrases nobody wants the site can stay on Page 1 of Google for years to come. The SEO knows this and can impress the client each month in the monthly ranking reports. This is great for the SEO because they can earn monthly fees for literally pressing a button and therein lies the scam!

Monthly fees are NOT a rip off!

In order to calculate monthly fees the SEO has to evaluate the overall campaign goals. The first and most valuable part of any SEO campaign is the setup fee or initial consultation of the website. This is a skilled SEO service where you will learn everything about your website, your competitors, your goals and targets. This information is worth its weight in gold and not be be undervalued, so expect to pay fees anywhere from £500- £25,000 for this service. (Some large companies will pay a lot more!)

As part of your setup your SEO Company will tell you what services you require - whether it be PPC management, web page optimisation, display advertising, affiliate marketing etc. They will also advise you on the level of monthly “maintenance” required (if any) to achieve your goals. The fees themselves can be for services such as uploading daily data feeds to Google Base, analysing your visitors, spotting trends, making adjustments, performing a/b tests or analysing heat maps. These services are highly skilled and often too much for most companies to perform inhouse. Depending on the website, fees can range from £100 – £10,000 per month and rest assured they’re not figures plucked out of the air! They are carefully calculated towards the returns (ROR’s) on your campaign. So basically the SEOs are putting themselves on the line for your company.

How to select the best SEO company for your campaign? 

Look at their work and the length of time they have been trading. Look at their clients and the testimonials they provide. Look at their results and the competitiveness of their key phrases. Then look at the websites they optimise. Are you enticed to buy from such websites? A good internet marketing company will have all these on hand for you to examine from their website.

When you obtain advice at the initial consultation make sure to ask what’s involved in the monthly fees. If you have a brochure website and do not expect to sell products then it is unlikely you will need any maintenance – your SEO company will tell you this. If on the other hand you sell products in a competitive marketplace then it’s certain that you will need additional services to achieve your goals.

A carefully planned monthly campaign will bring good results and decent returns.

So what is Google analytics (GA) ring fencing?

Basically, its when your SEO Company registers your website on a free Google Analytics account but denies you access to that same account. Your website could be stored on a single account or a parent account with up to 50 other websites.

Here’s how it works:

Your SEO company contracts to provide you with monthly reports as part of your SEO package. They add your website to a GA account then place some Google tracking code on your website. After a week or so you receive your first report (usually by email). However the problems arise later when you ask for access to your online reports. You make your request only to be told your reports are “confidential”, “too complex” or you could “view the reports of other clients”. Hence your data has been “ring fenced”.

Why it benefits the SEO company.

This benefits the SEO company because they can lock you into their services in the following ways: 

• You can only obtain the reports from the SEO company
• You have to rely on the SEO Company for technical expertise on your data

but there are darker sides that benefit them such as:  

• They get to charge you fees for generating the (free) report
• They can threaten you with losing your historical data if you…
  • stop using their services
  • move your SEO to another company
• Tell you can lose your rankings (yes some actually say this!)

Conclusion

Any ethical SEO company should provide you with your own analytics account to which you can access your data any time. They will not charge you fees for reports but a small fee to set up the account is reaonable. They will not make claims about losing historical data or losing your rankings.The data if free and it is yours!

It is fair however to be charged for analysis of these reports and any adjustments to your website. The reports provide valuable data aimed at professionals which can be used to improve the performance of your website.

If your SEO Company is ring fencing your GA account then perhaps its time to look for alternatives.

1. seo scotland
2. search engine optimisation scotland

We used to target phrase number 1 some time ago but we decided to shift our efforts towards more productive terms. SEO is an acronym for ” search engine optimisation ” and over time we discovered it was used more by geeks and other SEO’s than potential new clients.

We used to rank equally for both the above phrases and we always asked any new enquiry what phrase was used to find us.  We checked the phrases against our stats logs and saw that only 5% of phone and email enquiries arrived via the acronym based search phrase. A further analysis showed that many of the click-throughs from the “SEO scotland” search phrase were actually from the same daily visitors (IP addresses). So unless there are a whole bunch of companies too shy to contact us then it’s reasonable to assume that it’s our competitors checking us out. 

As a search engine optimisation company we want to attract “buyer traffic” as opposed to “tyre kicker” traffic and for this reason we shifted our focus onto more productive terms.  (Incidentally, we use this expertise in all our client projects no matter what the industry to ensure the traffic is targeted and productive)

This is very useful information for any company to take onboard and we strongly recommend that you keep a record of what key phrases your new customers are using and check this against your website statistics.  It could very well pay extra dividends for your business.

What interested us was that we were amongst the “elite” for key phrases we have never targetted so this got us thinking. What would happen if we did target these key phrases? Would we succeed? Of course we will!

Now all this is just frivolous fun on our part and completely tongue in cheek. It’s not a dig at any other reputable SEO company in Scotland – it’s just fun – pure and simple. If anything we recognise the high quality of our competitors so let the games begin!

Firstly, the key phrases are, Regional (Scotland), UK and International accross Google, Yahoo & MSN (Although we’ll only be targetting Google)

SEO Scotland
SEO Company Scotland
Search Engine Optimisation Scotland
SEO Services Scotland
Website Promotion Scotland

For UK & International – drop the “Scotland” from the above.

So how do we go about all this? Ah…that’s our little secret! We can’t let the competition now what we’re up to after all. We’re going to quietly demonstrate who really is the best seo company in Scotland.