Choosing The Right SEO Company

Posted on August 26, 2010 by saurav

Many companies are promoting their business Online nowadays. The stampede towards SEO and the lemming-like urge to get a Website has grown massively in last 24 months. In a recession, companies large and small see the Internet as the “magic bullet” for all their business woes.  Getting a website would be the answer to falling sales.  After all, everyone and their dog knows about the impact of the Internet, so clearly the solution is to get a Website and be on the first page of Google no matter what it takes.

So when these anxious businesses (to whom the term SEO may as well mean Senior Executive Officer) are approached by their local SEO company, they say yes to anything! False promises make them believe they can get to the top of Search Engines. They probably do get to the top but for keyphrases which brings them no traffic. When they phone their SEO Company asking why they have not received any enquiries through the Website, the SEO Company had the perfect answer – “Trust us, it will take time.  We have got you to the top for few key phrases as you can see and it’s just the matter of time before you start getting enquiries”.

This standard reply does bring a on their faces for another few weeks. But how much time do you need to wait? Several months may pass and you will still see no business coming through the Website. No company can hold that position for that long and eventually they have to shut down. 

Just like the Internet bubble of a few years ago, companies trading online are not immune to basic rules of business.  The Internet may have a jargon, techniques and practices that are unique, but all the other rules that apply to running an offline business apply equally to trading online.  Here is an example of typical outgoings for small companies:

Here is an example of incoming revenue streams for those same small companies:

Figs 1.1 and 1.2 have approximate values.

Spending money on the wrong SEO company will deliver NADA. Not all SEO companies have the resources and the talent to get competitive key phrases to the top of the rankings, so you will have to choose wisely. A good SEO Company is one that has established its name in the SEO world and also ranks pretty well for their own key phrases (e.g.  SEO, search marketing etc – if they are good at optimising themselves they ought to be pretty good for you too).   Selecting a good SEO company is not rocket science.   Just ask them for examples of their work and references from clients before choosing the one you feel is best for you.

There is a sort of natural selection at work that helps weed out the good from the bad. After 24 months, it’s probable that those SEO companies who can’t deliver won’t exist.   Unfortunately, the businesses that chose those SEO companies are likely to have gone bust too!  Even those businesses hanging on by their fingernails will just not have any money left to spend on their investment because they haven’t got anything back from the Website.  Companies who want to make a profit from their Website tend not to stay with the SEO company that is not getting them any relevant traffic and enquiries. So unless you enjoy the emotion of wanting to kill the SEO company you chose to promote your business, choose wisely, choose carefully and always ask for examples and references.

*This post is not to name and shame anyone, this just provides normal information on why choosing a good SEO can help your business*

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Why do people read?

Posted on August 17, 2010 by saurav

This is a guest post by Maria.

From a very early age I used reading as a form of escapism from the real world, I was enthralled by how forming a few words together the author created a scene, emotions or even a fully fledged character in a few sentences. Over the years I have experienced every sensation through my extensive reading, pain, sadness, joy, humiliation, ecstasy and love. I remember my first encounter with a book; my uncle bought me The Twits by Roald Dhal. I was so young I was not able to read a word. I sat on my bed my sanctuary even then and held the book up to my 4 year old nose and ‘read’ the book upside down and made up the story all the while turning the pages.

Kid reading a book

Growing up is a tumulus experience which you go through and it’s not always easy, transgressing from a child to a teenager to a young adult. Yet I used the library as my haven, engrossing myself in the books there, teaching myself about Greek and Egyptian mythology. I realised I had an unquenchable thirst for reading stories about dragons and magic, and brave knights. True stories about people who had overcome hardship, enabled me to go through their paces mentally and share in their experiences, it humbled me as a person, and I felt awe for what my fellow man could accomplish.

I soon had read every book that was available to me. My school librarian became my friend who knew my tastes, so when I walked into the library she would say ‘oh there is a book for you…’ simple bliss would pass through my mind at those moments. I would start a book eager to get into the story impatient to find out what happened. About halfway through I would look down at the book in my hands and realise that it’s going to end. I would slow my pace down and savour every sentence relishing the prospect of far away kingdoms which my eyes would never see but my mind could explore.

Many times upon reading a book I would cry, loving the story which I will forever remember and which would be a part of me, yet saddened by the prospect that I would never be able to pick up the same book again and be innocent to what secrets it held. Reading to me is more than a past time and a hobby; it’s a part of me, conditioned into me after many years of adoration. From the times when words were written on papyrus to cowhide, and now with our hardback books with colourful illustration on the front page, all are precious to us. To me the smell which u are received by when u walk into a library is one of the most welcoming of all, all those books ready to be picked up and read, to be held close like a lover, and cherished always.

Maria is a SEO engineer who works for a web design company. She also has a huge passion for trampolines as she has lost 3 stones in 3 months using it during the summer. She has always been interested in reading and is in love with the Internet.

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