House of Tan

Who is the best SEO person or firm you have worked with that was not full of hype? Was the price good? Fair?

Have you used more than one firm or individual?

What benchmarks did you/they set?

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Brian Aviva Lab

We talked to Search Transparency in Boston, and they were pretty good. We didn't get a price estimate, but from what we've heard they are not that expensive.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure where you are and I think they may concentrate locally, but maybe not given the modern era we live in.

http://www.searchtransparencysem.com/index.html

Also: they have a pretty nice before/after page that could give you ideas without even talking to them!

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Brian Petersen
Aviva Labs,Organic Spray Tanning.

uts-sj

I noticed around October 2012 that local google results began to cannabalize google organic results or vice versa. And it just so happens that google did an algorithm change at the same time. There were a few work arounds (i.e. you could change your 'homepage' to an internal page, etc.).

Then again around the same time this year (2013), search results began to align closer to pre-Oct 2012 results. In other words, local and organic were more harmonious. I assume Google made some more changes.

For my situation, the cannablization affected all tanning salons in my area equally, so I really didn't sweat it that much, but I could see where this last year could have been frustrating for other areas.

My question is: do you think SEO can really help you that much with google making mysterious changes? Just an example, now they don't recommend tags on pages because google doesn't like that. It's a tricky mindfield in my opinion.

House of Tan

@ UTS-sj, this is why I posted this. I have done very well with my rankings, even when Google drops another animal into the net (Panda). But recently I started a downward trend on unique visits to my main site. My other sites are doing what would be expected, so it is just this one web-site. I am clueless at this point, not giving in; just looking to reach out to more experienced SEO people.

What concerns me is: With all the new regulations all the time, it is easy for even a fairly good SEO optimizer to make a few changes that end up getting you knocked down a few spots or even black listed.

I want to make sure if I seek outside help with this that I make a wise decision.

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wasahobo

House can you PM me a link to your site?

Have you set up a Google+ Page? Did you update / add your info to Google Maps? Is your site responsive / Mobile ready?

Google is going local, and you do NOT need to pay big bucks (or any if you take like an hour out of your day) to get your salon on the front page. When you search on Google for "Tanning Salon" it searches local first. If your information is not online, then it skips right over you.

Are your using your Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Etc. to direct people to your website? Visitors matter in your rankings so use what you got!

Brian Aviva Lab

Just a quick tip that you might already know when trying out the SEO of your business: clear your search history or Google will anticipate what you're trying to find and your business will come up more frequently than it normally would (because you go to it more often than other business sites).

House of Tan: I assume you do, but do you have cross-connections between your websites? Making them all link to each other, link to other things, etc? This can increase your SEO dramatically because your sites will be seen as "more important" because there are more websites linked to it.

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Brian Petersen
Aviva Labs,Organic Spray Tanning.

House of Tan

All great feedback

Thank you

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wasahobo

Clearing your search history wont make any difference for anyone but the person doing it. Your search results are going to be based on the details. How well the results relate to the search you made.

Your search history will only make frequently visited websites that RELATE to the search show higher. Unless your customers are clicking on your competitors websites very often, it wont make a difference.

Brian Aviva Lab

Wasahobo; if you are making changes to your website to increase SEO and were "Googling" yourself to check how it improved: if you are doing this on your computer and then also "Googling" yourself on your computer, it will dramatically affect the results of the search. You will often come up on the first page--that doesn't mean that you have increased your SEO, only that Google recognizes your own preferences attached to your computer's IP Address. So if you clear your search history then you will have an accurate portrayal of your website's SEO/popularity on Google.

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Brian Petersen
Aviva Labs,Organic Spray Tanning.

House of Tan

I have found what Brian said to be true, also IMO, clearing (even using a program like Crap Cleaner) does not work either; as if your IP is registered to be bias.

I do had everyone in a roundtable I am in do a search for some terms and while most were consistent, the results varied from mine. All good for the most part, I was ranking my top 2 sites in the top 3 for most search terms; many times #1.

However I still see a downward trend with one site and an upward with the other. Could I be cannibalizing one site with the other?

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