The SEO game… I'm all in
- If you're like me, you cringe when you get pocket aces playing texas hold'em.
For a while now I've been playing, and learning, with SEO as a kind of experiment. I like to think of myself as tech savvy- I've built over 20 computers from scratch, embraced the Internet, and manage seven different websites learning to code HTML on a text editor. I’ve switched over to Macs after years as a PC guy embracing all things Apple, and I keep up on tech listening to podcasts like Macbreakweekly and TWIT by Leo Laporte on my commute to work.
I thought I was doing all the things right. In a sense I was, I had all the major things covered:
- I switched my website from flash to a WordPress template (it even has SEO plugins).
- I was creating quality original content for my website.
- I dove into all things social, as in social media,
- Facebook page for the company
- A Twitter account that would cross tweet my posts.
- Google+
I thought I was doing everything right but I was missing one key ingredient. It turns out that ingredient was SEO.
Santa Clarita SEO
A colleague of mine received an email invitation to attend a meet-up. He was unable to attend and forwarded me the invitation because he thought I may be interested. To say I was skeptical is a little bit of an understatement. After all I thought I knew what I was doing; I manage seven websites after all!
The meet up
I've never been to a meet-up before and frankly I was expecting a sales pitch. Looking at the invitation I saw the owner of an SEO company trying to sell his product to a bunch of new, eager customers or clients. I don't mind admitting when I'm wrong (don't tell my wife). The meet up location was being held at the Intero realtors’ office (one of the sponsors), again a red flag for me thinking a sales pitch was coming. And, wrong again.
Meet Chaz Key
Chaz Key is the owner and principal at http://nineeye.com. To say Chaz is passionate about SEO is an understatement. To quote him" I am a local SEO here in Los Angeles. I love to write and express myself. Using the power of the internet to educate and motivate. Don't forget to connect with any of the Social Media Sites! The internet is more than just a platform to make money, the internet is a voice to be heard... Chaz Key". Chaz is a dynamic speaker and his enthusiasm is contagious. He immediately expelled any misconceptions that I had about this meetup being a sales pitch by establishing ground rules.
Rule #1: no pitching this group is here to learn and share ideas if you want to sell something come early or stay late.
Rule #2: Frankly I don't remember what rule number two was because I was so surprised by rule number one.
Another thing that added to Chaz's credibility, at least in my eyes, was his statement that he was going to share his knowledge with the group… it was up to us to implement that knowledge. He would give us the tools we would have to use them.
So what is the secret sauce in SEO?
The secret is… There is no magic. There is no secret. Understanding SEO can be summed up like this: Attention to Detail. The light bulb went on for me about 15 minutes into Chaz's first presentation. I understood that I was doing all the major components right and basically got the SEO concept right away. You could have the best website in the world but it does no good if no one knows about it. Mind blown. I had put so much time and effort in designing my website for me making sure it made sense to me. The layout, structure and design; I had not considered my target audience, which certainly lacks the knowledge of all the great things that I am trying to show them.
What Chaz Key has figured out is how to channel in and direct search engines like Google and Bing to connect people to the things they are looking for; and he was sharing it with us.
Results!
After the very first meet up I was motivated to start implementing what I'd learned. I knew I had huge gaps on my pages and posts (again the details). What encouraged me was Chaz's enthusiasm, so I set right to work. I immediately saw positive results. As you can see from the images I still have a ways to go, but I can't argue with success. SEO works. After every meet-up, I find more and more that I can do to fine-tune my website and increase my page rank.
- You can see the before (left) and the immediate results once I started using SEO.
- Less than 30 days of using SEO techniques, impressions are up in Google 1700%
So, if you're looking to learn about SEO in Santa Clarita; I would highly recommend you join SEO Made Easy meetup group hosted by Chaz Key and Anthony Franck. Take a chance, if you're like me when I first saw the invite I thought “I've got nothing to lose but everything to gain.” I was RIGHT
Article: The SEO Game, I'm All in
Article Source: EJB Consulting, LLC
Author:Follow Eric on Google+
Resources: NineEye, Meetup.com
