I wrote a post a few months ago about wanting to rank page 1 in Google for a series of keywords including SEO Malta, Malta Seo, Seo Malta Blog and Seo Blog Malta. I stated my goals publicly and it started a bit of commotion. Kaizen Log, another Maltese Seo guy wanted to compete with me, there was my buddy Andre from Madicted and now I recently was pointed to a post mentioning me by SEO Ibiza.
The post by SEO Ibiza is more of a bash on the local SEO Industry and while I was writing a reply to the blog post, it was getting too long so I decided to write a reply on my blog.
Here is my reply to SEO Ibiza:
First off thanks for linking to my blog.
Even though your post is a bash on the SEO Industry in Malta (if there is such a thing), I have to agree with you. There is a common myth perpetuated throughout Maltese Web Development companies that Search Engine Submission is SEO. Clearly they have no clue what they are talking about.
If you’ve been doing SEO, you must have encountered clients who say they have hired an SEO company without seeing any results. Some also give the impression that it will take from 6 months to a year to see results. SEO is not a magic sauce, SEO is a way of publishing and linking web pages and websites in a smart way that users and search engines alike benefit from the experience. This of course doesn’t just happen in Malta, I’ve recently helped out a client who had a firm based in the UK who stuffed his site with keywords like it was thanks giving turkey for 30 people.
SEO Company’s come in many forms,shapes and sizes, a lot of whom are just snake oil salesmen, who sell something of no value and guarantee no results just because it’s profitable. When there is profit to be made, there will be immitators who want a chunk of the pie.
If you offer the great services you allegedly do, and have such a work overload that you tell companies that they’re not a good fit for you, you shouldn’t have to worry about the smaller competition.
I love competition, the more competition the healthier the market. If you can’t take it, you’re in the wrong business.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for link. I am not an SEO person (so my challenge was nothing serious) even though I try to keep updated as much as possible.
BTW do you have a Twitter a/c?
I agree with the state of SEO in Malta. However it is difficult to reach SEO level when some (most?) SME’s do not even have a site.
It’s good that you keep yourself updated and I know the challenge wasn’t to the death, but the bigger the challenge, the better you become
I am happy to see Maltese interested and eager to learn SEO and SEM, and I will do whatever I can to help you guys out.
If they don’t have a website, they shouldn’t be doing SEO. If they have a PR of 0, they shouldn’t do SEO, if they don’t have a track record, they shouldn’t be doing SEO. I do not actively seek clients to do SEO and SEM work in Malta for that reason, although it doesn’t mean I refuse when they find me!
My Twitter account is http://www.twitter.com/BonsaiJon.
Hi Jon
it’s good to see you taking it as it was intended, i.e. a little fun and healthy competition.
we always try to stay light hearted about the whole thing, there’s too many people take life a bit too seriously..
our posts aren’t really bashing SEO in Malta in general, more just one particular web designer we encountered there, and one company purporting to be doing SEO on a site (their links say so, on the client site) which has all identical page titles on the same site.
not really SEO as we’d recognise it eh? and re the SEO Malta challenge well, yes, we thought we’d give you some proper competition to have to get past
good luck and happy new year
kev grant @ SEO Ibiza
ps we’ve also been stating our goals publicly and then achieving them since the site was launched in Nov 07
..keep up the good work.
Hi Kev,
I understood where you were going with the post and like I said in my post I agree to what you were saying.
As far as competition goes I thank you since I needed it. I need to know how a new blog with no keywords in the domain with minor keyword stuffing and minimal link building would keep up against an already established website.
It was also a test to know how quickly SERPS may die, with a little slacking off.
I hope you keep reading my blog. Have a good day Kev
Jonathan
good read thanks.
Thanks Jon, and I will keep reading, I have to say how it good it looks now with the new theme and content (I always liked Thesis, it’s a winner) and today, you’re #3
if you email me on the email address here I may have a Maltese client looking for a good local SEO firm for you.
kev grant