How to get instant results?
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https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternalYour friend is able to "dominate the first pages of the web very quickly and effectively" because he is ranking for longtail, non-competitive terms. You or anyone else can create a page for such terms and rank #1. There is no skill or special tactics involved. Pick a phrase that no one else on the planet is using, create a page and presto! You will be dominate the first page of search results.
Take a look at the following tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
This tool allows you to view the monthly traffic for a given search term. There is absolutely no traffic at all for the phrase "chicago christmas light installer". Search results are about one thing...competition. Period. If no one is competing for a given term and you want it, the ranking is yours. If someone is willing to spend a million dollars on quality SEO, then you likely can't beat them unless you are either willing to spend more money or spend almost as much but do a better job of managing the money.
Your friend's site also ranks as #2 for "christmas light installer" which is actually not good since he has an exact match domain name. The site doesn't have any incredible SEO secrets applied. There are an estimated 9900 searches a month for "christmas light installer". He has a domain name which includes that phrase, he has optimized the home page for that phrase, and there isn't a lot of competition.
When you try the Keyword Tool search for "Xbox 360 repair" notice how there are 200k+ monthly searches. That's over 20x the search volume. Another issue is the nature of your business. With christmas light installation, clearly a local company is required to visit the home or business. With Xbox 360 and other repairs, it is likely you can service customers from anywhere in the country simply through the mail. Accordingly the competition will be higher.
If there was any magic to SEO, everyone would be doing it. Ignore all the various hyped websites and YouTube videos offering instant results. Understand quality SEO is a package. Ranking #1 on various terms is not impressive. You want to do keyword research to learn which terms will drive the most convertible traffic to your site, then rank for those terms. Once you rank well, the next step is to ensure a high Click Through Rate where users click on your search result. The final step is turning those visitors to your site into customers. All of these steps work together in a quality SEO plan.
The best suggestion I can offer is examine the Beginner's Guide to SEO. It offers the right information and will get you heading in the proper direction.
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Dillon,
All that Ryan says here is true. You have just been given a really expensive consultation for a very small fee comparatively. I am assuming that you have SEOmoz toolbar installed. Do as Ryan says and get the Beginners Guide open and then use the toolbar on the homepage of your site and whatever city pages.../Dallas, /Detroit. Using the beginner's guide start fixing the on page SEO...right after you learn what terms will drive actionable traffic to you (actionable traffic in your case is DADs with Credit Cards dealing with junior's red ring of death).Ryan's best point is this...SEO is a journey not a destination and you have to learn how to every day. There is no way you can short cut this anymore than a physician can get a 3 month medical degree.
On a differing note...you state: "...we are a pioneer at what we do....keep it that way." I would suggest reading a book that has nothing to do with SEO... Blue Ocean Strategy. If after reading it, you believe you are that far ahead of your competition, you likely are.
Best
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I see some room for improvement on the site in general and on the URL that you gave.
From that URL, there are several broken links, including About Us, Blogs, Sponsors, My Account, Unit Status, FAQ, Repair, Reviews, Policies, and Contact Us. When I visit that URL, the only thing I see about Xbox 360 Repair is that headline above the fold. I see some reviews scrolling through from a third party widget, some talking about the PS3 or not even mentioning a product. I get a big list of the people who like you on Facebook, then a huge image saying to visit your Facebook page for 10% off the next purchase or service. If I then scroll, I see what looks like a screenshot from Word with diagnostics for five consoles, but only two of them have any information. Below that, I see that I need to sign up to create a repair inquiry. Down at the very bottom I see I can go to your home page to learn more about your repair service.
So, let's go click that and go to your home page.
Blech. The already dark page dims and I get an auto-playing video that is actually just a compilation of pictures including stock photography. Wait, I'm supposed to learn more here? This page look a lot like the page I was just on. This time the navigation works and I can go to your About Us page. But I keep getting that huge ad to see you on Facebook. Your about us text is in light gray on a dark gray background. I click my back button and go to the home page and that video shows up again and starts playing. Ugh! Back to the home page, look at your trust symbols. I click on the BBB link and it says "This business is not a BBBOnLine participant at this time."
From a technical SEO perspective, you need to get redirects from non-www to www for your site. I noticed the canonical tag there, but you also need the 301 redirect. Get as much out of images as possible. Look to see what the crawlers actually see (since so much of your site is in flash).
The site needs a lot of usability work. One idea for a first-pass at feedback is to talk to your customers that know about you but don't use your website. Offer them the 10% discount you give to your Facebook fans if they'll spend five minutes in your shop browsing your site and giving you their honest reactions.
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Keri, nice "comments" but you can be less harsh. I can certainly say that you can come by as a "you know". There is constructive criticism and then there is just insults and rudeness. I certainly hope you don't deal with customers. I'll take your "thoughts" and look into them and while I'm looking over what you wrote, I'll also be writing a letter over to whomever it gets sent to on my first impressions of this site and its employees which apparently you are one of them.
Not a nice way of introducing someone that is new to the site and just spent $100.00. You definitely need to work on your first impressions and not come off as so rude. Text can be received as quite rude sometimes even if possibly it's not meant to be.
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Dillon, I am shocked at your reply to Keri. What makes SEOmoz special is so many people are willing to take the time to share their knowledge and experience for absolutely free. Keri took the time to visit your site, at your request for feedback, and she clearly spent some time reviewing the feedback, sharing it with you and then providing a list of actionable items.
I recognize the site is your baby. You have clearly put in some time and were hoping for better results. I have to strongly support Keri's reply. I do such not because she works for SEOmoz, but because the information is accurate and it is the type of response I have offered along with several other mozzers in the past. This type of feedback or site review is normally received with praise, a thumbs up and a reply of "thank you so very much! This is exactly why I love SEOmoz so much!"
Some SEOs are upset at the reply because many charge $100+ for exactly that reply, where here it is freely given.
To the best of my knowledge Keri's official role in the Q&A is to moderate it. She went above and beyond that role to offer you personalized feedback. While I spent time offering feedback to you, I didn't spend more then 30 seconds on your site itself. The reply she offered is such an outstanding addition to the reply I shared, and was so generous I can't stand the thought of any poster receiving negative feedback for it.
SEOmoz offers a TAGFEE environment. If I was to review Keri's reply I guess she did miss expressing Empathy, but it is just so disappointing to see you this upset when she so clearly went above and beyond for you. I hope you reconsider your feelings on this matter and the reply you offered.
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Ok, well I have to say that I wasn't the only one that felt it came across rude. As I said, I'll consider what was said but there is a way better way to express your opinions especially in a professional environment. "Blech", "Ugh!", and comments made are just not necessary when trying to give constructive criticism. Ryan and Robert's posts are great examples of professionalism and comend you on the time of just replying to my posting and pointing me in the right direction.
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Dillon, I started writing this before I saw Ryan's follow up.
Being from the deep South, I can understand how you could see Keri's comments as "harsh, insults, rudeness." But, as a guy who has had Keri point out something I have missed in responding, there is absolutely no intent behind it.
Keri was not passing judgement. She was offering criticism. To me, it was massively constructive. Unfortunately, many believe that 'constructive criticism' means ok tell me the truth but preface it with you really are a smart, good looking guy, but.....
Between what Ryan provided you (rough consultation value $500 to $1000 minimum), and what Keri provided you (extensive site analysis - value $750 t $1500), you minimally received $1250 worth of work for the price of admission to Q and A. Sorry, you did not get anything to make you feel better.
Please take this from a guy who is likely a bit older than you and who ran trauma centers: "I would rather come into an ER and be treated by a total ass.... who is the best ER surgeon in the world, than to get the guy who gets by being an adequate surgeon but is really nice to people.
People answering your questions are giving you their time. For Keri, she does not even get the mozpoints, for Ryan, having ascended to Olympus, well he gets too damn many. They do it because of their passion for SEO and for their passion for those of us who come asking for help. Really.
Stay on board, learn from these guys, kick ass with your site, your service, and your product. (BTW, I got the red ring of death, used you tube to fix it and was wondering if you could sell me a used XBOX - really.)All the best,
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HI Dillon,
I'm so sorry that I came across as harsh and rude. That certainly was not my intention, and I do apologize. In retrospect, I can see how that could have happened, and will work to make sure it doesn't happen again. As Ryan and Robert have mentioned, I am quite active in Q&A and usually leave a much better impression than this. I'm sorry you received this impression, especially as a brand new user.
Keri Morgret
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