Searching for Profit is a search and marketing communications consultancy owned by Amanda Watlington, Ph.D. A renowned expert in the search industry, she has developed patent-pending tools and methodologies for search marketing and is an authority on query behavior, query construction and "the psychology of search". Her company focuses on integrating a solid SEO strategy into an overall marketing program, which (as we all know) is much more difficult than one might think. This behind-the-scenes heavyweight is a frequent author of SEO-related articles and a valuable contributor of marketing perspective to the industry.
Barry Schwartz (aka "RustyBrick") is the President of RustyBrick, a Web services firm specializing in customized online technology. He is also the highly respected editor of Search Engine Roundtable and a moderator at the forums of SEO Chat, Search Engine Watch and Cre8asite, which are all well worth a frequent visit. At this site he showcases his firm's services and also provides a few handy SEO tools, including a Google Link Popularity Analysis tool, a Keyword Position Checker and a Google PageRank Prediction tool.
Bruce Clay's site is rich with expert commentary on the entire process of optimization, from search engine marketing strategy to SEO and promotion tactics for a site that needs a search engine boost. You'll also find no-cost and fee-based tools such as keyword density analyzers and competition ranking reports. No SEO maven should be without his industry-beloved Search Engine Relationship Chart, which is a complimentary PDF suitable for color printing (just the thing for that bare spot on your wall) that tracks the myriad, murky and ever-changing relationships between search engines and directories.
KeyRelevance is a highly-regarded SEM firm and president Christine Churchill is the guru behind it. Industry oldsters may recognize her name from her previous role as Director of Web Development at NetMechanic, where she was the expert for their Search Engine Power Pack and HTML Toolbox, the toolkit used by many search engine optimizers. Or you might run across her in her role as Associate Editor for Mike Grehan's e-marketing-news. Take advantage of her experience and learnings posted at this site in the form of insightful articles on ethical search engine marketing tips, techniques and trends.
Where can you find Danny Sullivan when he's not wearing his hat as editor of Search Engine Watch? This guru, who is sometimes called the "father of SEO", heads up Calafia Consulting, which provides Internet and Web consulting services including search engine submission, Internet publicity, link building, website conception and development, website log analysis and general training. Danny has been covering search engines since late 1995, when he undertook a study of how they indexed Web pages. That study, along with tips and information, was all published online as "A Webmaster's Guide To Search Engines." In turn, the guide developed into Search Engine Watch. And the rest is history. Search Engine Watch is a must-read resource if you're interested in SEO. Visit the site to peruse the gazillions of articles and resources on the subject, or sign up for the daily or monthly email newsletters... or avail yourself of a membership to access even more information.
This whitepaper discusses the factors behind the decline in traditional marketing and shows the reasons why marketing professionals are investing in interactive marketing efforts.
This innovative firm, headed by Greg Jarboe and Jamie O'Donnell, combines search engine optimization with PR Web's press release distribution services. Press releases and other PR materials are an underutilized "sweet spot" for keyword optimization, and doing something strategic about them can really help website rankings, press response and your business. Publisher Larry Chase utilized their services and revealed that just watching them was a learning experience (no small praise from a highly skeptical Internet marketing veteran of 12 years). They optimized his release for RSS feeds, blogs, news searches and search engine spiders -- and the results were outstanding. They then followed up with a Powerpoint presentation that summarized which terms were getting picked up and what rankings they were able to deliver by selected keyword in major search engines and news services. In Larry's words, "they have it down to a science," and you can learn more about their services and their five-step process to drive traffic to your site right here.
This site is run by well-known search engine optimization copywriting expert Heather Lloyd-Martin and technical SEO expert Detlev Johnson, and it's a repository of goodies for those searching for SEO knowledge. There you'll find excerpts from Heather's book, "Successful Search Engine Copywriting" (a complete best-practices guide to writing for search engines) as well as many other copywriting-focused articles. And on the flip side, you will also find a wealth of technical search engine optimization techniques by Detlev Johnson, including a no-cost eguide and a landing page and PPC resource list.
Internet consultant Mike Grehan has the perfect job. He wanders around speaking with those "behind the velvet curtains" of the world's leading search engines. Somehow, over peanuts and margaritas, he seems to always discover the real insider scoop you need to know to work the engines to your best advantage. He then shares this essential information with you in lengthy yet highly entertaining monthly diatribes in his complimentary newsletter. As author of the best-selling "Search Engine Marketing: The Essential Best Practice Guide" he knows what he's talking about. A must-read.
Who is behind the SEOGUY site we've reviewed over the years? The man behind the curtain is Morgan Carey, SEO consultant and optimization expert. You've seen his postings, perhaps, on SEOChat, where he is a senior moderator, plus he is SEO Author for The Search Engine Roundtable. He also is the wizard behind this incredibly useful site, which is jam-packed with tools like spider simulators and PageRank checkers. According to Morgan, "In my spare time I spend hours testing theories around all aspects SEO, including how javascript affects PR distribution, how density and proximity affect onpage criteria in the constantly updated Google algorithm, and of course offering my free SEO consulting..." Say what? That's right, in his very own SEO Forum, you will find an incredibly active universe of SEO experts sharing tips and techniques, including the highly accessible SEOGUY himself. As a matter of fact, you can ask for a no-cost critique of the SEO you've done on your own site if you follow Morgan's simple rules. To find out more, visit the site.
This free tool measures the marketing effectiveness of your website. Based on traffic, SEO, social popularity and technical factors receive a score and improvement advice.