2007: The Year of Organic Search
Visits to Tech Hubs for Updates on the Tech Boom
Tech Boom in Washington D.C.
I’ve visited some tech hubs this year, beginning on January 3rd, when I spent some time in Washington D.C. speaking to a partner at Tech Assist. This wireless communication company also has a burgeoning web site development department. I was discussing the possibility of our firm partnering with the web site development department to offer web site writing and web site promotion services to their client base.
Tech Assist was interested in offering search engine marketing plans to their clients. However, like many tech companies, Tech Assist had some organization and expansion issues to deal with first. Speaking to a partner at Tech Assist is where I first caught wind of the fact that the organic search phenomenon was getting ready to explode. Although many companies still bank their web site marketing on Pay-Per-Click, other companies are more interested in coming up first in organic search engine placement. Sidhe Communications has specialized in the development and dissemination of keyword rich text for our clients for four years. Our organic search strategies have been effective in assisting small to medium sized companies compete with larger companies in the Internet marketplace. Organic search was about to become ‘popular.’ Hooray! In my discussions in D.C. that day, I realized that organic search’s popularity hit the Internet airwaves with a blast because Google finally changed its algorithms to search for content that is both relevant (keyword rich) and recent.
Tech Hub near Atlanta in Alpharetta Georgia
By the end of February I was ready for another trip, this time to Atlanta Georgia. Sidhe Communications met with one of our creative partners, Go Media Solutions, a web site design and programming firm. Sarah Benoit and I had lunch with Go Media Solutions CEO David Griffith. His firm builds high end, high performance web sites with tight web site programming on the back end. When we apply our organic search methods of content development and promotional text to his client web sites, they see results and ROI.
Search Engine Marketing Collaboration
Go Media Solutions is located in Alpharetta, Georgia. Just inside the perimeter, Alpharetta is a tech hub in the midst of a boom. David Griffith asked Sidhe Communications to partner with Go Media Solutions in presenting educational seminars on search engine marketing. We agreed.
Text Based Internet Marketing Strategies
At one time, Griffith promoted his own web site properties with Pay-Per-Click. Now he understands that content development and text based promotional techniques such as article writing, press release writing, and blogging, are longer lasting and, in some cases, more effective then Pay-Per-Click. Griffith was also keenly aware of the algorithm change in Google. He agreed there was a groundswell of need now to develop professional content and text based strategies to promote client web sites.
Raleigh Durham Tech Industry Boom Town
In late February, I had the opportunity to visit the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina, the great ‘think tank’ of the tech boom in the East. I plan to return to a CampD South event in May that will hopefully be held in or near Carrborro.
Tagging Ecommerce Products With Text
On my visit to the area, I met with a company that owned several E-commerce sites which were producing millions of dollars in revenue through Pay-Per-Click. But suddenly, at the beginning of this year, the company was no longer showing up under the organic search terms for their brand. Only Pay-Per-Click ads were showing on page one of Google. The company was interested in speaking to Sidhe Communications about developing more content, tagging their products with actual text, and promoting their sites with blogs, forums, and articles.
It was not yet time for this company to embark upon content development and web site promotion for their web site properties. Some compelling programming problems needed to be fixed first. There was also some reference to an archaic server that needed to be updated.
Print Media Squares Off with Web Site Marketing
I felt the company stakeholders’ apprehension about web site content development and their subtle but noticeable guilt complex about too much dependence on Pay-Per-Click income, without much stability or security. There was also that old familiar clash between old school (print media) and new school (web site marketing) brewing within the company. All in all, it was a productive visit, and I was grateful for their Southern hospitality. I noticed they did take some income to invest in a well-appointed new office space. During the three-hour ride home, I was wondering, deep inside, why there was resistance to organic search methods of marketing a website.
Back to Organic SEO in Asheville, North Carolina
I finally returned my road weary self to Asheville, North Carolina where Sidhe Communications offices are located. As spring approached, I studied my own thoughts on content development for web sites and web site promotion for weeks on end. I conversed with my business partner. I reached out to my colleagues in SEM and Information Architecture listserves and groups.
Sidhe Communications: A Voice in the Wilderness in 2004
I reflected upon the history of Sidhe Communications and its connection to the tech industry. First, there was this feeling of loneliness and isolation when Sarah Benoit and I began experimenting with text based web site promotion strategies in 2003 and 2004 with smaller companies. Nobody seemed to care. Some professionals thought we had lost our minds. Except programmers, of course, who for some reason, understand the inherent madness of writers. Programmers applauded our work, and continued to educate us about other possibilities. It took some time, but by 2005, our clients were seeing real solid returns on their investments and they were willing to reinvest their cash flow into more website marketing.
Build Quality Content into a Website
Building quality content is a commitment for any website owner. Website content development takes time, resources, and a continued commitment. The partners and writers of Sidhe Communications are experts in doing this work. We don’t go keyword crazy or produce material only a computer can read. We produce keyword rich copy that is relevant, sales oriented, and easy to read and digest.
For a free consultation, or to simply discuss what is on your mind regarding organic search methods of marketing a website, call me direct at 828-258-0222.
Elizabeth Kirwin
Partner & Co-Owner
Sidhe Communications
