I did not use any magic formula or some special program. It was just a very thought out process of good content, good linking, good titles and well placed directory listings.  Throw in a few press releases and soon your website starts to move up.  So for some (still) good SEO info, what How I Went From 600 to 14 on Google in 100 Days.

Please let me know what you think and what kind of SEO tips you can offer.

I am sure this will fly in the face of many of the big SEO companies out there.  For the average small to medium sized website a large amount of money is not required for an effective SEO campaign.

How do I know this to be true? Because I have done it after contacting one of the larger and more well known SEO companies to do it for me. When I contacted this SEO firm about taking care of one of my websites in the highly competative industry of commercial over the road trucking employment I was told it would cost me $6000.00 up front and $2000.00 a month for the next 6 months and then a maintenance fee after that.

If they were not successful in achieving good search return rankings in that six month period then I only received 50% of my money back. So that means they get $6000.00 whether they succeed or not. What a deal for them eh??

If you are like me and you have a small business then those numbers are probably out of the question.  I did the next best thing and learned all could about SEO and did it on my own and guess what I found out???? It cost me less than $1000.00 and only 100 days to move my website from the 600’s on Google up to number 14.

I did not pay for AdWords nor did I purchase any links other than a couple of directory submissions such as Yahoo at $299.00 and a few others. If you are willing to invest the time necessary to take on your own SEO project it can be done. You must be willing to commit at least 2 hours a day to the task which I am sure does have a dollar value to it.  So the next time you are thinking about hiring one of those mega SEO companies to work on your website, step back take a deep breath and think whether or not it will be worth it.  I am sure they can do job very well but is it worth it.

For that matter I can do it for you for a lot less than $12,000.00 (and that includes my time). And if I am not successful you get your money back.

There will not be any extraordinary claims of SEO magic nor will you find any SEO B.S. which is so prevalent. I want to share what has worked and what continues to work for me and hopefully it will work for you.

With that said it is time to get back to the topic of Search Engine Optimization.  You can start by viewing the video I made last year on how I took a website (www.truckerhub.com) from 600 to 14 in 100 days using techniques that you can use.  (by the way TruckerHub.com is now solidly at number 5 on Google for it’s primary search term of trucker jobs).  Too view the video click on the tab at the top of this page titled “From 600 to 14 on Google In 100 Days”

Have a great day…………..   eric

Now 30 days later this website has 3 of the top 10 search returns for the primary search of “cellular based digital signage”.  How did we manage to get spots 5, 6 and 7 ? Actually it was very easy and there is no black hat or tricks involved nor is there any magic formula. It comes down to doing some basic planning and using the tools that are readily available on the web. 

1. On Site/Page SEO – When www.dsn3g.com was first designed we implemented some basic SEO techniques which included using primary keywords in text, H1 headers, keyword rich “alt” tags, graphics names are keyword based, a page title that is strait to the topic, a meta description that is human readible and actully details what this website is about and finally related keywords. Each of these elements have been discussed on hundreds if not thousands of blogs and websites about SEO. It is just a matter of constructing your website and following time tested techniques.
2. Set Up A Subject Related Blog –  I have always been an advocate of using a blog for a base to report highlights and news about the website business or industry related topics. In this particular case I opted to use Google’s blogger and set up a Cellular Digital SIgns oriented blog. I try to make at least 3 topic related blog entries a week. On this blog of both text links and a large banner ad leading back to the main website. Blog entries are topic related and of course keyword rich. Plus it doesn’t hurt that I am using Google’s blogging tool as I want to make sure Google sees it.
3. Send Out A Press Release – 2 days after the launch of DSN3G.com, a press release was sent out via PR.com a free press release service. Once again keywords were the key. Almost immediately Google news picked it up and redistributed it as well as other websites including a press release site in Canada. Not long after, the press release was indexed in Google and is now part of the search returns.

As a result of these three steps, DSN3G.com is sitting in spots 5, 6 and 7 on Google this morning. Our primary website is at nubmer 5, our press release is at number 6 and our blog at number 7 .  Click on the image below to see a full size screen shot of Googles returns for “cellular based digital signage.”

3 of Top 10 Google Search Returns For Same Site

Other search terms including “Cellular Digital Signage” and “Cellular Digital Signs” are on page two of Google.

The field of cellular and wireless digital signage is very competitive and these quick top spot rankings prove that by using basic SEO techniques and most importantly, planning your website layout in advance, will yield positive results in your SEO campaign.

The blog at www.todaysdigitalsignage.blogspot.com is where we post our comments on various trends in the cellular and wireless digital sign industry and provides a base for generating links back to the main site.  PR.web is a free press release service that has a very good reach and as a result gave the website a very good initial boost in traffic and exposure.

The next step in this SEO challenge is to build a community by setting up a forum on the subject of wireless and cellular based digital signage.

We continue to strive to use only natural time tested techniques of SEO to promote top rankings of each of our website challenges.

Will have to wait and see if this is a fluke. I have never had a website pop in the search engines that high that quickly.

Here is a screen shot of the ranking for number 14.  I am curious if this is just on one google server or across the board.  If anyone searches for the term “Cellular Digital Signs” and finds something different I would like to hear about it…..

This is an SEO campaign that was very successful. The world of BBQ is full of fanatics and they criss cross the country seeking out bbq festivals and competitions. BBQ-Festivals.com was started a little more than 2 years ago to provide an online community for barbecue fans who compete and for those who just like to go and have fun at these cook offs and the many festivals that take place yearly.

Here are the search return rankings for Google which is where 90 percent of my traffic comes from:

• bbq festivals – number 1
• bbq cookoffs – number 1
• bbq competitions – number 1
• bbq teams – number 2
• bbq associations – number 2
• bbq restaurants – number 10

• barbecue festivals – number 1
• barbecue cookoffs – number 1
• barbecue competitions – number 2
• barbecue associations – number 6
• barbecue restaurants – number 14

There was no magic bullet or super secret software. I used the same techniques for the SEO of this site as I did for TruckerHub.com. ( See “How I Went From 600 to 14 on Google in 100 Days” video )

PS… If you are a barbecue fan and you know of a great barbecue restaurant, a barbecue festival or competition that isn’t on our site, be sure to email that info to us and we will add it.

What are your SEO success stories?