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September 09. 2012 7:08PM
Jay Spencer, co-founder and president, left; and Andy Galeshahi, co-founder and vice president of sales and marketing, lead SearchPro Systems in Nashua. (COURTESY)
Nashua company helps clients optimize their Google search rankings
Jay Spencer, co-founder and president, left; and Andy Galeshahi, co-founder and vice president of sales and marketing, lead SearchPro Systems in Nashua. (COURTESY)
NASHUA — The world of search engine optimization is as multifaceted as it is evolutionary. And with a constantly changing set of algorithms from the Internet’s primary search engines, the struggle to come up on the top of a Google search can require the will of Sisyphus.
SearchPro Systems, a Nashua-based SEO company, says it has that ability.
“A lot of SEO companies get hit hard,” with the latest Google update, dubbed Penguin, according to Andy Galeshahi, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.
“We have 135 clients, and out of 135, only a handful lost some of their rankings, and we got them right back up within a couple of months. The waves went through, people fell to page two, page three, and we had to get up and fix the issue.”
But it’s never as easy as reading a tutorial. Google and other search engines keep their algorithms in constant flux — and the changes are secret in an effort to ensure fairness and weed out spam.
SearchPro started in 2007 with just two employees, Galeshahi and Jay Spencer, the company’s president. Since then, business has grown twofold each year and currently employs 30 people.
“The reason why we started this business, in part, was because we wanted to be different than all the other Internet marketing companies,” said Galeshahi, sitting in his downtown Nashua corner office with a big-headed James Brown statue at his back.
“A big part of SEO is patience. It’s not something you try out. It’s something you do for the life of your business that cumulatively builds up over time.”
Google’s algorithms know when you’re posting fewer blogs than before. And it will hurt your ranking.
Instead of the a la carte approach they say some companies provide, Nashua’s entrepreneurs like to refer to their “mutual fund approach.”
“We give you a little bit of everything when it comes to Internet marketing to make sure that we bring the client success,” Spencer said. “That’s our niche.”
Spencer likened the SEO business to having one’s foot on the throttle of car. How much business do you want? The aim is to, “optimize the way a website is put together to show up in search engines, which is extremely important to generate traffic to your site,” he said.
“We’re basically helping the (customer) decide why that product or service is superior to the competitors.”
With the increasing prevalence of video thumbnails on Google searches, the company applies keywords to videos similar to how they are used in text.
“We decided to take those same strategies that would make a website’s rank, and apply them to video content,” he said. “And we were getting our clients’ videos to the first page of Google.”
For a monthly fee ranging from $350 to $3,500 — or far more for a corporate level — clients receive SEO in the form of Web development, video production, print media, social media, link building and comprehensive reporting, among other services.
Six packages are offered to small businesses, distinguished only by the number of keywords, from three to 18. Keywords will be worked into all aspects of a company’s media presence, from the metadescription on the website to the titles of JPEG files used.
Each element is of key importance in rising to the top of the Google food chain.
SearchPro relies heavily on free Google analytics software, enabling the company to identify the top keywords being used, and suggest them to clients.
Galeshahi said some SEO firms work the algorithms so a website will appear top on the Google list, but without using practical keywords. This lends the appearance of higher exposure, but has little impact on the number of hits a site is attracting.
Jamie Coughlin, CEO of abi Innovation Hub, a Manchester nonprofit incubator that hosts some 30 companies, underlined the significance of SEO.
“You have to be found,” Coughlin said. “Obviously in the age of Google SEO comes into play.”
Coughlin said all of the companies at abi have website, and all of them focus on SEO, either independently or by hiring third-party companies.
But SEO isn’t the end of the internet marketing game.
“The challenge is that SEO has been such a hot term for the past five to seven years, (and) you can’t necessary only rely on searches," he said. “As other people catch up and get better SEO, you as the owner of a business need to find ways to further differentiate yourself.”
Asked if there is concern that a client will be muscled out of Google’s top page, Galeshahi said since the focus is on such a diverse dispersion of keywords, there is little chance that will happen.
The staff is divided into three departments — managers, content creators, content distributors and search engine optimizers.
“The SEO team works synergistically with the content creators and the content distributors to make sure that the content is search engine friendly, is truly relative to the keywords,” Spencer said.
Developing a strong website is an integral part of the game.
“Some sites look like they belong in the 1990s,” Galeshahi said. “We want to make sure that the web design is up to date. We also want to make sure that we are using a platform that is easy for the client to make changes with.”
But a business owner needs more than just a beautiful website in order to draw customers. Keywords must be carefully placed throughout the site to ensure that it appears in search results.
“The client’s URL is placed strategically with the content, so when someone clicks on the content on, let’s say Facebook, they can easily click the link that will take them to the site.”
Then there’s social media.
“When it comes to community, and building up your likes, it’s like a digital form of word-of-mouth advertising,” Spencer said.
Social media, too, is an evolving form. With an ever-growing number of sites and means of engagement, businesses need to boost the interactivity of their pages.
“What we can do is interact with the potential customer by talking about promotions, specials, sales, also talking about the company,” Galeshahi said. “You want a balance of info and interaction with the community, making people feel like their opinions means something.”
And when it comes to assigning value to a company, a concept called search engine equity comes into play.
Galeshahi said it’s like buying a house and building up equity.
“If someone wanted to sell their business, if you told a (potential buyer) ‘Hey, I have 3 million targeted visitors hitting my website every month,’ that holds a significant value, it adds value to the business.”
Galeshahi offered some bits of advice to the little guy struggling to establish an Internet presence, but unable to hire an SEO firm.
“Do your research on what people are typing into Google, and make sure that those keywords are effectively placed on your website’s title, within the text on your homepage, even the image that sits on you homepage.”
But without good content and a strong website, even the highest-ranking website will be unsuccessful.
“Make sure you’re putting out good info people will find valuable,” Galeshahi said. “Provide answers. Make the person feel warm and fuzzy about choosing your company over your competitors.”
srios@newstote.com
SearchPro Systems, a Nashua-based SEO company, says it has that ability.
“A lot of SEO companies get hit hard,” with the latest Google update, dubbed Penguin, according to Andy Galeshahi, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.
“We have 135 clients, and out of 135, only a handful lost some of their rankings, and we got them right back up within a couple of months. The waves went through, people fell to page two, page three, and we had to get up and fix the issue.”
But it’s never as easy as reading a tutorial. Google and other search engines keep their algorithms in constant flux — and the changes are secret in an effort to ensure fairness and weed out spam.
SearchPro started in 2007 with just two employees, Galeshahi and Jay Spencer, the company’s president. Since then, business has grown twofold each year and currently employs 30 people.
“The reason why we started this business, in part, was because we wanted to be different than all the other Internet marketing companies,” said Galeshahi, sitting in his downtown Nashua corner office with a big-headed James Brown statue at his back.
“A big part of SEO is patience. It’s not something you try out. It’s something you do for the life of your business that cumulatively builds up over time.”
Google’s algorithms know when you’re posting fewer blogs than before. And it will hurt your ranking.
Instead of the a la carte approach they say some companies provide, Nashua’s entrepreneurs like to refer to their “mutual fund approach.”
“We give you a little bit of everything when it comes to Internet marketing to make sure that we bring the client success,” Spencer said. “That’s our niche.”
Spencer likened the SEO business to having one’s foot on the throttle of car. How much business do you want? The aim is to, “optimize the way a website is put together to show up in search engines, which is extremely important to generate traffic to your site,” he said.
“We’re basically helping the (customer) decide why that product or service is superior to the competitors.”
With the increasing prevalence of video thumbnails on Google searches, the company applies keywords to videos similar to how they are used in text.
“We decided to take those same strategies that would make a website’s rank, and apply them to video content,” he said. “And we were getting our clients’ videos to the first page of Google.”
For a monthly fee ranging from $350 to $3,500 — or far more for a corporate level — clients receive SEO in the form of Web development, video production, print media, social media, link building and comprehensive reporting, among other services.
Six packages are offered to small businesses, distinguished only by the number of keywords, from three to 18. Keywords will be worked into all aspects of a company’s media presence, from the metadescription on the website to the titles of JPEG files used.
Each element is of key importance in rising to the top of the Google food chain.
SearchPro relies heavily on free Google analytics software, enabling the company to identify the top keywords being used, and suggest them to clients.
Galeshahi said some SEO firms work the algorithms so a website will appear top on the Google list, but without using practical keywords. This lends the appearance of higher exposure, but has little impact on the number of hits a site is attracting.
Jamie Coughlin, CEO of abi Innovation Hub, a Manchester nonprofit incubator that hosts some 30 companies, underlined the significance of SEO.
“You have to be found,” Coughlin said. “Obviously in the age of Google SEO comes into play.”
Coughlin said all of the companies at abi have website, and all of them focus on SEO, either independently or by hiring third-party companies.
But SEO isn’t the end of the internet marketing game.
“The challenge is that SEO has been such a hot term for the past five to seven years, (and) you can’t necessary only rely on searches," he said. “As other people catch up and get better SEO, you as the owner of a business need to find ways to further differentiate yourself.”
Asked if there is concern that a client will be muscled out of Google’s top page, Galeshahi said since the focus is on such a diverse dispersion of keywords, there is little chance that will happen.
The staff is divided into three departments — managers, content creators, content distributors and search engine optimizers.
“The SEO team works synergistically with the content creators and the content distributors to make sure that the content is search engine friendly, is truly relative to the keywords,” Spencer said.
Developing a strong website is an integral part of the game.
“Some sites look like they belong in the 1990s,” Galeshahi said. “We want to make sure that the web design is up to date. We also want to make sure that we are using a platform that is easy for the client to make changes with.”
But a business owner needs more than just a beautiful website in order to draw customers. Keywords must be carefully placed throughout the site to ensure that it appears in search results.
“The client’s URL is placed strategically with the content, so when someone clicks on the content on, let’s say Facebook, they can easily click the link that will take them to the site.”
Then there’s social media.
“When it comes to community, and building up your likes, it’s like a digital form of word-of-mouth advertising,” Spencer said.
Social media, too, is an evolving form. With an ever-growing number of sites and means of engagement, businesses need to boost the interactivity of their pages.
“What we can do is interact with the potential customer by talking about promotions, specials, sales, also talking about the company,” Galeshahi said. “You want a balance of info and interaction with the community, making people feel like their opinions means something.”
And when it comes to assigning value to a company, a concept called search engine equity comes into play.
Galeshahi said it’s like buying a house and building up equity.
“If someone wanted to sell their business, if you told a (potential buyer) ‘Hey, I have 3 million targeted visitors hitting my website every month,’ that holds a significant value, it adds value to the business.”
Galeshahi offered some bits of advice to the little guy struggling to establish an Internet presence, but unable to hire an SEO firm.
“Do your research on what people are typing into Google, and make sure that those keywords are effectively placed on your website’s title, within the text on your homepage, even the image that sits on you homepage.”
But without good content and a strong website, even the highest-ranking website will be unsuccessful.
“Make sure you’re putting out good info people will find valuable,” Galeshahi said. “Provide answers. Make the person feel warm and fuzzy about choosing your company over your competitors.”
srios@newstote.com