Wednesday, August 22, 2007

In Search of You

This was a banner month in my participation in the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce as an Ambassador. Last week I delivered a welcome bag to Dan Kotwicki of Dakotech, Inc. Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to deliver a second bag. This time it was to someone who can really help you be found -- Andrew Miller of Your Search Advisor, LLC.

Andrew and I met at the local Panera Bread for our chat. We spent part of the hour talking about the numerous benefits of Chamber membership, but then spent most of the rest of it talking about his business and what he does for his customers. What does he do? I can tell you're dying to know.

He helps you be found.

Andrew works on websites, but he doesn't work on the beautiful pictures and great layout like a web designer, nor does he focus on the back end programming and database support, like I do. What he does is work with you to craft your whole Web presence, from the content of your site, to your profile and positioning on the numerous social networking services around the Net. He does this all to make it easier for other people to find you.

I've dabbled a bit in the search engine optimization (SEO) area myself, but compared to what he can do for you, I would be ranked somewhere between "pathetic newbie" and "rank amateur." If you want to know more about how to make yourself more visible on the Web, you should definitely get in touch with Andrew.

When I asked him about the most difficult part of what he does his answer was pretty much what I expected. The main challenge is simply managing client expectations. In the world of SEO and SEM (search engine marketing), nothing happens quickly. It can take months for any adjustments you make to be reflected in your position in the search engine results. Especially in the "I want it now" world of the Internet, the capacity for patience can be a bit hard to cultivate.

So, the next time you are at a Chamber event, keep your eye out for Andrew. If you want to know why you can't break into the first page of search results, he probably has an idea or two.

So, when you "google" your name, on what page do you appear? How did that happen?

1 comment:

Andrew said...

Greg,

Thanks for the great write-up! I finally got around to posting my thoughts on my first few interactions with the Chamber of Commerce. So far, so good. Looking forward to the next get-together.

Andrew