A tiny SEO job I did free for a mate has led to a fascinating brief from a massive new client.

“As Confucius once said, “To open yourself up to the possibilities of the universe, you occasionally need to do an SEO freebie’.”

At the centre of the universe is one small act of SEO kindness.

The ‘optimised’ website that showed no evidence of SEO visitation

A friend of mine asked me to look at his site and I didn’t have good news for him. Despite the fact that it had supposedly been search engine optimised, I could see little evidence of it.

The keyword strategy seemed flawed, but the damage was limited because they hadn’t really optimised for those keywords in any event. There was not a single keyword in any Page Title for example. He appreciated my candour but couldn’t afford my services. What the hell, I thought. I’ll do it anyway.

The freebie SEO job that snowballed

I spent a few hours doing keyword analysis and surveying what his competitors were doing. I then spent another few hours rattling off the page titles and meta tags for each page of his site. Unable to help myself, I went on to make recommendations about a switch of domain names, and crafted individual page URLs that were keyword-rich. In for a penny, in for a pound – I then rewrote the home page copy using the principles of Persuasive Architecture. All for the same very reasonable price of nada. But, as things transpired, I got paid back in spades.

I optimised for free but not without expectation

I can’t say I did this free SEO job without expectation. I’m not that altruistic. I did it in the belief that some day in some way I would be repaid for my efforts. My faith was rewarded – more quickly than I could possibly have imagined.

The web lets Karma work its magic

Within days of doing the work – and before my mate had even implemented my SEO recommendations – I got an email from a seriously large client who’d found me on a Google search. When we got to chat, I asked him what it was about my site that convinced him to get in touch. You guessed it. It was my blog post about the work I’d done for my mate. And he wasn’t impressed by my generosity of spirit. He liked what I had to say about Persuasive Architecture. He’s now presented me with a fascinating brief that I can’t wait to get started on, and I feel fairly confident it will cover the cost of the SEO work I did for my mate.

The devout atheist with boundless faith

I’m a devout atheist – don’t get me started – but I do have boundless faith. I genuinely believe that if you make a habit of doing good things that ultimately things will work out for you. This faith can be tested at times. For example, when you promptly respond to a request for a free SEO report card and you don’t get so much as a thank you – let alone a follow-up commission of more work. But this latest episode is a wonderful reminder of why economic rationalists never have any fun. As Confucius once said, “To open yourself up to the full possibilities of the universe, you occasionally need to do an SEO freebie”.

Yesterday I got an email from an executive at one of Australia’s leading banks who said that he’d stumbled upon The Web Copywriter site “while Google searching for SEO copywriters”. This was music to an SEO guy’s ears. And a reminder of why investing in SEO makes sound business sense.

“There are no easy-beats in the ‘SEO copywriter’ category – no Carltons of the pre-Chris Judd era.”

Good Search Engine Optimisation is still surprisingly rare

I’m amazed to find that sites in many business sectors are still not search engine optimised. These companies will spend a fortune on general marketing, hundreds of thousands on a website, and not shell out a few grand on something that could deliver them a huge increase in web traffic and online sales. Unfortunately, “SEO Copywriter” is not one of these sectors.

“SEO Copywriter” is the Parramatta Rd of search categories

“SEO Copywriter” is the Parramatta Rd of search categories. You’re trying to sell in a crowded sector, against people who really know how to sell. There are no cheap wins to be had in this competition – no Carltons of the pre-Chris Judd era. So when I set up The Web Copywriter site, the possibility existed that I could use perfect search engine optimisation and still not trouble the Google scorers. But, to my delight, that’s not what happened.

Lifting the Google ranking of one of my favourite clients: me

I was surprised and delighted to find that my site moved very quickly through the rankings and was very soon on Google’s first page of Search Results in all my primary keywords. Here’s where it currently stands:

• web copywriter sydney – #1
• seo copywriter – #3
• website copywriting – #3
• website copywriter – #3
• web writer sydney – #5
• web copywriter Australia – #6

I knew that reaching the first SERP (Search Engine Results Page) of “web copywriter” – ironically – would be tough. But by listing with a good business index, I made it. I’m at #7. So clearly – given the importance of history in Google’s ranking – not all of these SEO guys are all that cluey.

What’s my SEO secret?

I can honestly say that I haven’t done anything in terms of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) on my site that I don’t do for all my clients.

• Good keyword analysis
• Good domain name
• Good page URLs
• Good page titles
• Good meta tags
• Good highlighting
• Judicious link building

And constantly refreshing the content through this website copywriting blog. You can’t rest on your SEO laurels. You need to be constantly reminding Google that your site is the authority in your category. Particularly in this god-forsaken category.

Has my investment in SEO been worth it?

Obviously I get my SEO at very good rates. But there is still an opportunity cost – instead of writing this post I could be making phone calls to prospects. (If it wasn’t 6.30 am). But my own investment in SEO has been good business for me. This bank client alone has made it all worthwhile. If you’re at all cluey, you’ll get a good SEO Copywriter to take a look at your site. I know someone I can recommend.