SEOAly Makes the TopRank “BigList”

By Alysson

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I was pleasantly surprised when I signed in this morning to find that my blog had earned a mention in the TopRank “Best Blogs On The Net” list. What a nice thing to find on a Monday morning!

This seemed like a good time to provide a little bit of history about SEOAly and how it has evolved to its current state. I started this blog merely as an information resource for small business owners. I spent more than two years providing SEO consultation for one of the largest small business marketing companies in the United States. Being that it was such a large company, you can imagine my frustration being repeatedly told that only “approved information” was to be shared with our customers.

The world of search marketing is simply too fast-paced to fit into that kind of corporate structure. By the time the powers that be finally get around to approving changes to our SOP, the winds of change had blown through again. I was equally frustrated by some of the company’s standard operating procedures, which included touting “submission to over 400 search engines…” as a major part of their service offering – a task that we all know is futile and pointless in today’s world of search marketing.

An Outlet For Frustration

During that time, however, I learned an enormous amount about SEO and the search marketing landscape as a whole. I also took advantage of the opportunity to build some online relationships with many of the best minds in the search marketing world today. At the risk of going off on a tangent, I must note that Twitter is an invaluable resource.

I would venture to say that I have learned more and gained more search marketing insight through my interactions on Twitter than through any other single source. I’ve also made some great online friends and I’m excited to meet many of them at IMBroadcast’s upcoming search marketing conference, IM Spring Break.

Now, returning to the topic of my frustration consulting for a large corporation…I may not have been able to share my new-found information with the clients I provided consultation to, but that wasn’t about to stop me from continuing the learning process. I found myself in need of a platform to share the findings of my research and testing…a platform that my employer wasn’t about to provide. Thus, I launched my own blog: SEOAly.

SEOAly’s Evolution

I left the company for an in-house SEO position with a small software company in November, 2008. I was let go from that position just over a month later. While being self-employed was my ultimate goal, being thrust into the ranks of the unemployed with millions of other Americans with the global economy in such a precarious state was certainly never on my to-do list…especially after having been recruited and hired for the in-house SEO position under false pretenses to begin with. At that point, the focus of SEOAly changed.

I elected to not only continue to publish SEOAly as a free source of information for business owners, I decided to provide those small business owners with useful and affordable SEO services that would help them identify the issues currently plaguing their sites and better understand how to build more search engine friendly websites for their businesses.

As our economy continues to struggle, getting the most out of a small business marketing budget is becoming more and more important. Wasting money with companies and services that don’t work is no longer an option in this economic climate. And with the number of scammers and charlatans that exist in the search marketing industry, a small business owner’s best defense against falling victim is information!

I currently provide SEO audits and keyword research services for small business websites. It’s not glamorous and I’ll likely never get rich doing it, but that’s okay – both are essential steps toward all small business websites being able to take full advantage of the opportunity that today’s world of search marketing provides. I am a firm believer that small businesses and an entrepreneurial spirit are truly essential to America’s future. Providing small business owners with affordable services that help them to develop a successful SEO strategy is the least I can do.

I also provide WordPress site and blog development, as well as basic services related to carrying out a Social Media strategy – such as setting up accounts on popular and niche Social Media sources, like Digg, StumbleUpon and Twitter, on the small business owner’s behalf. These services are currently offered on a limited basis, as my schedule permits.

So there you have it – the evolution of SEOAly from a ranty, information blog to a full-fledged small business website. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you find the information here useful…and if not useful, perhaps at least amusing or entertaining. Don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed!

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Filed in: On A Personal Note • Monday, March 9th, 2009

Comments

By lokipro on March 10th, 2009 at 3:31 pm

You rock! I’ve been blindsided a few times, which totally sucks, but glad that something good comes of it. Now… if only I could find a way to get the cojones to do it myself!

Alysson Reply:
March 10th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

Thanks. But I don’t think it had as much to do with cojones as merely having no other choice! It’s amazing the motivation that potential starvation and homelessness provide.

By steph woods on March 10th, 2009 at 3:51 pm

Congratulations and good blog post Alysson. As I have recently been laid off myself and also wish to do freelance, it is always inspiring to read other success stories.

This also reminds me I really need to work on my own web site and blog in a big way

Alysson Reply:
March 10th, 2009 at 4:09 pm

Thanks, Steph. Glad you enjoyed it. I’m not a success yet, but I’m sure workin’ on it! What I do know is that what I’m doing now is much better than being unhappily employed, as I always had been in the past.

If your site/blog is WordPress and you need any help, let me know. I work cheap.

By Listorbit on March 20th, 2009 at 7:47 am

Hey Alysson great auto biography really always we should see the positive part/ opportunity in the problem.

U are a rock star.

Alysson Reply:
March 20th, 2009 at 1:07 pm

Thanks for the compliment. I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and comment!

By Dorian on April 7th, 2009 at 8:11 pm

Congrats on making the top blog list.

I found this blog from a comment on another blog about getting a college english or journalism major for help with writing if you don’t have the time/skills in-house (and the budget).

Good information here. I hope you keep the small business focus.

Alysson Reply:
April 7th, 2009 at 11:31 pm

Thanks, Dorian. I’m glad you like the blog. I intend to keep the small business focus. And as much as anything else, I want small business owners to be able to benefit from the information here and use what they learn to build more search engine friendly websites from the start.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I hope you remembered to sign up for the RSS Feed.

By scott on April 30th, 2009 at 12:29 am

Congrats, Ally, on the best blog listing. I am one of your fans – you rock!

Alysson Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 12:40 am

Thanks for your kind words, Scott. I appreciate it.

Alyssons latest words of wisdom – SEOAly’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe from IM Spring Break