Maybe the term “SEO Manchester” is vanity to some extent in that it may, or may not, generate traffic but I guess the only way to effectively answer that is by checking individual Analytics and server logs.

However there is also the arguement that by ranking affectively for the longer tail local search terms over time you will begin to rank more effectively for the larger more generic terms and that the search engines will begin to recognise this?

Hi folks just thought I would introduce myself. Chris from Essio Marketing in St Helens.

Good article Simon. I remember seeing this SEO manchester website a few weeks back. I haven’t looked for a while and still refusing to look just because of this blog. However one of the key things about getting a site to the top of any rankings is its ability to have some commercial value and in all fairness this site’s is a fat zero.

I haven’t looked at it too much but I bet if it had to be structured for commercial purposes ie pertinent content, structure etc etc I would be intrigued how it would fair then.

In regards to whether its commercial vanity or not going for a term like ‘SEO Manchester, I guess we will all keep that close to our chests. If you lot are anything like us, our own website comes last in the pecking order of priorities, and referals are a key ingredient to our progression.

Take Care folks, will keep my eye on your blog. We have a new site up in about 2-4 weeks time, with a blog etc.. Would appreciate you popping around and making some positive contributions.

Thanks
maltesechris
essio marketing

We recently purchased a premium commercial property domain which went immediately on page one of Google for the exact words in the title, with no links or content.

According to the keyword tool there are at least 3,600 searches for “SEO Manchester” so it might yield some enquiries should it be turned into a proper website. Not sure the .org.uk extension will do the site any favours, will it really be perceived as a commercial operation?

Agree with the point about rankings and conversions!

May as well add this chucklesome pic that @DelaneyPaul sent me:

http://twitpic.com/b86bd

The rank demonstrates what has irked me and other professional SEO’s for some time; that spam can and does continue to rank in the SERPs. But you make a very valid point Simon, how competitive is that actual term anyway?

The fact is that it is simply one of the ranks that some service providers feel obliged to achieve because of the all too common accusation “you aren’t even ranking for your own industry terms”. To put it simply, going for terms such as ‘SEO Manchester’ we are competing with each other to get traffic from nobody BUT each other.

Regarding the ranking site in question.
1. Built with wordpress. Well done for picking up that wordpress is a ready made well optimised CMS.
2. Keyword rich geographic domain name. Well done again! It’s no secret that domain names still have power. I have a few domains with nothing more than a holding page that hold solid ranks on page 1 for a particular phrase. I didn’t even have to set up all those tags and make keyword laiden posts.

And how many SEO companies ONLY want to provide a service in Manchester? Freelancers maybe, not companies who want to grow. Hence they chose a more generic domain. Also, many SEO companies offer more services than just SEO, hence their website will not be as tightly focussed on ‘SEO MANCHESTER’. And they will probably rank for a hell of a lot more terms (and attract more potential customers).

To put it bluntly, this guy achieved nothing to write home about and he probably spent WAY too much time doing it. The sad fact is he will impress some people (who don’t know any better) but I sure as hell hope he doesn’t think that strategy is appropriate for a real site with real products and real visitors. If he does, I’d hate to see the conversion rate.

It reminds me of the forum posters who think they know it all because they reached #1 for “low cost insurance quotes in morecambe” just by adding 20 words to the meta keywords tag.

I wanted to be nice about it, I really did. And if he were a trainee or colleague of mine I would be supportive and saying well done, you are learning but you have some time to go before you understand REAL seo. But I would have to give him a virtual slap on the back of the legs for this:

“It just goes to show that by simply using fundamental SEO techniques it is possible to get a site to rank highly….Just makes me wonder what all the other so-called SEO gurus and experts in Manchester are doing who are languishing behind me?”

Ermmm…While I’m not a self proclaimed ‘guru’ or ‘expert’ (merely a consultant) I’m not languishing behind him. I’m actually sitting behind my net curtains tutting and shaking my head at the effort he put into such a silly task. That and achieving converting ranks for my clients of course.

I think he could very well be a controversial blogger/link baiter in the making