Update: Since posting this, it has come to my attention that there is no “About OrangeSoda” paragraph at the end of the press release, although there is one for REMAX, which might indicate that this press release wasn’t even issued by OrangeSoda, but perhaps by REMAX, which affects some of the comments I’ve made below about OrangeSoda.

Any SEO professional knows that it’s easy to get a company ranking well in Google for that company’s name, especially if that company’s name is present in the URL the company uses for its website. For example, if I have a company named Purple Monkey Dishwasher and I own the URL PurpleMonkeyDishwasher.com, then it’s going to be a snap to get the #1 spot in Google when people search for “purple monkey dishwasher”. But what if Purple Monkey Dishwasher is a bike shop located in Tampa, Florida? What good does it do me to rank well for “purple monkey dishwasher” in that case? The only benefit I get is that people who already know who I am will be able to find me. But they’re going to find me anyway if they’re looking for me. The problem is I’m not going to get any new customers.

That’s more or less what is being trumpeted as search engine optimization success in this press release from Utah-based SEO firm OrangeSoda, only the company is REMAX of New Jersey. As stated in the release “When people search Google or another search engine for homes for sale in new jersey, or on our brand name, they’ll see RE/MAX New Jersey at the top of the list. Thanks to our partnership with OrangeSoda we’re seeing top results on many real estate keywords,” said Jeanie Farrell of RE/MAX New Jersey.

Now there’s the thousand-dollar question; is the REMAX site really showing up in the top results for “many real estate keywords” or just the company name? According to the Google Keyword Tool the top five real estate/homes for sale related keywords with accompanying search volumes are:

new jersey real estate – 368,000
new jersey homes – 201,000
new jersey homes for sale – 110,000
new jersey homes sale – 110,000
homes in new jersey – 22,200

By comparison searches for “remax new jersey” total approximately 2,900 per month.

The New Jersey REMAX website doesn’t show up in the top 10 search results for any of these keywords, and doesn’t show up in the top 100 search results for the fifth. To be fair, the site is showing up in the 10-20 results for the first four keyword searches. While not exactly “top results” you could make the argument that the site is “on it’s way” to the top, assuming the current rankings are an improvement over what they were before REMAX New Jersey started working with OrangeSoda. Or I suppose you could even make the argument that those are “top rankings” if by “top rankings” you mean anything within the first 20 results.

What really matters, of course, is whether New Jersey REMAX is getting more business as a result of this campaign than they would otherwise. Judged from that perspective, it could be that coming up in the top results for searches for “REMAX” could be generating a net gain, and that being in the top 20 results for keywords that are heavily searched also generates results good enough to justify the expense of OrangeSoda’s SEO services.

Why bother posting about this at all? Primarily because I think it’s misleading. The release puts forth the idea that OrangeSoda is doing great things for REMAX New Jersey by getting them ranking well for searches for their company name, which isn’t much of a challenge, nor is it likely to generate much in the way of real improvement to the client’s revenues. Ranking for the other terms listed above is likely to provide real value
for the client, but rankings that aren’t in the top 10 aren’t exactly newsworthy.

The bottom line is that if you’re a client looking to hire an SEO company, make sure you’re getting a true positive return on your investment, based on a clear comparison of what results you would be getting without the SEO firm vs. with them.

The article goes into detail about how topix.net is changing to topix.com and how the owners are worried about the potential effect on their revenues and traffic from search engines. They requested assistance from Google who responded by suggesting topix.net post comments on a Google engineer blog asking for help; no other suggestions were provided other than ‘moving one section over to see what happens’.

I can understand Google’s dilemma of catering to individuals based on requests; however if they modify their algorithms for one person where would it stop. Unforutunately they hold the power no matter how much website owners hate them at times.

I can also sympathize with topix.net; especially a larger commercial site that receives more than 10 million website visitors per day, most of which come from search engines. If they did lose traffic from the search engines it could result in a absolute depletion of their revenues and livelihood.

What do you think?

Here is an excerpt from the report:

“The internet offers a more direct way to interact with would-be guests and to gain reservations, but it also has pitfalls-the most common being that the inn can be lost in the huge volume of websites.”

“Thus, an innkeeper may wish to create a website with keywords that search engines will notice in conjunction with queries about lodging in the area. A well-designed website is essential, and it must include a way for the guest to make a request for rates and availability. That request may be in the form of a web-based booking engine or an email link. Innkeepers can use email to send messages about upcoming promotions to a list of previous guests or those who have inquired about the inn-or purchase a third-party list for this purpose. A most important issue relating to email is to avoid being seen as a spammer. Moreover, the innkeeper must be in a position to respond to guests’ email requests in a prompt and personal manner.”

Read more about this Cornell Bed and Breakfast Marketing Report