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Our Story: The History of 1st on the List Promotion

SEO company 1st on the list Promotion was started by Chris Genge in 1996. It was the year DVDs had just come out in Japan, Internet Explorer 3.0 was launched, eBay started their online auction and shopping website, and Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to successfully be cloned.

It was a time of rapid technological change and the US stock markets were gaining at an incredible pace. 1st on the List Promotion founder, Chris Genge started playing around with his own websites to figure out what it took to get them to rank well on the search engines.

Birth of SEO

The term “SEO” had only been coined the year before and the SEO industry was very green indeed. Google didn’t even exist and early Search Engines included AltaVista, HotBot, Lycos, and Yahoo, among others.

At that time you could make one small change on your website, hit refresh, and immediately see results (for better or worse). Using this method (and his engineering background), Chris started to reverse engineer the Search Engines to figure out what boosted rankings and what hurt rankings. Still working full time as an Engineer, Chris started to see the serious potential to turn this new hobby into a profitable business.

Very quickly, Chris felt more and more confident that he knew what it took to properly optimize websites and keep them ranking well. He completed all the necessary paperwork and in January 1997, 1st on the List Promotion Inc. was officially founded.

Essentially 1st on the List Promotion grew out of a one-man SEO operation, where Chris oversaw and did everything himself. Over the next few years, our SEO Company grew rapidly and Chris had to hire several new staff and train them to provide top-notch SEO services as well. In time, they outgrew their small basement office and leased office space in Abbotsford, BC.

1st on the List’s SEO Capabilities

In the fall of 2004, three staff traveled to Simi Valley, California to complete the Bruce Clay, Inc. SEOToolSet? Certification. At the start of 2005, 1st on the List became the first SEO Company to attain the SEOToolSet? Certification designation.

As a pioneering firm in the SEO industry, 1st on the List has since developed deep capabilities in analyzing a website and identifying underlying site design and server configuration issues. Even though making changes isn’t as instantaneous as hitting refresh (like it was in the early days), our clients experience long term improvement and growth in their websites. In fact, our oldest client started working with us in 1999. That’s longer than many SEO companies have even been in business!

Over the years 1st on the List Promotion has introduced new service offerings in order to keep up with our client’s needs and the ever-changing Search Engine requirements.

In the early 2010’s we identified a major service gap with many web developers and designers who could create beautiful websites but failed to integrate crucial Search Engine Friendly components. We had too many business owners come to us with a brand new website that looked great but because of limitations in the platform or how it was set up, it never had a chance of ranking well. Soon after, we launched our own SEO web design department and we now develop great looking, Search Engine friendly websites.

1st on the List SEO Best Practices

If there is one thing for certain in our industry it is that SEO is constantly evolving at a rapid rate. It is paramount that we help our clients keep up with SEO best practices because it’s impossible for them to do on their own.

1st on the List is now a full-service search engine optimization company committed to using only ethical, industry accepted search engine optimization and search engine marketing best practices. Despite a number of things changing about our business and industry as we’ve grown up over the years, the one thing we haven’t compromised on is our stance on ethical SEO best practices. We protect the integrity of all our clients’ websites by adhering to industry-accepted strategies and Google Webmaster guidelines. As well, we anticipate as much as possible how these guidelines and search requirements will change in the future.

To this day Chris still continues to oversee all SEO projects. He stays current with the latest SEO technologies and is always pushing his highly skilled staff of SEO professionals to keep on top of any changes that come. Our objectives are simple – to keep our clients always prepared for shifts in the SEO Industry. All our SEO project leaders have over 12 years of experience in SEO. We are driven by helping clients increase their website visibility and online branding. When we help meet their goals, we all celebrate.

Now that we’ve shared how we got to where we are today, we’d love to hear your story. Whether you’re discovering us for the first time, have been referred to us by a colleague, or perhaps seen us featured on websites like Top SEO’s, we look forward to getting to know you and your business.

How Does 1st on the List Promotion Fit Into Your Story?

1st on the List Promotion has helped hundreds of other companies get their businesses found on the Internet. Put us to work for your website too!

Call us at 1-888-262-6687 or connect with us online.

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How to Evaluate Your Current SEO Provider

Our latest eBook came as a result of three or four business owners calling us in the same week who each made similar comments about having stacks of reports from their SEO company but no idea what they mean. Buried under charts and numbers they each came to the realization that they didn’t know what kind of results they were achieving.

If you are in a similar boat you can’t afford to miss this eBook. Topics include:

  • GOALS – You need to measure the right thing.
  • STRATEGY – You need a solid game plan in order to win.
  • IMPLEMENTATION – Work needs to be done in order to see results.
  • RANKINGS – Being #1 doesn’t always matter the most.,
  • TRAFFIC – People need to come to your site too!
  • RECOMMENDATIONS – Rely on your SEO for new opportunities and growth.
  • COMMUNICATION – When was the last time you spoke with your SEO?
  • REPORTS – Are you buried under loads of data?

Download Now – How to Evaluate Your SEO Provider

Is it time for a much needed change? Request a call back by using our SEO Quote Request Form or call us at 1-888-262-6687 to speak with one of our representatives today!

Don’t miss out on all of our SEO Resources Page including more eBooks plus Slide Presentations and Infographics.

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Questions to Ask Before Hiring an SEO Agency

Do you really know how to evaluate an SEO and what they can do for you?

You’re not alone! Over the years we have found that most business owners don’t really know what they should be looking for or how to ask the questions most critical to finding the right fit SEO for their business.

In this eBook we candidly outline the 14 most important questions you should ask any SEO company and explain the importance of each. We then outline what type of answer you should expect from an honest and successful SEO.

For example, you may think guaranteed rankings in 30 days sounds good but did you know that Google warns you to beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings?

Or do you know the different options of how an SEO may measure the success of your campaign and which metrics have your best interest in mind?

Interested in these SEO Interview Questions? Just hit the
download button and start reading immediately!

Interested in interviewing our SEO company? Request a call back by using our SEO Quote Request Form or call us at 1-888-262-6687 to speak with one of our representatives today!

Don’t forget to browse all of our free SEO eBooks, Articles, Slide Presentations and Infographics over on our Resources Page.

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Is Paying For SEO Worth It?

paying for seoToday we will tackle a few big questions that have probably crossed your mind many times:

“Is it really worth paying for SEO services?”

“Why hire an SEO?”

To help you answer the question for yourself and your company estimate what your time is worth. As a plumber, real estate agent or jewelry designer how much could you earn per hour? As a business owner you should spend your time doing what makes you the most money. This is where you excel. Is it really worth giving up your time selling homes or repairing leaky sinks to figure out the “SEO Thing” and get it to work for your website?

Unfortunately many people underestimate the complexity behind SEO and think that it doesn’t take a lot of effort or expertise to make a website excel. In today’s article we’ll discuss many reasons to hire an SEO and pay for SEO work on your website.

Paying for SEO Optimization Because
Your Personal Time Is Better Spent Elsewhere

Search Engines are constantly changing to meet the demands of what and how people are searching. In the last few years Google, the major search engine on the internet, has made several changes that have had a significant effect on the rankings of many websites. Think about this:

  • Is it worth your time each week to read all the top SEO blogs and follow SEO thought leaders?
  • Is it worth your time to figure out how to develop and implement a sound SEO strategy?
  • Is it worth your time to monitor and track your results, and adjust your strategy as needed?

This is where the knowledge and expertise of a reputable SEO firm becomes vital. SEO Experts are constantly studying the changes in the search engine formulas; how internet applications interact with the search protocol and what is needed to get a site ranking well.

Why Hire an SEO? It’s More Complicated than Just Keywords and Links

Many people come to us thinking that SEO is all about keywords and backlinks and that as long as they get the right phrases in the right places and find a few websites to link to their own website they are set.

This is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The majority of SEO work is below the surface. For example, do you know:

  • Which server and host is best for your website?
  • How to properly brand your business in the Search Engines?
  • How to protect your content against duplication?
  • How to ensure proper HTTP checks and HTML validation?
  • How to deal with mandatory cookie checks and session ID’s?
  • How to ensure proper “link juice” flow between all your website pages?

These are just a very small sampling of all the items we address in a full SEO Campaign that you may not even realize affect your SEO. In fact, there are 200 – 300 different factors that Google looks at when determining how your website will rank. Do you have the time and knowledge to optimize each of these factors?

Hiring an SEO Expert Makes YOU the Customer

Recently I read an interesting opinion why hiring an SEO firm is beneficial for you. By hiring an SEO you become the customer, putting SEO in the position to always be working for you, meeting your needs and exceeding your expectations. Rather than doing SEO yourself or having someone in house help out with SEO wouldn’t you rather have an SEO company working to impress you?

Does Paying for SEO Work?

As with all things in life, you get what you pay for. Are you buying SEO based on lowest price? Are you searching for an SEO company with a lot of experience? Paying for SEO work on your website will work when you choose an experienced SEO company you trust. In order for their SEO to work well it must be based on their ability to customize SEO solutions to your specific campaign within the Best Practices that exist in Search Engine algorithms.

Does paying for links SEO work? (Don’t fall into this trap!)

There are hundreds of SEO companies that sell backlinks as SEO. Did you know that Google has banned many websites because of the spammy and unnatural links they have bought? Today, more than ever, relevant linking is vital to keeping your websites in good standings with the Search Engines. This means that NO, paying for SEO backlinks does not work and risks negatively impacting your website in a big way.

So Is Paying for SEO Worth It? You Be the Judge

As we’ve discussed above, Search Engine Optimization is an evolving science. You must decide if it is worth it to divert time spent on your business making money to time spent learning SEO Best Practices and implementing SEO strategies on your website. SEO is a complicated combination of computer science, marketing, website development and consumer behavior. It is the study of what gets rankings, what motivates buyers and how to optimize what you are posting to attract the types of visitors who have the most potential to become customers.

SEO is the study and implementation of the latest coding and content that works to index your site work on the search engines. SEO is the study of what is working for your website and how to always get a better ROI on your marketing spending.

If you want to learn more about how our SEO services could free up your time  to focus on your core business give us a call at 1-888-262-6687 or email our experts at contact@1stonthelist.ca. We’d be glad to share our story of how we launched our business a year before Google came to be and how our trained SEO experts can help your website.

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5 Ways SEO Consulting Can Help Your Business

For some businesses, keeping their website alive and performing well for the long term is perhaps the toughest obstacle. In part, this is because the web is becoming more and more complex and competitive, even as we speak.

In 2006 Google had over 25 billion web pages indexed and that total has nearly doubled since then.

Making your web pages stand out from your competitors in Google’s huge database can be quite difficult, especially if you are a small or medium sized company with a limited monthly budget for implementing online marketing strategies such as search engine optimization.

One way to hedge the bets in your favor is to hire professional website SEO Consultants.

A good search engine optimization consultant can help determine your best course of action by properly assessing your online needs and goals and then offering a customized plan of action to:

  • Improve your website performance
  • Increase visitor traffic
  • And boost your customer acquisition and sales

A successful search engine optimization campaign can help you realize a quick return on investment and best of all; it is something that is measurable and can be adjusted to improve website performance.

It’s not unusual for website owners to recoup their initial campaign costs within the first year. Consider hiring an SEO consultant to get your website on the right track.

Here are five benefits you can expect to receive when you hire professional website SEO consultants.

1. You Gain A Better Understanding of What It Takes to Succeed Online

SEO consultants are trained in the areas of online marketing, web design and the world of search engines. They understand how the search engines work and how to give the search engines what they need in order to improve your website listings. You, in turn, will gain a better appreciation for what it takes; what needs to be done to succeed online. You will be exposed to new ideas and insights that will benefit you in your future efforts towards online success. While you are paying for the knowledge and expertise that SEO consultants bring, you also get to learn about and utilize the latest technologies and SEO strategies…all things that you can apply going forward to ensure longevity and continued online success.

2. You Receive On-the-Spot SEO training

Not all areas addressed during SEO consultation are beyond your capabilities – many situations can be resolved on your own or with your web master once you know the basics. SEO Consulting is a great way to get training on how to resolve these issues in the present and in the future. You also learn valuable skills that you can continually apply to improve your website into the future.

3. You Get Customized SEO Solutions Directly Relevant To Your Business

For the do-it-yourselfers there is plenty of decent generic SEO advice found on blogs and forums that you can access. SEO expert consultants however can offer you fully customized SEO solutions specific to the needs of your website. Professional search engine optimization consultants do their homework. They research your market, learn about your products or services and analyze your competition in order to provide the most effective customized solutions for your needs.

4. You Get to Apply the Latest, Most Up-to-Date SEO Strategies

The search engines are constantly changing and trying to improve their algorithms, therefore the web changes daily. It is the job of the SEO consultant to keep up with those changes and the latest changing trends in search engine optimization. As industry innovators SEO consultants can help keep you current with the every changing landscape of Google, Bing and Yahoo Search Engines and adjust your online SEO strategies to adhere to new guidelines and website compliance issues. Your SEO consultant keeps you from using dated methods which can hinder your websites performance.

5. You Save Time And Money While Improving Your Bottom Line

Many times SEO consultants are able to immediately address specific areas of concern that may have been costing you up to that point. For example, improper host server setups are quite common and totally unnecessary. Once addressed, a proper host setup can have an immediate positive impact on your website performance. Your search engine optimization consultant can walk you or your web master through how to set up your host server properly so that your website is performing at its optimum for the search engines. Improved website performance can mean improved rankings, listings, leads and sales.

Throughout the SEO consulting process you work as a team with your search engine optimization consulting expert to identify and resolve issues related to your online presence whether it is optimization, website configuration or content design. Working together nurtures a long term relationship that focuses on openness and the mutual goal of making your website the best it can be and performing at its optimum.

About 1st on the List Promotion SEO Consulting Services

Hire our SEO consultants to help you improve your online success. 1st on the List SEO consultants are trained in:

  • Site and Server Consulting
  • E-Commerce Setup
  • Complex SEO Strategies for Multi-Website Companies
  • Mobile Website Optimization
  • WordPress Consulting
  • Website Design and Redesign Consulting

If you need the expertise of an SEO Consulting consider giving 1st on the List Promotion a call toll-free at 1-888-262-6687 or contact our SEO Website Consultants.

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