John G. Johnston well, my SEO company is.....you know it well - ActiveRain.

There are a few expert who has posted great information about this - follow them and keep up to date. (Any other company which says they'll put you on page #1 of Google, very likely, they want lots of money from you - month after month!)

Follow some of the past webinar recordings - and your ActiveRain posts will show up on Google page #1 soon!

(And if you really want someone to help - Nestor & Katerina Gasset or Tammy Emineth or AZ SEO Expert: Phoenix SEO Consultant - just a few names - and I like them, that's it. They have been a great contributor to ActiveRain.)

You can get a ton of SEO advice from my ActiveRain blog. I do have courses that teach SEO because I am a firm believer that you should never hire an SEO company without knowing what you want to hire them for and a glimpse of what needs to get done. I do not agree of course with those that say never to hire an SEO person because there are very good SEO consultants out there, like Dave Keys, Tammy Emineth, Michael George and to toot my own horn, myself. I don't like to do SEO for companies or people who don't know anything about what they want to accomplish except being on page one, because that is not always going to be the best path. There are the DIYers ( and I have great courses that you can take for that) and we have "done for you" packages. However, both require some knowledge on your part. The reason most SEO companies have a bad rap is that they don't "get" the markets they do SEO for. So they get a list of keywords from the business, and that business has no idea if those are good keywords, then the SEO company does some on page SEO for those keywords. Technically, they have done their job. But was it the right job? Therein lies the dilemna like the blind leading the blind. You need people to help you that are very intituative about your market and the behaviors of your target audiences. First, get at least a good grasp of what SEO goals you want to accomplish and what the basics of SEO are. Hope that helps and See you at the top! 

I don't use PPC and do not pay anyone for SEO. I write all my own content and drive traffic to my website which ranks on page one of Google. Once again, all the content on my website is original and authored by me--no SEO guy. The best way to rank is write about local neighborhoods. ZTR doesn't do that and I can attest that buyers do search those terms. 

I'm here to pick up on some great information. Thanks for sharing everyone. 

If you build a good web site and use key words that pertain to your business in the construction of your web site and are words that customers would be typing in the search engines you have a chance of being found. Otherwise you have to use pay per click through Google and or MSN. If any person or company calls you up and says for X dollars they will get your site on the first page of Google they are lying to you. It is the oldest trick in the book and I would hang up. John, If you write blogs that are interesting to your clients and do if often on AR or your own web site based on Word Press or a few other platforms they will come up in searches. Do not be fooled by people who solicit you with promises of top results in the search engines.

Thank you so much Praful Thakkar! When I first read this post title, I thought it meant that I should brag about my SEO company, meaning my SEO business. I was going to come here and write that I am currently #1 in the world for "real estate SEO company." But I can see that I misunderstood the post, so I won't type that.   David Feldberg is spot on- if you work on reviews, it makes a huge impact. 

I have found success working on getting a lot of reviews online on sites like yelp, google and zillow.  Online reviews are a great way to stand out and they are FREE.  SEO is all about content and good links.  If anything just try to provide the best content for the user and the links will follow over time.  Good luck!

I've had great experiences with SEO based websites, and PPC.  If I can do PPC cost effectively, it's my primary choice, because it'll generate immediate business, and pay for itself.  Otherwise, it's organic SEO.

I too caution you at paying for it.  Paying someone to run a ppc campaign is crazy when you can spend that entire amount on google adwords and get more return.

I learned alot about SEO here on activerain and I basically I do my own. My website is #1 for the key search term in my area. Of course I write lots of blogs which are pointing toward my website.

I do have an SEO guy that I have on a monthly retainer because trying to keep up with the always and never ending changes at Google and to avoid their penalities, i.e. Panda, Penguin, it's a full time job.  IMO, that is best left to the experts.

Cheers!

I ignore all those companies.

I have tried a few.  The problem is that the google updates have changed the game so much and nothing that I know of is working.  All the old tips of 3-5% of your article is no longer working.

I'm just stopping by to learn from my colleagues.

I'd be very careful when hiring out.  There's quite a few stories I've heard from people I admire and respect about not getting what they paid for.  

I am so glad you asked this question.  It is something I wanted to know more about.  I'll be back to check additional responses.

I can tell you who not to use!!!!! 

I would not waste your money on it. Write hyper local and original content and you will be found.  Organic is the only way to go unless you have unlimited funds to keep feeding the kitty.

I don't have an SEO Company...I write all my posts and content the best I can.

What a great point that SEO is not as viable as it used to be and now we're back to old fashioned face to face. Thanks Alexandra.

John,

We have an SEO adviser when we build web sites for our clients only.  He does the architecture of the site, which is then given to the web developer.  The whole SEO thing is not as viable as it used to be, and we strongly advise people to get out of the office instead of relying on the Internet.  You would have to outspend Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com...A

Not using any.

Adwerx?

No, I do it myself.

My SEO company is Active Rain, I am pleased with the results.

Looks like SEO will always be a hot topic. I just stopped by to gather information, and want to thank John for such a great question. Right now, I do not pay anyone for SEO, strictly organic.

Haven't worked with any yet but I have a member of Venta Marketing in my networking group.  They know what they are talking about. 

Home grown and no on works harder than you on a daily basis. Bone up, reinvent and what gets results, pour on the gas. Video has helped us so so much for SEO, for display selection advantage on searches and for the sheer ease, way you can wire it to detonate more.