Free SEO for Theo Paphitis #sbs winners

After a small Christmas break Small Business Sunday is back for 2012 and I am once again offering up an hour of my time to the weekly winners. For those of you unfamiliar with #sbs, it is a weekly Twitter competition hosted by ‘family man and Dragon’ Theo Paphitis. More detailed information (including links to previous winners) is available on this post.

#sbs SEO freebies in 2012: a different approach

Previously, I would Tweet all 6 weekly winners and link them to this example of one of my SEO freebies and then liaise directly with anyone who was interested via e-mail. To complete the review, all I need is a website link – I don’t need any passwords or other personal information.

In passing, I should point out I did eventually notice that Theo Paphitis sold LaSenza five years ago and thus my example wasn’t as clever as I first thought.

I’ll be honest, take up on the #sbs SEO freebies was hit and miss: some weeks almost all #sbs winners would respond and on other occasions I wouldn’t hear back from anyone. Part of me thinks this is because the offer looks too good to be true.

To address this issue, all #sbs SEO freebies for 2012 will be uploaded to my blog.

I’ve just won #sbs – now what?

1. I will tweet you a link to this page;

2. If you are interested in the #sbs SEO freebie, leave a comment below stating (a) your Twitter @name & (b) you website URL; and

3. I will post your #sbs SEO freebie to my blog and Tweet you the corresponding link.

The benefits of blogging #sbs SEO freebies

Primarily, I hope this will increase take-up on the offer. If weekly winners can see reviews I have done for other members of the #sbs club, it should put to bed any suspicions that this is a sales exercise or some kind of scam.

Secondly, it should allow me to offer additional advice by linking to relevant sections of previous reviews. By doing this I hope to make it clear to all #sbs winners that SEO is nothing more than:

1. Good content;

2. Good website structure; and

3. Relevant back-links.

I first became involved with SEO because I believe (some) existing companies are – for want of a better expression – taking advantage of their customers. Whilst it may occasionally make sense to outsource your SEO at £X per week until the end of time, I firmly believe that the best SEO is done by you, the business owner. You know your business better than anyone and thus allows you to produce the best content and seek out the most relevant back-links.

Yes, these are pretty much the same reasons I became involved in the student rental market which, I suppose, is why Smarter Housing was so successful until I took my eye off  the ball. In my somewhat limited experience people tend to trust someone who is passionate about something and, right now, I am trying to convey the same passion about SEO. Fingers crossed I don’t fudge it up this time

Related posts:

• The Parrot AR.Drone [.com] & Smarter SEO
• Google Panda: opportunities and appeals
• #sbs SEO freebie for FrenchPolishes.com
• SPEED Plus: supporting West Midlands start-ups