Sean Hakes who has now become a friend of mine and who also is one of the nations best SEO and Local Marketing Consultants published a blog last year that predicted the fall of contractor lead provider – BestContractors.com.

Though this hasn’t yet been confirmed – Shakes today published that he had some very trustworthy insiders information that claimed the fall of BestContractors.com as confirmed.

Though this info has not yet been confirmed by BestContractors.com parent company, HomeSphere or VC firm Greenhill SAVP – you can bet that there is some struggles going on within the organization as this was without a doubt a massive bust for VCs and all involved parties alike.

Here’s the full story:

On January 12, 2009 HomeSphere a “premier provider of technology-leveraged supply chain services to the homebuilding and remodeling industry,” had launched news about acquiring BestContractors.com who “provides an unbiased reputable directory of home improvement and repair professionals.”

Reference: January 12, 2009 – HomeSphere Acquires BestContractors.com

On October of 2009 I wrote a blog post that indirectly predicted the downfall of BestContractors.com.

Rumor has it that my prediction was correct. Though BestContractors.com to date is still live I can only assume if this story tells true. I have not yet received comment from a HomeSphere representative confirming the fall of BestContractors.com. One thing I have heard is that the BestContractors.com team was officially let go.

Notice to readers: This info has not yet been confirmed by BestContractors.com parent company, HomeSphere or the backing VCs Greenhill SAVP (Greenhill & CO.) I will let you know when I get further info.

Should Greenhill SAVP want a tremendous investment opportunity the should really consider the vast developments of iClick Creative.

Here’s an add on to the SEM Showdown of 2010… Hmmm I wonder what the outcome of this one will be…

Found at: http://www.yodle.com/media/detail/yodle-organic-shows-promise-for-small-business-owners/

Yodle, a Local Internet Advertising company announced just weeks ago the launch of their new online marketing service offering – Yodle Organic.

Sean Hakes an Expert in Online Marketing and Founder of Denver SEO Agency, iClick Websites said Yodle Organic is driving a powerful and affordable new service offering that is changing the minds of many small business owners and reinventing the SEO world which can prove very costly to some small businesses.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) requires both on-page and off-page optimization. Yodle Organic includes these tactics as well provides small businesses with powerful consulting and development services that would cost thousands a month with any larger local SEO Agency.

What do you get with Yodle Organic?

* Videography
* Custom Content / SEO Copywriting
* Website Design & Development for best SEO practices
* Local Profiles on Google, Yahoo, Bing and more…
* Access to full Analytical Platform similar to Google Analytics

I bet you’d think services like this would cost you anywhere from $3K-$10/mo – would it surprise you if I said you can capture all these SEO services from Yodle Organic for as little as $400/mo?

Sean Hakes a independent Online Marketing Consultant is going to prepare a in-depth analysis of Yodle Organic to help small business owners determine if the cost pays off and if any good roi is in your future. For more information you can visit his personal blog online at http://www.seanhakes.com.

Sean Hakes a Local Marketing Consultant has just announced that the latest word on the street is that the SEM Showdown will resume this year by awarding the Best Value for Small Businesses in 2010.

Here’s the official 2010 list:

Here’s a list of who’s included in 2010.

• Yodle
• ReachLocal
• WebVisible
• Blitz Local
• YP.com (formally YellowPages.com / AT&T Interactive)
• Dex One
• Idearc (SuperPages.com)

For more info you can visit http://www.semshowdown.com.

New York, NY – August 24, 2010 - Yodle, a leader in local online advertising, announced today the company was ranked 35th on the prestigious Inc. 500 list, a compilation of the most entrepreneurial and fastest growing privately held companies in America.

“We are humbled and honored to be in the company of so many truly world class businesses,” said Court Cunningham, CEO of Yodle. “This kind of recognition would not be possible without the hard work and dedication to excellence of the whole team at Yodle. The team’s continued drive to provide the best possible results for our clients and deliver unparalleled customer service amazes me every day .”

Yodle’s debut at number 35 comes on the heels of an extraordinary three year growth rate of 5,958%. In its fifth year in business, Yodle grew nearly 150% in year over year revenue from 2008 to 2009, making it the third year in a row with triple digit growth. The company also added more than 100 employees around the country.

This year Yodle introduced multiple new product innovations including Yodle Organic, a low-cost optimization solution designed to help local businesses build their web presence and generate more website traffic. A recognized industry leader, Yodle wrote the book on local online advertising when CEO Court Cunningham co-authored Local Online Advertising for Dummies, the first ever comprehensive guide to online advertising for local businesses.

The 2010 Inc. 500|5000 list is often considered a barometer of entrepreneurial success, and Yodle is proud to be listed. Started in 1982, Inc. introduced the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States. Since then, this prestigious list of the nation’s most successful private companies has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial success and the place where future household names first make their mark. Oracle, Patagonia, E*Trade, Zipcar and numerous other well-known brands have been honored by the Inc. 500|5000.

About Yodle Yodle, a leader in local online advertising and named fastest growing local online advertising company by industry analyst Borrell Associates, connects thousands of local businesses with consumers in a process so simple and cost-effective that business owners can’t imagine any other way to advertise. Yodle has developed an integrated approach to signing up and serving local businesses that are transitioning their marketing budgets online. Yodle is headquartered in New York, NY with a presence in 25 major cities across the United States.

About Inc. Magazine Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc. (www.inc.com) is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies that delivers real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. With a total paid circulation of 712,961, Inc. provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing, and technology. Visit us online at Inc.com.

About the Inc. 500|5000 Conference Each year, Inc. and Inc.com celebrate the remarkable achievements of today’s entrepreneurial superstars—the privately held small businesses that drive our economy. The Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony brings together members of the Inc. 5000 community, both a new class of Inc. 5000 honorees and the list’s alumni, for three days of powerful networking, inspired learning, and momentous celebration. Please join us September 23-25, 2009, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. For more information about the 2009 Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony, and to register, visit www.Inc5000event.com. Stay connected with Inc. Events by following @IncEvents on Twitter.

Read the full press release here.

I just found this recent release about the great Sean Hakes, Inc SEO Consulting firm expanding to PPC Management – cool stuff. Here’s the release.

Lakewood, CO – Aug 26, 2010 - Sean Hakes, Inc a leading Denver SEO firm who provides powerful local marketing services to businesses around the globe has just announced it now offers powerful flat-fee pay-per-click management services to small business owners around the nation.

The Denver PPC Management team for Sean Hakes, Inc said they plan to charge a 20% PPC Management Fee for Google, Yahoo & Bing Advertising Campaigns under $2K/mo. For all campaigns with an a $2K/mo + spend will be charged a flat 15% of budget fee.

The new PPC Management services have been a huge success in the Denver DMAs and have the same expectations nationwide. Current PPC Management results show a 100 – 200% increase in calls over competitors with a similar budget. Sean Hakes, Inc focuses on Ad-Copy for maximized click-through-rates along with enhanced landing pages for higher relevancy scors and lower cpc (cost per click) rates.

For more information please visit www.seanhakes.com.

Has anyone had a chance to try out Yodle? I’ve read some of SH’s Yodle Reviews but figured there has to be more out there.

Posted by: Chris

Welp – the SH crew is at it again as they’ve just announced they have expanded to the Pasadena SEO market. According to the SH SEO Consultant blog they have connected with some local talent that is expected to drive powerful results for both SH and the local small business scene.

Here’s the official release. (Not very PR like

It’s true – we’ve connected with a great local Pasadena, CA SEO and have officially started the paperwork to launch a local office that combines the Sean Hakes, Inc brand with what we consider one of the best SEO talents in the greater Los Angeles area. Stay tuned for more info on our Pasadena market expansion.

Keep an eye out on Pasadena SEO.com for more info…

Need Legal Advice? Think American Discovery!

Outsourcing legal services to small firm attorneys is quickly becoming a trend for corporations throughout the state of Florida. As companies face the pressure of budget cuts and spending limitations in their law departments, they are looking for ways to get the legal support they need without having to fully staff their law departments.

In most instances, law departments are under staffed because there is no money available to cover the costs of hiring in-house counsel and legal support staff. Thus, corporations in search of innovative ways to effectively manage their workloads and reduce their operating costs are deciding to outsource their legal services to small firms.

There are several good reasons to outsource legal services. Lets discuss 3 reasons below:

1. Direct Access to the Senior Partner

Have you ever hired an attorney only to learn you hardly ever can speak with him/her directly? When you outsource legal services to a small firm, you can expect more direct access with the senior partner. You won’t be forced to communicate solely with associates, paralegals or other support staff when your matter requires the attention of a seasoned attorney.

With that said, most attorneys do not work alone and have access to associate attorneys, paralegals and other support staff that assist them with their clients’ legal matters. You can relax knowing your small firm attorney has the support needed to provide effective legal services to your corporation.

2. Smaller and More Manageable Case Loads

It is common knowledge that many lawyers in large law firms are often responsible for large case loads. In some of these firms, associate attorneys are forced to work on legal matters that generally require a senior partner’s attention; while paralegals are asked to complete assignments associate attorneys are more suitable to handle.

In contrast, small firm attorneys are generally responsible for much smaller and more feasible workloads when compared to their larger counterparts. Because they are able to better manage their case loads, they can devote the time and senior-level attention your legal matters require.

3. Reduce Legal Spending and Control Operating Costs

Generally, small law firms have lower overhead and a small group of support staff. They aren’t over burdened by the costs associated with retaining several full-time employees, and they can operate for far less than larger firms. This savings can be passed on to their clients in the form of competitive hourly rates.

In today’s economy, most corporations (large and small) are dealing with budget cuts and spending limitations in one way or another. By outsourcing to lawyers with more competitive hourly and flat rates, corporations are able to reduce their legal spending and control their law department’s operating costs.

Submitted by: Unknown

Phoenix SEO or search engine optimization knowledge is critical for the person starting out in e-commerce. Whether you want to blog, run an online store or do anything else successfully online, you need to figure out how to get noticed by search engines so that people can find you. Understanding Phoenix SEO is critical for anyone who wants to be successful in online enterprise.

An important aspect of search engine optimization is the fact that you need to invest time and effort into your website on a regular basis in order get traffic and keep traffic continuously increasing. If you allow your website to sit and collect cobwebs it won’t do much for you.

SEO Tip #1:

There isn’t a magical formula; at least not one that’s evergreen so it’s important to stay current on SEO news. Dig deep to find information and read everything you can. You’ll find conflicting information at times but knowledge is power so absorb as much SEO news as you can.

SEO Tip # 2:

Create an easy to follow design with a standard homepage, easily viewable links and a site index. This way, people and search engines can find their way around easily and so can people.

SEO Tip # 3:

Determine what your target keywords are. There are some great tools out there that can help you both for free or for a small fee. Often it’s fairly easy to figure this out on your own.

Ask yourself:

What are the top three to five words or phrases you would use if you were use to search for the product or topic you are selling? Be sure that those words are on each page of your website, especially in titles, headings and at the beginning, middle and end of each page. It’s a good idea to use variations as well to give your site further credibility and increase the Long Tail.

SEO Tip # 4:

SEO Fact : Content is king. Always will be. Don’t assume that more is better in terms of keywords. Do not fall victim to the temptation to simply keyword stuff your site otherwise two things will happen. First, you’ll get banned by the search engines and even worse, you’ll be ignored by the humans who land on your page. Both types of visitors can see through vain SEO attempts to trick you to get onto their site.

Instead, you want to target the fine line between having enough keyword relevancy to make it impossible for the search engines to ignore you but not so much that your human visitors find your content to be poor quality. Hire a professional SEO article writer if you have to in order to come across as professional. Keep fresh content on your pages and change your content regularly. You don’t have to waste what you’ve put effort and money into, instead move your old content into archives so it continues to work for you as well.

SEO Tip # 5:

Web 2.0 is all about social networking. Social networking, social book marking, forum posting and link exchanges can be invaluable If you can get high ranking websites in your niche to exchange links with you, this can help. If you are blogging, comment on other blogs in your niche to get a link back to your site and generate interest from bloggers that frequent other sites in your niche. If you use tools like Technorati, Digg, StumbleUpon and other social book marking tools on your pages with appropriate tagging, you can bring relevant traffic fairly quickly and it’s viral so others will do the same. Social networking activities are also indexed by the search engines.

In summary, there are basic to advanced seo techniques and seo tips that you can use to get noticed by the big three search engines. Your results will depend a lot on how narrow your niche is but there are some basic things you can do to be search engine friendly from the start. It’s never too late to optimize your site though so don’t lose heart if you didn’t follow this advice on your website from the beginning. Here are some basic ideas. This is not an exhaustive list but is a great place to start.

Written by: Unknown