This freelance web designer lands on page one of Google – twice
When I was a teacher of English, I never thought much of digital ranking for businesses. Why would I? My concern was student grades and supporting my English team as much of my career was spent as Head of English. The proudest moment came in Crowle, Scunthorpe when Year 9 attained 93% at Level 5 in SATs, a local record. I replicated this success at GCSE repeatedly, but, since downing chalk, PowerPoints and DVDs, I’ve had new targets in mind for this business and others.
Google rankings.
I’ve always been competitive – had to as I suffered from middle child syndrome growing up, where family favouritism for a sibling was endemic, if that’s the right word.
Playing badminton, Scrabble, walking or cycling, I have fiercely competitive genes. I don’t always manage to win, but, no one could ever accuse me of lack of effort.
When the ejector seat was pressed in my last educational venture, I spent 2 years licking wounds, railing against injustices and then picked myself up, left the scab to heal (sort of) and changed habits and my life.
You never know with a business if it has legs. I’ve set up many that are now buried in the graveyard of Companies House, but I learned from each one, mainly: NEVER GO INTO PARTNERSHIPS. The capitals are deliberate as Partnerships are the worst ships to ever sail. Don’t get me wrong though. I’ve set up solo businesses alongside this and they have headstones and wilting flowers.
Get Pro Copy Ltd has been a raging success
I attribute this partly to fierce determination, diversifying, hard work, skills and Covid 19. Yes the pandemic has taken this business to next level. I’ve grown wings too with marketing and from being like Skellig in 2016, sipping alcohol and eating crap, I’m now flying.
It’s no accident that this business took off when I binned booze for good, ended distracting partnerships and focused on building a unique no bullshit voice on social media. I used to think platforms like LinkedIn were for safe platitudes and ogling over leadership quotes and influencers, but now I, along with many others, have subverted that space.
Diversity is key too
If I’d just relied on the COPY of Get Pro Copy, this business would have stuttered. I’m an accomplished freelance web designer now which links seamlessly with copywriting. The hardest part of web design is not installing WordPress, getting a logo rendering correctly, or adding a SSL Certificate – it’s the content.
Because I can write, and write well, as a graduate in English Language and Literature, web design with copy has formed a USP. It’s formed SEO success.
The third strand is social media.
In my last schools, the leadership made Priti Patel look liberal and every movement was monitored online and in school. I kid you not, my last school had CCTV in classrooms in an Orwellian guise for Safeguarding.
I was caged in education, trapped like Skellig (again) in a decrepit building living off scraps of joy, like decent holidays, but with shocking pay and conditions.
When the cage door sprang open, I found a new world free from Big Brother and the Thought Police and I realised quickly I was good at it. Inevitable I suppose. I was the type of teacher who could invent a good lesson in no time, entertain 30 teenagers with anecdotes and garner respect for what I said and did.
Social media is like a classroom but without some sneaky SLT watching. I can, at last, be me. And that freedom has drawn others to me who like what I say and do and are happy to pay me to be their brand ambassador.
Now don’t get me wrong, a company who trusts me to be them doesn’t get Stuart Walton 2.0. They don’t get the politics, the overt or passive aggression, but they do get engaging updates that attract followers, accrue sales and form part of the rungs of that ladder for Google rankings.
SEO is not that difficult
One of my biggest bugbears is when I pick up disgruntled clients who’ve been paying anything from £500 to £2000 a month and their SEO agencies have been doing very little. I log in a website and see no keywords, no metadescriptions, alt tags etc, which is criminal when they’ve been paid a vast sum monthly.
I’m far more opaque and trustworthy
My SEO strategy is simple – I audit your website, producing a 12 page PDF report which I then analyse with prioritised recommendations. Cost? From £250.
Next I ask if you want to write the optimised blog content and fix the critical errors and recommendations from the audit.
If you say yes, I guide you.
If no, I quote.
I charge from £250 + month for SEO. Now for this you don’t get some nebulous, sit on your hands and wait stasis. You get optimised content that are created for two audiences – Google and your customers. Most companies pay me around £250 per month for this and you can bolt on management of your LinkedIn page, your Facebook and Instagram feeds for an extra amount.
SEO is a long haul
When individuals and agencies say this, many are buying time with inertia; but it’s true.
I can craft a lengthy blog post, submit to Google Search Console, across six social media channels and to aggregator channels and I can wait for anything between 6 to 9 months.
My point is this though – many of those SEO agencies who find and adjust keywords and content don’t roll up their sleeves and start crafting copy for you to share online, in emails, or WhatsApp missives. You pay me £250 for an audit and £250 for SEO in month two and you get 4 blog posts.
Here’s what people say about my writing and social media prowess:
Having followed Stuart on Linkedin for the last 12 months, I decided to take the plunge and get in touch about how he could help our SaaS business with our content marketing strategy.
Delighted with his help so far, extremely knowledgeable and great to work with.
Wish I had got in touch sooner.William Doyle, CEO of Raildiary
Or this one from another who’s had his fingers burned with SEO:
I’ve had the displeasure of working with a number of ‘SEO Experts’, ‘Marketing Experts’, ‘Web Designers’, who charged the earth for zero ROI, and every conceivable excuse.
Stuart from Get Pro Copy was a breath of fresh air. Firstly his no nonsense approach, not getting bogged down with paperwork and contracts, but an informal chat we learnt about each other, our businesses, and clicked from day one.
No elaborate promises, just straight talking, honest service.
So what’s he done? Revamped an existing website we’d built in house, it’s now more aesthetically pleasing, along with more functional. Adding content to the site, that’s relevant to our business, rather than writing content to generate poor quality traffic.
We’ve since continued to work with Stuart providing exceptional value for money, and his service far exceeds some of the larger agencies we’ve worked with.
David Hammond, MD, Seymour Sign & Print
If you’d like me to improve your sales, your online visibility and handle your Google rankings, call me on 07462923476 or drop me an email – info@getprocopy.com
No tyre kickers, messers or gammon though – soz.
