Everything you need to know about Semtelligence.
How it all started - Learn what sets us apart from the rest.
My SEO journey begins.
My first optimised website goes live in August 1998. I was 17 years old and determined to learn everything there was to know about Internet marketing. The term "SEO" didn't exist and Yahoo was the go to search engine at the time, with Ask Jeeves following closely behind. Google hadn't launched yet!
Huddersfield University Business School.
I achieved my objective of an Upper Second Class Honours degree, however most of my time was spent visiting businesses in the Leeds and Manchester area - Selling advertising space on my Yahoo business directories. This wasn't easy, the Internet was new, an unknown, but I loved the challenge and as time passed more and more people became interested in what I had to say.
A moment of good fortune.
If you work hard enough, you'll make your own luck. I was due to begin a one year work placement as part of my course, but decided to take a gap year instead to focus on my own business - It was the best decision I ever made. Travelling to Leeds one morning, a chance meeting with the Director of a top Leeds-based marketing company changed everything. He needed someone who understood Internet marketing, and I needed the opportunity to develop my skills in a corporate environment. Within 10 weeks I was achieving top rankings on Yahoo and Google for Asda, WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and many more well-known brands.
Liverpool awarded the European Capital of Culture 2008.
By this time my role had changed somewhat, I was mainly developing SEO strategies for large businesses and multinational corporations, and had a fully trained / skilled team working with me to implement the work. As great as this was, I missed working with SMEs and it wasn't long before the perfect opportunity presented itself - Liverpool was awarded the European Capital of Culture 2008. A £130 million investment, and an estimated 10 million additional visitors to Liverpool in 2008 meant one thing - Well, two things actually, relocation and a new business directory for Liverpool. I was able to redirect my old Leeds and Manchester websites to my new Liverpool website. It took 3 months to rank top on Google for most search terms. The website was a huge success receiving over 5 million unique visits over a two year period. Hard work had really paid off and I was able to return to the North East and run the business from home.
Semtelligence was born.
They say it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to become an expert and in 2010 I could officially call myself an expert. I had achieved all of my objectives and I still played a very active role (as self-employed contractor) in helping multiple SEO agencies manage their bigger clients. But if I'm honest, working with the biggest brands wasn't fulfilling. When you achieve a top ranking result on Google for a multinational corporation it is expected. When you achieve a top ranking result on Google for a SME or a one man business it means everything to them. You can't beat that great feeling, or just hearing the words "THANK YOU". The first few years of Semtelligence were slow as I still had many contracts with other agencies - I had a responsibility to maintain my high standard of work for the agencies, but also to ensure my new clients received what they needed to succeed (my time and expertise).
Semtelligence is here to stay!
Today Semtelligence is exactly what I set out for it to be - A company that delivers great quality to SMEs for a fair and affordable price. Most of our clients have been with us for years. We have no sales team. We don't cold call - All of our business is generated from referral or our top Google rankings. We have many happy customers and I've personally worked very hard to ensure their success. As you'd expect, I have built some tremendous contacts over the years, and no SEO job is too big for Semtelligence to manage, but we only work with SMEs. Semtelligence is here to stay and we look forward to helping you achieve your success!
