Anyone wishing to join the digital marketing field needs some skills and prior knowledge to excel. Chris Rodgers is the founder & CEO of Colorado SEO Pros, where he develops company processes, innovating digital marketing practices, and supporting a full-time staff of SEO analysts and digital marketers. He has worked in the technology and digital marketing industries for the last 13 years. We had a chance to interview Chris and asked about his story, how he started his business ad the future of Colorado SEO Pros.
Tell us your story. Why did you start your business?
I started my career working for a large print and digital advertising company in Chicago; I heavily gravitated towards the digital channels and quickly moved up within the organization. After 4 years, I found that the larger corporate approach to digital marketing was made to scale, but not really to provide the most effective strategy. This resulted in too many failed campaigns and lost value for small businesses. I left to get a masters degree in Internet marketing and started working for an SEO agency in Chicago, after a few years working as a senior analyst I moved to Colorado and eventually started my own SEO company. Ultimately I felt I could offer better value to customers by taking a more thorough approach to SEO and offering the highest level of expertise possible.
How did you come up with your business name?
Colorado SEO Pros is a DBA registered in the state of Colorado. I chose this name as part of a local marketing strategy when we first began the business, before moving into a more national focus. Today it represents our brand identity, as well as the people in the company.
Tell us about your products and services. How do you help clients' SEO needs?
We provide SEO first and foremost, and are a national leader within that specific digital marketing niche. We also offer paid search marketing (both search and social), website development, social-media marketing, content production, and email marketing. In terms of SEO, we take a comprehensive approach that carefully addresses the 3 major areas of SEO influence; on-page SEO (content strategy), technical SEO, and off-page SEO (link-building, social, etc.).
What makes you unique? What is your unique selling proposition (USP)?
We are an experienced team of SEO analysts who leverage a breadth of knowledge and the most advanced SEO tools in the industry to research, plan, and manage multi-faceted SEO and digital marketing campaigns. We don’t shy away from the more technical and challenging aspects of SEO and can manage just about any SEO project or problem out there. We are generally not the SEO starter agency, meaning most of our clients have enough experience with SEO to understand the value, and hire us when they are ready to get serious and move past the beginner phases of SEO. We also get hired by marketing agencies, paid search agencies, and even other SEO agencies that need assistance. Our whole team has a deep understudying of SEO, you won’t find a bunch of talking heads who are there to blow smoke and just make you feel good, we are the real deal.
Where do you see your business in the next 3-5 years?
We are planning on making a handful of new hires this year and increasing capacity to better handle the demand that’s out there, but overall I don’t want to grow the business beyond our ability to handle the advanced level of SEO projects we can today. The larger you grow the more difficult it is to maintain the highest level of expertise among analysts. Our focus has always been and will always be performing SEO at the very highest level, not making the most money from SEO possible. Successful projects and long-lasting relationships are the true measures of success for our business.
How can marketers/businesses keep up with daily SEO changes?
It’s pretty tough, overall changes happen frequently and Google gives us less info than ever before. There are some solid resources out there if you know where to look, but also a great deal of misinformation. We list a number of solid resources in the “learn SEO” section in the footer of our website (ColoradoSEOpros.com), all of these links go to reliable sources of SEO news and information.
What is your favorite business quote and why?
“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” Henry Ford
What have been some of your achievements that you are most proud of? Why?
Building this company from scratch has probably been one of the top achievements in my life. I went from working in the corporate space, left to go back to school, and had a startup that never took off and used all my money, then built my current company. We went through a lot of challenging times and had numerous events that I thought would be game-enders, we survived them all and now continue to get better everyday. Sometimes it’s like riding a rocket ship with no steering wheel, but I have gotten used to it and now expect to continue succeeding as time goes on.
Anything else additional you want to tell our readers?
If you're looking to get into SEO or stepping up your SEO game, start by educating yourself to understand the basics and what you should pay for good SEO. If you can’t afford good SEO hire a consultant on a limited basis and focus on creating valuable content that solves problems for your customers and demonstrates your expertise in a legitimate way. SEO can help a good business get exposure and grow, but if your not able to hold onto customers and need short-term sales to stay afloat you are better of focusing on your business model and how you can provide better value that leads to strong customer retention and return business. The old tricks are out of SEO, so focus on offering value through the content you publish on your website and promote that content online to get maximum exposure.