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Rishi -

Can you recommend a good resource that supports point number 2?  I'd love to learn more about what they are actually doing to downgrade exact match domains.

Thanks

Sounds like a pretty great endorsement, Storwell! Pay for a few hours of help  Or at least get started by implementing the great free advice you just got!.

It shouldn't really matter BUT "storage" in the domain name could be the issue.  I have a couple competitors in my niche that win a high position on Google based almost entirely on their domain names.  No relevant backlinks but excellent on-page SEO.  The only reason we beat them is that we have a VERY old site with LOTS of great backlinks, content and history.  I hate it that this is true and I know Google is addressing it, but the inurl keyword deal has way  too much value.

Again...  Just my opinion based on my own experience.  I'm not an SEO for hire - I do this for my own businesses only.  There are many people who post in these forums with a much broader knowledge on this kind of thing than me. So... weigh your choices carefully - or as Guru Egol suggests, find a good consultant.  It's amazing what one conversation with a knowledgeable consultant can do for you.  Even at a ridiculously high hourly rate it worth talking to a "rock star" if you can get access to one!

My experience with 301s has been excellent even when redirecting from one root domain to another.  If the content of the page doesn't change much I don't see where you'd have a problem.  So if I were you I wouldn't let that part prevent me from making the change.

As far as the change in domain name goes... no matter what Google says, they sure seem to credit an enormous amount of weight to keywords in a domain.  Your customers are looking for self storage, right?  I'd have that in the domain if I could. I don't see the risk.  Maybe someone smarter than me could address that for you but IMO and based on my experience there is little risk.

That said... I did a Google search for "Toronto self storage" and you had no local listing.  If you don't have your local business listings set up, maybe this would be a better place to focus a little effort...?

Thanks for your reply, Mike.  I've been monitoring HARO for a couple weeks now and I haven't found any requests that work for my clients.  I love the idea though and will continue to watch for opportunities.

We're working on a wikipedia page currently (already blew it with them once for creating a page with content that was too self-promoting - lesson learned).

I posted a question a couple days ago about getting local DMOZ listings and was reminded that this is easier said than done.  I was able to get DMOZ listings easily up until about 3 years ago when the whole organization seems to have fallen asleep.

When you are starting an SEO project for a new website (or an old one with few or worthless links) where to you start?  What are your basic "get the link building started" link sources?

I guess you can be thankful for the one you managed to get : )

Great simple list of tips.  Much appreciated, Lewis!

Thanks, Rishi!

Definitely, Liz...  Google places works for this client very well.

Thanks!

It shouldn't really matter BUT "storage" in the domain name could be the issue.  I have a couple competitors in my niche that win a high position on Google based almost entirely on their domain names.  No relevant backlinks but excellent on-page SEO.  The only reason we beat them is that we have a VERY old site with LOTS of great backlinks, content and history.  I hate it that this is true and I know Google is addressing it, but the inurl keyword deal has way  too much value.

Again...  Just my opinion based on my own experience.  I'm not an SEO for hire - I do this for my own businesses only.  There are many people who post in these forums with a much broader knowledge on this kind of thing than me. So... weigh your choices carefully - or as Guru Egol suggests, find a good consultant.  It's amazing what one conversation with a knowledgeable consultant can do for you.  Even at a ridiculously high hourly rate it worth talking to a "rock star" if you can get access to one!

If I'm understanding you correctly, yes... this would work.  I've done this several times with great success.  For example... For a client,  I purchased the website www.abc.com which ranked #1 on Google for "abc".  I placed a 301 and re-directed to a page on my client's site that had related content and within a week or two the page on that site ranked #1 for "abc".  It simply replaced the old site in the SERPs.

I haven't tried this with brand new domains though.  I would either find a site (looking for ugly old un-cared for sites that ranked well) that I could buy for a reasonable price or I would put up a new site, do some content building and link building and when it was strong enough (after maybe a year or so) I'd do the same trick.  I don't do it much but when I have it's worked every time.