Just over 30 years ago I walked through the doors of Companies House on Old Street London, holding all of my completed documents, checked and stamped by a solicitor, hoping to register a Limited company.
Just over 30 years ago I walked through the doors of Companies House on Old Street London, holding all of my completed documents, checked and stamped by a solicitor, hoping to register a Limited company.
I was a nervous teenager, surrounded by businessmen in pin stripe suits passing me in and out at speed. Scared, wary of rejection and doing what everyone else said not to do (taboo for a teenager in the 1990s), life stood still as I walked through the foyer, every inch of me wanting to walk back out.
I handed the envelope of documents to the receptionist who looked at me oddly, maybe because I was so visibly ill at ease, or perhaps my age or because I was the only one not in a suit, before accepting them from me.
These days companies are opened (and closed) online within a blink of an eye.
Since that day, I've done whatever I could to make it work, designing logos, helping create brands, taking photographs and printing business cards, before the internet grew and I started creating websites and providing online marketing and optimisation services for as many local businesses as I could.
Three decades later and Design Brothers has helped over 500 businesses, organisations, manufacturers, government departments, charities and community projects - some directly and some on behalf of other marketing agencies.
As diverse as these organisation types are, from legal services and healthcare, to the manufacturer of tiles and railway infrastructure, they all needed a varying level of service and online presence. This has kept things very interesting, with not too many clients competing for first position in the same industry and area.
Over the last three decades, we have also had thousands of businesses contact us to ask for help. Some have been competitors of existing clients and some have not had realistic business models or budgets, so we haven't taken them on. Instead, we have provided them with the best advice for their individual circumstances.
Half of our clients find us via internet searches, while some of our long term clients have come to us via referrals over many years, which is why we still attend some of the best networking events across London. It is rewarding to help and watch people grow their businesses as a result of the support we are able to give them.
Since registering our business at Companies House, we have moved office five times, from my parents house, to Bromley High Street, to Beckenham, to South Norwood and now Central Croydon. Whatever has been the best for us and our clients to commute to and from, we've made the most of the opportunities that have come our way.
Whilst most of our clients are London based, we’ve also travelled the country a fair bit over the last 30 years, meeting up with clients and discovering interesting countryside pubs and out of the way places.
I am glad to say we don’t have 500 clients at any one time – organisations companies get bought out, get new boards of directors and employ their colleagues, some boards decide to bring services in-house, while others retire and close.
Whilst over 20 of our clients have literally been with us for decades, we usually have an active client base of just over 100. This means we can spend time with each client and their website every week, ensuring they stay at the top of search for their selected search terms, and also have time to update websites quickly with new products or services and start new projects.
SEO or Optimisation, which was in its infancy when we started 30 years ago, has gained significant prominence over the past two decades. Despite people thinking it’s a quick and easy thing to do, it remains something that requires full understanding in order to do properly. So we also spend time researching SEO models and continuously developing our skills to provide the best service we can to our clients.
It's been a truly amazing 30 years, full of challenges, fun, brilliant people and experiences.
Will SEO and similar technologies be around in 20-30 years? Who knows!
- The Hierarchy of SEO Needs
- SEO starts with the first line of code
- What is the best website system?
- SEO does not work for every business!
- The best ways to check your website's performance are free
- Why has SEO become so convoluted?
