This week I had the honour of shaking the hand and presenting a seminar on internet marketing to a man who knew John F Kennedy! 87 years young, and still a practising lawyer.

Today, I am preparing for a full days intensive training for a room full of 12 people. My favourite kind of teaching. Small, intensive and powerful. Here’s a sneak peek at the notes for today (you’ll have to turn your head and click to enlarge)…

Internet Marketing Seminar MarkAttwood.com

UPDATE AFTER THE EVENT:

…and here are some of the testimonials I got after a hard but rewarding 8.5 hours straight talking (big thanks to Mike Philbin for organising and Steve Wild for driving the decks)….

I can genuinely say to all our friends, clients, subscribers and suppliers, that 2011 has been amazing. We are all incredibly grateful for the support you have shown, and really appreciate your business.

On a personal note, I believe we are entering a golden age in 2012, and many of the “crises” and “disasters” you hear about on the news are just the death throes of a failed system. Have hope and belief in a wonderful future.

For now, please enjoy our little Christmas video…

We’re looking for a new copywriter to join our fantastic team of PALovians (people who work for PAL – Perfect Associates Limited) in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire.

The job involves writing lots of SEO and website copy (we are an internet marketing company), but also we need someone who can write to higher standards (or at least aspires to) because we’re also a publishing company.

Here’s our skip hire magazine:

Here’s our magazine for goalkeepers:

You’ll need to be able to write fast and hard and accurately. Not be a piss-taker. Love working in a young dynamic team environment.

Here are some of our PAL Family on our regular company culture day explaining what it means to them to work at PAL:

We’ll pay whatever you’re worth. Come and have a chat with us to see if we’re a good match?

Send your CV to sam.day@perfectassociates.co.uk as soon as you can and we’ll be in touch!

You’ve got to laugh at this.

Whilst working on some adwords accounts for our clients, these are some of the reasons why google banned our ads:

{Keyword} Ash Cum Ridley – Currently we do not allow ad text containing the word ‘cum’ to run on Google. Please remove this inappropriate language from your ad and we will be happy to run your ad on Google.

{Keyword} Ashton – Google does not permit the advertising of tobacco or tobacco-related products. Please see our guidelines for our full policy.

{Keyword} Pill – Your ad appears to contain pharmacy-related content. Google requires pharmacies in the US to be accredited with the National Association Boards of Pharmacy… Google policy does not allow Adwords ads for prescription drugs to be displayed in other countries.

{Keyword} Westward Ho! – Google’s policy does not permit excessive or unnecessary punctuation. Please see our guidelines for our full policy.

{Keyword} St Bride’s Major – At this time, Google does not permit Adwords ads for websites that promote mail order brides. Related keywords or ad text are also not permitted.

So, now we’re going to have to get on to our account manager at Google with a map of the UK in hand!

What’s hilarious is:

1. If Google is so clever, why hasn’t it got UK place names in it’s database?
2. The tone of their reasons for not allowing the adverts is pure Newspeak. Our moral guardians! My arse.

Have you ever had anything like this happen to you with adwords?

Join these other smart business owners today by getting on the list to find out when I run my next Internet Marketing Power Seminar by filling out the form below…

“SEO champion of the World. Undefeated in all competitions.”
Mark Gill, Partner iVideo Productions

“I have worked with Mark, and continue to work with him, on a range of online marketing projects, and was delighted to speak at one of his events. As far as I’m concerned, his search marketing expertise is unequalled. If anyone wants a web site to top the search engine results, Mark is the person I recommend without hesitation. He is also one of the most decent and generous people I’ve ever known, in or out of the business world.”
Ben Hunt, Author of “Convert!” and “Save the Pixel”

“I first met Mark at a speaking event with Rachel Elnaugh and he just blew me away. I came out of that conference with the inspiration and knowledge to make real and positive changes to my business. His advice has followed me through my career and I often put his SEO tips into practice for friends and clients. Mark is also a fantastic guy and a pleasure to work along side of.”
Helen Sarah Gammons, Media Liaison and Project Leader, SIFE

“Mark Attwood has been my secret weapon for my business.
So…… I am not going to tell you how he has helped me!
Go and find out for yourself, but be assured your in safe hands and you will get the results you want if you follow his advice and put in the work!
You can’t afford not to in 2011 and beyond….”
Stephen Lowrey, Shout 123 Entertainment Agency

“Mark Attwood is a true expert in the area of SEO and internet marketing. He is interesting, funny and explains things in a way both techies and no techies can understand.
I have attended a number of Mark’s seminars and they have been amazing, each seminar I have attended has sky rocketed my business.
In the time I have worked with Mark I have gone from being so low down on Google I could not find my website to being page one for my selection of keywords, and my ranks are always improving. Even better than just being on page one I understand how I got there, what to do to keep myself there, and how to repeat it for any new websites/pages I launch.
This high ranking and Marks help to work on conversion rates I have made a massive return on my investment.
“Mark can really skyrocket your profits! I have no hesitation in recommending him for any internet marketing based work and his seminar series/inner circle is a must for anyone marketing on-line!”
TOM GODWIN, Foresight Fitness Services

“If you need genuine expert advise in the area of Search Engine Optimisation then don’t look anywhere else.
Mark has helped us to understand some of the mystery behind SEO and has started from the ground up in helping our business gain traction with the search engines. SEO is the foundation of your web site and whilst some companies will simply try and cheat the system, long term you need a dynamic, SEO friendly strategy from a trusted source.
SEO is an every changing landscape but Mark and his team are up to date with all the latest developments and they will be happy to teach and advise.
Highly recommended!”
Steven Clarke, Cameron Clarke Leasing

“Mark’s can-do approach pervades all aspects of his work and perfectly compliments his expert and up-to-date knowledge of his subject. A pleasure to work with.”
Eve Pincus, Pincus Kitchen Design

“In an industry littered with dreamers and charlatans, Mark is the genuine article. His methods and practices are legitimate sensible and deliver results.
I would recommend Mark Attwood for his SEO consultancy and seminars. They have certainly helped my business.”
Rick Holmes, Mobile Install

“Mark is a pleasure to deal with with 100% professionalism on display at all times. His marketing and SEO knowledge is second to none with boundless enthusiasm and commitments to both areas of expertise. I would have no hesitation in recommending Mark.”
James Hargreaves, Partner, Hargreaves & Woods Chartered Accountants

“I have been working with Mark for just over a year and the advice, help and support he and his team have given me is fantastic. But, more importantly, the stuff he teaches works !!!”
Mike Philbin, Director, NuLife FloorCare

“Mark gives very hands on, practically advice, ensuring we have the knowledge to make our campaigns a success. His level of enthusiasm and ideas never cease’s to surprise me!”
Andrew Mault, Managing Director, Sollertia Accountants Ltd.

“Mark is an amazing personality, an inspirational presenter with an in-depth knowledge of Internet marketing. His direction has placed my site rankings above larger more powerful competitors and our continued collaboration has provided us with a platform for a successful online business.”
Martin Holling, Managing Director Travel Empire Ltd.

“I’ve used Mark on several occasions over the last few years, I find his enthusiasm, creativity and depth of knowledge incredibly productive and immensely inspiring. I would wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone if you are serious about improving your website, web presence and profitability.”
NIck Gregan, Nick Gregan Photography Ltd.

“Mark knows what works and what doesn’t. He proves it with his own businesses and has the ability and desire to teach this to others. I wouldn’t go anywhere else for internet marketing advice.”
William Haseldine, Director Skin Genesis Ltd.

“I first met Mark at a networking event he was speaking at (its where I meet all the best people!) – and found him to be very entertaining but more importantly, extremely knowledgeable about his subject. As with anyone who really knows their stuff, Mark is inspiring and not only reminds you of stuff you know you should be doing but gives you a myriad of other ideas you had never even thought of. Mark has given me some great advice on improving our e-commerce site and is generous with both his time and his advice.
If you need proper help from someone who really has done it themselves (as opposed to those who just know about it theoretically, or by repackaging other peoples work) – then you need to speak to Mark. He has walked the walk!”
Carole Fossey, Director Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Just checking out Google Page Speed labs this morning. I’ve mentioned many times that speed is an important seo ranking factor.

Had a good look around my main money sites, and they’re all doing fine. One site I pay little attention to is this one, so I happily show you how far I have to go in terms of improving page speed today (click to enlarge)…

A 47% score ain’t good. (Google is 98% – check it out here)

What does this mean in practical terms for your website? How fast do you need to be?

Well, are you above all your competitors for the keywords that matter?

If the answer is “Yes” – don’t worry about page speed until the answer is “No”. Go and do something more productive like a random act of kindness to your best customers, rewarding your best sales people with a slap-up dinner at their favourite restaurant, playing lego with you five little kids (oh, that’s me. Gotta go…:-)

P.S. If you need any help making your site faster, get in touch and we’ll be glad to help if we can.

Behind the pork pie hat (I´m only 5″8´!), these are the Castells in Tarragona, Catelonia, on my iPhone. An amazing display of teamwork, risk, higher purpose, community and, ultimately, happiness. A lot can be learned about running a business from this…

And, to add a touch of class and originality to this blog post, here´s my old friend Paul Waring´s painting of this extraordinary tradition:

Hello!

We’re hiring at PAL. We’re a multi-million pound, entrepreneurial, fun company looking to make the world a better place! We need a fantastic web developer/designer ASAP to join us every day in our lovely offices in Cheadle Hulme. Here’s a little video explaining more. If you like the look of what you see, please send your CV and a letter explaining why we should interview and hire you to Steve Wild via the form below

- It saves us thousands every month
- It makes us thousands every month
- It points the way forward for all our future marketing efforts
- It’s not being done by any of our competitors

Want to know what it is?

Contact us to find out.

(you didn’t think I was going to broadcast it to the world, did you?)