Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
When opening any small business, you want to do what’s best to gain an edge in marketing and make sure that you’re doing your best for your flowering company. The new trends and changes can be daunting if you’re unfamiliar with technology or the marketing world.
Float centers are no exception. So when you get a call from someone claiming to be able to boost your SEO standing, it can seem like a really good deal. How do you tell if these companies are legit? And do float centers really need SEO help? Graham and Ashkahn break this down and simplify it for the uninitiated.
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Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Ashkahn: This is Ashkahn.
Graham: And I’m Graham.
Ashkahn: And we got a question.
Graham: It is, “I have an SEO consultant wanting to charge me hundreds of dollars a month to keep me ranked well. How important is SEO in a float tank center when there aren’t a bunch of other centers in your town?”
Ashkahn: When there aren’t a bunch of other centers in your town?
Graham: When there are not a bunch of other centers in your town.
Ashkahn: Okay, so first, just tip number one, is that there are a lot of scams out there. There are a lot of scams out there, specifically around these companies sending you emails telling you things like, “We’ll get you ranked number one on Google,” or “We’ll get you ranked number one on this,” or guaranteeing you that you’ll be ranked number one on Google.
Graham: Mm-hmm.
Ashkahn: Those are pretty much almost always scams. If people are saying very concrete language like that, that’s just not how SEO works. SEO is search engine optimization. I guess we should go over that.
Graham: Yeah, that’s what I was going to go into, too.
Ashkahn: SEO’s about when people type in something into a search engine, and almost always people are talking about Google. When people are typing things into Google, like how quickly does your thing pop up? Where are you? What number are you on the list?
Graham: This is an organic kind of placement as opposed to getting ads or something like that.
Ashkahn: Right.
Graham: These are kind of like two sides of search engine marketing in general is ads plus SEO equals overall search engine marketing, so right now we’re just talking about that, getting ranked naturally without paying for ads.
Often what those companies do, too, if they guarantee you a number one spot, is they’re just guaranteeing that they’re going to bid the highest on an ad spot or something like that, and they’re not actually talking about that organic placement. That’s the part where it gets more or less scam-y, depending on who you’re talking to.
Ashkahn: I even saw a scam once that was a company selling search engine optimization, so they were like, the more you spend, the higher they’ll guarantee that you be. What was going on was they were creating their own search platform that they were selling spots to.
Graham: Wow.
Ashkahn: So you’d have a really high ranking on a search engine that absolutely nobody uses, is what their company was doing.
Graham: We’re in the wrong business. We should sell floats to a float center that doesn’t exist or something.
Ashkahn: So, be careful. When people are out there telling you stuff like that, be careful. Part of the reason why concrete claims like that are very suspicious is that there is not a number one spot in a Google search. Google does things based off of your past search history, your location. They take information like that into account.
Graham: What you ate for breakfast that day.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: They know it all, so.
Ashkahn: Exactly. When you got a haircut. They’re keeping track of everything, and when you search something they use the context of everything they know about you to provide you with links they think are going to be the best for you, so it’s not like there is … If you were to type in “float tank” across a bunch of different people, you’d see different results based off of who was doing the search.
Graham: Even here in Portland, depending on whether you’re closer to The Float Shoppe, or Enso, or us has a lot to do with who pops up first in the rankings for “float tank”.
Ashkahn: Yeah, so the results are a lot softer than people saying, “We’ll make you the number one ranked thing”. It’s kind of just like you’re doing a lot, and no one exactly knows how Google’s algorithm works. We have some good ideas. Google puts out some information.
Graham: I don’t think even Google knows anymore.
Ashkahn: Yeah. There’s some giant robot brain somewhere that actually understands, but Google keeps parts of its algorithms secret so that people can’t game the system too much. They put out some information, rather, but they also change it all the time, and they change what’s prioritized. There’s also a bunch of ways that people still try to game Google’s system and do things that Google considers shady practices of trying to boost your SEO, and Google cracks down on those over time. As time goes on, Google figures out what those are, and they punish you if you try to manipulate their systems like that.
Graham: Yeah, so it’s also a good lesson if you do end up going with a company that’s promising to put you at the top of even organic search, chances are they’re taking advantage of some inefficiencies in the system, and sometimes those even can come back to haunt you if Google finds out that you’ve been doing something to artificially pop up your website to the top of ranks when you shouldn’t be there. They might just artificially lower it on their side to penalize you for that. There’s kind of this idea of being pushed into Google purgatory for some companies who are being punished when they shouldn’t be. But all of a sudden, it’s just they’re not showing up in any searches, and if that’s important for their business, it takes a huge dive.
It’s one of those reasons, in addition to wanting to be above board and be a good business, to not engage in those more shady gray hat or black hat practices, is often what they’re called.
Ashkahn: Yeah, versus white hat, which is the good, approved way of doing things.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: The thing with SEO, there is definitely a technical side to it. There’s ways of linking things that affect SEO. There’s ways of putting keywords into parts of your website that you don’t think they’re supposed to be in, stuff like that. So there’s some technical know-how, but the biggest stuff that comes with SEO is stuff that you should be able to understand. It’s having good, robust content on your website. It’s having lots of people reference your website and point back to it.
If you’re hiring someone who’s doing SEO and they’re not able to explain to you some of the things they’re doing and what some of the bigger –
Graham: And they sound reasonable.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: Like, “Oh, you should have a blog post that goes out once a month”, or “You should try to get some other wellness places in town to link over to your site”.
Ashkahn: Yeah, exactly.
Graham: Those really basic, intuitive behaviors are what you’re looking for.
Ashkahn: Yeah, so if they’re not telling you any stuff like that, and they’re just telling you they’re doing all sorts of weird stuff behind-the-scenes, something probably weird is going on there.
Graham: If it sounds like tech black magic or something, and they’re just trying to obfuscate what they’re doing behind this screen of technical language, then don’t buy into it.
Ashkahn: Uh-huh. So none of this has really answered your question so far. So, let’s assume they are. They’re a great SEO company. They’re charging you money, and they’re doing everything well and legitimately, and you’re paying for a good service.
Graham: Yeah, so the question really is if there’s even five float centers in a town and people are searching for sensory deprivation, or float tank, or float center, probably all five of those are going to pop up on a search.
Ashkahn: Yeah. In a row, probably.
Graham: Likely, yeah. Just all above the fold, which means on the screen where you first start without having to scroll down to see other content. So how important…? For restaurants, spending money on SEO and being ranked at the top of restaurant searches in a city, given how many restaurants can compete. You’re competing for a huge portion of people who want to have dinner, and when they’re searching online, that’s a huge benefit if you can pop up at the top of those results. But for a float center when you’re not competing with hundreds of other people, I wonder how much it’s really worthwhile to invest in it, you know?
Ashkahn: The people who are doing SEO the hardest are companies that sell to the entire global market and exist on the internet. Then you’re competing with so many people that you really are trying to get yourself even visible because you could end up ten pages deep on Google searches.
If you’re not showing up at all, then something’s pretty wrong, but it’d be really hard. If you’re doing just some basic stuff, like you have your business listed on Google Places and you have a website that includes words like the name of your city and the words “float tank”, things like that, it’d be pretty hard to even screw up to the point that you wouldn’t be listed on that first page and probably decently close to the top. It’s probably just going to be a list of float centers.
There are better ways to tell with your own browser than just typing something into Google. Using an incognito window helps a little bit, but Google also has guest windows, which don’t take your previous data into account as much. They’re still going to know your location and stuff like that, but that’s going to give you a slightly more unbiased Google search than just googling through the browser window that you normally use.
Graham: Here’s what you do. You should reach out to a family member or a college friend who lives in a different city and have them google “float tanks” and the name of your city. And, preferably, you’ve had less contact with them, so call up someone you haven’t talked to in four years and be like, “Look, I have a favor. I just need you to hop on Google and do a search for this”.
You can also just go on DuckDuckGo, which is an alternate search engine that doesn’t take those things into account. So it won’t mimic Google exactly, nor could you because it’s a different search for everyone, but it gives you a little more of an idea of unbiased search results from DuckDuckGo, using that as a testing search engine.
Ashkahn: Yeah, but at the end of the day, is it worth a few hundred dollars a month?
Graham: I might pay a few hundred dollars when I was first opening.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: For review, to make sure my site is hitting all of the basic essentials, and maybe I have a game plan going forward to make sure that I’m staying on top of the SEO duties I need, but I wouldn’t pay something ongoing.
Ashkahn: No, and the SEO stuff does change, maybe once every year, once every two years, or if you’re making a big change to your website or something like that. Those are times when it’s good to bring in an SEO person. Sometimes when you’re making big changes to your website, Google doesn’t like stuff like that, and you kind of have to do the right steps to make sure you don’t get artificially punished for it. There’s moments like that where, yeah, totally pay someone with SEO to come help.
Graham: Yeah, and after you’ve been open for a year, you can just trade floats for it, you know?
Ashkahn: Yeah, which is what we do. But, yeah, especially in the context of this question. There’s not even that many float centers around. That does not sound to me like a great use of money.
Graham: And the fact that someone’s trying to actually pitch you on paying a few hundred dollars a month also makes me think it sounds a little scam-y. I just almost feel really good SEO people wouldn’t even pitch that out of the gate to a small brick-and-mortar local business.
Ashkahn: Here’s the best thing about finding good SEO people, you can just do a Google search and whoever shows up on top, that’s the person you should hire.
Graham: Yeah, like hiring a salesman or something.
Ashkahn: Uh-huh.
Graham: Like if you feel like you should hire him, you probably should because he’s very convincing. Alright.
Ashkahn: So, good. Yeah. There you go.
Graham: Done.
Ashkahn: Alright. If you have other questions, you can go to floattanksolutions.com/podcast.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Should I Wire my Float Tanks into the Wall? – DSP 265
Ashkahn is currently recovering from his talk and the after-party last night, but Jake and Graham have gracefully taken the time to answer a construction question again today.
On the docket today is a question about wiring a float tank directly into the wall. Graham and Jake provide an overview of why some people may prefer this (it’s much easier to keep waterproof, e.g.), and why at Float On they use the twist lock for their outlets and how to properly utilize them.
Can I Keep My Old Ceiling With My Buildout? – DSP 264
Hopefully everyone had a lovely time at the Friday Activities and the after-party.
Ashkahn is still busy running the conference, but Graham and Jake have stepped in to talk about construction!
Today the guys talk about keeping a drop ceiling or T-bar ceiling in an existing space that you’re converting to a float center. The short answer is don’t keep it, as it can cause problems, but the guys do have some workarounds if your landlord is opposed to changing the ceiling.
What to Expect When Expanding from 1 to 3 Tanks? – DSP 263
Ashkahn is busy preparing for everything that happens tonight and tomorrow for the Conference, but that doesn’t mean Daily Solutions will stop being daily.
Graham and Jake talk construction and what to expect when you’re expecting… a giant expansion for your float center. What’s it look like when you go from one tank to three? How do the demands change? What needs to be put in place to make sure that you’re not hitting snags?
Fortunately, these guys know the score and are happy to share.
All About Floor Drains – DSP 262
As Ashkahn gets everything ready for the Start a Center Workshop (happening today) and the Float Conference this weekend, Graham and Jake tackle answering construction questions on the podcast.
Today they’re talking about floor drains. What to consider for drains and how they might pair with different types of flooring. Given the hefty price tag for these more advanced drains, having as much research before making a decision on these is essential. Luckily, the guys have done the hard part already and identified a lot of things to consider.
How to Deal with Float Room Humidity – DSP 261
Graham and Jake are at the helm again while Ashkahn puts the finishing touches on the Float Conference.
Today, the guys are talking all about humidity and how to deal with it when constructing your float rooms. They talk about all the little nuances that you (or your contractor) might not think about when it comes to humidity and how soundproofing and regular airflow may not always go hand in hand.
Latest Blog Posts
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #24
Alberta is often called the Texas of Canada. Part large oil industry, part cattle country.
Don’t Mess With Alberta!
At the base of the Rocky Mountains, replete with an Olympic Stadium, Calgary is a world-class destination for winter sports. The float community developed here similarly to Edmonton – there wasn’t anything nearby except for one or two residential float tanks, and then, in a short period of time, several centers opened all at once. Instead of competing, they’ve decided to work together and have developed one of the tightest knit float communities we’ve seen. They even have monthly Float Dinners, much like we do with the float centers in Portland. They don’t keep meeting minutes, so it’s hard to determine what they talk about at these dinners; my guess would be salt, the effects of salt on various substances, and how salty salt damage can make someone salty.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #23
After Montana, we blazed our way back into Canada. The drive was long, but the scenery was beautiful. We followed the Rockies north, driving up to Edmonton. It’s a bit of a detour but, there are so many float centers in Edmonton, it seemed crazy not to stop by.
The city itself is primarily made up of workers from the oil fields – high risk, high income jobs that fuel the economy. At least until recently. Our visit was right in the middle of the Fort McMurray wildfire which has displaced a lot of the workforce, forcing 100,000 people to leave their homes. Many came to Edmonton, being the nearest metropolitan area to Fort McMurray. Some already split their time between the two cities, living in Edmonton and traveling to Fort McMurray for weeks or months at a time for work.
It’s understood that, in economic hardship, luxury commodities are typically the first thing people cut back on. Surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to be the case for floating. In fact, more people seem to be trying it to help alleviate the stress, many centers even offering free or discounted services to those displaced in an effort to help in a small way.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #22
We’ve got two more stops in Colorado Springs before heading west. It’s a town known for its military base and long history of weapons testing. With such a large military presence, it comes as no surprise that the float center owners here are veterans, themselves.
After that, we shoot across to Salt Lake City. Utah is filled with gorgeous sights, from breathtaking lakes to stunning painted hills. With an international landmark famous for its effects on buoyancy, Salt Lake City should be pretty familiar with the concept of floating. With five different float centers, and the manufacturer of the Zen Tent out there, there could be some cause and effect.
After that, we head up into Idaho and Montana to close out the Central United States portion of our Tour. We’ll follow the Rocky Mountains north, taking in the scenery along the way.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #21
Denver has been home to a vibrant float community for a long time. Some of the earliest commercial centers that started up in the ‘70s and ‘80s were out here. 30 years is a long time, and most of the old centers aren’t around anymore, but there’s a conscious community that has been floating since the old days and they love how much the industry has evolved and grown.
