Improved visibility seems to be a theme in Jonny Ross’s evolving career. First, he ran businesses that helped others see better. Now he runs a business that helps others see you better online.
Yet except when observed from this perspective, Ross’s first small business experience couldn’t be more different than his present one.
He began his career running a small retail chain of optometrists in the UK.
Today he runs a website development, SEO, social media and digital marketing agency helping other businesses with their online visibility.
The change for Ross came when an ecommerce website he owned was given a Google penalty.
Worse than being downgraded, this means a site is dropped completely from the search engine ranking.
The result can be extremely costly for a retail businesses since it severely limits the ability of customers to find your site online. And it is a situation which Ross, in his new role as an SEO consultant, says can take months if not years to rectify.
It might have been enough to turn many business owners off from Internet marketing for good. But Ross had the opposite reaction.
He vowed not to trust rehabilitation of his site to an external agency. Instead, he set out to learn everything he could about how search engines worked.
A New Online Career Beckons
The result of all Ross’s research was much more than the rehabilitation of his website on Google (which he did achieve!) It was also a new fascination with website development and Search Engine Optimization.
Today, Ross’s business, Jonny Ross Consultancy specializes in helping other businesses improve their social presence.
His services now also include social media and his clients include B2B and B2C businesses in the fields of education, law, ecommerce, hospitality and health.
Ross says he believes in limiting technical jargon and in trying to help his clients understand and manage their own Web presence and online marketing more effectively.
He also shares his knowledge on the JRC blog.
A Community Offers a Chance to Share
Ross says he likes sites like the BizSugar community for a variety of reasons.
“Running a business has the potential to be a lonely experience, if you don’t take time out to network with your peers and share experiences and learning with other business owners,” he explains. “The BizSugar community brings together small business leaders from around the world, so is a valuable and convenient opportunity to do this.”
But Ross says he also comes for the content:
“As much of the BizSugar content is submitted or commented on by many others working in small businesses, it is really useful and informative. The site content is rich and varied as a result of this collective knowledge,” he ads
If you’d like to be a BizSugar Contributor of the Week like Jonny Ross and have your business profiled here, just sign up for a free BizSugar account and start sharing content.
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