Changing colors of Logo Design SEO |
Categories: Logo Design News, Logo Design SEO, Logo Designers, logo designs
Written By: Nora Reed
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Any of you happen to come across lengthy posts by some self-proclaimed masters of design industry? It seems like few “companies” and “freelancers” have an intense opposition against Google and its search mechanism. Nowadays, some absurd cases are seen active in the logo design industry, creating bizarre hypes about Google. |
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Google search brazenly challenged:Undoubtedly, whole world massively depends on Google and its search assistance but no one has been able to explain how Google mechanism actually works. Taking this advantage, a handful of companies and freelancers seem to be propagating “their” philosophy of Google mechanism. They have gone as far as challenging the authenticity of Google by ridiculing its search results and surprisingly only for the term “logo design”. |
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| Logobird.com has brazenly challenged the authenticity of Google search capabilities saying, | |||||||||||
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| Yesterday, Steve Douglas from thelogofactory.com further gave his words of favor, saying | |||||||||||
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Why do I get the feeling these people are close relatives of Google?  |
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If you can’t beat them, defame them: Logo designing is a growing industry and being a part of it is a battle of nerves. Those who cannot stand the test of times either lose the race or lose their nerves…what say? |
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| What really surprised me was the entrée of David Airey in this bizarre act. Frankly speaking, I have always respected David as a very competent and skilled graphic designer, and still do. But I need to ask this… where is David heading for? Being the “sole operator” of multiple blogs, I fail to understand how can one slay his time in this spy work? To set the record straight, LogoBlog is owned by DK Tech in UAE. Its sole purpose is to provide logo design related and useful resources to its users. | |||||||||||
"I never lie because I don’t fear anyone"Let us now come on the subject of SEO and its latest color hats. In one of David’s recent post, when one of the readers asked about his link building techniques, this is what he replies |
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| I’m sure that poor reader would want to see these directory submissions. By the way, isn’t this called SEO as well? | |||||||||||
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Contradicting Statements:The babbling does not end here. Steve further contradicts himself with another “enlightening” verity about SEO: |
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| For those who do not know, Graham Smith so-called freelance designer at imjustcreative.com is busy creating multiple blogs to support his “friends” by doing some SEO work for them. After all, what are friends for? As David titled one of his recent post …“Birds of a feather, flock together”….so true! | |||||||||||
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It’s either my way or the highway:Then there is Graham Smith, (a “ very good friend” of David) who blatantly declares “Avoid Sub £100 logo designs”.What a tactful way of saying “It’s either my way or the highway”. What about those who cannot afford a logo design over £100 (from big designers), don’t they have a right to own a logo design? What a diplomatic way of diverting people towards oneself by labeling companies who offer low cost, economical logo design solutions as “criminals” (as quoted by Graham Smith) and portraying oneself as a “savior”. |
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Who is the ring leader?After reading the ludicrous stories put together by this “friend circle”, I learnt that connecting blogs and making relations isn’t so hard after all. |
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| This mysterious connection made me ponder… “who is the ring leader?” They are taking up a daunting move by challenging Google’s search results, with Steve declaring “We’re all in this together” | |||||||||||
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Update:I would like to clarify this post a bit, and update things for the record. I do not wish to imply David Airey is lying or a liar in anyway. After reading David’s comment below, and thinking more about it I see now what he is saying. He makes a good point. I’m a big fan of both David’s design, and his blog and wish him all the best and hope he continues to contribute to our discussions here. |
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April 28th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Lol! my way or highway. Very well written. A few points to be considered. All the so-called police of design industry tend to hate every other type of similar businesses. Be it contest sites, design companies or DIY design solutions, they hate them all as they all are taking business away from the so-called design industry experts. Secondly, this Steve guy makes me laugh. Look at his site, thelogofactory.com I wish he could spend more time on making a professional and clean site then to spend hours being a logo spy. Lol. With so much going on his site, I would call it a Disco site probably made in the 70’s.
April 28th, 2010 at 11:30 am
[...] it over at Logoblog.org. Sadly, they didn’t link here, but I’ll link to them. Read changing colors of logo design seo if you’re so [...]
April 28th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
So freakin’ true Rob, well said.
Ama logo designer since ages and these so-called industry experts logo police type of creatures progressively make me wanna puke. They tend to think and propagate to newbies that they are the milestones and founders of the logo design industry. Dream on folks.
[I hope Google blocks this narrow-minded little clique asap
]
April 28th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Just wanted to say read your post, Interesting perspective you have here, can’t say I agree, but that’s not really a surprise now is it.
Feel free to leave comments on my blog if you feel hard done by, I for one am open to debate and discussion. If you feel hard done by, and that information about you is misrepresented or incorrect then say so.
Graham
April 29th, 2010 at 1:38 am
Wow! I have never seen a more sweeter way of slapping someone right in the face. BAM! Good work Nora!
From all the posts coming in from David Airey and Steve Douglas I had begun to wonder if they were just doing it for the right reasons or simply because the competition was just too much for them to take. You really did put them straight. *Sigh* It’s really sad how the big shots of the design industry feel intimidated by a couple of design blogs and sites who know better SEO than them. What a pity! But how about this though, the next time these guys feel intimidated by such sites, do what Google does best, ‘take-over’ the competition and do it the right way instead of playing the blame game.
April 29th, 2010 at 1:56 am
Hi Nora. Please allow me to reply to the part where I’m featured.
Picture this scenario: If a stranger offers you a cigarette, and you quit smoking years ago, you probably say, “No thanks. I don’t smoke.”
Similarly, if a stranger asks me how I my blog acquires links, and I don’t actively spend time on directory submissions, I say (as you quoted), “I don’t spend time submitting to directories.”
What I don’t say is, “A year or four ago I entered my details on Dexigner and created a BlogCatalog profile, but neither of which offer any SEO benefit from what I can tell, because the links within are (and were) tagged with the “nofollow” attribute, so search engines don’t transfer any value to the site that’s linked.”
I believe it would be bad advice to recommend submitting to directories for SEO gain, and I also believe that my blog comment screen-grabbed in your post hasn’t turned Joey from LogoInn into a “poor reader.”
I hope that goes at least a little way towards you not thinking me a liar.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:14 am
Not to nit-pick, but whenever you use the phrase “self-proclaimed”, it generally means the person making the claim, was the one doing the proclaiming. Can’t ever remember referring to myself as the ‘master’ of anything, at any time, anywhere, but no mind. For the record, I run a small design shop that’s never pretended to be anything or anyone else.
Just a couple of quick points for accuracy sake: A quick glimpse of my blog would show you that I link to all sorts of people, companies and sites, not just this silly notion of ‘a chosen few’. Lots and lots. Including your site (even this article). Logo Design Guru. Logo Snap. And a whole bunch of others. I don’t have an issue with competition and even named Logoworks company of the year back in 2009. Conversely, you didn’t link to any of the articles you’re taking quotes from to illustrate this particular screed. Must admit, I found that sorta odd.
In any case, the quote “Why do you link to your competitors?” was taken from a question asked of me, by a competitor of sorts, over dinner recently, because he didn’t understand why. I explained it to him, in exactly the way I wrote on the article you’ve taken so much umbrage with. He found the concept interesting, so I figured working that into a blog article might be interesting for other people too.
Nothing terribly devious. I was talking in general and didn’t think I’d have to point out that I wasn’t just referring to this one, solitary, post about SEO. In terms of that article and linking to David, Graham and Duane, the people you strangely refer to as a ‘team’, their blogs featured similarly themed articles. I added a few links for my readers. And while your awesome infographics are great and all, they miss this one trivial point. That is how search engine guidelines tell us we should do it, though if you have any other suggestions, I’m certainly all ears.
And by the way, while you seem to take exception to people commenting on my blog, should probably point out that blog comments are ‘no follow’, and thus not ‘Black Hat’. In terms of being the Ring Leader of some Black Hat gang, seems I’m a pretty bad one.
‘We’re all in this together’ referred to designers, of all stripes and shapes, being in the design profession ‘together’, despite often being competitors at varying levels. Big picture stuff, as opposed to the little one. It’s not about controlling anything. It is the complete, and utter, opposite of that. All designers can get in on marketing themselves over the internet, picking up new clients and running businesses of their own. In competition with businesses like mine, Logo Design Guru, Logoworks or whoever else is on the front page of Google for logo design. If someone was interested in doing that, I figured it’s worthwhile they know what they’re up against, and how they might work around it. Hence the article you’re referring to. I find it odd that you take such offense about that notion, unless it’s at odds with your agenda, which considering your promotion of Mycroburst, it probably is.
The other takeaway was that being on the front page of Google for “logo design” wasn’t a big deal, which, as surprising as that sounds, isn’t. That’s not a complaint, sour grapes or whining about the competition. It’s a nifty little pearl, that based on my own experience, I found interesting. So would your readers I’d expect.
I find it odd too, that a site who’s sole purpose is to ‘review’ their competition while foisting their own companies through ‘unbiased’ reviews starts off a paragraph with “If you can’t beat them, defame them”. Were I sit, that’s the very definition of Pot. Kettle. Black. Oh that’s right. You have nothing to do with Logo Design Guru or Mycroburst.
Keep forgetting that.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:27 am
Emily: You refer big-shots, although I am not sure if you lumped me into that category, I am FAR from that. Just a regular freelancer, struggling to gain traction and find clients. Had a breakdown a few years ago, lost my family, house and pretty much everything. All you see now is the result of passion, hard work and a desire to make it on my own, in a fair and honest way.
I work hard to promote myself, to get ‘out there’, to be noticed and hopefully regarded. But I do so in a manor that is sincere and honest, and this is all about personal branding and marketing.
I blog relentlessly, I provide useful creative links on a daily basis, I provide detailed posts on some of the logos that I have recently completed. Everything I do is above board in terms of SEO. Nora would have you believe that just because I have the odd ‘satellite’ blog that I am now practising underhand tactics. You just need to spend a few moments on these sites, or indeed following me on Twitter that Nora has simply painted a rather inaccurate picture of this process.
I have my main website, ImJustCreative, which yes links to some friends within the logo industry and other designers. This is a blog-roll, linking to like minded and same subject blogs, this is what a blog-roll is. Nothing underhand about that whatsoever. I also have a number of ‘free’ mini blog websites set up to share the interesting links I find on line, on twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed etc. This links are posted to my Posterous blog and in turn posted to all these other social media sites.
Again, Nora would have you think this is underhand, but its just utlilising social media for it’s intended purpose. Nothing underhand or dirty.
I regularly, as part of this link sharing, feature new and fresh designers, this is my main role. If you take time to look through these ‘satellite sites, such as Blogspot, Facebook, WordPress.org etc, you will see that I mostly feature work from other designers on a daily basis.
I subscribe to over 300 websites, each day looking for new designers and great examples of work to feature.
My SIngle Measures website is just about providing single links of interesting things to other people, like UnderConsideration, Coudal etc. Monoexpression is a black and white photo gallery of creatives, yet Nora has highlighted these as though I am doing something bad. I also have website dedicated to Helvetica and Twitter, I just love the internet and sharing and doing something positive that hopefully other people will get interest of use from.
This article makes out that this is all about ME ME ME, when infact it’s a much fairer balance that that.
Everything I do is above board and takes a huge amounts of time. When I see that Google search results for ‘logo design’ or ‘logo designer’ basically brings up the usual suspects, logo design companies offering poor quality logos for £25 -£100 in 24 hrs, then yes, I get frustrated. And this has been the basis for the posts that has upset Nora.
These companies are not my competition or companies I would usually even worry about. But because of the way they DO do their SEO, regular freelancers are left pages 5-20 onwards.
This is not just me, David or Steve, this affects all the sincere and skilled working freelancers, young and old. Some of my posts have simply been advising clients to look past page one and two to find quality logo designers, who don’t have the means, knowledge or resources to practice this level of SEO.
The reason why David, Steve, Duane and I have been featured in this post is simply because we strongly feel that Google IS being played, and this affects 1000′s of other designers. This is not some personal rampage, this is a effort to just highlight the fact that to rely solely on Google results can be unreliable, especially if you are looking for a quality brand identity, and not just a 24hr cheap logo. We have a larger than usual presence on Twitter for example, so yes, we are using that to our advantage to spread the word about something many many other logo designers want to know about.
Infact many already know or have guessed that something is not quite ‘right’, so all this does is help confirm their suspicions.
This is not some dramatic coupe, it’s just highlighting something that many people already know about.
If Logoblog.org has been unfairly associated with this then I do apologise, this is why I have ask Nora to comment in a less aggressive and untrue manor on my own blog posts, something I am still waiting for her to do.
Regards
Graham
April 29th, 2010 at 5:02 am
Logo and SEO both are providing web sites popularity. SEO technical keywords can make easy to search your websites and nowdays logos are very famous and inserted in the most of the design blog reason behind is one after design of the page . all SEO easily searched by the google search engine.It’s all connected to each other.
April 29th, 2010 at 7:03 am
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April 29th, 2010 at 7:13 am
It was nice of you all to stop by and share your perspectives.
@Rob…I really appreciate your observation of Steve’s site. Me thinks this definitely would make Steve think of a redesign
@Graham Smith…it was really painful to know about your personal loss. On the other hand, good to know that you work hard to get ‘out there’…after all this is what we all are here for. I guess there is no point raising fingers at others.
Thanks for inviting me to your blog, but i dont think i need to further clarify anything, as i have already done it through my post.
April 29th, 2010 at 7:17 am
Nora : Greatly appreciate your willingness to show our comments, I was doubtful you would release my rather ‘epic’ one, but thank you for doing so.
As I have mentioned, maybe through this process of discussion we can resolve some of the worries and concerns shared by some people.
I do have a thought I would like to share, it’s just my opinion but thought it appropriate. I think part of the reason some of us get ‘worried’ is that a lot of these ‘logo design’ sites we mentioned are faceless. I mean that we don’t know anything about the owners, their real motives, their passion and what drives them.
David, Steve, Duane and I are totally transparent in this regard. Anything we do, we do with our name and reputation, either bad or good. No one is in any doubt who we are or what we represent. We don’t pretend to be someone we are not. My other websites you mentioned in this post, are clearly mine. I make no attempt to hide my ownership from people, either in the URL or in the ABout or via other obvious links. This is true for Posterous, WordPress, SIngle Measures and Monoexpression.
However, many of the sites that David, Steve and I have been talking about are pretty much faceless. And I think some people get concerned when they do not know who they are dealing with, it can create a false sense of alarm. In this day and age, where so much business is conducted online, I really feel that companies and websites need to be more transparent if they want to secure an element of trust from potential clients.
For example, I know you as Nora, but that’s about it. I understand a lot of people don’t want their lives so widely known, and that is fair. But if one is to provide services and advice or just would like what they say to be trusted and appecriated etc, then it is generally a better idea to become more ‘transparent’.
You are only putting your first name and the name of this blog on the line when you are posting your posts, but other than that, no one really knows you are, what you really do, what you have done creatively for example, what really drives you as a person. All this can really help the success of a blog, the confidence of those that look up to you for everything you provide
It’s just an observation really, but wondered if you had any thoughts on this?
Graham
April 29th, 2010 at 7:55 am
Thanks guys, I never thought my simple observation would be so much acknowledged by most including Steve. Yes its high time for him to redesign his site. Its all about being boring, thats what converts these days. Its an honest advise to him.
@Graham, the way you put it here really makes me realize what and how this could be effecting you. But life is a bitch and it has to be taken as a bitch. Look around you so much changing, when there is a winner there is a loser. Thats the case with other industries not just logo design. Its high time for someone like you to think what the design industry will be like in 2-3-5 years and then make a strategy. I do visit your blog from time to time and do appreciate your intelligent input.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Well, well, to David The Mighty who started acting like goliath in drags earlier, this is a timid postulation to the earlier rantings;
“I hope that goes at least a little way towards you not thinking me a liar.”.
A little late in the day for that Davey Jones I guess
regards
Romulus
April 30th, 2010 at 5:17 am
David,
You have come as a nice guy here, but you should avoid raising your fingers at other companies on your blog.
You should mind your own business I suggest. Write about design, not about other businesses.
Graham,
You said that… “But if one is to provide services and advice or just would like what they say to be trusted and appecriated etc, then it is generally a better idea to become more ‘transparent’.”
Well, if the companies that you have raised your fingers on are not “Transparent” then you have no right to say anything about them until you know them well.
Who knows, you may even be involved in identity theft and in reality you must be someone else. Sounds Rediculous? Well, I think the same way when I read your comments about people you don’t personally know.
Steve,
Please concentrate on logo design factory. Stop crying and complaining.
Your (hidden) claim that if you and your buddies will hit the first page on “Logo Design” keyword only then the Google’s algorithm will be correct is ridiculous. Fight like a man or keep crying.
Nora,
Nice post!
April 30th, 2010 at 7:38 am
@Steve ‘Ring Leader’ Douglas… it’s good that you’ve revealed the identity of the ring leader. However I don’t really need to explain any further as it’s no use maneuvering an empty vessel. Besides I cannot afford the time to write up “Epic†replies like you…so I won’t drag this any further.
@Graham Smith…I completely understand your point saying that no one can be trusted just by his first name. Although it may be a success factor for a blog…but the blogosphere is a virtual world with no one sure about other’s identity. Anyways thanks for explaining your perspective and clearing up misunderstandings.
May 3rd, 2010 at 3:13 am
the term ‘logo design’ and its popularity is getting a little fears. a bit like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. too many fishes in a very little pond.
Battle: Quick turnaround solution (budget) v. Long thoughtout solution (more ££)
People can make their own mind up where they wanna tske their business.
May 10th, 2010 at 2:46 am
its a very good concept, very creative – seo is also a very important part of logo design and its techniques should be kept in mind when designing a logo for a better product
May 10th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Thanks for this article. Being part of this business we all know how competitive this business really is. I agree with what you said, people should be able to make their own decision as how much they want to spend for their custom logo design, anywhere from 40 bucks to 4000 dollars.
May 12th, 2010 at 8:44 am
One thing is for sure – spending more time on SEO ( black or white ) won’t make you better identity designer…
PS: Yes, for everybody who visits such places, the “ring” is more than obvious
… but who cares ?
May 18th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Wow, what a mess.
I am familiar with David’s work, having read his book and sometimes reading his blog, and I know of Steve and have read one or two of his articles and I’ve always been impressed with both their content. Not being familiar with LogoBlog, however, I thought I’d poke around a bit myself.
Sorry to say, but if we’re complaining about some transparency and conspiracies it isn’t looking good for LogoBlog. In the “Top 10 Logo Design Companies” for example, one has a rating of 1.38 out of 5 stars and has a few dozen terrible ratings. Farther up the list several other companies have very poor reviews. Yet these are the “Top 10″? Just because a logo design is “over £100″ that certainly doesn’t mean it’s from a big designer (and for the record, I’d consider Landor, Pentagram, etc. as “big designers”, not anyone who operates a one man shop). While some designers are really expensive , there are certainly independent designers that fall somewhere between the $99 logo and the several thousand dollar price tag. Why aren’t any of those included in the top ten?
Personally, after browsing the content written by the “inner circle” and checking out LogoBlog’s articles, I think the inner circle is providing information that’s a whole lot more useful to me as a designer.
May 20th, 2010 at 4:32 am
Chris,
Just as you have a right to say who should top the list, the same way others have this right as well.
If logoblog.org mentions a list of companies, then what is your problem?
Do you have the same problem like David and Steve that since your site or your favorite designers’ sites were not mentioned, this list is wrong?
Go ahead and create your own list and stop pointing your fingers at others.
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:41 am
I am part of a web design team and we are developing our logo design service. We have taken a lot of tips and lessons from Logo Design Love and I do agree with his concerns about true-blue logo design craft. Because of SEO a lot of talented and dedicated logo designers are buried under tons of pages of logo designers who have only a fraction in talent.
ps. I guess because of this, you got to connect with the clique…