I specialize in technical organic search engine optimization services, including on-page SEO tuning, penalty recovery, page load time tuning, email deliverability, site audits, and site architecture consulting. I bring to the table skills not only in SEO, but also significant business management and startup experience as well as extensive programming experience.

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Michael Cottam is a freelance SEO consultant based in Bend, Oregon, USA
 

SEO Consultant Michael Cottam

Testimonials

"Michael's depth of experience and success in even highly competitive fields makes him a terrific choice as a consultant or partner. There is perhaps, no greater praise I can offer than this: I've tried to hire Michael personally at SEOmoz. He's that good."

- Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz, founder of Sparktoro

"I've known and worked with Michael Cottam for years. He attacks problems with an intense focus and will not rest until he's cracked them. Michael focus on continuous improvement, both personally and professionally, speak to the well-rounded technologist he is. I'd work with Michael again in a heartbeat; I'd definitely want Michael on my team."

- Scott Hanselman, Vice President of Developer Community, Microsoft

"Words cannot describe how thankful I am that we hired Michael Cottam as our SEO consultant. He has truly been a blessing for our business—a law firm based in Michigan. First of all, he is an expert at his craft and has delivered results far beyond our expectations. He has really helped take our business to a new level, and I feel like we have a secret (legitimate and white-hat) weapon for our online marketing efforts. Second, he is highly trustworthy and, as a former-F.B.I. Agent, I use that term sparingly. But with Michael Cottam, he has earned my trust. Unlike the big, “professional” SEO company we previously employed, you simply pay for Michael’s time and expertise. He does what is necessary to help you obtain the results you are striving for without the typical monthly gouge/retainer that seems to be all too common in the industry. Trust me, he is worth every penny! Lastly, he is simply a really nice, interesting guy to get to know and work with. I trust his insight and respect his opinion on all matters of business and marketing. Thank you, Michael, for all you have done for our business this year. We are extremely grateful."

- Gary K. Springstead, Managing Partner at SBBL Law

"Michael has been an absolute God send! I have been performing SEO services for Clients on a regular basis for more than five years and I like to consider myself better than most. Even so, I ran into an issue with one of my more important Clients that left me at a complete loss. They had experienced the perfect storm in terms of bad SEO – an attack by a competitor and mistakes made internally made it almost impossible to move the needle. As a last result I decided to find the best SEO consultant I could find – that’s actually the key phrase that I googled in order to find Mr. Cottam. After our very first meeting I had clarity and direction in terms of what needed to be done and how we should do it. He is the perfect strategic partner and everything you could hope for in a digital provider – he doesn’t nickel and dime, you don’t feel like he’s constantly watching the clock, he fields questions quickly and in a way that makes his response actionable and he is able to take complex issues and simplify them without being condescending. More than that, he’s the most knowledgeable person in his field of practice that I have ever encountered. I’m thrilled to have found him and to have had the opportunity to work with him. For what it’s worth, he carries my absolute highest recommendation."

–Kasim Aslam, Founder, Solutions 8

"One thing I have learned during my lifetime is that those people who give to their community of their time, talent and treasure are those that go the extra mile in satisfying their customers. I seek givers when I offer my business. Michael Cottam is a giver."

– Al Jubitz, Past President, Rotary Club of Portland

Read more testimonials

SEO is all about bringing customers to your site through organic search. SEO consultants help bring customers to a website by helping Google understand what a website is about, and who the company and the people in it are, through technical elements like schema, URLs, ALT text, meta data, etc. We make sure Google can find, crawl, and understand those pages. We help Google understand which pages are most important, and which pages are really just variations on other pages. We guide our customers on creating content that not only is helpful for users, but is seen by Google as more valuable than your competitors’ content. Schema, crawlability, indexation, rendering, and user experience (partly measured by Core Web Vitals, partly measured by click behavior) are all key as well. Backlinks are still important–not just for PageRank, but also for context, as the content on pages linking to your site tells Google what you’re known for.

Done right, SEO benefits your business by bringing new customers to your website month after month, without having to continue to pay money like you do for ads or social media promotions.

I offer SEO consulting services to clients ranging from small, family-owned businesses to international brands that are household names. My clients are from all over the world, including, most European countries, most southeast Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and even obscure places like Dubai, Peru, Trinidad, Iceland, and the Galapagos Islands. Click here to see a list of my past clients.

I’ve spoken at a number of conferences including MozCon, SearchFest, and Innotech. I’ve been a guest on many podcasts, webinars, and panels. I served on the board of SEMpdx for several years and am now on the SEMpdx Advisory Board, and helped put on their Engage conferences. See the full list of my past speaking engagements.

I’ve done Whiteboard Friday videos for Moz, and written about a dozen articles for the Moz main blog, plus articles for Raven Tools, 3Q Digital, Act-On, Outspoken Media, and AboutUs.org. See the full list of my articles here.

Current knowledge of the search engines, technical SEO issues, local SEO, SEO tools, and SEO best practices, plus a strong understanding of internet marketing, business, customers, and conversion to sales are key to growing your business and making your SEO investment pay.

We help our clients with the following:

I don’t do paid search advertising (PPC) for Google Ads nor for Facebook or other social media channels–while I am somewhat familiar with each of these, they are not areas I consider myself to be an expert in.

I'm on the Moz Recommended List of technical SEO consultantsI’m an Associate at Moz, and you’ll find me on the Moz list of recommended companies.

Michael currently lives in Bend, in beautiful Central Oregon, with his wife and their three children.

You can find Michael on Facebook, Mastodon, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, and SlideShare.

Michael Cottam - Freelance technical SEO consultant - 20915 Royal Oak Circle, Bend, OR 97701

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