SEOMoz Quitting SEO Consulting Services

Just got an email from Will at Distilled letting me know that they’re setting up a USA office due to SEOMoz quitting the SEO consulting game :O

It seems that as the search engines reduce their tool set, SEOMoz think that they’ll be able to make more money as an ASP (Application Service Provider) selling SAAS (Software As A Service)… and by speaking at conferences and expo’s.

As some one who got out of the client services game I can appreciate that not having to manage demanding and often irrational clients is a mighty big attraction, however, unless they can bull some big hitters out of their hats, the current SEOMoz pro tool set just isn’t good enough to justify the price tag (I bought my subscription in their sale for 1/2 price).

All I can say is good look Rand et all… fingers crossed this works out for you and as for Will, I’m sure SEOMoz will pass you some leads – it might also be time for you to think about improving your brand and starting your own community… it worked for Rand.

Heres the official announcement:

I wanted you to be one of the first to hear our big news – we are opening an office in Seattle. Our US online presence is going to grow at DistilledConsulting.com (Twitter: US, UK).

Our long-time associates, SEOmoz, are quitting SEO consulting to focus on their world-leading SEO tools and resources. Distilled LLC was therefore created to take over their consulting responsibilities and to service the demand for bespoke consulting generated by their tools and services.

Over the last couple of years, we have worked together to deliver impactful SEO campaigns for household names including Microsoft, Real Networks and fast-growth VC-backed companies including Scribd.com, Avvo.com and Etsy.com.

To celebrate, we are opening up free access to a conference call we are running on 24th February for all our contacts. You can sign up to get dial-in details here. Entitled "how to get the most from your SEO" it will cover:

•    the best tasks to keep in-house vs. outsource

•    combining SEO effectively with PPC, PR and marketing

•    integrating SEO into other processes (e.g. development, business development)

•    how to get the most from your agency

•    how to be a great SEO client and get even more out of your agency

Sign up now.

You can read more about the US announcement in my blog post – the summary is:

•    Distilled Limited now has a wholly-owned subsidiary, Distilled LLC registered in WA

•    Rob Ousbey, one of the lead SEOs at Distilled here in London is heading West to brave the frontier and begin the process of establishing our US office

•    We will continue writing for SEOmoz, answering Q&A and contributing to product decisions and testing (in exchange for which we will get loads of access to powerful tools, data and expertise)

•    We will manage the SEO consulting page on the SEOmoz website and handle bespoke consulting needs for any of the SEOmoz community who would like to work with us

•    We will all continue to refer to the recommended list where appropriate

•    We are now hiring in the UK and the US for a talented SEO and a great marketing administrator

•    Yes, we are also wondering if we did this just to make ourselves into a case study in international domain strategy.

So, we are now open for business on two continents. Please get in touch if there is anything we can do for you – US contact form, UK contact form – or email our Business Development Manager: Caitlin Krumdieck.

Sorry if you hear this news via more than one route – we’re pretty excited about it all so we would appreciate any extra publicity you can help us out with on this big day for Distilled.

Don’t hesitate to give me a shout if you have any questions or if there is anything we can do for you.