SEOblog Interview: Florida SEO Expert Tom Fritchek from Southern Cross Media, LLC

We’re excited to have interviewed Florida SEO Expert Tom Fritchek from Southern Cross Media, LLC for the next installment of our Featured SEO Expert Series!

Southern Cross Media, LLC is one of SEOblog’s Top SEO companies in Florida.

Southern Cross Media, LLC is a small, client-focused agency that helps clients get great returns for their investment. Client satisfaction is our primary metric. Tom Fritchek, partner and founder, has been active on the internet since Al Gore first invented it. He has worked for several large media companies and ventured out on his own after seeing a clear path to bringing clients better service and better results.

What would you say is unique and/or challenging about the current Florida SEO industry?

“The current SEO industry is challenging for a couple of reasons. There are many companies who promise the moon and their delivery is next to nothing. This has been a challenge for our industry. I think a rule of thumb is, claims that seem too good to be true usually are and should be avoided – we would recommend you also demand transparency. SEO continues to be a long term play and not an immediate fix. Making significant progress takes months and needs to be done consistently.

“Multiple markets and offices also take special efforts. We need to realize the importance of a diversified keyword strategy and not evaluating a program good or bad by one specific search. Long-tail searches and overall growth are essential to target.”

How does your agency stand out in a crowded market with many identical firms?

“One of the ways our agency stands out is our ability to listen. We listen to our clients and take a holistic approach analogous to a business coach. We also have extensive experience in the vertical markets we typically serve, providing us insights not possessed by other agencies.”

Can you share a success story from a local SEO campaign centered around your area?

“We started working with a law practice in Tavares, Florida, who really didn’t show in the search results. They had just over 100 visitors a month to their website. They had four reviews, with two out of the four being negative. We met with the client and agreed on expectations, costs and timing. We met monthly to be transparent with the client. The client is more than happy that their website now averages over 700 visitors a month and working on reviews has brought their Google reviews to 60, with fantastic ratings and stories from clients. This has resulted is a significant increase in firm revenue. They wrote us a review and we were ecstatic that our client had such success.”

What is the best advice you ever received in business as an entrepreneur?

“Think big and do not limit yourself.”

What do you think is the most important quality that makes an SEO agency truly great? 

“Listening to our clients so that we understand their business. We also look at a holistic approach to helping a business. We also are passionate about what we do and passion drives us to succeed.”

Any predictions for the future of SEO?

“I believe SEO will continue down the path of advancing the algorithm to reward natural behavior and providing value to the searcher. Provide value and you will be rewarded, even if not immediately.”

What is your reaction when you hear that “SEO is dying”?

“I think SEO has moved through its product growth bell-shaped curve from the unsustainable growth to settle into a significantly valuable strategy. I don’t think SEO is dying as it is necessary for the survival and growth of the search engines. If the search engines produce nothing but ads, why would you go there? I think companies, search engines and people are always trying to make a better mouse trap. The internet continues to live on in dog years but the basic idea of searching for a local business and seeing a non-advertising-based selection will continue to be of interest, or people will switch search engines. Therefore, SEO will live on in some fashion. Google is currently making very significant changes, and for sure we will continue to see many changes, but I believe the core value of SEO will remain.”

What do you think is the most important contributor to keeping clients happy?

“Communication before and during the campaign. We believe an important part of communication is listening to the client to make sure we understand their challenges and victories.”

Interested in being considered as an SEOblog “Featured SEO Expert”? Reach out to our team at [email protected]! We’d love to hear from you and give you a high-traffic platform to share your SEO agency’s story and insights.