President's Statement

Welcome.  SpiderSplat Consulting, Inc. began like many Internet companies as a computer hobby.  I am Eric Melin; I am a Webmaster and now a seasoned Search Engine Marketing Consultant after almost 10 years in this burgeoning industry.

I’ve been in the SEM/SEO game since 1995; I founded my company in 1997, and dedicated myself exclusively to building the SpiderSplat business and serving its clients since 2001 after a hiatus riding the dot com wave in the late 90’s with another entrepreneurial startup.  I own 100% of the consulting company and I have no formal board, financial partners, or investors to report to.  However, it is far from a “lifestyle” business...unless you consider working 90-100 hrs per week a desirable lifestyle. The business was entirely self-financed from a pile of credit cards and second mortgages, and I am now profitable with a great team of expert SEM Consultants behind me after many difficult years.   “An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field” said Niels Bohr.

As an internet junkie, I have seen every webmaster trick and money making scheme that exists on the web.  Our business forces us to play in the same sandbox as some of the least reputable persons in the business world. We endeavor to steer our clients clear of these pitfalls…both in the fuzzy world of “online ethics” and in the more practical strategies for online growth and success.  SpiderSplat has followed a clear strategy of providing “white hat” SEO services.  Those in our industry will know what this phrase means. Those shopping for a SEM partner; be sure to ask. Essentially, we are labor based, meaning our time is dedicated to the needs of our clients.  SEO is not a commodity service; it is an art form of sorts in the hands of skilled craftsman. 

Although our service has evolved as a full-service SEM/SEO agency, SpiderSplat Consulting, Inc. is intentionally organized as boutique Consultancy. The business has been structured much like a Bain, McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, or Accenture, with the exception that we focus purely on providing Consulting services related to our clients’ Search Engine Marketing efforts.  Our pricing models are designed for small and medium sized businesses and entirely subscription based. As a true serial Entrepreneur with an educational background in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, I personally take joy in serving as a Consultant to businesses both small and large.  I am honored that clients pay for the advice and labor time of our Consultants.  I now have dozens of clients and some Fortune 500® brands that I am proud to put on our client list (confidential).  

As the world becomes more and more specialized, I believe each human will be pushed into further levels of specialization for his or her work.  For Consultants in an outsourced world, the only thing we have to sell is our time and resulting intellectual property.  As such, SpiderSplat Consulting, Inc. has been organized as a labor-based Consultancy.  We have experimented with value-based invoicing, and do have some exceptions, but the general rule is that our customers understand the value of a human labor hour. 

Today, the SEM-as-Vendor is placed in the same category and importance level as a business owner may place the graphic designer or printer or PR firm…the Webmaster and/or SEO technician is just one of a long list of Vendors a business owner has learned is essential for success.  However, I believe as the world evolves and further embraces the internet as a medium, it will become increasingly important for all merchants and business professionals to have not only a Webmaster but also a skilled SEM/SEO partner.  I also require that my Consultants are both generalists and specialists.  Every member of the SpiderSplat team is a skill Webmaster, Search Marketing Professional, and each also will have a particular specialty under my SEM umbrella.

Furthermore, much like your CPA, CFA, Management Consultant or Attorney, the SEO Consultant has a highly specialized skill set that is too expensive to employ full time for most organizations, and too specialized for most employees to learn without a three year learning curve.  Finding the right blend of creative and technical talent is my primary occupation.  ”Find what you are good at, outsource everything else” say the management pundits.  A practitioner charging $10/hr for tax or legal advice should draw suspicion.     

I believe Free Market forces always ultimately serve the interests of consumers, and only the Brands that are able to stay ahead of the curve will survive. SpiderSplat Consulting differs from our competitors in that after all the smoke and mirrors, the only true way to monetize a knowledge worker is through labor hours.  The ROI and performance efficiency of this work is for a client to determine and incentivized.  Although many of my team members are highly skilled programmers and software developers, we follow the adage “humans do it better™”.   As David Ferrier says, computers are nothing but a million morons working at the speed of light.

In addition to dozens of small business owners, we now service several Fortune 500 clients as professional Search Engine Marketing Consultants. Every hour of time is tracked and our SEO packages are simply productized pools of labor.   

In addition to “Humans do it better™” the business is also based on the mantra “a website doth not a company make” meaning our business has survived the dot bomb days by delivering tangible value to its clients, vendors, employees, contractors, and partners.  It is now possible to buy a domain name, create website graphics, program some simple code, write content, and host it, all within one day.  Add several million dollars of venture capital to this equation and there’s a recipe for disaster. 

The value to our retail customers is in understanding how much money and resources to invest in the website while assuring customers are actually coming to shop.

SEO’s tend to have an affiliate marketing or freelance web background of some kind – we know how to both start a web business from scratch and substantial organic generate revenue from an online business.  As a client, how do you assure an SEO’s interests are aligned with yours?

Eric V. Melin
President
SpiderSplat Consulting, Inc.

eric [at] spidersplat.com