Search Engine Optimization

Vintage pretty much got it. I found out that there was a company going by the name Sentri, but I’m still going to stick with it. For offline purposes, I simply go by Sentri, but I added the DJ in front of it for online so that way there is no confusion between myself and other entities of the same name.

Of course, I have no followers ATM as I’ve never had a gig and just started recently. I am in the process of creating a web page, myself though and I intend to it to be the central hub for my music and everything.

If you absolutely want to be at the top of the search results page, here is how you do it. You need to have a professional web developer do your website, assume at least $1000 for a robust CMS based website. You’ll want to pay the developer every month to continue optimizing the website every month because trends change and other people are working against you to take the top spots as well. I would figure about 2-3 hours at least, the last place I worked at charged $80/hr for SEO.

You will need to continuously generate content every month, an article every few days at least if not more often. It doesn’t have to be long, even a page or two will do but it needs to be consistent. If you have a CMS website you can set publication dates so you can write the articles ahead of time and publish on schedule. Alternatively you can pay a developer to generate content for you or use what is called user-generated content. This website itself is an example of how to make it work for you.

You need quality links to your website which means you need other people to write articles about you or link to you. This could happen completely organically if you were to break out(But if that happened you wouldn’t need to work on SEO) or you need to work really hard promoting yourself online and offline so people will promote you online.

You also need to be active on social media both for organic growth and to improve your search results.

To put it bluntly, if you aren’t actively working to promote your business at least 20 hours a week like someone is paying YOU to promote THEM, it isn’t enough.

Alternatively you could pay Google for ad placement so you appear at the very top above the normal results. This gets expensive very quickly. Depending on the search terms you want placement on they could charge you anywhere from fractions of pennies to $0.50 per view(Not per click, per VIEW). If you put $50 in your account at $0.04 a view then after 1250 views they will take your ad down and it won’t show until you add more money to your account. Click-thru conversion rates for ads are about 0.5% so you might get 6 people to check out for page, about $8.33 per person. Personally, I think you might get better results buying someone a beer at a bar.

I can see the desire and the drive you have to make it to where you believe you belong. And that is good, because without it, your chances of reaching that (or any other serious goal for that matter) are slim to none.

Far be it from me to say you can or can’t and will or won’t. I wish everyone the best for themselves, so more power to you if you make it happen. We’ll be able to say “we knew him back when …” 😀

However, I do think there are a few assumptions you are making that might need a reality check:

1) If you make it to the top once and stay there for a while, you will be signed to a label. I doubt that is the way the record industry works these days. Also, it would involve people from a label to type in Tonecraft into Google and find your listing at the top of the page. Then what? That tells them absolutely nothing. And you just had Scott, who seems extremely knowledgeable on the subject (and willing to write walls of text in your and other readers interest – kudos, Scott!) that unless you are prepared to make the commitment of ridiculous (near full-time) hours put into social media, it’s not gonna happen. And your response: “I don’t think I need to do the maintenance work …”. That is pretty dismissive coming from the layman towards the expert, but that is just my opinion of course.

2) Letting your music do your thing. If there is one thing I have learned in over 37 years of DJ-ing, Live Sound Engineering and studio work, NO WAY does JUST your music make anything happen for you. The world is full of people who are gifted, talented, hard-working musicians, producers, DJs and still only a VERY SMALL percentage makes it to the big leagues.
Not because they worked harder, or practiced more, not even because they were more talented. It is because they were better at making contacts, establishing relationships, putting themselves out there, marketing themselves (which btw involves a LOT more than just getting to the top of the Google results page). Social media play a big role there these days and can’t be discounted. That’s how they are effectively creating that “luck” that succesful people seem to have. Like being at the “right place at the right time”. You know why they were there? Because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time 1000 times before, but that didn’t stop them from going places. Personally I think the world’s best producer can sit in his home studio and produce a zillion tracks in his lifetime, post them on social media and soundcloud and NEVER be discovered.

3) The only valuable Google result, imho, is when someone types in “most promising EDM producer (or any other label you want to give yourself) and YOUR name turns up on top then. In my case (if I had that ambition, which I don’t) it would be if someone in Holland where I live would type in “wedding DJ” and DJ Vintage would show up at the top of the list. That would be worth something. Somebody typing in DJ Vintage? Probably someone looking for me and wanting to find my contact details or website. Since they clearly knew to be looking for me specifically, what extra benefit does it give me if I am at the top, middle or bottom of the first page?

I think you are way too hooked into the whole social media/online thing. I am not saying that it isn’t useful, because it is. Have Facebook, Twitter, be active with things that are valuable for your followers (seriously nobody wants to know that you had coffee on the deck of your tree hut, but they WILL want to hear something you found that you think might be of interest to them or where they can get your latest track for free).

But the real deal is playing out and meeting real people in real life. You have to be out there every moment you are not producing talking to people, building a network, having people that will come watch you play because that following will help you get gigs. At gigs get to know everyone, leave your card, mixtape, whatever. Stay in touch with people, even when they can’t help you (at that moment). Generally be a nice guy that lingers in the back of their mind.

But be sure that it is “work” in the sense that it requires a conscious effort and some serious time. I am not saying do less producing, but definitely do more PR! And try to play out, play out and play out some more.