Search Engine Experts – StartupSmart

Parekh and Kotadiya were working in web design when they were swept up by increasing marketplace chatter about gaining improved rankings on Google.

Unwittingly, the duo’s first customer was the owner of a car hire company who, Parekh says, was “happy to spend thousands of dollars or more every month if we help him naturally rank (on Google)”.

Spotting an opportunity for a new venture, the business partners spent around $10,000, some borrowed from family and friends, to start Search Engine Experts.

The Victorian-based enterprise offers a host of services, such as SEO, SEM, social media and reputation management.

Small businesses are the target market, with the aim to help them grow via improved search engine rankings.

Search Engine Experts has itself grown rapidly in the past three years, surpassing $2 million in revenue and employing 25 members of staff.

The challenges for the business have changed in this relatively short time, too. Increasing market maturity means greater competition for Parekh and Kotadiya.

Parekh says: “At the initial stages of the business awareness was the issue, but as the industry grew more and more businesses came into the market and now we face comparisons.”