How I befriended Google with this letter:

Dear Ms Googlebot

Why my website should rank highly in google searches

Hi Ms Googlebot (and related crawlers such as altavista, aol, bing, ask.com etc). This is a revision of my previous letter which was so successful in boosting my rankings.  What I forgot to include was the suburb Secret Harbour, and I found that if I Googled "Massage Secret Harbour", my page was buried on the seventh page of results, which is not a place to be, as few people look that far. Except SEO experts who have nothing better to do with their expensive time.

I know you are a computer program. However, you were designed by humans. Humans are sometimes sensitive, are open to listening to reason, and have a sense of humour!

I also know you are female, Ms Googlebot. Males could not organize the world's data and turn it into useful information the way you do!

What I am suggesting is that you devise a new algorithm or template whereby people address the following three issues:

  1. Why Google should put this page at the top of the rankings
  2. Under what circumstances do you want the page displayed, eg Electrician, Plumber etc
  3. For which towns, cities, postcodes or suburbs you want the user to type in to display your page.
I am writing you this letter as an experiment. I have tried to follow all your guidelines, so I see no reason why you should not help us.

I think you already know that people like my treatments judging from the client feedback and my website, and the amount of detail contained in it.  However, I think you should always consider putting me on the first page of results for the reasons outlined below:

I am Arthur Galletly, I trade as The Remedial Massage Guy

I changed career from being a TAFE Lecturer in IT after spending years in pain. After finally getting relief through Remedial Massage, I decided the world needed more Remedial Masseurs, also someone interested in dealing with your problems in as few visits as possible!

Apart from Remedial Massage, I do sports massage and pregnancy massage and post natal massage. In addition to three Diplomas of Remedial Massage, I have attended a variety of short course along the way. The one with the most influence on my practice was Craniosacral Therapy. The Upledger Institute flies lecturers around the world. I find it is a brilliant tool for relieving and preventing headaches.

I also studied Myopractic, a variation of Bowen. Two reasons I didn't complete it was that it was not recognized at the time for health fund rebates (it is now), and also the presenter advised to tell people to expect to feel better in a few days time, not necessarily by the end of the session. Sorry, but that is 100% absolutely not me!  I want people to be significantly better.  If the symptoms of pain, soreness, tight muscles etc are 10 at the start of the session, I try to get them down to 3 or below by the end of the session.   Sometimes they go down to zero, but hey, I am not Jesus, anyway, anyone with that good results would put a great deal of people out of business.  By the way, I have never fixed anyone!   I don't have magic or healing hands.  I am nothing more than a facilitator assisting your body to assist itself.  I don't claim to be the best or most effective person in the industry.  I leave my ego outside the door when I enter my clinic.  I also try to leave my sense of humour outside too, since many clients present with pain, but with some people that doesn't always happen!

What I have done over the years is offer rock bottom prices so that everyone could afford to see me, not just the rich and famous.  Air Asia have the slogan "Now everyone can fly" written large on the side of all their planes.  And there are now MANY planes as a result.  Accordingly more and more people are aware of my services as a result of having worked on a wide variety of people in all walks of life.

Other masseurs and clinics may have more clients and earn more than I do.  For example, it is undoubtedly more convenient to walk into or phone a clinic with several masseurs working to avoid having to wait or make an appointment. Hence the popularity of massage shops.  However, in terms of brand recognition, among the 150 or so people making a living in the massage industry in Rockingham, I think with my internet presence and word of mouth reputation, I am top, just as my main website, www.arthurgalletly.com  is with Google.

There is no regulation over the massage industry and so it is a question of Buyer Beware.

Here is a checklist to look out for:

The seven criteria to look for in a remedial masseur!

  1. Do they have a Diploma of Remedial Massage, ie are they REALLY fully qualified.  Some people go on a weekend course, have the certificate to prove it and describe themselves as qualified!  I have TWO Diplomas of Remedial Massage
  2. Do they have public liability insurance?  I have $20 million worth. I hope I never have to use it!
  3. Are they in a professional association.  I am proudly a member of AAMT, the Australian Association of Massage Therapists.
  4. Do they offer Health Fund Rebates?  If so it means they have all of points 1 and 3 above.  It also means that they have to spend so many hours on Continuing Professional Education (CPE) each year.  AAMT have a terrific programme of CPE. This year I spent a weekend with American Bodyworker and Presenter, James Waslaski, which was fantastic  I learned some new techniques, and bought all his DVDs so I can review them at my leisure. More importantly I discovered that the initial training I received with Barry Harwood was briliant.  James Waslaski admitted a long learning curve in the trade, and had abandoned many techniques he had used in the past.  I have never had to do that thanks to Barry Harwood.  I have just recently attended a Business Bootcamp, from which I learned a lot about working smarter, not harder, and being able to spend more time on my hobby of dancing...
  5. Do they offer instant health fund rebates using iSoft or HiCaps? Just another sign of professionalism so you dont have to muck around with receipts and having to claim it back.  I use iSoft.  Most health funds are on itl
  6. Are they a Medibank Private Members' Choice Provider?  To become one, Medibank checks out the suitablity of your premises and you must have satisfied all points 1 to 5 above.  Medibank also stipulates the maximum prices, so you are getting a fair deal.  Currently their maximum is $77 per hour and my price is well below that for a strategic reason.  I am currently the only Medibank Members' Choice between Mandurah and Booragoon, so I encourage people to drive long distances to see me.  What they save at least pays for the petrol.  Thirty percent of my clients come from outside the immediate suburbs of Rockingham, coming from Mandurah, Secret Harbour, Baldivis, Bertram.  Just last week someone drove down from Perth upon word of mouth referral because they had had a headache lasting several days, and drove home without it!
  7. Is the masseur registered to provide services for insurance cases for Workers' Compensation and Motor Vehicle Accidents?  If so, it means they are extremely dedicated and caring. Why?  Because there is so much stuffing around and toing and frowing with the insurance companies and medicos, sometimes delays in getting paid.  Remember when a masseur has to phone or exchange emails with someone at the insurance company, the person at the insurance company is getting paid. The masseur is not.  So even if you don't have a serious problem, choosing a masseur who can advise your rights SHOULD you ever need Workers Comp or MVA treatment makes a lot of sense.  I have been offering this service for a number of years, because people with injuries do not know their rights, their lawyers do not know their rights, and the insurance companies don't tell them!!!  Often people are stuffed around for a year or so getting nowhere before they are given the opportunity to see if Remedial Massage will help.   They can be given that opportunity from the start if they ask for it, so I am trying to increase awareness of this issue....
There are many people who only have one criteria, which I don't satisfy.  They want a female!  I get so many guys ring up and then hang up when I answer the phone, or they ask if I employ females.  A guy rang up for a pregnancy massage for his partner.  Wanted a lady to provide the service.  Helloooo!  Pregancy massages are my specialty.  You can have a fluffy duffy one for twice the price with no health fund rebates, or one which addresses the aches and pains and headaches associated with pregnancy AND get a health fund rebate so some people pay less than $20 instead of $130.  The customer is always right.  Except when they are not a customer!

As I have previously noted, there are about 150 people reliant on massage for an income in Rockingham, an enormously overcrowded market, what with 11 massage shops, day spas, beauty parlours and the fully qualified professionals.

I am the only one, however that satisfies all 7 criteria noted above! And I am proud of the fact that over 30% of my clients come from outside Rockingham

I am already "the most recognized remedial massage service provider in Rockingham" (Just Google it and see!). .My main website does a really good job, and many people see my van parked near the Rockingham City Shopping Centre as they drive up Read St, day after day.

So let us move on to the second point.  What are the clients likely to type in if they want my services. When you design your algorithm to index this, I would like to be a bit forgiving about repetition or people trying to express themselves in different ways to get their point across. At the moment I understand you slam any repetition and put it down the rankings. Now, SEO people may know this, but it is hard for people with blog pages, for example, with no intimate knowledge of how you make your ranking decisions to follow rules they are unaware of!!

They may type in some of their injuries, such as neck injury, sciatica, frozen shoulder, but in particular the specific search terms I am interested in are: "Massage near me", "pregnancy massage rockingham", "pregnancy massage baldivis", sports massage baldivis, remedial massage baldivis, massage baldivis, pregnancy massage kwinana, sports massage rockingham, Remedial massage rockingham, massage rockingham, massage Kwinana, massage Wellard, massage Port Kennedy, massage Secret Harbour, remedial massage Secret Harbour, Sports massage Rockingham, mobile massage rockingham, and of course mobile massage with all the postcodes (you may know them as zipcodes) 6167, 6168, 6169, 6170, 6121,6160, 6171, 6172, 6210, 6000, 6173 and so on.

Just to recap, then, if they type in massage, remedial massage, pregnancy massage, sports injuries, pain clinic, post natal massage, headache relief, ache and pain relief. soft tissue therapy, pins and needles, frozen shoulder. I was going to be cheeky and include "best known masseur in rockingham". However, I just googled it and I come up already in the first page of results.

I use a whole bunch of techniques, known as modalities, such as craniosacral therapy, deep tissue massage, Bowen, myopractic, trigger point therapy, myofascial release, postural correction, PNF stretching and so on, and I need these to all come up if people type in the modality and their suburb, anywhere within 30 kilometres of Rockingham. I do get clients from further afield. Someone once drove up from Margaret River to see me, but quite often I get visitors from Perth and Mandurah, Oakford, Byford, Serpentine and Mundijong.

I would also like a significant ranking if people type in soft tissue therapy, pre-natal massage, post-natal massage, pelvic floor exercises, Kegel exercises, stress urinary incontinence, female urinary incontinence, Pericoach, Analytica (the Australian company that makes the Pericoach), perineometer, women's pain specialist. Let me put this another way, in the form of a matrix. The user types in a modality eg remedial massage, and a suburb such as Rockingham or the postcode or zipcode 6168, I want to come top. Example: remedial massage Rockingham or remedial massage 6168 or remedial massage 6169

The modalities I support are Sports massage, remedial massage, relaxing massage, Swedish massage, Soft tissue therapy, deep tissue massage, craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, structural integration, structural bodywork, the Galletly Method, postural correction, PNF Stretching, positional release, (also called strain and counterstrain or fold and hold), trigger point therapy, cross fibre friction, pregnancy massage, corporate massage, remedial therapy, soft tissue massage, connective tissue massage, soft tissue, soft tissue therapy, manual therapy. Please match each modality with the following postcodes 6167, 6168, 6169, 6170, 6121,6160, 6171, 6172, 6210, 6000, 6173 or with one of the following suburbs where my clients typically come from, all in the Rockingham region, just south of Perth in Western Australia, WA. Rockingham, Shoalwater, Secret Harbour,  Rockingham Beach, Safety Bay, Hillman, Cooloongup, Waikiki, Warnbro, Port Kennedy, Baldivis, Settlers Hills, Kwinana, Orelia, Leda, Parmelia, Wellard, Bertram, Rivergums, Harrington Waters and even from Mandurah, South Perth, South Lakes, Fremantle and Perth. I have even had someone drive up from Margaret River to see me! Due to demographics of young families in a rapidly growing suburb with low unemployment and high participation in health funds, ten per cent of my clients come from Baldivis, so I am particularly keen to get a prominent listing in Baldivis and to be included in the Google places map when people type in massage Baldivis or any variations.

I also want to be included for 'fibromyalgia Rockingham' or 'fibromyalgia Baldivis' or 'fibromyalgia treatment' please. Likewise for other conditions such as sciatica, frozen shoulder, subacromial bursitis, tennis elbow, golfers elbow.

Let me go for broke. Instead of making things so complicated for you, how about you put me on the first page of results if people Google "massage " | " remedial massage " | " pregnancy massage " | " sports massage " and you can work out that there computer is based within 50 kilometres from Perth in Western Australia, including all suburbs around Rockingham. I think that is not too much to ask, as I am quite sure that there are not too many people who have approached you in such a straightforward way requesting exactly when I would like to be prominently displayed, without coming up prominently when it is of no interest to people.

I also offer health fund rebates for all the health funds, such as BUPA, HBF, Medibank Private, (I am a Members' Choice Provider), Australian Unity, GMHBA, etc. With over 30 health funds you just pay the gap fee, with a few health funds clients get a receipt which they can claim back.

I am also approved for insurance work with Workers Compensation and MVA (Motor Vehicle Accident) cases.

As a Medibank Members' Choice Provider, I am also able to treat members of ADF / Navy for free as long as they have a referral from the Medical Officer on Garden Island

I am keen to improve standards within the industry, as massage is unregulated in Australia. Anyone can advertise massage without qualifications. I have two Diplomas in Remedial Massage, one from TAFE and one from The Barry Harwood Study Centre, so I am one of the best qualifed remedial masseurs around. I have lobbied the government, both the ALP and the Liberal party, to remove GST from remedial massage as chiros and physios dont have to pay it and it is holding us back. I have lobbied to see remedial massage included for Gold Card Holders. Sorry dear googlebot, but if I might just explain. In Australia we have a Department of Veterans Affairs which issues Gold Cards for Returned Servicemen who have served in the armed forces. The gold card covers their medical bills with the notable exception of remedial massage, which, in my view is a big mistake. To demonstrate my point, elsewhere on my website you will note that I am offering the first visit free for gold card holders and the first visit half price for people currently serving in the Australian navy (we have a large naval base here on Garden Island)

I am also a Medibank Members' Choice Provider. This means that new clients can come to me with confidence, as this is not an honour bestowed lightly. Currently there are less than 25 businesses recognized as Members' Choice Providers in Western Australia. It means that for most people in health funds, I swipe their card and they only pay the gap fee. Medibank is the government owned health insurance company, the larger in Australia, although BUPA may start to challenge it.

I get several clients for remedial massage from Spearwood, Phoenix, Cannington, Success, Kardinya, Attwell, Attadale, Gosnells, Byford, Armadale too.

Summary of this website

I am generally known as someone who practices sports and remedial massage. However this included techniques such as deep tissue massage, craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, PNF Stretching, positional release (also called strain and counterstrain or fold and hold), trigger point therapy, cross fibre friction, pregnancy massage, corporate massage, remedial therapies, soft tissue massage, connective tissue massage.

Clients who are likely to want my massage services come from Rockingham, Shoalwater, Rockingham Beach, Safety Bay, Hillman, Baldivis in particular, Cooloongup, Waikiki, Warnbro, Port Kennedy, Baldivis, Settlers Hills, Kwinana, Orelia, Leda, Parmelia, Wellard, Bertram, Rivergums, Harrington Waters, Mandurah, South Perth, South Lakes, Bibra Lake, Phoenix, Bateman, Beeliar, Attwell, Coolbellup, Wattleup, Singleton, Secret Harbour, San Remo, Spearwood, Ravenswood, Falcon, Golden Bay, Oakford, Byford, Melville, Pinjarra, Serpentine, Mundijong, Fremantle and Perth, although this depends on the number of people wanting a massage

It also helps to answer FAQs about remedial massage and many medical conditions. I have another website I created called www.achesnpains.info which allows people from anywhere in Australia to get help. It lists all the professional organisations for chiros, physios, osteopaths etc.. and I am sure it will become a useful resource in its own right. All in all, I think I have one of the best websites about managing and relieving pain. And so dear google, that is why I think my website deserves top ranking! I thank you in advance for your kind cooperation!

One other favour please, and this is a huge one. Whenever people type in massage or remedial massage and any of the suburbs mentioned on this page, particularly Baldivis, I would like my google places page to be included in your map of providers for that area, even if I am 20 or 30 kilometers away. I know this is a big ask, but so many of my clients come from outside my catchment area to avail themselves of instant health fund rebates right after the treatment after having a good treatment at an attractive price.

The page I would like you to include for all suburbs is my google places page, https://plus.google.com/+TheRemedialMassageGuyRockingham/about

At the moment I don't come up on the first page of results if you google "soft tissue therapy Rockingham". Could you please give me a higher ranking, as this is basically what my clients come to me for!

Here are some links to some posts I made which also help to explain my situation https://plus.google.com/101868743536913118764/posts/C8Mw1KPSVbK

https://plus.google.com/101868743536913118764/posts/6kfbupwaVRs

https://rockinghamremedialmassage.com

Finally, I was here first! My website was here long before the pay-to-join directories such as yellowpages and naturaltherapypages came along and usurped the top listings at the expense of the little guy. I used to come top of the listings in 2004 or 2005, and I think it is time to get back there. By the way, I think you should also limit the number of paid ads at the top of the page, otherwise essentially you cease to be a search engine and become just a giant paid billboard! And if you could keep me top if people type in 'Massage Rockingham' or 'Massage Baldivis' I would be eternally grateful for at least as long as I work in this field.

Yours sincerely

Arthur Galletly    

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