Joel Bess Joel Bess President

It paid as much as $12,000 a month for what Optimal president Joel Bess calls, bluntly, "bullshit." "They weren't getting us ranked anyplace," Bess says. "They would send us reports and say we had been ranked. But we had been ranked No. 44 [on Google] for the search term 'Internet advertising in America.' When was the last time somebody really searched for the words 'Internet advertising in America?' " Frustration finally led Bess to learn the Search engine optimization game for himself. He hired an ex-Google engineer to teach Optimal's team members in a half day what Search engine optimization firms said would take at least six months of contracted work to accomplish. That not only helped their business, it also gave them expertise to share with clients, which include as-seen-on-TV products such as the Snuggie blanket and Sham Wow, the super-sucking sponge. "If you are attempting to rank the word 'Ab Circle Pro,' don't write on the title 'exercising is enjoyable,' " Bess says.

It paid as much as $12,000 a month for what Optimal president Joel Bess calls, bluntly, "bullshit." "They weren't getting us ranked anywhere," Bess says. "They would send us reports and say we were ranked. But we were ranked No. 44 [on Google] for the search term 'Internet advertising in America.' When was the last time someone actually searched for the words 'Internet advertising in America?' " Frustration finally led Bess to learn the SEO game for himself. He hired an ex-Google engineer to teach Optimal's team members in a half day what SEO firms said would take at least six months of contracted work to achieve. That not only helped their business, it also gave them expertise to share with clients, which include as-seen-on-TV products such as the Snuggie blanket and Sham Wow, the super-sucking sponge. "If you're trying to rank the word 'Ab Circle Pro,' don't write on the title 'exercising is fun,' " Bess says.