
Joe
Griffin Sr. began his Search Engine career in the 1990s working
with ecommerce software engineers to create online databases
for the public which allowed for retrieving desired URLs for
specific product "search terms". Joe quickly realized
he could optimize website coding for search engines which
relied on the same standard databases. This practice became
referred to as search engine optimization.
In
an effort to simplify the input process of websites to many
databases simultaneously, Joe Griffin created and placed
the popular tool "Submitawebsite" online
which allowed website owners to send their websites to dozens
of Search Engines and Directories using one simple form with
just the click of a button. "Submit a Website"
became a standard industry term, versions of which would be
included on the URL submission page of almost every search
engine. Over two million submissions were made through that
single application from 1998 to 2000.
As
the search media expanded and Google came online, Joe Griffin
expanded his expertise in SEO and was approached by the two
largest search engines in 1999 and 2000 with regard to suggested
submission practices and standards. In addition to offering
online submission software, Joe Griffin created a multitude
of free analysis tools; many versions which are still widely
used to this day. Just as the corporate name Kleenex became
the generic reference to "tissues", Submitawebsite
became a generic term within the search industry for adding
URLs to search engines and it only takes a quick stroll of
that term on Google to understand its impact.
Submitawebsite
was originally hosted with the now defunct geocities.com under
the name Aeon, Inc. until 1998 when the company officially
registered its URL with Network Solutions. Joe Griffin incorporated
the name in 1999 and opened an office in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Submitawebsite, Inc. quickly became a multimillion
dollar Search Engine Marketing agency which was sold to Web.com.
Inc., (Nasdaq:WWWW) in March of 2007 and is now referred to
as Web.com Search Agency. See reports.
Below
is a screenshot of the Internet Archive http://www.archive.org
which added Submitawebsite.com to its database in 1999.

"How
did the whole Search Engine Placement Industry start?"
- Michael Cady, Gutsy Geeks radio talk
show"
"Well,
I think the discussion of exactly who started it will always
be just that, but the practice was mentioned early by the
W3 consortium where coincidently Submitawebsite was once named.
Other early reputable search engine submission companies (as
they were mostly referred to back then) included Bruce Clay,
Scott Banister, and a handful of software programs such as
Submit Wolf, and WebPosition. Submitawebsite is widely believed
to have been the first to advertise "guaranteed first
page placement" of websites on search engines and even
plastered the search engine logos on its home page in conjunction
with that claim; a practice which had my lawyers on the edge
of their chairs. But our mailbox overflowed with checks and
money orders from all over the world within weeks. Keep in
mind it is a matter of SEC record that millions of submissions
were made to Submitawebsite. Now having said all of that,
I'll wait for the hate mail." -
Joe Griffin Sr
"Joe,
how did you come up with the idea of Guaranteed First Page
Placement?"
- Wren Warumz, Trellian/SubmitWolf,
New York Jupitermedia Search Strategies
"I'm
not sure I like being known as the guy who started "Guaranteed
First Page Placement on Search Engines" given how many
unreputable companies would later copy and abuse the idea,
but I was very confident we could achieve a high enough success
rate to easily override any refunds, which were very few.
Our client renewal rate approached 90%. Making the claim "Guaranteed
First Page Placement" on a third party engine was not
a decision made lightly by me or my attorney at the time but
I went so far as to actually purchase the URL, "guaranteedfirstpageplacement.com".
- Joe Griffin
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A
Submitawebsite pre-Google banner from 1997 |
Joe
was an early editor for the Open Directory Project, (DMOZ),
and has been acknowledged by Google as a Google Adwords Expert
and is a Yahoo Ambassador.
Joe Griffin Sr's clients have included Turner Classic Movies,
JVC, Wells Fargo, Mercedes Benz, and he has generated substantial
revenues for hundreds of others through extensive knowledge
of Search Engine Optimization, PPC Management, Social Media,
Branding and more.
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