Abu Noaman

Company: Elliance, Inc.

Abu Noaman is a true American entrepreneur. From practically nothing, he has catapulted Elliance to a Business 2.0 "Top 18" Web Development Firm. He is a regular speaker at marketing conferences in higher education, banking, manufacturing and entrepreneurship. He was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by USA Today and CNN and has served on the board of the International Business Marketing Association. Abu attended Cornell University on a full scholarship and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science, and later earned an M.B.A in Entrepreneurship and Marketing from Carnegie Mellon University. His interests span art, architecture, psychology, folklore and autobiographies.

Tell us about your background and your role at Elliance.
I have a background in computer science. After receiving my undergrad, I decided to further my education by obtaining an MBA so that I could start my own business. Now, as the CEO, I get to participate in what I love while applying it to business. I get the best of both worlds.

What are your main services?
Elliance is a full service Internet marketing company. We provide Web design (including copywriting, information architecture and site design) and search engine optimization.  We also offer a suite of e-marketing tools called Ennect that allows customers to send e-blasts, conduct surveys and sweepstakes, create event Web sites, and manage registration.

What makes your firm different from other companies competing in your industry?
We strive to be innovators in our field. For example, we’ve become known for our search engine optimization (SEO) infographics that we contribute weekly to the blog Search Engine Land. Most SEO firms do just SEO but we have developed technology (Ennect marketing software) and we have an in-house team of designers, copywriters, analysts and application developers giving us the firepower to offer a wide range of services to our customers. We are unique because each employee who’s dedicated to client work is an expert in his or her field. For example, the copywriters bring in marketing savvy, branding strategy and know how to write copy that is both search-friendly and audience-friendly. We have certified SEO professionals who attend key conferences and produce weekly infographics to share knowledge. Elliance is a company of thought leaders.

Tell us more about your firm’s success story.
Elliance represents an entrepreneurial success story – I launched Elliance with practically nothing, concentrating my energies on my belief that the business would succeed by filling a need for customers. During the last recession, I turned the country’s economic turmoil into an opportunity. While other companies were closing shop, I decided to produce a new type of marketing software called Ennect. With this resilient mindset we were able to weather the last recession, and are going into this recession with a newfound confidence. The power of Elliance is that it’s a company where talented people are allowed to flourish in all different realms, creating a nurturing community that encourages creativity and collaboration. At Elliance, we’re always doing things differently – when we noticed that our clients had a hard time understanding search concepts we created the SEO infographics to explain complex ideas visually.

And we’re always listening – both internally to employees as well as to our customers. We’ve developed something called Kaizen, which means “continuous improvement” in Japanese. Kaizen is a space on our Intranet where every team member can record comments and requests for improvements to our products, Web site, services and any aspect of our business.

According to you, what are the most important questions a potential customer should ask a company before choosing a vendor like you?
1)    Is the company a hub for talent?
2)    Do they have the track record of quantifiable performance?
3)    Are they thought leaders?

These are simple questions to ask in order to be associated with the brightest and best companies. When deciding whether to do business with potential clients, I ask the same questions they should ask us.

What are your business goals?
I would like Elliance to be known as one of the hottest shops in eMarketing and to continue to come up with innovative cool new ideas, like the SEO infographics and Ennect products. I want to continue to energize every entity, brand and organization we touch and transform them to help them succeed.

What are some of the myths of SEO?
I think one of the biggest myths is “if you build it they will come.” If someone launches a Web site, they have to market what they create with SEO, email or other methods of advertising and publicity.

Another big myth in the field is that you can apply SEO to any Web site that already exists. This is simply not true. If you want a successful Web site that produces real conversions, you need to think about SEO during every stage of development.

How do you develop your skills in this continuously changing environment?
I keep myself entrenched in the field by attending conferences, seminars, workshops, reading, and experimenting. As a results-driven company, we analyze the impact of our services and make changes to improve ourselves. I encourage a conversational environment that promotes listening and adapting based on need (Kaizen).

What do you see as the future of the industry? What will be the challenges; do you anticipate any drastic changes?
Internet marketing is an ever-evolving field. I believe generation one was the Web and generation two was search engine marketing. Generation three is social media and people are living that right now. Generation four is mobile marketing. This is the future. I believe that search engine marketing will become local and hyper-mobile. The Web will become much more about creating an interactive experience and building experiences that support national and international reach and yet are able to support hyper-local and hyper-mobile customers and prospects.

Where do you see Elliance in the next five years? What about you personally?
In the next five years I see my firm as the number one e-marketing tools and services company. In the future, I see myself devoting all of my time to innovation, ideas, new product development and new services.