Matt’s Musings

If you want to create controversy in this business, then alleging that companies who provide SEO assistance are a rip off is a good way to accomplish that feat. Heck, why not go all the way and name names and specific bad practices?

Ticked Off At SEO Pros?

I’m not about to get involved in this argument which seems to be cropping up on the internet more and more. Someone posts an article to their blog,  a commentary appears in a newspaper, or an advertisement is featured through Google AdSense or some other type of ad aggregator. I haven’t checked every single one of these sources out as the ones I have looked at typically carry the same theme — if you pay someone to help your site with search engine optimization, then you probably got ripped off.

Granted, there are some companies whose fees seem excessive — I seem to recall reading where a company dished out some $20,000 to get bumped up in the SERPs for three or four keywords. Well, they got what they wanted, but the spike in business they were seeking didn’t pan out. Like I tell my clients, I may be able to do “X” or “Y” for you, but I can’t guarantee how your customers will respond. My thinking is that the site was at fault because if you get more traffic and your conversions don’t increase, then your sales pitch needs  to be tuned.

I’m not a marketing expert, but I do know that people make quick decisions when they visit a site — you have to give them a reason to stay and to take some sort of action.

Never Overpromise

One thing that I see some SEO experts do is to over promise. Specifically, they say that a certain result will be achieved, e.g. a jump in SERPs from eighth place to third (or anywhere else above the fold) or that a site will increase in PageRank or Alexa rankings, etc. While you can “game” Alexa rankings, saying that you can move a site up in PageRank seems like promising something you cannot absolutely deliver. I wouldn’t blame anyone for being mad — exaggerating results serves to create doubt, mistrust, and could even bring forth a lawsuit.

In some ways SEO is an inexact science.  There are some tried and true practices which almost always work, other methods which usually can work, while there is this grey area where results may only work if certain “grey” or “black” hat practices are employed.

Pity the customer who falls for a trap and what a shame it is when an online professional misrepresents what he does.

Filed under: Vendo