SEO Companies – the Good, the Bad and the Downright Dirty

This article was borne from an experience I had recently within an on-line SEO Forum. The poster asked a question on how to help his client get Page One listings in Google and also what to put in his monthly SEO report. When I replied that he should never have taken this client on in the first place when he had no knowledge about SEO – the poster retorted abusively and chastised myself for not giving him the advice that he required. This got me thinking: "How many charlatan SEO or Web Design companies are out there ripping clients off with promises of Page One listings or exuberant prices for no return".

I did some research before I decided to write this article and I was surprised and saddened by the number of companies that I came across on the Internet (in a very short time frame) that either offer dubious SEO practices or promises of high rankings so cheap that professional optimization companies may as well gather their hat and coat and call it a night.

The intense marketing spiel that underhand firms adopt informs you to only pay them a few hundred bucks and hey presto the view from the top of the Search Engines is yours for the taking. Now, I have been in the business long enough to know when something doesn't smell right. But what about the ordinary client who is only interested in getting their product sold or their service found on the Internet? How are they supposed to tell which SEO firm is transparent and which are as dirty as a mucky puddle?

Thus, I have mustered up some key thought indicators that I feel you should be aware of before any relationship with an SEO Company is worthy of consideration. They are as follows:

Cost! There is a saying that rings true here "You only get what you pay for!". If a firm is offering something so sought after as 'Page One in Google' for an unbelievable price then that is normally what it is: unbelievable! I'm not saying they won't get you on Page One but it will be for such an obscure keyword phrase that generates no traffic whatsoever to your site – your time and money will be wasted.

Blinding you with Science! Please, forget about companies who claim they have analyzed Google's or any other Search Engine's algorithm and have cracked the technology and are willing to let you in on the benefits – for a small fee - virtually gaining your site those prized possessions overnight. The words "Scam" spring to my mind among a few others which I shall regress in saying.

Reputation! Ask around amongst friends, business associates, on-line help forums like Yahoo! Answers or Google Answers for advice before you settle upon contacting an SEO Company. Professional SEO companies that are worth their salt mainly get a high percentage of their business from referrals. Look at the SEO company’s site; do they have a testimonial page (again though, be thorough as testimonials can be duped) are there contact numbers or a web address? Go one further and call that company, ask them about the service they received. Were they satisfied? Was it worth the money? Dig a little then dig some more.

Future Provisions! Just what are you getting for your money? Does the company have a pro-active approach by embracing new marketing techniques and technologies or are they just concerned about your meta keyword tag and advising that you need an extra gazillion pages on your site to be able to rank better. Will they report back to you at the end of each month with details about what they have undertaken to help rank your site better?

Trust your Instinct! A professional SEO Company will always ask you questions to help understand more about your business and the market your in – not just to help build an on-line profile about your company but to assess what service suits your requirements. SEO or Web Design companies that offer one-price-fits-all models have no conceptions (or experience) of the varying techniques required to help successfully promote a company on-line, drive its targeted traffic to their site and help boost their positions within the Search Engines.

Complacency has no room when you are trying to source a company who will deliver an increased return of investment for your site. Hopefully, I'll never have the experience again of having to reply to an on-line post about what a company needs to do in order to rank their clients site.