Getting Scammed in SEO

Part 1, of 3

I’ve seen it again and again - someone pays a “professional” for SEO, and wonders why there are no results - or worse, watches their traffic drop. So how you gonna know who to trust, and how you gonna keep from getting ripped off?

The first thing, is to be aware of what legitimate SEO services are:

1. They are not sold for $29 a month. No “search engine registration” services exist that are worth the money. This is not SEO - in fact, it is neither necessary, nor effective.

2. They cannot be automated. Automated SEO is a fraud. Every time. No matter who is selling it, it is worthless, and will not help you. SEO is about intelligent language use. Computers can’t begin to do that.

3. They are personal, and time intensive. Now… there are some things that can be done quickly and easily, but the most important things take some time. That means you will have to pay for quality. Good professionals can break it down into manageable sections so you can pay for it in blocks, and each one will give some results.

4. Good SEO involves working with the whole site. It affects content, first and foremost, but also is a part of the design, coding, layout, site organization and structure. This means a good expert will look beyond tags and headings to optimize your site.

5. Good optimization can be done on ANY kind of site - it does not matter whether it is a shopping cart, a plain HTML site, or a Content Management System. The degree to which each allows changes, and the manner in which they are performed is variable, but the most important things can always be done.

6. Good optimization does not involve illogical repetition. Period. If it feels to you like something has been repeated too many times to make good sense, or to look like it belongs there, it isn’t done right. Excessive repetition is not part of good SEO.

7. Good SEO is NOT provided by someone who promises that they can get your site onto the first page of Google! This is a scam tactic. ANYONE can get your site onto the first page of Google. No kidding. But the key point is to know WHAT they’ll put it there FOR. Legit SEO experts won’t promise a THING until they look at your site, and get a grasp of your marketing competition.

There is a vast gulf between bad SEO, and good SEO. And it ranges from barely effective, to highly effective. And good SEO won’t always be EVERYTHING that can be done - sometimes it is just the most important things within the budget that the site owner can afford.

Our next article will cover what site owners should know about SEO, to get a quality job.