Ten deceptive SEO company ‘tricks’

When it comes to SEO tactics, there are many ways for clients to be deceived.

Make sure you’re NOT one of them…

  1. Ranking No:1 in Google: Let’s face it there are hundreds of terms an SEO can rank first for & on the first page for in Google. Now, you have to remember it’s the quality of the search term you rank for that’s important. So how do you decide between a good search term and one that is just simply Ok? Well to start with if you count the number of words in the search term it’s usually harder to achieve high rankings the less words you have, however, if a short search term has an obscure word within it, it may be less competitive i.e. ‘SEO superstar’ would be a much easier search term to rank for than ‘SEO specialist‘ because the latter is searched for more often, meaning it is far more competitive.
  2. Ranking No:1 in Google: Does the SEO’s own domain name incorporate the search term used? It’s a fact, if you have the desired search term within your domain name you hold a distinct advantage. In fact if your SEO consultant ranks on the first page for a term that he/she has contained in his/her domain name it’s likely their knowledge of SEO is very limited indeed!! 
  3. Ranking No:1 in Google: Using Google Places – Yes, that’s right, there are businesses out there that will still maintain this is ‘proper SEO’ and it can be argued that they’re right – in a way. However, the skill required in achieving this ‘ranking’ is absolutely zero and we are all likely to diminish the ‘achievement’ further by asking “Did you add your business to Google places”, it’s that simple to do!
  4. Rank 1st page in Google: How often do you hear SEO companies promise that they will get you on the first page of Google results? What they should be talking about is how much relevant traffic they think they can achieve from natural online searches for your products or services.
  5. Ranking 1st page in Google – Guaranteed: It’s so easy to achieve if you target those particular keywords that no-one searches for or if there is very little competition for them! i.e. “Aoratherapy Technician in Bungay, Norfolk”. However, this tactic is definitely used as a hook by some SEO companies to drive enquiries through to their sales teams.
  6. First page On Google: Ok, so let’s say your SEO consultant convinces you that they can optimise your site properly and get you decent first page positions. What next? Have they discussed training? Have they shown you how to use your website properly?
  7. Is SEO purely about getting to the first page on Google?: Absolutely not, ask what experience the company has in helping to achieve online sales? What do they know about payment options? And what things should you look out for with credit card fraud? How good is their overall knowledge in your field of business? Let’s face it if an SEO consultant has enough knowledge wouldn’t they use it to set up their own rival business?! If not, then why not?
  8. Don’t be afraid to ask for references: Make sure you follow this up, regardless of how nice or knowledgeable the SEO/Developer seems!
  9. Dealing with international SEO Companies: It’s likely your SEO company will be based in India. Is it a problem? Well it depends on whether your business depends on the Queens english, there is a massive difference between Search Engine OptimiZation & Search Engine Optimisation. A bigger SEO company doesn’t automatically mean a better one, and a larger SEO company usually involves call centres or could even be just that – a call centre with operators who know a limited amount about SEO. Do you really want to work with an SEO company that asks for your account number before discussing why your SEO campaign is underperforming?!
  10. SEO for $39.99 pcm: If you see offers like this you can guarantee you will get what you pay for – very little! Let’s say you are in the retail business and your biggest competition is the high street. Do you really think you will be able to compete by spending this little on SEO?

Yet Another SEO Tutorial?

Christmas Holidays and New Year 2011 passed and we had time to sift through some SEO articles. So was there any ground breaking information out there, and if so, what was it? Well here are ten random articles:

Ten Powerful But Simple SEO Tips - 28 Nov 2010 . . Every business with an online presence should make SEO a top Priority. Here are ten easy but powerful Search Engine Optimisation Tips you … (TRUE but it’s the same ten tips covered by hundreds of other SEO articles.)

Five Ways to Use SEO to Enhance Your Page Ranking – 4 Nov 2010 … It can really be a big challenge to try to get visitors to enter your web page. Search engine optimization tries to take some of the … (Pagerank does not improve search engine positions if your website is poorly optimised.)

Some Important Tips on How to Get SEO Backlinks for Improving Your …9 Oct 2010 … Backlinks are probably the most important factor in your SEO. Some Webmasters claim that backlinks account for 60% of your rankings level. (Yes, links are an important aspect of ranking, if done correctly, but they will not significantly improve a websites ‘reach’.)

SEO Explained in Plain Terms 12 Feb 2010 … Search Engine Optimisation is the latest buzz word, thrown around all over the Internet, that promises a low cost solution to find new customers …  (Where have you been lately? An obvious ‘expert’ who thinks SEO is a new buzz word!!),

SEO Specialists 23 Jan 2010 … The world of search engine optimisation is changing everyday. A knowledgeable SEO Specialist must keep up with the ever changing technology. ( A knowledgeable SEO Specialist will already rank highly in Google, won’t they?!)

SEO Services You Can Get From a Good SEO Company – 1 Aug 2010 … There is a continuous rise in the number of people creating their own e-commerce sites or online businesses because they know there are good rewards … ( The Internet is the fastest growing marketplace and the best SEO’s will rule.  )


 “Yes, there is a similarity.” Everyday there are hundreds of articles written about the exact same thing…

It’s enough to send a guy to sleep!
SEO Pricing – 15 May 2010 … SEO is very important to the online business with on average the number of leads the search engines produce being anything from 60% – 100% … (Blimey an article aimed at SEO’s! Price should always reflect performance and if SEO’s do a good job clients will flourish and further business will come.)

Simple SEO Techniques – 25 Mar 2010 … SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimisation. This process is used for the promotion of online business. (Probably the 1,000,000th time this topic has been covered.)

Five SEO Secrets You Should Know Right Now – 1 Oct 2010 … Some say that when it comes to search engine optimisation, there are no more SEO secrets to be told. That is not completely true because… (If so, then isn’t it amazing that some SEO’s still manage to rank better than others?!)

SEO – Facts You Ought To Know About SEO – 2 Dec 2010 … There has been a lot of fuss about SEO or search engine optimisation. Some would say it would take months and even years to be on top of the rankings … ( SEO’s that claim they can achieve high rankings quickly for competitive keywords are likely to be using SEO techniques that are regarded as ‘black hat’. Failing that they are probably just saying it to ensure they get the SEO contract! There is a lot of fuss regarding SEO because professionals like us regard those who cheat people as scoundrels, who do nothing other than give the industry a bad name.)


SEO TOP TIP:


NEVER order SEO from a company that isn’t ranking highly for competitive SEO terms. If they have to advertise their services through Google AdWords it’s likely you will get your fingers badly burned.

I often write about what to be aware of but in this case what I’m highlighting is the lack of originality in many SEO articles. People who write this drivel tend to follow what’s been done before rather than trying to exploit new opportunities. This tactic isn’t likely to help your SEO campaign or help you with marketing ideas, nor will it help your business to exploit new markets.

SEO’s need to be more business savvy and more aware of helping their clients in achieving their goals.

SEO’s have to remember they are marketing your business to potential clients as well as achieving sales and enquiries. It’s got to be ethical to help a business – by opening their eyes to what’s happening online, and helping them to tackle issues of competitiveness etc.

The warning signs are always there prior to setting out on an SEO contract and they are most certainly present during the SEO contract period itself. If you have given your SEO consultant twelve months to get results and you still aren’t getting the desired online traffic then it’s time to look elsewhere!

SEO Companies – Ask yourself why they are NOT ranking!!

The fact is that if you want to sell SEO then you have to prove you are amongst the best at it, leading by example has to be the only way…

It amazes me just how many companies are out there pushing and selling SEO services, saying what they can deliver when in truth they can only get ranked for minor keywords themselves! How the heck  somebody not ranking for an SEO term (unless it’s part of their domain name) can offer SEO services is beyond us!

On top of this we witness large ‘SEO’ companies using their client’s websites to provide them with back links to enable them to rank highly! How are these cowboys going to help you?

Just by including a link to their site from the foot of your website they are demonstrating to the world that there is only one person who’s going to benefit from the work they do for you. Them!!

So, before you hire any SEO Company ask to see the results they have achieved on competitive search terms for their existing clients, and ask to speak to these clients personally. Why would they say “No”?

i.e. SEO SPECIALIST  (Webserve are currently No.4 worldwide)

i.e. SEO CONSULTANT (currently No.17 worldwide)

Make these searches local by affixing either ‘Norwich’ or ‘Norfolk’ and we are No.1 or worse case No.2, in addition to ranking highly for many other local search terms.

WEBSERVE DEVELOPMENT is biding it’s time, we intend to hold excellent SEO positions for all the major keywords – before shouting about it.

Clients tend to come to us, we haven’t actively looked for business yet, but when we do we intend to be as good as our positions suggest. Surely that is what customers want from an ethical ‘white hat’ SEO company?

NB: Developers hellbent on achieving high search engine positions solely by using ‘keyword rich’ domains have surely got to stop kidding themselves that this is a good idea. This is a crass tactic anyone can adopt, but again it highlights the lack of true talent in the ‘SEO’ marketplace.

Changing your SEO Company

It can be a daunting task changing SEO companies, especially if you have some form of search engine placement. But it may be what you set out to achieve isn’t quite happening for you, and you don’t feel the online side of your business is living up to it’s full potential. There can be two reasons for this – either the SEO company you originally instructed isn’t very good, or you didn’t do what your SEO consultant asked you to do. If it’s the latter it’s no good pointing the finger as it’s only going to happen again, unless of course you’re ready to open your cheque book nice and wide and employ someone to write the content for your site on your behalf!

More often than not what happens in the web development industry is that clients simply start out by looking for someone to build a website for them. Often the first port of call is a relative, friend or sometimes even a local Printer who’s offering a web design service. After wondering for a year why there are no enquiries coming from their new sites customers eventually see the error of their ways. Meanwhile, many of the SEO services offered online are from businesses that outsource their work overseas. We, like you, get scores of e-mails every week advising us to outsource our SEO, which we totally ignore. We know the failings and flaws in these services and you shouldn’t be fooled by them either. I can assure you there are no UK websites ‘sitting’ at the top of Google for competitive keywords, that have employed SEO Consultants working from some far flung corner of the world to get them there. If you believe otherwise then please get in touch and we’ll be happy to prove you wrong!!

You see the obvious language barrier isn’t the only problem, cultural differences play a large part too in determining the different ways that we, in the west, search for our products and services. Targeting the correct keywords is fundamental with SEO, and must not be underestimated.

So how do you pluck up the courage to move to a true SEO Specialist?

Unfortunately those of us “in the know” have to tear apart all the hard work put in by the previous developer. Yes, it will make you as ”sick as a parrot” - but at least we do have the medicine to cure you!

It’s painful to see but the majority of websites out there are just awful, they simply don’t work and there are so many factors involved. Ironically, what doesn’t help the cause is that people get too personal with their websites just like they do with their cars. It’s not until you own a few sites that you realise they are simply tools that exist to help get you more business.

The hardest part of moving to a true SEO Specialist is hearing their honest verdict on your existing site. However, you must forget about your current position in the search engines – after all it’s only going to get better from here on!

The truth about SEO is that if it’s done correctly it will be the best value advertising your company will ever undertake. If it’s done badly however it will be costing you business every day. Are you prepared to wait? If not, contact us now!

Having faith in your SEO Consultant

Targeted traffic is one of the most important elements of your online business, it’s virtually impossible to achieve any worthwhile results without it. Regardless of how visually stunning your site may be, if nobody is visiting it you need to remind yourself why you created it in the first place!

Ok, there’s a balance,  like everything in life if you ‘overcook’ one area or concentrate too much on it you will come unstuck across the board. Effective SEO is all about consistency and targets all areas of your business, so that you have more than one egg in your online marketing basket.

The businesses that benefit most from an SEO campaign are the ones that don’t panic and have the patience to appreciate steady progression. No, you shouldn’t expect results to happen overnight with SEO, and if they do, be very wary!

If you can’t stay patient until the ‘payoff’ then SEO might not be right for you.

What you need in abundance is FAITH

Like it or not, you will need to have faith in your SEO Consultant. If you don’t believe in them you won’t follow their instructions and you will inevitably fail…

If you find yourself questioning their advice you have clearly lost faith in them.

When your SEO specialist asks you to write articles relating to your business, make sure you comply, if you don’t you will limit your success.

However, assuming you choose the right SEO consultant and have faith in their ability you will be rewarded with long term success and plenty of traffic to your website.

Trusting your SEO Company

In a perfect world all SEO consultants would be ethical, however this industry, more than most, attracts it’s fair share of rogues. Some SEO’s for example wax lyrical about their ‘contracts’ because they offer ‘no results no fee’ – well just look at the small print folks, nobody does something for nothing these days. Would you?

Then you have SEO’s who believe a few minor script changes warrant a six month contract… Hmm, we’ve seen lots of these in our time, yes, it will help you marginally at the start of the SEO process, but it won’t (on it’s own) get you ranking for those high volume search terms.

The simple facts…

Most of the top ten positions on Google will nearly always be taken up by veteran webmasters, those that have served their time and made all the mistakes any ‘newbie’ is likely to make. There is no easy process to achieve high ranking positions for competitive keywords, if you do want to get there then get ready for some hard work…

Unique content is the most powerful online commodity and by adding your own you will be dealing in the best currency. No-one knows your business quite like you and every website should ideally reflect it’s owners personality.

As SEO specialists we understand that every campaign is different, but it’s amazing just how often a successful campaign coincides with a customer who has made the effort to add unique content when instructed.

However, there is a good side to clients who simply don’t have the time to add content themselves…

It’s called a higher fee… That’s when choosing the right SEO Specialist really becomes critical!!

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION SPECIALISTS

Seo Specialists - Website Optimisation & Search Engine Optimisation Consultancy.

Thoroughly research relevent keywords specific to your business for effective SEO. The main purpose of organic SEO is to increase relevant or targeted traffic for all those right keywords through search engines. SEO can take up lots of effort plus depending on your industry it can sometimes take up lots of money. You should have a clear idea right from the start as to what keywords you want to target. There are a number of tools available on the Internet, even Google has a free tool for choosing keywords. Seo professionals will also target key phrases as well as those more difficult terms. These have lower volumes of traffic, but if enough of them are targeted the total will add up to a sizeable amount. By their very nature they will also have low levels of completion making it easier and quicker for you to achieve higher search engine rankings and get your SEO campaign of to a good start. Relevant content FOR seo makes your website information-rich, if the site provides meaningful information people will come back to it it will increases your keyword density and it gives your website ULP (unique linking property) this will increase those all important inbound links. Updating your website with new relevant content is a good long term SEO strategy which will drive you up the search engines. Make sure you have unique titles for every page as titles are used by the search engines to both rank and display pages. Leveraging your page titles will also increase your rankings and search engine traffic. Your description Meta tag should describe your page in one or two sentences, and of course include your keywords but also selling the page to the potential searcher. Content at the top of the page is considered more important than the content below, so ensure your SEO keywords are near the top of the page. Use semantic HTML where possible. Ensure you use semantic HTML and that your keywords appear within the header tags. Your website will need to be using search engine friendly URLs. Try not to use dynamically generated URLs, as these are usually lacking in keywords. I am happy to take on SEO in London or any of the other major cities like Manchester as SEO jobs or contracts can be undertaken as i work online. Talking about SEO, We have a new client who are specialist's in Pond Construction Security Norfolk  Letterboxes
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION Our goal is simple: we want to make the Internet a successful addition to your business. That means making websites user friendly and visible to web surfers by promoting the pages in the natural search engine results with the skills and contacts in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) that we have, also by using paid advertising methods such as Pay Per Click (PPC). As a Search engine optimisation specialist i can help drive more unique visitors to your website. This is far more complex than simple search engines submissions and to achieve increased volumes of traffic, your website will need to be optimised, if done correctly the site will will then be structured so that all pages are search engine friendly and get indexed. Achieving first page Search Engine listings naturally and effective PPC campaigns will bring regular visitors which your business can receive regular enquiries - The deciding factor then is what you have to offer potential customers. Through extensive research we know what works and what doesn't in SEO, with the key factor of our service being the actual website optimisation and link building. What is Search Engine Optimisation? Search Engine Optimisation is primarily about creating valuable information for the end user. Effectively Website Optimisation ensures that your companies website presents an excellent user experience, therefore growing in value to Search Engines through natural linking. Many think Search Engine Optimisation is only about manipulating placement results which isn't as effective as website Optimisation that is ensuring that your company's website delivers what potential clients want of which the search engines can interpret. Any site that follows these basic principles will find their website will add real value to their organisation, and once Website Optimisation is in place your website will be ready to compete for more competitive keywords. So Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Optimization as the Americans call it, is the practice of modifying a website so that it is considered to be Search Engine Friendly. If a website can be properly read by the search engine spiders, there is an increased probability of achieving desirable results in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). The primary task for any Search Engine Optimisation company is to understand your product and customers and the search terms these people are using to find a product or service related to the website owner. An aspect rarely mentioned is that to be good at SEO the specialist must have had lots of life experience which can only come with age One rule which we constantly preach to our clients is that in Search Engine Optimisation their content must be unique. It's no secret that google filters out websites or pages that contain duplicate content from other websites so its not a good idea to copy!! besides that every company is different so they should be shouting out about their good points and not someone else's. With SEO clients should be fully aware that when optimising websites, organic rankings don't increase overnight and it can take up to six months and even longer for highly competitive keywords. Other factors such as domain age can affect the time it takes also. Even your domain name can have an effect on search engine results. Generally though the more pages you have and the more articles you have, the more search terms related to your business you will rank highly for. One thing for sure after all the process of getting a website tuned and positioned gaining free traffic is that, it's well worth the effort and will bring you a consistent level of new found business of which your website will be responsible for, This is where your company starts to get a return on it's investment. If a jobs worth doing it's worth doing right!! I hope that after reading this you will see I know my job - and i know how to do it well!! A WORD OF WARNING Hiring as bad SEO company can also get your website banned as well as not achieving what you set out to do for the privilege of a fee.

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