SEO Scams

How can you tell a good SEO company from a bad SEO company?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. Understanding even a little bit about search engine optimization can help you in selecting a good SEO specialist.

Let me share with you my experience with Jim so that you will understand some basics of what bad search engine optimization is.

Jim has an insurance business. It would be extremely difficult for his business to compete with the main keywords of his field within the top search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. So, one way to start gaining more business is to target less competitive keyword phrases within his market.

The SEO company that Jim hired selected 10 keyword phrases. Each of these keyword phrases would gain the top position on the first page of the search engine results. After a short time they emailed him to congratulate him on those results, stating that he was number one and their promise was fulfilled.

He would of course have to pay them $80.00 a month to continue to have those results.

I asked Jim to hand over that keyword list to me. Then I tested their claim. I found only 2 of the keyword phrases had a number 1 and 2 result. The rest of the keyword phrases were located on page 2 or not found within 5 pages of results.

My next step here was to look into the value of each of those keyword phrases. My research showed me that only 1 of those keyword phrases had any value. Just 1! And that keyword phrase would most likely only draw about 30 visitors or less per month.

The next thing that my research revealed was that the keyword phrases that were on the first page results were not there due to this companies efforts. Even if Jim stopped paying them, his site would remain on the first page within the top 3 results for that keyword search phrase.

How do I know this? Because Jim's website had been randomly optimized for those two keyword phrases.

Let me mention here the FIRST rule of search engine optimization.

- Search engine optimization ALWAYS starts from your website. No exceptions.

If anyone promises to help you with search engine optimization and they never mention the need to make sure your site is optimized for this purpose, hang up, leave, tell them to take a hike.

The next tip is to request a breakdown of the value of what they are going to do for you. Telling you they can get you on the first page results for any keyword is just a nice thought. If that keyword phrase receives just a few searches each month, what is the value in it?

Remember, you have a right to understand the value of any service someone is going to provide for you. Ask questions, request statistics. If you don't take the time to understand the very basics of search engine optimization, you may very well lose thousands of dollars by paying someone to scam you.

Article by Chrisi Darrington - copyright 2008 All rights reserved. No copies of this article are permitted without prior written permission by ReddingSEO.com.

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