Wherever there is a knowledge gap between the the service provider and the customer, there is an opportunity to deceive. Look around any market that fits this description – you’ll find dishonesty.
You’ll also find service providers who don’t know what they don’t know, but know more than the client and talk a lot of jargon while the outcomes never quite match up with the hopes and promises.
Many of us who make our livings online have come to view certain truths as self-evident. We don’t fall for the classic scams. But many people are just starting to explore the world of online business, coming to grips with the basics and uncertain about what information they can trust.
That’s where we all started.
And when you’re just getting a grasp on how search engines rank websites, it an be hard to know who to trust and who to ignore.
I’m not one to claim that I’ve “seen it all” in SEO, but I’ve seen my share of scams. And it amazes me: they don’t seem to be going away. Some of the oldest and most ridiculous scams are still running.
And if they’re still selling that means that there are business owners out there who don’t know better.
In hopes to shed some light, here are 8 SEO scams that just don’t seem to go away and an explanation of why each one is simply not worth your money.
1) “X Top Ten Rankings Guaranteed!”
I had the unfortunate experience of working for a company that offered “50 page one Google rankings guaranteed” as an incentive for uncertain prospects. Not to say hard work wasn’t being done – it was. But guaranteed rankings are meaningless.
Why this is a scam
First off, nobody can guarantee a ranking. Secondly, your website already has hundreds of page one rankings. Here’s an example: search for “mike tekula unstuck.” I guarantee you UnstuckDigital.com (my website) is the first result. Shouldn’t it be?
Go through your own website and put together a list of similar obscure, specific keywords that probably only show up in that order and proximity on your page. Search for them. You’re going to find lots of page one rankings.
Rankings have never been the goal. They’re merely a means to an end. The end is leads/sales/whatever your goal is. Qualified traffic that converts. A ranking by itself means nothing if it refers no qualified traffic.
2) “We’ll submit your website to thousands of search engines!”
Really? Thanks. Thousands of search engines sure is a lot. It would probably take me weeks to do all that myself.
Why this is a scam
How many search engines have you heard of?
How many do you use on a regular basis (at least once per week)?
You’re not unique in this. Most people use Google – about 70% of people in this country as a matter of fact. Something like 20% use Yahoo!. 8% use Microsoft Live. Ask.com, Dogpile, Metacrawler, etc – the handful of remaining search engines collectively get about 2% of search traffic.
There are not thousands of search engines to worry about. There are three. And if you’re really pressed for resources, there is one – Google.
The worst part about scams like this: those “search engines” they’re submitting your website to? They’re mainly SPAM centers. So not only is your money being ill-spent on this “service,” but you’ll be inundated with SPAM emails until the cows come home.
3) “500 Directory Links for $49.95″
Link building is important – links are the most powerful way to outrank your competitors. Link building is also really, really hard.
So when someone comes along offering you 500 links for $50 you might think it’s a good idea – that’s just $.10 per link!
Why this is a scam
Ask yourself: if you were Google would you want it to be this easy for websites to achieve top rankings? Just drop $50 here or there on a few links and bamn, you’re at the top?
Of course not.
There’s a general rule of thumb here: the cheaper the link, the less powerful.
Sometimes, when you’re clever and create great stuff, links come on their own – and these can be very powerful. But the kind of links you’re going to get for nothing more than a $50 upfront investment are worthless.
4) “1st Page of Google in 48 Hours!”
This scam preys on those in a hurry – they’ve got a website, the sales are not coming in and they’re hoping to hire an “expert” to get them visible in search engines quickly.
Why this is a scam
Anybody (yes, anybody) can get to the 1st page of Google almost instantaneously, and you don’t need to hire someone to do it.
- Step 1: Sign up for AdWords
- Step 2: Pick a keyword, any keyword
- Step 3: Pay
You can pay for top placements all you want – that will make Google very happy. Consistent and qualified traffic streams and a positive ROI are another story.
5) “We have an inside man at Google”
Wouldn’t it be cool if your consultant had a “man on the inside?” You’d get your SEO advice straight from the horse’s mouth!
Why this is a scam
You really think Google employees are selling state SEO secrets to John and Jane Q. Consultant? Remember the Rosenbergs?
Google’s ranking algorithm reportedly contains 200+ variables. In short: they could hand the formula to just about anybody – we wouldn’t be able to “crack the code” and start ranking well. Too many of the variables are hard, if not impossible, to game.
6) “Our methods are a trade secret – we can’t tell you what we’re doing”
Of course some things are proprietary – you can’t expect companies and consultants to give up all their goodies.
Why this is a scam
The minute you’re paying someone for a fuzzy list of deliverables you’ve entered the twilight zone of the B2B services universe – where the basic trade of money for actual work unravels.
I wouldn’t expect your SEO to tell you everything about their research methods, tools and software, but then your mechanic doesn’t turn over a work order with one line item titled, “secret car repair service” and expect you to pay, does he?
7) “We’ve studied and cracked Google’s algorithm”
Similar to #5, this one is equally absurd. It sounds very nerdy and scientific – and we all like the idea of being in on top secret info, especially when it makes us money.
Why this is a scam
Not even Google employees have “cracked” the algorithm. It’s handled by a team of engineers and is updated sometimes several times per week. In other words, a minute after someone “cracked” the algorithm their information would be outdated.
8) “We just need to install this link directory on your website”
Sounds simple enough – and they’ll usually offer to do it for a low upfront price.
Why this is a scam
Your SEO consultant/company is basically telling you that their link building strategy amounts to nothing more than a thin link exchange program. Run screaming. They might not be knowingly scamming their clients, but they don’t know SEO.
This method was already stale and fruitless when people were still listening to Creed (isn’t it nice to let the past die?).
#1 is the hardest one to compete against. Of course clients want a guarantee that what they’re spending their money on is going to get them something valuable, and they think ranking first on google is the thing to have. We really have to educate our clients that what we’re aiming for is an improvement in rankings, and more importantly an improvement in traffic & conversions.
Also, if they’re guaranteeing #1 in Google for anything relatively competitive? They’re probably doing #8 to get there…
It’s tough for sure – people like guarantees. But when I think about guaranteed rankings I think about the quote from Tommy Boy,
One of the first things I teach new prospective clients is that rankings have zero value – only traffic (and qualified, converting traffic) has value. Once you explain it using simple examples people grasp the concept – the problem is that you have to get to them before the scammers do.
I like to think we’re getting closer to being able to calculate the true ROI of SEO – Enquisite Campaign sure looks interesting in that regard. I’m planning to give it a trial run…
Mike,
What do you know about outrank.com? Is that a scam, too?
Not looking to buy anything, just assessing the company as a potential employer…
@J S – It’s hard to evaluate a company’s practices from the outside looking in, but their “Front Page Position within 60 Days” guarantee raises all the wrong alarms.
I would never say arbitrarily that they don’t do legitimate work, but those guarantees, in my experience, are thin and low-value at best.
And what’s wrong with a business BUYING PAGE ONE? Not anyone can do SEM management properly. It’s obvious you are clueless about PAGE ONE SEM.
Try to buy a MAJOR KEYWORD, if the seo of the page is off or if the ads CTR and the QS are off, you end up paying a fortune for PPC.
PPC and SEM management is a SKILL, that’s why the top IT positions in many corporate IT centers are the VP’s of SEM.
Anyone can BUY PAGE ONE?
Spoken like an ignoramus, I have a ton of clients, they thought like you, they could BUY PAGE ONE, after they tried and had 10 buck PPC rates, they HIRED ME to manage their PAGE ONE SEM, then they get real SEO work and bingo, before you know it, THEY ARE TOP OF PAGE ONE once I get involved.
If you KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING, you get PAGE ONE pretty quickly, sure SEM is instant, but REAL SEO doesn’t take months like the novices say.
THE PROS DO IT FAST
I pop PAGE ONE for clients usually in a week with PURE SEO SKILLS
And what I do, is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS nor my clients business
I show them PAGE ONE SERPS one after another
Tons of keywords where ONLY DIRECTORIES ARE PAGE ONE
Yet, the only business clients on the serp’s ARE MINE
How come?
I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING
I wrote one of the first books on SEO over 10 years ago
Wow, you’ve been doing SEO for 4 to 5 years…
hahaha
yeah, so what
your information shows how little you know
scams are scams
no one buys the submit to X thousands SE’s, and no one buys the 500 backlinks for 10 cents a link garbage
that’s not SEO
it’s SCAMS
Real SEO Guru’s walk into a client, they go to google, they show MAJOR KEYWORDS IN BUSINESS
Words with millions of pages in serps
BINGO their work is PAGE ONE
When you have that in your arsenal, the client shuts up and whips out the check book
SEO IS RESULTS DRIVEN
You have PAGE ONE SERPS for major terms, you have real business clients, you are a REAL SEO GURU
BOTTOM LINE IS ALL BUSINESSES WANT
You show them PAGE ONE for major words and they hire you
BUSINESSES PAY A LOT FOR REAL SEO RESULTS
All this garbage I see on sites like this is well, GARBAGE
show your client list
show your serp’s
that’s who you are
SEO is real simple
you either deliver PAGE ONE or you don’t
if you do for REAL BUSINESS WORDS, then you have a ton of clients
you get referrals all the time
you drive a ferrari or lambo
you make a ton of cash
YOU THE MAN
Life of a SEO GURU…
Dear Readers,
I think we can all learn something important from the above comment. When you’ve been drinking heavily it’s a good idea to stay away from the keyboard.
Best,
Mike
What an idiot. Unreal. Can I get the last minute of my life back from reading that comment? Dear Lord, talk about a complete schmuck. heh. Mike…How do you deal with morons like SEO GURU?
Seriously…
Anyone that puts the words: “GURU” or “EXPERT” in their moniker…is lying through their teeth. How can anyone be an GURU or EXPERT if everything around them is constantly moving and changing? Answer is: You can’t.
You can be a avid student of Social Media or SEO/SEM, but once you claim that you are the “OG” Original GURU, then you have jumped the shark of Internet Marketing straight to a PPC snake oil salesman as hair tonic for bald men…
I say ban his IP address and never let him back in. heh.
ADB
I appreciate the sentiment, and believe me I considered blocking the comment and commenter. But I want to let people say their piece, however misguided I may find them.
It also makes for pretty good entertainment. ;)
I want to know why our resident SEO GURU couldn’t be bothered to give his real name or provide any proof that he’s written a book 10 years ago. Probably because, frankly, he’s full of crap.
His website also has a total of 9 inbound links according to Yahoo! – and all from domains he owns. Clearly this guy has talent and experience.
Edit: Oh, my mistake – I was looking at the wrong version of his website. With so many mirror sites at various domains it got confusing.
Why of course he has talent and experience, he *is* a guru after all!
Yes, and that is no title to take lightly. Gurus have to traverse the roughest paths, climb the highest peaks and slay beasts of unmentionable fury before they are granted the title by the SEO gods.
Thank you so much for the info…..I only wish i saw this site before i purchased services from an SEO company…Oh and on top of that i wish i heeded the suggestions!!!! Sometimes some sales people can really be convincing….when your hungry for the gold, that mirage they create can suck you in if you let em…thats why its really important for folks to be a little educated…..here’s a site i feel can be effective that also shares some tips: http://www.seoincscam.com another site that i put together for conumer protection is http://www.seoscaminc.com
Hi Ari, thanks for the kind words. It’s angering to come across people who’ve been wronged or feel that way such as yourself – but unfortunately not uncommon.
You’re spot-on – all we can do is promote education, and I applaud you for sharing your story in hopes that others might avoid similar woes.
Outrank.com is not a scam. They gurantee they can get your site on the first page or stop billing you until they do (think of it as a set up fee for the SEO work).
Took them about 40 days to get me there, I’ve seen a noticeable increase in business since I implemented this solution.
my company has been approached by outreach are you still with them.if so please share alittle more .im a television repairman been in bussiness 34 years.I would appreciate any insite to this company. thanks
mitch
I’m not an employee of Outreach.com, nor have I ever been affiliated or involved with them, so I can’t comment on their services. Your best bet would be to ask them for a few references – several existing or past clients who can vouch for the level of service and results they achieved.
I would say they(outrank(dot)com) are a scam.
Or at least to some degree.
They say they can get you to the top within 60 days. One of the 4 major search engines. This doesn’t mean you will be on the top of Google in 60 days. More like yahoo and with different keywords then what you really wanted.
As a customer I have had no emails, no links(back to my website), and no phone calls. Actually all of the forwarded calls were wrong numbers asking for a different company. This is with the 60+ days.
Don’t waste your money…please
So far, not a happy customer.
Oh, and they don’t do work for free…you pay from day one.
I certainly wouldn’t call any businesses’s offerings a “scam” without ample evidence to support that kind of claim.
If Outrank.com truly does work for “free” until they’ve secured the listings they’ve promised then I certainly wouldn’t call that a scam.
However, whether a “first page” position directly equates to value for your business is another question – I personally don’t recommend correlating rankings to success and prefer to tie it all back to verifiable ROI metrics (such as sales or conversions) whenever possible.
I used Outrank.com, They charged $595 upfront to get you on page one within 60 days. I later found other companies doing the same for half or less with no upfront, (don’t know if they are any good). Cancelled my contract, tried to get out but they charged my card again, (30 day written notice required) I think we have received a total of 2 leads for all this trouble. Oh, and when I tried to discuss it with them they got hostile and hung up the phone. This is a real classless operation that you should stay for away from.
While I can’t comment on Outrank.com and their services, my basic question is this: “page one” for what? What keyword(s)?
And the follow-up question: does that “page one” placement actually amount to anything?
I once worked with a company who guaranteed 100 “page one” listings in six months.
Guess what: that’s incredibly easy to achieve. I detailed the process, and why it was a scam, in this SEOmoz post.
The point: rankings have zero value unless they send you targeted traffic – measuring that is where you should be focused.
Mike:
Did you ever try Enquisite Campaign, and if so, how did it fare?
I have not had the chance to work with Enquisite Campaign as of yet – but I was intrigued when I first learned about it. I’ve been impressed by what Enquisite has done in the past – so I would certainly consider Campaign worth a try.
Nice list. My favorite ais the “connections to insiders one”. Seriously. A billion dollar company that makes ALL of it’s revenue on adverting and is super paranoid about perceptions of manipulation or unfairness is going to let its employees push your website up a notch or two. Hah. Funny.
I have my own similar list as well. Scum SEO companies are one of my major pet peeves. Her’s the link:
http://www.claytowne.com/seo_scam.htm
There are very few things in my life that I have wasted time on and I believe this blog is one of them. Mike, you stated numerous things about what constitutes a scam and ways around it for a business owner to present his business on the front page. Adwords and PPC campaigns only place the domains into the sponsored links which studies show are less likely to work because the common american individual is hesitant of that area.
http://www.newmediacampaigns.com/page/seo-vs-ppc—which-provides-you-the-better-value
Furthermore, you went on about your number one scam. Your name plus unstuck is going to generate you on the front page and thats what you bet. I bet your SEO techniques cant get this blog on the front page of “stupid blog” because of the traffic to that keyword phrase. I am sure you can get it to the front of “another stupid blog” cause the traffic is much lower.
You made some valid points however I also think that you very little or no knowledge in areas you express opinions towards or about. I would recommend you get your feet wet before you decide to have a blog site about the way water feels on your toes. Your blog about a company and a product line that generates billions of dollars to small business owners every year requires an intelligent individual to counter it. Do your homework before you stand in front of the class.
As for the time I have invested in this blog and reading your opinions, I will chalk it up to a complete waste of time on behalf of all parties involved.
Steve, I was going to craft a response until I realized A) you didn’t read my post, B) you are insane or C) both.
Instead, I give you this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MRmxfLuNto
My vote is for insane.
My guess is that Steve Schaeffer works for outrank.com and got his knickers in a knot about the comments.
And judging from his verbiage and tone, it doesn’t reflect well on outrank.
Or he’s a competitor of outrank trying to make them sound like idiots.
You’re probably right on the first point. This post ranks for “Outrank.com scam” (which brings over 100 visitors a month here currently).
Of course, I personally make no attack on Outrank.com whatsoever – I have no experience with them and therefore no basis on which to judge their services.
Spoken like the son of a diplomat…what did you say your Dad did for a living?
He’s a commercial fisherman, actually…but he’s quite careful with his language.
I own a heating and airconditioning company. What SEO company is worth the investment? I could always use more business but my efforts at finding one that actually does what they say is frustrating.
Hey DJ. I can say without hesitation that if you have available budget, the chances are excellent that you could get far more business dollars than the dollars spent if you approach the web with a good plan.
I’m not taking any new clients right now, so count me out. But allow me to recommend considering Mike, the author of this blog.
Above and beyond his SEO skill sets, he has proven himself a man of character so I’d bet you $100 that he would give you the straight scoop. If he can help he’ll tell you. And if you’d be better off in another direction, he’ll tell you that too.
Good luck.
There are plenty worth the investment – SEOmoz, a great source of SEO info, has a page where they list SEO consultants they recommend. Any one of the consultants/companies on this page will tell it to you straight: http://www.seomoz.org/marketplace/companies/recommended
From an initial look I see some issues with your site:
Edit: Fixing the above should only cost you a few hundred bucks – unless there’s some serious limitation with your website platform (but it looks like straight HTML to me – easy to edit)
If you fix the above I’d expect you to see a boost in relevant search traffic – but because you don’t have a ton of inbound links (just around two dozen “juice passing” links) that’s going to hold you down.
A general rule of thumb with hiring an SEO agency or consultant, especially if they’re going to help you build inbound links, is that very rarely does a “set and forget” service work – where you just send them $xxx per month and expect the links and traffic to start coming in. In my experience these types of agencies almost never deliver value.
The best attitude to go into it with is ready to learn. The SEOmoz Beginner’s Guide to SEO is a good place to start. If you come to the table with at least some solid basic knowledge on how SEO works it’s less likely someone can take you for a ride.
Great post. I was looking for the perfect explanation for a client who was just approached about one of these schemes. Thanks for writing this in plain English.
Thanks Peggy, that is excellent.
Ha ha — LOL!!! :) Great bunch of comments and debate for the chronically geek, anti-scam SEO crowd — of which I’m a card carrying member.
You nailed many of the SEO scams still prevalent on the Web today, thank you very much. However, the first one’s sort of a gray area, that is, I think the particular guarantee and the SEO service that offers it should be evaluated on an individual basis.
Not all SEO guarantees are inherently “bad.”
Given that the garden variety of business/website owners know beans about SEO, personally, I think a performance guarantee can afford the client protections from rip-offs that, unfortunately, saturate the SEO industry at large.
If a website owner accepts at face value the statement, “no one can guarantee rankings”, they invite an unscrupulous SEO company to take their money and give nothing in return. Playing the “Google card” has probably resulted in countless millions being taken from naive business owners.
I can appreciate your sentiments about SEO not being a means to an end. Search engine rankings should result in appreciable traffic gains and highly competitive keyword terms specific to the client’s business.
Still, regardless of traffic gains, it’s nearly impossible to assure a client, or establish an SEO business model around conversions. Pre-qualified traffic can potentially result in more sales, yet there are far too many variables at play to warrant conversions from SEO efforts/success.
Take my industry focus for instance (dentistry); in a few months I can increase the dentist’s traffic 5-10 fold, though I still can’t assure them that accomplishment will result in 5-10 times the patients they were already getting (if any).
Other factors beyond my control are 1) design issues with their website, 2) the way their front desk answers the phone, 3) staff not addressing email appointment requests, etc. Even if I built the site, the latter two issues could still inhibit conversions overall.
In any event, thanks for listening and your insight.
John Barremore, SEO
Crime-free Houston, TX
Thanks John.
I agree that not all guarantees are bogus – if an SEO consultant/company is willing to go out on a limb and share risk that might even be a great sign. But in my experience I’ve yet to come across a SEO company selling “guaranteed rankings” that wasn’t a scam. Most of the good companies know better – or they go with a performance-based offering if they’re looking to assuage client fears.
You’re right that the conversion process is out of our hands in a big way – especially once the prospect moves from the website to picking up the phone. With that I have no argument. But tracking form submissions and phone calls gets you closer.
Mike,
Are you not saying, then, that any SEO outfit that provides their clients with a guarantee for rankings is, in your estimation, a scam?
I ask, would you prefer to deal with any store, company, or business that did not guarantee their products, services and/or customer satisfaction?
I further ask, why should a client have to pay for incompetence, or the SEO’s inability to deliver rankings?
A performance-based guarantee — as far as SEO is concerned, is frankly, about positions attained in the search engines. How those positions equate to conversions is dependent upon the site’s design, its incentives, how it engages the potential customer in the trust process and the degree to which the site’s owner handles inquiries, etc.
Of course we all know that we cannot emphatically warrant search engine rankings; the SEO guy cannot give his/her clients absolute assurances that search engines will respond favorably to what he does. However, unless his work does result in the rankings as promised, IMO, the client shouldn’t have to pay for the SEO’s failure to perform.
Without a guarantee in place, without any standards of excellence within the SEO industry, how else can we keep things fair for all parties concerned?
Respectfully,
John Barremore, SEO
I’m saying that the “X top ten rankings guaranteed” bit is 99% of the time a scam – because the companies that offer this point to worthless rankings that drive no traffic or sales as indicators of success.
In other words, this isn’t guaranteeing performance at all. But to the uneducated it may look like performance.
I would disagree that a “performance-based guarantee” and a guarantee for “X number of page one rankings” (as I describe in #1 above) are one in the same. What I’m talking about are those worthless #1 rankings that may look great until you consider demand and traffic for those keywords.
I went into detail on how some “SEO companies” work this “guarantee” here.
Guaranteeing client satisfaction or sharing risk via a performance-based compensation structure are different situations entirely.
Are you suggesting a guarantee is a standard of excellence and that without one things are not “fair for all parties?”
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your reply.
My central purpose for debate is to define the exemplary SEO model and how to provide my clients with the best possible service and benefit. A solid SEO guarantee is the doorway to trust between company and client; it compels the SEO service to perform its best and protects the client’s interests.
To be sure, I agree with you — 99% of the SEO services out there today are scams, but for reasons that are completely avoidable and fixable. If the service is making claims, IMO, those claims should be backed by a guarantee for the client.
Look at it from the business owner’s perspective. They most often know little or nothing about SEO; they want and need pre-qualified traffic to their sites though and they’re seeking someone who can help them. They don’t know you; only what you tell them. What assurances can you give them that what you say is true?
If the SEO is secure in their ability to provide positions for the client’s most competitive keywords, why not warrant that ability to the client with a guarantee?
Personally, I use beginning keyword benchmarks together with ranking reports to keep the client in the loop; heck they know as much as I do, about where their website is positioned and when it reaches their goals in the SERPs. With a 100% track record of success and a guarantee to back it up, my clients appreciate the fact they won’t have to pay unless we deliver, as promised.
I think you said it all when you mentioned “to the uneducated” — and this is most important. The client must assume the responsibility of researching the subject of SEO, determining their most valuable keywords and finding an SEO who can provide reasonable assurances for a successful campaign.
In the same vein, check out this offer — this is what we’re up against; a ridiculous claim designed to fleece the uninformed dentist: http://www.newpatientinquiries.com/
In summary, I’m not suggesting that an SEO follow my lead, or provide their clients with protective safeguards, or even consider doing the right thing. I only know what is best for me and my clients. I do however enjoy speaking with other SEOs and webmasters and seeking win/win strategies for both clients and ourselves.
After all, if we help our clients, we help ourselves. How exactly we can improve the efficiency of that endeavor is my goal, and I would truly like to hear your input on how to proceed.
John Barremore, SEO
Wow John. I just perused the newpatientinquiries site and you really are up against it. That’s got to be difficult to counter when you’re dealing with someone who doesn’t know anything about it all.
John,
I think the discussion is a little big for the comment thread of this post – we’ve already expanded it quite a bit. If you’d like to discuss it further I’d be happy to exchange a few emails, but in closing here I”ll say the following:
I have no arbitrary problem with the “guarantee” in any business engagement. I’m sure we can find case after case where the effective use of a guarantee has made for profitable businesses and happy clients.
The problem in the SEO space is that the “guarantees” thrown around usually amount to zero in value.
In other words, I can guarantee you 500 page one rankings, but if none of those rankings brings in traffic or business, where’s the value in that guarantee?
This tactic is what I was pointing to in #1 above. Not guarantees across the board, but the “X number of page one rankings” – which says nothing about actual traffic/value.
And that is precisely the kind of offer you’ve linked to – a guarantee for “thousands” of page one rankings. I’d wager very few of those thousands of page one rankings would actually bring in traffic.
In short, the word “guarantee” is empty. It has no intrinsic value. It just sets off the right warm and fuzzy feelings in people.
As for how to proceed – I wrote this post as an initial answer to that question. I think the best thing we can do is be vocal about why these offers are bogus. Websites like SEOBullshit.com are venturing boldly into that arena, and I encourage it.
> goodnewscowboy,
These guys are a dime a dozen; they’re coming out of the woodwork now that the US economy is crashing. Actually they represent no “competition” or benefit to dentists for that matter; still, you are correct; sadly, the uninformed may fall victim to their claims.
—————————————————————
Hi Mike,
Yes I agree we’ve exhausted the topic here on your site; thank you for hosting the comments and giving your time and insight freely.
I’ve worked hard to separate my SEO service from the “other guys” and I constantly look for ways to provide our clients with more value.
In the end, a guarantee is only as good as the man behind it. The business owner looking for an SEO owes it to themselves to exhibit due diligence and research thoroughly the subject of SEO and the outfit they are considering. An informed consumer will always make better decisions.
Thanks again for your courtesy and input.
John Barremore, SEO
Houston, TX
You had me till the Creed comment. Dude!!! I still love that band.
Well written I liked it!
# 8 is my favorite.
Haha, sorry man – I didn’t realize there were still Creed fans out there! No hard feelings.
Couldn’t agree more and I do web design and SEO for a living. Most of my contemporaries are almost as clueless as the public.
My latest super villan is the amateur web designer that uses a CMS to build a “web site” for clients. I see them all the everywhere now. I get new clients every week that have web sites that are invisible to the search engines. With one glance at the source code I can see they were GENERATED (not built) by WordPress, Drupal, PHP Nuke, etc and then passed off as a web site. Many tell me they were charged extra for “SEO” – and I have yet to see any evidence of SEO on a single one.
I was inspired to create an online survey to find out where they are finding these scumbags and what things the buyer didn’t understand that got them there. There are no links to my site nor are any email addresses gathered. If you feel you, or a friend, have been had by a web contractor – take the survey and I will post the results here when enough responses are gathered to show a trend.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7MP2QBL
There’s almost no barrier to entry here – any asshat with a website can start offering “SEO services.” People are right to be skeptical.
I hope I’m not misunderstanding your point, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong whatsoever with using an open source CMS like Drupal or WordPress to build a website. In fact, I do this all the time, and the benefits are multi-fold.
It’s got to be upfront, of course – when I put together a WordPress site for a client, for example, I let them know what I’m using and the price is, naturally, a fraction of what it would take to build something like that from scratch.
Charging extra for “SEO” when doing nothing is plain fraud – and should be treated as such.
Another dilemma you may or may not have encountered is one where the client, once the SEO service positions their site, suddenly decides to take credit for the work and start their own SEO business.
In my own niche (dentistry), I’m beginning to see this happen more and more as clients somehow begin to imagine they can supplement their cash flow by competing for market share in an industry (Web design & SEO) far removed from their own training and profession. Most often these enterprises end in miserable failure.
John Barremore
Houston, TX
I haven’t seen that first-hand myself, but I suppose people end up in the “industry” from all kinds of walks of life.
The trouble is always that the customer doesn’t understand the service. Otherwise these incompetent people wouldn’t be able to toss their hats in and gain any traction.
I’m sure most of them will die in short fashion, which is the only outcome we can hope for (unless, of course, one of these guys actually does his homework and learns the ropes).
The real casualties are the businesses who buy into a worthless service and get burned.
The common scenario accompanying their “visions of grandeur” is to hire, or partner with a Web developer to do the heavy lifting, then use their name, or credibility within their profession (dentistry) to sell their services to colleagues.
Where they most often fail is not thinking it through, or not realizing that for their plan to be successful, it relies upon the proficiency and integrity of the very SEO or developer they partnered with in the first place.
John Barremore
Houston, TX
If a webmaster knows what they’re doing, using WordPress to create a website with stand alone pages is just as effective as me using Textpad, or for that matter using any other software that builds cross-browser compliant files and valid code.
John Barremore
Houston, TX
No doubt the HTML output from WordPress is no better/worse than HTML you can code by hand.
But where WordPress or another CMS beats out hand-coding is in the ability of non-technical contributors to publish/edit content – and at a far lower cost than paying a developer to build out another page.
I suspect he was referring to the wannabes who throw up their first WP or CMS site with a free template and then act like they are now a “web designer” and “SEO” expert. I inherit these invisible, bloated, poorly thought out websites all the time. I love WP and you can make a top notch website based up it’s back end, but like any tool, it’s only as good as the person using it. Heck, some of the worst designs out there are made with Photoshop, bu that’s not the fault of the program.
Well, there are lots of those wannabes out there. I deal with it all the time myself – cleaning up after crappy coders.
Beyond mark-up, the problem (we see) when a site is enabled by CMS for “other” contributors, is they invariably create content totally irrelevant to the site’s primary topic and thus disassociate it with its parent industry, that is, in the eyes of the search engines.
John Barremore
Houston, TX
Well now you’re talking content strategies – a bit of a can of worms.
I’d argue that creating new content that happens to be “off topic” doesn’t hinder a site’s ability to rank for core keywords – so long as the core of the site (home page and main pages) still contains optimized, on-topic language.
And I’d question whether our role should be the gatekeeper for site content contributions. I much prefer to get my clients into the publishing habit – their voice should be at the heart of their brand.
Just a small PS – The reason I posted here is when I read the original post I felt like I was reading my own words. I have made nearly exact comments on my own web sites.
At Outrank.com we strive to provide a quality service to every client. If any past clients feels that we failed to deliver the service that was offered to them, please contact me personally. I will review your specific case and make the needed adjustments to reach an amicable resolution.
Respectfully,
Justin LeBlanc
Sr. Account Mgr. / Product Specialist
Outrank.com
877-332-4321 ext. 3041
jleblanc@outrank.com
Great post, I always find it amazing when I see SEO companies charging $100′s to submit to search engines and it is still quite common. I also love SEO companies that don’t rank for anything or the title of their home page is…well….”home page”!!!
I wrote a Knol on this topic a few months ago as well http://knol.google.com/k/jay-granofsky/seo-lies-and-myths-revealed/3udnymr0y2e8g/11
thanks
J
It seems to me that many of the posters in response to this article at least claim to be SEO experts. Having said that, I think I am exactly the type of business person that is being talked about here. I have a new business, no particular understanding as to how or what an SEO does to accomplish the desired goal, which as you stated is to get actual business.
My uneducated response to what many have said is that I don’t know how an SEO is supposed to be held to the standard to a certain level of business that is derived from their efforts. Don’t get me wrong, I want the ability to be able to cancel (not pay them any longer) the service if that goal is not reached. However, from my perspective, again uneducated, do I have any chance of reaching the goal of more business if my web site is on page 10 through any search? I don’t think so. So, isn’t it the goal of any SEO to get the web site to show up as close to the top of any search engine as is possible and then it is up to the business to make the sale? Now we could argue key words, design of web site and so forth to help accomplish that, but ultimately, again, isn’t it the goal of the SEO to have the web site appear as close to first as possible? If not, how will the ultimate goal of more business be accomplished?
Now let me throw out my situation, which I don’t think is unique, and see what solution you recommend. As I mentioned, I am starting a new business, a cleaning service company. I think, when my site is up and running, that I need it to show near the top of most search’s so people will see me and then request my service. I am not rich, have limited resources, so I can’t spend thousands of dollars for an SEO. Who can help me and how can I be helped?
I will say, that although I have not signed up with outrank, there are some things that attract me, but also some negatives that make the decision hard for me, the uneducated.
First, the positives. They claim to be able to get my web site on the first page of an internet search on the major search engines. They seem to be reasonably priced, and I know, how reasonable if they can’t perform. There is no term to their contract, so if I don’t like the results I cancel the service and don’t owe them anything else.
Now the negatives. I think they are pretty narrow in their keyword possibilities. I specialize in floor cleaning. As of now I would be listed only in the cleaning services vertical. So, if for example someone searches for tile and grout cleaning I will not show up. I am supposed to trust them that “in their research” they have found that most people search for “cleaning services” when in fact they want someone to clean their tile and grout. Also, I have seen the complaints that it is hard to get them to stop charging your credit card when you want to cancel their service.
I hope this post is not too long, but the bottom line is simple. I am who you are talking about. It seems that there are a lot of comments about the scammers but that just makes me more unsure, when there are not step by step things to look for, when a limited budget is in play. Can someone help?
Mike,
I think you are like many small business owners when it comes to SEO, uneducated. I do not say that with any disrespect. I feel it is the responsibility of the sales person to proper educate our potential client on what we (Outrank.com) do for our clients and setting the proper expectations. Due to the volume of clients we have (upward range of about 5,000), there are times when people still do not fully understand SEO. Whether that is because of a miscommunication, lack of communication, lack of understanding, assumptions, or what not, the fact of the matter is people sometimes fail to understand regardless of how well it is explained to them. As a result, you have people that complain.
Let me preface this by saying that we do all we can to get our client in the position they want, but due to complexity of ranking a website in the search engines, we do not always succeed. I can confidently say that 95% of the time we do succeed. Just as we have made clear to you what we will rank you for, we provide that same level of explanation to all of our clients.
In regards to your specific situation, we do classify most industry into “categories.” You specific type of service falls within a “category,” which is “cleaning services” and we also have “carpet cleaning” as an option for you. Although we focus getting you ranked for that primary phrase and its permutations, we also attempt to rank you for a variety of other relevant terms, including “tile & grout cleaning” if that is what you want. We will guarantee to rank you for your category term, but we can’t always guarantee you will rank for its related terms. Please understand that we do have a high success rate of ranking our clients for many things other than their category term and I will be more than willing to show you numerous examples if need be. One of the reasons we are so affordable and we are so confident is due to the business model we have created. We have created a system that can pump out ranked websites very quickly, but you kind of have to fit the mold. Most businesses fit the mold perfectly, (ie: plumber, electrician, carpet cleaners, roofers, dentists, massage therapists, tree services, etc.), but then you have those businesses, such as yours, that are a little more specialized in what they do. In those cases we certainly want to rank you for what is important to you, just understand that their is a little more risk involved for you.
We do stick to our written guarantee, if you are not ranked for your category term, which is usually the most popular keyword for your industry, in 60 days or less, we will discontinue the billing and continue to work for free until you are. There is not a long-term contract, only a month-to-month agreement. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks,
Justin LeBlanc
Outrank.com
jleblanc@outrank.com
Here’s my 2¢.
Is it a good goal to get business. Yes.
Is it a good goal to get to the top of the SERP’s? Yes.
Is it something that anyone can guarantee? No.
Is there more involved than that? Yes.
I’ll try to do this in a paragraph…or 2.
Being a service business that operates locally, you have an excellent chance at ranking in the top of the SERP’s within the Google 7-pack (That list of local businesses). In addition to that you can rank in the main SERP’s themselves for a variety of keywords, but it will depend upon the competition for those keywords. That’s something a good SEO can help you sort out. What keywords would make sense for your business, and which of those that would be easiest to target.
The net result of having a website should be at the very best getting you business, at the very least to getting you leads. It should leave the visitor with the impression that you are indeed a good company to deal with and the site should anticipate and answer any questions the prospect might have. In short, it should be able to convert the prospects. That’s why I said there is more than SEO involved.
I’m sure Mike will weigh in here later. He’s a much better go to guy than I.
Actually, I can’t put it much better myself, so what he said ^
With regard to Outrank, I have previously spoke of my bad experience with them. That being said my complaint is pretty straightforward,
I had a terrible experience with this company and would not recommend it to anyone. You can get this service for much, much less.
@David Johnston,
It is regrettable that you have a negative view of Outrank. You are an insurance agent in San Antonio, TX. Insurance is a very competitive industry, especially in a very large market such as San Antonio. Due to those factors, the cost to you for that particular category was $295 per month. You elected to pay the first 2 months upfront ($590), which took care of the first 60 days while we were working to get you ranked. After the first 60 days, billing continues at $295 per month only if you are ranked 1st page. If not, then we will work for free until you are ranked 1st page.
You signed up for the service on Oct 2, 2009. Since it takes us about 60 days to get you ranked on the 1st page, it would be wise to not have expectations of getting business during that 60 day period. You sent a cancel request in on November 30, 2009, just shy of the 60 day mark and 2 days shy of your next scheduled billing. The analogy I would like to offer is this: “It takes us about 60 days to build the ship; the next 30 to 60 days is when you should let it sail.” It seems that the later did not happen due to when you cancelled. Please understand Mr. Johnston, all we can do is rank you in the search engines, it is up to the ‘searchers’ to actually do the clicking and calling.
You are right, we do require a 30 day cancellation notice and that is clearly explained to all of clients upon signing up and again just days after during the confirmation call with your Account Manager. You certainly have the option of not signing up for the service if you do not agree with these terms. You requested to cancel 2 days before you next billing date, so that is why you were billing for the 3rd month. More importantly, what justified that charge was the fact that we were successful in ranking you on the 1st page of Google, which according to the correspondence on record, you were made aware of your placement, but proceeded with your cancellation request anyway. So we cancelled it at the end of the next billing cycle, 12/30/2009 as requested and in accordance with the Terms & Conditions.
In regards to your account manager’s attitude, I wish I could speak more to that; unfortunately I’m not that person. He may need some coaching on improving his customer service.
In regards to performance, we were able to get you ranked in the quoted 60 day time frame, but due to your cancellation request, it seems that the site was not given sufficient time to work for you. We do not report hits, clicks, and/or page views, etc. Although that information is available to us, who opt not to provide it. We feel we should be measured on out ability to rank you in the search engines, not the volume of clicks or hits you get on the website. Due to the volume of request for that information, we are working to provide that information in a ‘readable’ format in the near future.
We have no control over what people click on, how many searches are being done in a month, or any other action other than the placement we achieve on your behalf. Therefore, we focus on communicating your position in the search engines. We do, however, assign a unique phone number to your account that appears on all of the listings we create that rolls to your existing phone line. Of course you answer the phone like normal, this just gives us the ability to track the volume of actual phone calls you are getting as a result of the service. We feel this is a much better metric to report on. Clicks and hits are sometimes hard to translate into actual business received. Due to the fact that you cancelled your service within the 1st 60 days, there were not very many calls to report to you. This is a report that we provide upon request that will show: the date, time, call length, caller name, caller location, published number, destination number, and a recording of each call.
Again, in regards to the contract, there is not a long-term contract, rather it is a month-to-month contract. As with many services, there are terms and conditions that both parties agree to. We make very clear to each of our clients that a 30 day written cancellation notice is required, which can be received via email, fax, or post office mail. However, we do use discretion when enforcing it; if a client calls no later than a week after the bill date, we will waive the 30 day notice requirement and cancel the account before the next billing date. You were only 2 days away from your next billing date, therefore that was not an option for your situation.
I wish I could offer a better explanation should this one be unacceptable to you or anyone. With any advertisment, there is an inherant risk that you might not get out of it what you put in it. We strive to provide a great service and it is open discussion forums like this that help us improve our service and offerings. Please know that we will heed your comments in effort to improve our service. Thanks for the opportunity.
Kindest Regards,
Justin LeBlanc
Outrank.com
jleblanc@outrank.com
@ Justin from Outrank:
Thanks for the lengthy and wordy response. As I stated previously, my main problem with your “service” is the price. You are right, buyer beware and understand what you are getting in to because companies like Outrank will take you to the cleaners if you let them. Two other points;
1. The phone number you create and publish creates confusion for business customers and our employees as this is really not our phone number. It might make things easier for you, and, well, that seems to be Outranks position what’s easy for them.
2. You certainly were able to due your due dillegance on me but interesting how you can’t figure out your own employee.
No reposnse is necessary.
Regards,
David Johnston
@ David Johnston,
I know a response is not neccessary, but the point of a dicussion forum is to discuss, so I feel it is my responsibility to respond.
We feel that our price points are very competitive, especially with consideration to what we are providing in such a short time. I don’t think we are taking anyone to the cleaners. We have no other charges other than the monthly fee itself. That’s it. This is an all-incluvise program. No hidden fees, just a simple monthly fee that never fluctuates. I feel your comment to this particular topic is motivated by your distaste of the 30 day cancellation notice requirement. All of this is disclosed to each and every client upon signing for the service. No tricks, no gimmicks, pretty straightforward.
The phone number can be disabled if the client does not want to use it. Most clients really like the fact that we can measure the effectiveness of this program by associating the volume of calls received to the ranking of the site. When a potential new customers is doing a search and they find you, they know no difference between the number on the screen and your actual number; all that is important to them is that when they call, you answer. This practice is very common and allows for greater transparency in measuring the effectiveness of any advertising campaign.
In regards to your account manager’s attitude, I will say that we hold each of our associates to a high standard and take the feedback very seriously, and as previously stated, he may need additional coaching on improving his customer service.
Thanks again for the opportunity.
Respectfully,
Justin LeBlanc
Outrank.com
jleblanc@outrank.com
#9 Always be wary of missplaced arrogance.
That comment above was, of course, for the seo guru person. (Did I really have to ‘splain that one:)
Haha SEO Guru, reading your comment was like reading a poem… I was a bit confused with what you were saying, but I liked the rhythm.
yes, i agree, many seo company are scams, making website on top search engine is not easy as what their mention, 1st page on google search in 48 hours? that’s must be a jokes…its take a lot of times to make your site in good ranking, if anyone like to promote a website, try to consider AdWords or some ppc programs.
Excellent post about SEO snake oil. I have to spend way too much time getting my clients to unlearn all the bad information they have received while in search of the magic silver bullet that will bring them unimaginable success even if their site sucks. “You can’t polish a turd”.
Yeah, I hear you – you’re either stripping them of the wrong information or dealing with someone who knows they got burnt and extends their distrust to you.
Mike,
Just caught this page today, and how truthful it is. About a year ago I looked into numerous SEO consultants for help on my new website, and the sales pitches were almost comical.
I completely agree that “promises” in this arena usually can never be met. I ended up going with a consultant who made no guarantees, but had a portfolio of websites that were doing great in very competitive search terms and markets. Felt better about that..
Thanks Randy – sounds like you made the right choice.
Great points and so timely! This is confirmation of my suspicions and exactly what I needed to read. Every day I am bombarded by another Social Media or SEO Guru on Twitter – all promising me the moon in one day. Thankfully I can block them, but it’s too bad they can’t be held accountable for some type of fraud. I wonder how many people on average lose money to these modern scam artists??? Thanks for keeping us all informed.
Thanks Megan. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people still lose money to this. Sometimes it’s clearly fraud, sometimes it’s just a practitioner who isn’t worth his/her salt. Either way, as a client, the best thing you can do is educate yourself before you talk it over with a potential hire.
What I find amazing Mike is that this thread continues to be relevant after all this time since you posted it well over a year ago. Just goes to show you how even though it’s a different day. The issue remains important. Vigilance and knowledge are the only things to combat the scourge of scam artists.
I constantly tell my clients, if it’s too good to be true it probably is.
As always great job Mike!
Thanks Andrew. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m hopeful this stuff will stop being a problem. Wherever you have a gap in knowledge between the customer and the service provider, you have the opportunity for dishonesty. My grandma was just ripped off by a car mechanic, for example. He told her she needed a new flux capacitor.
Did he seriously say a “flux capacitor”? If so, that would outrageously egregious! Or is it egregiously outrageous? heh. Either way…that’s crazy. If you ever need some advice with the wholesale value of any type of car or vehicle, I can always help. I am after all one of the famous “Car Cash Guys” :D
WOW! It took me a while to read it all! Good article, awesome debates… in other word, Great Post :)
I totally agree with most of what is said on that page (even if I do offer a guarantee, but that is not my point).
As you must all know, Google just change the SERPS and the Google Places results. I just wrote a blog post about it and would like to get your feedback on it.
http://www.virtuallycanadian.ca/blog/?p=791
Anyway, thanks for this post… Love the pic btw!
Hi,
I just spent 2 hours reading most of these posts. I’m a new franchise owner in the painting business. I’ve been trying to find a way to improve my presense on the web. My web site is part of the national ProtectPainters web site. I’m OK building a new web site that is my own. I’m confused and would like to find someone who can help me. We’re a small business in a very competitive industry.
Hi Ed. Thanks for dropping in. I’ve had several clients in your position before – promoting your section of a franchise business is tough, and often your hands are tied as far as what you can do with your page. I’d recommend having someone put together a WordPress-driven website for you. That’ll keep the cost reasonable but still give you an SEO-friendly platform that’s easy to maintain and update with fresh content. And it won’t have any of the limitations your franchise page does.
ps Ed if you need more help feel free to drop me a line. At the very least I can clear some things up for you, if not help you get a new site together.
Mike is right Ed. A WordPress site is the best option for you as it will limit the costs for your website updates. You will be able to create new pages as well, and there are a lot of tutorial video about WordPress on Youtube.
If you ever need help, I’ll be happy to give you some advices.
Welcome on the Internet!
This blog really resonates with the difficulties that genuine SEOs have with the cowboys. We saw the website cowboys enter the market 2 years ago promising something for nothing and now we have to compete with the SEO cowboys guaranteeing #1 on Google for £55 per month. The trouble is that business owners don’t know what it really takes to get to #1 for a genuine and useful keyword. They take the £55 per month and give up after a year – they then say ” oh we tried SEO – its a waste of time and money!”
M
Mike,
You have many valid points about SEO. I agree with most of your posts. Most clients do not know enough about SEO to choose a good SEO Company. We teach all of our clients a little bit about SEO and work as a team to make SEO easy and fun.
I have sen every one of these! Great job listing these for people. The best thing I read is that we are all in different stages of learning. I fell prey to many a scammer when I first started out and it sucks. I think with more people pointing out these types of unethical activities, beginners can avoid common pitfalls.
Wow, Mike, what a great conversation you have going here! I won’t go on and on about SEO content development being the catalyst of any successful SEO campaign (enough great information has been given by your readers), but I did want to respond to Mike Appanaitis.
Even when you include Google positioning, all the traffic in the world won’t get you conversions unless your content fits the reader’s needs. Rather than be focused on your SERP ranking or traffic volume, make sure you’re writing content for your audience.
Not to beat a dead horse, but it’s not about traffic; it’s about the “right” traffic. Especially in your industry, it’s about conversions. You want to capture them in the first 5 seconds. If you do (and studies have shown visitors will click as much as 15 links deep), then guess what, you need the great content to make the sale.
The only way to get those conversions ands sales is by using relevant keywords / terms with great content that speaks directly to your buyer. A good SEO professional, in my opinion, knows and understand conversions. They know how to track/test/change them. Sorry you had such a rough time with your SEO; we aren’t all that bad. lolol Good luck!
Excellent article full with sour facts, yes this is the dark side of SEO world.
Ranking for different keywords is true, that any site will rank on first page of search engine for different set of keywords, but ranking plays its imoprtant role, when we talk about a keyword which is searched by a millions of people monthly and has 100s of millions of competitors for that keyword. If business owners ask their SEO experts about the details of the keywords, like competition and global monthly search, then it would be of some value.
Thanks for brilliant topic.
Loved the fact, ANYONE CAN RANK 1ST IN GOOGLE: Register to adword, select keyword, PAY… hahaha brilliant.
It’s amazing how many ways there are to scam people on the internet…and how many people are falling for it!
This is a great guide to live by!
I’ve tried not to get caught up in this hype but it can be difficult with the itching need to get attention. ;)
Thanks a lot for this!
The word unscrupulous comes to mind. A lot of nasty characters out there that only care about lining their own pockets and taking your wallet with them.
The bottom line is, you can do most (if not all) of the marketing yourself. Take some of your spare time on weekends or evenings to research all the web marketing techniques and you’ll be fine.
Build your site for your customers…not for search engines. OVER TIME, you WILL be successful. There is no “magic pill” SEO solution.
Thanks for the write up.
Just got here from seomoz post haha. Got thru all the wall of text. And couldn’t agree more. All 8 type of scamers still exist. Especially types like Seo_guru who write using insenaly lot of caps, red color and pictures with “1″ + using lot swear words(i am talking about their personal websites).The moment i see website with ton of caps and diferent text colors i close it imediately. As always they only say i don’t need to prove anything author don’t know what he is writing and such. As said before directory submission is close to useless as they could rank you a bit higher but won’t bring any traffic at all. I falled for one of those type of scamers who offered 50 links for 10$. Tho i didn’t loose much but what i got is 50 forum links where i can manualy add my links in bio or signtures.
OMG, just got off the phone with guys that claim they can get me at top of google search for competitive keywords. Claim to be the Robin hoods of music/fashion industry and emulate enthusiastic dedicated following.
Sounds too goof to be true. What do you think?
I think things often sound too good to be true for a reason. Trust your gut.
Thanks for sharing.
In Singapore, it is sad to see a lot of SEO agencies still sell Guaranteed Rankings… they are missing out the big picture (leads, sales, etc).
Hopefully, will share this post on our Facebook page so that more SMEs in Singapore can be informed about this.
- Ian
Almost 2 years have been past since this awesome article has been published here and still all of the scams reigns our SEO industry! I have personally faced each and every scam pointed here with clients and thanks Mike. Such discussions soothe my soul when I get tired of explaining and educating my clients. And also thanks to ‘self proclaimed guru’ for drinking beyond your limit and showing your outstanding humour! That was a pure piece of fun!
My favorite is the “we’ll submit your link to thousands of search engines…” If people fall for that I think they kinda deserve it.
I think that’s unfair to people who don’t have a technical understanding of the internet.
As for people who do understand how it works, and know that there is Google (and a few others), which accept web site submissions for free and with very little hassle (web site address and a captcha is all I was asked for the last time I did this somewhere at http://www.google.com), then I do agree that should have known better (although I still don’t believe that anyone deserves to be “scammed”).
I am number one for ‘Nuns who repair sliced garden hoses within five miles of a phone booth in Sacramento”
Thank me.
Not a scam. I’ve been with the company for two years, month-to-month, and I’ve been on the front page for two yers, month-to-month. I did stp for a little when I got too busy and I did not have any problem canceling or starting back up.
Thousands of self-proclaimed SEO’s insist that they can, without fail, get a web site in the top ten, but that’s illogical…
1. They didn’t get themselves in the top 10 (out of thousands, only 10 could possibly be there anyway)
2. If 10 of your competitors also hire these SEO’s who all make this claim, then at least one of them is going to fail
I am sick and tired of SEOs phoning, faxing, and emailing me with their promise to make me the biggest success since sliced bread, and I found your article to be well-written and credible.
Thank you for posting such a wonderful article. I hope you’ll write more on this topic in the future.
For us in the SEO business, these scams can be easily spotted 1,000 miles a way. It may be hard to believe but some consumers do actually believe these claims; I suppose many are looking for a quick fix. Real SEO takes time to achieve and there are absolutely no guarantees in this game. I don’t even think some of the people at Google know Google’s Algorithm let alone SEO companies!
Jackie,
I respectfully disagree with your assertion that there are no guarantees in the SEO biz. While I cannot state absolutely that the search engines will respond favorably to my SEO efforts, my clients do not have to pay until their websites have attained 1st page results for their most competitive keywords. And for that task I do provide a guarantee.
John Barremore
Houston, TX
Hey John,
Crazy that this article thread is still going. Its funny you mention NewPatientInquiries my client just got hit by them. As I always tell my clients if someone is pitching you that they are the latest and greatest at SEO then look them up on google. If as an seo company of a legitimate term they come up ranked top 10 then it might be a good start. That company doesnt even come up for thier own terms…
It sucks its such a wild wild west out there, I have so many people tell me they have been screwed one way or the other its just sad. But I guess its like that in any business.
Yep amazing – over 2 years and 100+ comments – and people continue to drop by and read. Of course I suppose it helps though that the post is ranked at #1 on Google for SEO scams which is a testament to “somebody’s” SEO skills. :) …and combined with the unfortunate fact that so many SEO scams prevail these days. Like yourself, hardly a day goes by without hearing yet another sad story of how some rip-off burned a dentist or business owner. That’s one of the main reasons why I guarantee my SEO services; it protects the client’s interests and provides incentive for me to do my best.
When you think about it though, the more scammers there are, the more it makes hiring legitimate SEO consultants like yourself a no-brainer.
Take care,
John Barremore
Houston, TX
You know, I don’t think it has anything to do with my “SEO skills.”
This is just your standard Thesis-driven WordPress blog. Few bells and whistles. No secret sauce. I spent exactly zero seconds optimizing this post. I didn’t even customize the Title tag – just left it as the post title.
The reason this post ranks and draws traffic – mainly through the “SEO scams” keyword – is because I built up a modest audience before writing it, and when I published it, I let them know – which led to tweets/traffic off the bat, and a few links. Over time, it’s pulled in additional links for its search visibility. (See Mike Grehan’s Filthy Linking Rich and Getting Richer – an oldy but still valid today.)
Honestly, after years experimenting with SEO, reading everything I got my hands on about on-page optimization and trying it out, I’ve come back to this simple truth: an audience + good content = traffic/engagement.
That’s it. That simple.
Google and every other online portal rewards authority signals. Always will, if they know what’s good for ‘em.
As for guarantees, nothing wrong with them. But it’s what you’re guaranteeing – what’s in the box – that makes them valuable (or not).
Great Article Mike, your 100% right…still good today.
Hey, Mike. I googled outranked scam and came across your blog. Funny thing about it, I did it while their salespersonal and “manager” were giving me their pitch. I appreciate the eye-opener. I really had a bad feeling about them at first. I got several of my pages on the front page of google, yahoo, etc for moving labor services in different cities myself. All I heard was a bunch of promises and urgent sales type talk from them which really made an alarm go off…Hell, if I was offering such a service I damn sure would bend over backwards for someone else to take it. What is inc 500? They are using that reference to strenghten their sales.
Well, needless to say, i still need someone to help me get good positioning with google.
Thanks for the comment, Rome. I don’t personally have any dealings or experience with Outrank, and this post ranks for their name by virtue of comments some other people stopped by and made. That said, I’m glad you got some valuable info out of it when you needed it. Trusting your gut isn’t a bad way to go in sales situations.
The Inc. 500 is a list of the 500 private companies with the fastest net sales growth percentage over five years. It does show that a company is growing sales, but that’s about it (has nothing to do with the value the company creates, for customers or shareholders, or whether their dealings are ethical or even lawful.)
Wow I just got a notice this thread is still going strong. Spent another 45 minutes reading all the comments. For kicks I looked up http://www.seo-guru.org/ & noticed it was for sale. Guess who just bought it? LOL hey it’s my birthday I may as well get as much trash off the Internet as possible. My gift to the uneducated, people that get taken advantage of.
Yeah this post pulls in a lot of traffic around “SEO scams” and “Outrank scam” (inadvertently – I had no intention to “out” anybody but the comments took on a life of their own).
Well, Happy Birthday!
Hey guys! I was scammed with seoscheduler.com
Be careful! They bill you for a month or two and then just close your account saying that you did that yourself. Waste of time and money (but a the first look they are good). Be careful!