For many entrepreneurs, Search Engine Optimization triggers the same kind of distaste that you get when you step into a Used Car lot. There is just something about the industry that doesn’t rub people right.
Maybe it has something to do with the piles and piles of fly by night “SEOs” who spend their days promising the world and delivering a Google ban. Maybe it has to do with the so called “SEOs” who spam us day in and day out in hopes of extracting another few pints of Google juice.
Whatever the case, having known many professional, productive SEOs — I can tell you that the bad ones have poisoned an otherwise valuable industry.
Here are a few signs that the SEO you’ve picked out might not be your best bet.
Signs Of A Questionable SEO
He spends dozens of work hours crafting perfect Meta Tags and keywords.
He offers to “‘manually” submit your site to hundreds of search engines.
He promises you a number one spot in Google in a few weeks, or offers to get you a number one spot in Google for dozens of obscure, semi-related keyword.
He offers to get you “hundreds of free links,” most of which are from PR 0 spam directories and link exchanges.
He doesn’t provide a coherent idea of what he is doing, or what you can reasonably expect.
He believes in using shadow domains (blind redirects), keyword stuffing, doorway pages or other Black Hat SEO tactics.
He neglects to give you a way of finding out whether his methods are actually resulting in increased traffic.
Uncommon Sense
A lot of this is common sense, but the real take away is that Search Engine Optimization, like anything else in web design, is not an overnight process. A real professional will give you a reasonable idea of what you can do to improve your design, your content and your keyword density to help you rank higher for more relevant terms.
Real professionals offer overarching strategies, not one size fits all bandages.
Something to think about the next time you’re pitched by an SEO “Guru”.
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