SEO

I have recently been in touch with an SEO specialist who has recently started targeting the profession and claims that many firms using SEO services are essentially being tricked into paying for almost nothing (and in one case he showed me, precisely nothing was being done for a four-figure monthly charge).

He's really cross about what he sees as rip-off artists giving firms like his a bad name, especially the false claims he says many make about how SEO works and what is does.

So far, interesting, but perhaps sour grapes???

One of the more interesting points he made was that firms paying for SEO should ignore the data they are given except for those that really mean something - the phone calls coming in, converted inquiries from site and so on...not 'page views' and that sort of stuff that the companies show them.

He also claimed that some services being sold have an inhibiting effect on a firm's search position rather than one which enhances it.

Another was how easy it is to convince firms they are on page 1 of Google, when they won't be if searched from elsewhere.

All pretty depressing stuff. The big problem of course, is do firms have the expertise to make an informed decision about this buying decision and if not, how do they know they aren't being taken for a ride?

Tags: Marketing Blogs, marketing, seo

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Comment by Kieran on September 6, 2012 at 18:23: Basically yes! Are you on the webpronews mailing list , or do you follow Matt Cutts??

Editor Comment by Richard Pettet on September 6, 2012 at 18:01: Thanks Kieran, funnily enough I'd read it already. Basically, don't buy or sell links I guess.

Comment by Kieran on September 6, 2012 at 18:00: Interesting post about paid links for you Richard, Matt Cutts (Head of spam @Google)

http://www.webpronews.com/matt-cutts-has-to-explain-paid-links-to-n...

Comment by David Sprake (Solicitor.info) on August 29, 2012 at 16:09

Did you get effected by the panda or penguin Google updates?

Also

We have a couple of interesting domains for sale...

accidentclaim.info
barristers.info
qc.eu

Comment by Kieran on August 29, 2012 at 12:36: Joe when it comes to firms having the expertise to making an informed decision my answer would be that they do not in the majority of cases, and why should they? They are not marketing companies or SEO companies they are lawyers. The problem a lot of the time is that people who have websites tend to go back to the company that built and host it and ask them for help with SEO. Big mistake as if the company had built the website correctly in the first place then they would be half way to having a decent online presence. We are also hearing of companies that are overcharging. We know solicitors that get charged a monthly fee for hosting, sometimes a fair bit too on shared servers that cost pennies yet they are being charged pounds per month. It is ridiculous!

Comment by Kieran on August 29, 2012 at 11:29: Thanks Richard ! I think that google does frown on paid links however sometimes it is difficult for them to tell which are paid and which are 'natural'. Google seem to be making it up as they go along at the moment, one minute they tell you to build a link profile the next they bring out a penguin update and penalise sites for building links! SEO and webmasters are up in arms at the moment, a lot of websites have been hit for having irregular linking patterns. Some people have more or less lost their businesses. Your link profile needs to be varied now and seem natural, if for example you have 1000 links pointing at your website and they all have the same anchor text ( lets use Social Network For Lawyers as text) then you cold be punished. Googles algorithm will count your links, where they come from and what the text says in them. Site owners need to concentrate on providing good content, in solicitors cases lots of content so search engines can get their teeth into them. Personally I would never sell links for two reasons 1 you could be caught and 2 it devalues your link juice

Editor Comment by Richard Pettet on August 29, 2012 at 11:15: Kieran, welcome to the site. so what are your thoughts on SEOs approaching site owners like me on behalf of big law firms to buy keyword rich links?

Comment by Kieran on August 29, 2012 at 10:21: Joe you may find that UKLawyers.co.uk could be worth another extension or pool in the right hands.

It amazes me how many people fail to realize how much a domain name is worth. With the right website and content a keyword rich domain name can generate thousands of hits. We are in the process of selling any insurance domain (we sell domains too!) Trying to get the MD of a large insurance company to understand that this has the potential to gain top place for a large amount of searches is difficult.

Comment by Joe Reevy on August 29, 2012 at 10:10: Interestingly, the only one that ever did really well was one we didn't buy to sell. pii-ltd.com. We sold that (and changed the name of our company) for a sum that built an extension to our house (in which I am working now...) and bought me a new Saab 9.5. (after tax). Pure luck. Funny old world.