Comments on: 4 Signs an SEO Firm is a Fraud

By: FrankyGee3

FrankyGee3 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:05:36 +0000

GREAT article. I’ve been on a real rant lately because too many bozos are selling innocent folks a real ball of crap. I hate people taking advantage of folks who don’t know any better. Just as bad are the Internet hucksters. Still, as Barnum said, “There’s one born every minute.” Keep up the good work.

By: Ian

Ian — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:42:39 +0000

@Hilger This sounds to me like automated comment submission. Some sites (like mine) ‘dofollow’ links in comments. In theory this could work, and I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but if they’re automatically submitting comments (aka comment spamming) that’s not good.
It is POSSIBLE they’re also using software that simply creates a profile for you on major social media sites. That is pretty legit as a brand protection tactic and might help with SEO.
One last thing – the whole ‘get sites listed in less than 24 hours’ sounds like snake oil to me. It’s not actually that hard to get listed in 24 hours. Getting decent rankings for non-branded keywords is much harder, and no amount of blog spam will help.

By: Hilger

Hilger — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:31:17 +0000

I was just pitched an automated service from a reputable agency that deals with many yellow pages and directories.
Their solution claimed to get sites listed in less than 24 hours by adding to relevant conversations on the Web. These additions are posts with links to your site.
Most social media sites and blogs will no-follow these links. Is there any truth in their claims?

By: Scott Gardner

Scott Gardner — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:52:17 +0000

I couldn’t agree more!
It is frustrating when a new client comes to us after suffering through the false claims from SEO’s like those in your post. I agree with what Eamon stated above: Good SEO stems from hard work and proven techniques. GREAT SEO results in not only higher rankings, but higher conversions and sales as well.
But the #1 thing a prospect should consider is whether or not the SEO firm they are considering is able to rank themselves for *their* targeted keywords and whether their site is optimized.

By: The Collectors Hub

The Collectors Hub — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:41:28 +0000

Great post and very informative comments from your readers too! I’ve been doing my own SEO but was considering hiring an expert. Your article is just as helpful when screening a perpective vendor as their client references.
One of my favorite SEO sales pitches is “People can’t find you in the search engines. We can help”
My response…”Oh Yeah? How did you find us?”

By: Ferny Ceballos

Ferny Ceballos — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:03:53 +0000

This is great.
I’ve had a couple of SEO prospects come to me recently after dealing with a few of these fraudulent firms.
Best way to process clients, especially the abused ones, is to put them on an educational autoresponder series teaching them some basic SEO stuff, and on what your SEO strategy/philosophy is.
I tell them that one thing to look out for if you suspect a fraud or incompetent SEO firm, is whether they touch on helping you convert traffic. Getting rankings for keywords is fine, but if they don’t convert to leads and sales, SEO is worthless.
They have to understand the marketing side of things, and how to test for keywords that convert. There needs to be a holistic approach.
I’m wary of hiring any firm that does only SEO. From a business and revenue perspective, it makes no sense to do only SEO.
Hope this helps.
Ferny

By: Dana

Dana — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:50:29 +0000

I’m sorry…but I absolutely adore these posts. Someone has got to speak up about these frauds because they are making the rest of us look bad. No wonder people/businesses give SEO a bad name. If you dealt with an idiot like this, you would doubt the power/use of SEO too.

By: diane

diane — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:48:31 +0000

Awww, Ian, you’re given these poor ‘iddle SEO Gurus a bad name. You may humiliate the poor dears into given up SEO. We can but hope. :)

By: AJ Kohn

AJ Kohn — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:33:06 +0000

It's good to see others stand up and point the finger at bad SEO. They make it THAT much more difficult for those doing good SEO. You've hit the nail on the head with your four points. I had most of these and more in my list of 11 ways to spot a bad SEO firm. http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/11-ways-to-spot-a-bad-seo-firm Thanks for your list and continuing to help educate businesses about finding the right SEO firm or consultant.

By: Eamon

Eamon — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:03:54 +0000

Well said.
And if it’s too good to be true then there’s something fishy.
Good digital marketing, whether it is SEO, social media, writing good content etc .. is hard work!