JUMP to the Top of the Search Engines (not)
Ian Lurie Aug 6 2007
A sure sign you should run, screaming, from an SEO solicitation:
What are the danger signs?
- They used the word “Sizzlin” in a search engine optimization advertisement. That should scare you right off.
- They imply a guarantee of first page placement on Google. No one can do that. Read Google’s webmaster guidelines if you don’t believe me.
- They also imply that there are lots of other search engines out there (“& More!”). That’s true. But really only 3-5 matter: Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask.
- They refer to Ask as ‘AskJeeves’, proving they likely wrote this e-mail 2 years ago.
Oh, and they don’t list a web site for their company anywhere in the e-mail.
Do they actually lie in this e-mail? No. But it stinks…
Ian Lurie
CEO
Ian Lurie is CEO and founder of Portent Inc. He's recorded training for Lynda.com, writes regularly for the Portent Blog and has been published on AllThingsD, Forbes.com and TechCrunch. Ian speaks at conferences around the world, including SearchLove, MozCon, SIC and ad:Tech. Follow him on Twitter at portentint. He also just published a book about strategy for services businesses: One Trick Ponies Get Shot, available on Kindle. Read More
