Comments on: What real SEOs do

By: Hamilton Wallace

Hamilton Wallace — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:27:34 +0000

Now Ian. . .
We all get these people who wander into the wrong place and end up on the phone with us. She deserves our understanding and empathy; and page 436 on a Bing search. :)
Actually, I find the $300 price point fascinating. I work with small businesses and see owners over and over buy any form of promotion/advertising vehicle or service as long as it’s $300. It’s cheap enough they just don’t get too upset when it doesn’t work. And it never works. They end up three-hundred dollaring themselves out of business.

By: Jet

Jet — Tue, 25 May 2010 01:47:53 +0000

Hi guys,
I have used myarticlenetwork for the last eight months and it has worked very well for my websites.
I write an article and then the webmasters in the network are then able to choose whether they want to include it on their site or not. This “review” is what essentially will make it “white hat” as the webmasters can discard the trash.
One way links from different types of website, links that are not paid for – what can ever be wrong with that?
An important thing to remember, well at least in my opinion, is not to build up the links too quickly. I personally gain a steady but even amount of backward links each month using myarticlenetwork.
Ian; I believe that UAW and myarticlenetwork are essentially the same network but I could be wrong.
Jet

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:38:04 +0000

@Ben I mean there’s a massive double-standard. Big companies regularly get away with buying links. Older, established sites get ‘grandfathered’ in with huge numbers of total spam links, while newer sites get no traction. Also, big companies and organizations sell links via sponsorships, promotions, etc. and get away with that, too.
No problem! Keep asking great questions.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:34:28 +0000

@Ian
Thanks for your response, it def helped clarify things for me.
When you say: “here’s a clear, huge double-standard between big web sites and small, and you have no chance of competing if you go with 100% organic, acquired links.” Are you referring to the fact that small websites cant compete with larger websites for similar keywords? and by small do you mean lower budget? smaller companies? smaller traffic numbers? less content?
Also, any posts that you know of that talk about how to go about building the small number of high-value links?
Lastly, sorry for asking so many favors of you! And thanks for anything you are willing to share!
Ben

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:22:41 +0000

@Ben To me, if they’re decent articles, it falls into gray or white hat territory. If you’re scraping or using an algorithm to automatically rewrite, that’s another thing.
My feelings about linking tactics are mixed. There’s a clear, huge double-standard between big web sites and small, and you have no chance of competing if you go with 100% organic, acquired links.
Content networks like UAW and 10Links are sustainable IF you are also out getting those small numbers of high-value links. They build a foundation of links over time. They’re not sustainable tactics on their own.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 24 May 2010 07:13:34 +0000

Hey Ian,
Great post, thanks for sharing this story and information. One question though: aren’t tools like UniqueArticleWizard and 10LinksADay looked at as black hat SEO? I’m new to this, so maybe you could give a quick summary of why these tools are helpful and why they are still white hat and sustainable.
Thanks,
Ben

By: Ian

Ian — Sun, 23 May 2010 08:49:59 +0000

@Paul I haven’t tried either one. I have used UniqueArticleWizard and 10LinksADay, both of which I highly recommend.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:47:43 +0000

Hi Ian,
Very interesting info – it is a shame people like myself – the small guys if you like – can not afford your fees.
I have a quick question for you – if you don’t mind – what is your professional opinion on myarticlenetwork and seolinkvine?
Many thanks,
Paul

By: Ben Griffiths

Ben Griffiths — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:02:53 +0000

I’ve seen companies charge $10,000 for a one time “campaign” where they don’t actually do anything. They rely on the site owner not knowing anything about SEO. It’s a scam that gives real SEO’s a bad name.
Then, there are real SEO’s, like Ian, that know their stuff and provide real value, who now have to get crap from clients about charging fees for doing real work.

By: dianeski

dianeski — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:39:04 +0000

Not directly relevant to what SEOs do…but this post jogged my memory. (That’s what happens with us old geezers — everything seems to send us scuttling down Memory Lane.)
Many moons ago, when we were young and fresh out of graduate school / first jobs, we lived in a little town called Natchitoches, Louisiana, about midway between Alexandria and Shreveport. It was the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase, and it was chock-full of Old Money.
I had about three years’ professional copywriting experience at the time, including agency experience. I decided to freelance, and I picked up a few clients. One was a lady from one of the Old French Families with all the Old French Money in Natchitoches. She had converted her historic home to a pricey B&B, and she wanted me to write a brochure for her. Which I did. I charged her the grand sum of $100. Thereupon she went ballistic. She thought that, for $100, she should get (1) the copy, (2) the graphic design, and (3) the printing. I am not making this up. She thought this thing should be written, designed, and PRINTED for $100.
Meanwhile, she was charging a king’s ransom (nightly rate) for her B&B rooms.
The audacity of Some People never fails to stagger me. That’s why I remain a corporate slave. I just cannot deal with some of these assh@ts in the Client World. I highly commend and greatly admire anyone — like our Ian — who can deal with idiots who want something for nothing.