Search engine optimization is one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot, but no one really knows what it is. It’s kind of like light… or electricity. Everyone knows its there and that it is important to them but the details are mysterious. Some companies like it this way. Then they can use big words like ‘algorithms’ and ‘analytics’ to make you as the customer think they are really smart.
We want to open the doors to you and let you in on a little secret. You ready? Here it is!
Search engine optimization is not rocket science. It’s not a mystery. No one built “proprietary software” that will “bring you thousands of leads overnight.” It’s just a sales pitch that has been mastered by some of the best sales guys in the world.
Here’s the problem with our industry and it drives us nuts. A few entrepreneurs that know nothing about the internet decided that it would be awesome to exploit the explosion in online advertising. So here is what these companies decided to do. They setup call centers all over the globe and started calling every person or business on the planet. They specifically tailored their marketing toward people over 50 because sales guys could have their way with them.
Many of these internet marketing companies do not expect to keep you as a client for more than 2-3 months. They have actually built that expectation into their sales commission structure and business model. They are banking on your unhappiness and the subsequent reality of you waking up to the fact that you just got taken for a ride.
So now what?
Internet marketing is definitely required if you want to compete in the world today but how can you know the difference between the crooks and the credible. We’ll give you 5 tips to finding a good SEO/Internet Marketing company:
1. Avoid Contracts At All Costs
Never enter into a contract unless there is a significant discount. Not even 3 months. Just don’t let them talk you into doing it. They want you to pay up front so that they can coast until you fire them. Remember, they’re expecting it.
2. Outsourcing
Ask specifically if they outsource their SEO or web design work overseas. If they do, you could be placing your website and company in danger. If a company is not staying current on SEO best practices, they may be doing things on your site that Google actually frowns upon.
3. Who Is Behind The Company
Visit their website and see if they will reveal who they are. Many of these companies don’t want to reveal who they are because they know their ponzi scheme will come to an end. Remember they are in it for a quick buck. They don’t want their personal reputation ruined by their ruthless sales tactics. While you are visiting their website, don’t look for testimonials because they are probably fake anyway. Instead, look for their portfolio of websites and ensure they do high quality work. Then call one or two of their clients and see how they felt about their customer service.
4. Promises
Beware of a sales rep promising any kind of rank in Google, Yahoo, or Bing. NO ONE can guarantee rank in a search engine. NO ONE. This is a tell tale sign of a sales team saying whatever they can to make the sale.
5. “We’re With Google”
And the mother of them all; if someone calls you and tells you that they are “Part of Google,” then they are crafting a lie to gain your trust. Ask them to email you from a Google.com email address and then start believing them.
We hope that you’ll follow these tips and sift out the companies that are giving a very valuable service a bad name. There are secrets of SEO companies that none of them want you to know. The biggest secret being, that many SEO companies are not really SEO companies but call centers posing as internet marketing experts.
Follow the 5 tips above and you should be able to find a reputable SEO company that performs good solid internet marketing services.
