Deciding
to hire an SEO is a big decision that can
potentially improve your site and save time,
but you can also risk damaging your website
and your companies reputation. Be wary of
SEO firms and web consultants or affiliate
programs that send you email out of the
blue. The best and most respected SEO’s
will not contact you. Be careful if a company
is secretive or won't clearly explain what
they intend to do. Always ask for explanations
if something is unclear. If an SEO creates
misleading or deceptive content on your
behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway"
domains, your site could be removed entirely
from Google's index. Ultimately, you are
responsible for the actions of any companies
you hire, so it's best to be sure you know
exactly how they intend to "help"
you.
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You
should never have to link to an SEO.
Avoid
SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all"
links, link popularity schemes, or submitting
your site to thousands of search engines.
These are typically useless exercises that
don't affect your ranking in the results
of the major search engines -- at least,
not in a way you would likely consider to
be positive.
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What
are some other things to look out for?
There
are a few warning signs that you may be
dealing with a rogue SEO. It's far from
a comprehensive list, so if you have any
doubts, you should trust your instincts.
By all means, feel free to walk away if
the SEO:
•
owns shadow domains
• puts links to their other clients
on doorway pages
• offers to sell keywords in the address
bar
• doesn't distinguish between actual
search results and ads that appear on search
results pages
• guarantees ranking, but only on
obscure, long keyword phrases you would
get anyway
• operates with multiple aliases or
falsified WHOIS info
• gets traffic from "fake"
search engines, spyware, or scumware
• has had domains removed from Google's
index or is not itself listed in Google
• requests your FTP account information
or root access to your server
• If you feel that you were deceived
by an SEO in some way, you may want to report
it.
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Do
they guarantee higher rankings?
Beware
of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings,
allege a "special relationship"
with Google, or advertise a "priority
submit" to Google. There is no priority
submit for Google. In fact, the only way
to submit a site to Google directly is through
our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap
and you can do this yourself at no cost
whatsoever. Try to remember no one can guarantee
a #1 ranking on Google.
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Finding
a SEO
There
are many SEO companies out there but finding
the right one doesn’t have to be hard
work, just ask around in our partner affiliate
forums or get a recommendation from friends
or a business partner. Another way to find
out there credibility is to check there
page rank (PR).
Some
useful questions to ask an SEO include:
•
Can you show me examples of your previous
work and share some success stories?
• Do you follow the Google Webmaster
Guidelines?
• Do you offer any online marketing
services or advice to complement your organic
search business?
• What kind of results do you expect
to see, and in what timeframe? How do you
measure your success?
• What's your experience in my industry?
• What's your experience in my country/city?
• What's your experience developing
international sites?
• What are your most important SEO
techniques?
Please try to remember - Professional
SEO companies offer realistic prices, dont
be fooled by the cheapest deal.
Also
see;
• What
is SEO?
• Top
SEO Sites
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