Yet another..."How to choose the right Search Engine Optimization Company" article

Working in a consulting company, we constantly hear from our clients “but I heard that you can do this” or “I was told not to do that”. We are a Search Engine Marketing company, in other words we help companies market their products and services through the internet and search engines. When we are in the first stages of contact with potential clients there are many questions that arise. More than anything we have to convince them that we can produce the results in an ethical manner. The reason for this is that “the Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.) industry has been given "a black eye through their (...) attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results" as stated by Google. There are quite a few very good and reputable S.E.O. consultants and companies. However, there are also a number of "unethical SEOs" (Google) that have hurt the general reputation of the industry.” (Cohen 2003)

In our case, we try to increase the client’s website visibility in the Search Engines by analyzing which elements of top sites help achieve those top results. There are many ways to try and cheat the system, to get short term results and then long term damage. In the article I wrote at there are some questions that we encourage potential clients to ask us and our competitors before making a final decision. Among these questions are:
Are there any types of products or services that we will not promote? Are we active in the online media community and forums? Can we give them any examples and/or references?( SEO Consultants).

By asking us these questions, potential customers can get a better sense of the type of service we offer. We do not promote any type of pornographic sites or sites with illegal content or items. In other words, we will not promote any site that you may be embarrassed to show your parents or grandparents. We are active in numerous online forums, both individually and as a company, and participate in professional conferences when possible. Potential customers that do not want to ask these questions can end up hurting their business if they choose an un-reputable SEO company.

One SEO company’s unethical practices that have received center stage during the last few weeks is Traffic Power. Apparently that will do anything to get the client, without regard to the long-term affects of their actions on their clients. I could do into a bunch of technical jargon about doorway pages and cloaking. Instead I will use the example of plagiarism. In an effort to create additional pages for their clients for the purpose of search engine optimization Traffic Power seems to have plagiarized other people’s content including copying content from the New York Times (www.trafficpowersucks.com). Why would they do this? Despite the fact that Traffic Power is paid by their clients for creating these content pages, they prefer to save their (Traffic Power’s) money by just copying someone else’s content.

Choosing the right online marketing company can make the difference between multiplying a company’s sales by 100’s of percents or getting the site penalized and banned from the search engines and opening you up to various law suits. Anybody can claim to be the best, or to get you super results. However, how many companies take the long-term view to grow your business with you? When hiring a consultant or consulting company, which do you think is better: A company that wants to invoice you for a few months, or a company that wants to work for you for a few years? Which of the two will truly look out for your best interests?


The same basic principles can be used when one has to hire any consultant. Don’t just assume that because their salesperson, often titled “Sales Manager” or “VP of Marketing”, knows how to talk eloquently and make promises. Ask as many relevant questions and you need. Don’t automatically assume that what they say is true, check it. In other words, think critically.


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References
Google.com, (n.d.). Google Information for Webmasters: Search Engine Optimizers. Retrieved on February 17, 2003, from http://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html

SEO Consultants, (n.d.). Choosing a Search Engine Optimization Company. Retrieved on February 17, 2003, from http://www.seoconsultants.com, http://www.seoconsultants.com/which-seo-to-choose.htm

Cohen, A (2003). How to Choose the Right Search Engine Optimization Company. Retrieved Thursday October 21, 2004, from http://www.alon-cohen.com/articles/how-to-choose-the-right-search-engine-optimization-company.asp

Traffic Power Sucks (n.d.). Plagiarism? Retrieved Thursday October 21, 2004, from http://www.trafficpowersucks.com/stolen.htm