There are so many scams on the internet it’s hard keeping up with the Joneses. There are many Internet Marketing companies that try to target small businesses by providing them with false promises regarding guaranteed results. These companies try to lure potential clients by providing a guarantee that they will get your website to the top of the search rankings by using specific keywords.
How Non-Legitimate Internet Marketing companies get your site to the top of search rankings
They simply use keywords which are so rarely used, they show at the top of search rankings simply because they have no competition. These are keywords that no one uses or would every search for.
Let’s say our company is selling pet supplies online.
Non-competing keyword: safe furry toys
Obviously, if nobody is typing that keyword into the search box, then why invest marketing dollars on it?
How to determine a legitimate Internet Marketing Company?
- A legitimate internet marketing expert will never offer any guarantees with regards to getting you in the top spot on search results.
- Do your research to determine how long the company has been involved with Internet Marketing.
- Do not use customer testimonials as a benchmark unless you plan on contacting the company personally. Anyone can write a false testimonial and put a name to it.
- How’s the Internet Marketing performing in search? You should use keywords and keyword phrases which are relevant to the services they offer. Obviously, if you fail to find them on the first page of Google search results, then that should raise a big red flag. It’s like the old saying – “Practice what you preach”.
Facts: Nobody can guarantee such results due to a number of reasons, but most the obvious one is that search engines like Google change algorithms often.
It’s important you do your research before making any investment with an Internet Marketing Company.
It’s always really difficult to convince people who don’t know about SEO that nothing can be guaranteed in terms of search engine rankings. They often think that if you can’t guarantee rankings that you are not very good at what you do.
I am pretty sure I have lost a lot of leads because I usually make that pretty clear from the outset. Although, I guess those people are best to avoid anyway. People with unrealistic expectations of results are often the types of people who have unrealistic expectations of the amount of time you spend on them for their money.
One of the new things I have seen on the block of late is people selling listings on Google Maps / Local Business Centre under the guise of “Get a page one advert on Google”.
I don’t really have a problem with some scuzzy forms of SEO, but the client should know what they are getting. One of the people I am working with was previously with another SEO (who outsource link building spam to India). They charged him the equivilant of about $3,250 setup fee for on-site work that was never done and his link building which he was told was white hat consisted of social media spam, a few directory submissions and splogs posts on the company’s largely de-index spam farms.
.-= David´s last blog ..Writing for Search Engines and People =-.
David,
I rather be up front with a client and have them walk a way than to give them false promises. There are a lot of people looking to make a quick buck. I have always believed that providing a good service that shows positive results will have clients telling there friends.
I’ve been doing a lot of coaching lately on internet marketing companies as it relates to which one is legitimate and which one is not. Many of my clients are from other countries and you would be surprised how well versed they are on the subject. I have found that we Americans tend to be a little gullible.
.-= teasastips´s last blog ..Following Up With Prospective Affiliates You Would Sponsor =-.
Teasa,
There are far too many scams on the internet and I hope this blog is useful for many who are looking to dive in and hire an Online Marketing Company.