Saturday, July 18, 2009

Eight Mistakes SEO Companies Should Avoid

By Anthony Kriner

#1: Use the Word Secret. There are trade secrets in every industry, but there are no magic tricks in SEO. If your agency is a quality one, they will go out of their way to tell you that there are no secrets when it comes to ranking your page well.

#2: Pretend Social Networks Dont Exist. Focusing only on fixing up your site and submitting various content to blogs and networks isnt going to cut it. A social campaign requires a light, fine touch, and your business needs an agency that knows how to use (and not abuse) the social networks.

#3: Build Links From Nothing. For a site to link back to you (and increase your search relevancy) they need a reason, and good SEO Agencies should help you provide it. Content creation or help with freelance article work ought to be at the top of the list.

#4: Too Much Up-Sale. Make sure the rates youre paying are the rates you will continue to pay. If theres extra work, any good SEO company should mention those costs and give you a consistent hourly rate (depending on the work). If youre hit with 100 new charges after signing up, cancel.

#5: Hold Old-Fashioned Business Hours. The internet doesnt operate on a 9-to-5 schedule. If your prospective SEO Agencies havent got someone you can reach at anytime, be weary. SEO is done at all hours, and the best agencies are ones with a global reach across every time zone.

#6: Bombard Blog Comments and Message Boards. This is just straight-up spamming. If your SEO companys social media strategy is to annoy bloggers and forums with links"and little else"start asking some serious questions.

#7: Learn Nothing About Your Business. The reason SEO companies are like yesterdays ad agencies is because they are promoting your business online. If they make no effort to learn about your company and do research, and instead sell you a one-size-fits all plan with no customization, move on.

#8: Refuse to Change. This is built into the business plan of the best SEO Agencies. Search algorithms and consumer behavior change constantly. Look at all the new forums of communication that pop up in a single year online. If your company cant keep up with them, get a new one who can.

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1 comment:

Jessica Guerro said...

Excellent article about what SEO companies should or shouldn't do. This will really help people to profit through doing proper SEO. Thanks for the info.