TIPS TO AVOID SEO SERVICE SCAMS

So you are looking for a SEO service to help you reach the top… Beware there are more unethical SEO services online then there are honest.

Hiring an SEO Service is a risky business these days. With so many SEO services to choose from, how do you make the choice? Below are a few tips that might help you make the right decision.

Questions you should ask an SEO company:

    * Can you provide examples of your previous work or share some success stories?
    * Do you use blackhat seo techniques? (If yes be careful)
    * Do you outsource your work or do it all in-house?
    * What kind of results can I expect, and in how long? What do you consider a success?
    * Are you familiar with my industry?
    * Do you understand my geographical area? (For local searches)
    * What’s your experience developing international sites?
    * What SEO techniques do you consider the best to use?
    * How long have you been in business?
    * How will I communicate with you? Do you have a direct phone number?
    * Do you accept credit cards? How do you take payment?

Beware: There are always SEO Scams lurking around the corner:

Avoid SEO companies that send you a SPAM email to win your business. An email that states something like: “Dear Webmaster, I went to your website and see you do not rank in the Top Results of Google…”. These emails will normally, in most cases lead you to getting ripped off.

Remember that NO ONE can truly guarantee a #1 position on Google’s organic search results. Companies that guarantee you a #1 position are telling you a lie right to your face. Avoid anyone that guarantees to much. If it sounds to good to be true… You know the rest.

If an SEO service offers a guarantee that you will rank for useless keywords that are long phrases like “Beverly Hills Plumbers With A License”, avoid them. You will most likely lank for this keyword easily on your own if you wanted to. Just make a page geared toward that keyword phrase.

My favorite tip is if an SEO company have no websites they own or operate that rank good on Google, how are they going to get you to the top? If they can’t get their own website to the top, that is a big caution flag! I don’t expect an SEO company to rank high for terms like “SEO” or “Search Engine Optimization”, I realize these are very tough keywords to rank for. I would however like to see a website they own ranking good for something impressive.

Remember you get what you pay for in the SEO world. If a search engine marketing company offers to submit your website to thousands of free directories and free-for-all link pages for $29.95, it is not worth it! These type of services are a waste of time that might even hurt your search ranking. True SEO is not cheap, you can expect to pay anywhere from $500.00-$150,000.00 per year on SEO depending on what keywords you’re trying to rank well for. There will always be a competitor that wants to rank high for the same keywords you do, this will drive prices up and require you to regularly spend money to stay on top.