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Is there any SEO process we don't know about or is this only high-pitched marketing? (I think the second but may be I don't know if there are any certain methods...)
Is it safe to hire these people for site optimization?
Want opinions.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.......
Shak
But depending on the search term it might be very easy to get a first page position and so a company might be 99% confident.
I remember such a company that would guarantee positions for certain keywords, sure you got the rankings, but the was no traffic for those terms.
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Beat me to it Shak :)
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There is Google adwords dont forget, it may be a "misleading piece of sales speak".
This "guarantee" isn't actually a statement of fact that the TV set won't break down within those 3 years, what it's actually offering is a fallback in the eventuality of the set breaking down, such as a replacement or repair.
So when an SEO company offers a "guarantee" that you'll get 1st page listings on Google, I can see it being able to be treated the same way as a TV set "guarantee" - eg "Top Ten ranking on Google within 3 months or your money back" etc.
...and in the fine print:
Not responsible for and no refunds given if our SEO tactics get your domain banned after 90 days; hey, we got you your top listing, didn't we?
Look out for them carrying out searches in "brackets" - this confines the search even more than a 'normal' open search.
Also, they may state that 'we will give you 20 top 10's' or something. They will then send you a report with yourcompanyname No.1 in Google, and "yourcompany" No.2 in AV, and yourcompany.com No.1 in Inktomi, etc...etc...blah..... Not one listing will be a keyphrase that you really wanted, just variations on your name and site url.
There's a fe SEO consultancy directories online and that Buyers Guide to SEO Agencies book from MarketingSherpa that you can check out.
[edited by: agerhart at 7:30 pm (utc) on Sep. 11, 2003]
[edit reason] removed inappropriate words [/edit]
high-pitched marketing
Bordering on complete BS... I'm sure they could get you top ranking on "widget green widget with badger power widget", but then, so could my granny... I'd go for a company which explains how they will give you a n increase in targeted traffic - which is more important than keeping score on keywords.
However, I haven't actually seen one "honest" pay-for-ranking seo-service yet. They all have fine print that devalue the gurantee with loose keyword definitions, obscure engines and lack of proof of consistent top-results.
Personally I would not recommend anyone to use a pay-for-ranking model for SEO.
There is a difference between giving a guarantee for a certain position and giving a money back gurantee if you don't reah certain goals. The last is ok and seen in many businesses
I completely agree. When I worked for a SEO company, we offered the same goal-based guarantees.
Sponsored links for Google
Overture for Yahoo!
I've seen it done before
There is Google adwords dont forget, it may be a "misleading piece of sales speak
That's precisely it. We get exactly the same cold calls from SEOs in the UK almost every day. The really annoying part is that they don't know a search engine from a car engine. Ask them why their own site doesn't come up in the 1st page of SERPS for "Search Engine Optimisation" (or keywords they are using on their home page). Then sit back and be amused at the variety of excuses they come up with.
Money back guarantee is worthless if they get you listing in Adwords... or a listing for a keyphrase as long as War and Peace.
I offer a 'no results no fee' based pricing model, and focus primarily on top 10 positions across Google-powered engines. Clients seem pretty happy with this - it is a self-guaranteed approach.
I allow clients to choose their own search terms, and I base my pricing on levels of competition per phrase. The more competition per phrase, the less likelihood of achieving the target result.
Before going ahead, I provide my clients with an overview of success rates for levels of competition. In general any phrase with fewer than 300,000 competitors is usually achieved.
300,000 competitors
you mean 300k results?
Another problem, in my personal oppinion, is that rank it itself have no real (or very little) value. At least, I want someone to see my listing and preferably I want someone targeted to my products to click it. I want actions on my site.
you mean 300k results?
Yes, exactly.
I want actions on my site
Aside from advising you on intrinsically purchase-oriented phrases, this is outside the remit of SEO. Usually best to use the services of a good SEO firm alongside traditional online marketing (from a separate firm). Rarely do you find companies that are great at both.
In my oppinion SEO is not just about gaining rankings - even if they could be meassured. It's not even just about driving traffic. Its about driving qualified traffic that can convert into leads and sales (or whatever action is your goal).
SEO is just one small part of the wider online marketing picture, and deals with achieving better search engine rankings. Whether this converts to sales at the end of the day is not within the remit of SEO, by definition.
DaveN
Of course you should not go about promising #1 positions to any and all. That's ridiculous. What you need to be able to promise in all cases, is improvement. If a site comes from #500, even a #100 position is a significant leap forward.
/claus
Thorough keyword research and an appreciation of the client's products and target audience are needed to get the right kind of click-thrus. Higher quality click-thrus mean a better ROI, which is the bottom line for the client.
Optimisers seem to fall into two categories - Rankers and Marketers. Rankers tend to be techies with little or no marketing background, while the marketers are marketing people with technical knowledge.
I'm glad to say I'm in the latter group :-)
If we follow the distinction that SEO is a sub-discipline of web-marketing and we further state that web-marketing is a sub-discipline of overall web-design, then SEO will only be needed in the cases where either of the two higher level disciplines fail to do their work well enough. That's an interesting thought.
/claus
I Have a company and ive been searching ways of how to get listen in google for very competitive keywords. I know this keyword is very hard.. and i wanted to know if any of you know where i could turn to ..in order to achieve any good rankings for these really competitive keywords. Are there any companies that offer this?,
[edited by: agerhart at 4:16 pm (utc) on Oct. 30, 2003]
[edit reason] removed specifics [/edit]
