Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as Defined By Google !!! |
SEO is an acronym for "search engine optimization" or "search engine optimizer." Deciding to hire an SEO company is a decision that can potentially improve your site and save time. However, you must be sure to choose the right company - or else risk possible damage to your site and reputation. Research the potential advantages and possible disadvantages before choosing an SEO service.
At CMP, we optimize your company’s site for organic search. Organic describes a search whose results are based on content and keyword relevancy vs. sponsored or paid-for search engine submissions. There are many SEOs and consultants that provide useful services for website owners, including:
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- Review of your site content or structure;
- Technical advice on website development, i.e. hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript;
- Content development;
- Management of online business development campaigns;
- Keyword research;
- SEO training; and,
- Expertise in specific markets and geographies.
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Bear in mind, though, that Google search results pages often include paid advertising (under Sponsored Links) along with free organic search results. Paid advertising won't have any effect on your site's presence in Google search results. Google never accepts money to include or rank sites in their search results, and it costs nothing to appear in their organic search results. Free resources such as Webmaster Tools, the official Webmaster Central blog, and Google’s discussion group can provide you with a great deal of information about how to optimize your site. Or, you can let CMP do it for you!
Before beginning your search for an SEO provider, get familiar with how search engines work. We recommend starting here
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If you're thinking about hiring an SEO, the sooner the better. A great time to do so is when you're considering a site redesign, planning to launch a new site, or expanding your business. That way, you and your SEO can make sure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up, from start to finish. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.
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Some useful questions to ask your potential SEO include the following:
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Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?
Do you offer a way for me to track my progress, readership, hits?
What's your experience in my industry?
What's your experience in my country/city?
What's your experience developing international sites?
What are your most important SEO techniques?
How long have you been in business?
How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site? Will you provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?
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While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some less than ethical ones have given the industry a bad name, using overly aggressive marketing efforts or attempting to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Here are some things to consider:
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- Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you unbidden email out of the blue.
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Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:
"Dear CMP Graphics:
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."
Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators in foreign lands. |
- No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
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Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through their “Add URL” page or by submitting a Sitemap. You can do either yourself – or we can do it for you.
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- Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do.
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Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google's index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it's best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to "help" you.
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- You should never have to link to an SEO.
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Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don't affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines - at least, not in a way you would consider to be positive.
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While considering an SEO company, we suggest that you do research the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html.
With CMP, you know you have hired an SEO that follows practices that are within the scope of accepted business behavior.
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- Be sure to understand where the money goes.
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While Google never sells better ranking in its search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they "control" other search engines and, thus, can place sites in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn't work with Google, because their paid advertised listings are clearly labeled as such and are separated from their organic search results. Also, be sure to ask any SEO you're considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising
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- What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
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One common scam is the creation of "shadow" domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client's behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor's domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO!
Another illicit practice is to place "doorway" pages loaded with keywords on the client's site somewhere. The SEO promises that this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO's other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which can even include sites with unsavory or illegal content.
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- What are some other things to look out for?
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There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. This is far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:
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- owns shadow domains;
- puts links to their other clients on doorway pages;
- offers to sell keywords in the address bar;
- doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages;
- guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get hits on anyway;
- operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info;
- gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware;
- has had domains removed from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google;
- requests your FTP account information or root access to your server;
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If you feel that you were deceived by an SEO in some way, you may want to report it. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit: http://www.ftc.gov/ and click on "File a Complaint Online," call 1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to:
Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580
If your complaint is against a company in a country other than the United States, please file it at http://www.econsumer.gov/.
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