I have been dead set against black hat SEO tactics that some SEO firms have been using for.ever. I see where they can take pages from zero to #1 for competitive keywords, but you know what? That stuff is a LOT of work and guess what? It does NOT last. Google is getting smarter every day and black hat can just get you banned from the index.
This Halloween-y infographic from SEO.com was just too good NOT to share:
You can click on the image to get a bigger picture, but it about says it all, No?
I’m bidding SEO jobs on a regular basis these days (and totally loving it), but one thing that we constantly come up against is that “SEO Firm XYZ says they can get us to page one much faster!” Oh yeah, and then, I look at what they’re doing and what they want to charge, and I about choke.
I even had one client show me a report from some SEO people that pitched his company. The identity of the company was kept private, so I have no idea what firm is proposing this $4,500 ticket, but they had an index that shows their prospective clients how they’re very low on the totem SEO pole. I asked what the criteria for the SEO firm’s “score” was and the guy couldn’t even tell me. It was a nebulous number fabricated to be purposely LOW so that they could raise the company’s “rankings” and look like heroes.
Know what it was? I whole sh*t ton of directories! Most of them were crappy link farm directories, too. And people are paying this SEO firm $4,500 for that. It really incensed me because it makes the rest of us look bad.
A solid SEO strategy plan has a cumulative quality and the effects are lasting. Backlinking, content posting, good directory linking, proper on-page SEO, and all those other good things we know how to do, using the best possible keywords, takes longer than “overnight.” If you’re looking for an SEO firm, find one that doesn’t promise results instantly. Those are your black hatters. Works for a while, and then, you’re sunk.
And if you’re a webmaster trying to optimize your website, don’t fall for this black hat crap. It will be really hard to dig out of, if ^^^ WHEN you’re discovered.
