Approaches from Unethical SEO Companies
Approaches from Unethical SEO Companies
Recently a few of our clients have contacted us to report some approaches made to them by ‘SEO Companies’ in the UK, who reportedly claimed to represent – directly – Google and Yahoo. During the conversations the clients were left in little doubt that the SEO companies involved represented Google or Yahoo and had preferential influence re the potential results.
This isn’t the first time these cowboys have tried this approach and it won’t be the last!
The clients who contacted me to report these approaches told me they were being offered a direct working relationship with Google UK or Yahoo UK. Not an SEO company offering their services to promote the clients website to Google and Yahoo.
Many businesses, when approached by aggressive sales people with monthly targets to achieve, will believe almost anything they are told. In the case of the ‘Google’ approach we were contacted about, the company used a domain that also implied they were part of Google’s UK company.
These SEO firms also claimed guaranteed rankings, as well as their ‘special relationship’ with Google. This is simply untrue. In many cases, where these ‘guarantees’ are made, they are for obscure phrases which have little competition and offer no benefit to the business.
Let’s be clear, no one can guarantee results in the search engines.
While professional and ethical (white hat SEO) SEO companies can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEO’s continue to give the industry a bad name through their overly aggressive sales pitch, untruths and often ‘black-hat’ marketing techniques in their attempts to manipulate search engine results in questionable ways.
Remember, practices that violate search engine guidelines may result in losing popularity or even getting banned from their index.
If a company is comfortable telling you untruths to get your business, then it also follows that they would not be averse to using black hat SEO techniques in their everyday practices. Be careful which SEO company you appoint to look after you online business!
