~~~High Search Engine Rankings~~~
From: M. Young (VBMedia)
Given the already often shaded reputation that the SEO industry has,
how do you feel about the ethics of cheating? In particular, SEOs
themselves doing the cheating? I refer, somewhat perplexed, to a
search listing I performed earlier today on Google for "UK web site
promotion." Give it a whirl and you will see exactly what I mean. (Be
sure to check the cached versions for a good giggle at how far people
will go.) Of course, surely the serious side of this question is how
the search engines (esp. Google) are letting them slip through the
net? Are they not aware that many companies like mine take great
pleasure in highlighting these sites and their methods to all
potential clients? We give visual demonstrations to each client to
highlight the dishonest practises so that they can check for
themselves in the future.
Kind regards
M. Young
www.vbmedia.co.uk
Web Site Promotion & Design
~~~Jill's Response~~~
Great question! I think most of our readers know my stance on
unethical search engine optimization methods. (They're bad...if you
use them, go sit in the corner!)
This is as good a time as any to highlight some of these questionable
techniques so that our less savvy readers will know what to look for
when choosing a reputable SEO company. If they're using these
techniques on their own pages, it stands to reason that they're also
using them for their client's pages, thereby putting them in jeopardy
of being permanently banned. You've gotta wonder if it's truly worth
it!
So, let's have a look at some of the pages M. Young pointed out in his
post. Searching for "UK web site promotion" at Google, the number one
page as of this writing (Google is due for a reindexing at any moment,
so your mileage may vary!), has tiny hidden text links in the top
black area of their site. Apparently they're some funky JavaScript
links with some CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) thrown in to make them
tiny. Google seems to treat them as real links, thus helping this
page to become numero uno. A look through the other
sites in the search engine results page (SERP) reveals that this very
same company has another site with a different domain in the number
six position. This particular site of theirs didn't have those tiny
hidden links at the top. Oh, but wait...there they are at the bottom!
(Thank you, Google cache, for the pretty colors that "out" the hidden
stuff!) So is this a company you want to use for your SEO needs?
Yes, they certainly know how to get sites to the top of the listings,
but how long will it take before Google bans them all together?
Wouldn't you prefer to get your listings the *right* way and be able
to sleep at night?
Let's see what other goodies we can dig up...
Oh my, oh my. This one is really funny. Number three on the same
SERP has just a big square with a few words along with "Enter" on it.
But if you take your mouse and highlight the square...ta-da...you
reveal that the white square is actually coated with zillions of
teeny-tiny keywords! Yes indeed, I want them to do my SEO work --
NOT!
As our questioner so aptly pointed out...Google seems to allow this to
happen, thus encouraging these spammers to continue doing it. Sure, we
can email this abuse to Google and perhaps they will ban the sites,
but it's unfortunate that they can't automatically sniff out this
stuff. Shows you that as the software becomes more sophisticated, so
do the spammers. Which in turn makes it more difficult for the rest
of us *honest* SEOs to get high rankings. What's even more
interesting is why this site thinks that a big ole ugly splash page
that says "Enter" is very enticing to the user! Why they are not
telling about their company using the very words that they are hiding
is beyond me!
I'm sure this kind of thing goes on with the U.S. sites also, and is
not simply limited to UK sites. However, a quick look at the
keyphrase, "web site promotion" (without the UK in front of it),
reveals that the very same "Enter" page above shows up in the number
six position. The other results do look to be much more legitimate
than the UK results were. Although, number 13 is certainly
suspect...something to do with redirects...perhaps cloaking? They're
not even a Web promotion site, but a hosting company. For shame, for
shame! (Our UK friends will be happy to hear that this appears to be
a U.S. company from CA!)
Therein lies the problem to the average Joe who wants a high ranking
for his own site. Average Joe does notice this stuff, and he reads
about these questionable techniques everywhere. Every day I get calls
and emails from Joe (and Jane!) wanting more information about my SEO
services. Very often they already *think* they know what they want.
They say they need someone to help them create lots of keyword-rich
domains, and doorway pages, and many even ask about hidden text.
They've been so brainwashed by others, that when I tell them that I
won't do that for them (and that they don't need or want that), they
go back and look for someone who will. No amount of persuasion will
convince them that doing those things is absolutely not necessary to
be found in the major search engines and directories. (Perhaps I need
to change my sales pitch!) Unfortunately, when our own *brethren* are
using these techniques, it only serves to make things worse. It's
getting to the point where I have to duck for cover when I tell people
what I do. They assume I'm some sort of snake oil salesman!
So what's a company who wants to get found in the search engines
supposed to do? For one thing, make sure to get and check references
and verify past results of any SEO company you're thinking of using.
Ask them what types of techniques they believe are appropriate, and
see if they have a good reputation in their field. Do they write
articles on the subject? Speak at conferences? Teach workshops?
Generally, the huckmeisters aren't invited to do those kinds of gigs,
so you can be fairly certain you're dealing with reputable companies.
As luck would have it, there also happens to be a brand new report
that just came out from Marketing Sherpa entitled, "Buyer's Guide to
Search Engine Optimization & Positioning Services." It contains an
unbiased look at numerous SEO firms, along with their pricing
structure and a brief look at their methods. I personally don't think
it *clearly* shows who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, but
if you read through the whole thing carefully, it should become
apparent.
Before you run out and get this report, I must come clean and let you
know that Marketing Sherpa did interview my company, HighRankings.com.
It is listed in the report along with about 24 other companies. I
also must reveal that the link I'm about to give you to purchase this
report is an affiliate link. The report costs about $100, and if you
purchase it through this link, I will receive a percentage. However,
let me once again stress that this report was created without any
bias, and the SEO firms interviewed gave their own answers to the
questions put to them. Whether they look good or bad to you, it's up
to you to decide what methods you want employed on your site. If
you're in the market for a search engine optimization firm, and
especially if you're new to SEO, it's probably worth the small fee to
read this report.
Anyway...here's the link if you want it: http://sherpastore.com/page.cfm/1759?a=jw. It's very
revealing...happy reading!
Jill
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