15 replies to this topic

[fastlane]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, so please bare with me

I am wanting others opinions of an SEO company that I have been debating for nearly 4 months now. I read good things about them. I have talked with previous clients of theirs, all with good things to say... But I still can't help be very skeptical due to my previous encounter with a SEO company that took $2000 of my money with dismal results that even a mere beginner such as I could obtain.

<edit>

Any experiences with them, any known information about them either good or bad, anything would be a great help for me.

Thank you very much

Regards,
Jason

<edit>Sorry Fastlane! We don't discuss other SEO's specifically here. If you want to ask about a specific practice or tactic, that is fine~ </edit>

Edited by scottiecl, 26 November 2003 - 12:29 AM.

[BruceLamb]

Jason:

I've never personally heard anything good or about about the company or individual. But here is a good way to test if they are a good bet for your SEO investment:

a) Look on their site for a reference (e.g. growtaller.net)
Do a 'view source' and look at the META Keywords. This is likely to tell you what search terms they are trying to be found for.
c) Plug each of those search terms into Google and see if they are getting first-page results for those terms.

While Google doesn't look at META keywords, the combination of knowing what they are trying to be found for and seeing if they are actually being found in Google should allow you to see if they are the real thing.

Best to do the research before-hand.

Hope this helps!

- Bruce

[Jill]

Personally, I don't think that whether an seo site is ranking highly for terms in their meta tags is a good indication of whether or not you should hire them.

Jill

[Scottie]

I definitely wouldn't recommend picking an SEO based on their rankings. There are some very questionable companies that manage to rank very well for competitive terms.

[BruceLamb]

Jill:

I certainly understand your point of view. A better solution would simply be to phone the reference and ask them for a list of search terms they are trying to be found for.

In this particular case, though, the meta tags for their reference site are very relevant to the business -- and if I were doing search engine marketing for that firm, they would be terms I would certainly consider.

I checked the first 6 or 7 search terms in their meta keywords section and none were on the first page of Google -- including a bunch that should have been fairly easy to achieve, IMHO.

Naturally, there are all sorts of reasons why they may not be on page 1, as well. Perhaps they are no longer doing work for that company (which then begs the question of 'what happens after the six month term is over -- do you pay the same amount again to keep high placement?'). However, anyone who puts a reference on their site should ensure that it is a reference that can undergo the scrutiny of analysis. In my view, this reference didn't pass. Lots of other issues that came up, but I won't go into them.

Again, nothing like talking to the reference in person, though, to get the story straight.

- Bruce

(Must... get... sleep... ...zzzzzzzzz)

[schecky]

Personally, I don't think that whether an seo site is ranking highly for terms in their meta tags is a good indication of whether or not you should hire them.

Jill

Agreed, but I would care whether they got results for their clients. Many good firms aren't in the top 100 for SEO KW but they do a great job for their clients. Perhaps they don't do well for their own site because they are too busy making their clients happy.

[Jill]

Exactly, Schecky!

[projectphp]

I read good things about them. I have talked with previous clients of theirs, all with good things to say.

As long as these clients are all good, and seem like legit businesses, you have done everything to protect yourself, and you are happy with the people you will be dealing with on an individual basis, then perfect, case closed!!!!

If you have any real concerns, like whether or not their specific practices are legit, ask those specific questions. e.g. "they say I need to get links from XYZ. They wanna do XYZ." etc. Remember, even after you hire them, you don't have to take all their advice, and resources such as this are a great way to test out what they say you should do.

Good luck!!!

<edit>tautology</edit>

[BruceLamb]

Okay -- this is my last post for the evening (really).

Look on their site for a reference (e.g. growtaller.net)

I was not suggesting that Jason check out the SEO's site for its placement, but rather the site of a reference that the SEO had on their site.

G'night, all...

- Bruce

[OldWelshGuy]

If you have been debating for 4 months, then i would wait another month to let the dust settle on the update, and to check out their work, but thats just me.

Presumably you checked out their client rankings, take another look, see how they rank after the update, then keep an eye on what they do to put things right.

I have to say though, normally when we have a problem or have to ask a question like 'do you think they are ok' it is because something is gnawing at the back of our minds, and it tends to be right.

IMO if you have been stung before and you are carrying that into this transaction then don't , You need to sit down and quietly think if there is anything logical that is making you doubt the company, if there isn't then it is just a hangover from last time, if there is, then I would not want to put my business in the hands of someone i did not trust 100%.

I can truly and honestly say that i am not the best at what i do, although i am one of the best in my geographical area, but i have incredible customer loyalty, as they trust me 100%, to the point that if i suggest that we need to alter pagination of the site to spread editorial content they just say OK, no questions. IMO trust is king in a business relationship.

There are many resources on this forum that will help you to gauge the quality of their work, i would use them against one of their client sites.

Good luck

[SEO-Richard]

Quite agree OWG

After this update everything's changed - doesn't it move quickly?

Usability, copy, Adwords experience, click tracking - becoming far more relveant - as is knowledge of local or vertical search engines.

But how can a customer ask a question unless they're educated? And know what to ask about?

It's like anything - do some research first. And like everything, get stung the first time (my experience, alwasy) and be wiser the second time.

Definitely though SEOs need to educate their clients. A simple e-mail, ask some questions, see what their response is, check it out on Google.

[SearchRank]

I definitely wouldn't recommend picking an SEO based on their rankings.  There are some very questionable companies that manage to rank very well for competitive terms.

Besides this, SEO companies are popping up in abundance these days. It seems that everybody and their mother is trying to make a buck at SEO. Back in 97 when we started, there were not that many firms and therefore it was easy to rank well. Today, the number of SEO firms are staggering so trying to rank well has become more of a challenge.

Therefore IMO, look at how long the firm has been around and see if they have published any industry related articles. If choosing a firm from this forum or one of the others, look at what type of advice they provide. Check out their client lists. Ask to see some results for some of the more difficult. Bottom line, make sure you are comfortable with what they offer and who they represent themselves to be!

But if you go with the SEO that ranks the best, it doesn't guarantee they will do a good job for you. Good luck in your search!

[Scottie]

I was not suggesting that Jason check out the SEO's site for its placement, but rather the site of a reference that the SEO had on their site.

Again... that is tricky. I bet there are a lot of sites out there right now that used to be #1 and are nowhere to be found! Looking right now would probably tell you the wrong thing.

The other thing that a client may not understand is that there are plenty of guinea pig seos out there who intentionally optimize for phrases no one is searching for. Easy to get rankings for words that aren't going to bring any traffic! That ranking report will sure be impressive, but the logfiles will tell another story.

Keyword phrase selection is one of the most critical skills in SEO and you can't always tell from looking at metatags if the SEO is slacking or brilliantly targeting niche terms.

Talking to the people who are going to do the work is the most important thing. If you don't get a feeling that they know what they are doing and that you can trust them, be wary.

[powerofeyes]

Talking to the people who are going to do the work is the most important thing. If you don't get a feeling that they know what they are doing and that you can trust them, be wary.

Very good point. Talk to the people you want to work with. Question them as much as possible to find out what they will do to your site. If your final observation is satisfactory just go ahead with them,
Like Jill always says "I know what I am doing". This is very important for every one in different fields they should know what they are doing and why they are doing,
I would recommand you to develop a little bit basic SEO knowledge so that you can query your SEO company on their services,
all the best,

[Debra]

Anyone can say they know what they are doing......I don't think that's relevant or a gauge at all.

The average person looking for an SEO probably doesn't have the insights we do on "white hat" and "black hat" SEO companies. They see what they see when they type in the search terms.

So to that I say, yes, it's important to rank well for your keyword terms.