Vraag het aan de SEO Guru

The Guru had a comment from a rabid fan, (not to be mistaken for an AVID fan), to a post last week about how to find a good plumber or SEO. I was going to reply to the comment but as it turns out it is appropriate for the opening of the follow-up post I had planned to make today anyway. So, I'll use the comment and my reply as the foundation for the clarification I had wanted to post.

The comment was:

>I was expecting to find specifics on how to find a good, credible SEO based on your experience in the field. Coming from you, that would be golden!

Although this lists solid general rules for finding any reputable business I was hoping you'd tackle SEO specifically, with examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly SEOs out there. I know you're not afraid of a good argument, so why did you lay up from the last post to this one?

You're not getting soft on us, are you old man? <

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The Guru will address this comment specifically just a little further down in this post. For the moment I would like to point out that I've amassed quite a body of work over the last 11 years even though since the Google right-to-sell-my-own-links lawsuit, I rarely spoke publicly. Even before that, going back to my days of moderating at JimWorld for my dear friend Jim Wilson, (whom I still miss dearly), I always chose my battles carefully and tried to only speak out when I honestly felt I had something to contribute.

I rarely post without purpose. I try not to let emotion dictate my words and I usually have a strategy to hit a specific objective with every post I make. One reason I don't post more often is simply because it takes me so long for each one. Sometimes it can take me several days to have a purpose in mind and then write, edit and re-write until I'm confident I'm saying what I REALLY want to say. And often that is only for a brief reply.

I freely admit that I have a tendency to piss some people off when that is not the intent. It is just that I can be brutally honest and opinionated. That's a dangerous combination in anybody's book. Even so, if someone were to waste the time and look at every public remark I had made, I'm sure they could find several instances of justification, or clarification on my part, but I honestly don't think there would be a single instance of retraction or apology.

This latest series of posts, the slapping, the tips, and this one as a closer, is no different. I had a definite purpose in mind and it was not to simply offend a peer. This one happened to be two-fold but a purpose nonetheless.

My primary purpose was to attempt to sway the collective mindset of the online promotion industry from perpetuating a negative perception of the industry it serves and is served by. My secondary purpose was to actually do what I felt I could to help online business people feel more comfortable about seeking professional assistance in the face of such negative perception being promoted by the people within the very industry itself for little more than a few cheap links.

As to the primary objective, I have been reading for a long, LONG time how SEO is chock full of con men and incompetents, (the number usually thrown about was 90%) by some of the most well known and widely read figures within the SEO community. It has always made me uncomfortable and often downright personally offended seeing the hand that feeds being bitten and with so little reliance on historical reference or anything close to scientifically arrived at data. There have actually been two strangely symbiotic discussions going on simultaneously within the seo community one perpetuating the other so neither needed any real facts to back up either.

One of course being that 90% of SEOs are con men or incompetent and the other, "Why does SEO have a bad reputation".

It is true that there have been stories about the reputation problem of the industry in the mainstream press but where do you think the journalists got their reference material? They get it from the SEO community itself. The bad press the industry gets is being handed to the media by the very same people who stand to benefit most from an improved public image.

Every profession has it's share of people who can not be trusted either due to the fact they are a thief or simply incompetent and SEO is no different but the truth is much closer to 90% of the people in the profession being hard working business people trying their best to build a quality service compared to only 10% being untrustworthy or incapable of delivering quality results. AND, anyone that has had the occasion to attend a conference or get together of any kind focused on SEO, met some SEO's or dealt with them directly by phone or email knows full well that the vast majority of the people they know are decent, honest, hard working people that can be trusted to perform to the best of their ability. You could ask no more from anyone in any other profession. So, why on earth are these same people who know this to be fact writing articles and blogs perpetuating the misperception that anyone needing SEO assistance had better be VERY careful and watch out for all the 90% of rip offs and then the next week writing another article bemoaning the bad reputation of the industry?

Now that you think about it, does seem a little odd doesn't it? Of course it does and I believe it is time for the practice to stop. It doesn't have to be this way and the mainstream media would be quick to change if we would change first.

My primary purpose was to use this series to throw down the gauntlet to those in the industry who have the voice, have the following and the leadership to sway the perception of their readers. To challenge my colleagues and peers to stop talking about the abstract negative that doesn't even exist and seek their links from articles and comments extolling the positive contributions of the people they know within the industry. To do as the Guru did and encourage their readers to learn and exercise a little more business principle and use that to find SEO services that can understand their needs and deliver based on solid business objectives and strategies.

If the prominent figures in the industry would start talking about the good that comes from SEO and good people in it, as opposed to spreading more FUD, SEO would clean up it's own reputation. It is the people with the voice who made it bad and it is the same people who could make it good. It is time for the whole thing to change and I'd like to see it start changing today and I hope I'm not alone.

It's not hard just take a quick look at what the Guru did with his blogroll and his article http://massa.techndu.com/default.aspx?page=admin#ac0e4c85c-7f39-4431-b0c6-09d49be04085. It's easy to find nice things to say about the people you know and admire. And here's the kicker. Guess what saying nice things about people you like can do for you? IT CAN GET YOU LINKS !

So, I'm challenging all those who have a voice in the industry. You are the leaders and are the ones who shape the present perceptions and the future of the industry as a whole.  Speak out for the positive aspects of SEO when you write your own articles and call out those who would continue to perpetuate the unsubstantiated bullshit!  If you can't say something nice about the profession you have chosen, then don't say anything at all and you'll soon see the affect.

Remember this when next you choose to publish something negative about the game you have chosen to play. If it is bad and you are a part of it, then you not only belittle THEM, you make yourself appear smaller as well for only a fool would choose to be a part of something bad and expect others to see them as better than the game they play.

In whatever field of endeavor you choose, do the best job you can do, be proud of what you do and do what you say you will do ---- and charge accordingly.

Now as to the comment and my secondary objective.

One part of the comment was:

“I was expecting to find specifics on how to find a good, credible SEO based on your experience in the field. Coming from you, that would be golden!“

Remember when I said I don’t always tell you what you want to hear? One problem with we humans all face is that we tend to not hear what we don’t want to hear. The entire point of the article was that I was giving the specifics.

Finding a good credible SEO is not hard and the choices you have are great. The hard part is in you not expecting the SEO to be golden. Rather to make sure your own business objectives are golden. THEN just about any seo can help you if you know the help you need but expecting anyone to recommend someone to eliminate the hard work required to run a successful online business is a recipe for disaster and THAT is from my experience.

I can certainly understand how thinking an SEO is going to take a little money and make you a lot without you having to actually run a business is very appealing but that is at the root of the problem.

The next part of the comment was, “Although this lists solid general rules for finding any reputable business I was hoping you'd tackle SEO specifically, with examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly SEOs out there”

That was EXACTLY the point. That finding a reputable SEO is no different than finding any other reputable SEO and that is tackling SEO specifically.

If you tell me exactly what issue you want help with, I could give you a list of people that I would recommend to do that job without hesitation. But if you want me to give you a list of the good bad and ugly, that no one can do for the simple fact that just about every SEO has the ability to be exceptionally good or exceptionally ugly depending on what service you need.

Again, it keeps coming back to you needing to stop thinking in terms of needing to get your site SEO’d and start thinking in terms of your site needing more traffic, (I know a lot of people who can help you with that), and what risk level you are willing to accept to get more traffic how fast, or your site needing more conversions, (I know a lot of people who can help with that), or your site needing better functionality, etc. You need to define what type of service you need and set verifiable levels of performance and THEN I can help find you the good, the bad and the ugly and so can a LOT of other people. Once you do the work you need to do, it becomes no more difficult than finding a good plumber but as long as you are looking for some kind of magician to solve your problems, you are going to find a whole lot of ugly regardless of who anyone would recommend. That was the point.

And finally:

“. I know you're not afraid of a good argument, so why did you lay up from the last post to this one?“

You are right. I am not afraid of an argument and I laid up from the last post because I honestly thought it was the best help I could give the most people. I knew that a lot of people would not like hearing me blaming them for the problem instead of going with conventional wisdom and letting people assume they didn’t need to take responsibility for their own business, rather to blame fraud and incompetence. I can see how blaming the other people can be popular but it is simply not the truth and like I said in the last post, you can blame anyone and everyone else all you want but you’re still stuck with a failing business. Once you accept and address the fact you need a solid business plan and to identify specific problems that need an experts help, now you will be able to easily find the professional help you need with little worry.

Now, I can’t think of much more I can say on this subject without further belaboring the point. This will bring this short series to a close. I hope the Guru has been able to make an impact and maybe help to have start making things a little better. (probably not. :(  

Next week I'll start on a series discussing what I see as the differences between SEO as an art versus SEO as a process , what the costs involved are for each and when and why you would want one or the other. This is also the single biggest factor in my decision to set up operations in India and I'll explain why getting malaria and typhoid fever is so worth it.

 

 

 

You kids get outta bed and git ready for skool

Peace Ya’ll

G

Before I give you the list that can actually help you find the help you need with little risk of being disappointed, I first need to ask you to do two things for me and for yourself. If you can’t do it, then the value this list offers will be greatly diminished. BUT, if you can do these two very simple things, then I can do a lot to remove the stress, worry and risk involved in finding a qualified online promotion specialist. AHHHHH, sounds nice doesn’t it?

The things I’m going to ask you to do are simple but that is not to say they’re easy. In fact, they are two of the most difficult things for human beings to do in life. That’s a shame but that is the way it is.

The first thing I’m going to ask you to do is to stop letting someone else do your thinking for you. Stop just repeating something you read on a blog somewhere that sounded good and start THINKING for your self. Read it, think about it, and decide for yourself if the statement provides value to you. I encourage you to argue BUT, use your own arguments for or against and not just something someone else said. If you agree with something because it “sounds” logical, stop and decide if it IS logical or just sounds that way,

This is YOUR business we’re talking about here and it is far too important to let someone else make your decisions. Keep this in mind, if you succeed it is to your credit. Success came to you by you making the right choices, but by the same token, failure is yours to claim also. You can blame something or someone else all you want but it is still you that lost your money and must taste the bitterness of failure. That is a law of nature and can not be changed.

Secondly, and this is the really hard one, be honest with yourself. When you see something pointed out that strikes a little close to home, admit it and deal with it. Of course it is easy to blame your mistakes on others but the bottom line is it is still your problem and the smart marketer will be able to look at their mistakes and learn from them. When you refuse to own up to your mistakes you are likely to repeat them BUT, if you take your whipping and accept that you made a mistake, you learn from that experience and are less likely to make the same mistake again. Makes sense huh?

All rightee then, here we go.

#10

Never respond to an email offer you did not specifically ask for.

There are many reputable companies who use email marketing but there is also no question spamming 10 million email addresses is much easier and faster than building a reputable company by servicing clients and providing value.

So I’m not saying all unsolicited email you get is from a scam artist but I am saying that if you think you need a product or service, it is far too easy to find an established company by you contacting them instead of them contacting you.

When you get an unsolicited email offer and think to yourself, “that sounds pretty good”, remember that of course it sounds good. Sounding good is the foundation of every scam that has ever come down the pike.

#9.

Look for a physical address listed on the website.

Finding an address listed on a website is no guarantee that you won’t be disappointed but it is a good indication that the intent of this person was not to cheat people but rather to establish and build a reputable business. You can be confident that when an address is listed publicly that the owner of the business fully intends to provide a value driven service or product to his customers. Con men do not want you coming to their office and will go to great lengths to stay hidden.

No physical address or just a PO Box is a definite red flag.

#8.

Check for a local phone number listed on their site and verify it.

Again, finding a phone number listed on a website is no guarantee of you finding the right match but it is an indication that the intent of putting the number on the site is to offer clients a way to contact you easily. That is something someone does when they intend to build a business.

Of course anyone can get a cell number and put it on the website. If someone is trying to grab your money and run even they need a way for you to call them BUT, anyone who lists their number in the phone book, who invests in things like multiple lines or a toll free number, those people are not trying to grab your money and run. Those people are trying to build a business.

Once you have found the address and phone numbers on the site of the business you’re considering, it is too easy to verify the information. Just go to yellowpages.com or pick up the phone and call information for that city. That information being in those places is as it should be. If something doesn’t match it is possible the company has recently relocated or something but it does raise those red flags.

#7.

Having a phone number listed is good but having someone answer it is even better. 

Getting a phone put in, even a business phone, is relatively inexpensive and does not represent a huge investment. However, making the investment to actually have an employee responsible for handling phone calls is a good indication that this business fully intends to provide at least a basic level of customer service.

Now, call the number and see if someone either answers or you actually get a call back before the end of the next business day. If you don’t there is always the chance that something went wrong and the message didn’t get received but again, it is a red flag that should make you stop and look a little harder.

#6.

Send an email and see if you get a timely response.

Of course anyone can have an email address but what you are looking for here is an indication that they take their business seriously. If you don’t get a response within one business day, put this one at the bottom of the list.

#5.

Search for their name and/or their company name

In this day and age, privacy is an illusion. True there is still lying and cheating and hiding behind a veil of technology, but anyone that has actually started and operated any business with even a minimum online presence for any length of time has left a highly visible and easy to find, digital trail. One search at your favorite engine will reveal the good, the bad and the ugly.

#4.

Spend more than 5 minutes on their website.

What you’re looking for here is a look and “feel” of professionalism and an indication that this site represents a going concern. You want to know that this company has built and is adding to, a site they intend to be a resource for potential clients for the long term.

#3.

Check out the guarantee

We’ve all read hundreds of times how no one can guarantee SEO results. Well, the fact is that any professional should be able to offer a guarantee of minimum levels of performance. And as a consumer, you have a right to expect that guarantee to be lived up to and honored.

So, the trick is to read the guarantee on the site and if it sounds too good to be true or it doesn’t make sense to you, scratch this one from the list and move on.

What you are looking for is something that makes sense and that you are confident you can track and verify. Something with set time frames and specific results.

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 {pack you bags kids, we're going on a little side trip}

Ok, remember back at the first of the post I asked you to do two things for me? One was think for yourself and the other was to be honest with yourself. Well, we’ve come to the two most important steps for finding a competent online promotion specialist and it has much more to do with you than it does to do with them.

So far the tips I’ve given you on finding an SEO would be pretty much the same exact tips I would suggest to finding a plumber or a lawyer or a mechanic. In every profession there are those who specialize in specific aspects of their industry. Some are better at transmission repair and some are better at corporate law. Not being disappointed with your choice has a lot to do with knowing what you need and finding the person best qualified for that task. SEO is not that different from other professions in that respect.

Also, in any industry there are those who can not be trusted because they are either incompetent or they are simply liars and con men. These people are not as big a threat as some would like you to believe for the simple fact that those types of people tend to not be in that  business for long. There is something to be said for a multiple year track record in lieu of word of mouth recommendations.

But all in all, the vast majority of people in business are in business because they actually perform a service that has value to their clients and contrary to most link bait, SEO is not that different. If you follow the simple tips outlined in #10 through #3 you could very likely find a competent plumber, lawyer or yes, even an SEO and avoid the small percentage of those who would simply cheat you out of your money through theft or incompetence.

But one issue that is unique to the online promotion industry is the misconception that anyone needs to “SEO” their site. That term is far too broad and far too vague to not expect to be disappointed with whatever results you get.

Every commercial website needs to generate qualified traffic. Every site needs to optimize navigation and usability. Every site needs to always strive to increase conversions and every site needs effective copywriting but which of those things are you referring to when you say you need someone to “SEO” your site?

Most people that would make the comment, “I need someone to SEO my site”, are referring to wanting to be in the top of Google for their primary target term, (usually the broadest possible single word term that even remotely represents the product they are wanting to offer), and these people are destined to be disappointed with any online promotion specialist they hire as soon as the words leave their lips.

You see, first page search engine placement does not make you any money. Search engine placement is an expense, and not a small one at that. I think this bears repeating.

First page search engine placement does not make you any money

Sales generate income not search engine placements. Even so, sales do not generate profits and without profits, you certainly don’t need SEO. Profits come from running an effective business that generates more income than expenses.

Being #1 for any keyword does not make sales and does not make profits. All it does is create an expense that is intended to get someone to your page so you can make the sale but being on the first page of a search engine is a long way from actually getting money from a customer.

Some would say that this is elementary and everyone knows what profits are and how you get them BUT, if you have ever said you need someone to SEO your site, then no, you don’t understand this most basic of concepts and the faster you accept that, the faster you can start actually making money from your online business or quit wasting everyone’s times, (especially yours), and get a job.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever done a cash flow study for your online business? If you answered no, then you don’t need SEO you need a business plan.

Have you ever set a short term and long term objective and strategy for your online business? If you answered no then you don’t need SEO you need a business plan.

If you don’t have a business plan but are saying you need someone to “SEO” your site then you are not wanting a professional service to help you improve your business, you are wanting to pay someone a little bit of money to make you a lot of money without you having to do the real work that everyone else has to do to reap the rewards of a successful business and guess what? You are very likely going to be disappointed.

If you do have a business plan and no traffic, then you need someone to help you build the site. You need a graphic designer, a copywriter and someone who can understand your business objectives and provide you with any custom scripting you need to make your website perform properly to be able to actually deliver the product or service your business plan calls for. You can find a lot of people fully competent to perform these tasks and for not a lot of money, (that should have been budgeted for in your initial cash flow studies).

Once you have a decent site with good navigation, properly working scripts and secure ordering, now you actually have an online business and now you need to get qualified traffic to the site. Again, whether organic or PPC, there are a lot of people who can perform this task at a wide range of prices that you can be confident of performance.

The point is that you would never call a plumber and ask them what it would cost to WO, (water optimize), your house. It’s your house and you would know you needed a plumber to fix the leak in the pipes. You would perform due diligence, (after all it is your money), and expect the plumber you chose to fix the leak. Why would online promotion services be different?

You would not contact a well known attorney and ask her what it would cost to CO, (court optimize), your drunk driving charge. It was your screw up and you know you need someone to keep your butt out of jail.

It should not be any different with hiring an online business optimization specialist. It’s your business, (assuming that is what you have), and you should already know if your primary obstacle is traffic generation, design, copy, scripting or low conversions. Once you know and can articulate what you need, finding the right person to do the job without much risk is no more difficult than finding a plumber to fix the leak.

So, these last two tips are about you and if you can be honest and see that you may be lacking in some areas of business, all you have to do is fix that first THEN look for someone to do any kind of SEO and you won’t have to worry even if you pick a bad one at first and are disappointed, the business model is still solid and it is no greater loss than hiring a plumber you wouldn’t hire again.

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#2.

Ask people you respect of their opinion

We all have blogs and forums we like to hang out at and in each of those communities we have people we tend to agree with. We find ourselves developing a level of respect for their opinions because they always seem to us to make more sense than some of the others. Ask those people who they think are competent BUT, the trick is don’t ask for an opinion on who is a good SEO. Instead ask specifics such as who would you recommend for traffic generation or for keyword research or usability etc.

Once you identify the specific area of your online business that you feel needs help, this eliminates the majority of people you may have to consider if you were telling yourself you needed an SEO. If you need higher conversions, then ask in your favorite hang outs if anyone is familiar with someone who can help with increasing conversions. You are likely to get back answers from people who have first or at least second hand experience with someone they saw those kind of results from. This approach makes so much more sense than posting another silly post asking someone to recommend another SEO and then having to listen to all the whines and complaints and end up being more confused than before you asked the question. Ask for specifics and you’ll not see this problem at all.

#1.  >drum roll please<

Have a real business plan, never ask for someone to SEO your site and know what you want an SEO to do and be able to verify when it’s done

If you ever catch yourself saying you need someone to SEO your site, STOP! If you are saying that, you have a problem and SEO isn’t going to solve it.

Let me give you a simple two question test that can help you determine if you need any kind of professional online promotional help. This is oversimplified and there is a lot more to actually building and running any business. My intention is not to belittle the significance of developing solid business planning but rather my objective is to point out that if you do not have these two answers as an absolute bare minimum then I’m hoping it will force you to realize that YOU have a problem that SEO can not fix.

#1. What is your short term financial objective and strategy? How much money do you plan to generate in the next 6 months and how?

If you can not answer that question, YOU DO NOT NEED SEO. You need a business plan.

#2. Why would I buy your product or service from your website instead of a website that is already there? What is your unique value proposition? 

Again, if you can not answer this question with a logical, realistic response, then please, don’t waste my time or your money. An SEO is not a magician and can not magically make you rich with your great idea for a few hundred bucks if you don’t have a real business plan that you are prepared to make a substantial investment of time, work and money of your own.

Now, if you do have a business plan or an online business that is generating some traffic and/or sales now, then you should already have an idea of what you need. If you are getting over 50 unique visits a day but no sales, then your primary problem is conversions and you don’t need someone to SEO your site, you need someone who can look at your site and see what needs to happen to get a minimum of about 4% conversions, (I use the 4% number because in my 11 years in online promotion that has proven time and again to be fairly consistent over a wide range of products and services. Believe me, 20% is much, much better). You need someone who is experienced and can apply resources to your situation as a conversion specialist. 

Once you get a minimum of about 4% conversions, (assuming that generates a profit of course), THEN you need someone that can increase traffic. There are a LOT of ways to do that and maybe the person that helps with the conversions is the right person for that job and maybe not, but the point is to look for someone that can increase traffic instead of looking for someone to SEO your site. Specifics that fit with your business plan and the results can be verified and tracked.

The bottom line ---- either you have an online business or you are hoping to get rich quick. If it is the former, there are a LOT of really good resources available to you at very reasonable prices if you know what you want. If it is the latter, you will be disappointed and you can blame the SEO industry all you want but you still need a business plan or a job.   

 

 PEACE Y’all

You kids quit throwin dirt on that neighbor boy and get washed up for supper.