Every reputable website marketing firm or consultant knows that links should not come from a link farm, especially since Google came up with the Panda update. There are still those, however, who insist on trying to get around it.
Recently, a member of a forum I belong to created a thread because he had a problem. He had created a link wheel two months ago, and has not been getting results in the SERP's for two months, and he wanted to know how to fix the problem. Another member also created a thread where he asked, "what is a link wheel?".
Let's answer the second question first. A link wheel, also called a link ring, is a group of websites created for the express purpose of sending links to each other. Each website would send a link to one of the other websites, in addition to a link to the main website. As a result, the main website would receive several links, and, theoretically, rise in the SERP's. But there is one problem. According to Google's Webmaster Guidelines, "some webmasters engage in link exchange schemes and build partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking, disregarding the quality of the links, the sources, and the long-term impact it will have on their sites. This is in violation of Google's Webmaster Guidelines and can negatively impact your site's ranking in search results.".
The reason for the first member's problem, which I pointed out to him, is simple - he violated Google's Terms Of Service two months ago, and two months later, he got caught.
So how does he solve the problem? By making sure his content is fresh, and informative to visitors, and by using legitimate techniques to build links. The best places to get links from are articles, blog entries,etc., and, when appropriate, press releases.
Some "experts" may insist they know how to use black -hat techniques so that Google doesn't know what they re doing, but there's a simple answer to that as well. If you don't want Google to know what you are doing, don't do it!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, November 7, 2011
References - Good For The SEO Firm, Bad For The Clients?
Whether you are a consumer or a business, when looking for services, one of the things you should do is ask for references. This is especially true in the SEO industry, where many unethical website marketing firms have given the industry a less-than-stellar reputation. However, even firms that get the best SEO results have clients that do not want to be used as references. Why not?
There are two reasons why a client may not want to be used as a reference. First, they don't want their competitors to know what they are doing. If they did, the competitor could do the same thing, and they could get better results than the client does. So, the client's contract includes an NDA, or non-disclosure agreement. This means that the SEO marketing firm is legally prohibited from revealing any information about the client to anyone - no matter what the prospective client may think.
Second, all of the firm's clients have businesses of their own, and they need to be able to run them. They won't be able to run their own business if they are spending n inordinate amount of time talking to a marketing firm's prospects.
So, does this mean you can't get references from even a respectable firm? Absolutely not. However, there is a right way, and a wrong way, to ask for, and give, references. If you ask for references before a representative can even start explaining their services, you probably won't get them. Only if, and when, you have a serious interest in the firm's services, can you then ask for references. The firm will also not give you references unless you have shown a serious interest. They will then have a pool of clients who have agreed to act as a reference. Even they, however, have their own business, so the firm has to make sure they do not overuse any particular client. For this reason, to be polite, when a prospect asks for references, the firm will call and ask a couple of their clients if they will accept a phone call from a prospect. They will then call or email the prospect with the client(s) contact information. This will do two things. First, the client will have the prospect's name, and will know to epect a phone call. Second, it will give credibility to the prospect, who be able to ask for a soecific person.
There are two reasons why a client may not want to be used as a reference. First, they don't want their competitors to know what they are doing. If they did, the competitor could do the same thing, and they could get better results than the client does. So, the client's contract includes an NDA, or non-disclosure agreement. This means that the SEO marketing firm is legally prohibited from revealing any information about the client to anyone - no matter what the prospective client may think.
Second, all of the firm's clients have businesses of their own, and they need to be able to run them. They won't be able to run their own business if they are spending n inordinate amount of time talking to a marketing firm's prospects.
So, does this mean you can't get references from even a respectable firm? Absolutely not. However, there is a right way, and a wrong way, to ask for, and give, references. If you ask for references before a representative can even start explaining their services, you probably won't get them. Only if, and when, you have a serious interest in the firm's services, can you then ask for references. The firm will also not give you references unless you have shown a serious interest. They will then have a pool of clients who have agreed to act as a reference. Even they, however, have their own business, so the firm has to make sure they do not overuse any particular client. For this reason, to be polite, when a prospect asks for references, the firm will call and ask a couple of their clients if they will accept a phone call from a prospect. They will then call or email the prospect with the client(s) contact information. This will do two things. First, the client will have the prospect's name, and will know to epect a phone call. Second, it will give credibility to the prospect, who be able to ask for a soecific person.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Why Can't Good SEO Firms Use Cold Calling?
Recently, a member of a B2B networking site asked why cold-calling bySEO firms is considered a bad thing. I gave him a short answer, but thought others might be wondering the same, so decided to expand my answer into a full article.
I Googled the phrase "how to identify bad seo firms", and got over 209 million listings. Of the top twenty, two were obviously lead generation sites, and a few wrote about bad SEO techniques rather than bad SEO firms. Of those that addrerssed bad SEO firms, not one mentioned cold-calling as a way to identify them. And yet, I have seen articles on networking sites where otherwise knowledgeable people claim that it is. Why?
One rationale given is that website marketing firms that offer SEO should not have to use cold-calling - potential clients should come to them. This is almost treating the SEO industry as if it were a "Field Of Dreams" - "if you build it, they will come". I say "almost" because in addition to building it, the firm must also use their own techniques to get their website ranked for popular phrases related to SEO, so that when a potential client searches those phrases, they will find that firm. It goes without saying that a professional website marketing firm should be able to get their own site ranked, but why shouldn't they also actively pursue clients? To say they shouldn't almost seems self-aggrandizing - as if actively pursuing clients is beneath them, and that anyone who doesn't come looking for them is not important enough to bother with.
The other rationale is that sales representatives only sell their own programs, and know nothing about SEO. Isn't is possible that an SEO firm that gets it's website highly ranked can hire operators whose only job is to process phone orders? Not only is it possible, I'm sure it happens! What about those sales reps - they don't need to be experts, but what if the company provided ongoing training so they could at least have an intelligent conversation, and also provide access to professionals who can answer the questions the reps cannot?
The point is, the method of contacting potential clients is not the most important. The level of knowledge of the sales reps, and the people doing the actual SEO work, is what distinguishes a bad SEO firm from a good one.
I Googled the phrase "how to identify bad seo firms", and got over 209 million listings. Of the top twenty, two were obviously lead generation sites, and a few wrote about bad SEO techniques rather than bad SEO firms. Of those that addrerssed bad SEO firms, not one mentioned cold-calling as a way to identify them. And yet, I have seen articles on networking sites where otherwise knowledgeable people claim that it is. Why?
One rationale given is that website marketing firms that offer SEO should not have to use cold-calling - potential clients should come to them. This is almost treating the SEO industry as if it were a "Field Of Dreams" - "if you build it, they will come". I say "almost" because in addition to building it, the firm must also use their own techniques to get their website ranked for popular phrases related to SEO, so that when a potential client searches those phrases, they will find that firm. It goes without saying that a professional website marketing firm should be able to get their own site ranked, but why shouldn't they also actively pursue clients? To say they shouldn't almost seems self-aggrandizing - as if actively pursuing clients is beneath them, and that anyone who doesn't come looking for them is not important enough to bother with.
The other rationale is that sales representatives only sell their own programs, and know nothing about SEO. Isn't is possible that an SEO firm that gets it's website highly ranked can hire operators whose only job is to process phone orders? Not only is it possible, I'm sure it happens! What about those sales reps - they don't need to be experts, but what if the company provided ongoing training so they could at least have an intelligent conversation, and also provide access to professionals who can answer the questions the reps cannot?
The point is, the method of contacting potential clients is not the most important. The level of knowledge of the sales reps, and the people doing the actual SEO work, is what distinguishes a bad SEO firm from a good one.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Mommy, Where Do Backlinks Come From?
Backlinks are the most important part of your SEO marketing efforts. You can select as many keywords as you want, and optimize your site as much as possible, but without links, your website will not get anywhere. Getting enough of the right kind of links can make your site move up the rankings. But what are the right kind of links, and where do they come from? Although not as unbelievable as babies being brought home by a large bird with a blanket in it's beak, there are some misconceptions about the type and number of links needed to get a website ranked. Here are a few of them:
1) If some is good, more is better. Actually, up to a point, this is true. However, some people want so badly to get their website ranked that they go overboard. And, there are plenty of companies that are willing to help them do it. Anyone who wants top can buy 1,000 links a day for $60-$100. But, backlinks are supposed to look as natural as possible. Unless a site is from a brand name, highly popular site, nobody can naturally get 1,000 links a day, and you don't know where these links are coming from.
2) In order to be ranked high, I have to get links from high PR sites. No, you don't. Of course, you do want quality links, and you don't want a lot of PR0, or low PR, sites. Remember, though, that your links have to look natural. Getting links only from high PR sites, especially if your site is fairly new, is too obviously fake. Getting links from a variety of sites, with different PR levels, is more natural.
3) Links have to be from sites related to my industry. Nope, wrong again. Your competitors are not going to provide you with links, so your site will rank higher than theirs. Also, your visitors are not going to come only from industries related to yours, so your links shouldn't either. Consider this - a single mother, writing a blog about her experiences as a single mother. She looks forward to the break she gets during the summer when her son goes to camp. Of course, she needs to make sure he has the right camping equipment.
Your site sells, and would like to be ranked for, "camping equipment". Can she put a link to your site in the blog, using the phrase "camping equipment"? Of course she can!
One of the problems we see whenever we do a preliminary analysis of a website is, "XX% of the External Incoming Links may be considered "Paid Links" because they are NOT editorially given". An editorial link is the type of link mentioned above - a link from a phrase that occurs naturally in the flow of a blog entry or article. This is the type of link the search engines are looking for. This type of link, from a wide variety of sources, is what you should be giving them.
1) If some is good, more is better. Actually, up to a point, this is true. However, some people want so badly to get their website ranked that they go overboard. And, there are plenty of companies that are willing to help them do it. Anyone who wants top can buy 1,000 links a day for $60-$100. But, backlinks are supposed to look as natural as possible. Unless a site is from a brand name, highly popular site, nobody can naturally get 1,000 links a day, and you don't know where these links are coming from.
2) In order to be ranked high, I have to get links from high PR sites. No, you don't. Of course, you do want quality links, and you don't want a lot of PR0, or low PR, sites. Remember, though, that your links have to look natural. Getting links only from high PR sites, especially if your site is fairly new, is too obviously fake. Getting links from a variety of sites, with different PR levels, is more natural.
3) Links have to be from sites related to my industry. Nope, wrong again. Your competitors are not going to provide you with links, so your site will rank higher than theirs. Also, your visitors are not going to come only from industries related to yours, so your links shouldn't either. Consider this - a single mother, writing a blog about her experiences as a single mother. She looks forward to the break she gets during the summer when her son goes to camp. Of course, she needs to make sure he has the right camping equipment.
Your site sells, and would like to be ranked for, "camping equipment". Can she put a link to your site in the blog, using the phrase "camping equipment"? Of course she can!
One of the problems we see whenever we do a preliminary analysis of a website is, "XX% of the External Incoming Links may be considered "Paid Links" because they are NOT editorially given". An editorial link is the type of link mentioned above - a link from a phrase that occurs naturally in the flow of a blog entry or article. This is the type of link the search engines are looking for. This type of link, from a wide variety of sources, is what you should be giving them.
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