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.
