SEO Rip-Offs by Web Designers & Web Design Companies
Search engine optimization can turn a business around if done right. However, there are many rip-off or scam artists out there who have no SEO qualifications or experience. Their so-called “SEO” service can do more harm than good to your web site’s rankings and your business bottom line.
It is unfortunate that many of these SEO frauds are committed by web designers or web design companies. They exploit the trust of their clients to make quick money. The reality is that SEO is way beyond the realm of web design. Search engine optimizers are mathematicians, whereas web designers are graphic artists. SEO and web design are two different skills, with only minor overlaps. SEO takes special training, working knowledge of search engines and real-world experience. Few web design companies or designers are up for the job. Many business owners who have been victimized by various SEO rip-off schemes have serious doubt as to whether SEO is a good way to market to their customers.
How to Avoid an SEO Rip-Off
Finding a true SEO professional is not easy because every web design company and web designer claim they provide professional SEO service. From talking with business owners in Minneapolis, St. Paul and from around the country, we have seen way too many businesses become the victims of SEO scams and rip-offs. Here are some tips of how to find true SEO help.
- An “SEO Add-On” by a web design company is worthless. – Most business owners fall for this rip-off and buy the SEO packages offered by their web designers or web design companies. A web design company is NOT an SEO company. Having your web designer optimize your web site is no different from having your dentist do a liver transplant surgery. Web design is about communicating visually and artistically through layouts, colors, graphics, animations, etc., whereas SEO is about numbers, algorithms, analytics and math. For web design, the right brain is much more involved than the left brain, while the opposite is true for search engine optimization.
- How to tell a web design company from an SEO company. – A few honest web design companies tell their clients that they can’t deliver search engine optimization. But if your web designer or web design company isn’t so upfront about their inability to deliver what they promise, what should you do? Check out their web site and see if their primary focus is on web design. Most web design companies have a brief mention of their SEO service. A typical web design company has a portfolio of the web sites they design, but they don’t have any top search engine ranking samples to show. That is a sign that the company has NO ideas about search engine optimization.
- Get a clear explanation of how SEO works. Even if you know search engine optimization, pretend that you don’t. Ask the SEO provider to explain in layman’s language what SEO is all about, what needs to be done and how it is done. If the SEO provider keeps referring “meta tags”, it is a sign that all they know is some outdated techniques, or even some banned techniques by major search engines.
- Be aware of any low-price packages like $99.95 a month. – Instead of paying $99.95 for 6 months, you are much better off paying an SEO expert a couple of hours for consultation. Quality search engine optimization services are not cheap, but when you compare SEO to marketing through other media, you will find that SEO is much more cost-effective. A half-page ad on the Yellow Pages can cost $5,000 a month in the Minneapolis, St Paul area. If someone tells you that for less than a $100 a month, their SEO can outperform your Yellow Pages ad, doesn’t it sound too good to be true?
- Always find your SEO company at Google. – Does 50-pound-overweight person have any credibility in giving out weight loss advice? Does an SEO firm have any credibility if their own web site is not findable at major search engines, especially Google? Do your own homework and check out the rankings of the company you plan to work with. If they can’t get their own web site to the top, they can’t do yours.
Professional SEO Service – Minneapolis St. Paul, MN
Search engine optimization only works when it is done right by real SEO professionals. Professional search engine optimizers are rare and in high demand. It takes years of training and real-world experience to master SEO techniques, and it takes even more effort to stay on top of all the changes made by search engines. No matter what your web design company tells you, SEO is simply not their trade or expertise. Find the true SEO professional to get the real results. Talk to our Minnesota SEO professionals and we will be happy to get you on the right track with search engine optimization marketing.