What good is a website if it can’t be discovered? That’s the principal reason for search engine optimisation. websites that are present in the first page of a search engine’s results, get a lot more hits than those buried several pages down. Because of this, ever since the first search engines were established back in the 90s’, brainy webby type individuals have been laboring away to discover the best ways to get their websites ranked higher by search engines. In fact, this has become so important, that a whole industry has developed over the last few years devoted to the sole purpose of getting client’s websites on the first page of established search engines. However, there is a correct and ethical way to gain a high ranking, by employing a reliable Website Optimization Company, with a proven track record. There is also, a incorrect way, by using an SEO that uses underhanded and aggressive Online Marketing techniques that will probably get your site on the top page of Google but will also get your site a Search Engine Placement of zero or even barred for ever.
Not even the big boys are immune to the effects of bad SEO. Back In 2006, Google infamous erased BMW’s site (bmw.de) from their index after they were caught using doorway pages to redirect searchers to their site. After BMW were barred by Google, they no longer ranked at all for their most important keywords and their “PageRank” was set back to zero.
So how do you ascertain if you’re dealing with a croocked Website Optimization Company? Well there are a few signs to look out for.
Be skeptical of SEO firms that send you an email, out of the blue, saying that they “visited your website and noticed that you were not listed in most of the major search engines and directories”. Submitting your site to thousands of search engines is a useless exercise that will not improve your ranking in any significant way.
Any business that guarantees a number one Search Engine Placement is not to be trusted, as there is no way that this can be done by any SEO unless they are using black hat techniques.
Companies that claim to have a exclusive relationship with or have access to priority submission to Google, are fibing, as there is no such thing.
Steer well clear of any SEOs that literature. This is a method where they will list your site on 100’s of other websites in an effort to increase your page rank and make search engines consider your site as more popular than it actually is. Other techniques to keep an eye on, are “doorway pages”, or “shadow” domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects.
Avoid SEOs that use Online Marketing techniques, like “duplicate content”. This is where you another domain name and then put a copy of your original site up on that domain address. This is achieved with completely different addresses and sometimes with different suffixes of the same domain, so you may have www.yourcompany.com, www.yourcompany.co.uk, www.yourcompany.org etc. The idea is to have lots of sites all ranking in the top ten and squeezing out the competition.
All of these and many other techniques go against the search engines rules and can get you banned, so decide carefully.
