I’m sure that the majority of you have at some time received an unsolicited email, usually from a Gmail address informing you
- Your site is not ranking in Google
- You have only 4 backlinks
- We thought you might like to know some of the reasons why you are not getting enough Social Media and
- Organic search engine traffic
- There are many additional improvements that could be made to your website….etc…..etc
- I found your site in the Google search and after having a look over your website I think you should go for an SEO campaign to boost your marketing strategy.
- Let me tell you that your website still does not organically rank on Google’s first page for most of the popular keywords
The list goes on and in some cases it can cause a bit of a panic to businesses that handle their own SEO and PPC or indeed, businesses that have engaged a reputable online marketing agency to improve their visibility.
Free Website Audit
The former of these is bad enough with recipients often taking up the spammers offer of a free website audit with the result that the report usually resembles something from the best sellers fiction list. Before they know it they’re signed up and paying a monthly fee for no reports, no contact and more often than not, no results.
Lost Business
The latter can be even worse for companies who on reading this type of email, immediately call into question the work being done by their own online marketing agency. Human nature being what it is, relationships can be strained as for some unaccountable reason the spammers information is often given more credence than it deserves. This can result in lost business for an established agency and increased business for the spammers. In the majority of cases this inevitably ends with a downward slide in online business that takes months for a reputable agency to recover.
Spam Emails
So, do these “cold callers” really take a look at your site before scaring the wits out of you? Not usually. We average six spam emails a week at present and the comments are laughable. We usually turn this on its head by conducting a website audit on their own site and sending them recommendations. Surprisingly, they never take us up on our offer. Not surprisingly, Google itself gets these very same emails which shows how laughable they are.
The fact is, if these companies are so good at what they do, why do they need to tout for work via emails? Surely their own SEO and PPC campaigns are so slick that they couldn’t possibly take on any more work. Bear that in mind and you won’t go far wrong.
Some Pointers
Of course, you need to have an online marketing agency that can both improve your business and you can have a successful relationship with. In an age where you can still come across companies engaged in “Black Hat” practices, how do you choose a reputable agency. Well, we’ve put together some pointers to get you started.
- Check to see what accreditations the agency has.
- If your looking for PPC services ensure the agency is Google Certified.
- Ask if the agency follows Google Webmaster Guidelines.
- Ask the agency to provide you with references.
- Make sure you receive an in depth monthly report on your campaign along with an online meeting or phone call to go through the results.
- Determine the costs with a comprehensive quotation.
- Be prepared to sign up for a minimum period (Standard practice).
- Build a relationship.
You also need to avoid any organisation that promises you position one on page one of Google, guaranteed. No one can guarantee a position one, a fact that Google itself states.
So there you are, a few tips on how to avoid wasting your money along with a few on how to make it. Choose wisely.
