SEO Snake Oil – Why you’re probably being scammed
SEO is big business and that always attracts scammers wanting a piece of the pie
The global value of the SEO business in 2024 is estimated to reach approximately $129.6 billion, so it’s hardly surprising that millions of so-called “SEO Experts” out there want to relieve you of some of your hard-earned cash for little or nothing in return and leaving you with a very bad taste in your mouth.
The problem with SEO services is that success is very difficult to prove. SEO services aside, there can be many reasons why a website has gained in popularity and suddenly falls off a cliff. For example, you might be selling a product that reached its peak of desirability and is now in decline, or perhaps a competitor for the services you offer has opened and is undercutting you on price. These things have nothing to do with SEO but are about good old-fashioned marketing and business sense.
An addiction to stat's
Before we start, let me say that there is only one true measure of a website’s success: whether it’s generating new or additional business. Period. Having said that, you’d be amazed just how many business owners chase the statistics, completely ignoring the one true measure.
I’ve witnessed small business owners become absolutely obsessed with numbers, spending every spare minute examining the minutia to the cost of their own core business—both financially and reputationally. I’ve received calls from concerned clients because yesterday they had 10 visitors to their site and today only 5 “What can we do about it?”.
I get it. Even the least competitive among us like to think they are #1 or, at least, can be better than their nearest competitor. The problem with that is while you’re sitting comfortably that you appear a place or two above your competitor, they’re plotting to rise above you, rankings-wise and so it goes on.
The reality is that they would have been much better off spending time examining their core products and offerings to see how they could improve and organically outwit the competition.
Statistics are vanity; results are sanity
Here’s an all-too-typical scenario: A website is launched or significantly updated, and you’re keen for it to take off and attract hordes of new customers—that’s natural and expected, given that you’ve invested time and money into the new website or perhaps invested money in new stock, equipment or tools to service a new offering. I understand the pressures and the need to recoup some of your investment fast. However, you’re probably on a hiding to nothing, as there’s an unwritten rule where SEO is concerned that the more desperate you are, the longer it’s likely to take to succeed.
What does Google expect - a simple guide to SEO reality
As I write this article, the world of SEO is alight with the news that a leak of Google’s internal testing API was made public for a brief time. The contents of this leak made it into the public domain and revealed over 1400 ranking signals, which Google can use to determine if your site should rank above or below similar sites. Nonetheless …
