Part Two
4)
Paid Link Exchanges
DEADLY: I'm not even going to explore this in depth as I can just as easily summarize it by saying "Google, Yahoo and MSN do not like the practice because its deception on a wholesale level." Paid links basically says my content sucks so bad I have to pay you to link to it. Thats Googles take not mine! Paid links or paid blog post schemes will land you in hot water when some one reports it. If you are in a business where you have actual competition then that competition will notify Google at some point to get you out of a position they want. I'd do it myself if I knew a person were ranked because of paid links in hopes they get blacklisted. Summary, Its a bad practice by any SEO professional and should be avoided.
5)
Blog and Forum Spam (not written this way naturally)
Caution: Some SEO services have printed right on their website that part of their service is to submit your links to popular blogs, forums and other exchanges and directories as part of the SEO procedure. Granted back links are essential for search engine success, but the techniques used can be more damaging than helpful if done simply as an after thought in hopes of getting paid.
Because of this we go back to my suggestion regarding copy writing where I state that its not a procedure that can be done at wholesale levels in hopes of paying less for more. This simply does not work. People who do SEO services and do them well spends hours upon hours cleverly and intelligently linking and seeking back links to your site. Good quality forum submission professionals will often charge $1 - $3 per post (100 post minimum) to babysit and participate on your behalf in forums where back links are allowed. To believe that a dozen or so posts around the web is all inclusive for the service of search engine optimization is utter nonsense yet its implied as such frequently.
I've been asked to assess many websites for SEO presence and from the back link perspective alone it was a joke to believe they actually paid for such a service. Considering the claim in the agreement which clearly states "intelligent one way back linking" from sites that matter were included.
Linking begins with something to link to and therein lies the importance of relevance. Linking relevantly is paramount to the success of your SEO efforts.
Since this is such a broad subject I'll explore this in more detail in subsequent posts.
6)
SEO friendly pages, links and site design
Important: Its almost funny when I hear people give praise to an SEO expert for his power to get a site indexed using WordPress yet I bite my tongue as not to offend for knowing the things I know.
WordPress among other applications are in fact ideal for search engine ranking and when an SEO expert includes such tools I often give praise to them for making a smart choice for the use of such products. But this post is about keeping them honest before you walk down the road of hiring someone at such an incredible expense.
WordPress and other applications are deceptively easy to employ and almost automatically begin life with many fundamental SEO features already factored in. Its dangerously easy to take credit for SEO wisdom and ranking success of websites that use WordPress or Joomla even where no additional services have been provided that would grant such credit. Its because of this reason that I make it last on my list in this post in hopes that you will read it intently.
WordPress and properly configured CMS solutions like Joomla once installed are ready for SEO from the start. Let me clarify before you jump to conclusion. Each of these applications have many of the fundamentals of good site design already built in to a proven format and structure that the search engines love to entertain and spend time on. Because of this, some SEO's who profit from your ranking may do so as a result of NONE of their work at all. The scary part is that neither WordPress, Joomla or any other CMS is out of box complete for an SEO endeavor. Why? Because the difference is in the details.
I personally employ WordPress and Joomla among other CMS solutions as ideal tools for ranking sites quite and building upon as good foundations. But it never stops at installation and permalink configuration. Professionals who are truly professional in SEO services take what WordPress or any CMS provides and works in proprietary methods of ranking and promoting a site that goes beyond the turnkey SEO firms charge for. Think about this for a moment. Why pay someone for SEO service only to have them do as little as they possibly can in order to dupe you out of your money? Furthermore they do so with automated methods such as search engine submission tools and preformed websites using WordPress and turnkey articles outsourced to Pakistan or India.
Isn't that like handing someone your watch and asking them to tell the time, which they do and then bill you for something that is none of their doing at all? How can you tell the difference between someone who just drops in a solution and one that actually takes part in your domains success by providing an active service? Again, the difference is in the details and a qualified professional will have knowledge in areas not generally known by novices and those differences will be explained to you at time of agreement. Thats how!
Not enough can be said about intelligently selecting an SEO professional and the necessary skills one would have to possess. Black hat scammers and link frauds are born every day and if it is your intention of getting to the top regardless of good practice then hire them. But in the long run, black listed sites are exceptionally difficult to revive once they fall from grace.
I'll write more about this later on as this post will need to be polished up and reflected upon. I had little time to post this so please do not judge it for grammar and spelling and such.
We continue on to the next category....SEO Misconceptions Revisited!