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You probably receive at least one or two emails each day that end up in your spam folder, or unfortunately "sneak" past your spam filter and end up in you regular inbox, from so-called "SEO Experts" touting their search engine optimization expertise and guaranteeing you first place positioning in Google's search results. RUN, don't WALK, from these scammers.

Often times the language in those emails is written in poorly written English, which can be a dead giveaway right there that they are from some over the border country crooning your hard earned marketing dollars. Also watch out for the reputable web development firms and traditional marketing agencies in the area who also claim to be experts in search engine optimization and digital marketing, but they really have no training, experience or certifications to substantiate those statements.

Kimberly Nichols, a well-respected colleague of mine with her own WSI office up in Quebec, Canada, recently wrote one of the better articles on “SEO Guarantee Scams and How to Avoid Them” that I’ve read in a long while.

Unfortunately not all Digital Marketers have your best interest in mind. They typically come in several flavors: skilled, certified and highly trained digital marketing experts, then web developers who typically come with excellent graphic design skills but are not trained in "online marketing" techniques, and finally those with knowledge on how to "fool" the search engines and who get companies in trouble and even on the wrong side of the search engine gods by using their "black-hat" techniques.

Case in point is an article recently published by another esteemed colleague from the WSI network, Chuck Bankoff, who wrote: “Don’t let the “S” in SEO stand for Sucker” which details how an actual client was intentionally misled by a classic “bait-and-switch” with his keywords. The company in question provided results they could easily guarantee simply by making long tail keyword phrases even longer in the monthly analytics reports so they could meet their guarantee.

Legitimate Digital Marketing Experts will educate you as to what their strategy is, and not pull any punches as to what you can and can’t reasonably expect. Naturally you should expect a keyword placement report on a regular basis, but understand that is only part of the equation. It shows progress that the SEO Company should be using for themselves to show trends and progress, not absolutes. More to the point would be the actual analytics reports showing actual traffic and what keywords drove the traffic and where it came from.

Keyword selection should address 4 components:

1. Relevance: Are the phrases that are targeted actually relevant to your business…or just easy to obtain?
2. Popularity: Are the keyword phrases that are being targeted actually searched on in sufficient volume to drive sales.
3. Acceptable levels of competition: Is there a reasonable expectation that first page rankings are obtainable? This is where a legitimate “long tail keyword” strategy comes into play.
4. Monetization: Can you actually make money and grow your business by driving consumers to your website by targeting those phrases? Remember, the objective is increased business, not just more traffic.

Do yourself a favor and read Kimberly’s article. And as she says at the end of that article: “If it looks too good to be true…”

If you are looking to increase the visibility of your brand in the online environment, you should research and locate a certified SEO expert who has been in the business for several years, and can show results from past work they have performed for other clients. Don't be afraid to ask about their training and credentials!

WSI (We Simplify the Internet) has been providing all size businesses with results-oriented internet and digital marketing strategies since the mid-90's. So don't hesitate to call the best in the business (at least we think so!). 

If you're in the Madison and Mount Horeb Wisconsin area and would like to sit down and discuss your online objectives, you should contact WSI or give us a call today at (608) 523-4255 and let's discuss these opportunities right away!

Best Regards,

Thomas J. Holzkopf
Certified Internet & Digital Marketing Consultant
Tom@WSIPrositebuilder.com
www.WSIPrositebuilder.com
Office: 608-523-4255