Avoiding SEO Scams

Finding an SEO company you can trust can be challenging. At North American SEO, we are committed to guiding you through your search for a reputable SEO company. We work to clarify for you the value of Search Engine Optimization, as well as the value of trustworthy SEO services.

When searching for SEO options, you will quickly encounter companies that offer to boost your search engine rankings at a very inexpensive rate or even a flat fee. Unfortunately, in many cases you get what you pay for. These companies generally achieve their results only by using questionable “spammy” methods, which can put your company’s future marketing opportunities at risk. In an environment where search engines are constantly evolving, there is an inevitable drive for discount companies to use fraudulent and possibly illegal practices. These practices can cause your website to be banned from Google and other major search engines. The education we offer our clients will help you avoid these underhanded tactics, commonly known as Black Hat SEO.

Black Hat SEO is the use of unethical techniques employed to achieve higher search engine rankings, often through automated software. While it’s true that the programs successfully share your website with thousands of online directories in an instant, this method is frowned-upon by web managers. When major search engines discover the use of automated software, they respond by eliminating the links created for your website. Your website is then usually banned from all search engines. Additionally, automated systems are generally rendered obsolete over time, thanks to safeguards preventing fraudulent submissions. The result is your company ends up paying for a service that does not work—so in fact, you get even less than what you paid for.

Another common practice in Black Hat SEO is the distribution of Spam. When you hire such a company to increase your rankings, they will insert a mass of key words into a page, usually through hidden text. As in the case of automated software, this sort of spamming can also get your site expelled from search engines.

Black Hat SEO companies may also guarantee you a high-ranking phrase for your site. Though these companies keep their word, they usually fail to meet your expectations. Your “high-ranking” phrase often turns out to be a long, nonsensical string of words which no one is searching for. The company receives your payment, but your website sees no return in terms of increased search traffic.

Black Hat SEO exists as a short-cut, but one that has an extremely harmful impact it has businesses, due to its unethical methods. When investing in an SEO provider for your website, you have two choices. One: cheat the system, and eventually get caught—thereby losing the opportunity to ever see your site on the major search engines again. The other option: do business the right way, from the very beginning. Here at North American SEO we prefer to act from a place of honesty and integrity, and hope you will too when you choose that second option. We are proud to provide 100% White Hat services, and are equally proud to report that our ethically sound work received top rankings on Google, time and time again.

Be wary of any company that:

• Sends you unsolicited e-mail. These messages often begin by saying, “Dear Website Owner, we noticed you are not listed by the major search engines...”
• Makes unsolicited phone calls to your company, using telemarketers.
• Guarantees your site a #1 ranking.
• Fails to provide you with detailed information regarding their approach to SEO.
• Says they will submit your website to thousands of online directories, or promises an immediate #1 ranking.
• Does not explain the difference between an organic ranking and a sponsored ranking.

There are certainly shortcuts in SEO. However, we ask you to keep in mind that reputable companies consider SEO to be an ongoing process. Steady progress and advancement is considered ethical and reflects your business’s integrity. The “get noticed NOW” approach is viewed as improper and unethical among search engine managers, and can get your site banned for life.

Simply put, North American SEO provides clients with honest and reputable search engine optimization techniques. As our client, you have our guarantee and that we have never had a website penalized or banned by any search engine, large or small. We honor the fact that your online reputation is in our hands, and we are committed to building your site using methods which are both ethical and up-to-date.