Great article from S.E.L. debunking common myths of SEO services

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Excellent post by Search Engine Land, summing up real expectations you can expect from a SEO partnership.

The 10 Worst Link Building Assumptions

Some highlights:

1. I Can Tell You How Many Links It Will Take To Rank.
I can certainly guess (42, always), but that's only after spending a lot of time doing analysis and research.

My problem with this assumption is that it sets the whole relationship up for failure from the beginning. I can't predict algorithmic shifts or what your competitors are doing (or what you're doing without telling me), so it's irresponsible for me to pretend that I can, just to get your business.
Couldn't agree more. Buyers should never consider a vendor that will quote exactly how many links it will take you to rank.

Also, be honest about what SEO you've done in the past. This can have a definite impact on your vendor's ability to perform. Honesty can only help.

3. I Can Guarantee What Position You'll Hit.
At least a dozen times over the years, potential clients have tried to figure out why I won't guarantee certain rankings -- because they're spoken to several SEOs who will. (A guarantee like this is a warning sign of a questionable SEO.)
No one has a crystal ball. Not even Google executives.

9. Any Free Link Is A Good Link.
I used to believe this, wholeheartedly. Now? I've seen some vicious penalties on sites that never bought a single link, never did outreach to get links, and basically just got screwed by having linkable sites.
Whitehat sites are just as vulnerable as any other site when it comes to penalization. I'd even argue that the risk can sometimes be higher, since you have zero control over the link velocity, anchor text, and referring sites.
#article #common #debunking #great #myths #sel #seo #services
  • Profile picture of the author imbikinigirl
    Kind of makes me want to just use paid advertising....sigh.
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  • Profile picture of the author KingRoyal
    Man, if a SEO company guarantees you rankings you can be sure to fail, haha. NO one can guarantee what Google decides are page one serp deserving websites.
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