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The easy guide to dealing with bad seo

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This document provides tips on identifying and avoiding bad SEO techniques. It discusses signs that an SEO strategy may be ineffective or violate search engine guidelines, such as focusing on too few keywords, using blog spam, or guaranteeing results. The document advises business owners to carefully vet any SEO companies they hire and check for questionable practices like link building through spam networks or offshoring work at very low rates. It also covers how to determine if a site has been penalized and next steps to take to resolve issues.

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How to identify bad SEO Techniques How to deal with them How to prevent them Free
Executive Summary
Who should you share this with ? Business Consultants State Bodies Business Owners Financial Controllers Marketing Managers Website Agencies Internet Consultants SEO Consultants
Please note that the discovery or identification of any of issues, symptoms or problems described herein do not necessarily indicate a direct failure or problem with your SEO strategy. Its a high level document designed to help website owners, webmasters and others to discuss and learn about SEO and to create more understanding. If you have concerns, then discuss them with your web team and with some other SEOs. Its also worth noting that in an experience-led profession, it may be helpful to have more than one person create, manage and implement your overall SEO and Search Strategies.
Some background education SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation SEO is process or set of activities designed to help search engines discover, understand, index and rank websites Google supports users, designers and marketers with free information, guidelines and tools to help them
Making it clear Google has a strong set of DOs and DONTs that constitute its Terms of Service (TOS). Violating the TOS can result in a range of penalties, including being dropped or removed from Googles Search Index Google constantly expands this list to ensure that it easy to understand and implement
Could TIME something thats supposed to be good for you, be bad for you?
Defining bad SEO Any activity, techniques or strategies that could result in being listed = Blackhat
Defining bad SEO Any activity, techniques or strategies that could result in being listed = Blackhat Any strategy or activity that doesnt work or takes too long = opportunity loss
Defining bad SEO Any activity, techniques or strategies that could result in being listed = Blackhat Any strategy or activity that doesnt work or takes too long = opportunity loss Any strategy or activity that damages you, your brand or your business through bad publicity or misrepresentation
Avoid Spam. At all costs. Many spammers, particularly those based overseas, dont even know that they are spamming.
Avoid Spam. At all costs. Many spammers, particularly those based overseas, dont even know that they are spamming. Its not enough to ask get a contract that includes a NO- SPAM clause. If the vendor breaks it, they are in breech of contract or guilty of fraud if they planned to use spam at the outset
Discovering Bad SEO Top clues to watch out for
Avoid Guarantees. Avoid any company who has any form of guaranteed or pre-secured placements. They dont exist. Especially avoid any company that suggests that they have a special relationship with Google. Googles Ranking system is not only closed, its possible to directly benefit or promote a website within it.
Be careful of Sales Centres Many SEO Websites dont have a real base and are just a front for an overseas company. Whoever you employ, you need to know the people that will be designing, implementing and measuring your SEO campaign. Always ask for referees that are relevant, and speak to them.
Some practices to watch for You get e-mails from people who complain your company is spamming their blog Blog spam is a first sign of bad practice SEO. Having someone leave spam comments on other blogs is a no-no. This practice is a sign of either laziness or badly managed SEO. Its short sighted and doesnt work. There isnt really any excuse: if your SEO is aware of or worse, condones - this practice, then they could get you into a lot of trouble
Do the math.... Check the hourly rate youre being charged or the pro rata rate if paying a retainer... If its too good to be true,.... Any two companies are free to choose a contract rate that is mutually agreeable but if youre paying less than the average industrial rate or even minimum wage, then something could be wrong. This is quite common and signals either that the hours are manufactured or that the company is off-shoring. This isnt bad per se but they should be upfront. If youre paying less than 10 per hour and the minimum wage is higher then something doesnt add up.
Working with just a small set of keywords Your SEO limits you to a small set of keywords (phrases) There shouldnt be a number limit. There are natural limits due to competition but focusing on groups such as 10, 15 or 20 dont really make sense. They include long tail and permutations too. This is very common where the SEO company is buying links from spam-ware services which typically group keywords either by single digits or groups like 5 and 10.
Is your site being used for free self promotion? Your SEO Agency puts a link to themselves on your site In my opinion, there is nothing worse using a collection of client sites for free advertising. This is a terrible practice it does nothing for your own site except alert competitors to who youre using. Theres no reason for this for you insist on having it removed.
About Google Webmaster tools Tools like the Index tool, Robots Access Control, Site settings and others are very precise and powerful tools. Its very easy to get these wrong or to forget to adjust them. Incorrect settings can cause dramatic effects quite quickly. For example, blocking a site via the Robots control file or setting a wrong country. In most cases, however, these are reasonably easy to undo and the site will return to normal within a few days or weeks.
Getting Penalised Most penalties arent penalties at all You can check to see if your site is blocked Get in touch with your webmaster and other industry professionals to get their opinion How to check for a complete ban/delisting: Google [Site:mydomain.com] If the site isnt returned, it means that it may be delisted.
What to do next Find out what you may have done to be penalised Have the site checked with Google Webmaster tools There may be messages or notes from Google that may tell you what is wrong Test the Fetch as Googlebot tool to make sure its accessible Get some professional help
Resolution Google User Support Forums Webmaster Forums Repair the site and make sure it meets Googles Guidelines Request a review of your site and outline what happened and what youve done to rectify it
Common Issues Cloaking (accidental and intentional) Robots file blocking access to part or all of the site Incorrect Geo Setting Badly structured site no user sitemap for example HTML that Google cant parse. A good example is having two title tags for example Bad 404 handlers, especially pages that are malformed or content cloners
The easy guide to dealing with bad seo
Some good advice... Seek more than one opinion Talk to different SEOs and Website owners Discuss your options Look for transparency Arrange to meet regularly Always have a list of actions Doing it? Then measure it!
How to deal with the end stage If you have been banned or are at significant risk Discuss this with your existing vendor See what they offer in terms of rectifying the situation If they propose to fix it, do you trust their workmanship?
Moving on Find a reputable company with good clients and strong industry recommendations Talk to Enterprise Ireland if youre a client Or talk to your County Enterprise Board Talk to your business associates Google SEO, in your county, city or country A good SEO should have a rank of somesort
http://twitter.com/primaryposition About the http://primaryposition.blogspot.com author http://www.davidquaidseo.com http://www.primaryposition.com https://plus.google.com/107621971639703099 487 David Quaid is the founder of Primaryposition.com and has been working in SEO since 2001. He is the 111th tallest person in Ireland. He lives with his wife and drives an eco friendly Toyota powered by organically recycled dinosaurs.

More Related Content

The easy guide to dealing with bad seo

  • 1. How to identify bad SEO Techniques How to deal with them How to prevent them Free
  • 3. Who should you share this with ? Business Consultants State Bodies Business Owners Financial Controllers Marketing Managers Website Agencies Internet Consultants SEO Consultants
  • 4. Please note that the discovery or identification of any of issues, symptoms or problems described herein do not necessarily indicate a direct failure or problem with your SEO strategy. Its a high level document designed to help website owners, webmasters and others to discuss and learn about SEO and to create more understanding. If you have concerns, then discuss them with your web team and with some other SEOs. Its also worth noting that in an experience-led profession, it may be helpful to have more than one person create, manage and implement your overall SEO and Search Strategies.
  • 5. Some background education SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation SEO is process or set of activities designed to help search engines discover, understand, index and rank websites Google supports users, designers and marketers with free information, guidelines and tools to help them
  • 6. Making it clear Google has a strong set of DOs and DONTs that constitute its Terms of Service (TOS). Violating the TOS can result in a range of penalties, including being dropped or removed from Googles Search Index Google constantly expands this list to ensure that it easy to understand and implement
  • 7. Could TIME something thats supposed to be good for you, be bad for you?
  • 8. Defining bad SEO Any activity, techniques or strategies that could result in being listed = Blackhat
  • 9. Defining bad SEO Any activity, techniques or strategies that could result in being listed = Blackhat Any strategy or activity that doesnt work or takes too long = opportunity loss
  • 10. Defining bad SEO Any activity, techniques or strategies that could result in being listed = Blackhat Any strategy or activity that doesnt work or takes too long = opportunity loss Any strategy or activity that damages you, your brand or your business through bad publicity or misrepresentation
  • 11. Avoid Spam. At all costs. Many spammers, particularly those based overseas, dont even know that they are spamming.
  • 12. Avoid Spam. At all costs. Many spammers, particularly those based overseas, dont even know that they are spamming. Its not enough to ask get a contract that includes a NO- SPAM clause. If the vendor breaks it, they are in breech of contract or guilty of fraud if they planned to use spam at the outset
  • 13. Discovering Bad SEO Top clues to watch out for
  • 14. Avoid Guarantees. Avoid any company who has any form of guaranteed or pre-secured placements. They dont exist. Especially avoid any company that suggests that they have a special relationship with Google. Googles Ranking system is not only closed, its possible to directly benefit or promote a website within it.
  • 15. Be careful of Sales Centres Many SEO Websites dont have a real base and are just a front for an overseas company. Whoever you employ, you need to know the people that will be designing, implementing and measuring your SEO campaign. Always ask for referees that are relevant, and speak to them.
  • 16. Some practices to watch for You get e-mails from people who complain your company is spamming their blog Blog spam is a first sign of bad practice SEO. Having someone leave spam comments on other blogs is a no-no. This practice is a sign of either laziness or badly managed SEO. Its short sighted and doesnt work. There isnt really any excuse: if your SEO is aware of or worse, condones - this practice, then they could get you into a lot of trouble
  • 17. Do the math.... Check the hourly rate youre being charged or the pro rata rate if paying a retainer... If its too good to be true,.... Any two companies are free to choose a contract rate that is mutually agreeable but if youre paying less than the average industrial rate or even minimum wage, then something could be wrong. This is quite common and signals either that the hours are manufactured or that the company is off-shoring. This isnt bad per se but they should be upfront. If youre paying less than 10 per hour and the minimum wage is higher then something doesnt add up.
  • 18. Working with just a small set of keywords Your SEO limits you to a small set of keywords (phrases) There shouldnt be a number limit. There are natural limits due to competition but focusing on groups such as 10, 15 or 20 dont really make sense. They include long tail and permutations too. This is very common where the SEO company is buying links from spam-ware services which typically group keywords either by single digits or groups like 5 and 10.
  • 19. Is your site being used for free self promotion? Your SEO Agency puts a link to themselves on your site In my opinion, there is nothing worse using a collection of client sites for free advertising. This is a terrible practice it does nothing for your own site except alert competitors to who youre using. Theres no reason for this for you insist on having it removed.
  • 20. About Google Webmaster tools Tools like the Index tool, Robots Access Control, Site settings and others are very precise and powerful tools. Its very easy to get these wrong or to forget to adjust them. Incorrect settings can cause dramatic effects quite quickly. For example, blocking a site via the Robots control file or setting a wrong country. In most cases, however, these are reasonably easy to undo and the site will return to normal within a few days or weeks.
  • 21. Getting Penalised Most penalties arent penalties at all You can check to see if your site is blocked Get in touch with your webmaster and other industry professionals to get their opinion How to check for a complete ban/delisting: Google [Site:mydomain.com] If the site isnt returned, it means that it may be delisted.
  • 22. What to do next Find out what you may have done to be penalised Have the site checked with Google Webmaster tools There may be messages or notes from Google that may tell you what is wrong Test the Fetch as Googlebot tool to make sure its accessible Get some professional help
  • 23. Resolution Google User Support Forums Webmaster Forums Repair the site and make sure it meets Googles Guidelines Request a review of your site and outline what happened and what youve done to rectify it
  • 24. Common Issues Cloaking (accidental and intentional) Robots file blocking access to part or all of the site Incorrect Geo Setting Badly structured site no user sitemap for example HTML that Google cant parse. A good example is having two title tags for example Bad 404 handlers, especially pages that are malformed or content cloners
  • 26. Some good advice... Seek more than one opinion Talk to different SEOs and Website owners Discuss your options Look for transparency Arrange to meet regularly Always have a list of actions Doing it? Then measure it!
  • 27. How to deal with the end stage If you have been banned or are at significant risk Discuss this with your existing vendor See what they offer in terms of rectifying the situation If they propose to fix it, do you trust their workmanship?
  • 28. Moving on Find a reputable company with good clients and strong industry recommendations Talk to Enterprise Ireland if youre a client Or talk to your County Enterprise Board Talk to your business associates Google SEO, in your county, city or country A good SEO should have a rank of somesort
  • 29. http://twitter.com/primaryposition About the http://primaryposition.blogspot.com author http://www.davidquaidseo.com http://www.primaryposition.com https://plus.google.com/107621971639703099 487 David Quaid is the founder of Primaryposition.com and has been working in SEO since 2001. He is the 111th tallest person in Ireland. He lives with his wife and drives an eco friendly Toyota powered by organically recycled dinosaurs.