It’s no wonder that the SEO industry like many other online industries is marred with the underhanded and unscrupulous offers of rotten people. These people and their allies ruin the bunch with their Black Hat tactics, a term used for illegal practices. Millions of people fall prey to their scams and trying to shut them all down is next to impossible. It’s been a battle from day one but fortunately there are things you can do to protect yourself and avoid these scammers.
First and foremost, use trust, but verify. Don’t take any SEO company’s word that they’re the best and honest. You have to do your homework and verify their claims. Many have ways of masking or creating positive data about themselves, but it’s all a veneer that can be easily pulled back. The major problem is that many of these companies are located in areas around the world where criminal activity is not only rampant but is government supported. There are SEO mills, sweatshops, where people work under the shadow of organized crime groups, forced to scam their way across the web and SEO is one of those areas. Once you catch one for crooked activity, they just shut down and start all over again. Getting their local law enforcement to intervene is impossible because those cops are on the take.
Some of the scams range from duplicating your website, changing content for their advantage, outright theft, sabotage, and more. Anything you can think of, these scammers will utilize and you need to be on your toes.
Always check the company’s background data. How long they’ve been operating. If they’re incorporated you may find trouble in finding how old they really are because people shelve corporations and as they age they sell them and people use them for criminal purposes. Look to see if there are companies in your particular region. Especially companies that have offices that you can stop by and visit. Any SEO company that scared to let you stop by for a visit has something shaky going on. Checking customer reviews is one thing, but they can be faked.
You want a SEO company that will walk with you hand in hand all along the way and not make ridiculous promises that no one in their right mind could believe nor provide.
If that isn’t bad enough, the honest website owner and marketer has to deal with frivolous lawsuits from competitors trying to dominate a market or even a prominent keyword search term. There are also companies that will sabotage your site with bad reviews and links to your site from their own cache of banned or illegal sites making yours look like a partner in crime.
This is where evil contracts come into play. If yo don’t understand the terms of a contract, even just one small word, do NOT sign it. Rotten contracts are what get people trapped in a never ending cycle of them undermining you at every turn. There are some very technical terms regarding ways they lie and steal which is why you need to study what SEO is and communicate with other customers on social media and message boards. Those venues are where you’ll find the in detailed information that can guide you through.
SEO is a major money maker on the web and the reality is that there are people out there that will always try to take advantage of the public and that’s a reality of the human species. Letting your guard down will lead to mistakes and errors that can cost you dearly and with SEO you can’t afford the negative side of it as the web can be unforgiving when it comes to a bad reputation.
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