SEO Ripoff and How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off
You want SEO services but who can you trust to provide quality services?How do you avoid getting ripped off?We have seen it all with SEO and the truth is scary. There are big SEO companies all over like a plague and many are fly by night operations with little or no real world SEO experience. There is also an abundance of inexperienced individual scammers out there that have no real world SEO experience or knowledge in SEO but they have fooled many people and businesses that don’t know any better.We have had businesses come to us, after being ripped off by so called SEO experts, seeking help.One example is a new client that hired us and contacted us on a 3 way phone call so we could listen to what the BIG SEO company was offering to do. The SEO firm promised to make my client #1 on organic Google searches and stated they have special and secret relationship with Google. OK this sounds amazing but the fact of the matter is THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE and this SEO firm tried to rip another company off.To make things more interesting I called the SEO firm on my own and spoke to the same salesman I spoke to earlier via a 3 way phone call and picked his brain to see where the conversation would go. This so called Web Master told me each SEO expert they employ is responsible for managing the SEO for over 100 client websites because they are so awesome!I also asked them about Google AdWords which is something I also have extensive knowledge and experience with. I wanted to know how much do they charge to manage a small & simple Google AdWords accountant and they told me they charge per click instead of a flat rate to just manage the online marketing campaign. Not that I would ever consider outsourcing anything to them or anybody else, I was curious. I know and believe in the old saying if you want something done right do it yourself but that’s not so easy in these types of situations for people with no background or understanding of how SEO and the internet work.OK that’s just another way they choose to bill for a specific service and there is nothing wrong with that but when I asked how much do they charge for every click and they said $50. I researched the specific key words involved and Google wasn’t charging more than $5, yes five bucks, for the specific keywords we talked about.Talk about serious price gouging! And what is really sad, is many businesses fall for these types of scams because they don’t know any better or don’t know who to turn to for quality and sound advice.Not only did this SEO firm promise things that are impossible to guarantee, they demonstrated they are not capable of delivering the one on one attention to detail that is necessary to deliver quality SEO services, and their prices for shoddy work is way over priced. Now I am not saying good SEO comes cheap, because good SEO is very time consuming and requireds a lot of hard work, dedication, knowledge and, most importantly, real world SEO experience.So how do you find a good SEO consultant anyways?That’s a tough question to answer because good SEO consultants are usually very busy catering to their clients and know firsthand that good SEO requires paying serious attention to detail, and managing the SEO for 100 websites is a bad idea for just one SEO consultant.PICK UP THE PHONE and call him or her.The first thing you should be asking for is to meet the SEO consultant in person – face to face for a consultation. If they are not willing to meet you in person then STOP and keep looking.What if the SEO consultant is not near you, IE another state?Now things are different and meeting them in person is not so reasonable, but that’s ok.You can have a phone consultation and ask important questions.Not every SEO consultant will meet you in person for free, and there may be good reason for this. They are very talented individuals and their time is very valuable and most don’t want to deal with tire kickers – you know, the potential clients that ask endless questions seeking free advice, then never spend a dime.After you get that out of the way, ask to see some websites that the SEO consultant is responsible for. Ask to see natural – organic searches that bring up the websites. If the SEO guru can show you this and demonstrate their talent then you are on the right track to SEO success.Other questions to ask are how much do they charge? And what will they do for X amount of dollars? If the SEO consultant tells you they have special connections with Google or they own thousands of websites that can drive traffic to your website then WALK AWAY NOW!Other things to verify which you can do yourself are.Is the SEO consultant a real business?How long have they been in business?Do they have any professional references?Do they have their phone number on their own website? Or do they only communicate via email?MOST IMPORTANTLY, are they located within the United States?NEVER EVER under any circumstances hire a SEO consultant that does not reside in the United States for obvious reasons. Lack of communication skills, lack of legal – laws to protect you as a consumer, lack of quality support. Nothing is worse than being transferred to India when you need help fast.At the lease try to use common sense when in doubt and understand good SEO isn’t cheap.The old catch phrase I live by is cheap is not good and good is not cheap.This doesn’t mean just because the SEO consultant isn’t cheap that he or she is good.Now before you sign any contract or agree to a deal, find and pay a good business lawyer to review the contract to make sure you completely understand what the contract states and ask the business lawyer to clarify anything you may not understand. Spending a few hundred dollars to have a business lawyer review and edit the contract if necessary may save you thousands of dollars and prevent you from signing a bad contract.In conclusion you now know what to look for, what to ask and how to weed out the SEO scammers that are out there.GOOD LUCK with your quest for high quality SEO services!
Off the Shelf or Custom Software Solutions – Which One Is for Your Business?
Business organizations often look for solutions that can help them to reduce their expenses. And for this, they hire software development companies that offer two types of software that suits their IT requirements. The first one is off the shelf software that is a ready-made application available and can be bought directly and used by the organization. The other one is the application that the software company builds as per the specific needs of the organization. Both the solutions are different in terms of development and manufacturing.What are customized software solutions?Now the point is, during the period when business organizations make efforts to gain a firm foothold in the competitive market, any stereotypical product offering same age old functionalities may restrict their growth chances. It is for this reason that hiring a customized software development company is the most excellent choice at the moment. The prime goal of such companies is to create a precise end product that can meet the demands of the customers. Suck bespoke solutions are created only after clear understanding of the preferences and requisites of the client.Customized packages are usually built by using the most recent technology. The software is developed in steps and any disliking or difficulty of the customer is taken into consideration and is rectified during the formulation of the application and this is the most important advantage of developing such customized applications.Tailor made products often demand strict inspection and analysis till the final product is developed. Off the shelf products may lower the levels of expenses than the custom software, but the latter is always a better choice as it is beneficial in the long run.Some major differences between customized software and off the shelf solution:Cost of the software: The most prominent difference between the two solutions is the price of the application. Off the shelf software is usually cheaper than customized solutions because ready-made software is a mass production and their cost is distributed among several buyers, but custom solutions are developed for specific clients to fulfill their unique needs. So, the entire cost of development has to be borne by the buyer.Development methodology and usage: Off the shelf solutions are usually made for general purposes and they target one segment of the business, but are unable to fulfill any particular requirements of the organization. The client often needs to hire custom software development company in India to make essential adjustments in the software and to implement it. Since the solution is developed around the exact requirements, it is completely suitable and compatible with the processes of the organization. Employees who have to use this software also get accustomed to the system within few days. This is another reason that attracts organizations to develop customized solutions.Software updates: One of the major problems with off the shelf software is that it becomes very difficult to update the solution as the technology changes. To make any changes in the software, the organization has to hire a company and pay for the updates. Furthermore, there may not be updates or releases for long periods and this makes the software obsolete and old. Such obsolete software often harms the organization and this in turn affects their business revenues. On the other hand customized solutions can be updated whenever the client wishes to make the changes. It can be decided according to the client’s requirements and also their budget.Ready-made software have some advantages like quick implementation, tested solutions and even money back offers and guarantees in case the software does not solve the purpose. Some risk is always associated with custom software like unreliable solutions, not thoroughly tested and complexities. But these issues can easily be solved by hiring any reputed software development company offering customized solutions. Choosing the right parent often helps to avoid risky situations.