Top 3 signs your SEO is a webspammer.
Google’s algorithm change from last week has been code named ‘Penguin’ and boy has it upset a lot of people. I said last week I hadn’t seen a change this big to the search results from an algorithm update since 2007. Like the change back then, I love this one too. We’re in the fortunate position of seeing our rankings and those of our clients go up when changes like this are made. That’s not boasting, just the facts. It’s because we don’t try to trick Google.
Your SEO charges by the link
This is a common practice, SEO companies that price their packages based on how many links they create for you each month. It’s not about the quantity of backlinks you have, its about the quality. Focusing on getting large quantities of backlinks is like paying strangers to come to your birthday party to make you look popular. They’ll only turn up as long as you pay them. These SEOs will tell you “Yeah but you’ll get ranked high in Google” for how long though? What will happen to your site when Google finds out? Fortunately Google seems to be devaluing these spammy backlinks rather than actually de-indexing the site. This means the backlinks have become worthless but it is still a good idea to get rid of them if you can.
They’ll create reviews on your Google Places page
The SEO that buys you backlinks is probably also offering ‘X’ amount of positive reviews or citations on your places page. This is a really dangerous practice and cannot only get your places page deleted but can have adverse effects on your main site as well.
The just lost all their rankings
Chances are if you have been hit by the Penguin update then so has the person that did your SEO. There has been quite a few SEO and web designers whose rankings disappeared overnight. There were all sorts of ranking schemes and shenanigans going on that Google has put a stop to with this update. In Melbourne alone there has been a major upheaval to the various SEO ranking results.
Did you get hit?
If you think you were just involved in a Penguin drive by, there are some actions you can take. You can submit a reconsideration request within your Google Webmaster Tools account . First of all though get rid of all the dodgy backlinks you can. Then watch the video below.
Jim’s been here for a while, you know who he is.
