Search engine services that promise, but don't deliver
Last week my mum called me up in a bit of a flap and said "I've just had Google on the phone, they say that my website is not number one on Google and for £350 they can make me number one on Google". I had a small chuckle to myself, and wondered why my Mum thought that Google, a global company with a multi-billion dollar turnover would be calling a small Children's Nursery in Edinburgh. The truth is she'd been cold-called by a company who probably didn't say they were Google, but their sales pitch was such that it certainly led my Mum to believe that Google had personally called her, and promised her a top-spot position in their Search engine - all for the bargain price of £350!
And she's not alone, I am asked the same question on a regular basis - there's a ton of companies out there looking to make a quick buck from unsuspecting business people who don't understand the complexities of getting to the first page of Google and why it's unlikely that anyone can guarantee you this for a one-off fee of £350.
Key phrases should be realistic
The lady that called my mum told her to visit Google and type in "Childrens Nursery"; essentially, a search for all childrens nurserys anywhere on the web. Now it's highly unlikely her website would be #1 for such a vague search term, and when my Mum saw the results, without her website in the top spot, she believed that there was a problem this lady could fix.
Luckily when it comes to anything remotely technical, my Mums first port of call is a phone call to me and I was able to explain that although she did not appear for the search term she had been told to enter; she would find her website under a more realistic search term, one that we had targeted when creating her site; "Childrens Nursery Edinburgh".
Obscure search terms will not drive traffic to your site
Search engine optimisation is about getting found for keywords and phrases that people are actually searching for. It's easy for chancers to get your website listed for obscure search terms that no one is searching for, but if nobody's searching for that exact search term you're not going to see any increase to your traffic with your #1 spot on Google.
Nobody can guarantee you a #1 spot on Google
If you see any guarantees of this kind being made it is time to start looking for another SEO firm. Google themselves state on their website "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google". You should reserve the same scepticism for unsolicited email/calls about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
A recent case in the US saw one such company taken to court for failing to deliver on their guarantee to their customers that they would be ranked in the top 10 to 20 results on the search engines. They promised more than they could deliver, and then refused to provide refunds to customers who didn't get what they paid for. Luckily for their customers, they were ordered to refund customers, pay $24,432 for costs incurred and fined $25,000.
So what's IS the best way to get top spot on Google?
My Mum is now convinced that her website is exactly where it needs to be for the searches that her potential customers are doing. But the success of your website should never be measured solely by its position on Google.
A good search engine ranking for your key-phrases starts with a well-built, search engine friendly website. Your content must be well written with your key-phrases in mind; research on what your customers search for will help you understand the key-phrases your website should be optimised for.
Qualified, relevant traffic to your website will come from having good rankings across many search engines and directories for your search terms. In my Mum's case a top spot for "Childrens Nursery" would have encouraged a lot of international traffic which would not have brought her any business as the service offered is only relevant for local people, focusing on relevant key-phrases should bring more quality of traffic to your site; people who might actually be looking to buy your product or service.
So what's the bottom line? There's no quick fix. If you get a call from someone promising you a top spot on Google for the bargain price of £350, tell them to take a hike!
