( 
)
The online marketing arena is murky with quick tips and strategies to optimize your site for the best free search engine rankings. Without participating in "sponsor" advertising or PPC (Pay Per Click) programs, it is a fact that search engine optimization can enhance your "natural" or "organic" listings. But within reason and only when done within the rules.
Unfortunately, there are a plethora of unethical search engine marketers that do not hesitate to take your money by making impossible promises based on little to no actual experience in doing so even for their own sites. If you've read my previous article The Ten Commandments of Search Engines, you'll then have a good grasp of what is involved.
When approached either by spam or on the phone with the following pitches, know them to be untrue or misleading at best! Companies that offer you these "solutions" do not really know what they are doing. Well, that is a subjective statement, they either think they know what they are doing, or know for a fact they are bending the rules in an effort to bypass standard practices. One thing is clear, they are banking on your lack of knowledge to get into your pocket book!
[1] Change/Update your Meta Keyword Tags: If only it were that easy! I have seen those who have been conned into paying high fees to have some designer update their Meta Keyword tags because this will produce better listings. List whatever you want within that tag and you'll get found when searched for. Baloney! The fact is the majority of search engines completely ignore or put little to no value on the Meta Keyword tag.
[2] Creating Doorway Pages or Mini Sites: Yikes! This is considered spamming the search engines and will get your site dropped and banned completely. Any page that is not a linked to part of your site and is created with duplicate content for the sole purpose of manipulating search engine listings is a disaster waiting to happen. The same site or info on a different domain name to garner duplicate listings is simply spamming the search engines. They all have rules against this and don't take kindly to folks who use these tactics. Anyone offering you this solution is surely not playing by the rules or worthy of your hard earned dollars.
[3] Guaranteeing Positions: Experienced and ethical marketers can and should certainly show you how they approach the process and what results have been achieved in the past. However, if they are true pros running an legitimate shop, they will never promise or guarantee future results - either is position or for length of time. Those who make these promises are mostly likely not playing by the rules and spamming the search engines with a multitude of doorway pages or redirected cloak pages - both of which are big no-nos!
None of us have any idea what search engine algorithms will be tomorrow let alone a week or a month from now. Guaranteed positions can only be promised by participating in Pay Per Click programs and purchasing your positions. In particular for new sites, plan on 7-8 months before you see the fruit of your labor for organic listings on Google.
[4] Instant Link Popularity & Results: Anyone who has been online even for a short amount of time has found out that the word instant does not apply to most things online. If the word "instant" is used in particular when it comes to a link program you know the company making the offer is using under the table trickery to temporarily boost your listings. They do this by using expired domains or adding you to link farms on their servers that link all their clients together. The downside is eventually this catches up with your site and has the opposite effect on
Link programs are only successful when done properly: see my article The Reality of Linking. A key factor in any successful link directory creation is that all the sites have something in common in topic or site focus that benefits the site visitors to each site. This takes time and consistency to build (just like anything that produces results online). When it comes to links, a site owner's search engine ranking desires need to take a back seat to offering site visitors quality resources.
[5] Your Site Is Just Fine the Way It Is: I've seen this train of thought from both site owners whose ego is invested because they created their own site (or don't want to pay to have it done right) and from unethical marketers willing to take advantage of that train of thought to make some bucks. Don't believe that pitch for a moment!
I have yet to run into a site when contacted for advice that I cannot optimize for better organic listings. Heck, I can probably find issues with some of my own sites where I could optimize further if I so desired. If optimization was not considered during the development stage and the copy writing stage of your site - you having catching up to do.
This includes having complimentary navigation that is not only consistent throughout your site for your site visitors, but ensuring your navigation is "crawler friendly" so you have the best chance for your entire site to get listings. This requires planning way in advance of any bit of code or copy being created.
For those who have read other articles of mine, you'll find the same reoccurring theme. There are no quick fixes or short cuts. Your site is a business and it has to be given the same amount of dedication and planning that any off-line business venture would require. And, online is nothing if it isn't about marketing! You have to spend your time and invest your budget in the appropriate areas to make things happen - or they won't and you end up throwing good money after bad all in an effort to save time or money.
This means following the rules and implementing proven strategies that are the core of all successful Web sites. Because there are far too many companies out there that willing take advantage of the hungry uniformed site owners with the desire for "quick, cheap and easy" - you are now armed with the facts. One of the most popular acronyms used online in the early days, applies here: TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!
Avoid working with anyone who portrays the above as your path to better listings. Let them know you know better and then spend your time and money to work on growing a site that is the best it can be about your products or services. Have a plan and do things the right way and the traffic will come!
Unfortunately, there are a plethora of unethical search engine marketers that do not hesitate to take your money by making impossible promises based on little to no actual experience in doing so even for their own sites. If you've read my previous article The Ten Commandments of Search Engines, you'll then have a good grasp of what is involved.
When approached either by spam or on the phone with the following pitches, know them to be untrue or misleading at best! Companies that offer you these "solutions" do not really know what they are doing. Well, that is a subjective statement, they either think they know what they are doing, or know for a fact they are bending the rules in an effort to bypass standard practices. One thing is clear, they are banking on your lack of knowledge to get into your pocket book!
[1] Change/Update your Meta Keyword Tags: If only it were that easy! I have seen those who have been conned into paying high fees to have some designer update their Meta Keyword tags because this will produce better listings. List whatever you want within that tag and you'll get found when searched for. Baloney! The fact is the majority of search engines completely ignore or put little to no value on the Meta Keyword tag.
[2] Creating Doorway Pages or Mini Sites: Yikes! This is considered spamming the search engines and will get your site dropped and banned completely. Any page that is not a linked to part of your site and is created with duplicate content for the sole purpose of manipulating search engine listings is a disaster waiting to happen. The same site or info on a different domain name to garner duplicate listings is simply spamming the search engines. They all have rules against this and don't take kindly to folks who use these tactics. Anyone offering you this solution is surely not playing by the rules or worthy of your hard earned dollars.
[3] Guaranteeing Positions: Experienced and ethical marketers can and should certainly show you how they approach the process and what results have been achieved in the past. However, if they are true pros running an legitimate shop, they will never promise or guarantee future results - either is position or for length of time. Those who make these promises are mostly likely not playing by the rules and spamming the search engines with a multitude of doorway pages or redirected cloak pages - both of which are big no-nos!
None of us have any idea what search engine algorithms will be tomorrow let alone a week or a month from now. Guaranteed positions can only be promised by participating in Pay Per Click programs and purchasing your positions. In particular for new sites, plan on 7-8 months before you see the fruit of your labor for organic listings on Google.
[4] Instant Link Popularity & Results: Anyone who has been online even for a short amount of time has found out that the word instant does not apply to most things online. If the word "instant" is used in particular when it comes to a link program you know the company making the offer is using under the table trickery to temporarily boost your listings. They do this by using expired domains or adding you to link farms on their servers that link all their clients together. The downside is eventually this catches up with your site and has the opposite effect on
Link programs are only successful when done properly: see my article The Reality of Linking. A key factor in any successful link directory creation is that all the sites have something in common in topic or site focus that benefits the site visitors to each site. This takes time and consistency to build (just like anything that produces results online). When it comes to links, a site owner's search engine ranking desires need to take a back seat to offering site visitors quality resources.
[5] Your Site Is Just Fine the Way It Is: I've seen this train of thought from both site owners whose ego is invested because they created their own site (or don't want to pay to have it done right) and from unethical marketers willing to take advantage of that train of thought to make some bucks. Don't believe that pitch for a moment!
I have yet to run into a site when contacted for advice that I cannot optimize for better organic listings. Heck, I can probably find issues with some of my own sites where I could optimize further if I so desired. If optimization was not considered during the development stage and the copy writing stage of your site - you having catching up to do.
This includes having complimentary navigation that is not only consistent throughout your site for your site visitors, but ensuring your navigation is "crawler friendly" so you have the best chance for your entire site to get listings. This requires planning way in advance of any bit of code or copy being created.
For those who have read other articles of mine, you'll find the same reoccurring theme. There are no quick fixes or short cuts. Your site is a business and it has to be given the same amount of dedication and planning that any off-line business venture would require. And, online is nothing if it isn't about marketing! You have to spend your time and invest your budget in the appropriate areas to make things happen - or they won't and you end up throwing good money after bad all in an effort to save time or money.
This means following the rules and implementing proven strategies that are the core of all successful Web sites. Because there are far too many companies out there that willing take advantage of the hungry uniformed site owners with the desire for "quick, cheap and easy" - you are now armed with the facts. One of the most popular acronyms used online in the early days, applies here: TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!
Avoid working with anyone who portrays the above as your path to better listings. Let them know you know better and then spend your time and money to work on growing a site that is the best it can be about your products or services. Have a plan and do things the right way and the traffic will come!
Guide created: 09/15/06 (updated 05/26/07)
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our 
