SEO - How Do Distinguish The Truth From The Lies

GUARANTEED number 1 ranking in Google is such a compelling concept, so why do only very few companies promise to deliver it?

The fact is – if they are genuine SEO companies, they cannot offer Guaranteed First Place.

Below is an article looking at what can be guaranteed, what can't and what you should expect when working with a reputable organic / natural SEO firm.

What is possible when companies offer Guaranteed Search Engine Optimization?

Guaranteed Placements - YES

Guaranteed Search Engine Placement is possible when you look at paid for advertising – as normally, the more you pay the higher up the advertising you get to be.

With Google and other Search Engines (Bing and Yahoo) offering sponsored listings beside, above or below the main results, and with work happening to make them look more like organic listings these placements can be quite profitable although they can cost a lot as well. Click here If you would like a review of your PPC or if you just want some general advice, contact us to discuss.

Guaranteed Visitors - YES

Offering guaranteed visitors is a technique that has been around for as long as Pay per Click marketing has been. It is when you put a certain amount of money aside for an agreed amount of visitors.

Using techniques associated with Google's Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing (previously Overture), Microsoft adCenter and others, you will offer a certain amount on chosen keywords for people to see your advert when they search for that term using the associated search engine.

The search engine evaluates available adverts and shows those offering the most money for the related term. Once your advert is shown, if the advert is clicked upon the user is redirected to your website and you pay the amount required for your advert showing in that position.

This means you pay an agreed amount for each visitor coming to you – and each keyword or term can have different values associated with it allowing you to pay more or less dependent upon the relevancy of the initial search term to your site.

This is ideal if you know what you earn per 100 visitors. If you don't know what visitors will earn you I urge you to take small steps to start and measure everything as this can be a great way to burn through a lot of money very quickly for little result. If in doubt, ask a PPC expert.

Guaranteed Organic Search Engine Placement - NO

This is different. Companies or individuals that tell you they can guarantee you number 1 rankings in the true organic listings can be set into 1 of 3 categories.

• Those telling and selling mistruths to make a quick buck
• Those using black hat techniques which will get your site banned
• Misinformed people that believe they know something no one else does

The facts of the matter are these. Search engines become successful by providing the person searching with highly relevant websites to view – with the most relevant at the top and the lesser relevant down through the list. If it is possible to manipulate a search engine to show a site that may not be relevant, this is a loophole, or cheat.

The search engines (especially Google) work very hard to ensure that any loopholes are closed as soon as possible and only those sites with great and relevant content are shown high in the search results.

The process Google goes through to achieve this is due to its algorithms and the regular changes it makes to these. You may hear of changes to these algorithms meaning people drop a few, tens, or hundreds of places. This is due to a site ranking through a loophole, which is now closed.

Guaranteed High Ranking - YES

If you want to ensure you rank highly, and stay in the top results, it all takes plenty of work. Firstly, you need to start with your sites structure. You will need to ensure it adheres to best practice for SEO regarding 

• Internal and external links, (the text and the URL's)
• The page content (keyword volume and use)
• H1 and H2 tags
• Text in bold
• The first sentence
• The meta information (keywords and description)
• Page title

See how good you are, get a FREE SEO Report

Although some supposed experts say these do not matter anymore, I can categorically state they are wrong. If you can get all these right, you will rank more highly. Most importantly is to do these better than your competition.

To find out how you fare use the Full On-Site Optimization Report which will state how well you compare against those in the top 10 for your chosen keyword, with help and advice on all the changes you should make to compete and win.