The SEO scammers
By Jeff Cross, senior editor
OCTOBER 04, 2011
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For you veteran cleaners reading this, you no doubt remember the days when the Yellow Page representative would call you up and convince you to let him into your home or business to sell you what he called a "guaranteed way to get customers."

Remember? Of course you do.

He would have three or four examples of Yellow Page ads ready-to-go, and you might have been impressed because he had all your info already in the ad, along with some nice descriptions and all that.

And then some of us felt we were "ripped off" when what was finally printed wasn''t exactly what we had authorized, or the price we expected to pay had some "extras" attached. And some of us — oh, the horrors — discovered that when that fat, yellow book thudded on our porches and shook the rafters that our business telephone numbers were wrong.

The Yellow Pages have morphed into websites and search engine optimization (SEO). It''s a rare thing for a carpet cleaning or disaster restoration company today to still be with the traditional Yellow Pages. Most have made the switch.

And anytime there is opportunity to be had and money to be made, there are unscrupulous individuals ready to strike. Right now, the money to be made is with SEO work and websites.

How many times a day or a week do you receive an e-mail from an SEO company asking you if you want to be on the "first page of Google?" This month''s editorial is simply a warning, with me sharing with you some of the problems you might encounter by taking the bait on an unsolicited SEO offer.

That being said, I''m not saying that there aren''t some quality and trustworthy SEO companies who send out e-mails looking for clients. Just choose your SEO firm wisely.

I was speaking recently John Klucznik, president of Bonnet Pro, a manufacturer and supplier of carpet cleaning equipment and solutions. He responded to one of these SEO invitations. His experience can be a lesson for us. He spoke with me because he wants to protect others from dealing with this issue the "hard way."

What he told me is that when you contact one of these SEO marketing firms, you often find that you pay for a service but don''t actually receive what was promised. Then, when you attempt to stop doing business with that SEO company, you find yourself harassed, blackmailed and attacked on the Internet — so much so that any searches for your company show up on "debtor" sites and you find that you suddenly have dozens of reviews of your company. Not nice reviews, either. Negative reviews that are not legitimate but that are seen by your potential customers. To fix the problem? One solution is to fight it out legally, which takes a lot of time and money. Another way is to give in to the demand of the SEO company, which can take even more money.

What''s the solution? It''s easy. Try to find an SEO firm much like you would any other service that you must trust. You are really putting your business in their hands.

The best way to find a reputable firm is by reputation and referrals. Just like the way your best customers find you. Ask questions, get references and look at their work. Watch out for unbelievable claims.

Your website and your SEO efforts are one of your main marketing tools you need to use to profitably build your business. Choose your SEO firm wisely. Otherwise… you won''t have anything to take to the bank.

Please send your comments, thoughts or article ideas to Jeff Cross, senior editor of Cleanfax magazine: jcross@ntpmedia.com.