SEO for PA and MD and beyond. Part 5 of a 6 part content marketing series.
This week I realized I’m surrounded by a plethora of SEO marketing clowns who relentlessly call and knock on my clients’ doors. They weasel their way in, these filthy clowns, and dazzle my clients with false data and poor methodology. Yet twice in the last month, these same clowns have collected over over $8,000.00 from two of my customers, promising big results in a very short time span.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here since those of you reading my blog are equipped to make smart digital marketing decisions. But, just in case one of my crazed, high rolling local customers is reading this post, here are 6 dead giveaways you’re going to be ripped off by a marketer.
1. A door to door or phone salesman is trying to sell you internet marketing. Think about this for minute. You probably use the internet – haven’t seen this company on the internet – yet that is what this salesclown is trying to sell you. Internet visibility from a company with an invisible internet presence. Hmmm.
2. They’re going to give you a “bigger listing” and a video on THEIR platform and then drive traffic to your listing all for a contract and a thousand dollars a month. They may even throw in some PPC ads. Heads up everyone. Why on earth would you want to drive traffic to any place but your website? As renowned digital marketing blogger Adam Singer says, you must be your own media company. When you put money into pushing leads onto someone else’s platform then you are depriving yourself of the long term, permanent benefits of a solid SEO/content marketing strategy.
3. Their online reviews are awful and bloggers have taken the time to write about their unethical business practices. Take Yellowbook for example. A quick search and it’s easy to see to find all kinds of negative reviews, complaints, and videos. Yet, Yellowbook is the salesclown who sold one of my clients – that’s right – first by phone and then person to person. And, the greatest irony of all is they found my client after I backlinked them to this online phone book. Ouch! Bet you can guess where I’ll never be backlinking again.
4. They have a horrible website grade. I’m a big fan of grader.com – a free tool which looks at your site’s basic SEO and makes SEO recommendations. Bottom line is anyone who claims to be competent in SEO should have an A grade. Yet, a local “SEO specialist” who bamboozled my second client has an F. Here’s a copy of his report (I crossed out his name…this time.)
5. They don’t blog regularly. This first hit me when I read “7 Signs You Shouldn’t Hire *That* SEO Agency.” Since content marketing is SEO then an empty blog or no blog indicates lack of knowledge about the industry. If they aren’t doing what they need to do for their own company, it’s not realistic to think they will work miracles for you.
6. They think SEO, content creation, web design, and social media marketing are separate entities and are to be created separately. None of these are created in silos anymore. This is yet another reason a qualified digital marketing company is a far better choice than a partitioned “specialist.” Search engines look for everything from solid architecture and quick download speed to metadata and unique content. What do the search engines value? Take a look at my new company video and find out.
My company won’t call you repeatedly or knock on your door to bedazzle you with false data and pushy marketing. Yes, it’s a lot less interesting to learn your business needs to consistently add original, optimized content to your blog and website in order to grow your digital footprint. Nevertheless, this is a necessary part of every smart digital marketing plan. Results will not be instantaneous but they will definitely be long-lasting and cumulative. You can easily find my company on Google’s first page of organic listings – the same place you want to be found. Simply type in “PA digital marketing” or “MD digital marketing” and there we are.
The Creative Marketing Channel belongs to oz 2 designs LLC, Pennsylvania and Maryland’s first choice for 3D animation, SEO, SEM, website design, social media, content marketing, print design, email marketing, and all things interactive and digital. Inquire about hiring us here. Connect with us on YouTube, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+and Facebook. Email us at cl@2designs.com and stay tuned for part 6 of this 6 part content marketing series.
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