July 9th, 2011 : Are You Paying For SEO Or Advertising?

Are You Paying For SEO Or Advertising?

With SEO services encompassing a relatively new business function, it can often be confusing to understand what you're paying for. Many times, the technical nature of SEO confuses business owners to the point where they give up and simply hand over all responsibility to the SEO company. That's a bad idea because you can get taken advantage of. If you don't know what you're buying, it can be as simple as them buying paid advertising positions and passing them off as getting your website listed among non-paid results. Let's take a closer look at the difference.

Are You Paying For Advertising?

Sometimes, you'll pay a company to legitimately work on your website to include it among the natural search results for certain keywords. SEO is supposed to be a somewhat permanent effect with minimal maintenance once search engine placement is achieved. However, some companies will simply use the money you give them to buy advertising positions that are temporary. What's more, they often end up charging you a higher price than if you purchased the advertising spots directly.

You may not know the difference because you're seeing a new influx of customers and business. It appears that the SEO service is giving you what you paid for. However, your results stop the moment you stop paying. In truth, you could have purchased the advertising spots yourself for much less.

Red Flags That You're Just Paying For Advertising

First, Google is the search engine used for 85% of all searches. Any company offering legitimate SEO services will work to get you placed in Google. If, however, you're being offered placement in any other search engine, you may be paying for an advertised spot. Other search engines offer placement within legitimate search results for a fee; Google does not. Their advertising is clearly separated from legitimate search results, and you will never need to pay to get listed there. So be aware of companies offering you easy placement in search engines other than Google.

Another red flag is a company offering a straight price for a position. For example, they may sell position # 1 for a certain price on a specific keyword. Position # 2 may be slightly less. No SEO company can "sell" a legitimate position in search results. They can only work to keep improving your position. Keep an eye out for SEO companies that seem to be selling placement as if it's an off-the-shelf product. They typically purchase paid advertising positions, mark up the price, and then re-sell it to you.

Know Where Your Money Goes

Ultimately, you should know where you money goes when you purchase SEO services. Legitimate SEO companies can still include your keywords among paid results if they're looking to bring you an initial rush of traffic. The difference is that they're honest about it upfront. They should also continue working to raise your position in legitimate search engine results. If there will be a mixture of funds appropriated for both paid and non-paid positions, find out how much. Non-paid positions are much more permanent, and it's the reason you should be requesting SEO services in the first place.

Tags: Local Internet Marketing, Local Internet Advertising

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