Google Squared Fun | Main | Daily Search Forum Recap: May 19, 2009

SEO Companies Springing Up "Like Dandelions"

Jill Whalen, in her High Ranking Advisor wrote a piece named Setting Up an SEO Shop Overnight! Jill goes on a well-deserved rant about how SEO companies are popping up left and right, even thought the people running these SEO companies know very little about SEO and have no real experience offering SEO services.

Here is a blurb:

What I don't understand is why people think that SEO is something they can perform as a business without knowing anything about it!

Certainly I give this person props for wanting to know about SEO *before* they set up shop. But what is it about SEO that attracts people with no knowledge or skills? While it's definitely not rocket science, if SEO were so easy that any hack could successfully start an SEO biz overnight, then every webmaster and company owner could easily learn it and do it themselves.

Regardless, new SEO companies keep popping up like dandelions in Spring.

I love that last line there, too funny. SEO is a great business these days. Organic search is surpassing paid search according to Hitwise and advertisers and marketers know this.

So what gives people the right to start a company offering a service that they have no skill in? Well, it is a free world. Trust me, I see plenty of companies selling things from SEO to postal stamps, and they nothing about it. It is how come so many companies fail and how come people have a distaste for certain professions.

Ultimately, it is not about people getting into businesses they have no business being in. It is more about people hiring these businesses to save a buck and ultimately getting burned by them.

Forum discussion at Sphinn.



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posted rustybrick in SEM / SEO Companies at May 19, 2009 2:53 PM Comments (5)

Comments

They give us good boys and girls a bad name.

 

This is an issue. But lets say a few people want to start a SEO Company. They will have to do some "low cost"or "free" work before gaining some authority.

 

Some months ago there was a post on Seroundtable regarding being paid for SEO work, in advance or results based.

So theoretically James, if a “few people want to start a SEO Company” they do not have to "low cost"or "free", they can opt for payment for work done please Mr Client.

However this is steering away from the core message of this post, which is people getting into a field, with not working knowledge doing a disservice to “businesses” who want to “save a buck and ultimately” these “businesses” get burned by them.

 

I would never consider trying to run a SEO service/company until my websites become successful. I have a LONG way to go.

 

You are bang on there Jill, I have just recently taken over a job where exactly that happened, an unqualified SEO told this particular company that he was capabale of doing SEO so they signed a contract, months down the line no sales, enquiries or ranks worth talking about they ended up needing to find someone who was qualified, it definitely puts a dampner on the SEO industry for those of use who ARE qualified and CAN do the work - very annoying. I wouldn't tell someone I could build a deck or build a house if I didn't have the skills so why do so many people *think* that SEO is easy. Damn right rude to those of us who are pros!

 

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