Comments on: How I Learned an Important SEO Lesson Offline

By: Brett Stephen

Brett Stephen — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 07:51:19 +0000

Nice post Nick, you share a good example on how to deal with the black hat internet marketers and frauds which are increasing now days in online world. I like what you said that an SEO co. which has no online presence of their own site that can not help you too..

By: Splice Marketing

Splice Marketing — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:41:56 +0000

B2B contracts of any kind really need to be read properly buy someone with a good eye for detail or a lawyer.

Even a single line can open you up to huge potential costs if things go wrong. As a small business, it can be pretty hard as larger companies will be unwilling to change their T&Cs for you, but at the very least know the potential pitfalls and can plan round them.

For SEO services, the worst things are extended tie-in (so the contract automatically renews for 12 months or more), and contract ending fees.

Also be aware that a lot of the black hat link farm type builders will remove all your links as soon as you stop paying them, destroying any rankings you had developed.

By: Matt Carracino

Matt Carracino — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:46:38 +0000

Thanks for continuing to remind folks about “Black Hat” and/or unqualified individuals attempting to perform SEO.

[Can take months of frustrating work to undo the damage to a site by an unscrupulous or disreputable “SEO”…thank-you Nick!

By: Katherine Andes

Katherine Andes — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:34:30 +0000

Reading contracts is hard. You sign a mortgage or hospital release and no one really expects you to read them. We really do trust the folks we sign contracts with more than we admit. What that firm did to you was dirty. You should be looking for a new building as soon as the lease is up or even look for an out clause. You know commercial building space is dirt cheap these days … at least in most areas that I know of.

With respect to SEO, try to talk to some people who have worked with that person or get to know him or her yourself. Don’t buy just because someone picks up the phone and calls you …

By: Google Places Can Be Frustrating, Even for an SEO Firm

Google Places Can Be Frustrating, Even for an SEO Firm — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:02:19 +0000

[...] company recently moved to a new office (you can read about the SEO lesson Window I learned from that move) so I needed to update our Google Places listing to reflect the new [...]

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:32:25 +0000

Hi Bryan,

Thanks for stopping by (and the re-tweet on this post!) and for reading!

Take Care,
Nick

By: Bryan P. Hollis

Bryan P. Hollis — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:41:25 +0000

Hey Nick,

Funny that I would be reading an analogy in which both (or rather similar) happened to our company. We recently made a move to an absolute office location in the city. While it wasn’t forced, we were received with open arms very quickly. We’ve even picked-up some high-quality clients through foot traffic after placing our company logo, etc. on the door. The first thing out of their mouths is “I’m tired of being taken advantage of”. One guy even said before we started the client meeting that he was “quick to fire”. I told him that I loved his attitude and didn’t blame him.

Talk soon, Bryan

By: Dan@SEOperks

Dan@SEOperks — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:16:48 +0000

Wow, I can’t believe a landlord would just close the doors on your and your business. Wouldn’t that be hurting them as well? Or were they moving in a client and charging them more money? Very odd, but good post–I like the connection.

By: SEO

SEO — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:23:09 +0000

Whenever you look to hire an SEO firm, make sure they aren’t doing anything black hat. That will only hurt you. See if you can get an example of their work first, or ask what the process is. It could make all the difference.