SEO Done Wrong is Dangerous

Doing search engine optimization the wrong way can lead to disastrous results. I'll explain why in a moment. But for now, let me back up my statement with a wealth of evidence:

Sadly, there is no barrier to entry for search engine marketing firms. You don't have to take a test or obtain any kind of license. So there are a lot of unqualified folks out there claiming to be experts ... and they can destroy your website visibility.

When dealing with such an "expert," the best-case scenario is that you only get marginal results. The worst-case scenario is that your website will be completely removed from the Google database (or some other search engine).

We practice search engine optimization the right way. As a result, we have given our clients excellent results over the years with not a single case of a search engine penalty or a de-indexed website.

The State of Search Marketing Today

There are a handful of real estate SEO companies that will adopt your website goals as if they were their own goals, striving to grow your web presence in a professional, effective way. They will treat your website as if it were their own, and I salute them for it. Sadly, it has been my experience that these firms represent the minority, not the majority.

On the other hand, some SEO companies can potentially cause you harm. The key is to understand how to screen these companies so you can tell which "camp" they fall into.

What I Mean by SEO Harm

When you hire a search engine optimization firm, you will pay them good money to increase your website's search engine visibility. Hopefully, they would work hard to this end and deliver strong results. I like to think the majority of SEO professionals fall into this category.

But like any other profession in the world, search engine optimization has its share of bad apples. Some SEO companies take shortcuts to deliver good rankings quickly, and in doing so they knowingly violate Google's guidelines and the guidelines of other search engines.

In the search engine marketing industry, these are known as "black hat" techniques, and they can get your website banned from Google. That's right ... your website could be completely purged from Google's database. It happens every day. Just enter the phrase "banned from Google" into any major search engine and see what comes up.

You might ask, "How can somebody who gets paid to improve search engine rankings afford to get clients banned from a search engine?" Easily. They do it until their reputation goes down the toilet, and then they close up shop and re-launch under a new name. Of course by then, you're out thousands of dollars and your website is banned from Google. Ouch! In fact, some of the clients we take on are people who have been "burned" by these companies in the past, so we have to spend the first couple of months fixing what's been broken. What a time and money waster that is!

Avoiding the Bad Apples

To prevent those bad apples from spoiling the bunch, I'm going to tell you how to spot them and avoid them. When screening a search engine optimization company, or even an individual SEO consultant, keep the following Q&A checklist handy.

How do you go about choosing the right phrases?
If the company hesitates to answer, or if they say, "Our clients usually handle that" ... keep shopping. A good SEO company will get to know your company, your offer and your audience. And they will help connect the three by focusing on the right words, phrases and language.
What kind of "black hat" techniques do you use?
If they give you a list, tell them goodbye. Black hat SEO techniques (like cloaking, domain masking, hidden text, etc.) can get you banned from Google. Is manipulating your way to the top of the search engines worthwhile if you later lose your rankings entirely? Could you handle scrapping everything you've worked for and starting over again from scratch? Probably not.
What SEO techniques do you use in general?
If an SEO company tries to keep secrets from you, there's a reason. The Austin SEO Guy, for instance, is proud to talk about his SEO techniques, because they are equally successful and legitimate. "We don't disclose our techniques" can usually be translated as "We're ashamed to disclose our techniques."
Have you ever operated under a different name?
Why should you ask this question? Because some Internet marketing firms (including SEO companies) develop such a bad name for themselves that they have to start a new company with a new name. Actually, this happens in every industry, from pool builders to website builders. So ask this question, even if you feel uncomfortable doing so.
Do you have a writer on staff?
It's important for a real estate SEO firm to have in-house writing talent. If an SEO company tells you they don't think copywriting is a big part of SEO ... then beware. Your web pages will likely be written for search engines, with people as a secondary consideration. "Search engines will love this copy," goes this argument, despite the fact that the copy reads like a five-year-old wrote it.

Conclusion

Obviously, these are not the only questions you should ask a real estate SEO company. These are just the questions most people are inclined to overlook, despite their importance. Add them to your list of pre-screening questions, and you'll have a much better chance of finding the search engine optimization firm that's best suited for you.

Learn More or Contact Us

If you'd like to learn more about real estate SEO done the right way (in a way that balances good results with long-term success and stability), we invite you to contact us at your convenience.