Characteristics of an Ethical SEO Firm

With all of the bad press circulating the news networks about the struggling Nevada economy, observers from outside of Las Vegas must be thinking “How is anybody making it out there in such a messed up economy?” Enter Advise Media Group. We are a Las Vegas success story in the making, and a soon-to-be national, home-grown business that has taken clients to new heights in the world of internet marketing. How is it we were able to build a roster of 33 (and growing) happy clients in only 12 months, with literally no marketing dollars spent on our own program? It is more than the fact that we are great at SEO in Las Vegas. We can attribute a significant part of our success to the fact that we adhere to a few ethical principles, which sets us apart from the questionable, grey-to-black-hat Las Vegas search engine optimization firms that explode on the web like dangerous digital bacteria.

All companies serious about internet marketing prefer to work with firms that have an ethical reputation. This is simply because an unethical SEO firm can permanently ruin your company’s website and have it banned from the likes of Google, Bing, and Yahoo forever. This can can cause permanent damage to your online and offline reputation, and take months or years to recover from. Imagine potentially years of hard-won reputation and hard work tossed down the tubes because your SEO company utilized spam mechanisms, link farms, and outdated SEO methodologies. You’ll have to start your website from scratch, with a new URL, simply because your original website might never recover from the damage a black-hatter does.

So what is an ethical SEO firm? Here are a few items to dig into when searching for the right fit to manage your internet marketing needs:

White Hat SEO techiniques are built for human eyes, and do not deceive search engines: This means that the firm gains results by creating a more relevant site that drives natural organic traffic, not by using deceptive tactics trying to “game” search engines. For instance, the practice of hiding text and links on a page is abhorrent to Google and will get your website banned, something Advise Media Group endeavors to avoid at all costs.

Permission to contact clients for referrals: All of our clients are available for referral upon request. 3rd party opinions are always relevant, so we encourage prospective clients to talk with our current roster to get their perspective on the matter.

Never sets unachievable goals (expectation management): Ethical SEO firms should always be realistic with their clients and never over-promise. They should also be upfront about what can be accomplished right from the beginning so that there are no unpleasant surprises down the line. If a SEO firm cannot deliver on a promise, the promise should not be made. Many unethical SEO firms engage in this practice because they want your business. Run away from these firms as fast as you can. In fact, a truly successful and ethical (the two go together) SEO firm has no need to hire salespeople or a call center to find clients; the work should be the mouthpiece for the organization, resulting in clients who evangelise the firm’s services….exactly how Adivse Media Group has gained ALL of our clients.

Always Available, And Ready With Transparent Reporting: An ethical company should always be accessible. One of the more common complaints heard about SEOs is that they “never answer their phone” or they “never reply to my emails” or when they do it’s weeks or months later. And, oftentimes, “I can’t understand what he’s saying.” This is not a good business model. Many SEOs do not manage monthly reporting and never let the client in on what they are doing; they feel their methods are too complex to explain, or else they just don’t make the time to do so. Or, they are just flat-out hiding or manipulating results. A company serious about their internet marketing efforts will want to be involved in the process, especially in the beginning when a well-thought-out strategy leads to successful execution.

Has a verifiable track record of providing positive ROI for clients (but of course will always refuse to guarantee such results): It should go without saying, but still the point should be made that a good SEO firm has a verifiable track record. The ethical SEO firm has numerous case studies detailing results; they are even candid about their failures and what they learned from them. This type of honesty in SEO is especially rare in an industry that tends to profit from operational opacity, not transparency.

Contracts Are Toxic: If we don’t perform, you can drop our services. It’s that simple. Your Las Vegas SEO firm should be performance-based, and results-oriented. Contracts are not necessary when those principles are adhered to. In fact, they are the conrnerstone of Advise Media’s company philosophy.

Advise Media Group adheres to all of these prinicples (and more) religiously. Yes, a solid understanding of comprehensive SEO, Google’s algorithm, the things that make Yahoo & Bing tick, the importance of social media, and other SEO mechanisms are important. Mostly, however, it is our ethical approach to business, our transparent practices, our discipline and experience, and commitment to our clients that separates us from 99% of SEO’s in the world. And it’s the reason we are on the fast-track to national recognition in an otherwise depressing economic state.

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