Bad SEO Company - What Would You Do?

[sunkist219]

I keep running into this particular company that is charging insurance agents to be listed on Google Maps/Local and then saying they'll always be letter "A" or near the top. They're actually achieving this through massive "keyword stuffing" which basically means when they submit the business, they're putting the company description as "auto insurance, auto insurance quotes, auto insurance quote, auto insurance agent, auto insurance agents" etc. It actually seems to work for awhile (Gets them near the top) but I know that Google absolutely hates these practices and in their policies (Keyword stuffing - Webmasters/Site owners Help) it says that when caught, it can harm rankings.

I feel really bad for the agents who are signing up for this because they have no idea that this company is using a bad practice. Unfortunately if Google does catch on, it's not the company that will get bad rankings, it's the insurance website used in the listing. I'm not sure if there's anything I can do about it, but what would you do?

 

[Y.L. Prinzel]

It's a sticky situation, and unless I knew all the details I wouldn't want to start naming the company. What I would do is maybe point agents to a site for consumers that tells them what to look for in an SEO company, or write some tips yourself.

Also, people should know that if you have crappy content that is keyword stuffed you offer no authority or professional presence--so it won't convert to sales, just clicks.

Here's a link to a webmaster forum: http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum5/6373.htm

And beyond the concern about the SEO company harassing you, I know some agents have dealt with clients who said they weren't doing their job properly or sold them a "bad" annuity, when in reality, the client was wrong or uninformed. I would not want to do the same thing without some really hard facts and a lot of research.

 

[beatuplunchbox]

What is the company? If you've got proof, call them out on it. It's not doing anyone any good if we can't tell who it is....

 

[sunkist219]

What is the company? If you've got proof, call them out on it. It's not doing anyone any good if we can't tell who it is....

I guess the only reason why I didn't name the company is because I don't want them harassing me (which has happened before). I'll PM you with it though.

 

[beatuplunchbox]

Thanks for the P.M. That is pretty bad. What is even worse is with that really long listing, their key advertising message is lost near the bottom which would lead to lower conversion rates at their sites.

It does no good to get extra traffic if it does not convert to sales.

 

[sunkist219]

Thanks for the P.M. That is pretty bad. What is even worse is with that really long listing, their key advertising message is lost near the bottom which would lead to lower conversion rates at their sites.

It does no good to get extra traffic if it does not convert to sales.

I know! I don't know how long it'll take for Google to catch on to this, but when they do - it's the agent that pays not the company. The problem is a lot of these agents will never know it's bad because all they know is that they're "first" in the maps for the keywords they want.

 

[The Wise Buck]

Something that has worked for me is using E-Lance for projects. The good thing is that you can see reviews from people who have hired people who are competent in a particular.

Check it out

 

[dmiller90]

I keep running into this particular company that is charging insurance agents to be listed on Google Maps/Local and then saying they'll always be letter "A" or near the top. They're actually achieving this through massive "keyword stuffing" which basically means when they submit the business, they're putting the company description as "auto insurance, auto insurance quotes, auto insurance quote, auto insurance agent, auto insurance agents" etc. It actually seems to work for awhile (Gets them near the top) but I know that Google absolutely hates these practices and in their policies (Keyword stuffing - Webmasters/Site owners Help) it says that when caught, it can harm rankings.

I feel really bad for the agents who are signing up for this because they have no idea that this company is using a bad practice. Unfortunately if Google does catch on, it's not the company that will get bad rankings, it's the insurance website used in the listing. I'm not sure if there's anything I can do about it, but what would you do?

Are you not offering the same type of Kool-Aid for People?

Search Engine Marketing Packages.

 

[sunkist219]

Are you not offering the same type of Kool-Aid for People?

Search Engine Marketing Packages.

No, the company I work for does not charge for local listings (that are free) or get people up on Google by using black hat methods. That is what I was referring to that this other company is doing.
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I thought I'd share something that I read last week about how to help your business get higher in Google/Yahoo local. Basically all the top SEO professionals got together and created a list of what they think the Search Engines look for in a listing. It's kind of long and detailed, but I know there are a lot of agents on this forum who like learning about SEO, so here's the report - enjoy!


Local Search Ranking Factors | Google & Yahoo Local SEO Best Practices

 

[retirement plan tampa]

If google most hates than i think it been Keyword Stuffing. but some time client demand such things and faster ranking at anyhow and some time they don't have such seo technical knowledge they only mean to ranking, visits and leads from the site but need to ban such people or company and need to create awareness.