Ask the SEO Guru

Can you be honest enough with yourself to answer that one simple question?

With a blog titled Ask the SEO Guru, you could assume I believe I know what SEO means. Well, you’d be wrong. I called it the Ask the SEO Guru not because I know what it means but rather because I know the rest of the world seems to “THINK” they know what it means. As a marketing vehicle it works! As for putting me in a position to define the term, it fails.

It fails not because I don’t provide SEO services. I’m actually one of the best. It fails to enable me to define it because the meaning of the acronym SEO is not objective, it is completely subjective. It means whatever you think it means and if I happen to think it means something different and tell you so as a consultant to a prospective client, I lose.

Web Definitions for Subjective

taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias; "a subjective judgment"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn 

Web Definitions for Objective

undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable phenomena; "an objective appraisal"; "objective evidence"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn 

old fart wisdom

With the dominate discussions regarding seo within the seo community being about links, the perception becomes that the definition of seo is building links. If I knew what SEO really meant even I might agree but after over a decade as an online business development specialist, I’ve learned to believe it is whatever you believe it is IF I want your trust.

Experience has taught me I can argue with you and even get you to agree with my bias but I’m then left in a situation of winning the battle and losing the war. No one likes to be convinced that they are wrong or laboring under a misconception due to lack of understanding or practical application.

I offer this little tidbit of old fart wisdom.

Respect is the ultimate human validation. We all want respect and should demand it.

While we can not force others to respect us, we certainly have the option of not giving our money to those who don’t.

Your prospects have the same option and telling someone their opinion is wrong is invalidating them and showing a lack of respect for their beliefs. Bad juju I assure you.

My biggest challenge in providing a service that exceeds the clients expectations has been over clients telling me to do their link building but they only want GOOD links. The single word “good” may the MOST subjective term of all and getting them to tell me their definition or to accept mine without me knowing what theirs is, has been a huge challenge.

Is a GOOD link one that moves you up in the serps? Is a GOOD link one that has a high PR? Is a GOOD link one that doesn’t link to a BAD neighborhood? How many sites make up a BAD neighborhood?  Is a GOOD link one that matches your theme?  What is a THEME and why would someone targeting the same customers as you with the same keywords you want give you a link and invite his visitors to go to you?? Believe me - they don’t yet every seo forum has someone telling you to only get on THEME links without telling you what that is.    

See what I mean? We all think we KNOW what a good and a bad link is ----- until we’re asked to define it. You give me any set of criteria and I will instruct my staff to get you EXACTLY what you wanted IF we can both agree on what good and bad is. If you don’t tell me what YOU think it is, I’m going to take my fee and get the links that I think are good.

To me a good link is one that improves your visibility for targeted terms the most  with the least risk.

In other words, if not instructed otherwise, iI ALWAYS go for the links that I am most sure will get those first page placements with no risk! That may or may not have anything to do with PR, authority, or even theme. It has to do with research and MANUALLY adding value to the link hosting target site.

So if I can’t get you to define good and bad how do I tell you what I think it is without invalidating you? If you don't tell me what you want, I'm going to move the site but there are simply too many people who don't understand the process or how the engines really work and they have unrealistic expectations. They seem to expect me to "know" how to get pr 7 authority links from direct competitors for free. I can get number 1's for target terms all day long and really fast too, but I can't get pr 7 authority links from direct competitors for free.

After many trials and errors, I have finally found a way that seems to solve the problem.

                                                                                  The Insertion Order

We’ve used an in-house form for years called an Insertion Order. It’s purpose was to let the prospect know what to expect from us and to protect the company and the client.

Even with the insertion order we were still having  too many conflicts over the ambiguous definition of good/bad links so this past couple of months I added some specifics telling the client EXACTLY what we would do, where, when and how.

This forces the client to either give me his definition or accept mine. It has helped to resolve issues so much that I feel I can’t be the only one having these kinds of issues and that there is no good reason I shouldn’t share the content of my insertion order with the community.

You are free to use any part or all of the form if you like but remember I am not an attorney and while this can be used as a legally binding document, I am not representing it as such.

All I can tell you is when I did take it to an attorney, they came back with a 6 page contract that anyone would be crazy to sign without taking it to their attorney and starting a lengthy, (and expensive), negotiations process. Mine is easy to understand and it’s purpose is clear. BUT IT IS NOT REPRESENTED AS A LEGAL DOCUMENT AS I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY.

                                                                               Insertion Order

Thank you for choosing us as your SEO services provider. Please find below and outline of the activities and procedures we intend to perform to increase your visibility in the organic results of internet search engines and related websites.

1.      Key word research

 We will utilize a variety of internet tools and software to perform research to identify which keywords are most suitable as well as most likely to secure targeted visitors to your site.

Once our research is completed, we will provide you the list and allow you to approve all or any part of the list you would like us to promote.

I    Agree / Disagree ________________________

Comments

 ___________________________________________________________

2.       On page Optimization

We will review and make suggestions of changes to titles, tags and optimize content for proper H tag headings, bolded or italicized text, keyword density and grammar.

  I   Agree / Disagree ____________________________

Comments

___________________________________________________________
 

3.      Internal linking structure.

We will carefully review the website and optimize internal linking structure to increase the flow of link popularity, ease of navigation and to increase conversion percentages. 

  I   Agree / Disagree _________________________________

Comments

___________________________________________________________
 

4.      Directory submission

By doing keyword research, we locate, review and target directories where it would make sense to an end user for your site to be there. We will carefully select the appropriate categories and always submit your site manually focusing on the visible details such as your title, description and most appropriate url.

I   Agree / Disagree __________________________________

Comments

___________________________________________________________

5.      Article distribution

We will research, identify and review article distribution sites that we feel give us the most chance of increased visibility and link popularity. Select the ones we feel are most suitable and manually submit your article. We will also seek to establish ongoing relationships with the ones that we feel offer the most benefit.

  I   Agree / Disagree _______________________________________

Comments

___________________________________________________________

6.      Press Release Service

We will take your press releases, (we have on staff journalists who can create them for you), and distribute them to internet services for the purposes of establishing you as an industry authority and increasing your visibility and link popularity.

  I   Agree / Disagree ______________________________________

Comments

__________________________________________________________

7.      Blog Creation

We will create tightly focused and keyword targeted content using a combination of on staff writers and our custom-made software. We will then circulate that content through our network to post.

  I  Agree / Disagree _________________________________________________

Comments

 __________________________________________________________

8.      Link building

We will use different methods of link building on an on-going basis. These methods will include

·         One way link building

·         Two way link building

·         Three-way link building

·          a report will be sent to each week detailing the methods and the results.

·         Some link building techniques such as paid directory reviews may incur additional fees. These fees will NOT be paid until we submit a proposal and it is accepted and the fees paid by you to Techndu to pay on your behalf.

                 I  Agree / Disagree ________________________________________

                Comments

              _____________________________________________________________

9.      Specialty Link Building

At your request, we will research and locate unique linking opportunities. These may include things commonly known as link bait as well as finding available link opportunities on a one time basis. We will notify you of these opportunities and discuss the advantages and any additional costs involved.

  I   Agree / Disagree _________________________________________

Comments
___________________________________________________________
 

10.  Social bookmarking

We will circulate your site among our network of users and encourage them to book mark your site/s. we will then provide reports for your review.

  I   Agree / Disagree ________________________________________

Comments
___________________________________________________________

We can also provide a wide range of design and scripting services at your request. We specialize in .asp, php, perl and c++. We can also provide specialty services in the areas of blog creation, joomla and drupal installations, ajax, most cms systems, custom forums, wordpress templates, and any open source script modification or installation.

Typically, these services are beyond the scope of standard SEO services and may involve additional fees. However you may specify any special request now and we can include the selected services in the original insertion order.

 I Agree / Disagree __________________________________

Comments
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The internet business is an unusual business and sometimes not easily understood by our clients, we have put together this information for your protection as well as our own. Please review carefully and send your comments by email to info@techndu.com, OR you may sign and fax back to Techndu at 0091-79-3002 8672. Give us your fax number and we will sign and fax back to you. Whether you choose fax or email, we recommend you print and file a copy for your records.

We want to make it very clear to all concerned parties that you are fully aware that you are authorizing *Techndu* to charge your credit card or online payment services account once a month for the sole purpose of providing you with Software development/custom coding/SEO/Link building services.

Please be aware that the first 30 days your account is active will be considered a test period. If we do not perform to your expectations within the initial test period, you may cancel all service and get a full refund.*AFTER THE INITIAL TEST PERIOD* not to exceed 30 days from the day Techndu receives your approval, you may cancel at anytime with a 30 day notice in writing prior to your due date but you will not be entitled to a full or partial refund after your due date has passed. Our intent is to show you how we work and establish trust as a service provider to you and not to provide free services.

*Please note: Charges on your credit card statement or online payment account will appear as Techndu*

Furthermore, it is understood that neither Techndu nor any of its resellers, partners or affiliates make any guarantee of any level of success or income. We only guarantee to perform our work as per your directions and requirements and to notify you of such performance. Your first report will be generated within 28 business days of you placing this order and then each week thereafter.

After the initial test period, your payments will be due at the time of approval and due the same day each month on the same date for each following month until written notice of cancellation from either party. 

Your due date is determined by the date of which we receive funding and your signed Insertion Order and/or written approval in writing from you or your authorized agent.

All orders placed on the 29th, 30th or 31st of any month, will be automatically moved to the first day of the following month.

We have no control over what Google,(or any third party), may or may not do with any software or service Google offers including, but not limited to the Google toolbar with it’s Page Rank reporting. If they make a PR 5 drop to a PR 3, it doesn't mean that the site has any less link popularity, less traffic or less quality, it only means they are counting things differently. Also we can’t determine value for you. It is your responsibility to notify us of any linking, text or graphic ad placement or procedure on third party sites that you are not happy with. We will do our best to comply with your wishes but we accept no responsibility for any actions of any third party.

You may cancel your order for any reason by sending a cancellation notice 30 days before the due date and not be charged for the following month, but it is understood that you are NOT entitled to a refund or chargeback after the due date for any month once the due date has passed.

Payments are due on the due date and there is no grace period. Any payment due not received within 5 days from due date will be in default. Any account in default will have all on-going and/or scheduled work stopped until account is paid in full and re-instated. There will be a $50 or 5% re-instatement fee, whichever is greater, assessed to any renewed account that is in default and must be paid in full before work can be resumed.

We want to make it clear that you are ordering Techndu services on a trial basis not to exceed 30 days to evaluate our performance. It is understood that you will be invoiced for the work we will perform in advance and we will expect payment for each month we provide service. Once we have your approval and payment is made, you may be entitled to a refund for some reasons, but you are not entitled to a chargeback for any reason.

If you are emailing this agreement then please fill out the information below and email this to our office at info@trechndu.com. Then you will need to turn in an order and fund the account by going to http://outsource.techndu.com/order.asp?d=1

If you are faxing your order, you must sign your name in the fields below as it appears on your credit card along with the other details and fax it to our office BEFORE we can process your order.

Our fax # in India 0091-79-3002 8672

Our fax number in the USA 1-405-231-2130

You are agreeing with us that we have the right to refuse your order or any specific instruction at any time and for any reason.

We reserve the right to cancel this order at any time and for any reason without notice.

Thank You. If you have any question or comment please contact our office BEFORE you return or sign and fax this agreement.

Please print your name -------------------------

Date -------------------------------------

********************************************************************************************************************
 

That’s it. I hope it does some good.

Peace Y’all

G

Don’t sit so dang close to that television. Don’t you know it’ll make you go blind?