SEO has never been more important, or as busy as it is today. Search Engine Optimization has and is one of the most important procedures and techniques in the online world. That being said, there are a plethora of gurus, experts, and scammers out there that promise customers the world, but only deliver broken dreams. Knowing the difference can be the difference between success and failure.
We’ve all seen those advertisements from SEO companies that promise to get one’s website or blog to the top of the search engine results practically overnight. Here is where the old adage comes in, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”. The reason for this is that no search engine company can get your websites and blogs to the top of the search engines, especially Google overnight, nor guaranteed. Any company making claims like this, is the first sign that you’re dealing with a hustler, someone who is trying to take you for a ride.
Real SEO experts know the game has changed regarding SEO. They know that the old techniques have been tossed out the window because they were dishonest and/or damaged the quality of the search results. Google has led the charge to rehab the entire search engine process by introducing new software algorithms to list only those sites that contain relevant and pertinent data, not advertising and spam. These changes by Google has set the SEO world on fire with experts having to go back to step one in order to re-study the game and provide their clients with truthful and effective results.
It’s not to say some SEO professionals can’t get you to the top of the results. The ethical and professional ones can. They know it takes expertise, honesty, and strategy to do so, and they will inform the client of this from the start. Not only that, but a real, honest to goodness SEO expert will stick with the client for months to come to ensure things are going well, tweaking and testing along the way.
This is where SEO conference issues come in. You’ll find no shortage of these conferences that host the big gurus and so called professionals who will swear up and down they know all the inside scoops on how Google and the other search engines operate. They will boast about their achievements and how they did this or that for some small business and then shot them up to stardom. They’ll show up with all kinds of glitzy graphics, videos, diagrams and statistics meant to impress, but when the rubber hits the road they’re nothing more than modern day snake-oil salesmen. They know that there are people out there dreaming of the big time and will do anything to get there. They sucker these people out of their money and the poor souls are too embarrassed at the end of the day to want refunds. They know they’ve been suckered and now they’re disenchanted and will sit there with their heads in their hands.
This is the anatomy of a con game and SEO is no stranger to it.
This scamming of the public is so pervasive that you’ll find it going on all over the world, in every language and culture. It’s a get-rich-quick scam whereby unethical people rip off the customers, then shut down, and then set up elsewhere. Much like the old days of traveling con artists that used to sell all kinds of cure-alls for illnesses and then would rake in the money and then ride off into the sunset.
Things haven’t changed much over the centuries, such practices have gone on and the internet allows for the unscrupulous to hit and run without fear of repercussion or prosecution.
This is why the unwary must be made aware of how these con artists operate and how to detect them as well as how to avoid them.
An SEO conference that is ethical will provide a variety of information before the event is scheduled. It will list the speakers and their accomplishments, the reference material need to allow for you to check up on them as well as any prices for any services and materials that might be included in the conference. None of the advertisements will have idiotic promises in them such as getting you to the top of the search engine results, or make tons of money with SEO, or such nonsense as beating Google at their own game. That and any mention of Black Hat techniques should be a warning sign that you’re on the road to ruin.
Remember, hype is just hype. Real SEO experts will provide factual data that you can check on your own. One of the best are testimonials from companies that you know of. If you just read testimonials from a review site, they might just be false and paid for reviews. You need to read reviews from companies that you’re familiar with that you can contact and ask if they really are valid customers of said SEO company. This is where the rubber meets the road.
Your business and brand is very important. You want to promote them without fear of loss of respectability or revenue. The same diligence, you use to build your company up, is the kind of diligence you need to apply in regard to SEO conference venues.
So, should you avoid an SEO conference no matter what?
No. There are some SEO conferences that are just fine. Run by experts who live for the success of their customers. These are the experts who stand by their products and services and aren’t shy about answering the real, hard questions, and they’ll inform you that it will take time for you to see results. In those rare cases where their efforts have proven super successful and indeed do get their clients’ sites on top and quick, they’ll let you know it was due to a combination of elements and won’t boast about their super secret techniques and know-how. They’ll emphasize the importance of following sound procedure regarding keywords, keyphrases, fine copywriting, proper layout and design, site maps, and most importantly the educating of the client as to what is going on and their responsibility regarding maintaining their own websites under the guidelines of the SEO expert.
It’s a “leg up” kind of field of expertise as the SEO conference should emphasize that team work and diligence, integrity, and honesty, as well as clear communication will lead to a successful SEO campaign.
Image credit: elen1