Beware of SEO Snake-Oil Salesmen
Posted by Stickyweb in Consulting, Rants, SEO | 0 comments
The ‘Snake-oil Salesman’ is frequently featured in the old westerns – peddling a supposed cure-all with a scripted banter hyping a myriad of benefits – all completely untrue … Until the townspeople run them out of town!
Well beware …
A new salesman is in town preying on businesses who just want to have their sites appear at the top of Google Searches.
“With this new amazing technique I can guarantee your listing will appear at the top & on maps as well … look at this lovely site I have already built for you (simply a wordpress template with a few minor changes). We only work with Australian businesses (But our company is registered in New Delhi) & besides … we already have signed up your competitors – so don’t miss out!!!”
Just like the snake-oil salesman’s pitch, there’s not a word of truth in the above & it’s about time someone started forming a posse to run this thieving lot out of town.
Think about it …
How many top places do you suppose Google has to sell?
And do you think they outsource the selling to a New Delhi based outfit called “aussieseoexperts.online”?
Google Reviews – Beware!!
Posted by Stickyweb in Consulting, SEO | 0 comments
It appears that Google Reviews are being VERY selective in the reviews published in your Search Results feature box – and not in a fair way!
I recently had to pick up my car from a trusted repairer and googled their name to get the phone number – and was appalled by the result provided!
The information presented was correct, but the selected reviews were far from complimentary.
Not only that, but Google Reviews had helpfully highlighted the most derogatory words.
I’ve been a frequent customer of this particular supplier and know that they go out of their way to be helpful, professional and above all honest – so I had to see why they had such a bad review. Looking closer, I found that all of the review ‘snippets’ were taken from one recent ‘1 star’ review & nothing from 3 other ‘5 star’ reviews that were highly complimentary.
How can this be construed as an honest appraisal of customer satisfaction?
It borders on ‘character assassination’ and if I were the owner I’d be taking steps to ensure that Google honestly portrayed reviews in a balanced fashion without bias.
