Page 3 - Backlinks verses Blogs/Articles

Its funny how this industry is about like the web design industry as far as pricing.

I have friends that wouldnt touch it for less that that per MONTH, and know people who would do it for half that per year.

Same with design. Some people will make a site for 1K, and others wont make one for less than 20K

If the blog/article/whatevertheywanttocallit is the same, then it will be flagged as duplicate content. Going across a network of blogs with the same content is considered spam (as it should be) and once discovered to be so, will not help at all.
Sorry if it wasn't clear earlier, but these kind of SEO tactics aren't worth losing money on. I don't understand why you continue to ask about them. Just because they change the mix doesn't change the ingredients.
You won't find anything negative about a start-up company, either. Don't forget in the online world, you can fake everything from history to success. But if someone has a reputation outside of their control, then you know what kind of business they conduct. Not hearing anything positive or negative about a company does not mean they're not any good, but I would suggest sticking to companies that are known for quality service and professionalism.
Do you have the time to invest yourself? If so, then I'd suggest that route, as you've already demonstrated a will to learn more.

You mentioned some numbers for some quotes earlier, but were those about the same as your budget? You might want to ask lewis what he would consider for it. I've heard he's really good.

Okay, not that this matters at this point as I think you have received enough feedback indicating that this company does not fit your needs but are they submitting TO 3 blogs or submitting 3 of your blogs? Perhaps you are typing it up incorrectly or I'm just a spaz. I may not be the best link builder/developer but to me, any large amount of links promised in a month indicates the links are worth little to nothing.

Since you've spent a fair amount of time on here already, try browsing the Link Popularity forum here and see how to gain higher quality links. It's not the number that counts, its the quality of those links that's important.

Jsteele made one of the most valid points thus far with his crap analogy.

[QUOTE=dandare]

and u wont be getting it either. y on earth a company with sound mind will put a disgruntled client in his testimonial list.



Its just a one day job to understand the basics of SEO. Seriously.

Ok

I think I'll have a good read of the "Link Popularity forum".

I have other business commitments so IMO will struggle to do an SEO campaign myself, especially as I've alot more to learn.

I know my budget is low but my market is not competative so if there is any of you guys reading this, that want to engage in a quote then please feel free to contact me.


Big thanks for all your advice though and I literally have been learning by the hour on here.Really appreciate your views.

Time can become an issue and this certainly is not an overnight task. There are many ways to skin a cat as they say. Not everyone shares the same knowledge, has the same budget nor has the same website so you have to do what fits best for you.

Many of the suggestions for doing it yourself have come about b/c logically, it's potentially the most inexpensive way to go about it. But if your skill set does not cover what is needed to get done, you may have no choice but to outsource.

It was said earlier in the thread but I would still recommend finding someone who can write for you vs paying someone for 50 worthless links a month. At least you'll have content for your site and be getting something tangible in return.... content.

Dan, I am no SEO person but I do have personal experience of these companies. You are welcome to PM me to discuss.

Hi walgman

That would be great.

I can't PM as I dont have enough posts. Are you ok to pm me your e mail.

Thanks

Daniel

charlesmiyagi@gmail.com will be ok to use.

Google the term "SEO" or "SEO company" - surely the company that comes top of the organic search must know what they are doing.

The two companies under discussion are 1 and 2 (after wiki) here in the UK.

The previous company I worked for hired me because the software vendor they were using to build and manage ther website was charging them £850 a day and £80 just to answer an email. By the time I joined the company the site had cost them £150,000k and it was an absolute turkey.

Regarding: "they're #1 and #2, so they must know what they're doing"

Sure, THEY know what THEY are doing with regard to how to market THEIR firm, how to spend THEIR marketing budget and how much to get THEIR clients to pay THEM.

Here is how it looks to me:

The competition has about 300 spamy links in yahoo (Russian link farms included) Google shows none. Their site is nothing special - looks like your basic shopping cart and blog in a basket. Bottom line... easy to beat.

First scenario:
1.) I charge you "X" dollars per month to get you some spamy links and blog posts,
2.) I've got my monthly check, You've got your rankings and all is right in the world.
3.) As someone mentioned earlier, these links deteriorate quickly because as soon a Google detects a link farm it drops whatever little value those links were supplying you. But, you're still happy to be at the top, and I'm still happy to have my monthly check and I know you can't stop paying me because without a constant supply of "Crap" the game doesn't work. And let's be clear on this. This IS a game. Google's goal is to put GOOD sites at the top. Google has a lot of money and employs a lot of smart people, many of whom, have no other goal in life than to figure out how to stop this game from working. I'm betting that they will succeed.

The alternative is:
1.) Get quality content - Either write it your self or have your SEO firm do it
2.) Have your SEO guys review and "pretty-up" the on-page ( for the engines and the users )
3.) Have you SEO guys do their real SEO job and get you quality links to your content. [ links that won't just fade away, links that will themselves attract other links naturally, links with well thought out anchor text to improve you relevance for the proper terms]

Same short term outcome ...: You've got rankings, I've got my check ( yes, it's a bigger check... and that leads to the dilemma)

The question - in my opinion - comes down to this: Will google continue to improve its ALGOs and continue to push quality sites up? Once again... I'm betting that they will succeed.

Thanks
Shawn

yeah man, sounds totally sketchy, at our SEO firm, we always give a solid quote of what techniques we use, not the number of links. did either company give you some kind of guarantee? or some kind of assurance that you will get better rankings? i would steer clear of both it sounds like.