Have I hired the right guys for SEO?

[Nadya]

Hello everyone,

I am a wedding photographer and my site definitely needs SEo as the industry is very competitive. Since I don't know much about SEO I decided to hire a pro, though I am on very tight budget I had to hire IT specialists from India.

After one month of work there were some smaaal results, but my main concern is the methods guys use to move us up.

Here is what has been done: the site was submitted into 300 minor directories, 1 press release submitted to 10 sites like pressreleaseway.com, 10 classifieds, 30 squidoo submissions, 30 blog submissions, 80 social bookmarking and 11 links via exchange of links (some are related some are totally off, like cartridge refill)...
The articles and press releases were horrible - i.e cheesy texts in very poor English, but the guys say that the articles are used for SEO purpose only and I shouldnt worry.

But I do

The question is if it is a good approach?
I wonder if I should continue with them anyway? I doubt that with $200 a month I can hire some SEO star

[SEO_AM]

You paid for total garbage. Do some reading at my signature. In general non-deserved/asked-for backlinks are, at best, almost useless. At worst, they can draw a penalty from Google. Read the info at my signature and the stickies on our subforums.

[subzero27]

Sorry to say but you got $200 worth of crap. What pains me to see is that SEO's still use the same old spammy old tricks to rank websites. Little they realize that they are simply ripping off their clients and bringing a bad name to the industry....Sorry had too vent it out.

getting back to your site....

1. directory links - Very little value

2. Press release - 1X article * 10 sites = Duplicate content across sites. Again crap

3. Squidoo submissions - no point in creating a lens if there is no traffic.

4. Blog Submissions - I assume this is blog commenting. If yes then its spamming of the highest order.

5. Social bookmarks - Useless considering the bookmarks are posted on spammy bookmarking sites. BTW most links are also no follow.

6. Link exchange - Top candidate to get your site banned. Spammy outgoing links hurt your reputation and has a effect on your rankings.

What your seo guy has given you is less than nothing. Gone are the days when links wouldn't hurt. After the recent Google updates incoming links are now being carefully weighted. A bad link profile is a sureshot way to get banned . BELIEVE ME !

If you want i can help you. You can email me at

subzero27 at G M A I L.com

[Dr.Marie]

Unfortunately the type of links that you are having built for you are the types that can very easily lead to a Penguin hit or an unnatural links warning. I would definitely not continue!

The problem is that finding an SEO that can smartly build and attract links to your site is going to be a lot more expensive.

The types of things you mentioned used to work for some sites in the past but as Google's algorithm evolves they're getting better and better at figuring out which sites are ranking because of tricks and which ones are truly deserving to rank.

[247ukprint]

I believe that you have thrown away your money, if everything is like it is I believe it's against Penguin rules?

[leroybutler]

"the guys say that the articles are used for SEO purpose only and I shouldnt worry"

where the he*l this he get this kind of reasoning?! he's ruining the reputation SEO...I would definitely not continue his services anymore If I were you...

[Lb1878]

Think naturally. You may be able to do this on your own with a little bit of leg work in the form of learning (sorry, not trying to persuade the OP from doing business with anyone on here). If you don't have the money to pay a professional then you need to find the time to learn yourself. If you cannot do either, you will have a hard time succeeding.

A picture is worth a thousand words! Post your high quality photos, tell a story about the picture, name your image files and alt tags along the lines of keywords (but naturally, not forcefully stuffing them with target keywords and synonyms wont hurt) and link to other internal pages. Sell yourself with the quality of the shots and the passion you have for photography within your content. Start creating tips for people who are looking to improve their skills. Again, a pretty competitive area but your knowledge and experience may vary and give you that edge.

Your pictures are going to be unique as with every photographer. Leverage your clients and business partners for links. Reach out to some local businesses and venues that you've done work with and ask if they would mind putting a link to your website in case someone is looking for a photographer.

Time, money or results? You can only pick two...

[leroybutler]

well said @Lb1878

here's another good way on how you can sell your site to everyone and gain traffic..."Word of Mouth", attending blog/photography events in your area, socialize/mingle/tell a story about your profession then sell your website...

[vikasbook]

I think you have already assumed that all things going in wrong way. Even the thing that you mentioned does still matter I don’t accept from people those deny that traditional method is not useful. Your site still need links from great directory sites such Dmoz but of course making submission on spam directory sites will no more positive impact on your website. Even I don’t believe on performing article submission as they are not useful for ranking or traffic but there one should go with guest blogging its ever done on short quantity but wonderful links. Same squidoo promotion is a great if share something great and news still a nice way some of PR sites give you more exposure such as prweb.com so no need to go with PR submission at many sites or just make update news from your site and share it on social network.

Final words that if you have analyzed that your website getting no benefits from the SEO Company so why not to changed it or if have sufficient time for promotion so do it from your end

[luqmaankhaan598]

google changes everything... its not useful what u got..

[likends]

Hello everyone,

I am a wedding photographer and my site definitely needs SEo as the industry is very competitive. Since I don't know much about SEO I decided to hire a pro, though I am on very tight budget I had to hire IT specialists from India.

After one month of work there were some smaaal results, but my main concern is the methods guys use to move us up.

Here is what has been done: the site was submitted into 300 minor directories, 1 press release submitted to 10 sites like pressreleaseway.com, 10 classifieds, 30 squidoo submissions, 30 blog submissions, 80 social bookmarking and 11 links via exchange of links (some are related some are totally off, like cartridge refill)...
The articles and press releases were horrible - i.e cheesy texts in very poor English, but the guys say that the articles are used for SEO purpose only and I shouldnt worry.

But I do

The question is if it is a good approach?
I wonder if I should continue with them anyway? I doubt that with $200 a month I can hire some SEO star

He should have done forum posting related to your niche like photography and wedding forums, also article submissions and some facebook fan page.

[geomark]

What ever the submission it is he should done those submission only in the respective categories, as your site is about photography, then getting a link from other sites which is not related to your site is faulty one, if he gets more back link for non related sites then the bot will consider your site as a spam and even block your site. So what ever the thing he do, try to make in category that are related to photography, then only your site will become popular.

Geomark
Seo trainer..