1st Page Google position

wheel man · Mar 4, 2009

Hi,

I had a call yesterday from a company called Lavora Marketing telling me they could guarantee a 1st page Google position within 48 hours.

Just wondered if anyone had used this company and if they were anygood?

alphanumeric · Mar 4, 2009

its called ppc and anyone can do it, allthough not everyone charges the stupid rates that these companys seem to. If you want SEO ask for results and do your own research before handing any money over.

OldWelshGuy · Mar 4, 2009

lavora marketing are a PPC (Adwords) using company. they will charge you a set amount each month (normally £99) set up a very limited adwords campaign that will only show adverts in your immediate geographical area, and they keep the difference between the spend, and the amount they charge you.

The Dreaded Lurgy · Mar 4, 2009

check out this fairly recent thread all about Lavorahttp://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=85472

Sounds not too good, also other very similsr schemes I have seen warnings about on here are Sphere markaeting and Adwords reseller, both best avoided as weel having seen posts from people that have used them.

OldWelshGuy · Mar 4, 2009

In defence of such companies, it is simply over priced adwords management, it isn't illegal per-se, although their sales tactics might well be classed as misleading.

The Dreaded Lurgy · Mar 4, 2009

I have no personal experience to speak of with either of them but both (I say both and not all three as Adwords reseller are another name for Sphere) according to threads on here have taken unauthorised payments from peoples accounts. If this is true then it is really bad news!

wheel man · Mar 4, 2009

The Dreaded Lurgy said:
check out this fairly recent thread all about Lavorahttp://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=85472

Sounds not too good, also other very similsr schemes I have seen warnings about on here are Sphere markaeting and Adwords reseller, both best avoided as weel having seen posts from people that have used them.

Many thanks for the link, much appreciated!

A big thanks to everyone for their advice on this matter, I certainly wont be handing over any money to Lavora.

total-pma · Mar 4, 2009

Always be wary of a company that contacts you for seo - reputation carries you a long way. Why do they need to cold call.

Secondly, be even more dubious of an seo company making guaranteed placings. Its not possible! Unless they are targetting the wrong keywords for you - which will easily achieve these places. Just won't get you any traffic - if no one uses them.

julianmoy · Mar 18, 2009

I have delt with Lavoramarketing, AWFUL could not get it right from day one and will not take cancellation no matter how you do it, they just keep taking your money and then claim not to have recieved cancellation.They dont return calls or emails and if you get to talk to anyone higher up than customer services they gripe about being slagged off on the internet.

Submarine Washer · Mar 18, 2009

Interesting and informative post.
Have learned my lesson, going to handle my own PPC.

clickthrough_seo · Mar 19, 2009

Any SEO, internet marketing or PPC company who is cold calling right now must be useless! I don't know a single reputable company who is not seeing a major increase in clients as savvy companies in the know are INCREASING their online marketing budgets to make the most of the current opportunities.

TBH, any SEO/SEM/PPC company with a good reputation right now could probably actually cut their own marketing budget back as word of mouse/mouth referrals kick in.

On the wider topic, it is not difficult to get to first page on Google for far less than £99 a month and without PPC. It's all about creating valuable, unique, targeted, SEO friendly content. A single blog post for the right keywords can get you a top listing on any search engine for those keywords within a matter of hours, for free.

For instance, as an experiment the other week, I blogged about a local company who I spotted on the national BBC breakfast news. Within less than 2 hours, there was the blog post at #3-#8 for all their major keywords + BBC news, which I guessed people might use to try and track them down if they had seen the piece on the TV. The two sites above the blog post with a #3 ranking were the BBC news site and an article that also includes the major keywords from a regional newspaper. At #9 for those keywords is the company itself - oops! I didn't mean to undo any of their marketing efforts of the last 8 years , but it does show how easy it is to get a first page SERP.

Submarine Washer · Mar 19, 2009

Accepted, but what happens if your English prowess or your technical knowledge isn't up to scratch?

Presumably you'd then have to hire someone to understand your biz, then write about current events, which means back to £99 per month.

OldWelshGuy · Mar 19, 2009

Online via a blog, people are VERY forgiving. My educational background is very poor, I am self taught, and it has taken me YEARS to Bring my English up to a semi understandable level (and I make up words as well)

Over the years people have forgiven me this, as REAL people understand that the message is what matters. REAL people understand better than to confuse education qualifications with intelligence. There are a LOT of intelligent people in underprivileged situations which alone will limit their academic qualifications.

In short, on a blog the message is more important than the quality of grammar and spelling.

Nathanto · Mar 19, 2009

clickthrough_seo said:
On the wider topic, it is not difficult to get to first page on Google for far less than £99 a month and without PPC.

Before anyone gets excited I think you forgot to add the caveat that it depends entirely on which keywords you are targetting.

High volume generic terms take a lot more effort to rank on page one.

billyboy120 · Mar 19, 2009

So whose had any luck with adwords campaigns? Has anyone actually taken on a company to manage a campaign and paid the monthly fee and seen increase in sales worth the spend? and if so what company?!

Submarine Washer · Mar 19, 2009

Good question, billyboy

Unfortunately, it's damn hard to measure the result.
At the time of hiring her for £89pm, I had a naff website and no knowledge of SEO or PPC.

She did some stuff, I got some enquiries, then the site changed within two weeks and I started inputting keywords myself. CTR went from 1.04% to 3.97%, but I don't know whether it's my keyword changes, my (ie not her) increase in how much I'd be willing to pay or the new website's style, content and optimisation.

Rather than wait and see for 89 precious quids x 2 or 3 months, I'm going to pay her and tell her nicely that I'm going to do it myself.

billyboy120 · Mar 19, 2009

Probably best then if you've seen a result after doing some work yourself, I'm sure you can go back to her if you feel the need. One other thing I was wondering, do the PPC management firms give you any advice aside from the actual keywords/ads themselves, like advice on landing pages etc.? As I'm sure this effects the results of the ads.

OldWelshGuy · Mar 19, 2009

Honestly guys it isn't just a few keywords in a few ads. Are you aware that google will place lower paying ads ABOVE higher paying ads? Are you aware that having good and bad performing phrases in the same group/campaign can cost you MONEY?

Those are just two pearlers, there are LOADS. Ask Steve

Submarine Washer · Mar 19, 2009

OldWelshGuy said:
Honestly guys it isn't just a few keywords in a few ads. Are you aware that google will place lower paying ads ABOVE higher paying ads? Are you aware that having good and bad performing phrases in the same group/campaign can cost you MONEY?

Those are just two pearlers, there are LOADS. Ask Steve

I accept this and your advanced level tips, but I still maintain that I can save the £89pm by learning how to do it myself. I would feel confident about doing this, but would never try to save £600 on doing my own conveyancing. That's not to denigrate a PPC-er's job or business, it's just a matter of what activities fit each individual personality.

As a layman, I've reached the conclusion that PPC is as formulaic as night clubbing:
learn how to entice (PPC ad)
learn how to look (landing page relevance)
learn what to say (ie tell them what they want to hear on the site)
have decent-looking friends (polish up ALL pages on the site)
learn how to listen (when they phone)
pounce (take their debit card details once they've decided to buy)
say goodbye nicely (give good after-sales care)

The only divergence would asking for referrals, I guess

OldWelshGuy · Mar 20, 2009

'Save the £89' there is the dilemma though. A pro PPCer will save you a LOT more than they charge you.

YES you can learn to do it yourself (and you should if you have the time), but it isn't as simple as you have stated, honestly it isn't. I suggest you do some serious studying on the subject, otherwise you are going to be throwing money away on a premanent basis.

Cookie Consent

Essential

Analytics

Marketing

1st Page Google position

The Dreaded Lurgy

The Dreaded Lurgy

total-pma

julianmoy