Guaranteed page 1 of Google - £99 per month??????

[styleguru]

So I have been thinking of doing my own SEO for my new website. I know it is time consuming, hard work and is going to be a frustrating task (so I am told) as I have never done it before. I decided I was going to do it myself because every company/individual I have looked has been too expensive for me, no one will guarantee any results and the majority wanted yearly contracts that ended up running into the thousands.


However I have been offered the following, it sounds amazing and I am very tempted but I want to know... Is this really the amazing deal I think it is?


So the company guarantees to get any site to page 1 of Google for 8 relevant keywords of my choosing or 3 key phrases. I pay them £99 per month for 6 months. If at the end of 6 months they have not got my site onto page 1 of Google then I will get all my money back. They do the on page adjustments and all the links and stuff. I have looked at a few sites they have done and this was also a company recommended to me by a friend who has used them for over a year now.


So all I want to know is should I go for it? Is it a good deal?

 

[BobbyBoy]

If it sounds to good to be true then it probably is....

I'd ask to speak to a number of their customers who have used their service (dont be fobbed off with testimonials on their website) - then check their keywords to see that they acutally appear on page 1.

Also, bear in mind that being at the bottom of page one does not get you very much traffic, so even a £99 per month, you may not get much business from it.

Best of luck

Bobby

 

[zigojacko]

Check that they are referring to organic placement (SEO) rather than sponsored placement (PPC) - read the small print in their terms to clarify exactly what they are guaranteeing and the specifics in you receiving your money back if they fail to deliver.

Personally in my experience, these types of business models are close to useless and 9 times out of 10 leave the custmomer feeling like they have fell for a 'loophole' in the way they work. I wouldn't expect a great deal for £99 per month unless your competition is close to non existent. I would also check for examples of previous work, have they delivered results for previous customers? If they have, does anyone actually search for they are now ranking for?

 

[fisicx]

Google says:

No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google.

http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35291


Which should answer your question.

 

[DomainsRegistrar]

I have heard this, is it promoter local by any chance?
To be honest I don't think anyone apart from the search engines themselves can make such guarantees.

We have beaten or should I say worked around Panda and had great results but I would never promise page 1

 

[Mystro]

So I have been thinking of doing my own SEO for my new website. I know it is time consuming, hard work and is going to be a frustrating task (so I am told) as I have never done it before. I decided I was going to do it myself because every company/individual I have looked has been too expensive for me, no one will guarantee any results and the majority wanted yearly contracts that ended up running into the thousands.


However I have been offered the following, it sounds amazing and I am very tempted but I want to know... Is this really the amazing deal I think it is?


So the company guarantees to get any site to page 1 of Google for 8 relevant keywords of my choosing or 3 key phrases. I pay them £99 per month for 6 months. If at the end of 6 months they have not got my site onto page 1 of Google then I will get all my money back. They do the on page adjustments and all the links and stuff. I have looked at a few sites they have done and this was also a company recommended to me by a friend who has used them for over a year now.


So all I want to know is should I go for it? Is it a good deal?

The chances are they wont be there in 6 months time so you'll have no one to get you money back from, just look at the threads on here so many people have asked the same question as you, if its not PPC its a scam, as no ethical company will guarantee you,

If you have already given them your keywords and they are not too competitive then £99 per is doable ..

be careful I say, of course don't divulge your keywords but if you let us know if your a local or national company and what sector then that may help

 

[weareable]

I offer a similar package to my clients. The guy who does it for me is the best I've come across but it works out at about 5 campaigns for £100+vat

The great thing is you dont pay a penny until he gets you the results you agreed to. The price depends on what search terms you want to rank for and how long it will take to get there.

No one can guarantee a top place in google for any worthwhile search terms. If that was the case I would have set up a comparison website, laid my £100 out for the term Cheap car insurance and be laying on a beach somewhere by now. PM me if you would like me to put you in touch.

 

[AQUADERMIS]

I had sent endless enquiries to Webdevelopers. Part of my enquiries were these questions: What is your guarantee? How do I know I will I get what I paid for? And no one could give me a clear positive answer. To be honest, I don't think anyone can give you any guarantees on SEO. So I decided to learn this field and do it by myself. I do agree it is hard work, however, I know where and what for I am spending my money on. I am trying to register my business with all B2b platforms (B2b or not B2b, that is the question....), to be involved in forums, facebook, emails, google, Linkedin etc...

 

[unet]

if the company is one of the "big boys" then place the order.

If you are choosing the keywords then you have nothing to loose.

are they keyword phrases? ie: "one stop shop" as these are easy.

 

[mkstormin]

Google says:


Which should answer your question.

You are only partially right. There are techniques that allow one to take advantage of some circumstances that allow a site to get on first page of google.

Heck...i can rank your site for 100 keywords... but the questions is how much traffic and competition those kw have...

No point in ranking a website for a kw that has no competition and no monthly searches, right?

What that company claims might be true, you have to check the keywords they are offering you.

PS. It is possible to rank a website on 1st page and keep it there for ONE highly optimized keyword. And it would cost about 20-30 pounds/month/one keyword.

Cheers!

 

[RedEvo]

SEO's like the diet industry. On one side of the fence there are people who'll tell you to stop eating rubbish and take exercise, on the other there are people who will tell you to eat what you like and take their magic pill. You choose.

d

 

[OldWelshGuy]

You are only partially right. There are techniques that allow one to take advantage of some circumstances that allow a site to get on first page of google.

Heck...i can rank your site for 100 keywords... but the questions is how much traffic and competition those kw have...

No point in ranking a website for a kw that has no competition and no monthly searches, right?

What that company claims might be true, you have to check the keywords they are offering you.

PS. It is possible to rank a website on 1st page and keep it there for ONE highly optimized keyword. And it would cost about 20-30 pounds/month/one keyword.

Cheers!

You missed what was said.

No-one can GUARANTEE. and that is a fact, if you can guarantee it, what happens if the client site gets banned for some other reason? BOOM.. your guarantee is worthless.

Only a search engine owner can guarantee what appears.

 

[vincent80]

Ask If they can rank you for the keywords such as....

lose weight fast
make money online
car insurance.....etc

I have a feeling that the answer will be no and the type of keywords will be something with very low/medium search results. But even then what they are proposing to do for £99 per month is way too cheap, so alarm bells should be ringing.

From personal experience getting a low/medium searched for keyword onto page one of Google is fairly simple, however the position on page one (along with a catchy title, meta description and a few other things) plays a MAJOR part in the number of people clicking through to your site. As an example, for a phrase which has 2,000 exact match searches each month you would think being on the first page of Google would be quite lucrative. However if you were on the first page (in position 7-10) you can expect 2/3 visitors each day from that keyword. Hardly anything earth shattering.

Also the difference between being in 1st or 2nd position (organic search) on the first page, is massive. One of my sites earns 4 times as much per day when it’s in the Number 1 spot as opposed to being Number 2 :|

 

[weareable]

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Q: Whats better than a money back guarantee?

A: A dont pay until we deliver guarantee!

See my earlier post on this thread.

 

[mkstormin]

You missed what was said.

No-one can GUARANTEE. and that is a fact, if you can guarantee it, what happens if the client site gets banned for some other reason? BOOM.. your guarantee is worthless.

Only a search engine owner can guarantee what appears.

As i understand the guarantee is that they will keep the site on first page for specific keyword or keywords.The guarantee expires if your website gets banned by Google for other reasons that are not related to your ranking their website for those keywords. That is not being told when you sign up, but that is the practice of SEO companies.

I got agreements like those, where with small print they say they are not liable if your site gets banned because of other reasons!

My take on it!

Cheers!

 

[amy9]

The main points to consider are:

They can't guarantee results. The only feasible way they can is if they choose to work on stupidly long-tail keywords that no-one will ever actually search for.

Being on page 1 of Google isn't a big deal. It's position one and two you should be aiming for. Being in position 10 (which would still see you paying for the service) will get you very little return on investment.

Their methods will put your site at risk. For this sort of money, they won't be spending hours building quality links. They will be building thousands of spammy links. Google doesn't want to rank sites that only boast these types of links so be prepared to fall down the rankings (or disappear altogether) at some point down the line.

The reason the agencies you spoke to couldn't guarantee you results is because no good agency will.

If you want to get real results for your money, it will cost you - but in the long run, it'll be worth it.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

if the company is one of the "big boys" then place the order.

If you are choosing the keywords then you have nothing to loose.

How many threads has there been over the years where someone took the "there's nothing to lose" attitude and found they couldn't get a refund... and the company kept taking money from them, no matter how many times they were asked to stop?

The "£x for y relevant keywords" pricing model is very popular with scammers. I've yet to come across ANYONE honest in either the SEO or PPC industries that offers this sort of pricing. Simply because it makes no sense whatsoever for either the marketer or the client.

I'd suggest the OP walks away from this.

 

[zigojacko]

I think many people's misconception of the word guarantee is half the issue here.

Under no circumstances whatsoever can anyone other than Google actually guarantee whether a page will rank for said keyword. There are no ifs, there are no buts.

If Google decided to shut down tomorrow, penalise a domain or simply decided they didn't like a site and didn't want to rank it anymore- yes it's unlikely, but anything could happen - it's their own engineering, it's their own website, it's their own business - they can do what they like with it.

The fact remains that the term guarantee is obviously not understood by a large majority of web users. It means an absolute certainty that it will happen (unless it matches criteria set out in the small print - and there are often loop holes in these scenarios).

 

[popunder]

The fact remains that the term guarantee is obviously not understood by a large majority of web users. It means an absolute certainty that it will happen (unless it matches criteria set out in the small print - and there are often loop holes in these scenarios).

You're right about the misuse of the word guarantee, I see it everywhere and not just online. The true meaning has been devalued by misuse over time. Usually it's "we guarantee that something will happen and if it doesn't we'll..." - hang on you just guaranteed that it would! A favourite I saw was "we guarantee x leads from our website in 6 months, and if you don't get them we give you another 6 months on the site free". Brilliant! Your guarantee if the service is hopeless is to stay on the hopeless service for even longer and hope for the best!! Classic.

What they're actually guaranteeing is the "if it doesn't..." part as that's the only thing they have control over. So in this case they can only try to get you onto Google P1 but they can guarantee to refund you if they don't. Sounds pedantic but the difference is important.

If the OP's friend has "used them for over a year and is happy" this should give him more confidence than any guarantee. Provided his friend isn't paying £99 a month for some super-niche keywords that don't actually need any SEO effort.

So actually on that basis I'll offer get your keywords onto P1 Google for £98 a month and if I don't...

 

[RedEvo]

Have to agree with respect to the word guarantee. However it's not just the SEO companies that are the problem. We get requests from companies looking for SEO who demand a guarantee so it's no wonder unscrupulous providers decide to offer one, it panders to people's ill informed requests

d

 

[lynxus]

They cant do it.

Not only is it impossible to "guarantee" ranking, Its also impossible to verify it!!

Google tailor search results on a per person basis now so if something comes up #1 for you, it may come up #2000 for someone else.

Dont trust em.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

We get requests from companies looking for SEO who demand a guarantee so it's no wonder unscrupulous providers decide to offer one, it panders to people's ill informed requests

Why's it "ill informed"?

It's people asking you if you put your money where your mouth is. They're asking if the deal is...

"I'll lead you to believe we'll get you rankings, but we keep your money whether we get you results or not"

...or...

"I'm so sure we'll get these rankings that, should we fail, we'll return every penny of your fee".

It's only in the world of SEO, that the 2nd sort of proposition is regarded as less honest than the former.

 

[RedEvo]

Why's it "ill informed"?

It's ill informed by definition as rankings can't be guaranteed.

d

 

[weareable]

Any confident SEO will not even start to charge until they get results. The guy I use takes up to two to four months before he starts to charge. He manages to keep his prices low as he is investing in a long term contract.

 

[RedEvo]

Any confident SEO will not even start to charge until they get results. The guy I use takes up to two to four months before he starts to charge. He manages to keep his prices low as he is investing in a long term contract.

It's not a business model I would subscribe to.

d

 

[directmarketingadvice]

It's ill informed by definition as rankings can't be guaranteed.

d

Yes, they can. "I'll guarantee the rankings. If I don't get them, you get your money back". That's called a "money-back guarantee".

Many things are sold along these lines. For example, my split-testing service works this way. If I don't beat the existing version, I don't get any royalties and refund the deposit.

Steve

 

[RedEvo]

Yes, they can. "I'll guarantee the rankings. If I don't get them, you get your money back". That's called a "money-back guarantee".

Many things are sold along these lines. For example, my split-testing service works this way. If I don't beat the existing version, I don't get any royalties and refund the deposit.

Steve

Saying you can guarantee something doesn't mean you can guarantee it, and if you say you can, when you can't, to get money off someone, that's dishonest, and that's what's being discussed in this thread.

If you take on the work and only get paid when you achieve results that's fine. But to make a guarantee in order to make a sale, irrespective of a money back guarantee, is dishonest, IMHO.

d

 

[weareable]

It's not a business model I would subscribe to.

d

The guy used to be my competition on the SEO side. He did it from the back of the cafe he owned. That was about one year ago. I pay him to do my seo now. Went to see him at his new office last week and it looks like its working for him. 25+ full time staff in over a year. All that from a "Pay me when I get you the results" policy.

 

[RedEvo]

The guy used to be my competition on the SEO side. He did it from the back of the cafe he owned. That was about one year ago. I pay him to do my seo now. Went to see him at his new office last week and it looks like its working for him. 25+ full time staff in over a year. All that from a "Pay me when I get you the results" policy.

Hats off to him. My position remains unchanged, it's not a business model I subscribe to.

d

 

[weareable]

Hats off to him. My position remains unchanged, it's not a business model I subscribe to.

d

Nor I to be honest but it goes to show that some are prepared to put their money where their mouth is.
I guess its a bit like forecasting the weather. Just when you think you have the hang of it a Panda farts and wind changes.

 

[RedEvo]

I'm well versed with putting my money where my mouth is, I've made a habit out of it over the years. For example I've just taken a 10% stake in an e-learning company on a sweat equity basis.

However, my main business has overheads and highly qualified staff, that costs real money every week.

d

 

[eventdomain]

And it would cost about 20-30 pounds/month/one keyword.

You know you can rank permanently on keywords without monthly fees dont you?

There are SEO's that will charge a set fee eg: £400, and once placed you'll remain there. I'd be wary of any large monthly fees, where the fee keeps on clocking up, and never ends.

Personally, I'd do most of the link building yourself, basic link building isnt difficult and requires no special knowledge to do it. Obviously, basic links will only get you so far, then you'll be left with 2 choices:

1. Buy link-space on websites

2. PPC

buying links for a reasonable fee is a good alternative, the websites will charge a small yearly fee and your set - with guaranteed traffic from those links for a set period eg: 6 months/1 year.

The advantage compared to SEO is you won't get stuck with a eg: £300 monthly fee, which works out at £3600 a year, and you may get nothing out of it.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Saying you can guarantee something doesn't mean you can guarantee it

No, but guaranteeing it does.

Steve

 

[popunder]

Yes, they can. "I'll guarantee the rankings. If I don't get them, you get your money back". That's called a "money-back guarantee".

Precisely. "Money back guarantee". The thing guaranteed is the "money back" bit, NOT the rankings themselves.

 

[amy9]

You know you can rank permanently on keywords without monthly fees dont you?

Only with PPC.


There are SEO's that will charge a set fee eg: £400, and once placed you'll remain there.

How? Unless you're talking about PPC, not SEO.

Personally, I'd do most of the link building yourself, basic link building isnt difficult and requires no special knowledge to do it. Obviously, basic links will only get you so far, then you'll be left with 2 choices:

1. Buy link-space on websites

2. PPC

buying links for a reasonable fee is a good alternative, the websites will charge a small yearly fee and your set - with guaranteed traffic from those links for a set period eg: 6 months/1 year.

'guaranteed' - there's that word again. I'd be surprised if any website could get you more than a few clicks from a link, let alone enough to justify whatever they're charging.

The advantage compared to SEO is you won't get stuck with a eg: £300 monthly fee, which works out at £3600 a year, and you may get nothing out of it.

Do you sell links yourself or something because you don't half talk a lot of ****?

 

[Employment Law Clinic]

Precisely. "Money back guarantee". The thing guaranteed is the "money back" bit, NOT the rankings themselves.

I can buy a TV from John Lewis, normally coming with a 5 year guarantee.

As JL don't make the TVs, they can't absolutely guarantee it will work for the 5 years, but they at least provide a commitment of what they would do if it doesn't.


No-Win, No-Fee firms can't guarantee they'll win every legal case, as they have no more control on the outcome of a court case than an SEO does of a campaign. If they don't win though, there is no fee.


It's not for every business, but I do agree with Steve that (at least some) SEOs should be willing to guarantee minimum achievements or compensate/not charge if they don't achieve the agreed goals.


The government regulate No-Win firms heavily, but it's still a populated market. SEO is not regulated at all, so what's wrong with adopting a business model that's worked in the legal industry - one that can assess (legal) chances as much as an SEO, without absolutely guaranteeing the outcome? If a KW is competitive or challenging, put a price on to match to the difficulty & the risk of failure.



Karl Limpert

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Precisely. "Money back guarantee". The thing guaranteed is the "money back" bit, NOT the rankings themselves.

No, they're guaranteeing the rankings. The same way, in Karl's example, John Lewis are guaranteeing the TV.

This the same old "guarantee doesn't mean guarantee" that the SEO bunch pull every time the thorny issue of "who carries the risk if you don't get the rankings?" is brought up on here.

A Google search on "guarantee" gives the definition:

A formal promise or assurance (typically in writing) that certain conditions will be fulfilled

So, yes, if clients are hiring you to get them rankings, you can, should you chose, guarantee rankings.

Steve

 

[popunder]

Exactly, "A formal promise or assurance (typically in writing) that certain conditions will be fulfilled". Are you saying as an SEO can you formally promise or assure that a client will get certain Google rankings for their keywords?

 

[eventdomain]

'guaranteed' - there's that word again. I'd be surprised if any website could get you more than a few clicks from a link, let alone enough to justify whatever they're charging.

I deliver an average of 500 targeted visitors per client, per year (from a basic level service) and can prove it via an internal stats system. I can safely and easily guarantee 150-200 visitors per client within 2 months..... and thats with the lesser of the 2 main websites I own.

Do you sell links yourself or something because you don't half talk a lot of ****?

I do sell links as it happens - which is why I have over 2000 paying clients plus I've also given away over 520'000 free links too within 18 months.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Exactly, "A formal promise or assurance (typically in writing) that certain conditions will be fulfilled". Are you saying as an SEO can you formally promise or assure that a client will get certain Google rankings for their keywords?

I'm not an SEO.

However, if I were an SEO, I'd offer a guarantee that the client would achieve a certain minimum result - either in terms of p1 rankings or in terms of increased traffic.

Steve