Hiring an SEO expert that uses AI - Heads up!

[Talktime]

So, I took a leap of faith and hired an SEO whiz. Their mission? To sprinkle some digital magic on our website, boost traffic, and send sales skyrocketing to the moon!

They did their thing, tweaking the site's content and sprinkling tags like confetti. After the revamped site went live, all seemed well until D-Day arrived, and our sales vanished into thin air faster than you can say "algorithm."

So there I was, sweating bullets and frantically dialling up the IT Avengers to crack this digital conundrum. And what did they find? Our SEO superhero had unwittingly summoned the AI apocalypse, churning out tags and content so artificial that even Google spat them out faster than a toddler with broccoli!

After hitting the panic button and rolling back to a previous version, we're now stuck in SEO rehab, trying to claw our way back up the search ladder.

Consider this cautionary tale a public service announcement: when AI meets SEO, proceed with caution, or risk disappearing into the digital ether!

 

[NickZ]

So, I took a leap of faith and hired an SEO whiz. Their mission? To sprinkle some digital magic on our website, boost traffic, and send sales skyrocketing to the moon!

No SEO can do that.
Stay away from people promising you 1st place on Google.
Just apply some critical thinking.

 

[Talktime]

Our primary goal wasn't to secure the top spot on Google. Instead, we aim for others to lead, allowing potential customers to review them before encountering our site. We aspire for potential customers to choose us as their consultant based on the quality advice offered on our website when compared to others at the top of Google.

 

[fisicx]

Why did you choose this person? What made them stand out from all the other snake oil salespeople?

From your last post it seems you needed marketing help rather than sEO.

 

[Talktime]

Marketing isn't necessary for me as I'm well aware of my target audience and the specific niche within the market where opportunities exist.

Fascinating that you employ the term "snake oil." What led you to characterise SEO in this manner?

 

[tony84]

I spoke to a few SEO people when looking to employ somoene.

I ended up choosing to use a lad who spent about an hour on the phone to me just talking about his job, the passion came across. When it came to talking number, he said he would do one month for free and if we could not see an improvement at the end of 4-5 weeks, i could walk away freely.

We did see an improvement, minor but still impressive in a short space of time.
Within 2 years, I was hovering around 8th-12th on google for a growing list of key phrases - I was punching well above my weight considering my budget.

It would be interesting to hear why you chose that particular person.

The lad I used took a look at my site, he told me some easy fixes and told me where he reckons we ould get to, I was lead to believe 5th to 10th for a few reasonable terms would be achievable and if covid had no hit, I am sure we would have got there.

The bloke is now a business partner on another project funnily enough.

Hopefully you get it sorted.

 

[Talktime]

I hired an SEO specialist through Freelancer who came highly recommended with numerous positive write-ups and reviews. However, I didn't anticipate that employing AI would yield unexpected results. It seems the SEO expert might have been unaware too, as AI is relatively new in the SEO field.

 

[Shopclicks]

Fascinating that you employ the term "snake oil." What led you to characterise SEO in this manner?

You used the term in a thread from a couple of years ago. And you were right to ask that question. The industry is full of 'snake oil type practices'.

However, I didn't anticipate that employing AI would yield unexpected results.

Using A.I. verbatim is outside of Google's E-E-A-T guidelines for content creation. It isn't possible for an A.I. bot to create Expertise, Experience, Trustworthiness or Authority in any field (perhaps with the exception of 'the use of A.I. tools').

There's nothing wrong with using A.I. to create ideas, keywords, structure or direction for your content. But those ideas need to be woven into your own expertise (written with authority in the first-person). That's a job for you or a switched-on copywriter.

Don't rely on positive write-ups and reviews, ask to see results.

 

[fisicx]

Reviews and write ups on any freelancer site should be taken with a large pinch of salt.

SEO is part of marketing. Most of any SEO project is about research and a lot of talking to the client to find out more about the business. Sometimes the necessary changes are small but with huge significance. A one word change to the homepage title can transform your ranking.

It’s snake oil because most people selling SEO services done want to do the hard work. It’s easier for them to churn out content and build links. Both of which can seriously affect your ranking as you have discovered.

You say you understand your niche and targets @Talktime but have you really identified how they search for your services?

 

[Talktime]

All my clients discover me organically, without any paid promotions or sponsored search listings. Through research, I've identified the keywords potential clients use to find me, a strategy that has consistently yielded results—until I decided to engage a third-party SEO service.

I'm virtually extinct on Google, facing a daunting journey to undo the harm. This ordeal underscores Google's power to erase one's online presence in a flash, yet its restoration process spans several months.

 

[fisicx]

Restoration may never happen. So you do need an alternative marketing plan.

Google makes it very clear in their terms that indexing and ranking is not guaranteed. And your penalty may have identified other issues that were under radar until now.

You may be better off setting up an new website. Or running a Google ads campaign.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Marketing isn't necessary for me

What do you think SEO is?

ALL businesses require some form of marketing.

 

[antropy]

ALL businesses require some form of marketing.

Agreed.

Consider this cautionary tale a public service announcement: when AI meets SEO, proceed with caution, or risk disappearing into the digital ether!

But clearly this post was written by AI.

Paul.

 

[Talktime]

It is paradoxical that Google penalised me, yet now you suggest I purchase an enhancement for my website's search rankings.


Quite some time ago, in 2009, I came across an article discussing the effectiveness of paid Google listings in our industry. The research revealed that potential customers don't typically react favourably to search links boosted through payment. Additionally, there was a case where a researcher who paid Google for a search enhancement had her bank account drained due to a click-fraud scheme orchestrated by a competitor and others curious about who was investing in search enhancements. Because of this, I've decided to steer clear of paying for search enhancements, nowadays called "sponsored" links.

 

[Talktime]

What I meant was that I've required external marketing assistance. Until now, all my marketing endeavours have been confined to online websites, but engaging with SEO services marked my initial foray into using outsourced marketing expertise. Given the specialised nature of our business, I've chosen to handle marketing internally.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

nowadays called "sponsored" links

Or advertising!

 

[Talktime]

Agreed.


But clearly this post was written by AI.

Paul.

Great! Google's out there playing Sherlock spotting AI from AI, and now we've got a human spotting AI from humans.

 

[Talktime]

Or advertising!

I looked into paid ads in our field, but these don't attract customers, only clicks. For publicity, I've done radio and TV spots, but clients don't come to me for my brand. They find me by searching for answers online, leading them to me through organic search results.

I'm almost ready to accept that I'll have to make a whole new website, which means I'll have to write a bunch of new material, and we all know that takes a lot of time.

 

[fisicx]

I looked into paid ads in our field, but these don't attract customers, only clicks.

Maybe one of the trilogy of components was wrong (keywords, advert, landing page). If all three are properly aligned clicks do convert and can be very lucrative.

Remember, the landing page needs to be customised for the ad campaign. You can't just use your standard pages.

 

[1977]

What I meant was that I've required external marketing assistance. Until now, all my marketing endeavours have been confined to online websites, but engaging with SEO services marked my initial foray into using outsourced marketing expertise. Given the specialised nature of our business, I've chosen to handle marketing internally.

(why do you sound like chatgpt?)

Anyway, I'm more of a fan of the offline websites, personally.

Out of interest, what was your budget?

And did he outline why he was doing what he was doing?

 

[fisicx]

What is you do @Talktime?

 

[Talktime]

(why do you sound like chatgpt?)

Anyway, I'm more of a fan of the offline websites, personally.

Out of interest, what was your budget?

And did he outline why he was doing what he was doing?

If I sound like Chat GPT, then I'm getting worried. Hopefully, my clients don't share the same sentiment. I'm not entirely clear on what an "offline website" entails, apart from seeming contradictory. I allocated a budget of £2500.

The SEO specialist revamped my website's meta tags and fine-tuned the content by rephrasing it. He did precisely that, but I didnt know he used AI.

 

[Talktime]

What is you do @Talktime?

I advise in a niche legal area and refer clients to solicitors

 

[1977]

If I sound like Chat GPT, then I'm getting worried. Hopefully, my clients don't share the same sentiment. I'm not entirely clear on what an "offline website" entails, apart from seeming contradictory. I allocated a budget of £2500.

The SEO specialist revamped my website's meta tags and fine-tuned the content by rephrasing it. He did precisely that, but I didnt know he used AI.

Ignore me, I'm being stupid.

2.5k is a decent enough budget (depending on the size of the task, obviously), but without seeing the site in question its impossible to tell.

If you want me to take a look for you I'd be happy to do so.

Appreciate you might not want to share it though

 

[Talktime]

Is this your line of work?

 

[1977]

Is this your line of work?

yes

 

[Talktime]

This is the website as it appeared before SEO optimisation. I have a copy of it after optimisation is you want to see it,

National Bailiff Advice

Your hired gun for chasing away difficult bailiffs!

www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk

 

[1977]

for context, one of my clients is a large Canadian venture firm and I got obsessed with SEO because I had my pants pulled down a couple of times when I started over 11 years ago...

 

[fisicx]

I advise in a niche legal area and refer clients to solicitors

I can understand the reticence of people clicking on adverts. But that doesn't mean it can't work. The fact they are clicking means you should be converting.

The SEO specialist revamped my website's meta tags and fine-tuned the content by rephrasing it. He did precisely that, but I didnt know he used AI.

If that's what they did (even without using AI) they really didn't know what they were doing.

You said you were already ranking so there shouldn't have been any fine tuning needed. One of the golden rules if SEO is to not tinker with anything that already works. You should enhance and add but not change without lots and lots of testing. If your ranking was poor then analysis was required before doing anything.

All too late now. Your ranking may return but it may not.

Which means you need an alternate marketing plan.

 

[fisicx]

This is the website as it appeared before SEO optimisation. I have a copy of it after optimisation is you want to see it,

National Bailiff Advice

Your hired gun for chasing away difficult bailiffs!

www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk

There is a whole load of things you could do to that site for a lot less than £2500 that would have an immediate effect.

If you want a website review you need to be a business member.

PS: I used to help out someone doing exactly what you do - their website ranked well and pulled in a load of leads. They also ran paid adverts which also worked really well.

 

[Talktime]

This was my first foray into SEO and could have been a better experience. Over the years, I have received marketing emails offering SEO, but it appears contradictory if an SEO expert cannot get clients outside spamming emails. Since so many news articles about SEO have been published, I must have missed something, so I took a gamble. Believe me! It didn't turn out well!

 

[Shopclicks]

You don't have a ranking problem, you have a keyword problem.

Become a business member and get a website review.

 

[Talktime]

I understand Google doesn't read key words. I asked for them to be removed. The site you see is the pre- SEO version.

 

[Shopclicks]

I understand Google doesn't read key words. I asked for them to be removed. The site you see is the pre- SEO version.

I'm not talking about meta keywords. I'm referring to on-page titles and content and meta titles and descriptions.

 

[fisicx]

I understand Google doesn't read key words. I asked for them to be removed. The site you see is the pre- SEO version.

He means something different.

Upgrade your membership and get a website review. You won’t like what you read but it will be valuable advice.

 

[Talktime]

Chat GPT has been mentioned on this topic and in a recent article on this website, so I decided to take the leap. I selected a random page on my website.


https://www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk/Stay-High-Court-Writ-Set-Aside-Judgment.html

I told ChatGPT to create meta tags for this webpage to boost its Google ranking, and this is what I got.

Sure, here are the meta tags optimized for search engine results with an emphasis on experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust:

<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Stay High Court Writ Set Aside Judgment | National Bailiff Advice UK</title>
<meta name="description" content="Discover expert guidance on how to stay a High Court writ and set aside judgment in England and Wales. National Bailiff Advice UK provides authoritative insights into legal procedures, ensuring compliance and protection of your rights. Trust our expertise for reliable information and guidance.">
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk/Stay-High-Court-Writ-Set-Aside-Judgment.html">
<meta name="geo.region" content="GB">
<meta name="geo.placename" content="London">
<meta name="geo.position" content="51.5074;-0.1278">
<meta name="ICBM" content="51.5074, -0.1278">
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
<meta name="googlebot" content="index, follow">
<meta name="bingbot" content="index, follow">
<meta name="author" content="National Bailiff Advice UK">
<meta name="revisit-after" content="28 days">
<meta name="rating" content="general">
<meta name="distribution" content="global">
<meta name="language" content="en-GB">

These tags are crafted to enhance the search engine ranking of the provided URL, highlighting the expertise, authority, and trustworthiness of the content for the target audience in England and Wales.

Can anyone tell me what is wrong with these AI-generated tags?

 

[fantheflames]

I spoke to a few SEO people when looking to employ somoene.

I ended up choosing to use a lad who spent about an hour on the phone to me just talking about his job, the passion came across. When it came to talking number, he said he would do one month for free and if we could not see an improvement at the end of 4-5 weeks, i could walk away freely.

We did see an improvement, minor but still impressive in a short space of time.
Within 2 years, I was hovering around 8th-12th on google for a growing list of key phrases - I was punching well above my weight considering my budget.

It would be interesting to hear why you chose that particular person.

The lad I used took a look at my site, he told me some easy fixes and told me where he reckons we ould get to, I was lead to believe 5th to 10th for a few reasonable terms would be achievable and if covid had no hit, I am sure we would have got there.

The bloke is now a business partner on another project funnily enough.

Hopefully you get it sorted.

These are stories I like to hear. When you connect with someone based on the project, not the end result or prices. There's plenty of authentic experts out there, but there's also plenty of... grab your money and run people.

 

[fisicx]

Can anyone tell me what is wrong with these AI-generated tags?

Because they aren’t needed. They may however raise red flags at the googleplex.

 

[Talktime]

Can you say why they aren't needed? This article says Google reads meta tags.


https://developers.google.com/searc...ogle can read both HTML,code used on the page.

Can you say why the tags I quoted above may raise red flags?

 

[fisicx]

That is an ancient Google article. Things have moved on a lot since then.

You need a title that properly describes the purpose of the page. The meta description is marketing copy used to entice the searcher to click your link.

Your description looks fake - the writing style isn't natural and doesn't reflect the content on the page. That's the red flag.

The rest are pretty much redundant these days.

But you do need a consider using schema. These should be properly hand crafted. Don't automate their creation. If you understand how schema works you can give yourself a big boost.

Schema.org - Schema.org

Schema.org is a set of extensible schemas that enables webmasters to embed structured data on their web pages for use by search engines and other applications.

schema.org