Company just pitched us for SEO

[UseYourWeb]

Ok so we've just had a company pitch us for seo. They we're really knowledgeable (seemed to be) but one thing the guy said was that he had friends inside Google that he had met at a conference in new york. I told this to a guy I knew and he said it's one of the industry warning signs when people claim to have friends in Google.

Can anyone elaborate?

Other than that that the guy seemed to be pretty knowledgeable. His website is onlinexcellence.com
Hoping someone can give me some feedback on what their gut would be telling them.

Thanks guys

Dale

 

[Chris Elwood]

Sounds a bit iffy to me. We have come across multiple SEO "experts" with links to Google. Some have even been known to tell us they are calling from Google themselves. We work exclusively with one company now who we have had excellent results with on multiple client sites. If you are interested in speaking with them let me know and I will put you guys in touch.

 

[fisicx]

What are they pitcihing? All I can tell from their website is they offer SEO training. And anyone who says they have Google insider knowledge is usually talking bollox.

And why would a successful SEO company need to cold call to get new business?

 

[UseYourWeb]

Technically they didnt cold call, they we're invited to come in. I'm leaving my current position for greener pastures and it leaves a gap in skillset, particularly seo, ppc , analytics, etc as well as technical optimisation. Theres just something about a guy saying he had insider google friends that raised alarm bells

 

[Matt Thorpe]

Hi Dale, if this guy is using 'his mate at Google' as a selling point then it does seem a bit suspect.

Just because somebody knows somebody then it doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. Results speak a thousand words, as do customer references.

If you are impressed with them then I would ask to speak with a few of their clients and get them to show you the results they have achieved and what keywords they have focused on. Also, tie them down to deliverables and get them to detail how they will go about it.

Good luck.

Matt

 

[Leather Briefcase Company]

Ask them for their testimonials.

Any one who is any good will be delighted to prove what they've done in the past.
I'm not saying every SEO company is shy and modest, but this aspect of their business is the first thing to look for, and I can't see any mention on this website.

 

[Shopclicks]

Their 'Google friends' don't appear to have done them any favours with their own website ranking. Can't think of any other reason they would imply they had friends at Google other than telling them how to get sites ranked. Sounds like BS.

 

[ldjames]

We get these a lot - they usually start with:

Hello Dear!!
Greetings of The Day!!



Seriously though, it does sound suspect and I would avoid it.

 

[rhys_td]

I'm always sceptical when an "SEO Agency" try to leverage their ability with anything other than "look at our results". Insider friends in Google sounds like they're grasping at straws to actually show you they're not your typical SEO "guru" who basically just throw shit at walls until it sticks.

I've had a quick browse and they don't rank even in the top 2-3 pages for most of their key terms, I guess their buddy at Google hasn't magically ranked their website yet?

Anyone who hasn't thoroughly tested website's constantly using different methods has no place to be commenting on how good they are at SEO, the only knowledge they have is from blogs and random online courses by people who have also read blogs. 99% of people doing SEO are blog readers and course takers, the 1% are the practitioners who actually experiment with websites and have working knowledge of how things actually work.

My rule of thumb with SEO (even though I don't get poached, I'm in SEO myself) is avoid anyone who can't provide you with proof of real results.

 

[rhys_td]

We get these a lot - they usually start with:

Hello Dear!!
Greetings of The Day!!

Do they then proceed to tell you how much brilliant work they've done, sometimes linking to a website full of reviews (sometimes videos) by people who are clearly plucked from "Fiverr" ? haha

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I have 'friends' in Google and I know more about the Algorithm than they do

Honestly the only 'insider' info is low level stuff, and about specific products or elements, they might well know someone in Google I have spent time with Matt Cutts a few times at SEO conferences, mainly because of contacts, but again,. he didn't know as much as some people claim.

What I have found is that the insiders at google TRULY believe what they are told, because testing pretty much discounts much of what they say.

The PHD's that work on the Algorithms talk to no-one, they don't attend conferences, they have no forward facing contact whatsoever. hell they mostly don't even talk to EACH OTHER as they work in pockets on specific elements.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

I have spent time with Matt Cutts

You poor thing...!

The PHD's that work on the Algorithms talk to no-one, they don't attend conferences, they have no forward facing contact whatsoever. hell they mostly don't even talk to EACH OTHER as they work in pockets on specific elements.

I understood they'd contractually obliged to not speak about the algorithm outside of their team...

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Yep, Mums the word! Also it is amazing to see how wrong many of these 'googlers' are in their beliefs. Although I was once told that it is so complex no individual knows the Algo any more.

 

[rhys_td]

The PHD's that work on the Algorithms talk to no-one, they don't attend conferences, they have no forward facing contact whatsoever.

The joys of working at Google eh!

 

[fisicx]

There was a bloke posting on UKBF a little while back spouting SEO nonsense who claimed to be an ex Google employee. Turns out he was just an Adsense account manager.

 

[pcproblems]

This extract from whois made me smile

Registrant Organization: Merely Providing Technology Solutions Ltd

 

[stevebrownlie]

Having Rand vouch for him personally (see homepage) is a pretty big endorsement, especially as it's not general, but specific about his work. I think it's only a warning sign if it's clearly not true. Google is a pretty big company, lots of people have friends there... I agree with the posters that it's not really something of merit to include in a sales pitch, though.

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

I don't know they guy or know how good he is (I'm sure he's very competent), but looking at that website and the other ones he has, I can't help but be struck by how many times he mentions Rand Fishkin (and his mother!). He's a big fan of Rand Fishkin!

 

[Mystro]

The way i see it, he may have friends in Google but they aint doing him many favours as his site is not very busy, so that wont help anyone else no matter who he knows

Reading his site i have no doubt he knows what he is on about, but as his site is so quite I doubt he can actually carry it off, to a high degree,

It may just be my suspicious nature but likes what already been mentioned if you are that good people will come to you, and you certainly would not use the old my mate works at Google

 

[ZeroDouble]

As said, I would have thought that having friends who work at google, and subsequently taking their advice, would make your SEO worse, not better.

 

[websensejim]

When you hear things like "I have a friend at Google", "connections with Google", "relationship with Google", or "guaranteed results/rankings", etc you must do 2 things

1. RUN
2. DON'T LOOK BACK

 

[JPSEO]

Their URL structure does not look the best:-
onlinexcellence dot com/faq-W21page-4-

 

[longnhvietnam]

Haha, it looks like you trying to promote onlinexcellence.com.
Nevermind, just kidding.
If you think that guy is really good. Go ahead. I don't think that he had a friend works inside Google does not matter at all.