Do SEO Companies serve any useful purpose?

[banseos]

I think some of the major Search Engines are a mess right now. I, with absolute certainty, blame the SEO Companys 100% for the problems and challenges facing the Search Engine business.

What do you think about SEO Companies?

[fathom]

I think some of the major Search Engines are a mess right now. I, with absolute certainty, blame the SEO Companys 100% for the problems and challenges facing the Search Engine business.

What do you think about SEO Companies?

I know few major search engines (apart from Looksmart) that are having problems, and hear no search engine users complaining about them either.

Admittedly though most people when things aren't going right want to blame someone else.

[Cabbie]

Hi Guys

I think the SEO play a part in the reason for search engine change but the googles altavistas etc of this world would still be changing their alogs anyway just to keep everyone on their toes and to get rid of the spam. For example with google's new algo update, if everyone was annoyed with this change and then no one would use google, do you think they would keep the new algo. Trust me they would go back to previous algos.
What it boils down to is that everyone is their own SEO whether they use a company or themselves.
Everyone wants their site up at the top just some cant do it , some can do it and some are amazin at doing it. That is why the engines will always be changing. So I dont think we can all blame the SEo companies for this - but they do seem like a good choice.

Merry Xmas everyone!

[ronniethedodger]

What do you think about SEO Companies?

I do not deal with them, so I would not have an opinion one way or the either. Nor do I really keep up on the daily goings-on in that area...so again I have no opinion.

What I can say is that they are useful to serve as an example of what or what not to do. I read here and there about how they are to blame for our lot in the Internet life. Whether that is really true or not, then I say learn from it if it is -- keep on keeping on.

What it boils down to is that everyone is their own SEO whether they use a company or themselves.

That is deep (and so very true)...I like it !!!

[minstrel]

Do SEO Companies serve any useful purpose?

Useful to whom?

I don't like RAP "music" but one of my sons does - so RAP is "useful" to him but not to me.

I don't need a wheelchair (so far) so wheelchair companies don't serve a useful purpose to me (so far) but I don't think anyone would want to argue that they don't serve a useful purpose to some people.

My brother would never hire anyone to do renovations on his house or plow his driveway in the winter, but I suck at carpentry and I hate shoveling snow so people who provide those services are very useful to me.

[ronniethedodger]

I suck at carpentry and I hate shoveling snow so people who provide those services are very useful to me.

I suck at carpentry too !!! It is a very bad profession to be all-thumbs in.

But, I have been known to suck snow !!! %-(

[excell]

It seems there is an assumption that SEO is associated with SE SPAM?

I would not lump all SEO's under the same banner. Methodologies range from pure optimisation of the web site and positioning within the web (making it the best it can be and clearly communicating with the intended audience) - this type I consider actually *help* the SEs and the searchers...through to methods that fall well outside of any guidelines and are clearly intended to trick and fool not only the SEs but also the searchers.

So to answer the question, one would have to know what you mean by SEO?

[Cabbie]

excell is right.

but if the search engines got their finger out of their butt and started banning sites that have in their title e.g for example "scotland business - business in scotland" when said title is clearly spam. Then the real SEO's would not stoop to such lenghts. So SEO's would not get a bad name.

I dont relate SEO with spam anyway but if a SEO's have to get their clients site to come up agaist their clients compeditor then they would not be tempted to use such methods as they know they would be banned from google etc...

The problem is sometimes a compeditors will use other SEO's that design their website which is clearly using spaming Techniques but these people dont get their sites banned. so it can be quite tempting to join them.
As I said before we are all our own SEO's so it's up to us all to stay within the search engine law.
I just wish the search engines who keep their word by banning spam websites.
If they did then I would definetly say the SEO serve their purpose

Here edith the lesson.
Rememeber the taxi driver always knows best.

Cabbie from Glasgow in Scotland!

[ronniethedodger]

but if the search engines got their finger out of their butt and started banning sites that have in their title e.g for example "scotland business - business in scotland" when said title is clearly spam. Then the real SEO's would not stoop to such lenghts. So SEO's would not get a bad name.

That is a little harsh. For one...I HAVE to resort to a form of this myself. Or create a whole seperate set of pages to accomodate it.

In my situation it is the search engine that forces me to do it (no name here ... hehehe)

I have a case where in the title I use the word "Burts" plus the rest of the actual name. If you go to this search engine and do a search for Burts, it comes back and asks you "Did you mean Burt's".

Clicking on the "Did you mean..." link produces drastically different results and I am sunk.

So in order to get around this...I use both Burts and Burt's in my titles --- would you consider this to be spamming in this case ???

Sometimes I think there are different levels of spamming. Some are more blatant than others, and it boils down to what the intent is of the writers. In my case I think I have a legitimate case to use both in the Title.

This type of spamming (if you choose to call it that) is necessary. At the other end of the spectrum is the really nasty, lowlife, scumbag sites that use deceptive techniques such as javascript to write redirection code into the document or DIV positioning tags to position one-hundred text links at -100, -100 outside of the browser window.

You asked in a previous post "So to answer the question, one would have to know what you mean by SEO?"

I now ask, what do you consider to be spam? Are there different levels of spam? Can some spam be interpreted as non-spam, and vice-versa?

PS -- I am beginning to like this thread so much that it prompted me to change my Signature line. ;-)

[Cabbie]

Ronniethedodger
Let's not get away from the question "are SEO's any good" which I say they have their purpose!

I can see this post having many branches that shoot from the main tree.

My attitude is.... I suppose I can be considered an SEO - even though I'm a taxi driver who designed his own website from his business.
My main Taxi site has about 8000 to 14,000 search terms to find it every month.
I have designed websites for clients and optimized them. I have optimized websites designed by other people so yes I'm an SEO - freelance.

I can understand your thinking about Burts & Burt's.
I don't see this as a form of spam.
Example if your into "hill walking" and especially scotland, the there is a famous place called arthur's seat - which is in Edinburgh but people also know it as arthus seat so there you go two important terms that brings up different searches.
Now for me I have designed a website for a friend (free of charge) which is about his experiences of "hill walking in scotland". He has just finished "arthur's seat" of which I have made a page. Now obviously I will have to make a page stating "hill walking arthur's seat" & "hill walking arthurs seat". I will do this but they will be 2 separate pages about the same thing but changed search term but one page will mainly be about the accommodation in the area. As I see it, my mate does not make any money from this site he just wants people to know about it - so he has nothing to gain financially. If people wanted to know about "arthurs seat", they would definetly want to know about both his pages even though they would only type one search term to find it.
I will do this and I dont see this as spam.

ronniethedodger you said

• At the other end of the spectrum is the really nasty, lowlife, scumbag sites that use deceptive techniques such as javascript to write redirection code into the document or DIV positioning tags to position one-hundred text links at -100, -100 outside of the browser window.

They are the ones who should be banned.

There are different levels os SEO spam but "scotland business - business in scotland" is in my eyes "trying to get one over you" spam.
Burts and burt's is not spam but I would prefer each term was in a different relevant page.

I could go on and on about this with different examples but I'm a webpro neewbie so my fingers are a bit sore.

merry xmas everyone