[Jade]

I bought some SEO services off a webmaster forum, and I was very disappointed with the results, the spelling was poor & basically it was not worth $100 AT ALL!

So be careful when buying these services.

[quinda]

$100? What did they promise you for that?

I think it would be better to either use somwhere like Digitalpoint (and make sure they have a high iTrader score first) or just save the money, SEO yourself, and spend it on buying incoming links....

Sorry you got ripped off :(

[LCD Monitor]

Q. How do you become an SEO expert?

A. Call yourself one.

Unfortunately, what originated as a joke has become more and more familiar with those that are purchasing so-called SEO experts. The level of service is typically disappointing and seldom will you notice any real difference unless you pay top dollar.

When looking for SEO, you need somebody with a reputation and a good portfolio of sites with references. A good company will cost you, but you can rest assured that you will actually get something in return for your hard-earned cash.

Too many kids doing it these days, thinking that adding META tags and submitting your site to directories will bring you traffic. In truth, there is a whole lot more to it than that.

[Jade]

I got him from Digital Point, maybe I should of been more careful.
He said he would do the meta tags, keywords & give all the pages descriptive names. Also he did some sort of site map which was all linked at the bottom of the page.
So I obviously got ripped off?!

[LCD Monitor]

I would have done that for $40 and I'm no SEO expert by any stretch of the imagination. I know all the basics, which in truth is enough to get me the lower end of the pay scale, but I do not offer these services because I know that when it comes to it, I cannot get you on the front page of Google, I simply don't know how.

I can make a site more SE friendly and I can improve rankings, but all these things should come as part of the design. Real SEO includes things such as ad placement, monitoring keyword popularity, tracking your statistics, trial and error etc etc.

Essentially, you got what you paid for, but those things alone won't have that much effect at all I am afraid - yes you were overcharged.

[Jade]

I wasn't expecting to get to the top spot on Google that is not my expectation unlike many others.
I just wanted to make my site more SEO friendly, and damn I am going to get my money back!

[Dave Hybrid]

Just buy back-links. It's really that simple. They get you indexed in SE's quicker and mean you rank higher than someone will less back-links than you.

If you really insist on using a SEO company, ask them for their web address and goooooogle them for popular keywords. If they come top 10 then at least you stand some chance of ranking well, if they don't they are probably shit as any decent SEO company will put highest priory on their own website.

FYI I have spent around $200 on my sites for back-links on related sites, this is per 3 month period and will be ongoing. It gets me around 100 unique visits per site per day from search engines which is the traffic you want at the end of the day because its targeted.

Dave.

[Jade]

Ok thanks Dave, I will have a look around for link building services, or I might just do it my self.
The links your bought where they one way links or reciprocal?

[Dave Hybrid]

Google prefers one way.

It See's reciprocal links as traded/sold/swapped and therefor unnatural.

[Dave Hybrid]

Originally Posted by Jade Ok thanks Dave, I will have a look around for link building services, or I might just do it my self. The links your bought where they one way links or reciprocal?

Just go to Digital Point and buy site-wide links on topic related sites. Individual owners are selling placements on their own sites on that forum. The higher the PR you can afford the better and please don't pay someone to do it, its stupidly simple. If you get stuck at all ask in this section and ill be along to help.