How Do You a SEO Pro is Fake?

Lets say you are trying to hire a SEO pro from the forums. Considering the forums got some real experts and lot of kids pretending to be SEO pro as well; how would you know if a SEO pro is fake or real?

 

Ask for an example of previous work. Someone worth their salt will have a case study already prepared for your perusal. References too.

 

Find out more about him. look at what hes done before, etc..

edit:
arrgh salmon beat me to it

 

We created this a few weeks ago - http://www.datadial.net/uploads/misc/SEO-Buyers-Guide.pdf

If you follow the questions to ask in there you should avoid hiring someone who is going to rip you off or isn't capable of doing the work.

 

Ask him if he has cracked a tough nut before, like getting to the first page of say a competitive keyword like webhosting, check out his client testimonials and iTrader.

 

Not a bad guide matt, it does outline some of the more basic SEO scams !

Woc

 

YOu ask anyone if they have cracked webhosting and you will be paying top dollar.

 

Hiya Webcosmo, it depends on your budget but there's no better way than to search for sep terms and see who ranks. Any SEO or team worth their salt can rank for an SEO term, and if they can't then how will they rank you for yours?
Once you find the seo's ask for previous clients and see how they faired in the search market.

I'd say looking at the number of backlinks you currently have that the next step in your SEO adventure may get expensive....

 

If i where you I would read the forums teach your self if you stil dont have good results after 6 months then yes maybe employ someone, but at least give it a go your self. My field is mortgages which is one of the tough ones and I rank on all search engines, with steady traffic.

 

Be suspicious if the provider don't have a website and not ranking well for their own keywords.....

 

Thats a very good point. Thanks.

 

Professional SEO doesn`t give you flashy promises and guarantees. He can clearly explain everything he does and what for every single step is needed. He starts from in depth keyword, site and competitor analysis. Stay away from any black hat techniques, SEO doesn`t risk, it is your site that will suffer. Personal trust is important - do you feel that you trust him?

 

one simple answer: make it incentive based for him...if he is actually good, then there should be no issue for that person to come on based upon performance. Don't get burned by the scams, I am so tired of being taken. The same exact philosophy goes for PR people for traditional media, there is no reason for a person to deny incentivization unless they suck at their job...

Scott

 

there is one actually.. you may put loads of work in and get burned by the client months down the line.

 

If someone is actually good he will never participate. At least unless you don`t represent Microsoft or Apple marketing budgets.

 

To those above me...that is why you sign a legally binding contract with these people. Put caps on the amount you will pay the advertiser/PR person per day, sign in a 24 hour out clause, etc. If there is a contract, then the person can sue for the revenues they are owed if it comes down to that. If you are the client, which in this case, the OP is, then offering to sign a contract is a show of good faith and should be taken as such.

Scott

 

I had a guy pitch his SEO services to me. He boasted that in a year's time he got a three word term like "lighthouses for sale" up to #6 in SERP. I did the same search and found he was right next to two year old news stories. He was really proud of his work!

Needless to say I did not hire him. The point is there are billions of folks who are "SEO" experts. There are fewer who have gotten results. Look for the results AND the happy customers.