Finding a good, REAL, SEO company...

[midgetlov]

It all depends on your needs Estibot...I could send you the details of what I do, but unfortunately I'm overbooked as it is. I do know quite a few companies that are good at this though.

Legit SEO Companies/Consultants aren't cheap. There are 2 basic reasons behind this:

1. Their service(s) provide great ROI...aka...more than pay for themselves.
2. If they didn't charge enough, they'd have a never ending list of "smaller" clients. The "little guys" require quite a bit of time and if a company can increase the amount their customer pays, while decreasing the usage of resources, it enables them to focus their efforts by not being spread to thin. So make sure to look for a low Client/Employee ratio if you want proper attention - 4/1 at most.

What are you looking for exactly? What type of website(s)? What industry? What Budget? What Geo-Location? Etc...

These are the questions that need to be answered before anyone can point you in the right direction.

Feel free to PM any info you want and I'll try to give you a few options.

[gmac17]

"Buying or selling links that pass PageRank is in violation of Google's webmaster guidelines and can negatively impact a site's ranking in search results." http://www.google.com/support/webmas...y?answer=66736

right, because NOBODY legit buys links. and anyone who does buy links is certainly unethical.

[midgetlov]

right, because NOBODY legit buys links. and anyone who does buy links is certainly unethical.

The ethics of paying for links isn't what was being discussed...the search for a Good/Legit SEO company was. If a company prides itself on using methods in direct violation of Google's guidelines, I'd stay away.

Whatever methods you use for your own site is your own prerogative. Once you start accepting payments for performing SEO on other people's sites, you also start accepting the responsibilities that come with it. One of those responsibilities is to make sure you aren't doing anything that could potentially harm your client's business. The only "justifiable" exception IMO is if you have a very transparent conversation with your client that fully explains the risk of using "Method A-Z" and they instruct you to do it anyway.

In either case, a truly Good/Legit SEO company wouldn't need to utilize this approach to gain links. They understand the complexities of generating "natural" links and will have their own solutions in place to take care of it. At the same time, paid links can be a great way to generate traffic and/or brand awareness depending on the website it appears on...but the link should include a NoFollow tag to avoid any issues.

Overall, link generation is only one piece of the pie when it comes to getting ranked. If you focus on taking care of the other "stuff", the links will eventually build up on their own. But...there are definitely some techniques to speeding up the process.
I would suggest finding some articles by Eric Ward on link building if you're interested in the topic...I believe his website is: www.ericward.com/

For those that are interested in working with some top notch companies (In MY Opinion), here is a brief list. In order of estimated cost. (High-Low)

www.iProspect.com - Best IMO if you can afford them
www.iCrossing.com - They get results - but don't always justify the cost from what I've heard.
www.SEOMoz.org/services - $10k/month minimum...but Rand Fishkin is worth it.
www.Impaqt.com - Great company with solid experience/reputation...but I've never spoken with someone first-hand that's used them.
www.ElixirInteractive.com - Great company...they've been expanding due to the results they consistently deliver and may cost more to work with now.
www.dMediaLLC.com - Strong company, but are fairly small. Best option IMO for those with budgets less than $36k/year.

Disclaimer for transparency purposes...I have met/associated/worked with individuals that are currently or previously employed at iProspect, iCrossing, Impaqt, Elixir and dMedia...but I am not being paid for these recommendations.

Hope this post helps someone out there...

Cheers!

Midgetlov

[Acquisition]

I would certainly advise taking midgetlov's advice when it comes to marketing. When someone brokers a marketing domain for mid 7 figures (like he did recently), they deserve some attention.

And of course, he has been in the marketing business with some top companies, for years. He has more connections in the marketing sector than you can shake a stick at.

[clasione]

Getting to a number one position could cost a boat load of money, and it's likely to cost you consistent time, money, and effort once you get there, so you'd better be sure that number one spot is going to pay off.... Generally once you hit the first spot most of the work is now done. Mainting the spot is much easier.

Getting to a first spot position is pretty easy for a good SEO person with a lot of real experience if the company paying them will leave a lot of room on the credit card. It's about good decisions and not wasting money. $100,000 in the hands of the wrong people could get you nowhere. Budgets are tough to determine, but I have had my best results when the company had full trust in my decisions and allowed open billing.

For a tough industry or keyword, it could take a year to work - but it works.
Believe it or not, I have had clients who did not know what to do once they got there...

[DTalk]

Fantastic advice from so many of you experts....

Just want to say thanks...

.

[jason32]

No matter what happens as long as google's algo is dependant on backlinks, people will have to buy links in terms of money or with reciprocal links.

As long you are selling or buying links to and from relevant sites with good quality content then you'll be safe. There is no other way to optimize your sites.

[media]

Originally Posted by EstiBot.com

Agreed, but if you have incredibly good content, you don't need to hire anyone to do that for you

Do you know that Yahoo has an SEO manager?
Do you think they will just shed their money on something stupid or on a myth?

Originally Posted by jason32

people will have to buy links in terms of money or with reciprocal links.

One way you are right and in another way you are wrong.
1. Yes people hire an SEO or SEO company when they cant do it on their own. Just like a prospect hire a web designer to get his website designed.
2. They dont have to buy a link if they know proper link baiting techniques.

Originally Posted by jason32

As long you are selling or buying links to and from relevant sites with good quality content then you'll be safe.

Wrong.
Simply buying and selling links from relevant sites does not necessarily guarantee any safe heaven.

Originally Posted by jason32

There is no other way to optimize your sites.

Well if you do not know then thats the only option for you. buying & selling links for search rankings or page rank gains is 2005 techniques.
There are so many legit and proper ways to build reputation to a website. Thats the reason quality SEO is not cheap


By the way I have no interest in the OP project nor am searching for a client here

Also, SEO is no more just task of getting the rankings for chosen keyword. Its about conversions.

[cybershadow03]

Hey, I usually dont offer my SEO services, but if someone is seriously interested, pm me with your website and keyword(s) you want to rank for. I will charge around $1500/m, depending on website's current rankings and keyword competitions. I only do SEO for my personal sites for now, I can show you some proof of my sites if you are interested.
PS, I dont guarantee quick results, especially if your website is new. It is much easier however if you already rank for something within top 50 in Google.
Thanks

[4u-domains]

This is a minefield. Its also in relation to a LOT of money, more money that even a medium sized business can put aside in an SEO budget. They rarely realise the importance, shame.

Still, one couldnt expect the average Joe to afford the services from a reputable company and every other company is almost certainly a risk.. a risk that would certainly make me feel uncomfortable though i have seen an SEO company or two offer a performance based quotation.

In the short-term, I'd suggest to small to medium sized concern that they spend their own time on acquiring good quality links themselves. There is no substitution for hard work and a lot of money can be saved. Find those related sites and beg for a link from it.

[MacyT.]

what about buying links that are embedded into articles on sites? How can Google determine those are paid vs. the article simply being submitted?

This is assuming the industry and topic is relevant...

[Keyboard Cowboy]

http://www.iprospect.com/ are some of the best out there. Expensive, but gets the job done.

[dncsacnt]

Actually companies charge more, if you want to lessen the cost you could try hiring an individual freelancer. And usually through your simple conversation with the person you'll somehow get the feel if he knows a lot regarding the work. Try checking at getafreelancer.com. By the way just a tip, if someone says he'll get you rank high on google in no time - that is definitely not a good sign. That's not a quality seo for me.

[Jinx3000]

Originally Posted by midgetlov

The ethics of paying for links isn't what was being discussed...the search for a Good/Legit SEO company was. If a company prides itself on using methods in direct violation of Google's guidelines, I'd stay away.

Whatever methods you use for your own site is your own prerogative. Once you start accepting payments for performing SEO on other people's sites, you also start accepting the responsibilities that come with it. One of those responsibilities is to make sure you aren't doing anything that could potentially harm your client's business. The only "justifiable" exception IMO is if you have a very transparent conversation with your client that fully explains the risk of using "Method A-Z" and they instruct you to do it anyway.

In either case, a truly Good/Legit SEO company wouldn't need to utilize this approach to gain links. They understand the complexities of generating "natural" links and will have their own solutions in place to take care of it. At the same time, paid links can be a great way to generate traffic and/or brand awareness depending on the website it appears on...but the link should include a NoFollow tag to avoid any issues.

Overall, link generation is only one piece of the pie when it comes to getting ranked. If you focus on taking care of the other "stuff", the links will eventually build up on their own. But...there are definitely some techniques to speeding up the process.
I would suggest finding some articles by Eric Ward on link building if you're interested in the topic...I believe his website is: www.ericward.com/

For those that are interested in working with some top notch companies (In MY Opinion), here is a brief list. In order of estimated cost. (High-Low)

www.iProspect.com - Best IMO if you can afford them
www.iCrossing.com - They get results - but don't always justify the cost from what I've heard.
www.SEOMoz.org/services - $10k/month minimum...but Rand Fishkin is worth it.
www.Impaqt.com - Great company with solid experience/reputation...but I've never spoken with someone first-hand that's used them.
www.ElixirInteractive.com - Great company...they've been expanding due to the results they consistently deliver and may cost more to work with now.
www.dMediaLLC.com - Strong company, but are fairly small. Best option IMO for those with budgets less than $36k/year.

Disclaimer for transparency purposes...I have met/associated/worked with individuals that are currently or previously employed at iProspect, iCrossing, Impaqt, Elixir and dMedia...but I am not being paid for these recommendations.

Hope this post helps someone out there...

Cheers!

Midgetlov

You obviously know what you're talking about, and it looks like we have some mutual friends - but you are being a little hypocritical. Most of the companies you mentioned DO pay for links on a regular basis.

Why? Because it's an excellent strategy when done correctly. No doubt.

Link bait is a great idea - but in loads of niches, it just doesn't work. Can you write link bait for your auto insurance quotes site? Can you create link bate for your adult dating site? You can't. People have tried it. The fish have learned to identify the bait in quite a few niches.