Google Information for WebmastersSearch Engine Optimizers SEO is an abbreviation for "search engine optimizer." Many SEOs provide useful services for website owners, from writing copy to giving advice on site architecture and helping to find relevant directories to which a site can be submitted. However, there are a few unethical SEOs who have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results.While Google does not have relationships with any SEOs and does not offer recommendations, we do have a few tips that may help you distinguish between an SEO that will improve your site and one that will only improve your chances of being dropped from search engine results altogether.[list][*]Be wary of SEO firms that send you email out of the blue. [/list]Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:[i]"Dear Google.com,I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..." [/i]Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators. [list][*]No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. [/list]Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, or that claim a "special relationship" with Google, or that claim to have a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is by using the page at [url=http://www.Google.com/addurl.html]http://www.Google.com/addurl.html[/url]. You can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever. [list][*]Be careful if a company is secretive or wont clearly explain what they intend to do. [/list]Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could be removed entirely from Googles index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so its best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to "help" you. [list][*]You should never have to link to an SEO. [/list]Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that do not affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines. At least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive. [list][*]Some SEOs may try to sell you the ability to type keywords directly into the browser address bar. [/list]Most such proposals require users to install extra software, and very few users do so. Evaluate such proposals with extreme care and be skeptical about the self-reported number of users who have downloaded the required applications. [list][*]Choose wisely. [/list]While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: [url=http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/07/01/spyware_inc/index.html]http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/07/01/spyware_inc/index.html[/url] While Google does not comment on specific companies, we have encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful. [list][*]Be sure to understand where the money goes. [/list]While Google never sells better ranking in our search results themselves, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section of the engine rather than in search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they "control" other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam does not work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO youre considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising. [list][*]Talk to many SEOs, and ask other SEOs if they would recommend the firm youre considering. [/list]References are a good start, but they dont tell the whole story. You should ask how long a company has been in business and how many full time staffers it employs. If you feel pressured or uneasy, go with your gut feeling and play it safe: hold off until you find a firm that you can trust. Ask your SEO firm if it reports every spam abuse that it finds to Google using our spam complaint form at [url=http://www.Google.com/contact/spamreport.html]http://www.Google.com/contact/spamreport.html[/url]. Ethical SEO firms report deceptive sites that violate Googles spam guidelines. [list][*]Make sure youre protected legally. [/list]For your own safety, you should insist on a full and unconditional money-back guarantee. Dont be afraid to request a refund if you are unsatisfied for any reason, or if your SEOs actions causes your domain to be removed from a search engines index. Make sure you have a contract in writing that includes pricing. The contract should also require the SEO to stay within the guidelines recommended by each search engine for site inclusion. What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter? One common scam is the creation of "shadow" domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a clients behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitors domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO. Another illicit practice is to place "doorway" pages loaded with keywords on the clients site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEOs other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content. What are some other things to look out for?There are a few warning signs you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. Its far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:owns shadow domains [ol][*]puts links to their other clients on doorway pages [*]offers to sell keywords in the address bar [*]doesnt distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear in search results [*]guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway [*]operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info [*]gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware [*]has had domains removed from Googles index or is not itself listed in Google [/ol]If you feel you were deceived by an SEO in some way, you may want to report it.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit: http://www.ftc.gov/ and click on "File a Complaint Online", call 1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to: Federal Trade CommissionCRC-240Washington, D.C. 20580 If your complaint is against a company in another country, please file it at [url=http://www.econsumer.gov/]http://www.econsumer.gov/[/url]...
我不时会看到篇文章说到人们在选择搜索引擎优化公司给自己的网站做在线推广时应该期望一些什么。大部分这样的文章都是由做SEO的人，或者是对此领域熟悉的人写的。这些文章就其所涉及的过程最重要的方面提供了很有价值的信息（或者是那些作者们自以为如此）。 在一个很流行的业内网站上最近有一场讨论，使我不禁想到了事情的另一个方面。我不想再列一个单子，告诉他们对于SEO应该或者不应该期望什么。我反而想分析一下，一个客户在筛选搜索引擎优化公司时，实际上在期待些什么。下面就是一个客户考虑的七点要素：[b]价格[/b]：尽管许多人愿意为一项好的服务多付费，但是通常还是会出现这样的情况，价格高出了一个公司当时的预算。与公司的工作质量无关，他们只不过是出不了那么多钱罢了，至少在当时的确如此。然后，大家就开始讨价还价。和我在探讨合作可能的客户有一个说我的价格太高了，另一个说我的价格和他正考虑的其它公司差不多。其实这和每个人的期望值有关，每个人都有个他能或者他自认为能承受的价格范围。从来没有人给我说过我们的价格不够高（尽管我想某些客户的确能会这样想！）[b]资历[/b]：我最喜欢的问题之一就是“你们从事这个行业多久了？”我知道有许多优秀的SEO从事此业比我们的时间要短得多，但是我知道能够告诉人们我们从事此业的时间对他们来讲是一个使他们放心的值得考虑的因素。我们的资历告诉他们，SEO不是种不可靠的行业，不会一夜之间就倒闭的。[b]信任[/b]：网站上有许多能增加客户信任的内容，这也起一些作用。这种内容的表现之一就是属于某种协会，比如Better Business Bureau（美国的一个商业管理机构）。在网站上展现这种内容，包括网站的资历都会增强客户的信任度。[b]保证[/b]：我不会说我能确保什么，但是我相信人们已经开始认识到没人能保证网站在搜索引擎中靠前的排名。甚至网站的收录与否都不能轻易保证，除非SEO公司能真正完全地控制一个网站推广的全部方面。经常有人问我们能否保证什么样的结果，结果我们发现当我们说不保证任何排名时，他们都松了口气。我们的回答给了他们所需要的保证。这些客户如果碰上了那些承诺在19天内能使网站排第1名的公司是会知道及时抽身的。[b]舒适度[/b]：我认为选择一个SEO，在很大程度上取决于做出决定的人和SEO公司或个人在交流时的适度程度。SEO公司/个人可能正确地讲到了所有的工作内容，但是如果做决定的人和他在一起交流时觉得不很舒服，他完全可能去找其它的公司/个人。对SEO来讲，将自己的个性和那个找交道的人相适应是很重要的。在谈话时，我可以和我的某些客户开开玩笑，但是和另一些，我就得严肃些。我找到使他们最舒服的方法，并应用它。[b]规模[/b]：是的，SEO公司的规模也有影响！不同的客户根据自身的需要寻找不同规模的公司。有的人觉得和SEO个人合作，更能关注他自身的需要；有的人觉得只有大公司才能处理好他的问题。还有些人需要得到非常贴心的个人服务，但同时要确保他们的合同没有分包给远在印度的他人。没人能提供每个人都适合的完美的规模，还不如去提供客户需要的保证和关注，确保工作的成功。[b]成果[/b]：许多潜在客户指望着SEO的保证，但是真正聪明的人会想知道你的工作成果。他们想知道你取得过的成绩，还有曾经服务过的客户，可能他们还会想和你的客户通个电话，聊聊你提供过的服务。 SEO公司/个人会告诉那些潜在的客户应该期望些什么，但是这和客户自己实际上所期望的通常完全不同。这当然不是说，这些客户们不应该听取我们SEO所推荐的，但他们推荐的那些只不过是冰山一角罢了。那些是工作的重要组成部分，但不是最重要的。如果能够使客户在以上领域满意的话，一个SEO就会有极大的优势，不仅在获得客户方面，也会在维持客户的满意度方面。...
by Trenton MossWednesday, October 27, 2004 That's right - this search engine optimisation article is telling you not to submit your website to any search engines. Not Google, not Inktomi, not AltaVista. Sound a bit strange? Read on...Submitting to all the search enginesSubmitting your website to every search engine is an incredibly time-consuming process. There are hundreds and hundreds of them out there - no doubt, you've come across the companies who'll submit your website to 1000 search engines for you.Search engine professionals know that the vast majority of these search engines have a very low usage rate and will drive hardly any traffic your way. In fact, it's only a handful of search engines that drive the majority of traffic from search engines to websites.The major search enginesSome of the most important search engines, probably accounting for over 90% of the search engine market, are:[list][*]Google[*]Yahoo! [*]Inktomi[*]Teoma[*]Fast[*]AltaVista[/list] Please note that the new MSN search engine is soon to roll out and will be very important.Don't submit to these search engines"But there's only six of them - why on earth not!?" Well, aside from saving time and a bit of money (some require a submission fee), quite simply there's no need. Allow me to explain...Search engines crawl the web every few weeks (or months) looking for websites to index. Here's how it works:[list][*]Search engines start at one website with a large number of outbound links (usually a directory)[*]They follow every link they come across, indexing each page they arrive at[*]Once a page has been indexed they follow all the links from that page [*]And so on until there are no more links to follow[/list] Unless today is your very first day on the Internet, you might have heard that inbound links into a website are extremely important in establishing its search engine ranking. If a search engine can't find you by itself through crawling the web, then your website doesn't have any inbound links. If so, you'll never achieve a decent search engine ranking so what's the point in registering?Getting incoming links quicklySo, how do you get incoming links? Well, this is a vast topic which I won't be discussing now, but if you want to get a few good links quickly then there is a solution: web directories. If your website is listed in the Yahoo! directory (not the same as Yahoo! search) and the Open Directory (which Google uses) all the search engines should find you within two to three months.There are plenty of other directories you should get listed in too. Global, local and industry-specific directories abound on the Internet. To find them run a search for 'web directory' on your favourite search engine. The directories that come up highest in the search rankings will probably generate the most traffic. You can also check these directories of directories:[list][*]http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Directories/[*]http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/[*]http://www.seo-lab.com/directory-articles/best-free-directories.php[*]http://www.isedb.com/html/Web_Directories/ [*]http://www.directory-pages.com/[/list] Another even quicker solution is webmaster forums. Search engines love forums because they include so much fresh content. Most have an area where you're allowed to enter your URL to get feedback from other webmasters. Find some forums, sign up, and get posting!To find out more about building up links to your website please read the article, Build up links to your website.A quick fixIt can take a couple of months to get listed in some web directories. If you can't wait that long then it might be worth submitting your site into a paid program and "artificially" boosting your rankings. Again, this is a whole new topic so please feel free to read more about the paid submission options.Long term strategySearch engine optimisation is a long term strategy. You'll be successful if you:[list][*]Structure your pages correctly by positioning your keywords in effective places [*]Build a great site with unique content that other websites will want to link to [/list]Register with as many web directories as possible and then concentrate your efforts on these two things. Within a few months you'll start to see success....