New Article - Whom Can You Trust?

[thejenn]

Authored by: Jill Whalen

Full Text: http://www.searchengineguide.com/wha.../1017_jw1.html

A Snippet:

In search marketing, trust issues are further magnified by the fact that the industry is still in its infancy and there are no set rules or regulations. Let's face it, you'd be hard pressed to get a handful of SEO consultants to agree on a definition of SEO.

[davidtemple]

Whom can you trust is a great title since it seems there are a lot of people in the sem seo community that are untrustworthy. Why? I think that seo sem seems really easy and intuitive at first glance, but the more you learn the more you realize it's very difficult and often times counter intuitive. So many people think they know seo sem but in fact only know enough to be dangerous. A company really must pay attention and make sure they conduct due diligence in particular because an inexperienced seo firm can cost them more than they invest. I think this statement " Does the SEO firm have a proven record of success and not just for "long-tail" keywords?" sums it up best. I also think a 'proven record of success' would include improving past clients ROI not just getting them ranked well.

[vangogh]

Trust really is an imprtant aspect of doing business online or offline and isn't limited to the world of search engine optimization and marketing. It's hard because at a certain point you just need to trust someone. You can never really know if someone is trustworthy until you've built a relationship with them and even then you're not always 100% sure.

For me trust typically grows in time. I prefer to accept people at their word when I first meet them, but from that moment on I'm processing everything they say and do to determine what level of trust to bestow on them. I wouldn't lend someone I just met money. After knowing them a little I would probably lend them $20, a little while later maybe I'd be wiiling to lend $100, etc.

I think when deciding whether or not to trust a business before purchasing services you want to ask a lot of questions. Get to know them as well as you can and measure what the say and what they do.

I think it's also good to do some homework and understand their services as best you can prior to aksing questions about their services. There's certainly a lot of information and misinformation about search marketing, but even in just a few nights reading you should be able to get an understanding of some of the basics. When asking an seo firm questions you can ask a few that you've already found the answers to and see if what they say is inline with what you've already found out.

At some point you just have to decide whether or not a business is trustworthy. You can always start out your business relationship with some smaller task that won't require much outlay on your part. Have the company do a smaller job if you're unsure about them and see how they respond. It won't necessarily mean they'll turn out to be trustworthy, but it can minimize your risk and depending on how well they perform that small job you can decide if you want to pursue the relationship further or go in another direction.

There is always some risk when you decide to trust someone, but we all need to trust others at some point. I think minimizing your initial risk can be a good way to start a relationship if you're unsure how much trust you should give to someone.