Background
About 4 months ago, I got a call from a well-known directory, 411.ca. They told me they could lots of exposure with a prominent placement on their directory. And they also told me how listing with them would help my website’s Google rankings because of their relationship with Google. I knew the Google piece was highly improbable, but it was only around $100 a month, so I tried it, just to see how much traffic a directory listing would yield. I was told I could cancel at any time.
I get reports on where my website traffic comes from, so I could see if this directory listing was working or not. 4 weeks later, not a single click came from the 411.ca directory to my website. I called them to cancel. They gave me a REALLY hard time and let me know that it was a 60 day out – they had originally told me I could cancel anytime. And they didn’t actually cancel my subscription. In fact, when I called 2 weeks later, they had “no record” of my call. They eventually did cancel it, but not before I wasted more money on them.
Special Relationship with Google
Does anyone have a special relationship with Google? Is there anyone that can provide you with the inside track with Google to get you a higher ranking than your competitors?
The short answer: NO! The long answer: NO! Read on to understand why the answer is “NO!”
No Special Treatment
Google doesn’t have special relationships like the one described above. Google actually warns companies about the following:
- Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google
- No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google
Google does provide certifications and has partnerships with many individuals and companies. But this doesn’t mean Google gives their partners or their customers special treatment for higher rankings. Google isn’t interested in helping SEO companies or directory companies. Google isn’t out to help certain companies be more successful than others. Google is out to help Google by delivering relevant search results. They are interested in continuing to prosper in the highly competitive field of search engine marketing and advertising.
Google is the biggest and best search engine and the make almost all of their money from Google AdWords. Google AdWords can help you find what you, your prospects, clients, and everyone else want, need or dream of. Their motivation for being great at finding what you search for, because you will go back again and again. And sometimes when you do, you will click on paid advertising. That’s how they make billions and billions.
When uses many factors for determining where in the rankings your business will fall. Some of them are:
- Search Terms – what words are they using to search for
- Locality – where the searcher is in relation to your business
- Longevity – how long has the company been in business
- Quantity of content – how much content is on your website and how frequently is new content added
- Quality of content – is the content well written, current and easy to navigate
- Quality of website – does it have proper structure, is it mobile friendly, is the website fast or slow
- User experience – do visitors spend time on your website site
- External links – are others referencing your business from their websites, social media and directories (please note: spammy links hurt your rankings)
- Reviews – are people commenting about your business on social media sites like Google+, Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Honest Web Design and SEO
A reputable Web Design and/or Search Engine Optimization company can help impact your search engine rankings.
If are going to hire a company to help you get higher rankings on Google, be sure they tell you exactly how they plan to do it. There are many options including, onpage SEO, link building, citations, social media and more. If they aren’t prepared to tell you what they will do and they only talk about their “special relationship” with Google, walk away.
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