Lawyer takes aim at SEO con artists

"The Internet... it's filled with scam artists, conmen and rip-off merchants."

This first line of an article by a lawyer about the perils of hiring Internet marketers - and search engine optimisation companies - got my attention.

To be honest, this piece by a US legal commentator called Dan Jaffe is quite right. Businesses must not let themselves be taken in by fraudulent web marketers. 100% agree.

One part is wrong, at least to some extent - where Jaffe says most people selling internet marketing are essentially selling nothing at all and trying to make it sound good.

In fact, I've seen many hardworking web workers out there. But Jaffe is taking a lawyer's tack i.e. this is my case, now let the web guys prove it wrong and walk out of the dock free men (or women)! And besides that, he's suffered at the hands of SEO conmen peddling snake oil who do no favours for the legitimate, hard-working SEO firms.

Fair enough and fair comment, is what I say. No-one wants to be taken for a ride that costs a great deal of money. It is unfortunate that the SEO buyer must still beware of being taken in by dodgy or cowboy web marketing firms.

Jaffe's final piece of advice made a great deal of sense. He said, "Educate yourself, think through your strategy and selection, and you will find the right internet marketing person and quickly rise above your competitors who go with the scammers."

This comes from a client who was looking for great results in SEO for law firms, but his guidance could be applied whether looking for SEO for accountants, financial services, insurance companies, banks or whatever your business.

If you're thinking of employing an SEO company, think about the critical points that Jaffe covers here. However, exercise your own judgement too - he's not got it all right. But as yardsticks go, Fuse Optimisation is happy to let others, as well as itself, be measured by it.