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08.29.07
Is The UK SEO Industry In A Mess?
 By
Scott Boyd
This is a little bit of a rant about the state of the SEO industry (specifically the UK SEO industry) - we're plagued with dodgy agencies and consultants dragging our collective name through the mud - do we do something about it or just wade through and mind our business?
A little background first
I've spent a lot of time this year dealing with companies and people that are somehow ripping people off. Most examples of this are in my self interest of course (competitors) and others just happened to walk in front of me on a bad day. :) But all have been pimping bad SEO services in some way, (usually by misrepresenting what they are selling to clients, or simply offering bad advice). Perhaps they have been selling crap on the back of "high Google rankings" they didn't have, or they are simply selling a bad service which ranges from something the client really doesn't need to something that genuinely hurts the client's business - regardless, all these experiences with the SEO industry are really bringing down our collective reputation.
What bothers me about these people is the nasty aftertaste they leave in the mouths of their clients - this is something we all have to contend with as a result and in my opinion is seriously poisoning the SEO industry. I've done a lot of UK small business and UK local SEO work over the past few years and the general opinion that very significant group of customers has about SEOs is awful.
1. SEO is just snake oil
2. My previous SEO is threatening to take away my links if I don't pay them
3. My previous SEO is controlling the (spam) domain they setup for us and copying our content on it (302 redirect)
4. My previous PPC management agency didn't access the account in 3 months (£100k+ spend per month), despite charging us 15% management fee.
I'm going down a somewhat more gentle approach to blogging today - I won't name names. OK, I might later if you ask nicely, but not right now. The point here is that small list of complaints isn't just taken at random. Point 1 is something every SEO will hear. Point 2 is referring to a small UK SEO agency that is notoriously bad for getting their client's sites banned in Google. Point 3 refers to a reasonably well known (and from the outside, reasonably respectable) UK SEO agency. Point 4 refers to a well known, large, big brand SEO agency.
The decay of our industry is coming from all sides. Misrepresentation at the low levels - small outfits trying to play with the big boys - ineptitude at the high levels - badly managed firms with inexperienced staff.
Yes, client naivety, lack of understanding and general stubbornness does play a part
Continue reading this article.
About the Author:
Scott Boyd (aka Marketing Guy) is an Edinburgh based online marketing consultant with over 6 years experience in the industry. He is the founder of SEO agency eFlaunt, where he mixes a
blend of traditional marketing and SEO.
Scott's musings relating to the marketing and SEO industries can be found on his blog - Fused Nation.
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