Network Solutions: Unethical SEO - What You Get For Your Money
(Page 4 of 4 )
Network Solutions explains the process it goes through to optimize a web site. It seems to understand that 10 months is a long time for some people, and notes that "many of our customers see their sites listed within the top 10 results within 3 months." However, it adds that "To accelerate the process, you may want to consider a Link Building Service Package in conjunction with a Top 10 Search Results package." Right up front, it admits that link building is not part of its SEO package.
I don't need to tell anyone who makes their living doing SEO just how vital link building is. You can technically separate SEO into on-page and off-page optimization, and classify link building as part of off-page SEO optimization. Nevertheless, it's surprising that it isn't already a part of a package that guarantees top 10 results. Links play a very important role in many search engines' algorithms (especially Google's!).
Let's take a look at what you DO get. The first step is keyword analysis. Netsol reviews your site and conducts research to develop a list that is relevant to your site, your business, and your industry. The keywords will be terms that are frequently used and specific enough to your web site "that clicks from the search engines will be highly targeted leads." You get to approve the list, and the company will revise its list up to three times to ensure it has focused on the right ones.
In the second step, site analysis, NetSol looks at your site's code, text, and links to make sure they are up to snuff. These are important checks that any site owner and/or SEO should perform regularly in any case. NetSol checks for broken links, problems with your site's server status, and may make minor adjustments to your home page's code to make it easier for the search engines to crawl your site's content.
In the third step, content development, NetSol's professional writers/editors create additional content for your site based on the final list of keywords from step one. The content is then integrated into your optimized pages. Again, there's nothing here that's particularly controversial, though one wonders how much content can be bought - and of what quality - for the prices listed on the packages. Some really good writers will charge as much as $300 or more for an article of a decent length. Additionally, search engines love new content; will Network Solutions spread out the new content over the entire period so the spiders will keep coming back?
For the fourth step, search engine submission and reporting, Network Solutions will submit your domain name to major search engines and directories. I have to wonder why NetSol is doing this, since it hasn't been a meaningful practice for quite some time (with the possible exception of the DMOZ directory). I could see building a site map, which is one of the things NetSol says it does in this step, but submission? It's interesting to note here that the company says in its guarantee that its services for this package "do not include the paid submission fees that some engines charge for inclusion...Additional fees may apply for changes, modifications, updates, and optimization alterations that exceed the scope of these optimization services."
The final step, reporting, provides the customer with "submission reports, ranking reports, and additional tips for keeping your site optimized for search engines." You receive a final report when your site reaches the guaranteed number of listings (which could be as early as three months). As previously noted, though, the packages don't include any kind of maintenance; in fact, Network Solutions engages in a bit of up-selling at this point in its explanation of what it does by suggesting a maintenance package to "help extend the life of your site's high rankings."
So is this a scam, or is it worth the money? The package arrangements come with enough loopholes to make one wonder. It seems to be slightly less of a scam than the typical SEO spam email, simply because Network Solutions is relatively up front about what it is and isn't offering. But how many of their prospective customers are going to read the fine print? I mean that metaphorically, by the way; when I clicked through to the links the company provided to its guarantee and explanations of what it did for the packages, the font was all in a normal size.
Even so, the SEO deals offered by Network Solutions seem like the kind of thing you'd see from someone trying to take advantage of not-too-knowledgeable customers. As with any service, if you're thinking of signing up for what they offer, I'd suggest you check with other customers who bought the same package and find out what their experience was like. Good luck!
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
|
| · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | | |
|
