Looking for SEO

[BargainJones]

Hi,

I am the owner of a relatively new online retailer. I recently tried a search engine optimization firm but had to cancel the trial because I can't afford it at the time. I expected business to pick up because of some PPC campaigns that I was running. Anyway business is slow and am now ready to get some targeted traffic. Would be interested in help.

P.S. Html code from previous SEO is still on site. do i need to have my webmaster remove this? Is this a legal issue as I haven't been charged? at least not yet.

Sincerely,

KJ
http://www.bargainjones.com

[Kal]

Hi Kevin :hi:

From your code, it looks like the SEO company you chose has used search engine spamming techniques which may have resulted in ranking penalties being applied to your site.

The site code contains all sorts of questionable techniques, such as:

- hidden text
- stealth tags containing keywords
- excess keyword repetition
- unsupported META tags e.g. "Classification" stuffed with keywords
- keyword stuffed META Keyword and Description tags

You have quite a bit of code cleaning to do. I would suggest you address this quickly, perhaps with the help of an SEO who knows what they're doing and doesn't mind cleaning up someone else's mess. You should then address any potential or current ranking penalties in the search engines.

Good luck! :cheers:

[BargainJones]

Hi Kal,

You know I'm not an expert at html or anything but I've been reading some and I was somewhat suspicious of the techniques being used.
How will I know if I'm being penalized? My page has never appeared in any way, other than as a link, in search engines. I don't believe I allowed enough time for their code to take effect. Could you recommend any SEOs that may be willing to do the kind of work that I need at a "reasonable" cost?

Thanks,

KJ

[Kal]

When was the site launched? The fact that you have a greyed-out PageRank could mean you're already penalized. Or it could mean the site hasn't been live long enough to be indexed and ranked by Google yet.

Many of the best SEOs peruse this forum on a regular basis, so perhaps they will post here or send you a private message if they are interested. You will probably find that many of the good SEOs can pick and choose their clients so may not be interested in taking on a site that has been "spammified" by another SEO, merely because they are usually difficult and time-consuming to rectify. :)

You can always check out SEO Consultants (http://www.seoconsultants.com) and approach some SEOs directly, outlining your problem. Good luck!

[Advisor]

What do you consider a reasonble cost, cuz you get what you pay for, generally! If you couldn't afford the spammy SEO, I'm pretty sure you're not going to be able to afford a Professional SEO.

You might be better off to simply read these forums and learn what you need to do to optimize your site yourself.

Jill

[BargainJones]

Thanks Kal and Jill,

A reasonable budget for me is @ $200/month. I've seen a few SEOs that offer services within that budget but I'm a bit skeptical of them now. I think I'll try it myself and see how that works. Oh Kal, my site has been around for @ 1 month and I don't believe it's been indexed but maybe I'm wrong. After I clean up my html do I need to write to the search engines explaining my situation or do I just resubmit? I hope this works out OK. Again, thanks for the advice.

KJ

[BargainJones]

Hi,

Received an email from A. Parmar. Has anyone used his SEO services?

KJ

[Advisor]

$200/ month is reasonable for continued monitoring services, however, I'd be wary of a company that will do your full optimization at that price without more of set-up fee. This isn't to say they can't do it, but just beware!

I've never heard of the person you mention.

Please make sure you check out www.seoconsultants.com since all the applicants are thoroughly screened.

Jill