I never write about this stuff, but I am going to today. I received this stupid email that included a link to a “visibility analysis report”. I briefly looked, laughed and ignored it. Then the people emailed me again…

“Hi,

Uh oh, I don't show for for Comcast!

I hope you had a chance to take a look at the visibility analysis of SEO Aware that I emailed you a few days ago, as part of my research on Sarasota businesses.

I wanted to check if the information in your business online visibility report aligns with how you thought you appear on the Internet. I’d appreciate your feedback.

Thanks for your time,”

My “feedback” wasn’t all that nice and the reason it wasn’t nice is because they have been emailing tons of people in my city and these people have been forwarding these emails to me! Part of my feedback was:

“If you want to contact individual businesses and try to trick them into paying for your service that is your right, but you give very little data,  you give inaccurate data and your either purposefully or ignorantly do not  include information that is vital to their success.”

Why I Am SO Bothered by This

Let’s leave the current company I am discussing out of this. What bugs me about these type of companies is that they contact people and give them keywords that are not related or valid and say, “you don’t show up for this” and make companies think they need to pay for their services. A real SEO company would take the time to get to know the business, do appropriate keyword research and then make sure a site is doing well for those keywords and more.

I wrote about this in 2008 – So You Paid for SEO & Then An Email Comes Telling You Your Site Isn’t Doing Well…. I used an example of someone contacting a “Daytona Beach Boat Rental” business and telling them they don’t show up for “Florida” or “Orlando” boat rentals. Even those that are not great at the net wouldn’t search for an Orlando boat rental company if they were looking to rent one in Daytona. But these are the little slimy tricks some of these companies use to confuse business owners that don’t have an understanding of SEO, search behavior and online marketing.

HOWEVER, perhaps these companies feel these keywords are important and if that is so then they shouldn’t be in this business or taking money from anyone!

EXAMPLE

We were actually hired to create a new website and Internet marketing campaign for NeuroInternational. They received an email from LocalVisibility.org and were given a link to their “report“. Because of our time spent preparing for this site I know what this company does and offers. Obviously LocalVisibility.org took no time to figure it out OR they didn’t care, just don’t get it and thought they could just use any unrelated keywords and influence people into paying them. I don’t know which it is

NeuroInternational offers NeuroRehab services, NeuroBehavioral services and they offers supported living options for those with brain injuries. Their old site is down, but they could still Google or even call the company and figure out what services they offer. If you look at the “report” they received you will see these people don’t have clue.

They are not Psychologists, do not do physical therapy for the general public and they are not a mental health clinic!

Again, not a mental health clinic, psychologist, PT clinic,  they do not offer gourmet cookies, cupcakes or cookie in general. They help automobile accident victims with brain injury and they don’t have random group homes.

This Type of Reports Makes the Company Invalid Immediately in My Opinion

Gourmet cookies? REALLY? LocalVisibility.org has shown me, my client and several other businesses in the area that they either don’t do their research and/or they are offering inaccurate information to try and make money off of businesses. Saying that NeuroInternational is not very visible because they don’t show up for gourmet cookies is COMPLETELY inaccurate!

Do Not Be Fooled by Emails like This

If you get an email with a report like this please review it carefully and determine whether or not it makes sense. Our client’s exact words with the forwarded email “Look at this crap”. That was how they felt because they reviewed the keywords and knew how inaccurate the data was. Those in the Internet Marketing and SEO industry need to continue to educate businesses on “reports” like these.

To The Companies That Offer These “Reports”

If you really just don’t know why these things are wrong please take a step back and consider learning the industry. Learn why this is offensive and wrong to those in this industry and why it is not fair to take money from people until you understand completely. If you do know this industry and you just found a way to make money tricking people I think you are basically stealing from businesses that work hard to for their money.