I have been targeted by a SEO company who are demanding money but won't produce evidence of progress?

[Not Mr X]

Hi,

I received a sales phone from Big Media Presence (SEO) in November. They offered me a months free trial to optimize my website. I genuinely forgot about this agreement and its has now rolled onto 3 months. They have sent be a bill for £480.00 which I am supposed to be paying just over £99.00 per month for.

I have asked the company to send me a full progress report on what they have been doing to my website. They won't send me the report until I have been the full amount. I am a bit scepticle about paying this amount as I'm unsure what I'm paying for. My website doesn't appear on Google at all unless I type in my company name. They said they work on keywords to help find my site. I have have typed in every keyword relating to my business and my website doesn't appear? They have threatened me with a CCJ if I don't pay the full balance. I would be quite happy to comply with them if they sent me a full report but they seem very hesitant to do so.

After researching with a few back listings sites I have now found out they have been promoting my website to sites not even registered in the UK. All of the websites that have shown up on back listings are either US or foreign sites. They have used one tag "kitchen fitting Tyne and Wear" throughout the whole process.

I am no expert in this field but after a bit research and other forums I am now very reluctant to hand over any payment.

Any advice would be great.

Many Thanks.

[Neil]

Sounds like a scam. Talk to your local police and advise these scammers you're doing so.

[stebburn]

trading standards !!! ( contact them..they will tell you if other complaints have been made about companies )

i am no expert on this , but remember hearing about these companies cropping up ...there supposed to make you page one of google for various keyword searches in your field

the question you need to ask yourself is , what agreement did you both come to ? what have you accepted via mail or phone ? ...what was the expectation or there promise ?

if you were offered a month FREE trail , and then @ £99 every month after this ...why are they demanding £450 ? what does it same in the agreement ? there must be paperwork to back this up ?

i generally think these sites can work . but i can't really see your site out doing companies like YELL or trading sites .... i think these will always be top searches ie: on page one

for generalized keyword searches

I personally would terminate the agreement , so not to incur additional costs...contact trading standards to see where you stand and what you should expect .... i would have correspondence and promises to hand .... then go fro there

any further communications done via mail or email

[Kristian]

You shouldn't be paying for crappy back links - this sort of thing does not work. Google is not stupid and can tell the difference between a genuine/good/relevant backlink and a fake one.

They will also notice if you suddenly start getting loads of these backlinks out of nowhere from irrelevant sites - it can do more harm than good.

If they have access to your website, i would suggest you change your log-in details immediately and exclude them.

You can learn how to optimise your own site using genuine SEO techniques very easily - you don't need to pay anyone anything - certainly not $99 per month - that is scandalous! Cancel immediately.

Meta Tags are not important anymore - your actual content has to be keyword / SEO friendly as well.

See this short video from Matt Cutts (Google's Spambuster!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBTBEfd7z_Y

There are loads of good videos on that Google Webmaster Channel to explain legitimate SEO techniques.

Regarding non-payment, they cannot just get a CCJ - they would need to issue proceedings in the County Court and win the case first. It would be a small claim and they would not be able to get any of their legal costs from you even if they won. So, it would probably cost them more than the value of the invoice to actually recover that amount from you. They would also need to prove that they have provided you with the service that you contracted for - sounds like they have done nothing positive so you might be able to defend the case anyway. Since you won't be penalised in costs if you lose and case would be heard in your local court, I wouldn't pay them a penny unless and until they prove that they have provided the high quality serves that they contracted for)

You can also contact your local Trading Standards and CAB for free advice.

PS. If you want to learn a little more about websites / SEO / keywords etc. - try a Free membership here http://goo.gl/SbmD3e - You get 10 video tutorials and access to expert advice for free (They want you to sign up for their premium service obviously, but no obligation - you can just get the free training and leave) Importantly, no credit card or financial information prior to getting free account - just your email address and name) - I did this 2 months ago and have learnt a huge amount.

Good Luck

PS. if you search for this company in google, you get a link to http://bigmediapresence.wordpress.com/ta...e-rip-off/ - interesting reading

PPS. I live in Newcastle - if you send your URL to me at kristian@freeswagsites.com I would be happy to have a little look at your site for you and give you a little free legal advice. I am not an SEO expert but know enough to spot a scam and have built 3 sites on my own in 2 months (with a little training). I am more than qualified to give you free legal advice.

PPPS - I have also enabled my registered email address at Yahoo Anwers to allow you to contact me that way too.

[Jake]

Actually the sort of scam search that usually turns up complaints about shady companies got nothing for this one.

"Forced Continuity" is an all too common internet marketing scheme to extract extra money form the inattentive. It's probably spelled out in the fine print print you agrees to, check their site.

You may have to complaint to your payment processor about predatory marketing practices, maybe mentioning "Forced Continuity" (which ofter described an initial $1 for shipping offer that begins billing for much larger sums with no further notice) if you can report no significant business increase as the result of their service...