We’re inundated with solicitations from search engine optimization vendors. I’m sure they’re calling you too.

They make wild promises about moving our rank up on Google to first place. I think they’re mostly full of crap.

I retract that (the crap part)—not entirely—but to an extent. I actually think some of them deliver a valuable service. Some of them help fix things on our sites that decrease our ranking. Some of them offer to build legitimate links from valuable sources. Some of them give good advice on how to create content that deserves and gets links for your site. These vendors are only full of crap to the extent that they overcharge for what they deliver or exaggerate their own effectiveness.

Okay, that being said, how can you determine whether the vendor banging on your door is a scumbag?

I think the real test is the conflict of interest standard.

Is the vendor willing to take on two clients in the same market that sell the same service? If the vendor will work on your site and the site of your competitor down the block, then, in my opinion, the vendor is a scumbag.

You want to rank first for “Raleigh Divorce Lawyer” if your practice is in Raleigh. Guess what? I want to rank first for the same term. If the vendor is willing to take your money and mine at the same time, then the vendor is a worthless pile of crap. Make sense?

You wouldn’t take money from your client and your client’s spouse, right? There’s a good reason we avoid conflicts of interest. These search engine optimizers should do the same thing, and anything they say to the contrary is an attempt to rationalize their sleazy behavior.