You’ve read it, you’ve heard it. The “ethical” seo’s say “we’re white hat” and that the evil ones are “black hat” – c’mon. I too, in my “office” mode and voice will spout it, yes I am a “white hat” seo. WHY would any real seo say they were evil? To most prospects, this works. No, I will never hurt a client site with risky techniques, but do you think anyone in this industry could find that line between good and evil without actually walking it? Every real seo has been burned, torched and trampled, we’ve all lost the game in some arena. Yes, I have lost domains, but just as I know there’s a risk, I take it with calculation. The knowledge is invaluable in campaigns for paying clients. That, is where the “green” hat comes.
I call the green hat the truth. Say you want you site to rank for a keyphrase, say your product, maybe a service you provide in a given area, whatever. You want to know what the seo would cost? Do you? You WILL not achieve true web presence with $19.99 and a canned spam response, don’t be a sucker. If you ask me, the VALUE to you is irrelevant. The value to me is figured as “what would I earn if I marketed that site for MYSELF?” What would I earn in a year? That, my friends is what you will pay, me. If you throw 20 dollars or even a thousand at a web marketing program with someone else, THAT is the value your marketing guy is worth TO HIMSELF.
The truth is that the green hat is on the seo’s head. The black and white are for brochures. Now, if you have any idea what a properly placed site for your services could bring you as far as revenue for your business, why would you pay 10% of your marketing to bring in 80% of you business? But again, what will competitors of yours (or seo’s you should have hired) be taking from you if you sit back and hope? You will be right where you are, and SOMEONE will be bankin’ from your delay and hesitation.
It’s the evolution of the successful seo. After working on other people’s sites so they can make more money, it clicks. Why are we making other people money? If it doesn’t ‘click’ with them, they need to find a new line of work, maybe in a cube – designing power-point presentations and keeping an eye on their watch at lunch. For those that can monetize a site to make money for themselves, outside seo work becomes half their job. The other half is promoting their own sites. These guys are your friends, they wear a green hat.
Hire someone that doesn’t chase you, doesn’t “need” your contract. Hire someone to promote your site becuase you found them, not the other way around.
You’re an awesome seo, but you are also sort of a creepy dude! Everyone else out there, creepy dudes ARE good computer dudes.