Canadian SEO Companies Asking for Waivers with Respect to Link Building

by | May 6, 2014 | SEO Companies

Canadian SEO Companies Asking for Waivers with Respect to Link Building

It is no secret that Google’s Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird algorithm updates left marketers and SEO companies alike reeling, largely due to the consequences that their websites and their clients’ websites faced thanks to:

–        Some forms of link building
–        Buying content from content farms
–        Sharing content on article farms
–        Sharing duplicate content, etc…

With Penguin for example, companies that had a high volume of irrelevant sites linking to their sites were penalized and forced to get the companies who placed the links to remove them. In instances where companies had thousands of links, this was a monumental task. This left the very SEO companies who built the bad links asking their clients to pay to have them removed! Doesn’t that sound kind of backwards?

Now, some sources have shared with us that, upon reading SEO contracts provided by some of Canada’s largest and most well-known SEO companies, buried liability clauses have been included in their contracts, thereby limiting their liability in the event that their SEO practices result in penalties or damages to you on the search engines.

Here is another little diddy: some of these companies are also building in clauses that if they manage your PPC, they in fact own your PPC account for a period of time!!!

Marketers beware. SEO companies can be fantastic partners and lead to amazing campaigns and growth. However, make sure you read the fine print before signing off on SEO and other online marketing contracts. Companies who bury clauses like the ones discussed in this blog do so for a reason and there is a good likelihood that they have run into problems in the past with the very items they are asking you to sign off on.

Here some tips when choosing an SEO company:

  1. Google their company name and read reviews
  2. Ask them for references – and not only contact the references, but check the results online
  3. Ask them about their methods and materials
  4. When you get their services agreement take a few days to read it over, there shouldn’t be any rush
  5. You should be able to negotiate an open contract with a 90 day back-out clause. Be wary of companies who ask for 1 year commitments – even 6 months is more reasonable.
  6. Ask the SEO company who will own your PPC account and if you will have login access

For more information about building good, healthy, strong organic rankings please visit www.abovethefoldmedia.com.