“Hi, this is Sharon, your local Google specialist!”

“Your Google Listing will expire unless you press one”

Chances are you have received one of these robocalls before. The chances are even higher that you get a few of these calls every day (I do). 

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) services are big money for a lot of companies. Businesses understand that you need to be seen in the major search engines in order to survive and thrive in the modern market. Unfortunately, there are a great many shady characters, lurking in the shadows and looking to make a quick buck off of the unsuspecting small businessman, and they are getting rich doing so.

It seems that most “training” courses for new SEO’s that I see consist of:

Step 1 – Call businesses, and literally lie to them
Step 2 – …
Step 3 – PROFIT 

There are long established agencies that use this tactic on a much grander scale, and simply change their name when things get hot. Google “29 Prime”, now operating under a different company name,  for a perfect example. That was “Sharon, your local Google specialist”.
In this article, I hope to shed some light on what to look for when hiring someone to manage your precious online presence.

Rule of thumb: Good search marketers don’t find you, you find them.

GOOGLE WON’T CALL YOU, for the most part.

Have you ever gotten a (fake) call from the (fake) IRS, threatening to come to your home and arrest you if you don’t pay them $3000 in ITunes Gift Cards immediately?

This is the same as when a company contacts you claiming to be Google, or a representative of Google. The best course of action is to hang up and block these numbers.

Google does not sell SEO services. Yes, there are Google Certified Partners, but this designation is reserved for firms who sell Google Ads, and there is no certification available for SEO or web design. The title Partner has a relatively low buy-in as well. The qualifications are a minimum of $10k in managed ad spend every 90 days, and one person at your firm needs to pass a test.

However, there are limited occasions when Google will call you:

– If you have requested a support call. You must initiate this.

– The Adwords department will occasionally reach out to help you optimize your ads. They will always email you first, from a @google.com email address, to schedule this.

– To verify information on your Maps listing. In this case, they will not tell you they are Google. They will call posing as a customer, and ask questions such as “Are you still located at 123 Main Street”. Google will never tell you that your listing will be suspended etc when they make these calls, and will not attempt to sell you anything.