Are You Making This Web Marketing Mistake?

You want more visitors to go to your web site, and one way of achieving that is to gain higher visibility in the search engines. Don't commit this fatal blunder, though.

And that grievous mistake is to unwittingly give away your company's secret to anyone who claims they will help increase your site's web score. Yes, some folks will call you up and will offer to point lots of links to your site. Those links (also sometimes called backlinks) will boost your credibility in the eyes of search engines, because those links are like votes.

Backlinks are great! They'll do wonders for your site.

The thing is, some backlink providers will not even tell you how much their service costs. They won't even give you a proposal right away. Instead, they will call you and press you to first give them the answer to this question:

"What are your desired keywords?"

Before doing anything else, clam up. Don't even share a single keyword with them. Afterall, why reveal to someone you hardly know what you are targeting online, right?

Think about it. There's no contract, no non-disclosure agreement, and no, not even a whisper of a proposal. It's just this regular, over the phone: "Give me your keywords... what keywords do you want to be found for... Keywords..?"

You might be able to sneak in a "How much will your service co..."

"Keywords... what keywords do you want?"

Please safeguard your business asset. Protect your information. And remember, a vital part of your internet marketing strategy is your set of targeted keywords.

First things first. Ask for a proposal, a client list, and an example of their work. If you like what you see, then draft a contract plus a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

Don't put your guard down, though. For your initial project, do not reveal your major sought-after keywords. Just work with a few fairly competitive but not highly revealing keywords, and see how the backlinks provider delivers.

Building your site's credibility and visibility online takes time. There's no sustainable instant solution. Keep that in mind and protect yourself and your company's information.

[ First posted on 12/18/2006 by Manuel Viloria ]