• I’m Irritable Today •
• I Won’t Make The Oil Cartel Fat Cats Any Richer, No Siree! •

OK, I’m in a bit of an irritable mood this afternoon. Besides the fact that for the last 36-hours my ISP has been having intermittent connection problems, which not only has caused me to be unable to upload some huge video files that I need to provide to my partner Damian, it also affects my telephone service, because I use Vonage.  (Internet-based phone service is great, except when you don’t have an internet connection! )

All this bugs me.  I wasn’t able to accomplish everything I needed to do online yesterday or today, and of course I never know if I will get cut off in the middle of a phone conversation. My ISP tells me I have to wait until tomorrow when the “node” (whatever that is) will be fixed.

So, in keeping with my mood, I thought I’d totally digress from SEO issues and post a public statement to the world, letting you all know that I have begun to make my own quiet political statement against the awful gasoline prices.

I am not going to get into naming the actual public figures, nor the countries that I think are gouging us, taking advantage of us, and thumbing their noses at what the USA has done for them … and I am not going to mention the political figures that I think are despicable human beings and who are obviously laughing all the way to the bank every time one of us has to fuel up our vehicles.  Nope! I’m going to remain mum on those particular issues.

But hear me now!  I promise that from this point forward, I am going to do everything I can to use LESS GASOLINE.   I have decided one way I can achieve this is by curtailing my normal 40-mile round trip ventures up into town that I used to do about twice a week. Now I’ll consolidate all the little errands, shopping and everything else I usually take care of, and will only allow myself one stinkin’ trip a week into town.

I am going to be conscious of every darn drop of gasoline  I have to pump into my little 2-seater sports car, which by the way was pretty economical when I purchased it years ago and it still is. I get around 20mpg in the city and 34mpg on the highway. Not bad.

Anyway … there. I am doing my part to protest this awful situation.

I’m off my soapbox.  Thank you for listening.

• Run For Your Life (Grab Your Money, Too!) •
• Another Real Life SEO Con Job •

I posted the other day about an SEO firm that got fined by a Washington judge for ripping off clients because they “guaranteed” top ranking positions.

As I stated in that post … RUN FOR YOUR LIFE if any SEO consultant or agency promises you top rankings. NOBODY on this earth can ETHICALLY promise you that your targeted keywords will obtain top rankings! Plus, month after continuous month as so many of these unscrupulous people will claim.

Yes, it IS POSSIBLE to maintain top rankings (I have examples that I provide where I have accomplished that) for a very long time, but no ethical SEO consultant will ever make a flat-out promise like that.

Well … lookee here my friends … look what I innocently stumbled upon this morning while doing my usual research:

Take a CLOSE look at these screenshots. Take a CLOSE look at what is stated and what the monthly fees are. Do you think this reeks of a con job?? I sure do.

The only thing I don’t get is the fact that top rankings (especially for keywords that really do receive traffic) cannot be guaranteed, thusly within a very short amount of time, clients will likely see a drastic drop or total disappearance of their rankings. I know WHY he has to offer a guarantee (builds a comfort level for the potential client), but how CAN he offer a money back guarantee and stay in business very long?? Get my drift here?

I would think every (smart) client would end up DEMANDING a refund rather quickly!! Maybe there are enough gullible people out there that will continue to pay month after month, so he makes more money than he has to refund?? Beats me!!

Anyway … all he will be able to achieve for the long term is possibly top rankings for obscure keywords that have basically little to no competiton (and also not being worth anything as far as generating traffic to the client’s website). Who is going to conintue to pay for that month after month?

This has GOT to be a fly-by-night type operation. You know, I am almost tempted to call this guy and see exactly what he is promising. I’d like to see how he will make this blog rank highly over-night! And month after month, too! After all, this niche I’m in, the niche of SEO, is brutal competition-wise. (I cannot brag to you yet of top rankings. I am being honest with you!)

Anyway, I just had to show this to you. This site looks genuine enough, but there isn’t one other page of information to it. Whatever link you click on, you stay on the same page. That kind of sends up a red flag, too.

And I too can write the most glowing of testimonials in a matter of minutes if need be (hint-hint).

Because I don’t want to see any new web owner get taken by SEO con artists like this guy … I am posting this to educate that whatever SEO consultant you are thinking about using, please make sure “top ranking guarantees” are NOT in that consultant’s vocabulary.

• Unethical Washington-Based Company Gets Big Hand Slap •
• Cannot Offer SEO Services Anymore •

I just had to post this. YOO HOO! A Washington State judge has slapped the hands of a [expletive not inserted] web design firm that has bilked un-godly amounts of money from honest clients by promising top search engine rankings thru their SEO ‘magical’ services. Their poor clients believed the hype that for XX-amount of dollars, this firm could GUARANTEE top rankings. Read all about it here.

Oh, boy, this makes me sick as an ethical SEO consultant! RUN… do you hear me? RUN away from any firm or any SEO consultant that promises you this!! Nobody, do you hear me, NO BODY  can promise top rankings.

We have no control over the algorithms that the search engines use to determine ranking positions.

If I only had a tiny portion of the clients (and the money they paid for the deceitful SEO service), I’d be rich. I’d be sitting on a sandy white beach on a gorgeous island, sipping an iced tea.

Sigh … if you want ethical, honest, no-hype SEO services, then please contact me. I’ll be most happy to answer all your questions and even give you a brief overview of how we could work together to improve your website.