Tuesday, July 5, 2011

More SEO Cold Calls

Hi folks,

Got an email from a colleague today, saying "Google had called her". She was a bit upset, as the person on the phone got irate when she told them she didn't think she was interested.

I replied that I was pretty sure this wasn't Google calling. I want *you* to hear that, too, and let any of your friends know. Google *rarely* if *ever* calls people like us. We are small fish.

Who does call us? Salesmen making cold calls. And they use confusion and obfuscation as a tool. I had a voicemail last week from a man who said "he was from Google". He said he could get "get me on the search engines, Google, Yahoo and Bing." That was a good clue. Google would *never* mention, or try to help, Yahoo and Bing. Never, ever, ever. It was pretty bold-faced lying on his part.

Terms companies can used, which would be confusing, but not a lie, include:
- Google-certified
- Google-qualified
- Google-listed

They do *NOT* work for Google.

Finally, here is a strategy for getting true info and getting them off the phone (if they reach you in person).

1) Act nice, but say you have someone (a webmaster, a marketing coach, a spouse) who does your webmarketing for you, so you'll need to run this by them.
2) Ask for callback info (name, company, phone #) or to have them email you info.
3) Get the heck off the phone!
4) If you wonder who they are, Google the phone # you gave them. I'll be you a dollar it ain't Google!

OK, remember don't take the snake oil!

Best, Peter
Google SEO Help for Therapists

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