Here is our "whistle blower" review of SEOConsultants Directory (owner: Edward Lewis)

In this complicated world of search engine optimization and online marketing, it is tough to know who to trust. There are so many opinions, so much theory, and so many scam artists that it can truly be a daunting task to run a business online..

Mis-information such as advising would-be marketers that it is alright to participate in an FFA as long as it is relevant could mislead an otherwise potentially successful business to its doom. It takes quite a bit of research for a newbie marketer to learn enough to know what is wrong and what is right.

Now, there are SEO directories.

Most of them are paid listings, so they are non-biased lists of SEO companies that are listed based upon paying for a listing -not quality or experience.

Then, there is the "SEOConsultants Directory"

Their stated goal is to "weed out" the lessor companies and provide a list of all worthy SEO companies. The problem is that the proprietors of SEOConsultants simply have their own best interests at heart.

They care nothing for those that are looking for quality services -only sending quality buyers to their "buddies". In fact, much of the business in the SEO industry is done in this manner. That is why so many sites get in to trouble when they just go with the recommended status quo.

You cannot trust SEOConsultants, and you cannot trust most of what you read online. There are very few people or companies who stand up for what is right and stand alone against every other company that is just out for a quick buck; but that is what we have always done. We seek the truth in everything, and we are willing to take the hardships endured as a result of spreading the truth about these scammers and liars.

We own multiple companies online, and the success of those companies stems from a different way of doing things. Our companies always go above-and-beyond in the services they offer, and we always seek to educate buyers in the scams that are hyped by others.

We hope you'll do your research thoroughly before listening to a scam artist run directory such as SEOConsultants. Just be cautious.

p.s. for details on why we now know the truth about SEOConsultants, please continue reading below...

Back to Homepage

 

The LinkSmile team has always been comprised of several, high-level, successful marketing associates with many years of experience each. However, the initial focus of LinkSmile was upon value-added services for the "do-it-youself" crowd.

Recently, however, LinkSmile has re-defined itself as a full-serivce marketing firm (that goes beyond simple SEO) but also offers high-end SEO and the "do-it-yourself" services.

For this reason, we spent considerable time adding appropriate content, re-writing content, and overhauling the design of LinkSmile to more adequately highlight the new focus.

We then listed our company among several of the SEO directories. However, one of the most heavily "hyped" directories of late is the SEOConsultants Directory. The reason they are hyped so heavily is because they are hyping their own companies who in turn hype the directory. How quaint.

At first, we did not know this was the case, and so we spent a few hours reading through the guidelines and making sure we qualify for a listing. Naturally, we offer everything and more. We also read through nearly 100 rejection responses to other applicants to see what types of rejection reasons were given. They all seemed reasonable and did not apply to LinkSmile.

So, we paid the fee and sent in our application.

A few hours later, our payment was refunded with the following note:

"Sorry Wesley, not the type of site we'll list in the directory. We couldn't find any information specific to SEM other than buying and selling links."

Really? Couldn't find any information like any of the numerous articles that explains what SEM services we offer nor any of the SEO/SEM guides to help users understand SEO/SEM? Hmm...

So, here was our response:

"You can't be serious. Off the homepage: http://www.linksmile.com/seo-beginners-guide.htm http://www.linksmile.com/seo-tools.htm http://www.linksmile.com/online-advertising-marketing.htm http://www.linksmile.com/dont-buy-pagerank.htm http://www.linksmile.com/search-engine-rankings.htm http://www.linksmile.com/full-service-marketing.htm http://www.linksmile.com/high-end-seo.htm http://www.linksmile.com/forum/ More content is coming (obviously) as this site is fairly new, but I read through the guidelines and I read through about a hundred of the rejection reasons for other sites. There is NO reason not to list our site other than a conflict of interest with the reviewer or something along those lines. I simply cannot accept that our site doesn't fit -when our site fits more than most others in this industry. Just because we offer MORE services and technology that allows clients to buy/sell advertising on their own doesn't mean we do not do as much of the services as others do. To the contrary, it means we do MORE. Also, you must not have read very much at all of our content because we do not just have links listed in our inventory. We handle banners as well. We offer advertising, not links. If you'd take 2 seconds to read the page about how we're different (http://www.linksmile.com/text-link-advertising.htm), you'd realize this. So, you tell me... Is seoconsultants for real or just another SCAM to build traffic for the "buddy-buddies" in the group? Our site deserves to be listed. Sincerely, Wesley"

Naturally, we never received any response.

So, we sent the following email:

< previous email was copied > I sent this immediately after the refund was issued. Since today was the first non-holiday after our reply, I have waited all day for a reply. Since there was no reply, I am sending notice that seoconsultants has until the end of the week before we expose you for what it seems you are: a scam. If forced to go this route, I will show everyone that worthy companies are denied without reason (such as LinkSmile), and I will NOT yield to ANY legal threats. So, there will be considerable exposure to those looking to buy in this market. I am and have always been grounded in spreading the truth, so I will let the market know that SEOConsultants cannot be trusted. I am hopeful that this is not the case, and that this directory isn't corrupted with all the buddy-buddiness that is prevelant in the SEO industry. I am hopeful that our case was a simple case of the reviewer not taking two seconds to see that LinkSmile is a fit. This is not a bully request by a company that doesn't fit in the directory; it is a demand for fairness by a company that supercedes most others in your directory. If there is any hint of integrity in your organization, now is the time to demonstrate it. I look forward to hearing from you. Again, you have until noon on Thursday, March 31, 2005 to respond favorably. Sincerely, Wesley

We finally did receive a response, but it was an unprofessional and tart response of:

Good luck. We always enjoy a challenge.

So, I suppose that gives a glimpse of the type of people that run that directory. The real question is whether you want to chance dealing with those companies associated with a directory run by persons such as this. If they are shady in one area, you can bet that it trickles down.

As always, do your research and try your best to find reputable and honest people with which to do business.

###

If you happen to run an SEO firm yourself and have been irritated by ignorant reasons for non-acceptance, then take a moment to help us expose this directory for the scam they are. Simply link to this article with the anchor text of "seoconsultants scam" or publish the article in it's entirety and unedited with a resource box of:

Article " SEOConsultants Scam " By: Wesley Tomas Wesley Tomas is a known and respected online marketer with years of success and experience advertising online. Mr. Tomas has been successful with affiliate marketing, PPC marketing, permissions-based email marketing, and just about any type of methods researched.

Of course, a link back to this article directly and using the anchor text of "seoconsultants scam" would also be appreciated to help boost our relevance for those terms in the search engines.

Back to Homepage

 

Last Modified: 2005-04-08