Webmaster Help Center At Google.com

[Manish Pandey]

Hello everybody...

Well many of you would have already read this "advice" from Google.com but I thought to share with the newbies...
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Small blue print:

What's an SEO? Does Google recommend working with companies that offer to make my site Google-friendly?

Search Engine Optimizers

SEO is an abbreviation for "search engine optimizer." Many SEOs provide useful services for website owners, from writing copy to giving advice on site architecture and helping to find relevant directories to which a site can be submitted. However, a few unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results.

While Google doesn't have relationships with any SEOs and doesn't offer recommendations, we do have a few tips that may help you distinguish between an SEO that will improve your site and one that will only improve your chances of being dropped from search engine results altogether.

* Be wary of SEO firms that send you email out of the blue.

Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:

"Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."

Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
* No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.

Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or through the Google Sitemaps (Beta) program, and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever....

Read On at : http://www.google.com/support/webmas...y?answer=35291
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Take care....

Manish

[John Scott]

Be wary of SEO firms that send you email out of the blue.

And be wary of search engines that use moral superiority as a branding strategy.

[EricBlackwell]

VERY good read. Thanks John.

You are correct that it has been a brilliantly executed plan. One thing that I did not read in there was the complicit part that Yahoo has played in the strategy. While Google was evangelizing and proclaiming their integrity, Yahoo was quietly hand editing (ala the famous Yahoo "handjobs") and selecting. (Read: relationship with Prudential real estate).

I think sometimes the guy who plays like he's on a white horse finds his image enhanced by those who make "less than algorithmic" changes...(grin) I think they played perfectly into Google's hand and lost market share as a result...

I also think that Yahoo could benefit from a PR man / engineer / spin meister like Cutts...He's been a good investment IMHO for Google...

Best

Eric

[ablaye]

Thanks manish. This was good reading.

[Manish Pandey]

A few more sites to help you be on the safer side...

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/ - Google support center for Webmasters.

http://www.mattcutts.com/blog - Matt Cutts blog

Take care

Manish