SEO services - Give reports or no?

duimstra

duimstra

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More and more SEO services, usually with private SEO networks, are NOT giving reports of their blasts.

What do you think about that?

Would you order (and keep ordering) from a service that is not providing you with a list of domains or URLs with your backlinks?

Their arguments are that:
- Google can also order a few blasts and ban their whole network;
- in time you see your backlinks anyway in the SERPS (or Yahoo Explorer).
 
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I say BS.

If a person cannot show proof of their work, look elsewhere.

If that isn't the case... i'm selling 100,000,000 backlinks for only $500. Order away, good luck!!!
 
I also would not continue to use a service that does not provide reports. If you are doing good work you are going to want to show your customers that good work. It's simply unprofessional not to.
 
Are you fool?lolx no offense
almost every good company or service provider give report of their work, if they are not providing ask them to provide..its still not, then kick their ass..
 
It all depends, frankly, some of us with tens of thousands of dollars invested don't care to jeopardize our investments over a single client.

Frankly, you should see results in your rankings within 30-60days and even sooner depending on what kinda of SEO service you are using and their linkbuilding efforts. Would you want to pay for your SEO service each and every month, to have it all crashing down 6-8 months later because a client convinced your SEO service/company to give them "proof" which then was used as a blog post and/or submitted to the big G out of spite from a competitor?

Its apples and oranges really, if the company is building lower quality links than hell yes, a report should be required. If you are using a service that is using private networks for links, then no, if you are receiving link building updates with shown links your probably wasting your time with that company.
 
I've worked with several multi-million dollar companies in my 14+ years of online marketing, and I've never had one of them not shown proof of work in a report. Just food for thought.
 
Looking to show them links or rankings?

Most clients are looking for rankings and not backlinks.

If I did SEO for others, all they would see are where their KWs are ranking from my hard work.

I would never expose my methodology to them nor would I expose the links that they got from me for their rankings.
 
From a provider viewpoint: i always want to have deliverables. As proof for me if there are complaints and also to have something to give to the customer to show that the project is finished and done.
 
BassTrackerBoats said:
Looking to show them links or rankings?

Most clients are looking for rankings and not backlinks.

If I did SEO for others, all they would see are where their KWs are ranking from my hard work.

I would never expose my methodology to them nor would I expose the links that they got from me for their rankings.
Click to expand...

So you are not giving them reports ?
 
server255 said:
From a provider viewpoint: i always want to have deliverables. As proof for me if there are complaints and also to have something to give to the customer to show that the project is finished and done.
Click to expand...

So the next site they want to get ranked they can just take the links you have set up for the initial one and replicate the process and bypass you?

SEO guys don't sell links, they sell rankings, don't they?

Not busting your chops, Server, but you are selling a service to get your client ranked and not selling backlinks if you are doing SEO 99% of the time and you sure don't want your client to know how you got them ranked; you just want them to know that you did.

I don't do SEO for others but I do business with a lot of guys that do and it's rankings FTW, not backlinks in their opinion 99.9% of the time.
 
BassTrackerBoats said:
So the next site they want to get ranked they can just take the links you have set up for the initial one and replicate the process and bypass you?

SEO guys don't sell links, they sell rankings, don't they?

Not busting your chops, Server, but you are selling a service to get your client ranked and not selling backlinks if you are doing SEO 99% of the time and you sure don't want your client to know how you got them ranked; you just want them to know that you did.

I don't do SEO for others but I do business with a lot of guys that do and it's rankings FTW, not backlinks in their opinion 99.9% of the time.
Click to expand...

You're right. If it is full service seo, page optimization, etc

I should have mentioned that in my case i'm only doing backlink packages, the "cheap" ones. And these customers for sure can't replicate that. They don't even do proper keyword research and want {iphone} as anchor.

But yes for more professional seo services it is the ranking that counts.
 
Interesting opinions, thanks! So far you've confirmed my own point of view:
A) cheap backlinks: give full report
B) private, high-pr, aged networks: no report

In situation A you're really not risking much since you can always find more sites where you can post.

In situation B it would be silly to give out a full report since a competitor can easily report you to Google. Personally I have no doubt that G employs quite a few people that spend their days discovering and banning such networks.

And here you can literally risk tens or hundreds of thousands of $ if you invested heavily in your network and it disappears from the SERPs overnight.

EDIT:

But there is always that nagging feeling the customer get that you're screwing them.
Is there no way around this?
 
duimstra said:
I

But there is always that nagging feeling the customer get that you're screwing them.
Is there no way around this?
Click to expand...

Sure, use Rank Tracker or some other tool like that and keep a weekly journal and give it to them weekly so they can see the progress.

I'm pretty sure you can brand rank tracker and I would bet there are other tools like that which you can brand with your own SEO company name.
 
duimstra said:
More and more SEO services, usually with private SEO networks, are NOT giving reports of their blasts.

What do you think about that?

Would you order (and keep ordering) from a service that is not providing you with a list of domains or URLs with your backlinks?

Their arguments are that:
- Google can also order a few blasts and ban their whole network;
- in time you see your backlinks anyway in the SERPS (or Yahoo Explorer).
Click to expand...

While the arguments to not deliver such reports have some logic, I would personally never pay for SEO Service - without receiving a report of the work completed.
 
mnclseo said:
While the arguments to not deliver such reports have some logic, I would personally never pay for SEO Service - without receiving a report of the work completed.
Click to expand...

You are in the minority as the SEO professionals that I know, and many are very respected members here, do not give a link report out.

They sell rankings not links; they ask the client "What do you care how I do it as long as it is legal and we accomplish the goal of #1 on Google?".

I'd never give out my secret sauce, would never tell you how I, as a retail store owner, am able to buy at such good prices to resell and make a living, would never give out my sources to find clients, would never give out my sources to get cheap money to lend... etc, etc, etc.

An SEO guy is essentially a business that takes a building and moves it across town except it is a website and moves it from page whatever to page 1. The kind of company that moves buildings and houses doesn't go into detail how it is done; they just do it.
 
I think the difference here a little is:

a) providing reports or results to regular clients = provide results.
b) provide reports or results to BHW IM professionals = provide report (unless high pr private blog network).
 
Ranking Report : why not?

Backlink report : why the f*ck??
 
BassTrackerBoats said:
So the next site they want to get ranked they can just take the links you have set up for the initial one and replicate the process and bypass you?

SEO guys don't sell links, they sell rankings, don't they?

I don't do SEO for others but I do business with a lot of guys that do and it's rankings FTW, not backlinks in their opinion 99.9% of the time.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. My clients never see a report.
If you deliver on your word, you will never have a problem.

Clients care about results. Mine are busy running businesses,
and barely have time to read the ranking reports.
 
I do not show links to clients, as some of them are way to dodgy :)
Well I do make few high class articles with image for show off.

But still, I do like to see links that are built, just for my own sake, to know if the service provider has done his biz.
 
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