Do you know what a search marketing scam looks like?

The email read:

Thanks for your time. Once again this is guaranteed first page placement in the sponsored links on GOOGLE 24/7 in The US at flat rate pricing.
There is a onetime set up fee of $79.95. There are NO Contracts. Keep in mind once this placement is sold I cannot sell them to anyone else. I can get you online the same day.

A client had forwarded me this email he had received. He wanted to know if it could be this easy. Could there really be some search engine ranking cheats that would allow his site to appear at #1 for any word for the low, low price of $79.95? Certainly sounded a lot easier then all this content work and this link building drudgery.

I explained that this was a classic search marketing scam.

Consider the question “how does Google rank pages?”

If there really were Google cheats, if Google really did allow people to simply buy the #1 position, do you honestly think that any would be left available? Do you think that a company would need to resort to cold calling and spam in order to sell this form of “expert sponsored link management?”

How does Google rank pages? By the merit of the content on a site and the links into a site. And they have to, because otherwise they would lose integrity and respect and, more importantly, searchers.

But I see “Sponsored Links” on Google search pages

The Sponsored Links you see are not Google cheats nor are they a search marketing scam. They are Google’s PPC ads which anyone can bid on for free through AdWords. You don’t need to pay for setup nor do you pay a flat fee for the #1 position. You don’t need expert sponsored link management; you need expert pay per click management.

Like all things, search engine ranking cheats follow the old adage of “if it sounds too good to be true…” Ranking in Google takes time, knowledge and work. While it is not fast, it will work for you in the long term.

Have you come across a search marketing scam? Tell us about it.