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Bad SEO? Then sue your SEO company

By Steve Richardson : Administrator

Published 27th May 2014 |

Read latest comment - 24th June 2014

I love this story.

A law firm in Michigan, Seikaly & Stewart, is suing its former SEO provider — but not for a lack of ranking success. Rather the firm is getting sued for allegedly using “spammy” techniques violating Google’s guidelines - Search Engine Land

Fantastic, SEO companies become accountable for their actions! So next time you are expected to sign an SEO contract, make sure you add a clause in there that says they have to repay you if they use any tactics, now or in the future that are likely to get you penalised by Google, and repair any damage

I guess this could set an interesting precedent if they win. Be interesting to see how the SEO industry reacts to this, particularly the genuine professional agencies (yes their are some).

Maybe old school guarantees or warranties will translate into the world of digital marketing?

Steve Richardson
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  Name: thelegalstop
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thelegalstop : Forum Member
27th May 2014 3:44 PM

Originally Posted by Steve Richardson

“So next time you are expected to sign an SEO contract, make sure you add a clause in there that says they have to repay you if they use any tactics, now or in the future that are likely to get you penalised by Google, and repair any damage

”

I couldn't agree more. Google can penalise you for using these kind of strategies, and the Internet is full of spammy messages, bots, dodgy IPs and using inappropriate keywords.

I think that you really need to sign a well-prepared, legally watertight contract with your SEO company, especially if you value your company's image. Remember, you can wake up one morning, refresh your Google analytics and see all your organic search traffic gone because of the Google ban, so think twice.

Thanks for the warning, Steve! Anyone here experienced similar situations, have you got contracts with your SEO companies? Did you write it yourself or was it already supplied?

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Johno : Forum Member
28th May 2014 3:58 PM

the whole concept of SEO seems to be nothing but confusion with everyone saying something else. Maybe its safer just to just learn it yourself?

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Sop13 : Forum Member
24th June 2014 4:57 PM

Yes, have heard many a horror story. A family friend is a partner at a small/medium solicitors.

They are suing their old SEO agency for loss of earrings and fees. After they gained good rankings, they plummeted. They since employed a decent, transparent, UK based SEO agency who confirmed the 'spammy messages, bots, dodgy IPs'. From what I was told, its a wonder they weren't slapped with a huge penalty from Google.

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