Principled Profits: Marketing that puts people first
AUGUST 2004
I've borrowed
the headline from another Web site, principledprofits.com,
but I don't think they'll mind because they are on a crusade
to get 25,000 businesses to pledge to a standard code of ethics.
Part of my signing that pledge was to agree to share this information
with others and I am more than happy to do so because my business,
Internet marketing, is filled with unscrupulous souls looking
to make a quick buck and it hurts our industry.
The Internet
marketing industry does not have a "standard code of ethics"
but everyone knows that taking money and offering false promises
is fraud. No one, I reiterate here, NO ONE can promise to guarantee
your site top 10 ranking positions without buying paid placement
ads. I'm going to repeat that line one more time in case you
didn't quite catch it: NO ONE can promise to GUARANTEE your
site top 10 ranking positions without buying paid placement
ads!
The promise
for top ranking positions is like the quick weight-loss promises
you see everywhere. First of all, the seller can't guarantee
that you'll follow the plan exactly, take the pills according
to directions or even begin to know your lifestyle. How can
they promise guaranteed weight loss? The same for search engine
marketing. No one except the search engine knows what the algorithms
are or will be tomorrow. No one has an "inside track"
to Google, MSN or Yahoo to get their clients' sites bolstered.
The only thing an Internet marketing company or search engine
optimization firm can promise is that they will use their knowledge
and experience of what has worked for them in the past and apply
it to your site.
Often, as
we are attempting to apply search engine optimization to a site,
we find ourselves in a tug-of-war with the client. The client
wants flash, graphics, frames, and numerous other eye-candy
that we know poses problems for search engine indexing. With
our hands tied we will apply as much optimization as possible.
This same client will complain months later that their ranking
position has fallen. That's the nature of our business. It's
like the woman who wants to lose weight but won't give up the
cakes and candy and can't understand why she's not getting results.
You must trust the expertise of your search engine optimization
firm, or why did you hire them?.
We love
our job at Web-Kare, we welcome the challenges and we refuse
to use unethical methods to get a client's site ranking high
for a short time only to have them banned completely. Our clients
trust us, we work hard for them and we are willing to document
everything we've done on their behalf.
This is
the pledge that we have signed:
I
pledge allegiance, in my heart and soul, to the concepts of
honesty, integrity, and quality in business. I recognize that
the cornerstone of success is treating all stakeholders fairly,
with compassion, and with a commitment to service. Working from
abundance, I recognize that even my competitors can become important
allies. I will not tolerate crooked practices in my business,
from coworkers, direct or indirect reports, supervisors, managers,
suppliers, or anyone else — and if I encounter such practices,
I will refuse to go along with them and report them to appropriate
authorities within and outside the company. I pledge to support
the "triple bottom line" of environmental, social,
and financial responsibility. And I pledge to participate in
a serious effort to focus the business community on these principles,
by sharing this message with at least 100 other business leaders.
If you agree
with this pledge and would like to sign it too, click
here.
