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SEO Companies

The Colourful Spectrum of SEO Companies

De Bono's Thinking Hats
De Bono's Thinking Hats

SEO agencies come in all shapes and sizes. There are SEO specialists, web designers that also offer SEO services, full service digital marketing agencies, consultants, bloggers and so on. SEO companies sometimes also classify themselves as ‘white hat’, ‘black hat’ or almost any other colour in between. Another often used differentiator is the term ethical.

What Are White Hat SEO Companies?

There do not appear to be universally accepted definitions of exactly what constitutes white hat SEO, black hat SEO or the other colours of SEO in the spectrum. When it comes to certain specific practices, for example the deceptive use of doorway pages, there is little disagreement that it’s black hat. When it comes to other practices, particularly in the area of link building, link spam is often considered black hat but it is not easy to define link spam. One example of link spam could be the automated submission of ‘comments’ to large numbers of blogs containing back links (to the SEO company’s client’s website) with no intention of contributing anything meaningful to the discussion and solely for the purpose of attempting to manipulate rankings. Another example might be the arbitrary insertion of a link into the content of a website owned either by the SEO company or by a 3rd party who receives a payment from the SEO company for allowing the link to reside on his web page. These links, as in the example in the screenshot below, often corrupt the original content, reducing it to gibberish and are there solely for the purposes of manipulating rankings. So not only does this kind of link spam breach search engine guidelines but it also contributes to the pollution of the internet.

Click on image for a bigger picture.

Example of In Content Link Spam
Example of In Content Link Spam

The whiter the hat, the more likely it is that links will have been genuinely earned by the creation of useful content which people will naturally link to for reference or citation purposes. Eric Ward is known the world over as a leading link building strategist and provides a lot of useful information on his website about the right way to do link building and you can see an endorsement at the top of his home page from Matt Cutts (Head of Google’s Web Spam Team).

How SEO Agencies May Market Themselves

Irrespective of whether there are clear definitions of the SEO hat colours, there is little to prevent SEO agencies from marketing white hat organic SEO services but adopting black hat techniques or by subcontracting the black hat SEO to third parties to distance themselves from it. So unfortunately, an SEO company that has “white hat” or “ethical” splashed all over its home page may be using it for no more than marketing purposes. Some SEO companies will provide only organic SEO, others will provide PPC services, and others even broader but maybe less specialised services.

The temptation for some SEO agencies to break search engine guidelines for quick wins is big. A temptation that may also sometimes be fuelled by unrealistic expectations of clients who may place their SEO agency under threat of termination of services. Unscrupulous SEO companies may not volunteer their methods to their clients or may even provide misleading answers to questions. Problems can also originate on the client side where marketing directors, who themselves may be under enormous pressure to generate new leads, prefer to turn a blind eye. Reckless risk taking on the part of SEO companies may only cost them one contract. Reckless risk taking on the part of a client side manager may only cost him his job. But the cost to the organisation of being discovered breaching search engine guidelines and suffering a consequent ranking penalty from Google may be far greater than a short term dip in revenue. The adverse publicity of being exposed as cheats may have far reaching and long lasting consequences for their reputation and brand.

There have been a number of high profile cases recently of SEO agencies being penalised by Google for breaching its rules including the two below:
J.C. Penney is penalised – Article in The New York Times
Overstock.com is penalised – Article in Forbes

Reviews of SEO Companies

You might of course search through reviews hoping to identify the best SEO companies and there are a number of SEO industry specific review sites. There is also a growing number of broad topic sites where people can leave their own reviews. The trouble with these is that review sites may also be prone to manipulation. Reviews may be bought, directly or indirectly, or be disingenuous in other ways. And who reviews the review sites? On some review sites, SEO companies are categorised as the “best SEO company” or “top SEO company”. But what may be “best” for one client may not be best for another, even assuming one has been able to establish objective criteria for defining what “best” means. The top link building company to one person may be the company that acquires the largest number of links. To another person it may be the company that acquires the highest quality links. To another it may be the company that earns its clients their links naturally by following an effective content strategy.

Contradictions with SEO companies

However much material you have read on the websites of SEO companies or on the sites that review SEO companies, you may still need to do a little digging yourself. It’s a case of buyer beware and the more informed your decision is, the higher the chance of a successful outcome (whatever success means in your terms).

It is always interesting to see how well a vendor avails themselves of their own expertise. Does the builder have a nice house? Does the hairdresser have a nice haircut? With SEO companies, the test is not so easy but one can often start with the claims they make in their email, proposal, etc. How well do they score at the services they purport to be able to offer you?

SEO companies often submit offers with implicit contradictions and they often centre around:
1. Back links
2. PageRank
3. Rankings

Back links
If the SEO company is offering to provide you with large numbers of back links, then you could check how many they have of their own. If they offer to acquire 10,000 for you but have only 200 of their own, why could that be? It could be that they can’t provide what they offer or it could be that they can but choose not to place their own domain at risk by doing it for themselves. Use a link checking tool to find out about the back links of any website. There are lots out there – some free, some payable. You may also examine some of the back links of their clients which might provide clues about whether search engine guidelines are being broken. But be aware that the number of back links on its own is not a good performance indicator of link building. It is a one dimensional metric whereas multi-dimensional metrics are needed to assess a good back link profile.

PageRank
SEO companies sometimes point out that your site doesn’t have any Google PageRank and that they can increase your PageRank. Quite apart from the fact that this may not be a particularly useful indicator since there is almost no correlation between Google PageRank and actual rankings, traffic and conversions, it is still worth checking to see if they have made a faux pas. You can check their PageRank by downloading, for free, Google’s toolbar (this link is for UK but you’ll find what you need by searching on “Google toolbar”). Once you have configured the toolbar for your own preferences, you will see the PageRank for any web page you are viewing and this will be a score between 0 and 10 (with 10 being the highest), where there is a score, or a ‘grey bar’ where there is no score. You might just find their score is zero.

Rankings
If they are going to work wonders with your rankings, where do they rank themselves? This may not be so obvious for a novice to establish but you can always ask them for some examples of their own rankings. They should be able to provide some evidence of competence in this area if this is what they are promising to deliver for you. Also, note that some people are quick to point out that you should not consider SEO companies that appeared in your search results in the sponsored results (for example Google AdWords on the grounds that if they can’t get their own site to appear in the free results then they won’t be able to succeed with yours. This is not actually a good argument. They may have excellent rankings for some of the best keywords in the industry but perhaps just not for the one that you actually entered. No SEO company can hold the top spots for all search terms so there is no contradiction or embarrassment in organic SEO companies using AdWords. The point is that they should be able to demonstrate what they do rank for and where.

A Litmus Test For SEO Companies

We neither condemn nor condone the practices of SEO companies, since that is not the purpose of this page. We try to ensure the colours we pin to our own mast are as white as possible. In the end, the best SEO companies are the ones that are best for your business and these may be white, black or some other colour. The route that is best for you may depend on your appetite for risk. Trading a white hat for a dark hat may be trading long term success built on solid foundations for riskier short term gains. Do you want to build your castle on sand? Or, if you built it on solid foundations long ago, do you want to jeopardise all that now?

Related Reading
How to Choose an SEO Company That Won’t Burn your Domain
SEO Specialists

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Google Rating
5.0
Based on 26 reviews
AdJuice SEO Services Ltd
AdJuice SEO Services Ltd
5.0
Mark at SkateStation
Mark at SkateStation
08:12 20 Jul 20
We found Ewan after looking at various businesses in the Surrey area to set up and run our Google Shopping Ads/PPC account. Ewan is both passionate and extremely thorough in making sure we get an increasing ROI. The frequent reporting and advice on what we can do our end is on a personal level that I would imagine many other companies can’t match. We’re seeing our online sales revenue grow monthly and we’ll certainly continue to invest more through Ewan.
Des Earthcare
Des Earthcare
22:19 10 Mar 20
We very rarely write reviews or recommend other companies, but we felt we just had to give AdJuice a 5 star review, at the very least... We thoroughly recommend AdJuice and Ewan to any business looking for a professional, top quality SEO company.Our garden design and landscaping business, EarthCare Gardens Ltd is based on the borders of South London and Surrey, so we need a constant pipeline of decent projects and quality leads within a hyper local area. We tried several so called SEO experts over the years... Only to be disappointed time and time again, throwing good money after bad and getting nothing but rubbish services in return.Then, luckily, we found AdJuice... Ewan is a real pleasure to work with, super efficient, methodical and actually dedicated to the Art and Science of online marketing and Search Engine Optimization... And the icing on the cake: Ewan delivers really great results and outstanding value for money.If you've searched in vain for SEO experts, then search no more... You will see a superb Return on Investment and get plenty of good quality, online leads for your business too, but only if you work with Ewan and AdJuice SEO Services Ltd.
James Johnstone
James Johnstone
08:27 07 Jun 18
I've been working with Ewan for over 5 years and there's no one else I'd recommend for SEO and AdWords. This is simply because Ewan get's results and he gets the best results of the myriad of 'SEO experts' we've gone through (and there have been a lot of 'duds'). As well as the good and quantifiable RoI he achieves, it's his business acumen and diligence that differentiates him with other providers.
Sally Powell
Sally Powell
15:24 17 May 18
If you're looking for local seo in Surrey I can't recommend adjuice enough. Ewan was extremeley knowledgeable and was able to help my business re seo where others had failed.
Helen Atkinson
Helen Atkinson
16:11 02 May 18
I had recently set up an Adwords (PPC) account for our business but was unsure if it was set up correctly and so was looking for someone to review it. I really wanted to work with a local company and found Surrey based Adjuice. What I particularly appreciated about my initial call with Ewan was that there was no pressure selling. Ewan provided a fantastic review of my Adwords account with clear steps on how I can make improvements, which included bonus information on improving our website for local SEO. I would highly recommend Ewan, he is clearly very knowledgeable and I look forward to working with him in the future.
Cotton and Olive
Cotton and Olive
17:45 30 Mar 18
As an e-commerce retail shop owner based in Surrey, I asked Ewan to do SEO review of my e-commerce site to identify and address suspected problems. He turned up with an expert diagnosis of the existing problems and full recommendations to fix these serious issues causing a loss of traffic. He took his time and forwarded a full report with evidences and screenshots. Hence, it was easy for me to follow his diagnostic report which enabled me to act quicker to fix these problems. I will certainly recommend him if you are looking for Surrey based SEO service.
Ruth Roy
Ruth Roy
09:45 25 Oct 17
We commissioned Ewan to undertake some SEO research and produce a report with recommendations for one of our clients. Ewan produced a detailed report with many valuable insights into our client’s on-site SEO. We would use Ewan and AdJuice for future projects.
Nick Jones
Nick Jones
14:01 31 Aug 17
Adjuice have great knowledge of SEO and have provided us with great insight on growing our online presence.
James Titler
James Titler
13:10 25 Aug 17
It's been a pleasure working with Ewan and his knowledge of SEO has helped us grow our online presence - not just on Google My Business but his advice and help with meeting broader SEO objectives.
Pixies Nursery School
Pixies Nursery School
11:49 18 Aug 17
In 2015 we asked Ewan for SEO advice on our last website, prior to embarking on a mobile-friendly website upgrade project in 2016. Ewan advised on our existing situation, especially in connection with our visibility in Google’s local business search results. There were technical problems with our Google My Business listing and our listing on Google Maps which needed Ewan to speak directly with a member of Google’s staff to get them fixed. Ewan also advised on the SEO aspects of our new website at the design stage. Ewan’s work has helped us appear number 1 in Google’s local business results for some important search terms. Ewan was generous with his time and a pleasure to work with.
Donald Minchin
Donald Minchin
13:18 17 Aug 17
One of the best decisions that I made when I was recommended to Adjuice.My business has gone from strength to strength under the watchful eye of Adjuice looking after my online activity. I no longer have to worry about where my business ranks in google and it allows me to concentrate on increasing my companies business.Thanks for all your help.
Warren Ransome
Warren Ransome
08:26 17 Aug 17
Ewan knows SEO extremely well. I would recommend Adjuice without hesitation. We are still on page 1 for most of the keyword work Ewan did over 5 years ago. His work is money very well spent!!
Qdos Computer Consultants
Qdos Computer Consultants
08:24 17 Aug 17
AdJuice provides a valuable SEO service to Qdos and several of our clients. Ewan has an excellent technical knowledge of SEO and PPC, providing detailed monthly progress reports full of recommendations, and always giving thorough and well thought out responses to our questions.
Rachel Smith
Rachel Smith
09:00 11 Aug 17
Great report from Ewan to help us review, plan and invigorate our efforts on the web.
Olivia Shaw
Olivia Shaw
08:20 26 Jul 17
I have been working for 6 months with Ewan at Adjuice on a PPC (pay per click) campaign on Google adwords. Ewan's advice and expertise has been excellent and he is always extremely prompt and responsive to my questions and queries. His knowledge and understanding of how Adwords operates seems to be extensive and, as a result, the campaign has been extremely successful thanks to Ewan.
Shaun Perfect
Shaun Perfect
19:24 07 Oct 16
I've used Adjuice for a few years now with great results.
Martin Brown
Martin Brown
15:35 11 Sep 16
We've worked with AdJuice for over two years and it has made a major difference to where our company appears in search results. Ewan is always helpful, explains things clearly and prompt to respond.
Synergy Physio
Synergy Physio
06:57 20 May 16
Ewan at Adjuice has been helping me with our company's SEO since 2015 when I switched over to working with him. From the start he did a complete audit of my site and we came up with a plan of how we would build our presence and rankings. He has offered me some great advice and has been able to isolate the key areas where we can make large improvements. Each month I get a report with suggested improvements which are quick and easy for me to implement. Since bringing Ewan onboard our traffic has improved markedly and I know it will continue to do so.
Anna Haynes
Anna Haynes
16:06 09 Nov 15
We have worked with Ewan at AdJuice over several years and his SEO knowledge, practical approach and advice have led to significant improvement in our Google rankings across a number of key words. His contribution to our e-commerce business growth has been invaluable to us.
Michael Swinn
Michael Swinn
11:38 02 Feb 15
Adjuice have been very helpful in sorting out our SEO problems and our google rankings have gone from somewhere around page 15 to page 1. The ongoing monthly support and input from Adjuice is money well spent.
Stretch Ceilings
Stretch Ceilings
12:52 26 Nov 14
Adjuice has really helped us to understand the ways in which our website can benefit our business. We now have more structure to our Adwords campaign and have therefore seen a great improvement in our search results.
Ben Stanbrook
Ben Stanbrook
12:11 06 Oct 14
Ewan has been extremely supportive and insightful with regards to improving and optimising our website. He is always on hand to provide a thorough analysis of all of the work which he delivers, and has helped us to gain a much better understanding of SEO and what we can do to continue developing our website.Stanbrook & Nicholson
Joe Banner
Joe Banner
16:18 22 Nov 13
Having worked with Ewan Kennedy and Adjuice several times over the years, I have found his SEO expertise invaluable.He is always polite, attentive to my (and my client's) needs and makes a point of keeping himself informed of the latest and best techniques in order to offer the best possible service.I'm happy to recommend him to small and medium sized businesses that are looking for better representation in search engine results.
John Lennie
John Lennie
23:56 30 Oct 13
Ewan and his team have been instrumental in the success of my business. His genuine interest in its growth from the beginning has enabled me to achieve the results I've wanted in a relatively short period of time. His extensive knowledge on all things Seo and experience with Adwords has been crucial to the set up of my business. Without his help and guidance I would not be where I am today.
Elspeth Evans
Elspeth Evans
21:41 27 Oct 13
Ewan at Adjuice helped me with our company's SEO, offering advice which was practical and relevant to the nature and size of our business. Ewan understood our business needs and advice was provided in a language that I was able to understand and implement. Our website ranking benefited from his advice.
Dominic Tantram
Dominic Tantram
15:07 09 Oct 13
Adjuice has provided a first class bespoke SEO service, helping to cut through the SEO jungle and improve rankings. Having been disappointed by our previous supplier, Ewan Kennedy from Adjuice has become a trusted supplier to our business, providing strategic, tactical and practical support as and when needed, all backed up with excellent communication.
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7 Devonshire Drive
Camberley
Surrey
GU15 3UB
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