I just found a link building service that provides link building for only $100/mo. For that you get the following:

  • To target 1 keyword/month
  • 250 directory submissions
  • 100 social bookmarks
  • 50 article marketing (articles)
  • A 5-link wheel
  • 5 blog comments
  • 2 blog posts.

~~~~~ Deep breath ~~~~~~

I’m sorry, does this sound too good to be true to anyone else? Even if you just take the 50 article marketing articles, wouldn’t you suspect that this one article is probably being duplicated 50 times? (duplicate content = bad) Who could possibly write 50 unique articles for $100? That’s $2/article. How about a 5-link wheel for $100? Are you telling me you’re creating 5 quality web 2.0 sites for only $20 each? That could be possible, I suppose. Still, unique content on each link? Probably not. Plus you get 5 blog comments and 2 blog posts on top of all that – not to mention 250 directory submissions (Which directories? Is this 100% automated?) Seriously, this is crazy cheap stuff!

So clearly I have a problem with this model. Obviously, I don’t believe you’re getting quality for your $100. But that’s not even my biggest problem with it. Here’s what I want to know. “What will happen to my keyword if I buy this $100/mo campaign? Will it move to page one?” Isn’t that the goal of SEO? No one buys SEO to move from page 10 to page 8, do they? “So then will $100/mo get my one keyword/month to page one? How many months will it take?  Five? Twenty?”

There’s no answer to this question on the website . . . because there probably isn’t a good answer. If you’re trying to rank for “personal injury attorney” or even “personal injury attorney kansas city”, you’re not going to have a chance at getting to page one for $100/mo. Maybe… maybe if you’re trying to rank for something like “mural paintings for children’s bedrooms overland park ks”, you might have a shot. There’s probably no competition for that keyword. But for a keyword that’s even slightly competitive, I’ve never heard a $100/mo success story. Never.

That’s why I don’t believe in cookie cutter SEO. When you talk to an SEO professional and you ask “How much?” the first thing out of their mouth back to you had better not be a dollar amount. It SHOULD BE A QUESTION! “What keyword do you want to rank for and where are you ranking now? What other SEO are you doing? Have you completed your onsite SEO? Are you doing any other link building?” You get the idea. Every SEO job is unique. The nature of the keyword, the competition, the current state of SEO, all of these things need to be taken into account before you can even consider buying SEO of any kind.

In fairness, this product/service is probably directed at SEO professionals and SEO companies looking to outsource link building. They should have a grip on their clients’ SEO needs and be able to make a judgment about what to expect from this deal. If this is you, then my only recommendation is to proceed with caution. Best guess is that there’s a ton of automation and duplicate content going on here – neither of which are good for your clients’ SEO needs. But feel free to try it out. Then come back and let me know what you find out. I’d love to know if something like this could be effective, but I’m not chancing it on any of my clients – even if it is a small financial risk, it could be a huge SEO risk.

If you’re looking for help with SEO or link building, I’d recommend talking with an industry expert or consultant before considering something like one of these cookie cutter SEO packages.

End of rant.

-David