Does every honest consultant out there run into this same type of stuff constantly? How common is this type of stuff really?
I want to offer my view as someone who struggles with small and medium sized businesses in cracking verticals, down here at the bottom of the heap looking up at farms upon farms of black hat SEO.
Recently, a client asked me to compare his efforts to a friends SEO in the beauty industry. I'll sum up what the friend did in three phrases: Link Pyramids, Traffic Geyser, and Fiverr.
I did not know whether to laugh or to swear. Choosing neither, I explained to my client in a way Nick outlined above. I simply put the fear of Penguin into him. Then I got him 25 more opportunities to link to customer bases and build some meaningful marketing relationships. He smiled and thanked me.
I am optimistic, too, because of Google's efforts, our own efforts as honest consultants, and our clients abilities to check our work and choose the path and it's consequences.
