USA Web Solutions, Inc. Zach Brewer INEXEPRIENCED SEO TEAM, FULL OF LIES, RUDE, OBNOXIOUS AND CONDESCENDING CUSTOMER SERVICE, VERY POOR QUALITY SEO CAMPAIGN New York, New York

Hello.  My name is Zach Brewer and I am the SEO specialist who dealt with the person who filed this report.  I admit that my final letter to this person was nasty, and I regret writing it.  However, I only wrote it because this client was being completely unreasonable.  He was calling me a liar even though--by signing our service agreement--he agreed upfront to everything our company was doing.  This is why I accused him of not understanding contracts.

His main concern with our company was that we were "too slow" conducting link-building.  However, he signed a contract that did not specify any rate of link-creation.  If the rate of link-creation was so important to him, why did he not initially ask for a proposal that promised an exact amount of links/week?  Again, isn't this just common sense when it comes to contracts and agreements?

Furthermore, if our link-building was so innefective, why (after only 2 months) were we able to achieve a page 2 ranking on Google for the phrase "acai berry wholesale" and a page 1 ranking oin Google for the phrase "acai fruit wholesale?"  Basically, this client seemed more concerned with SEO means than the SEO results, even though all of our SEO techniques were prudent, safe, and white-hat.

This person is a student in his early twenties, and therefore probably decided two months into the contract that he no longer wanted to make monthly payments.  This was very frusrating for me since I spent SO MUCH TIME explaining our services both prior to and during the agreement.  Below are some of the emails I wrote in an attempt to be as forthcoming as possible about our services.  Why did he not tell me prior to all of this correspondence that he expected a fast rate (and, I should say, reckless) of link-building?

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10/30/2009 1:13:00 PM

Hi Marco,

Sorry, but you are really about to make a big mistake.  It is not reasonable for you to make statements such as "I do not trust the screen shots you sent."  Have you tried testing the keywords on Google or Google U.K.?  You will see that you are ranked on page 2 for the phrase "acai berry wholesale" and on page 1 for the phrase "acai fruit wholesale."  If you need even more proof, I would be happy to speak with you on the phone and set up a screen-share.  With a screen-share I can give you control over my computer and you can type the phrases into Google yourself to see the evidence.

You are clearly being fed incorrect information from people who have less expertise/experience in the field of SEO than USA Web Solutions.  SEnuke is a dangerous, black-hat program (as are all automated link-building applications).  If automated link-building programs worked, there would be no reason for SEO companies to exist.

I also looked at the case studies for SEOme.com (www.seome.com/about-seome/case-studies).  He clearly does not have a track record that is equal to ours.  Is he trying to pursuade you to become his client?  Please view the attached list of long-lasting page 1 rankings achieved for our clients and compare it to the achievements of SEOme.com.  These client's page 1 rankings are stable and long-lasting because we achieved them using gradual, non-automated link-building.

Please understand that our contract did not specify the creation of a specific number of links.  The contract only promised page 1 rankings and a dramatic increase in organic search engine traffic.  Based on your current ranking for the phrase "acai berry wholesale," we are clearly making real progress toward the promised goals.  On Monday we will also send you full ranking reports for both your websites.  The reports will compare all of your pre- and post-SEO rankings.

Our link-building activities focus on quality, not quantity.  Below are two examples of links that we've created:

    * http://digg.com/food_drink/Acai_Berry_61
    * http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/1:d20166c58d0ce77748f32a21cf9bfd08:bb8d4532b1d6506a5fa99ce39bdde8c9/Pure-Acai-Berry

These are high-quality links that are already indexed by Google.  You can see that they are indexed by searching for "acai fruit hut" and viewing them on page 1.  Note: We cannot provide you a full list of all of the links that we create.  Providing link-building locations to our clients would over-publicize and weaken the effectiveness of our link-building database.  In other words, it is in all of clients' best interest to not publicize our link-building locations.

You are being fed incorrect information regarding the Google sandbox effect.  Here is an article stating that Google's senior engineer (Matt Cutts) has confirmed the existence of a Google sandbox effect:

    * www.searchenginejournal.com/matt-cutts-confirms-google-sandbox-exists/2534/

Here are three additional articles that argue for the sandbox's existence:

    * www.seomoz.org/blog/googles-sandbox-still-exists-exemplified-by-gradercom
    * www.bloghighlight.com/minimizing-google-sandbox-filter-damages/
    * www.imnewswatch.com/archives/2009/03/googles_sandbox.html

In summary, our company has been 100% honest with you.  We have looked out for your best interests 100% of the time.  It would be a very big mistake to cancel your contract when we've already shown you an increase in rankings within a very short period of time.  Furthermore, considering that you agreed to a nine month campaign, I am puzzled by your insistence on page 1 rankings after only 3-4 months.

If you still have doubts, please let us setup a phone conversation before making any final decisions (we have never previously spoken on the phone).  Thank you for reconsidering.

Sincerely,

Zach Brewer
Search Engine Marketing Specialist

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10/28/2009 11:59:15 AM

Hi Marco,

I spoke to our head SEO.  He said that the link-building for AcaiFruitHut.com needs to progress slowly for the first 2-3 months since it is a new domain and is currently in the Google "sandbox".  That is why, at this early stage, we are not promoting it at the same rate that we are promoting MiracleFruitHut.com.  Over-promotion of a new domain risks adversely affecting search engine rankings.  Slow promotion at the start, with a gradual increase in momentum, will produce the most stable page 1 rankings.  In general, it is better to create a modest number of backlinks at the correct pace then to create a large number of backinks at an accelerated pace.

You will be recieving a monthly ranking report in the first week of November.  This ranking report will be more detailed then the weekly work reports.

Zach Brewer
Search Engine Marketing Specialist

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9/2/2009 2:43:54 PM

Hi Marco,

Thanks for the clarification.  I'll let you know if we have any problems with the initial charges.

To answer your question, the number of hours comes to an average of about 4 hours per week, every week.

Also, keep in mind that we will eventually need the FTP information for both websites.  The sooner you can give this to us, the better.  Thanks.

Zach Brewer
Search Engine Marketing Specialist

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8/31/2009 10:39:29 AM

Hi Marco,

Thank you for your interest in working with USA Web Solutions.  I spoke to the SEO team, and they are willing to reduce the price of both campaigns to $400/month.  I have modified the service agreements accordingly and attached them to this email.

Most of our clients pay using credit card.  There is space on the last page of the service agreement, near your signature, where you can place your credit card information.  Your credit card would then be charged monthly.

We look forward to beginning comprehensive keyword for your website as soon as we received the signed agreement.  Thanks again for choosing our company.  Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Zach Brewer
Search Engine Marketing Specialist

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8/27/2009 1:41:54 PM

Hi Marco,

Our SEO team takes much into account when they research keywords at the start of a campaign.  They consider competition levels, website relevance, search volumes, current website content, main competing websites (websites currently ranking on page 1), and other factors.  I cannot ask our team to conduct comprehensive research until you've signed up as a client.  However, I've attached some initial volume-based researched for you to view.

The phrase "diet pills" is not a good phrase to target because it is so broad, and therefore will result in a low sales to conversion ratio.  However, other phrases (such as "acai diet" or "acai berry diet") can be added to your list of 15.  When you become a client, I will ask our team to research additional "diet" phrases.

The return on your investment will be strong because you will achieve the stated page 1 rankings, which will deliver a large and steady stream of relevant traffic to your website.  You may achieve a top-of-page-one ranking, but until we get started it is hard to predict for which phrases this is mostly likely to occur.

I strongly recommend that you reconsider conducting your own SEO activity.  Link-building is the most delicate part of the SEO process and should be done by professionals with experience conducting it thematically.  Furthermore, the pace of a link-buiding campaign is critical.  You may be putting your current rankings in jeopardy by creating 10 links/per day.  That is too fast a pace.

I've re-attached the two SEO service agreements.  I made a modification to page 4 of each agreement.  Instead of listing the exact phrases that we will target, page 4 now lists "possible phrases."  Once you sign up, you can choose whichever phrases you want us to target based upon the comprehensive research/recommendations that we provide.  You can choose just a few phrases, or you can choose closer to 15 phrases.

You will receive a $100/month discount on one of the campaigns if we receive these signed agreements by Sept. 1, 2009.  The last page of the agreement includes space for a signature.  You can fax it to us or send it to us via scanned email.  I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Zach Brewer
Search Engine Marketing Specialist

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8/26/2009 7:07:29 PM

Hi Marco,

The problem with www.acaiberryfruit.co.uk is that it is a "country code top-level domain" (ccTLD) rather than a "generic top-level domain" (gTLD).  A ccTLD would give you an advantage in the United Kingdom, but it would be a disadvantage in every other country.  gTLDs are the best if your audience is worldwide.  Here is more information about both types:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CcTLD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_top-level_domain

I recommend you stick with www.acaifruithut.com.  I hope I did not convince you that it is a poor domain.  No domain is ever going to match all of your relevant keywords, and this domain already contains the words "acai" and "fruit."  If you want, we can use this domain to pursue the following four phrases (in addition to the five phrases you already mention):

Keywords         Google Monthly Search Volume
acai fruit           60,500
acai berry fruit   18,100
acai fruit juice    5,400
buy acai fruit      1,900

For both your campaigns, we can pursue up to 15 phrases.  The cost does not change whether you want us pursue 3 phrases or 15 phrases.  It actually makes our job a little easier if there are more phrases to work with.  If you want, you can modify your list of phrases after signing-up (but not once link-building has begun).  The main determining factor for price is the number of page 1 rankings we plan to achieve--in your case three for miriclefruithut.com and five for acaifruithut.com.

Although possible, we cannot assume that the page 1 rankings you achieve will reach the very top of the page, especially within 6-9 months.  A better plan is to first get a number of stable page 1 rankings positioned near the top.  Once you've got that, it will be easier to advance them higher and higher on the page.  Furthermore, we've found that Google is more likely to place a website at the top-of-the-page once the website already has a good amount of regular page 1 rankings.

I am sure that you will get a solid return on investment if you use your existing domains.  Again, you can modify your target phrases after signing up.  At that time, if you are still uncertain about the keywords that you want to target, I will have our team conduct comprehensive keyword research so that everyone will have full knowledge of the best keywords.

Please let me know if I did not answer all of your questions.  Hopefully we can get started soon.

Sincerely,

Zach Brewer
Search Engine Marketing Specialist

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8/17/2009 6:02:35 PM

Hi Marco,

Our SEO team has researched the requirements of ranking both your websites on the first page of Google, Yahoo, and Bing for the following phrases:

miraclefruithut.com     acaifruithut.com
miracle fruit               acai berry
miracle berry             acai juice
buy miracle fruit         acai berries
                              acai berry capsules
                              acai berry wholesale

Our team determined that it will be easier to rank miraclefruithut.com for the three target keywords because:

    * The domain is over a year old.
    * The website already has some back links.
    * The target keywords resemble the domain name.
    * Relevant written content is already present for most of the target keywords.

Therefore, the price of getting miraclefruithut.com page 1 rankings for all three target phrases would be $450/month for six months.

It will be more difficult to rank acaifruithut.com for the five target key phrases because:

    * The domain is only a couple months old.
    * The website has very few existing back links.
    * The target keywords do not resemble the domain name.
    * Not much relevant written content is already present.
    * The keywords are more competitive.

Therefore, the price of getting acaifruithut.com page 1 rankings for all five target phrases would be $550/month for nine months.  However, if you sign up by the end of the month, I can give you a $100/month discount.

Because USA Web Solutions uses only the most prudent SEO techniques, the page 1 rankings achieved by your website will last long after your final monthly payment.  Please view the two attached price quotes for service details and testimonials from previous clients.  Also attached is an analysis of each website.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Zach Brewer
Search Engine Marketing Specialist

Zach Brewer no longer works for USA Web Solutions and we refunded the client fully.  We apologize wholeheartedly for his unprofessional demeanor; our project managers never treat clients that way and this case was truly an exception for the company.

There was never an issue with service deliverables, we provided the client with what they asked for. However, this was our first international client and the time difference did create communication issues, but that in no way excuses Zach's behavior.  

At USA Web Solutions, we pride ourselves on meeting deadlines, treating our clients with the respect and quality of work they deserve, and being experts in web design, application development, and search engine and social media marketing.  We have over twelve years of experience in these fields and a deep back catalog of happy and satisfied clients.  

This case was an unfortunate, but singular exception.  Our clients receive the best in customer service and service deliverables, but we're also willing to admit when we've made a mistake and do our best to right any wrongs.  In this case, the client received all of his services and a refund.  His case is the exception that proves the rule; at USA Web Solutions we do everything in our power to deserve the business of our clients and ensure no client leaves displeased.