Guaranteed Search Engine Placement

pageoneresultsArticle posted by Edward Lewis, aka pageoneresults™
SEO Consultants Directory System Administrator
Orange, California | United States

It was bound to happen sooner or later. We now have the first documented case of a search engine marketing firm ordered to refund monies to consumers for promises and guarantees that were not met.

It is unfortunate that consumers are falling prey to the marketing hype of guaranteed search engine placement. We as Search Engine Marketers cannot guarantee the outcome of that which we have no control over, it just isn't possible. We can however offer limited guarantees when utilizing a pay per click and/or cost per click program like those from Overture and Google.

Search Engine Marketers beware, this is the first shot over the bow. If your marketing message is that you guarantee top search engine placement and, you do not honor those guarantees, there is now a legal precedent in place for consumers.

AG Gregoire Settles with Internet Advancement

Quoted from the Washington State Office of the Attorney General

2004-08-11 - "SEATTLE -- A Redmond based Internet web service company which failed to deliver promised services has agreed to stop misrepresenting its services and pay restitution to consumers, Attorney General Christine Gregoire said today.

A lawsuit was filed against Internet Advancement (IA) along with a simultaneous settlement in King County Superior Court. IA also does business as 4GreatBuys.com. Others named in the suit and settlement include Todd Wickham, Chief Executive Officer of Internet Advancement, Ken Committee, President, and Ernesto Villamor, Secretary and Treasurer.

Internet Advancement advertises and sells what it calls "search engine optimization services," which allegedly allow a business to get top placement on major search engines, such as Yahoo, Google and AOL. Businesses which market and sell their products over the Internet often rely on search engines to lead potential customers to their websites in order to generate more sales.

Internet based business packages offered by IA promised to get customers top 10 to 20 placement on the search engines for charges ranging from $980 - $1,500 in "set-up" fees, and monthly fees ranging from $79.80 to $89.95.

Consumers who purchased the service complained that they were unable to get the placement promised, unable to get refunds and that the company was unresponsive to their complaints.

The AG's office, the FTC and the BBB received more than 100 complaints from consumers across the country.

"Internet Advancement misrepresented its success rate, promised more than it could deliver, then refused to provide refunds to customers who didn't get what they paid for," said Gregoire.

The complaint also alleges that IA made unauthorized charges on customers' credit cards after the customer tried to cancel the service, failed to respond to consumer complaints and sent spam to attract businesses with the misleading subject line, "Final Attempt!"

The settlement requires IA to stop its illegal practices, clearly disclose the terms of its refund program and respond promptly to consumer inquiries.

As part of the settlement, consumers who filed a complaint will be entitled to a refund, depending upon the amount each consumer claimed. The settlement also calls for the payment of $24,432 in costs and fees to the state and a $25,000 civil penalty."

< Back to Member Submitted SEO/SEM Articles

Article Disclaimer: The SEO Consultants Directory does not endorse the opinions and/or facts expressed by members who provide marketing articles for our site. These search engine optimization and search engine marketing articles are here for you to review and make your own decisions.

Last modified: 2008-09-25T07:25:46-0700

SEO Consultants Directory