Last year, we had a weird case—a complete first for me. A lady from this group (yes, you) made me jump through hoops: audits, reports, signed contracts, NDAs, and whatnot. At some point, I noticed things were getting muddy, so I passed it to our CEO, who has more experience closing this type of deal. The only thing remaining was to send the downpayment. Then, the CEO of their company told ours that he would
"NEVER pay that kind of money to someone outside the US"
and that he’d only pay a maximum of 1/4th because we were "inferior" (sic). Please note the amount was arranged by both parts and was in the contracts.
In an attempt to save the project, our CEO contacted the lady, and she outright lied to his face, claiming they’d found someone better. She wasn’t aware of the earlier conversation, and all contracts had already been signed, leaving us with two options: she’s either a pathological liar or an unethical person.
Here’s the kicker: they were so ignorant they left access to their stats even though we told them to block it and wished them luck (we wouldn’t stoop to their level). Last week, I received the monthly recap from GSC, showing they’ve lost 59% on top of the 70% they’d already lost when they contacted us. Out of curiosity, I checked GA4, and they still haven’t revoked access. They’re basically surviving on PPC—organic traffic is at an all-time low.
It may sound petty, but this was a brutal example of “you got what you deserved” or simply “I told you so.”
Now, on a brighter note: around the same time, someone about to close their business reached out for help as a last resort, with a very small budget. It sounded like a good opportunity to help someone who truly deserved it (we know the owner, and he’s a genuinely good person). The problems were clear to us—mostly technical issues, some weak content, and a lack of backlinks.
We worked on that, and now this is what heaven looks like: Google sending anomaly alerts every 4-5 days because they’re detecting far more traffic than expected (see the capture in the comments).
Here’s the contrast: the first business had (and still has) the budget and resources. The second was on the brink of bankruptcy but paid us what we asked without hesitation.
Karma is a bitch, I guess.
P.S. I won’t post captures of the unethical crooks, just the good ones.
[link] [comments]
from Search Engine Optimization: The Latest SEO News https://ift.tt/Aj4wmk9
Comments
Post a Comment