Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

Over the years, Hollywood has produced it's share of scary movies where the predatory villains look like angels.

From the audience, we know the girl is putting herself in big danger, but she thinks she's just won the lottery! He's handsome, charming and funny, smooth-talking and rich. She's trusting, naive, and flattered he chose her. But once he gets her alone, away from her friends, he turns out to be her worst nightmare.

Like the hapless girl in the movies, a web site's owner can be naive and trusting. She spends hundreds, even thousands of dollars to a marketing company that looks really good and produces results for a short time. Then the nightmare begins, as her web site disappears from the listings, along with the marketing company...

There are numerous reputable companies available who can help you promote your web site. Their rates aren't cheap, but their services are worth every penny.

There are also numerous unethical companies lurking around the 'net. Their rates aren't cheap, either. So how do you tell the difference?

Believe it or not, it's really pretty simple. The reputable companies have built their business on repeat clients and referrals. They are too busy with their existing clients to initiate an email or telephone campaign.

Then there's the fact that reputable companies will never guarantee to get you top ten listings in Google, or any other search engine. And they'll never claim to have a "special relationship" with any search engine.

Dust off your B.S. meter. If the claim sounds too good to be true, it should peg the meter. Listen to that quiet little voice telling you to "just say no." The long term health of your web site depends on it.