Many websites rank well in the search engines because of ‘black-hat’, spam-reliant SEO techniques. In all industries you can spot sites that rank well thanks to this type of dubious search engine marketing work. You absolutely do not want to invest in any online business with a ‘black-hat’ history.

Google and the other search engines hate ‘black-hat’ SEO activity. Sites may temporarily rocket up the search listings but the game is up very quickly and these sites will be severely penalised with a long-term, terrible ranking.

Buying a website or a web-based business that has used ‘black-hat’ techniques to manipulate Google is like buying a ticking time bomb and, as has been shown fairly recently with JC Penney and Overstock, no website is safe from receiving a rankings penalty. You wouldn’t buy a used car without a comprehensive history, so ensure you know exactly what you are purchasing by getting an expert backlink audit on any potential online investment.

How the SEO team at Liberty can help you make the right decision

We have the expertise, software, tools and systems required to thoroughly inspect the SEO work performed on any website. Our investigations and reports give you the facts you need to make an informed decision about your online prospects. This, along with our decades of combined SEO experience, allows us to report on how sound an online investment the website is and what the future may have in store for it.

Our Digital Due Diligence Reports

Google has recently announced another shake-up of how it calibrates the search results. The newest set of algorithms will focus once again on reducing ‘over optimisation’. Our reports cover SEO and website elements such as:

On-site Over Optimisation - Is the website keyword stuffed beyond the safe levels? Are unnatural internal links being used to help the site rank artificially high?

Off-site Over Optimisation - Are dodgy links propping the site at the top temporarily? Have link farms been used? Are paid links (which go against Google’s terms and conditions) being used? Has blog-spam been a key part of the link building work?

Type of traffic - Is the traffic genuine, or being bought in? Do visitors like what they see on the website, or are they leaving and seeking out a competitor?

We also offer a more thorough report which shows the possible growth in traffic and rankings. This report lists recommendations to quickly improve the SEO and long-term traffic levels. This gives you an in-depth look at the possibilities of growth and how your investment will fare…

On-site SEO recommendations - What changes are needed on the website to better rank for keywords? Are there quick win opportunities that have been missed?

Off-site SEO recommendations - What links need to be removed from the link profile and what kind of links need to be built?

Traffic improvement recommendations - What are the quick changes needed to make more of the traffic? Are some of the standard conversion optimisation elements missing?

If you are planning on investing in or buying a business that relies on its website, then don’t leave it up to chance. Speak to our expert team today on 029 2076 6467 and find out how we can give you the complete picture.