But if you do get banned, you'll need to know what you can do to get back on track! Years ago, when the SEO Company market was first born, blind faith was thrown to the one or two SEO pros on the block. Many of these guys were legitimate nerds (and by "nerds" I mean "super-geniuses!") who were particularly keen on the intricacies of online marketing. But there were also a few nefarious characters lurking around who were greedy for your money and took advantage of your limited knowledge on fair Internet practices: thus the "Black-Hat SEO Company" was born. Black Hat tactics ranged from spamming and link baiting to hacking into and sabotaging competitors' sites or stealing other people's articles.

When Google catches an SEO Company trying to cheat its way to the front, the site is penalized. Sometimes a person browsing the web (or a competitor) sends Google a take-down notice and suddenly you've received a letter referring to the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act or a DMCA complaint. So what can you do?

Well, if you're innocent of copyright infringement, you can file a counter-notification / pull-back notice with the DMCA. (It's not uncommon for someone to make a false accusation against a site.) You'll have to include a denial of the allegation, along with your name, address, consent to the jurisdiction of the US federal district court and oath that everything written in the note is true. Note that consenting to jurisdiction could result in a lawsuit being filed against you if the complainer is serious. The DMCA will then contact the original detractor and if they aren't willing to file a lawsuit within 14 days, the content will be restored. If you aren't sure, you'll obviously need an attorney. If you're guilty, then be prepared to start over again. Unfortunately, it's the price you pay for hiring a rookie SEO Company and not inquiring as to what techniques they'll use to grow your business. After all, there are hundreds of things a White Hat SEO Company can do to ramp up your business in a legitimate way!

"Mobile is going to be the next big thing in Internet Marketing." I was very surprised when I first read that headline. This was a few months back, but the mobile media giants have still been trying to grease the palms of the rich and mighty in an effort to get the ball rolling. Yes, there have been platforms launched (like the Mobile Advertising Alliance); yes, there is an awards ceremony for mobile ads (organized by VisionGain); yes, the Mobile Marketing Association has drawn up the official rules; and yes, there have been companies erected to deal with the infrastructure of text message service providing (like JLTB Media), but… really??
 
As much as we're hopelessly dependant on being "mobile," just imagine how many people would drop their cell phones like a bad habit if they were to find themselves getting spontaneous text messages from passing a certain billboard. Imagine the intense anger of being unfairly interrupted at a work meeting because you "just have to hear about the newest all-in-one device" or when the new Will Smith movie is coming out. Even the most technologically savvy individuals will have a hard time stomaching this. We like our privacy, bottom line.
 
Forget about asking your Internet marketing consultants about this frivolous expense. Instead, consider other Internet marketing techniques that have proven efficiency so far. Last year the Pew Internet & American Life Project launched a landmark study about viral video Internet marketing and found that a whopping 57% of all Internet users watched online videos, with more than half of the respondents forwarding videos to friend and 19% watching videos daily.
 
By now you've probably heard of the "Will It Blend" campaign by Blendtec blenders and how their video Internet marketing efforts effectively drove sales 500%! Naturally, they're the envy of the town, but what you'll need from your Internet marketing consultants is a campaign that transcends both online and offline strategies, you'll need a clear focus on your product and you'll need the search engine optimization wherewithal to get noticed.

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