SEO is no longer the cryptic crossword puzzle for those who indulged in Internet geekdom but the get rich technique for the opportunist would-be-businessman or charlatan. Some companies charge ridiculously large amounts of money for a lot of their optimisation services. These same businesses then try to explain their rates by attempting to convince prospective clients that by paying ‘extra’ they get a better deal in the long term. This technique reminds me of double glazing salesmen, who all say that by spending more with ‘x’ you get a better deal than with ‘y’, when in reality they all get their materials and manufacturing equipment from the same suppliers. Any astute businessman or businesswoman can intelligently work out that the reason for their inflated prices are due to a combination of greed and over staffing.

Search Engine Optimization appears to be becoming a big business in an age when the rest of the worlds’ business community is tightening its belt. The expression ‘Ambulance Chasers’ comes to mind. I will accept that good SEO requires hours and hours of hard work, involving research and then analysis and scrutiny but what is the acceptable cost? Is this task worth solicitors’ rates?