newmediaMike

Craigslist is down in Toronto

As you may have gathered by some of my more recent posts, I am a frequent visitor to craigslist. And NO – not the personals section! I use it for promoting my VHS to DVD and SEO businesses as well as trying to find paying gigs (although that is a stretch from Craigs – maybe in another post I’ll rant about those ads). I don’t know about you, but personally I at times find myself addicted to craigslist.

But today I can’t run any ads.

After some quick Google searching it appears there is a widespread problem with craigslist, the problem is not limited to Toronto.

It appears a power-outage in San Francisco has affected an internet service provider called ‘365 Main’ with a lot of big-name clients. The sites may serve clients around the world, but with all the eggs in one basket so to speak, if the power goes away and the whole world, including Toronto, is without Craig’s.

It appears some craigslist service is back up in some parts of the States, but, at the time of this posting, it is still out here in Hogtown. I can’t seem to find anything indicating when we might have service back here in Toronto, I’m really wishing it will be soon.

So if you are looking to hire an editor for a lunch and a credit you are SOL for now. I will just have to wait to post another ad for my VHS to DVD Transfers and my SEO services in Toronto.

Daily SEO Tip – No guarantees

I recently came across an ad on Craigslist from a company looking for an SEO consultant. the only requirement to get hired was you had to guarantee them a top 10 ranking on Google. I hate to break it to them, but no one can guarantee you top rankings on Google.

An SEO Consultant has no control over the policies of search engines with respect to the type of sites and/or content that they accept now or in the future. Your website may be excluded from any directory or search engine at any time at the sole discretion of the search engine or directory.

Due to the competitiveness of some keywords/phrases, ongoing changes in search engine ranking algorithms, and other competitive factors, no reputable SEO Consultant would guarantee #1 positions or consistent top 10 positions for any particular keyword, phrase, or search term.

Google has been known to hinder the rankings of new websites (or pages) until they have proven their viability to exist for more than “x” amount of time. This is referred to as the “Google Sandbox.”

Occasionally search engines will drop listings for no apparent or predictable reason. Often the listing will reappear without any additional SEO.

I wrote about this before in my post “Fickle Finger of Search Engine Optimization” it can drive you crazy when all of a sudden you are gone!

In conclusion, if an SEO Consultant promises you a Top 10 or even a NUMBER ONE ranking on Google, don’t fall for it and seek out a more reputable SEO specialist.