~~Up date April 2015. Just spoke to a client who had a call from the local B.B.B. Sales representative who, just like in 2013 when we originally wrote about the Better Business Bureau claiming that the one simple act of joining their service and adding your web site link to your new B.B.B. listing will significantly increase your Google rankings. It’s not true. Very few if any single site links will make a significant change in your web site rankings, and the link the B.B.B. provides certainly isn’t one of those.
You would think that an organization based on trust would employ better standards in their sales organization…. ~~~
If you read this blog you know that we encourage business owners to use their association memberships for getting more Internet traffic, and boasting their sites popularity.
We just had a call from a better business bureau sales rep, who said, and I quote, “the membership is probably worth the money just in it’s SEO value alone”. Sounds like the BBB is jumping on the SEO band wagon. I hope Google doesn’t penalize them for selling links with this approach!
The reason to join any business association should be the value it brings to your business in the areas of education, promotion, and credibility. If it helps your Internet popularity as a result, that’s a bonus.
We recommend A BBB membership to most of our clients who sell to consumers. It’s a important “trust” factor. But buying it for SEO only doesn’t make all that much sense.
You can read more about whats happening in Local SEO on this blog .
