Milanoo Paid Links: Hey VCs, Need Some SEO Due Diligence?
It looks like Milanoo, a Sequoia-backed start-up, just got outed for using paid links to scam Google’s rankings. I have done a fair amount of SEO work for venture-backed start-ups and this event has convinced me more than ever that smart VCs should be conducting SEO due diligence on potential portfolio companies both pre- and post-investing to make sure they are not buying a potential lemon. Just as you would never invest in a company before you got some references for the CEO, you probably shouldn’t invest in a company that relies on organic search traffic before getting a reference from Google. And since Google won’t take your calls (unless perhaps you are Mike Moritz or Roelof Botha), the next best thing is to work with an experienced SEO.
With that in mind I am proud to announce that LocalSEOGuide is now open for pre-investment SEO due diligence consulting. And to start things off with a bang, the first five VCs that contact me get the first one free!