What should i do?

[kyleNeedham]

OK so i have recently started working for a finance company in a very competitive niche. There current SEO guys are doing article exchanges with keyword rich anchors and our rankings are steadily falling since panda/penguin.

Our link profile is not great with around 95% of our links coming from keyword rich anchors and low quality sites. (article submission sites, and 301 domains).

I have tried to explain we need to create quality content and integrate with social sites better and stop the spammy article exchange techniques which are no longer effective.

They think these techniques are the best because you can see a link to our site instantly without having to wait for links to come in from linkbait, tools, articles etc etc.

How can i explain to them this is not helping us without them saying "Well this is what is getting us links" and being ignorant?

Thanks for any replies!

[AgentsofValue]

This Whiteborad Friday blog post might be able to help. This clip helped us to cope and understand the post-panda environment. Combine the video with the data showing the falling rankings as proof that traditional SEO methods that get low quality links are no longer effective. Showing them other articles and videos on the changes since panda/penguin might also help to change their perspective.

They may be finding it hard to change methods and tactics because it has worked well for them in the past. Convincing them that their techniques are no longer viable can be quite difficult as they probably still believe that old methods are still the best. Perhaps if you compile a lot of articles or videos from top SEO experts, then perhaps they  would come around an decide to change gears with their SEO campaign.

Hope this helps.

[EGOL]

It is very very hard to convince people that the easy methods for getting links are going down the drain.  Look at how your traffic is falling and they are ignoring it.

If I was the boss at your office I would make you the new "Chief of SEO" and tell you to hire new staff.

What will it take to educate them?  Maybe showing them articles by Matt Cutts, Rand, Danny Sullivan and other influenctials will help.

I want to tive you encouraging words like "Hang in there!"... but if new job opportunities arise where a more enlightened culture is present you might want to consider it.

[mrdavidingram]

Hi Kyle,

I feel for you, I've had similar discussions with people in the past and it can be a nightmare.

Realistically, the falling rankings should be all the convincing they need, however it seems like that's not enough for them.

From my experience, the key message to get through to people with the 'but we are getting links...' philosophy is that all links are not created equally.

Have you tried showing them the link profile of the industry leaders? If these contain genuine editorial links from relevant sources, it might be enough to convince them that good links to equal top rankings.

Good luck.

David