For example, a business hires a SEO (search engine optimization) company for a 3 months contract. The company performs optimization so that it has complete control over it. This means it can turn the results off with a click if the business has any intention of getting out of the contract at the end of 3 months. This is in my book highly unethical. There is a severe lack of information in this area to educate business owners and help them make a wise decision.
The internet is being marketed as a "level-playing field" where the small guys can compete with the big boys but it is precisely these small companies who are at their most vulnerable. An unhappy experience with an unethical SEO provider can mean short to medium term financial difficulties.
consider that the only reason (as far as I know) to hire a search engine optimization company is to have your business's actual importance misrepresented to the users of services like google. does this start to sound like electronic fraud, yet? personally i feel very little pity for 'customers' of SEO companies. they get what they pay for (often quite literally). elijah