If you are a business owner then you have most likely received some unwanted emails from marketing agencies who want to sell you SEO services or draw customers by improving your website ranking. Sadly, the online marketing industry isn’t filled with good SEO firms but rather it is filled with agencies who churn and burn their clients – according to statistics, 80% of agencies perform scam tactics of some sort.
It is important to be careful when selecting an online marketing agency. If you make use of a dishonest SEO firm then you could see your website going backwards instead of forward. Thus we have assembled a list of signs your that SEO firm is ripping you off.
Guaranteed top rankings in Google search
The promise of a top ranking on the first page of Google search results is a popular sales tactic among SEO firms. Sadly that is all it is – a sales tactic. A good SEO firm will never make this guarantee to their clients. Reputable SEO firms know that there are fluctuations in Google search results that are simply beyond their control. Only an unethical firm will make these kinds of promises.
Truth be told, search engines are far more intelligent than we can understand and they cannot be manipulated. However, Google has some guidelines that a good SEO firm can follow in order to improve your business’ SEO.
If a firm is unable to provide proof of past success then they are most likely not trustworthy.
No evidence of success
If you are uninitiated in SEO then a firm can easily impress you with a range of meaningless verbiage. However if they are unable to provide proof of past success, then you should definitely find a better SEO firm that are trustworthy and able to provide this proof.
The promise of thousands of backlinks
Paying for links and link spamming have been common practices for many years. Perhaps they worked 15 years ago, but not anymore. Having a good strategy for backlinks is very important – however, where the backlinks come from is even more important.
Having high-quality links from authority sites that point to your website is far more effective than having tons of links from low-authority sites. These low-authority sites will only bring your website down. When it comes to good SEO, building strong, lasting solutions always beats short-term wins. It is essential that the SEO firm of your choice understands this.
Inexpensive content automation
It is important to remember that you get what you pay for. If a firm offers inexpensive content automation it is probably not a good SEO firm and that you should consider paying a little more in order to get real results. Quality content is a key component in a good SEO strategy. Most of this content should come from web copy and blog articles that are then syndicated across various networks.
This type of content is highly visible – which is the purpose. It is meant to represent your brand, proof your worthiness for ranking and show search engines originality. For this reason, if you have automated poor content, you will achieve poor results.
Standardized one-size-fits-all packages
Every business is unique and thus requires unique service and package offerings. A standard package couldn’t possible fit every business’ needs. This is why a good SEO firm will ask to contact you personally and have a conversation in order to determine the goals and objectives you have for your business. From there on they will design a personalized package that is suited specifically for your business.
A business needs frequent reports in order to stay up to date with their websites performance.
No reports
In order to know how your business’ SEO is performing, you need progress reports. It is good to see an example of the reports you will receive before selecting a firm.
It is also good to know how frequently you will be receiving reports. If your firm does not provide performance reports, you will not be able to stay up to date with your websites progress.
No clear and proven system
Even though different businesses have different methods, there are still clear and proven systems that work such as effective and efficient, white hat strategies that will build a long term basis for success. So be sure to ask your SEO firm what their system and approach will be before choosing them.
If you avoid firms that possess any of these points then you will be able to choose a good SEO firm that will steer your business towards success and help you reach your long term goals.