Recently, we posted an article about several SEO personalities which you should stay away from. Not only do they promise impractical results, but most of them do not know anything about doing SEO. Now, we offer helpful tips on how to spot an SEO scam, especially since the lucrative business of internet marketing is quickly attracting a lot of practitioners who may or may not know a thing about search engine optimization. Here are claims to identify whether a potential SEO firm is simply a fly-by-night company or they really know their SEO business.
1. Guaranteed Page 1 rankings – Most SEO companies will promise to have your websites at the very first page of major search engines. While this is possible, it definitely takes time and the right SEO campaign for any website to place at the top of Google, Yahoo, or Bing’s SERPs.
2. Thousands of back links in X days – Link building is an aspect of SEO that proves to be one of the most useful techniques as it does generate relevant traffic to the website. Unfortunately, this cannot be done in just a matter of days. Having thousands of back links in a specific period of time is not only impossible, but who’s to say that all the links that lead back to your website are relevant and valuable?
3. Knowing how Google algorithm works – Despite may SEO firms claiming they know how Google’s algorithm works, Google doesn’t really share this kind of information. Search engines constantly modify its algorithm to include valuable sources as a means of ranking pages. Recently, Google disclosed that it now counts social media data as a factor in finding out which sites are relevant.
4. Cheap SEO monthly rates – A monthly SEO service does not cost a mere $100. That amount, in fact, is just the hourly rate some mid-tier consultants charge. Therefore, having an SEO firm on a monthly retainer is more costly than that, especially if the company is a known expert in the field with a lot of clients who can back them up.
5. High rankings for long tail keywords – Long tail keywords are phrases that range from 3-5 words and are aimed at more specific terms, therefore often drawing less traffic to the website. Long tail keywords, however, offer more valuable traffic, despite being less in number as compared to normal keywords. Thus, it is more challenging and difficult to have high rankings for long tail keywords and if an SEO firm offers you just that, you might want to think twice about hiring them.
6. Long lasting SEO results – With search engine algorithms often being updated, it is nothing but normal for websites’ rankings to fluctuate from time to time. Additionally, staying at the top doesn’t necessarily mean it will stay there forever. SEO is a process that needs to be maintained and constantly worked on so the promise of long lasting SEO results is a myth which you should not buy into when choosing an SEO firm.
Other unrealistic claims fly-by-night SEO firms offer include quick visibility, results, and submissions. Again, SEO campaigns take time. Reaching the top of search engine results takes tailor-made internet marketing strategies that are done on a regular basis. It doesn’t happen overnight.
