Some SEO agencies out there make it sound like they can bring you the world in as little as a couple of months. They’ll promise you the best results at the lowest price. However, you should remain skeptical when receiving these offers, because many of these agencies are simply incapable of keeping these promises, with poor performance only harming your website while making you lose money. The best way to avoid this issue is to ultimately stay away from companies that promise too much right from the start.
Here are some ways that many SEO companies may attempt to lure you and ultimately leave your company without what it needs to thrive.
“You’ll rank on page one”
While this is the guarantee that many companies might make, there is no way to ensure this will happen. SEO agencies that claim they can directly influence Google with “someone on the inside” or another method is lying to you. Google has even stated that it is impossible to guarantee a number-one placement in search engine results. Even if your business offers national or international services rather than local, you’ll rank differently from city to city regardless of SEO efforts.
“Yes, we can do that”
If a company responds with this to nearly every demand or expectation you have, they’re likely not being truthful. A good SEO agency will listen to clients’ suggestions, but if they can’t undertake certain tasks that a client demands because of unrealistic expectations or demands, they’ll say “no” and explain why they can’t go through with them. So, if an SEO company is eager to meet all of your demands without any questions or contradictions, chances are they’re not worth your time and may only hurt your business after taking on too much at a time.
“We have a solution that works for everyone”
No business is the same, and subsequently no company’s SEO needs are the exact same. Different types of businesses in different industries will require unique solutions to work for them. If a company promises a single one-size-fits-all approach, they could perform a lot of tasks that aren’t useful for that particular client, costing more money for nothing. A worthwhile SEO company should be willing to provide services on a pick-and-choose basis. You shouldn’t have to pay for services that do nothing to help your business grow.
“We have insider knowledge about Google’s algorithm”
This is also a blatant lie. SEO companies can’t learn about how Google’s algorithms work exactly, and nobody can predict the changes that Google will make to their algorithm. Every time Google updates their algorithm, SEO strategies will have to adapt to these changes. If an agency assures you that algorithm changes are no match for their strategies, you should consider looking elsewhere.
“Rankings are all that matter”
Many SEO companies might brag about their ability to help your website rank using the best SEO strategies, but the fact is that ranking isn’t the only place you should direct your focus. Rankings might be important in helping your business succeed, but what you really want is higher traffic and conversions. Rankings don’t mean anything if people aren’t visiting your website and making purchases of any kind.
Why Do So Many SEO Companies Make Promises They Can’t Keep?
Companies may want to believe that an SEO agency is mainly out to help clients rank and perform as well as possible, but they ultimately want to make money, like all businesses. It may not be particularly ethical, but one of the easiest ways to make money is to make great promises to sound like the best possible choice. However, these promises are more likely to leave customers dissatisfied with mediocre results that they didn’t expect. Subsequently, companies are less likely to continue working with SEO agencies that consistently fail to deliver on what they say they can do, all while spending more money than they should.
Keys to Deciding on a Reliable SEO Agency
There are a few ways to determine if an SEO company is right for your business, helping you make the right choice the first time.
If They Make Crazy Promises, Stay Away
An SEO company may make it sound like they’re the best in the industry, with “people who work with Google” and other impressive-sounding bits of information that may or may not be true. In short, if they promise you the world and the best results over all of your competitors, chances are they’ll be unable to fulfill any of your expectations. Instead, turn to a company that provides realistic promises that don’t seem too good to be true.
SEO Results Won’t Be Visible Right Away
One key to SEO is patience. Don’t expect to show up on the first page of Google results for any keywords overnight, and any company that promises overnight results is making yet another unrealistic promise. Even the best SEO strategies take time to pay off. You’re not going to see an instant traffic increase, higher conversion rates, and better search engine results over the course of a day or event a week. With a good SEO company behind your campaigns, you’ll be able to see good results, but it will take time. Expect to see improved rankings, traffic, and conversions over the course of weeks, months, or even years depending on the difficulty of the tasks involved.
Get the Best Service for the Best Value
Going for the cheapest SEO company might seem like an appealing idea, but the lower the cost, the lower the quality in many cases, regardless of what a company says it can do with the lowest budget. In fact, the cheaper the services are, the more likely they are to be black hat SEO services, which can hurt you rather than help. Paying more can be beneficial for you depending on the company, helping you get a better ROI with strategies that actually work.
For help with your SEO campaigns without unrealistic promises or failure to deliver, contact OneIMS for help with your marketing strategies from true experts in the industry.
