Don’t fall for the slick sales-pitch or the expensive offices – Here are 10 things to help stop you getting ripped off
So, you’ve either paid for or are considering paying for search engine optimisation (SEO services) but you’re not sure what to expect or how to measure the results. This article helps dispel a few myths, and talk about the pitfalls to watch out for to make sure you get excellent, tangible results and value for money when you hire and SEO company. Follow the advice here to help stop your website getting penalised by Google, make sure you don’t get ripped off and help make sure to don’t spend more than you need to.
1. There are keywords and there are keywords
A prominent position for a phrase nobody searches for may have little business value. Ask which audience and enquiries the work is intended to reach, rather than accepting a promise based on a single obscure test phrase.
2.The SEO effect often stops shortly after you stop paying for it
Some improvements, such as repairing a broken page, can remain useful after a contract ends. Competitive search results can change over time, but there is no rule that all SEO benefits stop when a monthly payment stops. Ask what work you will retain and what depends on an ongoing service.
3. They’re trying to deceive Google
Legitimate SEO improves the website and helps search engines understand it. Manipulative tactics are a different matter. Ask what the supplier will actually change and avoid arrangements built around concealed link purchases or misleading pages.
4. You can’t pick an SEO company based on price
Cheap SEO isn’t necessarily bad SEO just as expensive SEO isn’t necessarily good SEO. That friendly, chatty guy you know has unfortunately just baffled you with bullsh*t. he’s told you that the SEO his company does is better than the SEO services provided by the ‘other’ companies, however, ultimately, you’re just going to get the same SEO as if you’d bought from the cheapest company you could find.
Unless you get regular reports with tangible results showing you clear methodology, you won’t know whether you’ve been paying for good quality SEO or poor quality SEO until it’s too late.
5. Google wants your site to be good quality, which doesn’t mean contrived inbound links
If you’ve paid for SEO services in the past and have had a bad experience, there’s a good chance probably got the ‘poor quality’ stuff – probably at best just some poor-inbound links and not much more. Poor quality purchased links are effectively an attempt at deceiving Google and Google is smart enough to spot this and you may get penalised for this loosing position in the rankings.
This about it like this – good quality SEO is about helping your site communicate well with Google – communicating your sites subject, purpose, products, services, geographical area, etc. Poor quality SEO is cheap attempt to manipulate Google into thinking your site is more important or authoritative than it really is. A poor quality site not only reflects badly on your business but also ranks badly. Therefore, logically, you should focus on quality with everything you do including your SEO
A good quality site provides a good user experience. One of the things that adds to the user experience is good quality content. This is the first step in helping build natural, organic links. Of course, not every business is going to be able to get natural, organic links, but it’s something to bear in mind.
Build useful content and a sound structure into the site from the start. That can avoid unnecessary rework, but it does not eliminate future technical checks, maintenance or changing audience needs. Assess the evidence rather than treating any site as permanently finished for SEO.
To conduct search engine optimisation properly you need to communicate clearly with Google, not attempt to deceive it.
6. It’s really not rocket-science, or witchcraft, or magic – SEO is very simple
The principles can be explained plainly, but technical diagnosis and implementation can still be complex. Expect a clear explanation of the problem and proposed work rather than a claim that every SEO job is trivial.
7. There is website traffic and there is website traffic
What use is a million visitors to your site if none of them are your target customer? Failing to do a comprehensive competitor and search analysis before beginning your SEO campaign might mean you get it completely wrong and wasting money could be the least of your worries!
Badly optimised images and a badly optimised site combined with a lot of traffic can, for example cause your hosting account to become suspended or maybe worse!
Optimising your on-site content and focusing on the correct key phrases from the start of your SEO campaign will mean you’re much more likely to get the right visitors to your site and you’re less likely to have server problems.
8. Google continues to become smarter at spotting poor quality SEO
From what I have seen over the past few years, I would say that this year is probably the last one you’ll be able to get away with poor quality SEO that focuses on link-building.
Google continues to become smarter and, as we’ve seen earlier in this article, it doesn’t like to be deceived… but more importantly; don’t deceive yourself that poor quality SEO is anything other than attempting to deceive Google!
Unless you know you’re getting high-quality SEO services, you are taking a very big gamble with your website!
9. Protect your professional image
Your reputation is vitally important and therefore you need to protect it. Allowing someone else to write and publish information about your company, pertaining to have come from you and without you having approved it could be asking for trouble.
Are you sure the articulate guy who sold you the SEO services in the first place is the one also doing the writing? How much do they actually know about your business? How much time is spent on quality control?
Simply focusing on quality as opposed to quantity gives you much more opportunity to make sure the information being published properly reflects your business.
10. On-site SEO is your number 1 priority
Review the site and available evidence before deciding priorities. Content, technical access, user journeys and wider reputation may all matter. No single activity is automatically the first priority for every business.
How do I get good quality SEO help & advice?
For high quality SEO and making sure your web development is done properly, call Seven Creative today on 0114 383 0711 or contact us through the contact page