The importance of SEO in the modern business landscape can never be emphasized enough. However, not all SEO service providers are the same. There are some services that are really good at what they do while others are a complete waste of time and money. In this article, I will be discussing some of the warning signs that should get you suspicious when you are dealing with monthly SEO packages.
Lots of questionable reviews
The mere fact that you are reading an article about SEO tells me that you already understand the power that internet has on any business. Having a bad reputation on the internet can cripple a business within a very short period of time. As such, when you are choosing an SEO agent, you want to ensure that you choose a firm that has a very good reputation online and offline as well. It is best that you start your search by identifying several SEO service providers and then going a step further to screen them according to whatever criterion you will have set to use.
By the time you are done with the screening, you should be left with at least three firms that you intend to choose the best from. At this point, you want to make your screening even more strict and personal by checking the online reputation of the firm. You should check the reviews that other people and businesses have posted about the SEO agency you intend to use. These reviews can be found on online forums and review websites. Sometimes even agencies have their own websites where they allow people to post their reviews about the company and its services.
As you go through the reviews, you should be wary about services that have received very bad reviews from their former customers. Some people tend to ignore this, but to their own detriment. Reviews are very important and should tell you how you will be feeling at the end of your contract with the agency. If you want to be feeling good knowing that you made the right decision, then you want to stay away from agencies that have a trail of negative reviews.
No customer testimonials
Closely relate to negative reviews is a lack of testimonials from customers. A good firm is one that is proud of the work it does, providing SEO services to its customers. They should have a list of happy customers who they showcase on their websites together with their testimonials. If you find an SEO agency that doesn’t showcase its customer testimonials, they you should assume that they don’t have any customers saying good things about them to showcase, and as always, this is dangerous. You need to avoid such agencies because you can be sure that the agreement won’t end up with you being very bitter and feeling disappointed.
Unrealistic assurances
One thing that scammers know how to do very well is making unrealistic assurances and guarantees. Such agencies take advantage of the fact that most people don’t understand how SEO works that much. You can always change this by taking some time off work to try and understand SEO and how it works so that you can know when someone is outright lying to you. There are just certain things that someone shouldn’t tell you about SEO. Such things include someone telling you that when you hire them, they will put your website on the first page of SERPs. This is a very ambitious promise that no one can promise or even guarantee.
A good agency will instead make steps that focus on increasing your site traffic and achieve more leads. Such a promise is realistic and can be achieved with enough work.
Asking to own your data/logins
If you find an SEO company that asks to own your data/login credentials, it is a huge indication for you to keep off of such deals. What happens when an agency asks to own your login credentials is that they may hold it hostage just to keep the contract between the two of you going. This can often lead to legal disputes that may stretch for several years. When this happens, it will require you to change the login details to your site and add extra tracking codes just to stay away from the agency. Thus, if you hear someone asking for your login details, drop them immediately.
They will promote their story, not yours
Another red flag that should cause you stay away from an SEO company is if they are promoting their own story too much at the expect of your own. You can tell that a company is focusing too much on themselves and not you by the way they write their reports. You will always find things in the report thatgive emphasis on their systems and company as a whole and nothing much about your own business. For instance, the reports will be talking about what they did right, how they managed to do a good job, and why you need to pay more.
Such a company is interested too much in getting their contract renewed and as such, will try to tell you why you should renew their contract every chance they get. This is a bad thing because it doesn’t help your business, which it should, but instead helps the agency.
You talk to a different person every time
Lastly, you want consistency when you are dealing with an SEO agency. That includes being able to communicate to the same representative of the company every time. There are some companies that are in the habit of passing customers around from one person to another because they are not good at what they do. The bad thing with being passed around like that is that you never receive consistent work. There is simply just no way of knowing if whatever you discussed with the last person went as you had planned.
