Sixteen signs that show the SEO Company you hired is worthless
Once you have set foot in the digital marketing agency, you need to get professional SEO assistance for making your venture a success.
Once you have set foot in the digital marketing agency, you need to get professional SEO assistance for making your venture a success. However, the question that often looms over the heads of new entrants in this field is whether the SEO experts they hired are good enough. And even if you have been in the market for some time, you need to ensure that all the people you have on board are worthy enough for the job.
Well, the good news is that SEO is not rocket science. You can sift through a criterion list and figure out the reliability of an SEO agency. Below, we list down some red flags that would let you know if you need to get rid of the SEO company you are currently working with:
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They charge below $1000!
If your SEO company charges below 1000 bucks, you need to rid your company of it right away. It is obvious you wish for such a cheap investment and make maximum returns, but that’s not realistic. You get what you pay for and going cheap isn’t going to do your business any good.
Eventually, you will have to turn towards a good SEO developer who will charge more money. Thus, you will end up paying a lot more.
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Promising directory submissions? Spam!
If the agency promises powerful directory submissions, take it as a red flag. Mass directory submissions, automated blog comments and social bookmarking are all spammed.
Not to mention, you are penalized by Google as well for violating its guidelines. Google penalty is quite difficult to get rid off, and you have already paid a heavy sum to the SEO agency that brought you to this state.
Such measures are going to smash your market reputation pretty bad.
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No proven records
An impressive resume always increases your chance of scoring the job. The same rule works in this field too; references and prior experience matters a lot. When considering any agency, always look out for the results they produced in the past, metrics they hold important and any endorsements they carry.
A few important metrics are:
- Organic traffic
- Number of organic keywords
- Organic traffic revenue
- Conversion rate
Check out their testimonials and badges - anything that helps build trust with them. If they are not able to give any such information, you have to move onto other options.
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Being creative is their goal
Quite surprisingly, creativity should not be the prime goal when creating SEO. Rather than the outlook, content matters the most.
The fact is that content matters the most. Interesting content and user-friendly interface compels the audience to stay for a longer period on your website. And, this increase in traffic brings higher profits.
Thus, set your priorities straight.
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They promise #1 ranking for your keywords
Any SEO who claims to move your site up on the top is only giving false hopes. If they state having a special relationship with Google, they are quite simply lying. Google has its URL where you can add your website. All other adverts are bogus.
No company can guarantee you the top rank. Google has propped up its criterion, and there are more than 200 ranking factors. There are plenty of steps you can take to improve your website and climb up the Google search, but companies who make such promises are probably only deceiving you.
So, simply put, all these promises and fancy taglines are indeed quite tempting but not worth spending on.
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You found them through a random email
Since so many individuals and agencies could not rank high on Google, they send thousands of spammy emails. They hope to come across a beginner whom they can cheat.
These emails are spammy emails. What defines such email is that it goes to thousands of people without any specification. Such people who begin work with spam cannot be trusted as they may bring more spam to your website.
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You are your SEO creator
The author at conversionxl.com says that “If you designed your website yourself and you’re not a designer, it sucks.” Although quite easy, the task of SEO designing needs years of experience and knowledge. You cannot do it by simply watching a few videos online.
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No project management software
Integration of project management software enables to keep everything organized and all at one location so that every person in the team can easily have access to it. Such software assigns tasks, organizes the assets, keeps a timeline and sends notifications to all the team members reminding them of their duties.
In case your SEO company is not using this tool, it is quite possible they are unqualified. A clear signal for you to replace them.
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They don’t ask for information
Your SEO developer must get all the information from you. A good developer will contact you at every stage. They ask more and more questions about your company, clients, and competitors. Questions initiate at the first meeting and continue through the strategy phase of your project.
Quite naturally, the developer who does not ask enough questions cannot be trusted to put desired content on your site.
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They ask you for backlinks
Some companies may ask you to give a backlink to their website – either on the sidebar or footer widgets. It is a common practice today where websites request each another for backlinks but not practiced by the professional SEO companies.
Such practice is highly unprofessional and not appreciated. It is the business of clients, and no one wants to disclose such information to the public. The unskilled companies, however, are asking their clients to put statements like “xyzseocompany.com did SEO for this website.”
Thus, avoid the companies that ask for link exchanges.
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No model strategy
There are SEO companies out there who work on “no architecture strategy”. It means that they do not proceed with proper planning. Such a site is most definitely going to fail.
The SEO Company must work on each page with care. The team should map out and wireframe every page. They must get back to you and take your approval for the entire content.
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Work with tunnel vision
SEO nowadays is more about mixing up with other online marketing channels. It isn’t anymore about composing a few taglines and integrating backlinks, social activity and utility also play an important role. You need to make sure each user has a great experience.
To get more traffic, you need to promote it and to do that you must build great relationships that would promote your content.
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They keep secrets
Being tight-lipped about their prior work, type of links they build or their on-page SEO tactics is a sure sign there’s something shady going on.
Whenever you hire a SEO Company, you must have a stable relationship with them. Their work is going to determine the future of your business, and you should not hesitate to ask them questions.
Ditch them if they deny on providing you the details about their strategies or periodic reports. Companies that are not revealing their progress are quite possibly hiding something – a sure sign you must end the contract.
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The content is purely searched engine oriented
Saturation of keywords can result in the termination of your website. You need a website where the audience gets all that they need.
There is no denying that keyword research has to be done, but they should also make sure that optimization does not exceed beyond limits.
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Cookie cutter packages
Some SEO companies often promote such offers:
- Silver Package - 10 Pages On-site Optimization - 100 directory submissions - 200 social bookmarks - 300 article submissions - 2 custom press releases
- Gold Package - 20 pages on-site optimization - 200 directory submissions - 400 social bookmarks - 600 article submissions - 4 custom press releases
When you come across such packages, you should take a step back knowing they are a trap. Such companies convey the idea that SEO is a piece of cake.
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Deny access to Google Analytics
If your SEO provider makes a Google Analytic database for your website but does not share the link with you, you need to break away from them. No SEO Company has the right to deny you this access. It is unreasonable and unfair.
Conclusion
On the last note, we’d recommend you go for the SEO Company with a substantial track record. Move forward with your choice only if you are comfortable and satisfied with their operating measures.