5 Techniques used by BAD SEO Companies

Posted on October 1, 2011 in Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Video SEO, VSEO

SEO companies are a dime a dozen nowadays. So how can business weed out the bad and good?

First of all, SEO (search engine optimization) is more than just keywords in your metadata. The fact is, pretty much anyone can input metadata on a web page, and you don’t have to have technical engineer to do so. This is why so many people claim they can do SEO. However, if you don’t have the proper experiences or knowledge, it’s like throwing spaghetti at a wall when it’s not done, it just won’t stick.

Below I will go over 5 techniques used by bad SEO companies. These techniques should indicate a red flag and for you to run in the opposite direction before getting scammed:

  1. Never trust anyone who offers you a free trial! If the offer sounds too good to be true then that’s because it is. People offering free trials are generally after one thing, your password and website access information. NEVER give out your website information without a written agreement on services and ownership.
  2. We all like guarantees, but when it comes to SEO you want to be cautious. When an SEO company promises a quick turn around in a short period, run for the hills. Any guarantee less than 6 months, is a sure sign to avoid at all cost. Google, along with the other major search engines do not crawl sites on a regular basis. There is no sure way of saying when your site will be crawled. It can take weeks or even months before you start seeing results. I know most business owners are anxious to see quick results, but nothing done quickly can be done properly.
  3. Back links, who doesn’t love back links? Beware of anyone that claims to provide you with hundreds or even thousands of back links. Most likely they are going to be providing you with low quality links that can end up hurting you, not helping. Quality over quantity! You also want to avoid reciprocal links at all cost!
  4. Keywords, there are millions! But, not all keywords will help you gain exposure. Many unethical SEO companies will ask you what you want to rank for and then insert them on your site, without doing any research. What they have failed to notify you of is their search volume. If no one is searching for it then of course it easy to get you to rank for it, because NO ONE IS SEARCHING FOR IT! Ask for the search volumes or check them yourself using the Google adword tool. Also beware of keyword stuffing, yes there is such a thing as having to many keywords.
  5. Content and website structure play a role in SEO. So anyone who is trying to sell you on SEO that has not either analyzed your site thoroughly or offers website design/development in conjunction with the SEO, are scamming you. It doesn’t matter how many back links, or keywords you are using, if you’re content and website structure isn’t properly in place, well then it’s like having a business with no name.

Written by: Jessica MacRoberts, Business Development Manager for SearchPro Systems